Three Square Meals Ch. 052

John frowned at that and said, "The Trankarans attacking civilian shipping in our territory is an extreme provocation. Why hasn't the Terran Federation reacted?"

Shaking his head, Dylan replied, "I've no idea. I can try and set up a meeting with the Base Commander, if that would help?"

Smiling at him gratefully, John said, "That would be brilliant if you could. Do you know the Base Commander personally?"

Dylan smiled wryly as he replied, "No, but I don't think that'll be a problem." He got up a moment later, then walked briskly over to a comms station off to the side of the bar.

***

Dana and Rachel were both in the Engineering Bay, with Rachel studying a recent sample of John's DNA, while Dana stared up at a bewildering array of chemical formula. She was using the projector system that she had set up for Rachel, and the staggeringly complex formula arced across the room, detailing the chemical composition of the crystal compound she had developed. The redhead twirled a small spanner in her right hand, sending it dancing over her fingers, as her dextrous digits played with it absentmindedly.

Dana suddenly snorted with frustration. "You fucking stubborn son of a bitch!" she cursed explosively, grasping the spanner in a tight grip, and hurling it across the room. It bounced off the metal head of one of her maintenance robots with a dull clang, and she looked shifty when Rachel looked up from her console.

Rachel smiled at her and asked in a soothing voice, "Something troubling you, my love?"

Dana grinned at her sheepishly, and walked over to the Engineering Podium. She opened her arms for a hug, and Rachel embraced the troubled girl. Dana let out a sigh as Rachel's arms surrounded her, and as she relaxed in that comforting hug, their slightly rounded tummies brushed against each other. They both looked down at the accidental contact, and then looked coy as they remembered the passionate threesome they had with John that morning.

Trying to get Dana talking again, Rachel noted, "You're normally so mellow when you've got a belly full of cum. What's wrong?"

Dana frowned, pulling away and leaning against one of her consoles. "It's the same problem as always!" she growled in anger. "It took sixteen elements to make a stable bond between Onyxium, Etherite and Titanium. No matter what elements I try, or how many I combine, I can't get Onyxium to create a permanent lattice with the Maliri crystals."

Rachel glanced over at the half-finished suit of body armour that Dana had been working on, and said, "Why don't you just finish the new armour, then you can encase it in Alyssium plating, or even the new reinforced crystal you developed."

Dana let out a mournful sigh, and said, "Because it feels like I'm giving up! I hate the thought of having to just make do with the other materials, and I want the best possible plating I can make to keep everyone safe."

Rachel smirked, and asked teasingly, "Are you sure it's not because you want to amaze a certain Progenitor in our midst?" Deepening her voice, she exclaimed in mock astonishment, "This really is incredible, Dana! You're so clever, and such a good girl. Now, drop to your knees, and I'll make your belly button pop out as a reward."

The redhead flushed with embarrassment, her perceptive lover knowing her all too well. Dana then grinned wickedly, and said, "You're just as bad!" At Rachel's indignant expression, Dana put on a fake baritone voice of her own, and said, "Thank you so much, Rachel, for telling me all about my DNA, and unlocking all my Progenitor secrets. Now get on the bed, I really want to breed you, my sexy little genius."

Rachel's cheeks blushed just as much as Dana's had, and when she saw the mischievous look her friend was giving her, she laughed and rolled her eyes. "We're as bad as each other," she conceded with a smile.

They walked over to each other seductively, then came together slowly, resting their hands on the other girl's hips with a light touch. When their tummies nudged against each other this time, it was deliberate, and coy smiles spread over their faces.

"This morning was so hot," Dana said with a wistful sigh.

Rachel reached up and stroked the other girl's cheek, and said, "After dealing with all those bad memories, and finally getting a sense of peace, you telling me you loved me was just what I needed to hear. Thank you."

They leaned together, and closed their eyes as they began to kiss unhurriedly. It felt wonderful to just focus on enjoying the feel of their lover's lips and the teasing tip of a tongue. They stayed like that long enough to lose track of time, and when they finally pulled apart and reopened their eyes, they both sighed in blissful contentment.

Rachel suddenly froze and gasped in a hushed voice, "Is that what I think it is?"

