Chapter 68

***This article contains spoilers.***

## Highlights

* Irillith's injury from the Astral Plane remains in the Material Plane, with black ooze spreading out. John uses a Crystal Alyssium knife to remove it.
* Gabrielle Lynton ambushes the retreating Terran Federation forces in Iota Leonis with the Kintark.
* After John "convinces" the traitors to help fight the Kintark in return for clemency, the Terrans win despite suffering significant losses.
* Gabrielle escapes only to be killed by her Progenitor master, who had been watching the entire battle.

## Summary

Jade notices a jagged gash across Irillith's calf in the same place where the barbed tendril had flayed her during the nightmare, and bubbling with a black ooze slowly spreading out. Irillith is unconscious.

John gathers Crystal Alyssium from the quad-shaped bedpost, quint-shaping it into a knife. When he brought the knife to the the hideous liquid it screamed, smoke pouring off of it. After 30 seconds of cleaning of using the knife, it appears like a conventional injury, and John healed it in record time, still having ~~cum in her~~ an active connection with her.

For some reason, Alyssa tells John it was him who saved the day in the Astral Plane, rather than her going Super Saiyan.

John told the girls to go back to sleep again because there's no chance of having a second nightmare in the same night. John telepathically told a worried Edraele to sleep as well, which she did immediately due to the compulsion to obey, and of course John felt guilty.

John Spirit Walked to talk to Athena, who apologized. She tried to intervene, but the leviathan cut her off, trapping her in Alyssa's body back on the Material Plane in the Invictus.

The ward had partially worked by preventing the creature from pulling John into its own Planar Domain, where he's experienced the worst parts of the nightmares before. This time, he was trapped in the raw Astral Plane, which can be formed into Planar Domains by powerful psychic entities. A Planar Domain is like a personalized ethereal home that someone with enough psychic strength can shape with their mind.

Apparently the reason the ward didn't fully work is they didn't put a floor in the dome. Next time they won't get pulled in. And the size was overkill. Next time they'll put John in a tightly-warded cocoon to protect him, and they won't even need to put the girls at risk.

The cord pulled at John, and he was yanked backwards and forcibly reunited with his physical form in the Material Plane. John thanked Faye before he fell asleep.

While they were asleep, Faye's avatars were busy.

1. **Primary:** In the bedroom, watching over John and the girls while they slept.
2. **Secondary:** On the Bridge, carefully monitoring the long-range sensors for any sign of hostile Kintark forces, in case any attempted to intercept them.
3. **Tertiary:** Forecasting potential improvements to her Raptor flight program for high velocity flight.
4. **Quaternary:** Started learning the flight characteristics of the Invictus, just in case they might need her to assist in an emergency.
5. **Quinary:** Reviewing Faye’s performance with the Pulse Cannons in the fight against the Kintark.
6. **Senary:** Reviewing their cyber security, and had already identified the potential for radical new architectural enhancements, utilizing the Progenitor tech from Nexus' server
7. **Septenary:** Identifing security weaknesses in the Invictus to run by Sakura
8. **Octonary:** Reviewing the phonetics of Progenitor speech from Irillith’s translation program.
9. **Nonary:** Overseeing the maintenance robots and upgrading their programming. Her "boys" were caring for the 600+ entranced Terran personnel rescued from the Xen-Nuchek mine.
10. **Denary**: Researching eclectic subjects such as exploring historical records about first contact with known alien species.
11. **Undenary:** Researching if any bio-mechanical species had been discovered.
12. **Duodenary:** Rereading a story by Carlo Collodi.

High Prelate Zorlin is in dark introspection on the battleship Breklan’tohok when he receives a call from High Prelate Grakira on the battleship Leenar’tohok updating him and asking if the rumors about the advanced Terran ship are true. Zorlin tells her the broadcast celebrating the monster called the Lion wasn't exaggerating. Zorlin had personally accompanied Grand Prelate Melkadian in reviewing highly classified Terran battle reports, which had been leaked after the Iota Leonis debacle, by a spy placed within Federation High Command itself.

