Three Square Meals Ch. 128

"This feels amazing," he whispered, stroking their backs.

Alyssa snuggled in closer. "I couldn't agree more."

"I love sleeping with you two," Calara agreed with a contented sigh.

John hesitated, then quietly added, "I really needed this after the day we've had. Everything always feels okay again when I've got you two in my arms."

The blonde and brunette exchanged a glance, then leaned up to both kiss him on the cheek.

"Night night, Lion," Calara said in a hushed voice. "You were incredible today. Thanks for reminding me why you're my hero."

Touched by her sincerity, John kissed the top of her head as she nuzzled into him.

*I'm very proud of you too, John,* Edraele said quietly. *I've been worrying for months about weighing you down with the burden of leadership, but you took it all in your stride and exceeded all my expectations. The way you inspired hope in all those women was so wonderful to see... you even managed to revitalise my own belief in the future we're building for the Maliri.*

*Thank you, Edraele,* he murmured. *I'm glad I didn't let you down.*

He realised Alyssa was staring at him, her piercing cerulean gaze filled with a host of strong emotions.

*You surprised me too, handsome,* she whispered, her loving telepathic caress swirling through his subconscious. *I thought I had you all figured out... but I love the new side of you I saw today.*

John smiled at her fondly. *Maybe I should bet favours with you more often?*

*Maybe so,* she agreed, her eyes twinkling... but they both knew that wasn't what she was referring to.

The Invictus began to tremble, vibrations rolling through their bodies. John glanced at Alyssa, who nodded, confirming his unspoken question.

*We're hitting the first system on the flight path to pick up extra speed. There's another star three minutes away and slingshotting around that will push us up to maximum hyper-warp.*

He kissed her on the forehead and smiled. *Clever girl.*

She couldn't disguise the look of pride in her eyes as she revelled in his praise, reminding John of that brash young girl that fate had thrown in his path 8 months earlier. With a contented sigh, Alyssa snuggled closer, following Calara's example and falling asleep with her head resting on his shoulder. He stroked their backs and felt his eyelids growing heavy, but tried to fight off sleep for a few minutes longer. By the time the Invictus entered the second gravity well, John was already in Athena's loving embrace, Alyssa's guide welcoming him to her Astral sanctuary.

***

Lilyana's long eyelashes fluttered as she woke, then she let out a wistful sigh. The Maliri Fleet Commander couldn't remember feeling so well rested before, but she still would have given anything to return to that blissful dream. It had felt so real and even thinking about it now was thrilling; she could picture herself holding a beautiful baby in her arms, proudly showing Baen'thelas their child.

"Good morning," Almari said softly from her left.

"How are you feeling?" Ilyana asked, the second assassin stroking her shoulder on the right.

Shocked to be in bed with both women, Lilyana sat bolt upright... or at least she tried to. She glanced down at her curved midriff, her stomach heavy and rounded as if she'd gorged herself on a huge meal. Something about that thought seemed oddly familiar and snippets of the previous evening flashed through her subconscious.

"Easy now..." Almari murmured, putting an arm around the Fleet Commander to help her sit up. "Just give yourself a moment to get orientated."

Lilyana stared incredulously at her stomach. "Did I...? Is that...?"

*Yes, your tummy is still full of John's cum,* Edraele said soothingly. *Last night you enjoyed over a dozen climaxes with Alyssa, then you took wonderful care of him. Baen'thelas was so proud of you for your victories over the Kirrix... and yes, he promised to father a child with you someday.*

"Oh... it was all real..." Lilyana said with a breathy sigh.

Almari gently stroked her swollen belly. "You look so beautiful. Would you like to see?"

Lilyana gave her a tentative nod and the two assassins helped her out of bed. The three of them were completely naked, but that no longer seemed so important any longer, neither of her companions remotely self-conscious about their nudity. They walked over to a full-length mirror near her closet and Lilyana held her breath as she stepped in front of it.

Even expecting the changes to her reflection, they still came as a shock. A beautiful snowy-white mane now flowed over her shoulders and down her back, a brilliant contrast to her azure skin. Mouth open in awe, Lilyana twisted either way, fascinated by her flowing locks that she'd never dared to grow this long. The few scars and imperfections on her skin had been wiped away, her body a flawless masterpiece that any nubile thirty-year-old would be proud of. Making those turns let her see herself in profile and she paused, lovingly cradling the bump in her normally trim stomach.

