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Dana let out a low whistle as she looked at the metal in the Psi-detector again. "So why is Helene's love aura kicking the shit out of all that creepy darkness? Is it because the four of you were in the middle of a loved-up orgy and she basically overpowered it?"
John and Rachel shared a look, then both nodded in agreement.
"That's amazing!" Dana gushed, her eyes bright with excitement. "So the next time we need to breach a Progenitor dreadnought's hull, you and Helene can go over there and hump your way through the armour plating!"
John laughed and rolled his eyes. "Sparks..."
"I thought I'd lighten the mood," she replied with a cheeky grin. "Hey wait a minute... I was just joking, but would that actually be possible?"
John looked at her askance. "Seriously?"
"Well she totally wrecked the bed..." Dana replied, her gaze returning to the streaked metal. "So what do you reckon?"
"Well firstly, I wouldn't want to expose Helene to that kind of danger," John replied firmly. "But even if I did go along with it, how could we get intimate in space?"
"Dock with the Raptor and fuck her in the airlock?" Dana suggested. "You'd be less than a foot from the armour plating."
"Okay, I suppose that would be close enough..." he reluctantly conceded. "But how do we even know that the black metal in the bed frame is the same as the armour in a dreadnought's hull?"
"Now that's a good point," Dana said, tapping a finger on her chin. "The metal in thrall ships is nowhere near as tough as the plating on a Progenitor dreadnought, so it makes sense that the metal in that bed frame was lower quality." She grimaced and added, "Maybe there's variations in the... forging process."
"Have you got any metal samples from Larn'kelnar's ship?" John asked the redhead.
"Oh yeah, we do!" she exclaimed, nodding exuberantly. "Do you remember that sceptre thing that asshole was using? Tashana swiped it before we left!"
"Good thinking. Larn'kelnar's personal gear would definitely be built out of the best quality metal," he agreed, giving her an approving smile. "We need to take a look."
"I've got it stashed over here!" she said, hurrying across the Engineering Bay to the rows of storage crates.
Before John could say anything else, his watch chimed, alerting him that it was 8:30 pm and they'd soon be arriving at the Terran fleet.
"Sorry, Sparks," he said with a frown. "I need to meet with Calara before we rendezvous with the Terran fleet. Can you do a comparison and let me know what you find out?"
"Sure thing," Dana agreed, skidding to a halt. She bounded back to give him a parting hug. "Thanks for coming down here. It was great spending time with you... and we found out a shitload of new info!"
Rachel nodded, giving him a warm smile. "It certainly was an evening full of revelations."
He hugged them both enthusiastically. "You're both awesome. I'll see you later tonight... unless you're joining me to welcome Jack and Mateo aboard?"
The two girls exchanged a glance, then Dana replied, "Alyssa asked us to wake her up just before we arrive. She's going to have a chat with Calara and decide who should be there."
"I think they're concerned about unsettling Calara's father if the entire crew greets them," Rachel explained. "Jack's aware that his daughter is part of a harem... but meeting all thirteen of us at once would be quite overwhelming."
John shrugged amiably. "That makes sense. I get overwhelmed and I'm supposed to be in charge."
Dana and Rachel laughed, then blew kisses at him as he waved goodbye and left the Engineering Bay.
Not wanting to disturb Alyssa, who was still fast asleep, he spoke to his Nymph matriarch instead. *Jade, is Calara still on the Combat Bridge?*
*Yes, she's training Neysa at the moment.*
*Thanks, honey,* he replied, stepping into the blue side of the grav-tube.
After ascending to Deck Two, he strode purposefully down the corridor, then crossed his old bedroom to the express grav-tubes. Dropping like a stone in the rapid anti-gravity field, he walked out into the Armoury and down the ramp onto the Combat Bridge. The girl he was looking for was leaning over the Tactical Station, Calara's hands mimicking a rolling ship as she shared her gunnery expertise with the enraptured catgirl.
"That's right, you're getting it... but you need to get a feel of where your target is flying, then try to anticipate its turns and rolls. Soon it becomes second nature and instead of just blazing away as soon as your gun batteries have cooled down, you can time your shots with more precision and greatly increase their lethality. Striking an already damaged section of the hull can be devastating, especially if the shot penetrates armour to wreak havoc inside the superstructure."