A fearful Commodore Eriko Sasaki tells Admiral Gabrielle Lynton on a comm that they should consider Buckingham's offer of clemency for their entire battlegroup. After all, he seems to know all about their plans, and it's much better than the penalty for treason. Lynton told her it's just a bluff; Buckingham's desperate. She reminded Sasaki that **he'll** give her the body of a girl half her age, which reassured her.

Lynton had seduced all the commanding officers in her fleet by a variety of means, though she wished her master had simply enthralled all the female officers in her battlegroup, but had been surprised when he refused her suggestion.

She met him on vacation at a terraformed beach resort in Epsilon Canis Majoris on the beaches on Adhara Prime. A handsome, exotic man who sat at her table uninvited and introduced himself to her. They returned to her hotel suite with her where he ordered her to her knees to service his cock. She delayed her posting to the Dragon March by a week so she could keep receiving loads of cum. Once her task is complete, she can be by his side again.

Lynton had prepared an ambush in Iota Leonis knowing that Fleet Admiral Buckingham would be returning to Terran Space on the most direct route possible. Admiral Norwood's forced defection was the only true setback. If not for that, victory would be guaranteed.

She thought the extremely specific order not to harm John Blake was strange, until she had an epiphany when she saw the footage of his award ceremony. Since he looks a lot like her master, and his "jailbait teenagers," as Norwood calls them, looks a lot like her now, John Blake must be her master's rival.

It was puzzling and frustrating when John refused to massacre the Kintark invasion troops, because it thwarted her plan to further escalate tensions with a merciless bloodbath. Apparently he was just as unpredictable as her master.

She had been worried when she reported the news of the Nexus disaster, thinking her master would be furious that John Blake picked apart his plans once again, but instead he just seemed curious about the whole affair. Apparently she didn't know him as well as she thought.

When Faye wakes John up, he instinctively tried to kiss her, passing through her and shocking Faye. Her corresponding data overload was almost off the charts.

John offers to mute Sakura's memories to help deaden the fear, and she accepts.

Admiral Edwin Caldwell was concerned that they hadn't experienced any opposition in their retreat. As they were fast approaching Alpha Leonis, he thought about John Blake:

* Lynette Devereux's Lion PR stunt, which improved morale and High Command's ratings [37].
* Saving Port Medea, destroying Kintark forces, and capturing a carrier [33]
* The destruction of Nexus, when Vincent Buckingham's invasion force was a week away in Kintark territory [59].

When they met on the Zeus, Edwin had been tremendously impressed by John, finding him unassuming and likeable, while possessing an air of confidence and authority that he found himself responding to instinctively.

Then in the meeting with Admiralty, the fact that Lynton was a traitor turned was practically an afterthought, compared to the terrifying revelation of hostile contact by a radically advanced alien species. It was something that Terran Federation High Command had dreaded for centuries, with numerous contingency plans drawn up over the years.

After John left the Zeus, the senior Admiralty reconvened for an emergency meeting. Opinions varied radically in the approach they should take towards this potential threat, as well as how to handle John, now that he had revealed his true nature. They'd finally chosen to-

Suddenly, the klaxon warns them of inderdiction, and the the entire fleet is pulled out of hyper-warp and dumped into Alpha Leonis.

Fleet Admiral Vincent Buckingham has overall command of the Terran forces. His armada is made up of four separate task forces, each group led by one of the three dreadnoughts, with the massive fleet carrier at the centre of the formation.

