Three Square Meals Ch. 044

She smiled up at him indulgently, and shook her head. "You need to stop second guessing yourself, and start trusting your instincts more! They haven't let us down so far. You're our leader, and you must know by now that we'll follow you anywhere," she told him firmly.

He looked down at her in surprise, and she leaned up and planted tender kisses on his throat, while he thought over what she had to say.

"We'll always do our best to give you advice where we can, but ultimately the decision has to come from you. It isn't the decision 'we' make, it's the decision YOU make, and we'll back you unreservedly, with whatever course of action you choose," she said to him supportively.

John looked at her in astonishment, and asked, "How did you know what I was thinking?" before he rolled his eyes in embarrassment, and said knowingly, "Alyssa..."

Calara smiled and nodded at him. "Yes, she's telling me everything that's on your mind, but we decided this would be better coming from me," she told him honestly.

"Because of your military background?" he asked her curiously.

"Yes, that's right. We were both taught in the Academy, that it can be lonely being the one in charge; giving the orders, and hoping that the decisions you make are the right ones. We'll help you by supplying information and advice, that will let you make the best, most well informed choices you can, but ultimately they will be your choices. If we can't provide any guidance, then it's just going to be you making the big choices," she told him sympathetically.

John nodded his understanding, and said, "So this is one of those decisions where it's basically up to me, and you girls can't really provide me any help, because there's too many unknowns?"

"Exactly," she agreed. Then looked at him curiously, and asked, "What do you feel would be the right choice?"

John thought it over, mulling his options, and Calara gently kissed his biceps while she patiently waited for him to make his decision.

"To agree to Irillith's offer," he said decisively.

"Why?" Calara asked him curiously, in a neutral, non-judgemental, tone of voice.

"The chance at being able to upgrade our weapons is too good an opportunity to pass up, but Irillith's knowledge of the Progenitors is even more intriguing. This might be our only chance to find out what the Maliri know about them. As risky as Ceraden makes it sound, we've got an incredibly fast ship, with very resilient armour that's especially effective against laser weaponry. If we get ambushed, we can run like hell for the border with Terran Space, and just forget about the whole thing," he said confidently.

He looked down at her in surprise, and felt his worries and doubts evaporate, as he felt sure of his decision.

Calara nodded firmly, looking pleased. "Excellent, I can't fault your reasoning at all. It's a good plan, with numerous potential rewards, and helps us minimise the risks. Nicely put together, Commodore," she said to him respectfully.

He looked down at her and shook his head in wonder. "Thank you for this talk, it was really helpful," he said gratefully, admiration for this beautiful and talented young woman shining in his eyes.

"You're welcome," she told him lovingly, and began to move languidly beneath him once again.

John smiled at her, and said, "The talk is over?"

She nodded and shot him a smouldering look under her long lashes. He looked down at the gorgeous girl beneath him, and then leaned forward to kiss her passionately. He wondered for a moment how he could reward Calara for her lovely, supportive advice that morning, and she watched him curiously as he mulled it over. He eventually made his decision, and she sighed with delight.

*Are you still telling her everything?* John asked Alyssa playfully.

*Our agreement was, 'word-for-word, until you cum', but I'll leave out this little sidebar conversation,* she informed him with amusement.

John smiled happily, and then took hold of Calara's hands and carefully held them down above her head, using his strength to keep her completely restrained. The Latina panted with arousal as she looked up at him, and he began to move slowly and sensually inside her, setting a torturously slow pace as he kissed her tenderly.

He kept that combination up throughout; utterly irresistible strength pinning her in place, combined with gentle caresses with his lips and tongue, as he communicated how much he cared for her. It drove her absolutely wild, and she thrashed underneath him, as she groaned and pleaded with him to ravage her. John was merciless however, and kept the slow lovemaking going, whilst never letting her forget his strength and dominance over her. Calara eventually screamed and bucked beneath him as she came, driven over the brink as Alyssa told her verbatim everything he was thinking about as he took the gorgeous girl.

