Three Square Meals Ch. 115

Fighting back the urge to burst into tears herself, Lucyna wiped at her eyes and took a shuddering breath.

"They're here..." Theo whispered, his croaking voice had a hysterical edge to it.

Looking at him in alarm, Lucyna quailed at the thought of the Kirrix returning, "What, Theo? What do you mean?"

"Look!" he blurted out, pointing towards the window with a trembling finger.

Lurching from her chair, she had to steady herself against the desk, not used to the heavy weight in her bloated stomach. Staggering over to the window, she stared up at the sky, searching for any sight of those hideously ugly Kirrix ships. What she actually saw couldn't have left her any more shocked.

The door to her office slammed open and the colony's senior metallurgist looked at her with wild eyes. "Luce, listen to this!" he threw the door wider, jamming it with his boot.

Lucyna gazed at the 100-foot-wide projection of the Lion in awe and heard his strong confident voice booming across the colony.

"-or anyone you know that is infested with Kirrix eggs. Come to the starport where we will use the medical facilities aboard my ship to treat anyone in need of assistance. I say again, citizens of Valia Gate, you are now safe. We are here to protect you and will provide free medical treatment to anyone who needs it."

She turned to look at her husband who was looking at her with tears rolling down his cheeks. "You knew they would come for us," he whispered, shaking his head in disbelief. "You never gave up hope..."

****

John stood in the Secondary Hangar, lost in thought as he stared up at the Raptor gunship.

"I found her!" Sakura called out to him, jogging across the huge room, her Paragon boots making no sound as she moved with the precise step of a lethal assassin.

He turned to face the Asian girl as she reached his side. "Well done, honey. Could you take me to her please?"

She nodded and fell into step beside him as they walked towards the double-doors leading into the Primary Hangar. There were long lines of colonists forming near the treatment area that snaked far back into the vast room, thousands of desperate people all waiting to have the death sentence lifted from their heads... or more precisely, removed from their stomachs. Along that line the Lionesses stood out in their brilliant white armour, as did the Nymphs in their pristine nurses' uniforms. There was a tense atmosphere of strained anticipation hanging over that crowd and John could only imagine what state they'd be in if he'd arrived just a couple of days later.

"This way," Sakura said, touching his arm and leading him into the treatment area itself.

He felt Helene's calming presence brushing against his mind before he saw her, the aquatic girl holding one of the colonist's hands and speaking to him quietly. She sensed John's presence and immediately turned to look his way, a warm smile on her face despite the look of sympathy in her eyes. John glanced at the dejected-looking man on the treatment bed, an unspoken question passing between Helene and himself. She nodded imperceptibly, confirming that he was a parent who had lost a child. Not wanting to interrupt her conversation, he stroked her back as he walked past in a simple gesture of affection.

Sakura led John to the far side of the treatment area, where Rachel was guiding a protesting middle-aged woman over to a bed. The Asian girl stepped closer to him and whispered, "I'll assist the colonists. Let me know if you need anything."

He shared a smile with her, then turned his attention back to Rachel and her patient.

"It's not right that I skip the queue!" the greying-blonde objected, struggling against the brunette's grip as the doctor attempted to bring her to a treatment table. Her eyes darted back to a man near the back of the lines. "Some of these people were raped before me!"

Rachel's smile was sympathetic but determined. "This isn't about giving you special treatment because you're the governor, this is about serving the greater good. As the leader of Valia Gate, you're in a unique position to be able to organise additional aid for those people and it'll be a lot easier for you to do that when you aren't infested with eggs. We have several days to treat every colonist before the eggs begin to hatch and as long as the rest of my patients don't waste my time with arguments, everyone will be fine."

The woman stared at the youthful doctor in surprise, then gave her an embarrassed look. "I'm sorry, Doctor Voss... I didn't realise what you were doing."

"I should be the one apologising, the onus was on me to clearly explain the situation," Rachel said with a warm smile, before gesturing to the treatment table. She turned to greet John as he approached, "Admiral Blake, I'd like to introduce you to..."

"A cantankerous old battle-axe who should know better..." the woman interrupted with a self-conscious grin. "My name's Lucyna Novitsky, but most everybody around here calls me Luce."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Luce," he replied, removing his Paragon helmet and shaking her proffered hand. "Please call me John."

