Three Square Meals Ch. 056

John frowned and asked, "If Progenitor-John is the asshole you guys said he was, not that I'm doubting you for a minute, why did he help me before?"

Rachel pondered this for a while, before saying speculatively, "Although your personalities are different, you still share the same body. He wouldn't want you to come to any harm, and probably intervened when you were in real danger."

"Most of those times it was Alyssa in as much trouble as I was," John said in confusion.

She smiled at him as she said, "She was your Matriarch, but you hadn't cut her off from him at that point. He was still able to tap her for power, so when he acted to protect her, he was probably looking out for his own interests."

John mulled it over, and nodded as he said, "That makes sense."

Rachel sat there watching him for a long moment, and he could sense she wanted to say something else, but was hesitating for some reason.

Looking at her quizzically, he said, "You know you can say anything to me. What's troubling you?"

She let out a sigh, knowing he wasn't going to like what she was about to tell him, but she did as he asked, and replied, "I don't think it's over between you and Progenitor-John. You've said it yourself that he's locked away in your mind. Until you resolve things between you permanently, I don't think you'll be able to unlock your full potential." She looked away distantly, and added with some hesitation, "I feel this is right, but the only way I could possibly know this, is if it's leaked knowledge that's come from you. Alyssa's talked about compartments in her mind before, which she uses to maintain psychic powers. I -know- that a substantial part of your mind is dedicated to locking Progenitor-John away in his prison."

John frowned, looking deeply troubled, and Rachel could see the worry in his face as he said, "His personality is so strong. He defeated me easily, and it was only with Alyssa's help that I was able to lock him away. Even then, we seemed to catch him by surprise, and he was in a weakened state at the time. If I consciously break him out of that mind-prison, I'm not sure I'll be able to stop him."

*Then you need to get stronger, and I'll help you do it,* Alyssa told him fiercely. *I didn't go to all the trouble of getting you back to lose you to that asshole!*

*You can count on me as well, John,* Edraele told him solemnly. *I'll try and think of anything I can to help develop your psychic potency.*

He felt renewed by their confident and supportive words, and replied, *Thanks, both of you, that means a lot.*

Rachel watched the emotions play over his face, and she was greatly relieved when he looked confident, and positive once more. She leaned against him, and said in a quiet voice, "Sorry I upset you, but I thought it was important for you to know."

He smiled at her, and said, "You don't need to apologise. You were right, I really did need to know this. Thank you."

She gave him a relieved smile, then leaned in and whispered, "You were wrong about one thing though."

"Really, what's that?" he asked her, wondering what she was referring to.

She gave him a tender kiss as she murmured, "About us not having to obey you any more. I'm still your good, obedient, submissive girl. I'll always follow your orders."

"You're a good girl," he said with a grin, and he moaned appreciatively as she squeezed his length with her internal muscles.

He rolled her on to her back, and carefully pinned her hands to the mattress above her head, while flexing his shaft inside her. She moaned excitedly, spreading her thighs as much as possible to let him push as deep into her womb as he could go, and the head of his cock brushed against the back wall, making her gasp.

He rested against her supine, luscious body, feeling her full breasts squashed against his chest, and he leaned in to whisper in her ear, "Let's see how many times you can come before you pass out."

She whimpered with delight, and replied, "Are you going to tell me about how you plan to impregnate me?"

"Of course, you're my prime breeding stock," he confirmed, as he thrust inside her and nibbled at her ear.

***

Irillith slumped back in her chair at the IntOps Station, blinking rapidly to try and make the flickering spots go away. She was up on the Bridge, working with Calara to start looking at the classified orders given in the Dragon March, and see if she could hack her way into the top-secret files. The plan was to see if she could prove Calara's hypothesis conclusively, and confirm that Admiral Norwood was the Dragon March Traitor. Once they had done that, they were going to start investigating further, and see if they could discover his network of accomplices, should he have any. Unfortunately, as she had been working at her console, those drifting spots in her peripheral vision had appeared again.

"Are your eyes troubling you?" Calara asked her with concern.

Irillith looked up, and saw that the Latina had walked up the ramp to the IntOps Station, and was now squatting at her side. "I'm seeing flickering images at the corner of my line of sight," the Maliri girl said with frustration. "I know it's not due to tiredness, as I had a good night's sleep last night."