After her third orgasm, she sobbed with glorious relief as her tight pussy clenched around his cock, when he held her in place, and came explosively inside her. She looked up at him in awe as he pumped her womb full of his cum, and he released her hands so she could wrap herself around him, while he cradled her head protectively as he rode out his orgasm. When he was finally spent, she looked up at him in amazement, and he leaned down to kiss her gently on her lips.

Calara looked like she was going to say something, but she was lost for words, rendered completely speechless. John smiled down at her beautiful, awestruck face, and then carefully pulled out of her and wrapped her in his arms. They spooned together for a while with her letting out a delighted sigh as he embraced her, whilst resting his hand on her swollen belly possessively.

***

The other girls came down to join them shortly afterwards for a quick snack, and Dana told him excitedly that the robots were performing well, and hadn't had any problems so far. She also reported that the mass fabricators were all busy, working to make the components she needed for the shield modulator, and that it would be built and installed by the evening.

Alyssa crawled over to sit beside him a short while later, licking her lips with satisfaction, while Dana took her place, making Calara writhe and groan with pleasure.

"That was an extremely helpful talk earlier, thanks for your part in that," John said to the blonde with a wry smile.

Alyssa glanced over at Calara and smiled at her fondly. "She's wonderful, isn't she?" she said happily.

He nodded, hugging Alyssa tightly as they watched the Latina arch her back, and cum on Dana's talented tongue.

"I think now would be a good time to replate the ship," John said to Alyssa. "With the Maliri primarily using laser weaponry, it makes sense to improve the reflective qualities of our armour, and we're already stripping off the hull plating. As long as triple shaping such a large volume of Alyssium isn't going to be too taxing for you?"

She shook her head, as she thought it over. "I should be able to manage that alright, but that's probably my limit," she admitted apologetically. "Quadruple shaping your sword was extremely difficult. I'm not even sure I'd be able to get through a suit of armour in a couple of sessions, let alone an armoured panel from the ship."

"There's no need to exert yourself too hard," John said in agreement. "As long as you're not finding it too much of a strain, we'll just get the robots to bring the armour plating down to you, as soon as we remove each plate. They can bring them down to the Hangar Bay, then go through both sets of double doors, and into the Cargo Bay. You can reshape each piece in there, out of sight of prying eyes, and then the robots can bring them back up again, for us to fit them in place."

Alyssa smiled at him enthusiastically, and said, "Sounds like a good plan to me."

***

John went to make himself a quick brunch, and then joined up with the girls to install all the sensors. Removing the old sensor, and then installing Dana's newly upgraded one was a laborious, painstaking process, so the robots ended up sitting around dormant while they waited for them to finish each installation before the panel could be replaced.

Eventually, John, Calara, Jade, and Rachel each took ownership of a separate robot, and repeatedly sent them back to Alyssa with plating from other parts of the ship. When they were nearly done with each sensor installation, they got the robot to remove the panel from the next sensor in line, so they could continue working without pause. It was a lean and efficient process, that saw them get nearly two-thirds of the sensor array fitted in a single day, and the entire ship replated in triple-forged Alyssium.

They were worn out by the time they staggered down to the Officers' Lounge for a late dinner at eight, but Dana had beaten them to it, having already fitted the shield modulator. She had prepared a tasty Shepherd's Pie for them, with some crisp, freshly cooked vegetables. Even Alyssa was surprised, being at the brink of exhaustion after triple reshaping such a vast volume of the psychically sensitive alloy, and not really concentrating on what the redhead was up to. They wolfed down the tasty dinner, having built up a big appetite with all the hard work, and thanked Dana profusely for her thoughtfulness in getting it ready for them.

Dana was the only one with any energy left, when they went to bed for an early night after dinner. She went to work on John enthusiastically, while the others sat around her watching, until she brought him off quickly whilst staring lovingly into his eyes. The girls each got to share some sweet tasting dessert, and they began to feel better within minutes, but John was worn out, so they called it a night and went to sleep.

***

The next morning, John was the first to awaken, feeling bright and full of energy after a great night's sleep. The girls woke up a little later, when he brought them in a big tray full of delicious smelling sausages, eggs, beans, bacon, and toast, so that they could have breakfast in bed. As they munched away on their food, grinning at him gratefully between bites, Rachel suddenly looked thoughtful.

"That's strange," she observed curiously.

