Three Square Meals Ch. 120

Floating down in the red anti-gravity field, John said, *Sorry I haven't seen much of you today... or yesterday for that matter. You've been working hard training the girls with psychic powers and I feel like I've just been indulging myself.*

Alyssa's melodic laughter echoed over their connection. *You have... and I've loved every minute of it! We have to double-team Leylira sometime... that girl is absolutely wild!*

*She is...* he agreed, stepping out onto Deck Seven. *And I'm glad you've been getting some vicarious enjoyment out of our time together, but I feel like I've been neglecting you and letting the team down by taking a day off.*

The blonde sent him a fond telepathic smile. *Do you remember me telling you how much psychic energy I get from Jade? That she's a powerful telepath and gives me a lot more juice than the rest of the girls?*

*Yes, I remember...* he replied, before glancing at Betrixa in sudden understanding.

*Yeah, exactly,* Alyssa said with great satisfaction. *Those sexy little catgirls you've been screwing senseless are lighting up like supernovas with all the attention you've been giving them. Jade's drunk with power at the moment and you've even managed to get her surging too, what with all the TLC you've been showering on her sisters. Trust me, there's nothing you could have done that was more productive today.*

John paused in the corridor and asked, *Jade, exactly how much more energy have you got?*

*Have a taste, Master!* she giggled, feeding him a deluge of psychic power.

He gasped, his eyes going wide as he felt his body flood with energy. It felt like he was floating in a sea of raw eldritch power, the sensation absolutely intoxicating. Barely managing to control himself, he staggered and fell into Betrixa's arms.

"Thanks, honey," he murmured, leaning heavily on her and feeling thankful that she was so strong. He turned and gave her a grateful smile, then saw her looking at him in awe. "Are you okay?"

Betrixa nodded exuberantly. "Wonderful, Master!"

John frowned in confusion. *I don't get it. I've only spent about four hours with each of the Nymphs today; how could they be giving you so much more energy just from that?*

*You finally committed to them,* Jade explained, sounding giddy with excitement. *You were holding back before and not sharing yourself with my sisters, not the way you had with me. You must feel the difference, John?*

He looked at Betrixa and couldn't help smiling as he felt a surge of affection for the upbeat Nymph. Her face seemed to light up with joy and she hugged him all the tighter.

Jade let out a happy sigh. *Yes, just like that...*

*Well, I'm glad to hear we're benefitting from all my hard work,* he said with a wry smile.

Giving Betrixa a reassuring squeeze, they set off again and soon arrived at the Engineering Bay. When they walked in, John spotted Dana immediately. The redhead was flicking through schematics at an incredible pace, multiple holo-screens showing one blueprint after another in a dizzying array of orange and black lines. Every so often, she jabbed a finger on the console, freezing the flurry of images. Dana would stare at the blueprint in fascination for a few seconds, then continue cycling through them again.

"Hey, Sparks," John called out to her as he led Betrixa to the Engineering Podium. "Found anything exciting yet?"

Dana turned around and was about to reply, when she spotted his catgirl companion. "Wow! You look awesome!" she exclaimed, hugging the shirt-clad Nymph.

"Thank you!" Betrixa replied, enjoying the affectionate embrace.

Pulling back, Dana tilted her head to one side then winced apologetically. "Which one are you again? I must admit, I had trouble telling you apart when all of you were green."

"This is Betrixa," John interjected, stroking her back.

"I remember now... the naughty one!" Dana exclaimed, nodding as she studied the Nymph. She smiled, then leaned in and whispered furtively, "I knew he liked you. He must have, if he turned you into the catgirl version of Alyssa!"

"Hey, that's not what happened!" John protested.

"Beautiful blonde hair... enchanting blue eyes..." Dana teased him. "Has Alyssa even seen her yet? She's not going to be happy..."

Betrixa looked up at him in delight. "Really, Master? I thought you chose these colours because they looked good together... but you actually made me into a catgirl copy of your perfect woman?!"

Before John could reply, Dana nodded emphatically. "Oh yeah! I'm just surprised he didn't make you obsessed with recruiting hot babes for him to knock up!"

The Nymph swooned, her expression one of pure joy.

"Dana!" John exclaimed in frustration, catching Betrixa before she fell and scooping her up in his arms.