Dana quickly turned to see what had drawn the brunette's attention, and her eyes widened as she saw a purple, four-inch-tall female sprite sitting on the console next to the holographic helical structures of John's DNA.

"What are you two doing?" the diminutive sylph-like digital construct asked, as it stared at them curiously.

***

Spending a couple of hours with Dylan in the bar on the lower decks, had given the crowds in the plaza time to disperse, and everything seemed to be back to normal when they rode the elevator up to the Administration Level. John led Alyssa and Calara across the admin area of the space station, strolling past the base staff who were concentrating on their tasks, and not paying much attention to visitors.

Alyssa glanced around the big room, taking in the calm sense of order in this area of the station, and she thought to John, *An admin level looks a lot different when it's not pitch black, and lit up by plasma fires.*

John nodded as he replied, *Hopefully the Base Commander isn't as ferocious as that Kintark Royal Guard!*

They ascended the long flight of steps that led up to Central Command, moving at a brisk pace. There were a couple of vigilant soldiers standing at the top of the staircase, and they watched John and the girls approach with a wary eye. When the guards recognised him, they snapped to attention and saluted John crisply, and he nodded in acknowledgement, returning the salute as they strode past.

They had to walk past a couple of signposted intersections until they saw a sign reading "Base Commander's Office", pointing off to the right. There were another two soldiers standing guard here, and they immediately halted their quiet conversation when they saw they had company. After saluting, the one on the right said, "The Commander is expecting you, Sir."

He turned and pressed the button on the door, and the reinforced door swung to one side with a familiar hum of well maintained servos. John led the girls inside, and they were surprised to find a large room, split into two sections. The area directly in front of them was set up with several comfortable looking sofas, and the section to the right appeared to be the Commander's office. Leaning against her desk, and viewing a holographic report from a reader she held in her left hand, she looked up with interest when they walked into her office.

The Base Commander was an attractive green-eyed blonde in her early forties, who wore her hair tied up in a bun. She had worked her way up the ranks, and the jagged scar on her right cheek was testimony to the fact that she hadn't earned her promotions from sitting behind a desk.

Putting down the holo-reader, she strode over to greet them, then stopped and gave John a precise, sharp salute. "Commander Mary Tavistock. Welcome to Port Megara, Sir." she said in a clear voice, studying his face intently.

John saluted her back, and he replied in a relaxed tone, "Commodore John Blake. It's nice to meet you Commander, I'm sorry for dropping in on you without much notice. This is my XO, Alyssa Marant, and my Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Calara Fernandez."

The girls beamed disarming smiles at her, and she gave them a courteous nod in return, before gesturing for them to sit on the sofas nearby. When her guests had taken their seats, Commander Tavistock joined them and said, "It's no trouble at all, Commodore. It's not every day I get to meet a Holonet celebrity out on the rim of Terran Space."

John laughed at that, and said, "I wouldn't go that far, but call me John, please. We just like to help out where we can. Still, I'm sure you must be wondering what brings us to your neck of the woods."

Commander Tavistock nodded as she said, " I must admit, it had crossed my mind. I have a great deal of respect for Doctor Fernandez, but he didn't give me much detail about the intel you were looking for. He mentioned you were planning an expedition into Trankaran Space?"

"That's right," John confirmed quickly. "We heard the stories about the Trankarans firing on each other, and any merchants who were unlucky enough to get in the way."

Commander Tavistock looked pensive as she replied, "Things seem to be escalating over the border. We've had half a dozen merchants flee Trankaran Space in the last week, barely escaping with their lives. Another eight Terran merchant ships are overdue on their return voyage, and I'm not holding out much hope for them making it back safely."

John leaned forward and asked tersely, "Any idea what's stirred them up like this? And what's this I hear about them attacking a Terran merchant in our territory? Wars have been declared over less!"

She looked troubled as she replied, "We've never had trouble with the Trankarans before. I've been this station's Commander for the last four years, so I've got to know their species fairly well. Lots of long meetings with Ambassadors, you know the drill. Anyway, I've never once seen a Trankaran get angry, or even so much as get mildly annoyed about anything for that matter. I don't think I've met a more placid and easy-going race, so I dread to think what could have got them so riled up.

