Three Square Meals Ch. 073

Tashana felt her rage simmering beneath the surface, the seductive call of the flames whispering to her subconscious. All she had to do was surrender to that burning sense of hatred, and she'd be able to incinerate this place, leading everyone in a merry dance as she swathed them in her alluring amber blaze. Her mother, her sister, her cousin, the thralls, the inferno building within her was happy to play with everyone.

Tamping down her rage, she reminded herself that not everyone had been lost, not yet at least. There was still time to avert disaster and try and save the Maliri from -him-. She felt a shiver of fear course through her, and the spark burning within her was doused once more. Letting out a shuddering sigh, she steeled herself for what she needed to do next. Tashana had a plan now, she just needed to see it through, and she grabbed her red jacket from the back of the chair and tugged it on.

Her quarters felt oppressive and stifling, but that was okay, she needed to leave now anyway. Striding towards the door, it opened as she approached, and Tashana glanced either way to check it was clear. There wasn't much foot-traffic near the guest quarters, so she slipped out of her room without seeing a soul. It had been years prior to her banishment since she'd stepped foot on Genthalas, but she knew the layout of the station fairly well, and it was easy to find her way around.

Keeping a wary eye out for other Maliri, she strolled along the corridor, heading towards her intended destination. She started to see lots more Maliri on her route, as she was walking into a much busier part of the station, but it came as a huge relief to see they were all dark-haired women. She ignored the occasional inquisitive glances, knowing they were merely due to curiosity about her golden mask. There were soldiers here too, amongst the merchants and base personnel, but they paid her no undue attention, beyond a cursory glance.

Her heart was pounding in her chest by the time she reached her goal. She stopped in the huge Docking terminus, and glanced around until she found what she was looking for: one of the holographic registers that listed the ships landed in each Docking Bay. It was being used by a sour-faced Maliri merchant, who seemed to be glowering at one of the bay listings, probably furious at some petty rival or something equally trivial.

"Are you done?" Tashana snapped after a minute, her patience wearing thin.

The Maliri woman was startled out of her reverie, and turned to look at Tashana before blinking in surprise at the sight of the golden mask with its mocking smile. The merchant scowled, and replied dismissively, "I didn't order a jester. Go and bother someone else."

Leaning forward Tashana growled, "You better fucking move, while you're still able to walk."

The barely concealed threat in Tashana's gravelly voice had the merchant scuttling away in no time, glancing back fearfully over her shoulder as she fled. Tashana watched her leave, just in case she pulled a weapon, then turned back to look at the holographic list of all the occupied Docking Bays. Genthalas seemed busier than she remembered it, with more merchant traffic around than the last time she'd been at the station.

Scanning down the list, she saw one bulky freighter after another, or at least as much as any Maliri vessel could be considered bulky. Still, none of those ships were what she was looking for. She needed something fast and relatively small, so that she could easily overpower the crew, and would have no trouble manning it herself as she made her escape. Reaching the end of the list she was dismayed to not find anything that fit the bill, and blowing out her breath, she reluctantly started to consider stealing one of the cumbersome merchant ships.

A flashing icon near the bottom of the list caught her attention, and she pressed it curiously, wondering what it signified. The Docking Bay listings disappeared as they were refreshed, and Tashana looked on in amazement as a second set of occupied Bays were listed. She was astonished to realise that her mother had expanded the operational sections of Genthalas, bringing more of the massive station online for the first time in centuries. Of course, it made sense when she thought about it, and she shivered with fear as she felt the repercussions the Progenitor was already having on House Valaden.

Turning her attention to the ship listings again, she scrolled down through the military ships and trading vessels until she froze, staring at one of the entries in surprise. Oh, that one was just perfect! Letting out a throaty chuckle that drew a few curious glances from passers-by, she whirled away from the holograph console and walked briskly towards the docking bays to take a closer look at the ship she'd chosen.

She had a lightness to her step as she strode along the wide corridors. This stroke of luck would make everything so much easier, and she smiled behind her mask, feeling a sense of hope that she might just be able to escape from this nightmare after all. As she was approaching one of the docking bays, she heard a deeply chilling sound coming from inside, which instantly dispelled her bright mood and froze her in her tracks. She could hear joyful laughter and light-hearted chatter. Such sounds were horribly out of place anywhere in Maliri Space, but especially so on Genthalas station, and she knew there was only one explanation for it.