"Everyone knows who you are, Lion," she replied with a chuckle, staring up at him and suddenly freezing, starstruck at meeting the man she'd seen so often on the holo-net.

He patted the table. "You better hop on here before Doctor Voss gets angry at me for distracting her patients." John raised an eyebrow and added, "And forgive me for saying this but you're certainly not old."

"I'm practically a fossil compared to this stunning girl," Lucyna grumbled good-naturedly, jerking a thumb towards Rachel. She squinted at her and added, "Are you sure you're a doctor? Shouldn't you still be in school?"

Giggling brainlessly and leaning closer, Rachel replied in an airheaded whisper, "Actually, I don't even know what half this stuff does! John just hired me to look pretty in a doctor's coat!"

The Governor recoiled, suddenly looking very worried.

"Rachel... don't tease her," John admonished the brunette.

Rachel straightened and studied the older woman with an appraising eye. "Patient is a Terran Female, aged... 49 years old. She broke her right ankle approximately six years ago and the incorrectly set bones resulted in a faint but noticeable limp. Judging by her mild retinal scarring, she underwent corrective laser surgery on her eyes aged... 34. Burns on her right arm and wrist are consistent with a smelting injury sustained in her mid-twenties. Currently suffering from mild Anemia... which could easily be remedied with an iron-rich diet."

Lucyna gaped at her in shock, stunned as the Lioness recited her medical history.

"Mrs. Novitsky is otherwise in good health, with the exception of a Kirrix egg infestation of course. I intend to neutralise the parasites with harmonic wave vibration... should she actually follow my instructions," the brunette concluded with a playful smile.

"H-how did you know all that?" the Governor stammered, staring at the young woman in astonishment.

John helped the unresisting blonde onto the treatment table and eased her down onto her back. "Dr. Voss is exceptionally gifted. I'm not exaggerating when I say that she's the finest physician in the Terran Federation."

"I'm sorry for teasing you," Rachel said, reaching out to pat her shoulder.

"You got me good," Lucyna admitted with a wry smile. Her troubled eyes darted to the queue and she continued anxiously, "And you can definitely treat everyone in time? My husband, he's not doing well... not since... you know."

Rachel nodded, her gaze softening. "Based on our initial headcount, I believe there's approximately 17,000 colonists? We should be finished treating everyone by around eleven this evening."

"Thank you," the governor said gratefully, squeezing her hand. Her voice caught as she added, "There used to be over 19,000 citizens... the children..."

John's expression turned bleak. "Did you... lose someone... from your family?"

She shook her head. "Never got around to having kids... left it too late." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "But I knew a bunch of the little tykes around town... I can't believe they're gone."

"I'm so sorry," he said, gritting his teeth to tamp down a surge of impotent fury.

Lucyna looked up at John as if seeing him for the first time. "You're not at all like how I imagined. You really care, don't you?"

He nodded, trying not to let the anger show on his face as he made eye-contact with her. "Like I said, I'm very sorry for everything you've suffered through."

Rachel placed a hand on his shoulder and said softly, "John, I think Dana and Alyssa want to speak with you."

He gave her a curt nod, then smiled at the governor who was watching him intently. "We'll do everything we can to help. You and your people are in safe hands, I promise."

"Thank you," she said quietly, giving him a brave smile.

He nodded, then turned and walked away, spotting Alyssa waiting for him by the door into the Secondary Hangar. As he left the treatment area, John realised that Rachel had adeptly extricated him from that melancholy situation, and he felt an intense wave of gratitude towards the astute doctor. The sense of gratitude was quickly followed by a flicker of shame, for feeling so uncomfortable around those deeply traumatised people.

He greeted Alyssa with a strained smile. *Faye was right, I've got a real problem with these humanitarian relief efforts. I hate not being able to do anything to help those colonists... it's so damn frustrating.*

*We all have our strengths, John,* Alyssa murmured, her soothing voice echoing through his mind. *You've given girls like Rachel and Helene the skillsets to help those people... you've contributed a tremendous amount just by that alone.*

He let out a heavy sigh. *I was actually considering taking a couple of the girls with me in the Raptor and scouting out the last invaded world. It's going to take the rest of the day to treat these citizens, but it's only a four-hour flight from here to Menganus IV. I thought it might save us quite a bit of time tracking down the last colonists if we start the search right now... but maybe I was just looking for any excuse to avoid being here.*

*Actually, I think that's a great idea!* Alyssa enthused, linking her arm with his and walking into the Secondary Hangar.

