Three Square Meals Ch. 055

He winked at her playfully, then reached out and hauled the Laser Cannon clear of the turret housing. Shocked gasps and exclamations echoed around him, and he smiled at all the astounded Maliri women who were watching him in amazement.

"There's no one below, John!" Almari called to him from the edge of the topdeck.

John turned and effortlessly lobbed the Laser cannon over her head, and down to the waiting tractor field below. He smiled at Annallee who was swooning beside him, and he said gently, "You two better move on to the next turret."

They nodded eagerly, then turned and ran past the next several pairs of engineers who were frantically working to get the next turrets ready for him.

*Having fun?* Alyssa asked him in amusement.

He smiled, and replied, *Actually, yeah I am. It's great not having to worry about hiding my superhuman strength.*

*I'm not sure it's wise to throw caution completely to the wind,* Alyssa said carefully. *Although those girls are practically panting with lust already, you won't have time to top them all up, unless you're planning to delay our departure?*

John walked over to the next Gatling Laser, and smiled at the two engineers, before picking it up. When Luna nodded to him, giving him the all clear, he chucked the weapon over the side of the ship, then started walking towards the next one.

*No, we'll still leave as soon as possible,* he replied. *I owe it to Calara to help keep her family safe, and stop this Dragon March traitor.*

Alyssa didn't answer for a while, and when she did, she sounded a bit confused, as she said, *Actually you might not need to give them a full dose to link these women to Edraele. Call it a hunch, but a small mouthful ought to do it.*

He paused as he arrived at the next Gatling Laser turret, and asked, *How do you know that?*

*I'm not sure,* Alyssa replied. *I just have a strong feeling that I'm right.*

John chuckled, and said, *Well I'll bear that in mind, if they suddenly start throwing themselves at me.* He picked up the Gatling Laser, and once Ilyana let him know it was clear, he effortlessly chucked it over the edge of the ship.

***

"I don't believe it!" Alyndra gasped in amazement, as the charged stream pulsed steadily, sending anti-matter directly into the huge Fusion Reactor.

Dana grinned at her, and said, "See, I told you it would work. Now, we just need to deploy an ore scoop at the base of the Power Core, and we can gather the elements I need."

Alyndra was still gaping at the slowly revolving core in shock, but she blinked twice and said, "We'll get one set up immediately." She rushed over to a couple of her fellow technicians, and began giving them quick orders.

"Nice work, Sparks," Alyssa said with an appreciative grin. "How long till you get what you need?"

"We should be done in a couple of hours," Dana said with a smile. "Their Power Core is much bigger than I thought it would be, so I was able to double the rate of anti-matter injection."

"Great!" Alyssa enthused, then glanced over at Irillith, who was staring off into the distance. She could feel worry pouring off the Maliri girl, so she walked over to her, and thought to her with concern, *Are you alright?*

Irillith turned to look at her, her eyelids fluttering a moment as she focused on Alyssa's face. She leaned in, pressing her lips to Alyssa's ear, and whispered to her, "I've started seeing flickering spots in my peripheral vision."

Alyssa reached out and placed a comforting hand on Irillith's shoulder, and asked, *When did this start happening?*

"This morning," Irillith whispered, sounding worried.

Alyssa gave her a comforting smile, and suggested telepathically, *Maybe you should go and see Rachel? She'll be able to check you out and make sure you're okay. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about though. With the huge amount of John's cum you've swallowed in the last couple of weeks, you'll be in perfect physical health, I guarantee it!*

Irillith gave her a smile, feeling reassured, and said, "I'll be alright for the moment. I'll speak to Rachel when the refit is done."

Alyssa nodded, giving her a comforting smile, and they both turned to watch the bright stream of anti-matter being fired into the Power Core.

***

John made good time removing the weapons, and he did a full circuit of the topdeck, casually discarding the old Laser Cannons and Gatling Lasers. The armour panel removing crew had watched in amazement at his effortless display of super-strength, and Calara eventually wandered down the hull to join him, with a broad smile on her face.

"You're distracting my girls," she told him while wagging a finger his way.

He smiled back at her, and said, "Hey, half of them were mine, you're just borrowing them for a bit."

Calara laughed, and leaned in to give him an affectionate kiss. "We're still making good time," she said enthusiastically, "I think we'll be done in a couple of hours."