John looked at her quizzically as he sat down, and asked, "What is? Not your breakfast I hope!"

She shook her head and laughed, then said, "No, breakfast is delicious, thanks very much for making it. I was just thinking that even though you were totally exhausted last night, you woke up earlier than us with far more energy, even though we all got to absorb your cum, thanks to Dana."

The redhead raised a piece of toast in the air, and waved it to her in friendly acknowledgement, as she chomped her way through a mouthful of fried bacon.

"So you think he received some kind of healing to be this chipper?" Jade said with a smile, as she glanced at John.

Rachel nodded, looking thoughtful, as she drank a glass of fruit juice. "That would be my best guess, yes. The super-telomeres in his body just repair the DNA strands, they don't heal the body as such. I suspect this is some kind of psionic-healing instead."

"Is there any way we can test your theory?" John asked, drinking from his mug of coffee.

The brunette nodded, and said eagerly, "I think we might be able to. As Dana kindly built the Psi-detector for me the other day, I could take a look and see what might be happening. You'll just need to wear yourself out today, and then we can check what happens tonight."

John smiled at her and said, "Sure. I'll help you guys fit the rest of the sensor array in the morning, train with Yamamoto after lunch, then Jade and I can have a lengthy swimming session directly afterwards," he suggested, looking at the Nymph, who nodded enthusiastically. "If we do all that, I should be exhausted by the evening," he added thoughtfully.

"We'll have to empty your quad this morning and tonight, just to make sure we stick to the scientific method, recreating the same events as yesterday," Dana said with a wicked grin. "So, time to pick. Which one of us do you want to fuck senseless, like you did to Calara yesterday morning?"

He smiled at Rachel, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you doing anything important this morning?" he asked her flirtatiously.

She nodded, her face serious. "A Progenitor, apparently," she replied, her face breaking into a playful grin.

Dana clapped excitedly and said, "I'm sure Francis Bacon would approve!"

Jade frowned and asked politely, "I don't think I've met him yet, who is he?"

Dana giggled before she replied, "He's the father of the scie-," but then she saw the mischievous grin on Jade's face, so she blurted out, "Hey! You knew that already!"

The Nymph gave a little shrug and said, "I spent the greater part of three hundred years as a bored sexual plaything. Unlike John, most Terran males aren't quite so... vigorous. So I had quite a bit of free time, and did a bit of reading here and there."

The redhead nodded, looking impressed, then turned to look at John. "I was going to meet up with Rellathis today, and give him a hand with a few other things he was stuck with. Are you alright with me going off to do that, while you're busy screwing Rachel?" she asked eagerly.

The tawny haired girl laughed, and rolled her eyes at Dana's charming turn of phrase, while John nodded in amusement. His expression then turned serious and said, "Make sure you warn Alyssa if you even suspect there's going to be trouble."

"Will do!" Dana nodded gleefully, and bounced out of bed, eager to be on her way.

Calara, Jade and Alyssa smiled at each other, and started to get up too. "I guess that's our cue to leave," Alyssa said with a grin.

Rachel shook her head, and said, "No, you should stay. We're trying to wear him out, remember?" she said with a wicked grin.

Dana laughed as she left the room, seeing John disappear under a tidal wave of athletic young bodies.

***

Rellathis was overjoyed to see Dana when she arrived at Ceraden's office reception half an hour later. He was speaking in friendly terms with the Maliri merchant, and when she strolled into the room, they both bowed to her respectfully. She had decided to wear something slightly more practical today, picking out a white blouse with a plunging neckline, that showcased her cleavage in a spectacular fashion. She had also chosen some long, figure hugging blue trousers, which she wore over a pair of suede kitten heel boots she had borrowed from Rachel.

The outfit seemed to have the desired effect on both of the men, and she beamed a sparkling smile at them ingenuously. She noticed their helmeted heads bobbing slightly as they tried in vain to keep looking politely at her face.

"I can't wait to see what you have in store for me today," she said to Rellathis cheerfully. "Are you having problems with anything else?" she asked him innocently.