Calara reached out, and gently stroked Irillith's leg in a comforting gesture, as she said, "Come on, we should take you to Rachel, and get her to check you out."

Nodding distractedly, Irillith rose from her seat, then asked in confusion, "How did you know I'm having trouble with my eyes, anyway?"

The brunette smiled at her, and replied, "Alyssa told me to keep a close watch on you, and make sure you were okay. We all care about you, and don't want to see you in any distress."

Irillith was quite touched by Calara's honest words, and she opened her arms for a hug. It was an unusual gesture for her, but Calara embraced her immediately, wrapping her in her arms and stroking her back soothingly. Irillith felt better straight away, and she hugged the other girl gratefully.

*Always remember, you can trust us to be there for you,* Alyssa said to her, her warm and gentle voice filling Irillith's mind. *You've had to be on your own for years, watching your back. It's made you a strong person, but with us to support you now, you can be even stronger.*

"Thank you," Irillith murmured to Calara, "I needed that."

The Latina slowly released her, and said with a caring smile, "Any time." She looked distracted for a moment, then focused on Irillith, and added, "I'll take you to Rachel. We need to have her take a look at you."

Irillith nodded, and let Calara lead her over to the grav-tube.

***

John relaxed on the bed, with Rachel cuddled up beside him. She had recovered from her mind-blowing chain of orgasms, and was now sighing happily as he stroked her rounded belly, her womb stuffed full of his cum. He heard Irillith and Calara approaching down the corridor, and smiled at them when they walked into the bedroom.

"Hey girls, good to see you," he greeted them warmly, while Rachel gave them a friendly wave.

Calara led Irillith over to the bed, and said, "Irillith's been having problems with her eyes, flickering images in her peripheral vision, that kind of thing. We were hoping you could check her out."

Rachel sat up awkwardly, and said, "Of course! We can head down to Medical, and I'll give you a full check-up."

Another set of footsteps drew everyone's attention to the door, and Alyssa breezed in, smiling at everyone brightly. "You can head back up to the Bridge now, I can take over from here," she said to Calara.

Calara looked at Alyssa quizzically, but after a moment's telepathic communication, she smiled and nodded, giving the blonde a lingering kiss. Before she left, she gently squeezed Irillith's shoulder, and said, "I hope you feel better soon."

Irillith smiled at her gratefully, and Calara waved them goodbye before departing. Alyssa walked over to Irillith, and began to carefully remove the blue-skinned girl's blouse.

"What are you doing?" Irillith asked her in surprise.

Alyssa smiled at her, and said, "If there's anything physically wrong with you, the magic cure for everything is a stomach full of cum. We'll load you up, then Rachel can give your eyes a thorough check. If there's anything wrong, she can let John know, and he'll fix it, just like he did with Luna and the rest of Edraele's assassins."

Irillith blushed, but nodded, glancing at John and Rachel with a new gleam in her eyes. Rachel smiled at them, then lay back down, watching Alyssa's progress as she fully disrobed the Maliri girl. Irillith climbed onto the bed, then crawled over to join them, quickly followed by Alyssa, who was now nude too.

*It's polite to give Rachel a nice grateful kiss, before you eat John's cum from her. You know how wonderful it feels to have your womb stretched like that, so it's the least we can do to say thank you, for her being so generous,* Alyssa prompted Irillith playfully.

The azure-hued girl flashed Alyssa a curious look, then did as she had been bid, kneeling beside Rachel, and leaning down to give her a hesitant kiss. She quickly grew in confidence, and the two were soon growing more passionate. They eventually separated, and Irillith started moving down the bed, while Rachel spread her thighs for her invitingly. The Maliri girl soon went to work, her eyes rolling euphorically as she savoured her first sweet mouthful.

Rachel was watching Irillith in fascination, and remarked, "Wow! You really love the taste, don't you?"

Irillith let out an ecstatic sigh, and nodded as she continued to noisily suck John's cum from Rachel's pussy.

"I wonder if that's some genetic Behaviour Modification effect that makes you react so strongly?" Rachel mused out loud, gazing into Irillith's enchanting violet eyes, while tenderly stroking her flowing white hair.