As for that attack in our territory, I called in the sector fleet and we were gearing up for a big escalation, when I received a call from their Ambassador on this station, Gamrik. He sounded desperate, begging me not to retaliate, and then asked that I speak to the head of their government, Chancellor Niskera."

John looked intrigued, and asked, "So what did this Chancellor have to say?"

Commander Tavistock had a troubled frown on her face, as she replied, "Niskera pleaded with me not to attack. She said they've been having problems with a splinter group, and that this rebel band has been committing acts of terrorism to try and provoke their neighbours. The attacks on merchant shipping were carried out as part of this campaign."

Sitting back in his chair, and rubbing his chin, John stayed quiet for a moment as he mulled over the situation. Finally he asked, "Is this Ambassador Gamrik still on Port Megara?"

"I can arrange a meeting if you want?" Commander Tavistock volunteered.

John smiled and said, "That would be great, thanks."

The Commander got up and strolled over to the desk, then sat in her chair and brought up the comm interface to speak to the Ambassador. While she busied herself with that, John glanced over at Alyssa.

*Interesting developments. What are you thinking?* he asked the blonde girl sitting beside him.

Alyssa looked to be deep in thought before she finally replied, *She's got a great figure for an older woman. Very athletic. If you fancied banging someone more age-appropriate, I reckon she'd be a hell of a ride.*

John stifled a laugh and his answering telepathic reply carried his amusement, *You're such a bad girl.*

Alyssa feigned surprise, and asked, *Oh, you meant about the Trankarans?* She winked at him impishly, then added in a more serious tone, *Calara and I were just chatting about it. She was just saying what an odd coincidence that the Trankarans suddenly decided to start fighting each other only a few months ago...*

He glanced Calara's way and smiled at her appreciatively. "I agree," he whispered quietly, "and you know how I feel about coincidences."

Calara nodded, and Alyssa's voice drifted through his mind as she said, *So, I guess we better keep our eyes peeled for Progenitor influence.*

Commander Tavistock walked back to join them, bringing further conversation to a halt. "The Ambassador will be here shortly. Can I get any of you a drink?" she asked pleasantly.

"Three coffees please," John said, darting a look at the girls for confirmation, and they each gave the Commander a polite nod.

The Base Commander strolled over to a coffee machine set into the wall, and began to pour steaming hot cups of the bitter beverage, adding milk and sugar accordingly. She handed out the cups to John and the girls, then prepared a drink for herself and sat down.

John had been looking around the room, and when Tavistock rejoined them, he asked, "This is an unusual office setup. Shouldn't this bit be the adjutant's reception area?"

The older woman smiled at him, and nodded as she said, "I had it knocked through. I tend to meet with Ambassadors from several of the smaller empires on a regular basis, and having more space for guests has been useful." She then frowned and added, "Besides, I don't have much time for adjutants."

"Why's that?" John asked her, sensing there was some more to that tale.

The woman paused for a moment, then gave him a smile as she offered, "I'll tell you about my history with adjutants, if you let me ask you a personal question."

He grinned and replied, "Sure, you can ask, but this adjutant story better be good."

Commander Tavistock inclined her head, and said, "Before I swore off them completely, I had three over two years. The first was totally incompetent, the second was addicted to stims, and the third..."

Alyssa looked intrigued as she asked, "What did he do?"

"She," Tavistock corrected the blonde, "was selling confidential merchant traffic data to her boyfriend, a commodities broker in the core words. Every time a big merchant ship came back to Terran space loaded up with ore, he'd short the mineral stocks. They made several hundred thousand credits before I discovered what she'd been up to."

The Base Commander had a deeply hurt expression on her face, and they could tell she must have felt the last one to be a real betrayal.

Calara looked sympathetic, and she asked in a gentle voice, "What happened to this adjutant?"

"My niece got dishonourably discharged, and has served two years of her four year sentence," Tavistock said, a dark shadow passing over her face.

John reached out to take hold of the blonde woman's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry," he said sympathetically. "You should have said it was too personal to discuss."

She looked up at him and smiled in gratitude, then sat back, her hand slipping from his. "It's all in the past now," she said stoically. Her face brightened then, as she asked, "Have I earned my personal question?"

He nodded, and replied, "Definitely. Ask away."