Jade giggled in the back of John's mind, sounding even more deliriously happy than before.

*What's going on down there?!* Alyssa demanded, her tone razor sharp.

*Just a little misunderstanding,* John hastily replied. *Dana's reading something into... something... that isn't the case.*

There was a stony silence, then Alyssa burst into laughter.

Dana grinned and gave John a playful nudge with her elbow. "We're just kidding around!" She rolled her eyes. "You should know by now how kinky Alyssa is... I'm just surprised she hasn't suggested the two of you screw Betrixa together!"

"No... not yet, well at least not Betrixa," John said, darting a glance at the Nymph in his arms. He gave the redhead a stern frown and whispered, "But she didn't realise you were joking!"

"Ah..." Dana said, with a guilty look at the starry-eyed blonde feline.

John sighed and adjusted his grip to make sure Betrixa was comfortable. "Oh well, no harm done I suppose. You can't be too happy, right?"

"I don't think so..." Dana replied, with a helpless shrug. She leaned over and kissed the Nymph on the cheek. "Sorry, cute kitty cat."

"I'm his perfect mate..." Betrixa murmured with a breathy sigh.

John raised an eyebrow as he looked at Dana, then glanced at the bank of holo-screens. "Going back to my original question: have you found anything interesting yet?"

The Grand Engineering Overlord nodded gleefully, her sky-blue eyes lighting up. "Oh yeah! Now I know how to build a machine that'll make the perfect cup of coffee!"

"Dana..." he groaned.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist. Alyssa told me about your conversation earlier."

"Yeah, I remember... the coffee machine schematics," he said trying not to laugh and encourage her. "Anything else?"

"Actually, the Vulkat were absolutely beasts with missile tech," she replied, turning and pressing a number of icons on her console.

The holo-screens behind her switched to show missile schematics. John couldn't figure out the details behind each highly-complex blueprint, but the distinctive shape of the missile warheads made it pretty obvious what they were for.

Dana pointed to the images in turn, "Swarm warheads, rocket-based ECCM suites, hyper-warp capable delivery systems, fire-and-forget smart missiles... those spiders really knew their shit. We were very lucky we didn't get into a shootout with Nkkrrit's fleet."

"Well, we know the Vulkat were powerful enough to take down thrall ships..." he said, looking at the images and trying to imagine that battle playing out.

"Yep and I bet there's more missile tech locked up in the archive that I haven't got to yet," Dana said, patting the console. "I'm only about 10% of the way through; Alyssa wasn't exaggerating all that much earlier... I really did find the blueprint for a drinks dispenser."

"I'm amazed you're able to go through those schematics so fast. It sounds like you're doing a great job," he said, giving her an encouraging smile. Glancing down at Betrixa in his arms, he then looked Dana in the eye and added, "It's your own fault I can't give you a congratulatory hug."

The redhead faked a petulant pout. Her expression brightened a moment later as she blurted out, "Oh! I finally had a look at the hive queen's armour!"

*Don't you mean 'Rachel did it'?* Alyssa chimed in airily.

Dana gave John a sheepish smile. "Alright, Rach chopped the thing up, but I did all the analysis myself."

"Did you find anything we might be able to incorporate into our Paragon suits?"

"Their armour is very light for the incredible durability it provides, but that's mostly down to the organic polymer that the hive queens grow naturally. It was interesting, but nothing we can really use... but between the two layers of plating is a liquid gel-like substance that hardens on contact with the air. If I can create a synthetic version of that, I could inject it between the plating layers in our Paragon suits. Then if your armour did get ruptured by a gunshot, the gel would flow into the rents in the armour and provides a temporary seal."

John nodded appreciatively. "That definitely sounds useful."

"I was going to look into that after I've finished with the Vulkat archive," Dana said, looking at him for confirmation.

"Agreed," he said with a smile.

"Did Alyssa mention that we'd finished building the second crystal cultivation bed?" she asked, jogging down the illuminated steps from the engineering podium. Beckoning John to follow, she led him across to the other side of her workshop. "I probably should have set these up somewhere else as they take up a lot of room. Fortunately, the Engineering Bay is enormous, so I'll just leave them here for the moment."

John stopped beside her, looking out across the square platforms. One was completely flat, the surface of the translucent shiny gel reflecting the overhead lights. The platform adjacent to it was covered in a forest of crystalline saplings, the structures partially emerged from the viscous liquid.