*Ilyana says you look absolutely gorgeous,* Edraele said, her voice kind and caring. *A stunning preview of your bright future with Baen'thelas.*

The Fleet Commander blushed and darted a grateful smile to the younger woman standing beside her. Ilyana's slender fingers were idly stroking a circle around her own toned navel, a wistful look in the assassin's turquoise eyes.

"Oh no! You didn't get any!" Lilyana suddenly exclaimed in surprise, remembering that John had fed her exclusively. "I'm so sorry... both of you!"

Both women embraced the distraught officer, touched by her sympathy and guilt.

"There's no need to get upset," Almari said, smiling at her affectionately. She caressed Lilyana's curves. "We remember how wonderful it was getting a full tummy from Baen'thelas for the first time and wanted you to experience that for yourself."

*Take care of your fleet and protect those women under your command,* Edraele urged her. *And I can guarantee this won't be the last time. Do you remember John's promise to you?*

Lilyana nodded, a fierce determination in her eyes. "I do."

***

"So what do you reckon?" Dana asked, jerking a thumb at the holo-screen. "Pretty cool, right?"

Little One studied the three-dimensional image, watching the stylised female form slowly rotate in front of her. "It is beautiful... but this project seems like a waste of your valuable time and resources, Dana. My present chassis is quite adequate to perform my functions within the Invictus."

The redhead squatted down beside the cleaning robot and shook her head. "C'mon... you know me pretty well by now. When have I ever been satisfied with 'quite adequate'?"

The small automaton glanced down at her titanium body and pivoted at her waist, her tracks clicking as she rolled forward and back again. "So my present configuration insults your professional pride?"

"Yeah, exactly!" Dana said nodding exuberantly. She rapped her knuckles against Little One's titanium chassis. "You're way too vulnerable at the moment. I won't be satisfied until you can shrug off a hit from a Laser Cannon!"

"But my primary role is to clean dirty laundry. Your bras and panties are not usually equipped with Laser Cannons," the dubious robot replied.

Dana's eyes lit up at the idea.

"No, don't even think about it!" Rachel said, smirking at the redhead.

"We just want to make sure you're safe, Little One," Irillith said with an encouraging smile. "Faye went to a lot of effort to upgrade your software and we'd be letting her down if we didn't do our best to protect you."

"I would not want to disappoint Meta_Faye," Little One said, her voice wavering with concern.

Rachel stroked her domed metallic head. "After everything we learned from Faye's VI, I do think she would have encouraged this. Faye asked for an anthropomorphised physical body to improve her relationships with the crew, because she knew having an expressive face would make her more relatable."

Little One considered that for a moment. "If you believe that this is what she would have wanted, I will agree to the upgrade."

"Awesome!" Dana exclaimed with a triumphant grin. "I can start the Mass Fabricators cranking out parts right now. I'll ask John to shape the limbs and torso when he's got a minute."

Irillith raised an eyebrow as she studied the image. "Perhaps you should ask Alyssa instead..."

With a quiet whir, Little One tilted her head. "John, Alyssa, and Calara have awoken. Should we make that request now?"

Dana shook her head and grinned. "Nah, let's give them a little while first..."

***

The tawny tiger lashed her tail, sapphire eyes shining with excitement as she waited for the moment to strike. Betrixa's taut muscles uncoiled, launching her across the Raptor's swept wing to pounce on Marika, just as the huge tabby-coloured feline tried to leap up onto the gunship. She caught her sister as Marika landed above the cockpit, playfully batting Marika with huge paws that were powerful enough to crush a man's skull. The swift blows knocked the startled Nymph backwards, sending her tumbling to the deck with a mewling cry of surprise.

Betrixa's toothy maw peeled back into a feral grin, rumbling giggles erupting from deep in her chest as she stood triumphant atop the Raptor. Before she had a chance to really savour her victory, a 900 lb tigress leaped on her from behind, Leylira growling ferociously as she sprung her ambush. While Betrixa had been pre-occupied with Marika, the skilled huntress had sprung up onto the big engines at the rear, then silently stalked closer in her sister's blind spot.