The blonde woman's green eyes sparkled as she said eagerly, "I read through your serv-" Unfortunately a soft chime from the door interrupted her question, and she frowned with irritation.

John chuckled and said, "Don't worry, you can ask me afterwards."

Mollified, Commander Tavistock turned to look at the door, and called out, "Enter!"

The servos operating the door hummed once more, and once the sturdy reinforced door swung open, a bulky eight-foot-tall humanoid strode in. The occupants of the room rose to greet him, and his heavy brown robes rustled as he bowed deeply.

"A pleasure as always, Commander Tavistock," he rumbled in a deep gravelly voice.

The blonde woman smiled at him and said, "Thank you for arriving so promptly, Ambassador Gamrik. Can I introduce you to Commodore John Blake?"

The Trankaran ambassador looked towards John, and Alyssa noted with fascination that the big alien had solid, slightly disconcerting, amber coloured eyes. His face was a dark grey with lighter flecks highlighting his skin, and he looked like he'd been carved from solid granite. He was bald, and his hefty looking skull was covered in rippling striations that were embedded in his skin.

John stuck out his hand in greeting, as he said, "Good to meet you Ambassador, thanks for agreeing to see me."

The Ambassador enveloped John's smaller hand in his hefty rock paw, and shook his proffered hand tentatively. John could feel the burgeoning strength in the Trankaran's grip, but the hulking creature was being very careful not to accidentally hurt him.

"Call me Gamrik, please," the Trankaran said, his broad, slab-like face breaking into a guileless smile. He then added, "And I owe Mary more than a few favours, so consider me at your disposal."

Gamrik made no move to sit, and considering the size and enormous weight of the sturdy creature, the Commander's furniture was very grateful. As a courtesy to the Trankaran, John and the women remained standing as well.

John nodded and said, "By all means, call me John." He hesitated for a moment, before he continued, "We're actually doing a favour for the Maliri, and looking to follow up on a trade deal between their people and yours. We believe your Ambassador with the Maliri had brokered the deal, but he seems to have disappeared. Have you seen or heard anything of his whereabouts?"

Gamrik's face fell, and with a mournful timber to his deep bass voice, he said, "Ambassador Khemmerlun was a good friend of mine, and we went through our training at the diplomatic corps together. I'm sorry to inform you that his spark has been extinguished."

"What happened to him?" John asked tentatively.

Gamrik's features shifted into one of sad regret as he rumbled, "No doubt Commander Tavistock has informed you of the troubles that have engulfed my people. Ambassador Khemmerlun's vessel was attacked when he returned to our territory, and he was killed in a rebel ambush."

Alyssa's voice echoed in John's mind as she said, *Please don't tell me we put up with Irillith for the last few weeks for no reason...*

Ignoring her for a moment, John asked Gamrik, "Is there someone else that might have been involved with the deal? I believe a considerable amount of credits were transferred as a deposit."

Gamrik's mighty shoulders rose and fell, and he looked regretful as he said in his gravelly voice, "One of the Senators might have been involved in this deal. I'm afraid I know nothing about it."

"Would we be able to meet with them?" John asked, a hopeful expression on his face.

The Trankaran ambassador looked like he was going to say no, before he stopped, and studied John with his pupil-less, amber eyes. Blinking a couple of times as he did so, Gamrik said, "I immediately recognised you from the Terran Holonet interviews, but now that I meet you in person, I know I've seen your likeness before. You are the same John Blake the Ashanath honoured with the statue on their homeworld, aren't you?"

John nodded, and said brusquely, "We helped them with an internal security matter. It was confidential, so please forgive me if I won't go into details."

Ambassador Gamrik looked very thoughtful for a moment, before he said eagerly, "I do not mind, and your discretion speaks volumes for the kind of man you are. The Trankaran Republic might have a similar need for your services. If I arrange a meeting with the Chancellor, would you be willing to meet with her to discuss possible terms for some kind of arrangement?"

John smiled as the Trankaran Ambassador reacted like a drowning man, desperately grasping for the line he had thrown him. "That sounds reasonable. How far into Trankaran Space is the Chancellor?" he asked the bulky alien.

"Not far," Gamrik said eagerly. "The main Republic Fleet is patrolling the border, in an effort to prevent the rebels from provoking your people any further."