"How long will it take to grow them?" he asked, fascinated by the crystal nodules appearing from the gel.

Dana squatted down by the cultivation bed. "See those little ones? They're sized for rifle sized weapons; I reckon it'll take about a week until those Eternity Crystals are fully-formed." She pointed her finger at the next grouping. "Those bigger ones would fit a Pulse Cannon and will take about two weeks... and we're looking at around three weeks for crystals sized for a Tachyon Lance. To replace the focusing crystals in our Nova Lances would take about a month."

"Ouch..." John said with a wince.

"At least we can replace them now," she reminded him, looking relieved. "With both of you cranking them out, we should have more than enough for the Invictus."

"We need to get those schematics to the Ashanath," John thought aloud, studying the cultivation bed. "They'll be the key to mass producing them for the Maliri fleets."

"As soon as we get into comms range with the Maliri, we can transmit them," Dana said, turning to face him. "So long as you don't mind about the Terran Federation getting their hands on those blueprints."

"Let's save them for our first test using a psychic communication device," John suggested. "We can definitely send that to the Ashanath via T-Fed Comms Beacons. After all the trouble we went to in getting the schematics from the Vulkat, I don't like the idea of just handing them out to everyone, even if they can't use them without psychic powers."

"Sure, sounds sensible," Dana said with an amiable smile. "Providing I can find the schematics for something like that in the Vulkat archive..."

John shrugged. "If you can't find anything, I'm sure you'll be able to just invent one."

She laughed as she stood and patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"You're welcome. So... how does this work exactly?" he asked, glancing at the empty cultivation bed.

"Just imagine the size of the crystals you want and think it at the gel... that should do the trick," she explained, giving him a supportive smile.

"Can you show me precisely what you need?"

"Oh, sure!" Dana scampered over to her workbench and returned with a holo-viewer. "Here's some pictures along with the dimensions."

John nodded, memorising the crystals, before focusing on the flat surface of the gel pool. Nothing happened for over a minute and he was about to ask if there was any way of telling if the process had started, when he felt an insistent pull at his mind. Remembering what Alyssa had said about it feeling a little like automatically shaping armour plates, he made no attempt to resist that pull and embraced it instead.

"Any luck?" Dana asked inquisitively.

"I think so," John said, looking at the redhead again. "Alyssa was right; the feeling's not particularly intense... more like background noise. Something is definitely happening though."

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Great! I'll keep an eye on them and let you know when anything starts sprouting."

John shared a smile with her, then glanced down at Betrixa. The Nymph was now slumbering peacefully in his arms, her soft purrs creating a pleasant vibration against his chest. "I think somebody's had a bit too much excitement for one day. I'd better tuck her up in bed."

"Sorry about that," Dana apologised again, stroking the Nymph's long hair. She looked up at John again and grinned. "Do you reckon I'd look cute as a catgirl?"

"Definitely. You'd have tufty red ears and a big bushy tail."

She laughed and waved him goodbye as he left the Engineering Bay.

*Jade, I'm going to put Betrixa to bed in my room. She's still out like a light.*

*We'll meet you there!* the Nymph Matriarch gushed, sounding especially buoyant.

John looked down at Betrixa's lithe legs and saw that blue pulses were still flowing down her slender limbs. It was a nice feeling, knowing that he was helping to make her body sturdier. He had no intention of ever putting her in the firing line, but if she followed the same path as Jade, she'd soon be impervious to anything short of squad support weapons.

He reached the bedroom before the rest of the Nymphs and had gently placed the blonde catgirl in the middle of the bed by the time he overheard her sisters chattering away together. He got up to greet them when they arrived and received an enthusiastic round of kisses from Neysa and Leylira, before they went over to join their sleeping sibling. There were only two green Nymphs left and Jade giggled and gave him a passionate kiss, before pushing him towards Marika.

*Make her even more beautiful, Master!* Jade gushed, waving him goodbye.

He smiled at Marika and kissed her hand, before glancing back at Jade. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I feel just dreamy..." she said with a dramatic sigh, falling back onto the bed.

*Another love drunk... she's as bad as Edraele,* Alyssa remarked, sharing that with the Maliri.