Moving swiftly to dart behind a blocky vending station, she ducked out of sight, pressing herself up against the broad cabinet. Lots of footsteps were approaching along the corridor, and she didn't have to wait long before a score of white-haired thralls glided past her hiding place. She could see the broad smiles on their faces as they laughed and joked with one another, all their natural guarded suspicion evaporated in the company of their fellow slaves.

Tashana felt a surge of pity for the enthralled Maliri, and shook her head with regret as she watched the smiling, happy women stroll away up the corridor. She was too late to save them, but it wasn't too late to save the rest of her people from enslavement. Stepping away from the vending machine, she was about to continue on towards the docking bays, when she heard more cheerful conversation from up ahead.

She was forced to duck back a second time as another big group of Maliri left the nearby docking bay and walked past her concealed position. Just like the first group, they were all white-haired, and smiling and talking pleasantly without any signs of distrust or guarded wariness. It was obvious that the Progenitor was moving fast to consolidate his position, and quickly building an army of thralls to do his bidding. She counted twenty-five Maliri as they walked past her, all completely oblivious to her presence.

From listening to fragments of their conversation about working on a ship refit, the thralls seemed to be engineers rather than soldiers, which left Tashana more than a little confused. It would have made more sense for the Progenitor to sweep through the barracks first, dominating the garrison of troops stationed at Genthalas, before turning his attention to support personnel. She shuddered as she realised he might have done so already, and his insidious control of the Maliri on the station might be proceeding faster than she had anticipated. However as she mulled that over, Tashana recalled seeing the dark-haired soldiers back in the Docking Terminus, so that theory didn't quite seem to fit.

She paused for a moment and glanced down the corridor longingly. The docking bay she needed was just up ahead, but it was too dangerous to loiter around there, not with this many thralls about. It was clear that a scouting mission was too risky, and she'd just have to trust everything would work out when she put her plan into action. Not wanting to risk running into any more thralls, she backed away up the corridor, moving furtively behind the white-haired Maliri engineers who'd just finished their shift.

Her tension lifted when the thralls took a left turn and appeared to be travelling towards the dining concourse where she knew there were dozens of restaurants. She waited until they'd all disappeared from sight, then rushed along the corridor as she made her way back to the guest suite. Her mind was a blur of worried thoughts, and she wasn't paying as close attention as she should have been. As she half-jogged along the corridor, and took a quick glance over her shoulder to check that she wasn't being followed, someone walked out in front of her. They crashed into each other, sending both of them tumbling to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

Tashana scrambled clear, and darted a look at the woman who'd crossed her path. Expecting a stern rebuke for clumsiness, her own profane retort was already on her lips, but it died when she saw the woman's white hair.

"Oops! I'm really sorry about that, it was totally my fault!" the thrall said with an embarrassed chuckle. She let out a happy, wistful sigh as she continued, "Today's just been so amazing, I was lost in my own little world!" Rising to her feet, she had a kind smile on her face as she offered Tashana a hand to help her up, and asked, "Are you alright?"

Tashana stared at her in shock, and nearly took the woman's hand in her distracted state. She managed to gather her wits in time, and snatched her fingers away at the last second, before she stammered, "I-I'm fine, don't worry." She scrambled upright, and started to slowly back away from the thrall.

The Maliri woman looked at her with concern, and asked, "Are you sure? You're welcome to join me and my friends for dinner, if you haven't eaten yet. It's the least I could do to make up for knocking you down like that. I just need to go and get my-"

Whatever else the thrall said fell on deaf ears, as Tashana turned and fled along the corridor, desperate to get away from the corrupted woman. She rushed back to Genthalas' guest suites, but was reluctant to return to the confines of her luxurious prison. Instead, she wandered into the observatory again, with its spectacular crystal canopy full of stars, and slumped despondently into one of the gyroscopic chairs.

Tashana hadn't been seated for long, when she heard a woman's angry voice coming from beyond the doors. She was instantly on edge, and glanced over at the entrance to the observatory, wary for danger. When the doors opened, she relaxed when she recognised the young woman who swept into the room.