Irillith had no answers for the brunette, so she continued her feast, and rapidly filled her stomach with his spunk. John and Alyssa both stroked Rachel's rounded abdomen as it gradually shrank, and the brunette sighed with pleasure at all the stimulation. Eventually they were done, and it was Irillith who looked like she was six months pregnant. She sat up, and stroked her swollen belly with a languid smile of satisfaction.

Alyssa darted around the bed, to kneel behind her, and gently caressed her tummy, as she asked, "How does that feel? Still having problems with your eyes?"

The Maliri girl leaned back against her and sighed as she said, "It feels wonderful, and my eyes seem to be fine at the moment."

Rachel climbed out of bed, and said, "That's good, but I want to give you a thorough check-up, okay?"

Irillith nodded obediently, and carefully climbed off the bed to go with the doctor.

***

Alyssa, Rachel and Irillith all left together, leaving John alone in bed with his thoughts. It had been weeks since he last spoke to Yamamoto, the taciturn swordmaster, and he really wanted to contact him to apologise for the abrupt end to their training sessions. Unfortunately they were still days away from the Terran Federation comm relays, so he'd have to wait until they got in range before he could make that call. He stretched then decided to get up, strolling into the bathroom for a shower.

*Hey, beautiful,* He thought to Alyssa as he washed himself down under the flowing water, *Can you see if Calara's up for a sparring match?*

*Can't wait for another piece of ass?* she chuckled in reply. *I'm sure she'll be delighted at the prospect!*

John was about to protest that he genuinely wanted to do some training, but he remembered Alyssa could hear all his thoughts anyway, and was just teasing him. He finished getting washed, then dried himself off before retrieving his sparring gear from the walk-in-wardrobe, and quickly putting it on. He walked briskly out of his bedroom while whistling a merry tune, and nearly collided with Calara, who was waiting for him outside.

"Hey John," the Latina said to him with a welcoming grin.

He smiled back at her, and saw that she was already dressed in her sparring gear, consisting of her black, close-fitting top and figure hugging leggings. "It looks like you got my message then. I hope you didn't mind having Alyssa act as a go-between, I figured it would be faster."

Calara let out a throaty laugh, and fell into step beside him as they walked along the corridor. "She told me to 'Head to the gym, because John wants to pound your ass', and I took a guess that you might want to do some sparring," she explained with a wry smile.

He chuckled as the two of them stepped into the grav-tube, and started floating down to Deck Seven. Calara slipped her hand into his, and looked up at him happily when he glanced down at her. They stayed hand-in-hand as they walked along the corridor past Medical and the Engineering Bay, before finally stopping in front of the door to the gym. John hit the button by the door, and when it swished open, he gestured politely for Calara to proceed. He followed her inside, and the two of them strode over to the mats to begin stretching before the fight.

As they limbered up their bodies in preparation for some strenuous physical activity, John's acute hearing caught a faint splash in the pool, immediately drawing his attention. When he looked over there curiously, the pool seemed to be deserted, but on closer inspection he saw a small flash of green under the water. He strode across the mat, then reached the water's edge, and sure enough, there was a dark-green shape swimming around, but it was tiny, probably no more than a foot long.

Kneeling down by the edge of the pool, he tapped the inside edge, and a few seconds later, Jade suddenly appeared in a shimmering green blur. She was over by the far side, and she grinned at him as she gave him a cheerful wave. Diving back under the water again, she reached the other end of the pool in a couple of seconds, and bobbed up right beside him.

"Hey!" she gasped with delight as she cleared the surface of the water. "What brings you to the gym?"

John smiled at her, and said, "We're going to do some sparring, but I just spotted you in the pool. Had you shrunk yourself? It looked like you were no bigger than twelve inches at the most!"

The Nymph nodded eagerly, and said, "It was Rachel's suggestion. After you spoilt me with Oceanus, the pool just felt tiny. By shrinking myself down, I can have a lot more fun!"

"Very impressive," John said, smiling at her in admiration. "Is that as small as you can go?"

Jade nodded, and frowned cutely as she replied, "Shrinking myself is actually surprisingly hard. Much more so than making myself bigger."

"What's the biggest you've been able to go so far?" he asked her with interest.