"What if the Tachyon Lances are powerful enough to pierce their armour with a single shot?" Neysa asked, her furry ears twitching as she listened attentively.
"Then you blaze away as soon as the gun batteries have cooled down," Calara replied with a smile. "We'll probably be facing the Brimorians next, but I still want you to train as if you're preparing to fight Thrall ships. Carving through their armour plating is going to be hard work and we'll need to make every shot count."
"Thank you for the advice," the jaguar-spotted Nymph said earnestly. "Can you restart the gunnery simulation? I'd like to try again."
Calara nodded and tapped a couple of icons on the Tactical Interface. "There you go. Good luck!"
"How's the training going?" John asked, walking over to join them.
"She's doing brilliantly!" Calara gushed, beaming at her student. "I'm really proud of you, Neysa. You've been working hard and making excellent progress."
Neysa looked up at John and blushed. "This one has just been trying to follow your mate's instructions, Master. I must admit, I still don't understand how Calara can fire so many weapons so rapidly and still maintain such incredible accuracy."
"Me neither," he admitted, ruffling her pointed ears. "But if you've impressed Calara, then you must have been doing great. Learning these skills is very important, Neysa... and I really appreciate all the effort you're putting in."
The Nymph was delighted by his warm praise and she rubbed against his hand, the tips of her furry ears quivering with barely-suppressed excitement.
Turning to Calara, John slipped his hand around her waist. "Is this a good time to borrow you for a few minutes? I wanted to have a chat before we meet your family."
"Your timing's perfect. Neysa was just about to restart her training simulation," the Latina replied, patting her student on the shoulder. "Why don't we head up to my quarters?"
"Sounds good," John agreed, taking her hand.
As they walked away, he glanced over at the Pilot's Station, where Jade was watching her Nymph student weave a simulated Invictus through a dense asteroid belt. When she looked his way, Betrixa turned to give John a mischievous grin and wiggled her fingertips in his direction. Behind her, the Invictus veered out of control and crashed headlong into a massive chunk of rock, setting off warning alarms throughout the Bridge. The blonde catgirl winced and gave Jade an apologetic smile as she returned her attention to the holographic catastrophe.
Rolling her eyes affectionately at her Nymph sister, Jade hit a couple of icons and reset the piloting simulation. "So what did we learn there, Betrixa?"
"That I should ask you to grab the flight stick when this one needs to flirt with our handsome master?" she replied, her serious tone reflecting her sincerity.
"Close enough," Jade said, laughing lightly. "Now concentrate this time..."
*It sounds like Betrixa's training isn't going so well,* John noted, making fleeting eye-contact with his third matriarch.
*Actually, Betrixa has superb reflexes and excellent hand-eye coordination, so she's going to be a gifted pilot,* Jade replied, sounding proud of her sister. *However, she's also quite feisty... which makes her a somewhat challenging student. I'm confident that with another week or two of training, she'll be better than any pilot in the Terran Federation Navy.*
*It's great to hear she's doing so well. I'm sorry her personality makes her a bit difficult to train, I guess I'm responsible for that.*
*There's no need to apologise. Her unpredictability and playfulness makes her an exciting lover... and pleasing you sexually is a Nymph's most important role,* Jade purred, a seductive gleam in her feline eyes. *Even if the war with the Progenitors drags on for centuries, Betrixa will need to keep you entertained in the bedroom for millennia to come...*
*Centuries?* John asked, shocked at the thought. *Do you really think we'll be fighting that long?*
*I honestly don't know,* she admitted. *But my sisters and I will always be at your side.*
*That's good to hear,* he murmured, accompanying Calara up the ramp.
They took the express grav-tubes up to their old bedroom, then walked through it to reach Calara's quarters. She hit the button to open the door and glanced at John out of the corner of her eye.
"You seem very distracted all of a sudden," she noted, pausing before entering her quarters. "Is something bothering you?"
"Just something Jade said..." John replied, shaking off his pensive thoughts. "Don't worry about it."
Calara raised an eyebrow, then dragged him into the room and pushed him onto the bed. John laughed and sprawled back on the covers, his hands moving instinctively to the Latina's slender waist when she straddled him.
"Tell me!" she insisted, a playful glint in her dark brown eyes. "Otherwise I won't say a word about what's been on my mind recently; and yes, I know Alyssa sent you to speak with me about it... the two of you are so predictable!"
