Three Square Meals Ch. 126

Gaenna gave her one of those infuriating sly smiles. "That is correct."

This time Sarinia knew exactly what her mother was thinking and relished the feeling of superiority at having discovered Gaenna's plans. "I thought we might all meet together this evening and eat a meal as a family before we depart."

Snorting incredulously, Gaenna looked askance at her eldest daughter. "You can't be serious. What possible reason would you have to make such a ludicrous suggestion? You've wasted enough of my time already, so don't even try to deceive me."

Sarinia grimaced as if her ploy had been uncovered. "Alright, I do have an ulterior motive. I wanted to travel to Genthalas alone to ask about your extended stay here, but Myrdina and the rest of those half-witted fools demanded that they accompany me. They're as obstinate as they are stupid, so they refused all my attempts to convince them to wait on Baelora. Answer me this, mother: If I had appeared at Genthalas on my own, would you have been even half as angry?"

Gaenna leaned back in her chair and considered it for a moment, before shaking her head. "So now you hope to subject your sisters to my wrath for an evening, to get your revenge?"

"I can't think of anyone better to give them what they deserve," Sarinia replied with a cruel smile.

Her mother cackled at her daughter's malicious plot and gestured towards the door. "Leave me, I have work to do."

Sarinia turned to walk away and paused in the open doorway. "And the meal?"

"We'll begin dinner at seven; you can prepare your own food in my kitchen."

"Thank you, mother," Sarinia said, bowing respectfully.

Gaenna watched her leave and smirked as the door slid shut behind her daughter. It seemed she'd done an excellent job of instilling fear and respect in her wayward offspring, enough to keep them in line for the foreseeable future during their banishment to Baelora. As much as it galled Gaenna to admit it, Sarinia in particular was a very capable administrator, and the efficient operation of the planetary systems under House Baelora's control would suffer greatly without her oversight.

Putting that out of her mind, she focused on the holo-screens before her and reactivated the image she was studying before Sarinia's arrival. The picture was taken 130 years ago, when Gaenna was still a relatively young woman of 106. She was standing in profile, her hand caressing her swollen belly, with her first daughter growing in her womb. Gaenna had sent that picture to Filarion to congratulate him on his virility, hoping to keep him interested enough to sire the rest of her noble line.

She gazed at her youthful features, captivated by the way she looked before time began to take its toll with wrinkles and crow's feet. It was thrilling to think that in only a matter of weeks, she'd be able to roll back the remorseless onset of age, leaving her younger and more attractive than she had been over a century ago.

This time, the smile that illuminated Gaenna's face was one of genuine happiness, an expression she hadn't shared with a living soul in more decades than she could remember.

***

John held out his hands and used the manoeuvring thrusters in his Paragon suit to push him away from the Invictus. Glancing upward, he activated the thruster on his back and soared past the concealed Tachyon Beam batteries built into the flank of the battlecruiser. Reaching the topdeck, he maintained the suit's thrust, gaining more height until he was overlooking the length of the Invictus.

Gesturing towards the warship, he reached out with his will, manipulating the psychically reactive metal and drawing it away from the hull. Solid plating began to liquefy, turning into hundreds of glistening white streams that pooled together into a rapidly growing orb of Crystal Alyssium. He left the first 50 metres of plating covering the prow in place, but stripped away the rest of the armour from bow to stern, until the denuded superstructure was fully exposed.

"That's the topdeck done," he said to Alyssa via the suit's comms interface, returning to the yawning door that led to the Primary Hangar. "How are you getting on?"

"I've just stripped the starboard flank," she replied, sounding preoccupied. "I'll move on to the underbelly next."

"Okay, beautiful. I'll see you inside."

He soared over to the port side of the battlecruiser and repeated the same process, using telekinesis to draw away all the deca-shaped armour plates on the flank of the ship. The next step was to merge both spheres of liquid metal into one vast ponderous orb, which he guided down towards the hangar entrance. The white globe was too large to fit inside, so John reshaped the metal several times, counting each iteration to keep track . For the fourteenth shaping, he turned the orb into a long rectangular block and carefully slid it through the open doorway, before laying it to rest on the titanium deck plates.