*I admit I have a problem... I can't hold my eldritch power,* Edraele confessed in mock seriousness.

*Admitting you have a problem is the first step,* Alyssa said with sympathy.

John smiled at their banter. *Apparently everyone's a comedienne today.*

"This way, Master," Marika said softly, squeezing his hand.

He let her lead him along the corridor to Jade's room and when they went inside, he saw that it had been cleaned from top to bottom since that morning. Marika padded over to the bed and climbed onto the covers, then knelt there waiting for him with a warm smile of anticipation.

John walked over to join her, then stood by the side of the bed and stroked her thick dark hair. "I'm sorry you had to wait until last, Marika."

"There's no need to apologise. One of us had to, so I volunteered."

Surprised at that admission, he asked, "Why was that?"

"This one thought that you might be tired after a day spent entertaining my more energetic sisters. I wanted to make this as relaxing an evening for you as possible."

"That's very thoughtful, Marika. Thank you," he said, touched by her concern for him. "Shall I give you full access to mind now, so we can get that out the way? Then I'm all yours for the rest of the evening."

She turned and kissed his wrist, then nodded, looking up into his eyes. There was such trust in that emerald gaze, he felt a sudden rush of protectiveness for the kind-hearted Nymph. When she closed her eyes in readiness, he couldn't resist leaning down to give her a tender kiss, leaving a lovely smile on her face when he straightened up.

Marika's telepathic contact was gentle and soothing, with none of the frantic intensity accompanying that of her sisters. John admitted her at once and she slipped inside, her presence filling him with a comforting sense of warmth. She took her time exploring, lingering over certain memories as she endeavoured to learn everything she could about him. Finally, she let out a quiet sigh of contentment and was obscured by a rich brown haze. When it faded away, she looked up at John and held her breath, obviously waiting for his verdict.

She had adopted the same part-feline, part-thrall body as her sisters, acquiring the same pointed cat-like ears and flicking tail. However, that was where the similarities ended. Her skin was now a striking pattern of silver and black stripes, immediately making him think of a tabby cat. Her long hair had turned jet-black, with silvery highlights adding texture and volume. A set of gorgeous brown eyes drew him in with their depth and warmth, showing only gentle affection for her master.

"You look beautiful," he said honestly, stroking her ears.

Marika smiled with a mixture of relief and contentment, then moved back on the bed to make room for him. "Join me, Master. Let this one bring you pleasure."

John stripped off and joined her on the bed. He expected her to want to move straight to sex, but instead, she had him lie on his front. She straddled his back, then began to massage his shoulders, her strong fingers easing out the knots in his muscles. That turned into a full body massage and by the time she'd finished half an hour later, he felt incredibly relaxed.

When he was lying on his back, Marika mounted him, then continued the massage using her internal muscles to grip and squeeze his cock. She lay across his chest, gazing lovingly into his eyes as she stroked him with a subtle rolling motion of her hips. Sex with her was slow, unhurried, and incredibly sensuous, the Nymph's attention focused entirely on making this as pleasurable an experience for him as possible. The tantric-like lovemaking seemed to last for hours, leaving John immersed in a state of blissful nirvana. When he finally climaxed, it felt like he was pouring his heart and soul into her, with Marika's soft cries letting him know that she'd joined him in his release.

It took him a while to regain use of his senses and when he did, John saw that Marika was still sitting astride him, her hands cradling her cum-stuffed belly. Muted brown pulses of light were sweeping over her body and she gazed down at him with a look of complete devotion.

"That was unexpected," he said, pulling her down to join him. "But very welcome..."

"For me as well, Master," she murmured, settling on the bed with her back to him.

John spooned up behind her and encircled her in his arms, placing a hand on her rounded abdomen. "You're very different to your sisters," he said, kissing her shoulder. "In a way I really like."

Marika turned so that she could kiss him, her lips soft, warm, and wonderfully inviting. It was like being reunited with a long-lost lover, the sense of intimacy and strength of their connection taking him by surprise.

"Tell me about our future, Master," she whispered when they ended their kiss, snuggling into his affectionate embrace. "Fill my head with thoughts of kittens..."

"Is that what you want? To have my children?" he asked, caressing her tummy. "I think you'll be a wonderful mother... you're so kind and caring..."

Marika began to purr, nuzzling into him as she listened attentively to his every word.