Three Square Meals Ch. 037

"How about we just take a shot of all the girls who are being awarded a medal today?" John suggested amiably.

Jehanna nodded immediately, eager for any photo opportunity with the stunningly attractive young women involved. Rachel faded into the background, and walked over to speak with Charles, while John and the other girls moved over to a well-lit area to take some pictures to be used for holo-images.

The cameraman grinned happily as he focused the lens on the crew, and between him and Jehanna, they had John and the girls pose for the camera in a variety of positions. After they had finished, they brought the camera over to John, so he could give final approval of any shots they could use. Jehanna was overjoyed when he signed off one with him standing with his hands behind his back, looking off into the distance, with the girls draped around him, smouldering into the camera.

"This is going to be ratings gold," Jehanna swooned, giddy with excitement. "Would you like to do your interview now, or later, John?"

"After the ceremony will be fine," he said with a smile.

The reporter and her cameraman huddled together, and eagerly went through the images they had gathered again, while John and the girls went over to see Charles.

"So what's the plan for the awards ceremony?" John asked.

"Doctor Voss will keep me company, while you and your crew will walk down the red carpet to the stage. Admiral Devereux is the senior officer present at the shipyard at the moment, so she will be presenting the medals," Charles explained in a loud clear voice, so that everyone could hear. "When you all receive your medals, turn and wave at the crowd and cameras, then exit back down the carpet and out to here."

"Admiral Devereux? Who's that?" John asked curiously.

"She's in command of the Homeworld Defence Fleet," Charles said briefly.

"Ah, I see. Okay, everyone know what we have to do?" John said, looking at each of the girls, and they nodded back at him, their eyes sparkling with excitement.

Charles checked his watch, then touched a finger to his ear, and spoke quietly. He listened for a moment, and nodded as he received confirmation that the ceremony was about to begin. He waved John and the girls towards the big double doors on the other side of the reception area, and the Naval guards standing on either side swung the doors open.

John took a big breath and then walked forward, with the four girls following in his wake. He glanced over at Rachel once before they entered the Hall, and she waved back at him as Charles led her behind them, before heading off to the side. John strode inside the Hall, and then almost missed a step, as he took in the vast room before him.

Like their ships, the Terran Federation liked their ceremonies grand and imposing. The room was huge, with nearly a thousand people standing to either side of the long walkway up to the stage. Even the stage was impressive, being made out of solid marble, and running along the length of the grand hall. There was a podium on the top with several figures in full-dress uniform, and the wings, star, and sword insignia of the Terran Federation was embossed on a huge disc, set against the back wall.

John steeled himself, and then walked forward at a steady pace that would be easy for the girls to keep up with. He could almost feel the thousands of eyes watching them avidly, and he spotted several cameras dotted around the room that were tracking them as well. The red carpet ran right up to the marble steps that led up onto the stage, so he walked carefully up those steps, and then strode over to the side of the podium. He turned to face the huge crowd, before standing at attention, and the girls followed his lead, lined up in their descending rank order to his side.

Admiral Devereux was a plain looking middle aged woman, with her brown hair tied up in a bun underneath her peaked hat. She walked towards the marble lectern, and once attention in the hall had switched to her, she began to speak.

"We are assembled here today, to honour a hero of the Terran Federation. A short while ago, Commander John Blake and his valiant crew intervened in the Iota-Leonis system, and defiantly fought off a brutal attack by a rogue Kintark Warband.

After saving the fuel refineries from attack, the crew of the Invictus defended the evacuation of over six hundred wounded marines and naval personnel, helped fight off a hostile boarding action on the starport, then rode to the rescue of the Cruiser Hermes and her escorts. Not content with those astounding acts of bravery, they then proceeded to capture a Kintark heavy carrier, and devastate its escorting cruiser.

Thousands of Terran Federation personnel owe their lives to your courageous intervention on that day, and it is my great privilege to promote you from Commander to Commodore," Admiral Devereux said, then turned towards John and saluted.

John managed to mask his surprise at the public promotion, and turned to salute her in turn. He saw the flash of a gold insignia in her hand, so he walked up the steps to face the older woman.