He smiled and pulled her down onto his chest. "I have to go first?"
"Otherwise my lips are sealed," she replied with a hint of a coy smile, leaning down to give him a chaste kiss.
"That would be tragic," he said sincerely, slipping his hand between them and gently caressing her stomach.
The smouldering look of desire in her eyes was easy to see, as was the determination not to back down.
"Jade was talking about the Progenitor War lasting for centuries," John explained, looking up at her for a reaction. "Part of me was still hanging on to Alyssa's timeline... and it was a nasty shock."
"Kill all the bad guys in the next few months, so she can have your baby while she's still a teenager?" Calara asked, giving him a knowing look. "That timeline?"
"Alright, I know it's totally irrational... but we've spent the last 6 months pulling off miraculous victories against all the odds. I just can't even imagine some drawn out battle of attrition that lasts for centuries... the thought of millions of Maliri casualties just fills me with dread."
"It won't take centuries to finish this," Calara declared, certainty in her eyes. "And we're definitely not facing a protracted war of attrition."
"You're feeling that confident we can win?" he asked, brushing her lustrous chestnut hair away from her face.
She hesitated and shook her head. "We're massively outnumbered, John. If we get dragged into a conventional war, defending the Maliri borders from coordinated attacks by multiple Progenitors, it's already over. My guess is that Xar'aziuth doesn't know exactly what he's facing or precisely where we are... if he did, we'd be up to our ears in Thrall fleets already."
"You're not inspiring me much here... but I can't believe for one moment that you've given up hope of winning," he said with certainty.
She shook her head again, this time with a wicked smile. "I didn't say that either. For all his faults, Rahn'hagon did have the right idea about this upcoming war. We won't be fighting by Progenitor rules... you can count on that."
He relaxed, placing well-founded trust in her tactical and strategic mastery. "I think they're in for a bunch of surprises."
"This is going to get brutal and bloody... but it's going to be over with quickly either way. We cut the heads off the Progenitor snakes with a series of tactical strikes... or get crushed under an onslaught of Thrall fleets the likes of which the galaxy has never seen," Calara said ominously, her expression a curious mix of anticipation and trepidation.
"I feel sorry for the poor girl responsible for waging that war," John said with sympathy, stroking her cheek as he looked up into her eyes. "Is that what's been worrying you recently?"
"Actually... no, not at all," she replied, tilting her head to one side as she considered her feelings. "I know it sounds utterly insane, but I'm actually looking forward to this campaign. You've been preparing me to fight this war since the day I joined you and all I can think about recently is procuring fleet assets, preparing our defences, and planning our offensives."
He looked at her in surprise, then felt an overpowering surge of guilt. "I'm so sorry I did that to you."
"Don't be," she said earnestly. "I'm not... I promise."
"You don't feel even the slightest bit of resentment at having the fate of the galaxy resting on your shoulders?" he asked, far from convinced. "You're only eighteen, Calara! I still can't believe I put you in this position."
"I actually feel flattered," she said with a wry smile. "You're a very capable tactician in your own right... but you've spent months carefully preparing me to lead our fleets. I know we'll be working closely together to come up with some devious stratagems and I wouldn't want it any other way. I just hope I don't let you down."
"I honestly don't know whether I should feel relieved or appalled," he admitted, looking up at her with chagrin.
"If you had a medical emergency, would you go to anyone other than Rachel?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "This is no different; you're simply relying on my expertise in my specialist field."
John studied her for a long moment, then asked quietly, "So if the prospect of facing millions of bloodthirsty Thralls and dozens of tyrannical Progenitors doesn't faze you, what is troubling you?"
Her face fell and it was quite clear to see she was upset.
"What is it, honey?" he asked, holding her close. "You can tell me."
"It's just that... I keep having to make all these awful moral compromises," she admitted, struggling to meet his concerned gaze. "Like insisting we rush to claim Larn'kelnar's fleets instead of liberating the Abandoned from Brimorian slavery. The thought of using Thrall ships that were made by sacrificing millions of Larathyran woman makes me sick... but we need their firepower... we don't stand a chance without it."