John looked over at the Beam Lasers, and the engineers who were working quickly to uncouple them from their secured housing in the hull. "I've just got these Beam Lasers to remove, and we'll have cleared the topdeck," he said with satisfaction. He frowned then, and added, "I can't help that much for the rest, as they're underneath the ship."

The Latina looked thoughtful for a moment, then said, "Why not get geared up, and use the magnetic boots on the Phalanx armour? You'll be able to walk all over the hull that way."

Chuckling, John scooped her up in his arms, and whirled her around, as she squealed with glee. "I knew I didn't just keep you around because you're a fine piece of ass," he joked with her playfully.

When he placed her carefully on the deck, her dark brown eyes were sparkling, and she pulled him down so she could whisper in his ear, "We haven't had a sparring session in a while. I've missed it."

He grinned at her, and she sauntered away to rejoin her crew, swaying her hips alluringly. He stood there, admiring the spectacular view, until someone cleared her throat politely beside him. Turning to look at her, he saw that it was Filaurel looking up at him, her cheeks flushed.

"Hey Filaurel, everything alright?" he asked her with a warm smile.

She nodded animatedly, and said, "We've uncoupled the Beam Lasers! Everyone's waiting to watch to see if you can lift them."

He laughed, and asked, "What do you think?"

Filaurel blushed and hesitated for a moment, before she asked brazenly, "I'd need to feel the muscles in your arms, before I can make a decision."

"Is that right?" John asked, looking down at her in amusement. He flexed his bicep for her, and she held her breath as she reached out with trembling hands to gently stroke his arm. He smiled as he asked, "What's the verdict?"

She gazed up at him with her angular, teal coloured eyes, and murmured, "I think you can do it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he said with a smile, and she blushed furiously pulling away her hands with some reluctance.

He strolled over to the thirty-metre-long Beam Lasers, and nodded with satisfaction that they looked to have been unlocked as per Dana's instructions. When he glanced up, he saw that Rachel was standing next to Calara higher up the hull of the ship, with dozens of spellbound Maliri engineers arrayed around them. The two brunettes grinned at him, waving excitedly when they saw he was looking their way. He waved back at them, pleased to see them looking so happy.

*Come on Hercules, time to put on a good show,* Alyssa teased him. *You know your little exploits are distracting all the work crews?*

*Consider it a morale boosting exercise,* John replied with amusement. *This kind of maintenance is normally mind-numbingly tedious.*

*You don't have to justify your showing off to me,* she smirked in reply.

He chuckled, then squatted down at the end of one of the Beam Laser barrels. "Is it clear Almari?" he asked her, giving her a quick glance over his shoulder. The Maliri assassin was too awestruck to reply, so she just nodded mutely.

John closed his eyes, then took a deep breath to focus himself. He felt his breathing grow more measured, and his senses intensified with a sharper sense of clarity. This barrel was nearly thirty-metres in length, and at his best guess, must weigh close to four tons. He took a careful grip, then hauled mightily, heaving the huge weapon barrel into the air. His audience were truly astounded, gaping at him in disbelief, as he walked carefully over towards the edge of the hull, and launched the Beam Laser over the side. He turned to look back at the crowd with a smile of satisfaction on his face, and they went wild, applauding and cheering with delight.

*Very nice,* Alyssa said appreciatively, as he walked over to the next one. *Wasn't your last record about two tonnes?*

*Yeah, that's right. It was when we swapped out the engines on the Raptor,* he replied, grinning at the crowd as he hefted another massive laser barrel into the air. *This feels easier though, less of a strain somehow...*

There was a slight pause for a moment while Alyssa was thinking, and she eventually replied, *We've added Irillith to the crew since then, and you've also got Edraele as a second Matriarch. You and I intensified our connection as well, so you must be siphoning off more power from that.*

John nodded, then flipped the huge Beam Laser over Luna's head as she gaped at him in wonder. *Do you feel me drawing power from you, while I'm using my super-strength like this?* he asked her curiously.