"That stubborn old goat! Why must she be so damnably awkward!" Valani exclaimed in exasperation. Muttering under her breath, she continued, "Leena doesn't know how lucky she is!"

It was strange to see the kind, placid girl looking so angry, and Tashana sat up in her chair, and asked, "Are you alright, Valani?"

Those pretty teal eyes looked at her in surprise, and Valani gasped, "Oh! I didn't know you were in here! I'm so sorry for barging in on you like this, you must be appalled at my behaviour!"

Tashana smiled despite herself, and gestured to the seat beside her as she said, "I think I'll get over it. Grab a chair if you want."

Valani gave her a grateful smile, then plonked herself down on the adjacent gyroscopic chair, and let out a heavy sigh.

"It sounds like you're upset with someone. What's the matter?" Tashana asked, curious to know what could have riled her up so much.

"All she has to do is sit on House Perfaren's border like I asked! It's not like I've told her to invade or anything!" Valani exclaimed, sounding deeply frustrated.

That certainly wasn't what Tashana was expecting to hear, and she frowned as she tried to make sense of it. "Who are we talking about, exactly?" she asked the pensive young woman.

"Amalaeth, my Fleet Commander," Valani replied, rolling her eyes as she said the woman's name. "I'm starting to think I should have just replaced her when I took control, but the girls thought it would be sensible to keep her in place, just as they've done."

"Your Fleet Commander?!" Tashana exclaimed, looking at the younger woman in shock. "But that means you're a..."

"Matriarch Valani Naestina, at your service," the girl replied, giving her an impish grin. She frowned for a moment, and added apologetically, "Sorry I didn't tell you before, but people start acting a bit funny when I tell them I'm a Matriarch."

Tashana glanced at the cagey bodyguards guarding the doors, and the young noblewoman's ever-watchful security suddenly made a lot more sense. She was about to reply to Valani, and tell her that she understood, but something the Naestina Matriarch had just said made her pause. Watching her carefully, she asked, "You mentioned 'the girls' earlier. Who are they?"

Valani's face lit up as she replied, "Leena Ghilwen, Kali Loraleth, and Nyrelle Aeberos are all new Matriarchs like me. We get together to chat about how to deal with running our Houses, but most of our advice comes from-"

"Wait a minute, all four of you are here on Genthalas?!" Tashana balked, cutting her off abruptly as she stared at the girl in shock.

Nodding exuberantly, Valani replied, "They've been absolutely wonderful! I would have been so lost without their support." She frowned then, and admitted, "I guess I just let Amalaeth get to me because I'm still disappointed about this morning. We'd been waiting to meet him for weeks, but we only got to say a brief hello..."

Tashana looked at her in dread, and asked in a hushed whisper, "Waiting to meet who?"

Valani let out a breathy sigh as she replied, "Oh my goodness, he was so handsome! Edraele said he's really busy with the refit at the moment, but she'll try and arrange another meeting for us tomorrow." Her teal eyes sparkled with excitement as she added, "I know you'd love to meet him, you should come along too! Edraele says he's going to help transform Maliri society! Isn't that amazing?"

Everything suddenly clicked into place for Tashana, and a creeping feeling of horror threaten to overwhelm her. This Progenitor was vastly more cunning than she'd given him credit for, and was wasting no time in using Edraele to secure his stranglehold over the Maliri Regency. With four more Matriarchs under his control, John Blake would soon be able to seize absolute control over the Maliri in a lightning-fast and bloodless coup! She had to get out of there, and warn the other Houses. At this rate, the Maliri would be utterly doomed, forced to live out a horrific existence as mindless slaves, used up in a never-ending series of terrible wars.

She leapt from her chair, and was about to flee from the Observatory, when she suddenly remembered the kind young woman sitting next to her. Valani reminded her so much of herself before her life had been ruined. Optimistic, friendly, and hopelessly naive, at least until that had been beaten and raped out of her in the Unclaimed Wastes. Tashana couldn't just abandon this lovely young woman to her fate.

She stared intently at the startled girl, and said in a hushed, urgent voice, "It's not safe for you at Genthalas, Valani. If you have any sense, you'll avoid John Blake like the plague, and leave on the first transport out of here!"

Shocked by Tashana's impassioned request, Valani just stared at her mutely, then watched as the peculiar, golden-masked woman stalked from the room.

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