Chapter 111

***This article contains spoilers.***

## Highlights

* Tom Walker finds out his fiancee spent the night with Archie.
* The team defeats Zelkrixa's Kirrix fleet and rescues prisoners, before Alyssa Marant confronts the Hive Mind and grants them amnesty in return for returning the colonists and leaving Terran Federation space.
* Dana presents her new Tachyon rifles.

## Notes

### Miscellaneous

* The team focuses on pleasuring Tashana Valaden to finish her therapy session.
* Tom Walker still can't get through to his his fiancee Anna, the calls just going to voice mail. Her mother didn't pick up either.
* Kyle McDaniel sends Tom a video of Anna walking out of Archie's apartment with him. She had been there all night.
* Kelli killed Kirrix as they start having seizures, and then Tony and she take a Kirrix cart to carry the unconscious Perl to a small clinic in the Red Light District.
* Dana demonstrates her new Tachyon rifle:
	+ Based on Tachyon Lances
	+ Smart-links to Paragon suits
	+ DNA-locked security in the grip
	+ Anti-grav generators to float
	+ Pulses like photon beams
	+ Flux head-exchangers for cooling
	+ Double-barrelled. Top fires laser. Bottom fires runic penetrators.
	+ Five times stronger than a reaper cannon
* The team defeated Zelkrixa's Kirrix fleet in the Eta Piscium system before it could escape, and rescued the prisoners.
* Amlari contacts Linnaeus informing him they're eight hours away with ore for upgrades. Of course, the Ashanath were distracted by her "glorious orbs."
* Nathan Zelig takes his fleet to battle a Kirrix fleet to rescue 50,000 Tasmari Prime citizens.
* Alyssa Marant used Zelkrixa as a conduit to trace a path across the Astral plane to the Hive Mind, inadvertantly carrying Zelkrixa along. She pulled the entire palace of Hive Queens to her pocket plane so they wouldn't escape. They tried to fight her but lost. She asked what gave them the right to slay millions. One Hive Queen explained that the Shroud prevents them from using the Luphids, which at one point the Kirrix were in symbiosis with, and used them to breed. Alyssa offered them amnesty if they returned the civilians.
* Jack Fernandez and Mateo Fernandez were losing to a Kirrix fleet in the Damocles when suddenly the Kirrix stopped shooting and agreed to hand over the colonists.
* Alyssa Marant explained it was easy for her to pull the entire Hive Mind's palace into her pocket plane. It's like the monster that runs the nightmare plane. If you can locate an Astral traveller's presence, you just have to surround them in a psychic bubble, and then you can pull them into your own domain. Every time John recruits a new girl, the mists finds his ethereal form and pulls him into a nightmare.
* Helene helped with the traumatized colonists by listening to them.
* John gave Helene a psychic power at her request.

### Minor Characters

* Tom Walker: Anna's fiance.
* Annabelle Newmont: Tom's fiancee.
* Natalie Newmont: Anna's mother.
* Kyle McDaniel: Lieutenant Commander. Tom's friend.
* Zelkrixa: Kirrix Broodmother.
* Ujarax: Hive Lord. Zelkrixa's partner.
* Krinava: Kirrix Hive Queen.
* Kelli
* Tony
* Nathan Zelig: Admiral.
* Cadimus: Ashanath Navigator.
* Linnaeus: Ashanath Leader.
* Batiri: Ashanath Engineer.
* Amlaril: Maliri Fleet Commander of House Valaden.
* Falihna Valaden: Edraele Valaden's mother. Powerful pyrokinetic who abused her powers. Eventually killed herself due to the pain.
* Irtria Valaden: Edraele Valaden's oldest sister who was incinerated by their mother, who made everyone watch.
* Hydan Valaden: Edraele Valaden's father. Sired all six daughters.
* Trixie
* Jack Fernandez: Captain of the Damocles. Calara Fernandez's father.
* Mateo Fernandez: Calara Fernandez's brother. Onboard the Damocles.
* Akari Saito: Lieutenant onboard the Damocles.
* Nick Webb: Lieutenant Commander onboard the Damocles.
* Butler: Chief Engineer onboard the Damocles.

### Ships

* Fertile Dream: Zelkrixa's hive ship that was on Brecken's World.
* Porphyrion: Nathan Zelig's battleship.
* Damocles: Jack Fernandez's cruiser.
* Attis: Battleship.