"We're having to make some hard choi-"
Calara cut him off with a kiss, then continued quietly, "I know logically we haven't got any choice... I just don't want you or the girls to think that my heart's made of stone. I'm only telling you what will give us the best chance of victory... not what I actually wish we could do."
John gave her a tender kiss. "I'd never think that of you, honey... I promise. The girls all love you like a sister; they know you're just trying to give me the best advice you can."
She relaxed and it looked like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "Really?"
"Definitely. I really appreciate that kind of feedback, especially when it's hard to hear. All of us were agreed that we should finish off the Kirrix, but you strongly disagreed... for very good reasons. In fact, whenever we're all in consensus I'd be tempted to have one of you disagree on principle, just to spark a debate and make us thoroughly examine our options. We're balancing on a knife-edge here and we can't afford to make any mistakes; I'm completely reliant on you and the rest of the girls as my advisors... and I have zero complaints so far."
"You've always really respected my opinion," Calara said, her gaze softening. "It was one of the things I appreciated most when I joined you on the Invictus. When I graduated from the Academy and was posted to Port Heracles, I had Commander Grant leering over me and making lewd comments, so no one took me seriously with that going on. Things improved when I transferred to the Corvette Griffon... but you know how badly that ended."
"Grant got what he deserved... but I'm sorry you had to go through all that."
She smiled and gave him a loving kiss. "You don't know how refreshing it was, having you really listen to me and value what I had to say. I'm sure you can imagine what it was like for me growing up, competing with three older brothers to make myself heard."
"They're all very confident," he said with a sympathetic smile. "That must have been hard."
Calara suddenly sat bolt upright. "Oh damn, I forgot the time! We'll be meeting my dad in just a few minutes and I haven't even decided what I'm going to wear!"
She slid off him and flung open the doors to her wardrobe, then started biting her nail as she studied her outfits.
John could see how stressed she was and walked over to join her, wrapping her up in his arms. "Hey, take it easy, honey. It's just Jack and Mateo... they won't mind what you wear."
The Latina shook her head, her long dark mane brushing his cheek. "No, this is important! The last time I saw my dad, we ended up arguing about you sleeping with all the girls, and I yelled at him about excluding me from sparring. Whatever I wear will change how he treats me... so it has to be perfect!"
He kissed her cheek, then released her. "Okay, what're your options? I'll help you choose."
She flashed him a grateful smile, then her hand darted across to several suit holders. "They'll both be in uniform, so I could match and go with T-Fed greys, or wear my Lioness whites... what do you think?"
"Won't that make him act more formally with you?" John asked, running his fingers over the gold captain epaulets on her white jacket. "Especially if you meet him wearing this... it'll be a reminder that his daughter is a Stellar-Cluster recipient who twice saved Terra from destruction."
"Damn... you're right," she said nervously. "I'm already worried he might see me differently after I showed him my psychic powers."
John nodded his agreement. "So casual it is then. Anything in mind?"
Calara blew out her breath and waved a hand in helpless frustration at the long rail full of skirts, blouses, and dresses. "I've got all this to choose from... but I'm hopeless at picking outfits that match. Maybe I should just wear my uniform after all?"
"What did you usually wear at home?" he asked, turning to look at the pensive brunette.
"What, on Jericho?" she asked in surprise. When John nodded, she reached into the wardrobe and pulled out a pair of combat trousers and a t-shirt. "Basically that..."
"Perfect," he said with a smile.
She paused, touched by the sentiment behind his advice. "Go back to being daddy's little girl?" she asked, her eyes welling up. "Won't that be weird for you? Seeing me so desperate for his approval?"
"He's your father," John said, gently brushing away a tear from her cheek. "I get it..."
Calara hugged him, resting her head against his chest. "I love you so much, John."
He held her close. "I feel the same way about you, honey." He glanced at his watch and frowned. "8:53... we'll be dropping out of hyper-warp soon; you better get changed."
The bedroom door slid open and Alyssa strode inside, her expression filled with affection for her two lovers.
"I couldn't help overhearing," she said, walking over to join them and placing a garment bag on the bed. "I think that was a lovely suggestion, handsome... but tonight won't be the right time for that conversation. Jack will be worrying about Maria and will need to unwind first. Why don't you wear your old style of clothing tomorrow, gorgeous? That's when you'll have a proper opportunity to talk with your father and then you can discuss everything that got dredged up the last time you met."