*You do?* he asked in surprise.

She nodded, glancing up at him. *Definitely. Jade, Irillith, and Tashana are the perfect choices to accompany you. The twins have to keep their faces concealed around the colonists, so they've been finding it a lot harder to gain people's trust than the rest of us. Irillith's worked out how to communicate with Kirrix ships, so she'll be invaluable... and Tashana knows plenty of smugglers tricks to avoid detection, so I bet she'll have some good ideas for tracking the Kirrix if they try and give you the slip. Finally, you'll be out of range for Faye to fly the Raptor, so Jade's a great choice for pilot... she's only really acting as eye candy here anyway.*

*Yeah, those are mostly the reasons I picked them,* he agreed, pleased that Alyssa thought it was a sensible plan and not just some frivolous jaunt.

As they walked closer to the Raptor, John spotted Dana staring intently at the pair of Pulse Cannons mounted in the gunship's chin turret.

She turned and greeted John with a broad smile, pulling off her helmet as she bounced over to join them. "Hey! I was just thinking about upgrading the Raptor before you leave!"

"I was thinking the exact same thing a few minutes ago," John said looking up at the Raptor. "We'll definitely need to install armour-equipping frames in the armoury. Jade refuses to wear armour, but we need them for me and the twins."

"Installing them won't take much time at all. We could move three from the Briefing Room and I'll build some replacements up there later," Dana agreed with a nonchalant shrug. Her eyes sparkled as she continued, "I was actually thinking more about upgrading the Pulse Cannons to Tachyon Cannons!"

"Tachyon Cannons?" John asked in surprise. "What are they?"

"Basically, a turret-mounted version of the Tachyon rifles!" the redhead gushed with a huge grin.

John glanced at the two-metre-long weapons currently mounted in the turrets. "Won't they take hours to design and construct? We can't afford to lose the time if the Kirrix have fled and we need to track them down."

"Nah... it won't take long," Dana drawled, waving a hand dismissively. "I've been toying with a design for an upgrade to the Pulse Cannons ever since you suggested the Tachyon Rifle. They won't need a portable power core as the gunship has more than enough juice for six of them. We can also ditch the underslung barrel so they'll be simpler to make and the laser part will have way more firepower with a larger focusing chamber!"

"Even so, any time we delay will make it harder to reach the colonists in time," John said, with a worried frown.

Dana shook her head. "With more firepower, you'll have a much better chance of knocking out the hive ships before they can scatter. Just think how many hours you'd waste having to track them if that happens."

He nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good point."

Alyssa stood on tiptoe and kissed John on the cheek. "I'll leave you two to hammer out the details. I've already told Jade and the twins your plans... I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that they're overjoyed at the prospect of joining you on this mission."

Dana's joyful grin faded and she looked at John hopefully. "Are you sure you don't need me to come along too? I could create gravity wells for you to dump the Kirrix out of hyper-warp..."

The blonde laughed and shook her head. "Sparks! You were just with him this morning!"

"Yeah, but it's not the same as going off on a cruise together," she pouted. "It'd be just like you two were on the Fool's Gold..."

"Sorry, Sparks, I need you here to help the colonists. The town took some damage in the invasion, so they'll need to get their comms array repaired," John said with a sympathetic smile. "Besides, this trip isn't meant to be some sex-fuelled romp."

Alyssa raised an eyebrow and looked at him curiously. "Shall I tell the twins to leave their collars behind then?"

"Ah, no, that's okay," he replied, sounding more than a little flustered. "Tashana definitely needs hers, just in case we get in combat... and Irillith might want to... match her."

The blonde laughed as she gave him a knowing look.

Dana couldn't help groaning in envy. "See, I knew it!"

John's face shadowed with regret as he said, "I can understand you feeling frustrated; you must feel short-changed having to share me between so many girls. I'm sorry I can't devote as much time to both of you as you deserve..."