The Maliri engineer walked over to greet her, offering her his arm, and she hooked hers through it, letting him lead her away on their tour. "Well firstly, I thought we'd take a look at those troublesome crystallites I was telling you about yesterday," he replied as he led her over to the maintenance door that led to the access tunnels beneath the Merchant District. "Then, if we have some time after that, there's a few other jobs that have been giving me trouble. We've had one of the patrol cruisers dock at the station, asking us to take another look at the power couplings on their starboard Beam laser turrets. I fixed the damn things twice already, but they're saying they've failed again!"

Dana nodded attentively, with a sympathetic smile on her face as she listened to Rellathis discuss the various problems that needed fixing on the patrol cruiser. *Woohoo! Jackpot!* she cheered victoriously to Alyssa, whilst trying to keep her glee from her supportive expression.

Alyssa cautioned her, *Be careful now... This could be a lot more dangerous.*

Dana heard and telepathically acknowledged Alyssa's words of warning, but she soon forgot them. All she could think about was just how delighted John would be with her, if they could get their hands on Maliri laser tech, without even having to leave the Space Station. She struggled to keep her breathing calm, as Rellathis guided her over to his hover car, and opened the bubble canopy for her.

***

John walked onto the Bridge from the grav-tube with a spring in his step, as he made his way to his Ready Room. He'd enjoyed some frenzied fun with the girls that morning, and he'd left them to have a light snack, courtesy of Rachel. He strode over to his desk, and then clicked a button that would open the comms interface as he sank into his chair.

He paused for a moment, as he realised he wasn't sure how to get into direct contact with Irillith, other than through Ceraden's offices. He sighed as he realised how his friend would likely react to his decision, and opened the channel, contacting Ceraden's offices. The call went through, but rather than Ceraden's golden armoured helmet appearing in the viewscreen, it was Irillith's beautiful blue features that greeted him instead.

"Hello, John," she purred to him with delight. "I'm so pleased that you contacted me. Have you made your decision?"

He looked at her in surprise, and asked, "How did this call go through to you directly? I was expecting to have to ask Ceraden to put me through to you."

She waved her hand dismissively. "I assumed that if you wanted to speak to that buffoon, you'd probably come here to visit him in person. Therefore, I configured the comms system to reroute any communications from your ship directly to me instead," she explained as if it were effortless, although hacking the highly secure comms network was no small feat in itself.

John nodded, impressed by her expertise, and said, "I've decided to take you up on your offer to meet with you mother, in exchange for being able to purchase weaponry for my ship. We're finishing our repairs here, and will be done by tomorrow."

Irillith looked overjoyed, and it was a refreshing change to see a genuine smile on her lovely face. "That's perfect! I can be ready to leave by noon tomorrow. You'll find I can be a powerful ally, John. You've made the right choice," she told him eagerly.

He smiled at her pleasantly and nodded, seeing no reason to antagonise her unnecessarily. "I had a couple of questions about the weaponry you're offering to sell me. Firstly, what kind of weapons are for sale? Secondly, what kind of prices are we talking about?"

She smiled at him reassuringly, "Rest assured, the Maliri have significantly more powerful ship-based lasers than the Terran Federation can even dream of. The weapon mounts on Terran and Maliri vessels are not hugely dissimilar, so you should be able to upgrade your whole arsenal. Of course, it won't be cheap, but I'm sure a man of your means wouldn't have been making inquiries of this nature if you didn't have the funds to pay for them."

"You aren't going to tell me any specifics, are you?" he asked her shrewdly.

She smiled at him teasingly, and shook her head. "That is for you and my mother to discuss and come to an agreement. My involvement in this business is to see you safely escorted to her."

He nodded reluctantly, and asked, "So we meet at noon tomorrow? Are you boarding my ship as a passenger?"

She laughed and shook her head, then said, "I have arranged my own passage. I'll rendezvous with you outside Port Geniya at noon tomorrow, and escort you into Maliri Space."

"I'll see you then," he agreed, and she closed the comm channel.

He sat back in the big chair behind the desk, steepling his fingers, as he thought over the conversation. Irillith's refusal to be drawn out on the details of this offer was ringing all sorts of alarm bells, but as he had discussed with Calara, they could always run if they got in trouble. He then stood, heading back to the bedroom to meet with the girls, and finish off the installation of the sensor array.