*No, I can't feel a thing,* she replied honestly, while he walked over to the third Beam Laser in the starboard array. He could feel her frustration as she continued, *I wish these psychic powers weren't all such a mystery. I hate fumbling around in the dark like this, we need answers!*

*Fumbling in the dark can be fun,* John joked, as he effortlessly hauled the third Beam Laser into the air, then steadied his hold over it carefully. After Ilyana gave him an excited nod, he hurled the weapon in a smooth arc over the edge of the Invictus. *I know what you mean though. We should speak to Edraele later, and see if she can tell us anything.*

He started walking over to the three Beam Lasers in the port array, and Alyssa said, *You might want to hold up for a moment there. Jade and her crew are arriving to see the show. You should give them their money's worth.*

Looking up, he saw the Nymph strolling over to join Calara and Rachel, and she gave him a beautiful smile when they made eye contact. Her team of twenty engineers were spreading out amongst the other sixty Maliri women, and he could hear all sorts of incredulous chatter as they gossiped with their friends. He clapped his hands, then rubbed them together as if in preparation, and an expectant hush fell amongst the crowd. Crouching down, he grabbed hold of the first of these Beam lasers, then smoothly raised it into the air, to another gratifying round of clapping and cheering. When Ilyana gave him the all-clear, he casually lobbed the weapon over fifty metres of hull, and it cleanly fell to the side and the awaiting tractor field.

*You missed your vocation,* Alyssa giggled. *You should have been in the circus!*

John laughed while moving to the next Beam Laser, and crouched down next to it, getting ready to lift it into the air. Suddenly a terrified, piercing scream filled the air, and he darted a shocked glance in the direction it had come from. He turned just in time to see one of the Maliri engineers had slipped, and was falling off the port edge of the hull, her blue arms flung out in desperation.

Lurching to his feet, he sprinted in the poor woman's direction, not sure how he could save her, but determined to try. Jade moved much faster however, shimmering into tiger form, and leaping over the crowd in a dark-green flash.

"Jade!" he cried out to her in alarm, as she flung herself over the edge of the hull, falling to her doom.

He raced up to the edge of the hull, his heart in his mouth as he searched for her desperately, fearing the worst. Suddenly with a flap of huge dark-green feathered wings, an enormous viridian striped hawk rose gracefully into the air, the fallen Maliri grasped carefully in her talons. There were more gasps of shock and amazement behind him, and he turned to see all the engineers thronging about the edge of the ship.

"Back up everyone!" he called out in a commanding voice. "I don't want anyone else falling!"

The Maliri moved away obediently, staying clear of the edge, and giving the Jade Falcon plenty of room to land. Jade hovered above John, flapping her wings in a rhythmic beat to stay airborne. He could feel the soft brush of air overhead, and she flew into the gap on the hull that everyone had cleared for her. She carefully placed the Maliri engineer on the ship, releasing her from her talons, then shimmered, turning back into her Nymph shape.

John strode over to join them, and he knelt by the trembling Maliri woman, who had been scared witless. "It's alright, you're safe now," he said to her in a soothing voice. He looked around and spotted Filaurel in the crowd, and asked, "What's her name?"

Filaurel hurried over, and kneeling beside him, she said, "This is Ioelena."

John gently stroked the Maliri woman's arm, and said, "Don't worry Ioelena, Jade saved you. You're not in any danger now." He glanced over the terrified woman to the Nymph, and said gratefully, "That was amazing. I'm really proud of you, Jade."

Ioelena flung herself into his arms, sobbing with relief, and he stroked her back comfortingly, while looking at Jade. She had a satisfied smile on her beautiful green face, and her emerald cat-like eyes sparkled as she gazed at him. Eventually Ioelena calmed down enough to stop crying, and she looked up at him, her flushed, tear-stained cheeks a dark blue.

"What happened?" he asked the shaken woman with concern.

Ioelena blushed furiously, turning an even darker navy colour, and admitted shamefacedly, "I wanted to get a better view, and I slipped, then fell off the ship."

John chuckled, and said, "Well lucky for you, Jade was here. She was the one that saved you, not me."

Ioelena turned to the Nymph, and nodded to her in gratitude, her voice trembling as she said, "Thank you so much. I don't even know you, and you risked yourself for me. Why would you do that?"

With a gentle smile on her face, Jade replied, "John saved me from enslavement and death. The least I can do is to try and protect his friends."

Standing up, John offered Filaurel and Ioelena his hands, and they gratefully accepted, rising to stand very close next to him. They both looked up at him with wide eyes, while Jade stood up too, watching John and the Maliri girls with a satisfied smile. John suddenly noticed that Jade was now nude, having ripped through her outfit with her rapid shape-shifting.