She smiled at him, and looking up at him, she replied, "A three tonne, African Bush Elephant."

"Wow!" he gasped in astonishment, "That's seriously impressive."

Jade beamed at him proudly, and said, "Thanks! It got easier after you and Alyssa re-bonded, so I think I went through a bit of a boost myself." She glanced behind him, and added, "Sorry, I didn't mean to hold up your sparring. It looks like Calara's ready."

John leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, and she swooned, then tipped back into the water comically, and disappeared from sight. He laughed when she re-emerged at the other end of the pool a few seconds later, and gave him a joyful wave goodbye. Turning back to Calara, he smiled apologetically for keeping her waiting.

"Don't worry, there's no rush," she said in her gentle easy-going manner.

She sat on the mat and watched him go through his stretching routine, and when he finished, she was about to get up when he surprised her and sat down in front of her. Calara was about to ask what he was doing, when he adopted a meditative pose and closed his eyes, breathing deeply. Staying respectfully silent, she watched him in fascination, as he seemed to grow visibly more relaxed and at peace. John took one last breath, before standing smoothly, and smiling at her serenely.

"I don't think I've ever seen you look so centred before," she said in surprise.

He offered her his hand, helping her to stand, and said, "I feel different. It was much easier to calm my mind and achieve a focused state."

They moved across the mats, and after bowing to one another, the bout was on. Calara danced towards him with the confidence and poise of an accomplished martial artist, moving in nimbly, and starting the match with a spinning roundhouse kick to the head. He ducked it effortlessly, then his hands darted out, and grabbed her toned leg. The Latina's eyes flared in alarm for a brief second, before his sweep knocked her other leg out from under her, sending her sprawling to the mat.

She gazed up at him wide-eyed in surprise, and gasped, "You haven't been able to catch one of my kicks like that in ages!"

John smiled, and said, "You're probably just a bit out of practice. We haven't done any sparring for a while."

Calara frowned as she took his offered hand, rising to her feet, and she backed away in preparation for another round. Deciding to let John make the first move this time, she circled him warily, then darted to the side as he lunged forward with a right-handed strike. She tried to counter attack with a kidney punch, but he deflected it effortlessly. When he followed up with another sweep, she easily jumped his leg, and started moving backwards to get some distance, but he launched another combination of strikes, seemingly having anticipated her move. She frantically blocked the series of attacks, but before she realised what was happening, he pounced on her for a grapple, and brought her down to the mat.

"You're making me feel like an amateur!" she blurted in shock, as he released her from the pin.

John sat back looking calm, while she felt flustered and out of control. He studied her for a moment, then patted the mat in front of him, and said, "Come to me, and sit here."

She did so obediently, turning away from him when prompted, and sitting cross-legged directly in front of him. He pulled her back a little further so that her back was resting against his chest, and he slipped his arms around her, placing his right hand on her slim abdomen, and the left on her sternum.

"Now, close your eyes, and breathe," he told her calmly. "Feel my chest behind you, and follow my lead."

Calara did so, trusting him implicitly, and took a deep calming breath, feeling his hands guiding her gently. They spent thirty minutes sitting like that together, synchronising their breathing, and just letting the tension flow out of her as he helped her relax.

Whispering quietly in her ear, he said, "Very good. Now clear you mind of all distractions, and focus on maintaining an inner sense of peace. When you can feel that sense of serenity in your mind, just let that feeling flow out through your limbs."

She did as he instructed, taking calm, measured breaths, and feeling a growing sense of attunement to her surroundings. It started with her love and reverence for John, then moved on to her loving relationship with Alyssa, her bonds of friendship with the girls, and even her connection to the ship. Her eyes opened slowly, and she knew she had achieved the same zen-like state that he had. Rising to her feet, she walked several steps away, then turned, so that she was facing him. They bowed to one another, then both moved to engage at the same time, their bodies moving like a flowing wave.

***

After John had arrived and said hello, Jade continued frolicking in the pool for another couple of hours. She shifted form into that of a Blue Mackerel, or more accurately a dark-green Mackerel with viridian stripes, having remembered the shape of the tasty fish from her time as a dolphin on Oceanus. She lost herself in the pleasure of the water, and although it wasn't the same as being in that vast ocean, the pool now felt big enough to remind her of it.