"Congratulations, Commodore Blake. The Terran Federation sorely needs men of your calibre," she said earnestly, her kindly eyes twinkling at him as she spoke.

"It's an honour to serve, Admiral," John replied sincerely.

She handed him his new rank insignia, and he saluted her again before returning to join the girls. Admiral Devereux turned to face the crowd once more.

"We wish to acknowledge the heroic work of Commodore Blake's crew as well, so it is my great pleasure to award them each this medal," she said, holding one up for the cameras to zoom in on, so that it could be displayed on the large holo view-screens on the walls.

The medal was made of gold, and depicted a lion roaring defiantly at a dragon. "As you defended the Leonis system, we award you the Lion Defender medal," she said with a smile.

She turned to face the Invictus' crew, and then walked down the line, clicking the medal into place on the chests of John and the girls. The holo-cameras zoomed in on the crew, and Admiral Devereux faced the crowd for a final time.

"We thank you, Lions of the Terran Federation," she said with a broad smile, and the thousands of people assembled in the hall rose to their feet, and began to cheer and applaud.

John looked at the girls with a smile, then grinned at the crowd, and waved his acknowledgement. The girls waved cutely as well, sparkling beaming smiles, and the volume in the grand hall intensified. He spotted Charles at the back of the hall beckoning to him, and so he turned to face the girls, and gestured for them to walk ahead.

*And, that's our cue to leave,* John said to Alyssa, and the girls sashayed gracefully down the marble steps, before gliding back along the red carpet, with John following behind them.

They walked out of the hall, with the echoing cheers following behind them. The guards swung the doors closed, and the cacophonous applause quieted to a dull roar.

"Oh my God! That was such a rush," Dana squeaked in excitement.

"My family's going to see that," Calara said, her eyes wide with shock, having had no idea of the scale of the award ceremony.

"That was thrilling," Jade gasped gleefully. "All those people assembled to honour you, John!"

"How about you, did you enjoy that, Commodore?" Alyssa asked him with a wide grin.

"I can't deny that was a lot more fun than I expected," John said as he returned her grin, then he turned to face Charles as he walked over to join them. "I thought the promotion was supposed to be unofficial though?"

"Sorry about that, Admiral Devereux must have decided to throw in a little last minute surprise," Charles said through gritted teeth.

"Maybe she thought that it would be even better PR? If so, she was right! Everyone loves to see a hero receiving his laurels," Jehanna Elani said with delight, as she strode up to them, followed closely by her trusty cameraman.

"We got some amazing shots of you guys!" the cameraman said excitedly.

"Are you ready to give the interview now, Commodore?" Jehanna asked John eagerly. It seemed that his recent promotion had made her forget about his polite invitation for her to use his first name.

"Sure, let's find a quiet spot," John said, and the Terran Federation Network News team led him away.

***

It was nearly ten at night by the time John and girls made their way back to the Invictus. They were relieved to see that there were no obvious signs of tampering to the ship, and the airlock opened smoothly when John placed his hand on the DNA reader. There was an air of happy contentment surrounding the crew as they rode up in the soft blue glow of the grav-tube, and as they passed each of the girls quarters, they peeled off to get changed, until it was just John and Alyssa left.

They walked into their wardrobe, and removed their uniforms, putting them away neatly.

"Remind me to show you your new uniform sometime," Alyssa said to him with a smile, and he nodded back in reply.

"You're actually excited to see it, aren't you?" she exclaimed happily as she read his thoughts.

"You did a phenomenal job on your own outfits. I can't deny I'm curious to see what you made for me too," he admitted with a grin.

"Not tonight. Let's wait until Rachel fills out her new uniform properly, and we can all assemble for a group photo," Alyssa said, her eyes sparkling at the thought.

"I'm willing to do whatever my exclusive clothes designer wants," John said indulgently.

"Well talking of Rachel filling out clothes, you've got one last duty to perform before bedtime, Commodore," Alyssa teased him, and led him out by his hand.