The redhead's expression switched in a flash and she looked at him in alarm. "Oh no, it's not like that at all!"

Alyssa flicked an irritated glance at Dana, then stepped closer to John and cupped his face in her hand. Gazing intently into his eyes, her voice was firm and unwavering as she said, "I don't want you to ever feel bad about spending time with any of the girls. First of all, I practically browbeat you into recruiting all of them, so I'd be the most ungrateful bitch in the galaxy if I started complaining about having to share you. Second, I love it when you're with them. It's not quite the same as being with you myself, but I feel all your emotions and theirs every time you get together... it's a huge rush and I get to experience it several times a day!"

Dana gave him a tight hug. "I absolutely love spending time with you too, but please don't feel bad that we're not together all the time. When you're busy with the other girls, I'm either working on exciting new research or having fun with Rachel. I still get incredibly turned on at the thought of just living off your cum for weeks, but I get why that's not practical right now... not when you're trying to help Helene and the Nymphs get stronger."

He removed his gauntlets and let them drop to the deck with a clang, then gently brushed his fingers through their long silky hair. "It was so much simpler back at the start, when it was just a few of us and I could lavish much more attention on each of you." He moved his thumbs to their mouths, tracing the sensual lines of those lusciously curved lips. "Looking into your eyes as I fed you, over and over again... I miss that intense intimacy."

Both girls responded with quiet moans, giving him smouldering looks of desire as they opened their mouths to envelop his thumbs and suck suggestively.

"All you girls are wonderful in your own way... I just worry about spreading myself too thin and neglecting you." He gazed into their eyes in turn and continued earnestly, "If it was just me and either of you on our own, I'd still consider myself the luckiest guy in the galaxy and relish every moment we had together."

Dana gently stroked his arm, the overhead lights catching the sparkling gemstone adorning her ring finger. Her sky-blue eyes darted to it before focusing on him again.

"That's right. If we were just a regular couple, we'd be married and settled in our new home, our first baby on the way..." he said quietly, picturing it in his mind. "And I'd be the happiest man alive."

The girls released his thumbs and hugged him close. "Oh, John... that sounds amazing..." Dana whispered, tears in her eyes.

Alyssa nuzzled into him and planted loving kisses on his neck. "Just think about the way that makes you feel... but multiply it by all the girls you're closest to. When we eventually retire, you're going to be the centre of our huge loving family. It'll be everything you ever dreamed of..."

He held them both and tried imagining it... the thought was very pleasant indeed.

"But there's over 20 of you now, including Edraele and her girls... I've no idea how I'm going to make time for all of you..." he said, daunted by the prospect. "I'd hate the thought of anyone feeling lonely or rejected."

Dana smiled and kissed him again. "I can't wait to share my pregnancy with Rachel; I won't be able to keep my hands off her when she's all knocked up! I know she feels the same way about me, because we talk about it all the time."

Alyssa nodded, her eyes flashing with desire. "I'll be keeping Calara very entertained, you don't need to worry about her feeling neglected in the slightest. Besides, we'll still be seeing you on a daily basis anyway."

"What about the girls who aren't paired up with anyone?" John asked with concern.

Dana giggled and shook her head. "Do you even pay attention to what we get up to when you're not around? Sakura's not settled down with anyone yet, but that doesn't stop her from having fun with me and Rach, or being Calara's sparring partner in the dojo and the bedroom. I think she hasn't made any commitments because she's having too much fun sleeping with all of us."

Alyssa gave him an eager grin. "And throw the Young Matriarchs and the assassins into the mix? Trust me, we're all going to be very busy little girls..."

*Alyssa, Jade, and I will take care of everything, you don't need to worry about a thing,* Edraele said, her voice soothing. *You'll be free to spend time with whoever you like and no one is going to mind, or complain that you're playing favourites. Whenever you want female companionship, but don't mind who, we'll organise everything to make sure your time with the girls is balanced evenly. You can trust us to make sure that no one will feel starved of attention.*

Nodding her agreement, Alyssa smiled coyly, "It'll be like the system I put in place to work out who was sleeping next to you. There'll be lots going on behind the scenes, but we'll only have done our jobs properly if you don't even notice..."