* Admiral Edwin Caldwell: Retribution of Zeus
* Admiral Ricardo Santini: The Sword of Sif
* Admiral Carl Weber: Odin’s Thunderbolt
* Admiral Jayanti Mishra: Shiva the Destroyer

There had been interdiction beacons concealed in the asteroid belts where scores of Kintark forces had powered down and hid. Among the Kintark, Edwin saw Gabrielle Lynton's battleship, Thor's Hammer. "*Fucking bitch!*"

The Invictus heads towards Iota Leonis, Calara figuring the Terran Federation forces will be heading to Port Medea for its support facilities. They need to drop off their 600+ passengers. Suddenly, they pick up the battle with their sensors. Irillith gradually piles the Sector Map with an increasing number of details as Calara absorbs the entire battle.

A brace of Kintark Cruisers launch plasma missiles at the Helios, destroying its shields and leaving scars on the hull, so Caldwell calls Commodore Obeng telling him pull back behind his cruiser screen to draw them after him.

The temperamental Ricardo Santini is not impressed by his assignment. He desperately wants to go after Lynton.

Each Kintark attack group has over a hundred major vessels per Kintark attack group, not including their destroyers and strike craft. The Kintark's cruisers and battleships probe for weaknesses, while the Terran ships form battle formations to exchange barrages at extreme range.

Admiral Weber and Admiral Mishra position their forces to launch a counter strike to overwhelm and crush the lower Kintark group, after which they'd regroup and converge on the second of the Kintark positions. Caldwell's force, spearheaded by the Retribution of Zeus, is going to weather the storm from the upper Kintark group, while Santini protects the fleet of support ships.

They see the traitor forces hanging back, and Alyssa realizes the Tyrenium they sold to Charles was used to make the Singularity Drivers on Lynton's dreadnought, the Thor’s Hammer.

Gabrielle Lynton, being a strategist herself, knows Buckingham is repositioning his forces for a counterassault, but she decides not to warn the Kintark. There's someone else she wants to call: the hot-headed Ricardo Santini. She taunts him, questioning his manhood and sexual stamina.

High Prelate Zorlin contacts the Leenar'tohok, telling Grakira to order the fleet to close to medium range while maintaining formation, and to watch for his target designations.

Santini's dreadnought, The Sword of Sif, had peeled away from the defensive positions around the support fleet, taking two-thirds of that task force with it. The errant Admiral was leading his battleships, half his cruisers, and his picket screen of destroyers and corvettes, on a beeline towards Lynton's group of traitors. All that was left was just over a dozen cruisers, along with the light and medium carriers, which left a gaping hole in their defensive lines. The Kintark launch strike craft, racing towards the Terran lines.

On the Invictus, the plan was to defend the Damocles, and then hunt down Lynton when the dust settles. Until Calara sees the battlegroup sent after Lynton. Now if they continue their counterassault, the remaining battlegroup will get slaughtered.

Vorlin studied the battlefield. As the forces of both sides closed the distance, the plasma fire from the Kintark Cannons struck harder, the glowing green bolts having less time to lose cohesion. Unfortunately, the Terran ships were more accurate with their answering barrages, and many more of the orange laser beams were slashing into his ships. He saw icons for the Genash'tor, the Barrack'tor and the []Aranan'tor]] flash red as their shields were overwhelmed. This allowed for the Terran Heavy Cannons to be brought to bear, and they took a terrible toll on the three unfortunate cruisers

Gabrielle Lynton watched gleefully as Santini’s battlegroup approached. Although it outnumbers hers, she has a surprise for him. She tells the Gunnery Chief, Commander Geroux, to power up the Singularity Drivers, and wait for her command.

Ailanthia, her master's Matriarch, telepathically tells her to prepare herself.

*High above Lynton’s dreadnought, a vast black shape loomed. Haunting the Regulus system like an ominous spectre, the enormous vessel seemed to observe the petty struggles of the mortals below with disdain. It was just possible to make out its sinister profile by looking directly at it, and noting an absence of flickering stars, as its form blended in with the pitiless darkness of space.*

*As if summoned from the ether, a purple maelstrom of immense power began to coalesce off the starboard bow, growing in strength by the second. Flickering violet lightning surged around that terrifying, otherworldly vortex, until it reached the apex of its strength, and was blasted outwards. The purple beam throbbed as its terrible power was unleashed, the column of seething energies striking the unknowing dreadnought amidships.*

The Sword of Sif lost shields immediately as sickly purple rings pulsed out from the point of impact. Its guns were disabled too. Gabrielle told her crew to open fire.