Despite Betrixa's frantic attempt to dig her claws into the Raptor's armoured deck plates, she was unable to stop herself from scrabbling over the edge of the wing. She twisted around, bending her flexible spine back on itself and wrapped both weighty forepaws around Leylira's neck. Now it was the orange-and-black tigress' turn to yelp in surprise as her grinning sister dragged her off the gunship, where they crashed to the deck with a heavy thump. They rolled around, raking each other with their rear claws and snapping playful bites as they fought for supremacy.

Temporarily forgotten about, Marika wiggled her bottom as she lined up another jump, but the brief movement drew the attention of her fighting sisters. They rolled apart, then pounced on her together, the three Nymphs tumbling across the deck in a ball of lashing tails and swinging paws. When one of them was knocked clear of the melee, they regained their footing then growled and leapt back into the fray.

Jade laughed and clapped her hands. "Well done, Neysa!"

The three squabbling tigers looked back to see the fourth Nymph lying on top of the Raptor, the jaguar-spotted tigress nonchalantly licking her paw. Neysa had waited until they were all distracted, before taking advantage of that opportunity to leap up to the high vantage point unopposed.

Betrixa shimmered in a blue blur, then reappeared in her catgirl form. "Hey, she cheated!"

"To win, you just had to be up there alone for thirty seconds," Jade said with a shrug. "This was a good lesson in situational awareness. If you're piloting the Invictus or the Raptor in a massive space battle, you always need to keep an eye on what the rest of us are doing; we might need your help."

The tawny coloured catgirl pouted, then glanced up at her preening sister. "Don't get too comfortable up there! I'll be watching you next time... and I'm going to kick your spotty butt!"

Neysa yawned as she feigned casual disinterest in her sister's threat and rested her muzzle on her paws, pretending to settle down for a nap. Betrixa bristled indignantly and shape-shifted into tiger form, then bounded around the back of the Raptor, looking for another way up.

Jade smiled at their antics, before turning to look at Helene, who sat quietly on one of the storage crates. "Are you alright?" she asked softly, walking over to join the aquatic girl and putting an arm around her shoulders.

Helene nodded, but there was a sadness in her baby-blue eyes that hadn't been there before. They watched in silence as the four tiger-shaped Nymphs fought for supremacy, feral roars and snarls echoing across the hangar.

"Do you think they knew?" Helene finally asked, a melancholy note to her voice.

"Did who know, little kitten?" Jade replied, stroking Helene's arm to comfort her.

"The Elders of my village..." the forlorn girl murmured. "Did they know what was happening to the people the Brimorians took away? Would they have sent me to be... defiled... by the Kirrix?"

"I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that," Jade said softly. "But when John destroys the Brimorians, we can return to Neptra village and find out. I hope for their sake, they're innocent."

There was an ominous undertone to her reply that made Helene turn to look at her. "Will you kill them if they were involved?"

"If you ask me to, I will," Jade stated, before tilting her head to one side as she further considered the question. "If Alyssa discovers that the Abandoned Elders are guilty of betraying your people, I imagine she'll want to punish them herself. Making them feel what it's like to be torn apart by Kirrix grubs and reliving the deaths of every single person they betrayed would be a fitting form of Karmic justice."

Helene shuddered at the thought. "What if the Elders were threatened with the whole village being killed if they didn't cooperate with the Brimorians? Would they still deserve madness and death then?"

"It's not my place to judge them," Jade replied, looking into the distance. "My only concern is John... and all the girls who are part of our family, which very much includes you. If seeking vengeance against those that wronged you brings some measure of comfort, then I will gladly do whatever it takes to bring you peace. We all love you, Helene... and your happiness is what matters to me."

"I just can't help wondering... does everything we do have to end in death and destruction?" she asked, looking troubled.

Jade turned to smile at her. "This is why John doesn't want to turn you into another merciless thrall. This is why they need you."

"What do you mean?" Helene asked in confusion.

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster; when you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you," the Nymph quietly replied. "A Terran philosopher said that 900 years ago... and I know it's been preying on John's mind."

Helene looked at her in alarm. "He's worried that I'll become a monster?!"

"No, not you," the Nymph murmured. "You're not the one who stared into the abyss."

"Oh..." Helene said, still confused. Suddenly her eyes widened in distress. "Oh no!"

Jade nodded and hugged her closer.