Using his Paragon suit's thrusters, John glided back into the Invictus and landed lightly on the floor. The Primary Hangar was over 200 metres long, with only 75 metres taken up with the Progenitor Shuttle, which loomed above him like a sinister black spectre. That meant there was still plenty of room for them to work in, while they reshaped the thousands of armoured plates they'd need to protect the Invictus' hull.

He gestured to the immense block of Crystal Alyssium and streamed away more metal, channelling it into a dozen smaller tributaries. Each one formed a two-metre long section of starship armour plating, the shapes becoming rigid once they were the perfect height, length, and width. Those plates dropped to the deck with a clang and the next dozen began to form, repeating with monotonous regularity in a psychically powered assembly line. He studied one of the completed plates and once he was satisfied it was flawless, he looped the shaping task and left it running in his mind.

Removing his helmet, John glanced up at the closest security camera. "Little One? I don't know if you can hear me, but please could you send the maintenance bots to help? I'd like them to stack the armour plates into neat piles."

The camera made a slight bobbing motion, so John hoped that meant the robots were on their way. He turned to watch Alyssa flying into the hangar with two huge spheres floating behind her, the Crystal Alyssium orbs combining into an enormous rectangular block that she dropped on the deck with a weighty clang. She mimicked all the steps he'd performed and soon one of her stockpiles of metal was being shaped into a dozen pieces of starship armour.

"It's crazy to think we're pentadeca-shaping twelve plates of Crystal Alyssium armour at a time now," John said as he approached the blonde. "Do you remember when you struggled to triple-shape a single piece of Invictium for the first time?"

She removed her own Paragon helmet and gave him a fond smile. "We've come a long way since then."

John cupped her cheek and nodded, gently caressing her skin with his gauntleted thumb. "I'm sorry I hurt you earlier. I never meant to put the three of you through any of that."

Alyssa let out a sad sigh and leaned into his hand. "I know, handsome. We all do."

"Are Jade and Edraele feeling any better?" he asked, worried about the unsettled pair.

By mutual agreement, he'd blocked his matriarchs from his thoughts for the rest of the day, while he mulled over alternatives to his plan for Sakura.

"The heartrending agony doesn't last long," she replied, looking up at him with her bright blue eyes. "They're both fully-recovered now."

"Progenitors are such a bunch of assholes," he fumed, angry at himself and his species for inadvertently hurting the women he loved. "I've got to find a way of getting rid of that... side effect. It's horrendous seeing you suffering like that."

"Maybe... but it doesn't change the fact that we've got to prepare for your fight with your guide." Alyssa inhaled deeply then let out her breath in a ragged sigh. "I hate myself for thinking it... but you're right; Sakura is our only option."

"I think it's kinder to not tell her for as long as I possibly can," John said, studying the blonde.

"I totally agree. The less time she has to spend dwelling on it the better. What are you going to say to her to explain all the training?"

"That I'm teaching her to assassinate Progenitors?" he suggested with a wry smile.

Alyssa let out a bitter laugh and nodded sadly. "I guess it's the truth..." she said, looking away.

Wincing at seeing her in pain, John gently lifted her chin so she was gazing into his eyes. "Remember this is only a contingency plan. I've got a lot of rage saved up for that bastard... I'm actually looking forward to this fight."

"He's wronged you and I know you want to make him pay," she said, studying him carefully. "If it wasn't for him, you might have become closer to your parents..."

John shook his head. "As much as I want to blame my guide for deliberately wrecking that meeting with my father, a messy confrontation with Rahn'hagon was always inevitable. He was going to find out the truth eventually... and when he did, he would have been just as angry."

Alyssa frowned with disapproval. "We want you pissed at your guide remember! Thinking about things calmly and rationally won't do at all!"

"Sorry, what was I thinking," John said with a smile. "My guide... what an asshole."

"Damn right," she agreed, leaning in for a kiss.

"Alright, let's get out of this armour," he said, turning to head for the express grav-tubes in the Secondary Hangar.

"This way!" Alyssa said, tugging his hand in the opposite direction. "The new armoury is ready; we can leave our gear there."

"When did that get built?" John asked in surprise.

"While you were sleeping this morning," she replied with a grin. "I think you were so distracted by Tashana, you didn't even notice it was finished."

"She's a very distracting girl," he agreed with a self-conscious smile.