Lieutenant Ryan Murphy ("**Leprechaun"**) and his team, lead by Commander Angela Summers, had launched their Rapiers from the Zeus to combat the Kintark heavy fighters. Snakebite's, Romeo's, and Angel's Rapiers get destroyed, leaving only Binary and Murphy in Squadron 260.

The Kintark now have strike craft superiority, and the Damocles is about to engage Lynton's forces. Without Santini's dreadnought, they won't last did long, so John decides to thin the heard, and Jade takes the Raptor to take on the fighters and bombers.

They drop out of hyper-warp a short distance from the tail-end of the Terran Federation flotilla.

They take the Invictus on a line through the intersecting forces before they head to the Damocles, Calara obliterating whole fighter wings in an instant, with the fast-tracking turrets destroying over twenty Kintark ships per second at their peak efficiency. Calara lets Faye take over the Pulse Cannons, and switches the weapon controls to the Beam Lasers and Mass Drivers.

Gabrielle Lynton trembles in fear. John Blake is coming for them.

Caldwell has lost over a dozen cruisers already, with no indication, and his battleships, Helios, Hyperion, and Pallas, have been savaged as well.
Suddenly, a hears a cheer spread throughout the Bridge. The Lion is here.

The Invictus shot four Mass Driver shells into a Kintark battleship that Admiral Weber's battle group were in a heated exchange with, and then sliced it in half with Beam Lasers.

As everyone cheers for John, Caldwell realizes that it wasn't only John Blake's *ship* that had grown powerful, and wonders if Lynette Devereux had any idea of what she’d created.

Something huge and white surges past Murphy's ship, blinding him with blue laser bolts, but leaving him unscarred and his Tactical View clear of the red gems that represented Kintark fighters. Murphy and Binary regroup with the rest of the fighter wings. Their new objective is to destroy the dozens of bombers heading straight for the Terran capital ships.

High Prelate Grakira tells High Prelate Zorlin she's going after the Lion with half of her forces.

Jade departed the Invictus' Hangar Bay in the Raptor, feeling a thrill of anticipation.

A sizeable portion of the lower Kintark fleet seemed to be withdrawing from the firefight with the Terrans to pursue the Invictus. John decides to power up the Nova Lances and has Rachel open a group broadcast to all ships in Lynton’s Fleet.

Murphy's group receives a broadcast from Jade, a Lioness, saying she's there to help. Whisky asks her to help with the fighters. She'll give them a head start on the bombers, but she wanted the fighters. All 80+ Kintark heavy fighters.

Caldwell was amazed at how fast the Raptor is, and that something so small can carry Beam Lasers. Now the Terrans have strike craft supremacy. He told Lieutenant Commander Adriana Castelo, in charge of Fighter Command, to launch all bomber wings.

Rachel opened a video comm to the traitor ships, and prompted telepathically by Alyssa, also broadcasted it to all ships.

John yelled at everyone to cease fire. He locked eyes with Gabrielle, who started to stammer. He snapped at her, saying that he's taking custody of her ship and will deal with her later, and then cut her off. He informed the traitors about the truth about Gabrielle. She doesn't care about the rebellion, is a slave a different master, and played them for fools.

A Commodore sneered mockingly at him that John was just a *fucking* puppet of the Terran Federation. Why should they listen to him?

"*Because if you don’t, I will personally execute all of you for treason.*"

The Commodore laughed mockingly. Calara fired the Nova Lances straight through the front of the Kratos, Alyssa using retrothrusters to lift the nose of the Invictus, gracefully slashing along the full length of the battleship. It left a hundred-meter-wide rift. John asks the traitors if anyone else wishes to be stepped on. Sasaki asks, "*What are your orders, Sir?*"

John offered anyone who joins him and fights the Kintark will be granted clemency. No one rejected the offer.