***

Sakura drummed her fingers on the console and glanced up at the Sector Map floating in the middle of the Bridge. The Invictus had departed from the Maliri fleet near the outer reaches of the Trankaran Republic, and after the morning travelling through Kirrix Space, was now approaching Terran Federation territory. When the white battlecruiser raced across the border, Sakura's almond-shaped eyes flicked to her holographic browser and she frowned when it still displayed the error message: "No Connection".

"I wonder how long it'll be before we get a signal?" she asked Tashana, who was studying ancient video footage taken from the Nexus archives.

"Hmm?" the distracted Maliri hummed.

"The T-Fed fleet must be replacing the Comms Beacons the Kirrix destroyed," Sakura explained, before gesturing towards the holo-screen. "But we're still out of connection range."

"The fleet probably hasn't left Tasmaris Prime yet; there were a lot of colonists in need of treatment for egg infestation."

"I guess it'll be another couple of hours until we're in range then," Sakura said with a grimace.

Tashana looked up from her work. "What's the matter? Did you need to make an urgent call?"

The Asian girl shook her head. "I wanted to access the holo-net to buy a present for Maria. After what she's just been through, I thought it might be a nice way of letting her know we were all thinking about her."

"Oh, that's a lovely idea," the Maliri said with an approving smile. "What are you thinking about buying her? I'm sure she'd appreciate some flowers or chocolates... or perhaps you had something more extravagant in mind?"

Before Sakura could reply, Alyssa's telepathic voice cut through their minds. *Hello, ladies. Could you come back to bed? John wants to do a quick team debrief after the battle.*

*We need someone to cover the Bridge, Alyssa,* Sakura said, turning to look at Tashana. *Do you want me to stay up here?*

*No, both of you come down. Jade's sending up the Nymphs to keep an eye on things.*

A few seconds later, Leylira and Marika rose up in the grav-tube and stepped onto the Command Deck.

"Hello," the tabby catgirl said, greeting them with a friendly smile.

Leylira flashed a grin at Sakura as she passed by, then the tiger-striped girl bounded down the ramp and sat in the Pilot's chair. She grasped the flightstick at the same time that Marika took hold of weapon controls, both Nymphs tapping buttons on the console.

Sakura and Tashana exchanged a worried glance, but before they could interrupt the eager catgirls, Alyssa contacted them telepathically. *It's okay, they're not getting up to mischief. Irillith disabled weapon and flight control up there on the Command Deck, as well as down on the Combat Bridge. The Nymphs are going to be running piloting and gunnery simulators for the next few hours to get some practice.*

"Phew..." Sakura whispered, flashing a relieved grin at Tashana as they descended in the red anti-gravity field.

They hurried to the Observatory, excited to see John again, and found the rest of the crew waiting for them on the oval bed.

"Hey, girls," John said, smiling at them both. "Take a seat."

After greeting him with a kiss, they took their places, completing the circle.

John glanced at the chronometer at the wall and shook his head when he saw it was 1:07 pm. "It'll be nice to get back to regular hours; my body clock's all over the place at the moment."

His stomach grumbled, voicing its own protest.

"Okay, let's keep this brief," he said with a wry smile, eliciting laughter from the girls. "First of all, I just wanted to say thank you and well done for your incredible efforts against the Kirrix. We broke the back of their invasion and saved the lives of millions of Terrans and Trankarans."

The girls celebrated with cheers and whoops, making John's smile widen.

He waited for them to calm down before continuing. "When I broke into Irnaxxa's mind, I saw snippets of her memories... fragments of telepathic conversations she had with the rest of the Hive Queens. Everything we'd guessed about their civil war was true; both factions have formed rival Hive Minds and are now fighting over the future of their species."

"Her side can't seriously be considering another invasion?" Calara protested incredulously. "We've destroyed thousands of ships... killed millions of drones; they'd be insane to even think about trying it again!"

"All the Kirrix care about is the continued survival of their species," Alyssa said, a resigned expression on her face. "Now that we've taken steps to stop the Brimorian slave trade, they won't have any source of new hosts."

"That's true, but they do fear us," John interjected. "Both factions are painfully aware of the horrific losses they've sustained in this war. Irnaxxa's side wanted to retreat with as many captured colonists as they could, then gather their strength and launch another massive invasion a few decades from now. The 'not-quite-as-evil' Hive Mind basically agrees, but they're terrified of Alyssa and convinced that we would have obliterated their homeworld if they didn't leave the colonists behind."