They walked hand-in-hand towards the reinforced doors at the forward end of the Primary Hangar. As they approached, the doors opened and a pair of maintenance bots glided through.

"Thanks for helping out, guys," John said, nodding to them appreciatively.

[+++ stated with humorous intent +++ [Begin quote] No problemo. [/End quote]]

Alyssa smiled at the pair as they approached. "Just let us know if you run into any problems."

The other robot curled his six-digit hand into a thumbs up sign as they floated past. [+++ stated with humorous intent +++ [Begin quote] Hasta la vista, baby. [/End quote]]

John looked at Alyssa blankly when they'd left the hangar. "They say they're joking, but I just don't get it."

She shrugged, not getting their synthetic sense of humour either. "Must be a robot thing."

The pair entered the forward grav-tube and floated up through the levels until they reached Deck Three. Stepping out of the blue anti-gravity field, they walked through the Observatory and into the changing area. Forewarned this time, John noticed the closed door at the end of the walk-in wardrobe, which opened automatically as Alyssa strode up to it.

"Maliri tech... auto-sensors," she explained, sauntering inside. "You're over there at the end."

The room was laid out in the same fashion as the seating arrangements, with John at the figurative head of the table. He walked up to the familiar frame and stood in place so that the robotic arms could remove his lion embossed Paragon suit. There was a weapon rack on the adjacent wall, with his sword hanging above a Tachyon rifle.

"I must have been dead to the world to miss all this," he said to Alyssa as she stepped out of her Paragon boots.

"You don't get to lie-in all that often... we didn't want to disturb you, so we kept the noise down," she explained, following him back to the clothes. She peeled off her jumpsuit and stood before him gloriously nude, her hand on her hip as she struck a coquettish pose. "I'm going to change outfits... unless you need to blow off some steam?"

John smiled and started stripping off his own jumpsuit.

"Really?" she exclaimed in delight, caught by surprise now that she couldn't hear his every whim via telepathy.

Once he was just as naked as Alyssa, John picked her up in his arms and carried her through to the Observatory. He gently laid her down and began trailing kisses down her chest and across her tummy.

"No need for that, handsome," she purred, spreading her muscular thighs. "I'm wet enough for you already."

He lined himself up and pushed his way inside her steaming pussy, gazing into her eyes as she gasped with excitement.

John waited until she calmed, gently smoothing her golden locks away from her face. "I really am sorry I hurt you."

Alyssa's eyes softened and she curled her arms and legs around him in a loving hug. "Oh John..."

They moved slowly together, in no particular hurry to finish. Being unable to hear his thoughts made the experience very different for Alyssa and she gazed into his eyes, trying to guess what he was thinking. He smiled and kissed her, enjoying hearing her moan as she responded in kind.

***

"Auralei, may I speak with you?"

The young Larathyran woman looked up from where she was changing the wriggling baby and gave the older man a strained smile. "Yes, Jonik, how can I help?"

Although the man approaching her was her senior by nearly a century and had been working in the neonatal ward for over fifty years, he still seemed to need her approval for every decision.

"Another 300 babies have been brought in from the Qinbanise district! What are we going to do?!"

She wiggled her slender green fingers at the cooing infant to keep it distracted. "What would you normally do if you found a child that had been abandoned?"

"Have the nursing team check their levels of dehydration and for the severest cases use an intravenous rehydration solution to stabilise their condition," he replied without pause. "For the rest, introduce them to biomilk formula and watch for signs of distress."

Auralei raised an eyebrow. "That sounds sensible to me."

"Oh! Oh, yes, of course," he mumbled, bowing to her graciously. "Thank you!"

She watched as he hurried away, wishing the men would take more initiative. It wasn't just her in this position, the eldest of the surviving girls were all being deferred to by the survivors of the mysterious plague that had wiped out a huge swathe of the population. She was glad to be able to help the orphaned children, but being thrust into a position of leadership was an unpleasant surprise.

Auralei glanced out of the window and looked across the city, her eyes drawn to the Imperial Palace. She couldn't help wondering how her mother's carefully tended gardens were coping without her loving care. Her thoughts turned to Seldanna, and she let out a mournful sigh, wishing her mother were here right now. Feeling a wetness on her leg, she glanced down at the arc of urine coming from the naked baby that was soaking her dress.