Irillith takes control of Lynton's ship, Thor's Hammer. John wants to talk to Lynton, who ran, but Irillith locked her between security doors. John said to let her go, and funnel her towards a shuttle bay. They'll capture her with the tractor beam and interrogate her on the Invictus.

Jade saw a series of explosions ripple across the Terrans battleship, Astraeus, and decides it's time to hunt some bigger game: Kintark destroyers.

Gabrielle doesn't question her good luck and takes a shuttle, flying towards the empty, black void where she knew her master's ship was lurking. She receives a message from John telling her she can't hide. She tells him she won't be sticking around.

She saw a flicker of purple light among the darkness as Ailanthia murmured, ***You’ve earned your reward, Gabrielle.**"*

It was ten seconds from tractor range in the Invictus, when suddenly *a pulsating purple beam appeared from out of nowhere, and slashed across space to strike Lynton’s shuttle, obliterating it from sight. Her image on the viewscreen flickered out, her expression frozen in a look of rapture before she was slain.*

It's the Progenitor ship. A swirling circle of ghostly pale light forms in front of the black ship, and expands large enough to encompass it. The wormhole creeps along the black hull, spiralling slowly as it went, highlighting the ship's unique and sinister design. In its wake, the portal seems to swallow up the Progenitor vessel, transporting it instantaneously to some unknown destination.

Dana hunches over, massaging her temples as she experiences another tip-of-the-tongue feeling.

John realizes that the Progenitor was watching the entire battle, so he's seen the full extent of the Invictis' capabilities.

The battle lines were now haphazard with the loyalist and reformed traitor forces lacking coordination. John told Calara to assume strategic command of that battlegroup and coordinate the fleet engagement with the Kintark. Faye takes over the Beam Lasers and Pulse Cannons while Alyssa takes over the Mass Drivers.

Jade destroys destroyers and finally starts take a little damage, but she still has her shields.

High Prelate Zorlin tries to retreat but the interdiction beacons are still active, controlled by the Thor's Hammer. He's trapped.

Flight Lieutenant Ryan Murphy landed his Rapier back on the Zeus, surprised to still be alive. Only 19 out of 149 fighters made it back alive. Mourning the loss of his teammates, he sobs in Binary's arms.

Edwin Caldwell was astonished by the turn of events. High Prelate Zorlin, the leader of the Kintark forces, contacted Fleet Admiral Buckingham and begged to surrender. The Terran Federation had taken dreadful losses. From a starting strength of nearly 180 cruiser class warships or larger, 37 cruisers were destroyed, and the total loss of eight battleships.

However, the Kintark had suffered worse, with half of their forces now shattered ruins: over a hundred cruisers, carriers, and battleships. He doubts the Kintark Empire will recover.

Using the combined Terran Federation forces, they had lured in the pursuing Kintark battlegroup by appearing to rout as a disorganised rabble. The Kintark vanguard chased after them in a reckless pursuit, and the Terran forces had their reserves with a feint from the left. Another group had split and seemed to be running to the right, which the Kintark had ignored as they chased after the seemingly disorganised forces in the center. With the Kintark forces strung out and separated, all the Terran forces suddenly rallied at the precise opportune moment, falling upon their pursuers from multiple directions, and taking them apart in an unmatched display of tactical genius.

Although Edwin personally liked John, he felt a deep sense of foreboding about what happened that day.

John, extremely nervous, calls Jack on the Damocles and asks if he wants to have a beer and chat. Jack acted formal at first before John nipped that in the bud.

Jade returns, and Sakura wakes up, asking if she missed anything.

## Battle Data

### Ally Casualties

* 37 cruisers
* 8 battleships

### Enemy Casualties

* 100+ cruisers, carriers, and battleships