Calara, Dana and Jade were already nude and assembled on the bed, while Rachel waited for them in her long grey dress, leaning against one of the posts of the four poster beds. John began to get hard as soon as he saw her shapely figure, especially when she shot him a hungry look, and subconsciously licked her lips. He moved over to the end of the bed and sat down, then smiled as the brunette sauntered over to him, her smooth thigh appearing briefly through the slit in her dress as she walked, before it quickly disappeared from view.

John spread his legs, and moved her so that she was standing directly in front of him. He began to run a strong hand over her slim stomach, and looked up to stare into her eyes. She leaned into him, so that her svelte tummy was pressing into his hand, and she let out a quiet little moan of excitement.

"I hope you're not upset about not being involved in the ceremony," he asked her, as he rubbed his hand in slow, teasing circles.

"Not at all, I didn't do anything to deserve it, and it's for the best anyway," she said as she gazed down at him.

"Enough talking now," Alyssa said heatedly, as she moved up behind him. "I want to see you enjoy your present, especially after all that time I spent wrapping her."

Rachel smiled at the blonde, and sank to her knees obediently. She wasted no time, and leaned forward so that she could begin deep throating his cock. After a number of silent commands, Calara, Dana and Jade crawled across the bed, and then dismounted lithely, before kneeling around Rachel. They began to stroke her lovingly as she serviced him, while looking up at him with expressions of heavy arousal on their beautiful faces.

"That's a spectacular view," Alyssa said with a deliriously happy sigh as she looked over his shoulder. "I see why you love having us kneel for you."

"There's someone missing," John said tersely, as he held Rachel's head in his hands and guided her gently up and down his throbbing length.

"Of course, I'm sorry," Alyssa said apologetically, and she slipped around to his side, before gracefully joining the others fanned around the tawny haired brunette.

John gazed down at the five sets of bright eyes that sparkled as they stared up at him. The girls looked so submissive arrayed like that, and his one fleeting regret before he arched his back, and began to pump his load into Rachel's eagerly sucking mouth, was that he didn't have enough cocks to have them all blow him at once.

*That's not strictly true...* Alyssa purred at him, and he groaned ecstatically when he realised what she meant, debauched images of Jade going through his head.

Rachel did a spectacular job of emptying his balls, and once he was drained completely dry, he offered her a hand so that she could stand up. Her belly looked obscene in the figure hugging grey dress, arcing out in a enormous curve where he had filled up her stomach to the brim. He reached out with both hands to steady her, and then leaned in to plant a warm, possessive kiss on her rounded tummy. Rachel stared at him with hooded eyes that were filled with desire. He helped peel her out of the dress, and step out of her heels, and she climbed onto the bed holding a bed post for support.

When the other girls rose to join them on the bed, he sat up at the end so that he could look around at all of them.

"Ladies, I don't know what your thoughts are, but I think we're running on a serious female orgasm deficit. I'd like you to pair off, and do something to address that. Unfortunately there's five of you, so unlucky number five will be stuck with me to help her out," he said wryly.

Calara and Alyssa paired off immediately, while Dana and Rachel crawled over to each other eagerly. Jade joined him with a huge smile on her lovely face, and John opened his arms to embrace her.

"Sorry, looks like you pulled the short straw," he said with a smile.

"Are you kidding? I outbid all the rest and won!" Jade said as she laughed with delight. "Although, I have to do the dishes for all of next week," she added regretfully.

"Don't worry, I'll help out," John whispered quietly in her ear, then pushed her on her back in the middle of the bed, and moved to lie down between her dark green thighs that she spread for him wantonly.

Soft cries of female ecstasy began to fill the room, and John smiled happily as he got to work.

***

The brooding figure grinned with excitement as he experienced the thrill of the hunt once more. One of his contacts at the Olympus Shipyard had reported seeing John Blake at some kind of award ceremony, and he had his pawns in place to spring the trap.

He gloated as he sank back on his gothic throne. This had been the longest he'd ever taken to fulfil a contract, but he could almost taste victory, and the imminent demise of his quarry. He reached over to the console and pressed a button to activate the comm interface.

"You might have been a most elusive target, Mr Blake, but all fall to me in the end," he said with grim satisfaction.