"Oh, you little imp!" she playfully scolded the green hued boy on the changing station. "You got me again!"

He chortled, kicking his legs in the air.

She gave one last longing glance in the direction of the Imperial Gardens, then began cleaning up the baby. "You're more important, aren't you?"

The two-year-old didn't answer, but she heard her name being called once more.

"Auralei? May I speak with you again?"

She looked up to see Jonik returning, but this time with two other flustered men in tow. With a sigh of resignation, Auralei realised she wasn't going to get much peace that afternoon.

***

Jade sat in the shallows of the Lagoon, the water lapping around her feet. The room echoed with the squeals and cries of her Lenarran sisters, who were trying to dunk each other under the water. She glanced across at the door leading to the Observatory, knowing that her master was currently in there entertaining Alyssa. Ever since Jade's promotion to matriarch, she'd been able to listen to John's inner voice and she desperately missed hearing him. Fortunately, the blonde Terran had been keeping her informed of his activities and state of mind.

Splashing water close by drew the Nymph's attention back to the Lagoon and she saw her Jaguar-spotted sister wading her way. "Are you alright, Neysa?"

The catgirl nodded, concern evident in her hazel eyes. "You seemed to be troubled by something, Jade?"

Springing to her feet, Jade bounded through the water to join her fellow Nymph. "There's nothing wrong, I was just thinking about our master."

"Ah, I see," Neysa replied, needing no further explanation. "I was wondering if you could teach me something new?"

"You've mastered gills and fins already?" Jade asked, looking quizzically at the brunette.

Neysa held up an arm and a set of rippling hazel-coloured fins sprouted from her limb. She concentrated, her brow furrowing, and they disappeared just as quickly.

"You might be ready to move on to full-body shifting," Jade mused, studying her most adept pupil.

"Will you show this one how?"

"Of course. Now, I usually picture the new form I wish to shift into, then push my body to adapt to that shape," Jade explained. "You'll find it easier to go slowly at first, gradually getting used to an unfamiliar form. Here, I'll show you; this is a dolphin."

Her statuesque figure shimmered in a green haze and she tipped over, lengthening and growing broader as she shapeshifted into the sleek aquatic creature. Jade flicked her tail and raced off around the Lagoon, leaping out of the water and landing with a splash... that soaked the other three Nymphs.

Neysa laughed, clapping her hands in applause. "That was wonderful!"

Jade's dolphin body was obscured by a verdant blur and it faded away to leave her floating there in her familiar humanoid shape. "There. Now you try."

Brow furrowing with the effort, Neysa tried to follow Jade's instructions, but wilfully breaking the limits that restricted her to humanoid forms proved too much of a challenge.

"It's so difficult!" she panted, wilting from the effort. "How did you manage to shift into another creature for the first time?"

Thinking back to the Drakkar boarding action that had prompted Jade's shift into a huge green tiger, she gave the catgirl a rueful smile. "I'm not sure we can recreate those circumstances. Calara was about to be killed by a Drakkar marine and I reacted by instinct to save our master's mate."

Neysa nodded, her expression thoughtful. She closed her eyes then concentrated again and this time the shape of her body shimmered in a greenish-brown haze. It only took a couple of seconds for her to shapeshift, growing slightly in size to a smaller-scale version of Jade's dolphin. She thrashed her new tail and cut through the water like a knife, spinning and leaping with joy.

*How did you do that?!* Jade exclaimed, staring in shock at Neysa who flipped through the air, performing a somersault and drenching her squealing sisters again when she landed.

Neysa powered around the Lagoon and shifted back into her catgirl shape, throwing herself into Jade's arms. "Oh, that was so much fun!"

"How, Neysa?!" her Nymph matriarch asked in astonishment. "There was no one in danger!"

The jaguar-spotted girl smiled and shook her head. "No, but you said you reacted by instinct to save Calara. I just imagined how pleased our master would be if I made progress changing shapes... and it worked!"

Jade blushed and hugged her sister back. "That's brilliant! I wish I'd thought of that, it would've saved me so much hard work!"

*Jade, we're finished,* Alyssa purred, her voice a sexually satiated drawl. *John wants to save Marika for later, so pick one of your other sisters to get a full tummy.*