"Maybe you should go and get some more clothes?" he suggested with a grin.

Jade laughed, then winked as she said, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Make sure no one else falls off the edge!"

With that, she stepped over into a clear area, and crouched down as she was swathed in a dark-green haze. She grew much larger, her shape solidifying into that of the Jade Falcon once again, then with a flap of her wings, she lifted off the deck, then swooped away over the side of the ship and down to the Hangar Bay below.

The crowd watched her in amazement, and when she disappeared from view, they seemed to turn as one, gazing at John with even greater admiration. The moment was somewhat disrupted when John's stomach rumbled loudly, and the nearby Maliri smiled at him in amusement.

"Alright, nearly time for lunch," he said eagerly. Then with a playful frown at Ioelena he said, "I'll just remove the last two Beam Lasers, but no more diving off the ship this time."

She blushed, but his gentle ribbing did nothing to dampen the look of adoration she gave him.

***

Alyssa shook her head in amazement, as Calara, Rachel, and Jade all filled her in on events back at the Invictus. Along with John's inner voice, it was fascinating to get four different viewpoints on what had just happened. In any event, the girls were all of the opinion that the Maliri seemed to have become even more besotted with the erstwhile Lion of the Federation. She marvelled at the overwhelming speed with which he was entrancing these Maliri, and it gave her a newfound appreciation for just how cunning the Progenitors were. How easy it would be to subvert whole swathes of a population if your mere presence turned them into devoted followers.

She looked across at Dana, and smiled fondly, as the brilliant young woman seemed to have captivated her own group of Maliri. The technicians in the control room were listening attentively to every word she said, as the redhead explained the theory behind the experiment they had just completed with the Power Core. They had deployed the ore scoop, and were currently waiting while it collected up the new elements that they required for the Crystal Alyssium.

Turning her attention to Irillith, Alyssa watched her with concern, as the beautiful heir to House Valaden gazed off into the distance distractedly. Her angular violet eyes were flickering now and then, as though trying to see something on the corner of her vision. Deciding to try and distract her from whatever was causing this troubling disruption to her eyesight, Alyssa walked over to her, and stroked her back soothingly.

*Irillith, can I ask you a question?* she asked, when the Maliri woman turned to look at her.

Irillith glanced at the other Maliri in the room, but they were enthralled by Dana's lecture on material physics. "Sure, go ahead," she replied quietly.

*The Maliri engineers back at the ship are already smitten with John, and it's only been a few hours,* Alyssa informed her casually. She then gave her a probing look, and asked her bluntly, *So, how on Terra did you resist him for so long?*

Irillith looked startled for a moment, then blushed furiously. She beckoned Alyssa closer, and then leaned in to her ear and whispered, "I spent weeks watching you in bed together on the video feedback, and fantasising about him incessantly. I thought I was going to go crazy with lust at one point, but my fear of the Mael'nerak, and anger at my mother, helped me resist the urge to go to him."

Alyssa pulled away, so that she could stare into Irillith's eyes, and she reached up to gently caress her face, as she said sincerely, *That must have been terrible for you, being so conflicted. I'm so sorry you suffered like that.*

Irillith stared back into the bright cerulean eyes for a long moment, then leaned in again, and whispered softly in her ear, "I've never known anyone as kind or lovely as you are. I can see why he loves you so much."

Alyssa pulled her in for a hug, and whispered in Irillith's ear, "I'm so glad you joined us. You're turning into a wonderful person."

They hugged each other tightly, completely unnoticed by all the other occupants of the room.

***

John was sitting down on the hull of the Invictus, enjoying a pleasant lunch with Calara, Rachel, Jade, and eighty enraptured Maliri engineers. He took a big bite out of the strange flatbread filled with delicious spiced meats and vegetables, and groaned appreciatively.

When he swallowed the final bite, he smiled at the spellbound Maliri woman sitting across from him and exclaimed, "Thessalia, you're an incredible cook! That tasted absolutely delicious. What did you call it again?"

Thessalia sighed happily, and said, "It's Aloysia bread, with roasted Camara, and Lomin leaves."

He grinned at her, and joked, "If we ever decide to hire a ship's cook, would you be interested?"

She giggled at him, but her answering nod, and the look she gave him was anything but playful. He looked at his girls, and saw they seemed to be enjoying their lunch just as much as he had been. They smiled at him, nodding approvingly as they ate.