Three Square Meals Ch. 082

"Little things remind me of them, then I suddenly remember that they're gone," Sakura said mournfully. Looking into his eyes she added, "I didn't want to talk about it yesterday at dinner, so thank you for being so discrete. It would mean a lot to me if you could come with me to say goodbye to my parents. I'd really appreciate you being there."

"Of course," John said, running his fingers through her raven hair. "I'll be there to support you in whatever way I can."

She gazed at him intently, an inner strength behind those rich brown eyes, despite her moment of vulnerability. "You've been nothing but kind and caring towards me since we met. Thank you for giving me my life back and making it so wonderful at the same time."

John smiled at her and replied, "You're welcome. Although, I should be the one thanking you."

"Thanking me? For what?" she asked in confusion.

He held her close as he said sincerely, "I've loved having you aboard the ship. You're an intelligent woman, who's caring, considerate, and great fun to be around. I love training with you and seeing your drive and dedication, but more than that, I just feel relaxed in your company -- like being with you is as natural as breathing."

Her eyes softened as she whispered, "My mother always told me I'd find my soulmate one day. I could have never imagined that this is how I'd find him."

They kissed tenderly, slow and unhurried, just revelling in the shared intimacy of the kiss. When they finally pulled apart, they walked into the bedroom together, a comfortable silence between them as they removed their clothing and entered the shower. John washed Sakura first, his strong fingers massaging her tired muscles as he did so, rejuvenating her with his skilled touch. When it was her turn to wash him, she ran her fingers over his body, appreciating their difference in size and his muscular physique.

Without saying a word, they dried each other off, then moved to the bed, expressing their feelings with a gentle caress or loving touch. John and Sakura had been with each other plenty of times before, but this time felt very different. There was an almost spiritual connection between them as they moved together on the bed, staring into each other's eyes as they consummated their love for each other.

"I love you," John said as he cupped her head in his hands.

"I know, and I love you with all my heart," Sakura said with a look of wonder in her eyes.

They came together then, kissing passionately as they revelled in their shared climax. When they were finally done, John eased out of Sakura and lay beside her on the bed, wrapping his arms around her protectively, his right hand resting on the heavy curve of her cum-stuffed abdomen. She let out a very satisfied sigh as she rested her head on his left arm, tilting her head to place a loving kiss on his bicep.

John caught movement out of the corner of his eye, and he glanced over at the still-open doorway. Tashana was standing there looking flushed and she gave him a guilty, apologetic look when she realised he'd spotted her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude!" she blurted out, fidgeting awkwardly in the doorway. "I brought you both some breakfast."

Sakura tilted her head around to see who it was, then smiled at the Maliri girl and beckoned her into the room. "It's quite alright. Thank you for letting us have that moment alone together."

Tashana blushed and said, "Alyssa sent me down here to bring you something to eat, but you were both still together when I arrived. I hope you don't mind that I stayed to watch... that was beautiful!"

"No, I don't mind at all," Sakura said with a contented smile. She opened her arms as she added, "You're forgiven as long as you give me a nice hug. There's nothing like having a full tummy and being caressed by two people at once."

Tashana nodded eagerly and put her tray with two covered dishes on the dresser, before moving to get on the bed. However, Sakura's disapproving frown stopped her in her tracks and Tashana paused for a moment, then followed the other girl's gaze to her dress. Grinning, she slipped it off her shoulders then joined them naked in bed together. Her slender blue hands joined John's in gently caressing Sakura's rounded tummy, much to the Asian girl's delight.

*So, Tashana happened to arrive just as Sakura and I started making love?* John asked Alyssa, with a wry telepathic smile. *I'm sure I'll be forgiven for thinking that you set that up on purpose?*

*And you performed magnificently,* Alyssa replied with a warm smile. *I'm determined to prevent what happened last night from reoccurring, so I wanted to show Tashana a really positive example of what sex could be like between you two.*

John settled down on the bed, reaching over to stroke Tashana's flawlessly smooth skin as he gave her a warm smile. *That was a nice thought, well done, beautiful.*

Tashana returned his smile and briefly stopped caressing Sakura so that she could place her hand on top of his. After that, they focused their full attention on the Asian girl, drawing happy sighs from her with each delicate touch.

***

Alyssa smiled to herself in satisfaction as she listened to John and Sakura's thoughts, while feeling a surge of happiness and acceptance from Tashana. Returning her attention to the task at hand, she walked around the hull of the Raptor, frowning at the blackened scar marring the gunship's glossy white armour. The Drakkar missile had left an ugly crater right in the middle of the upper central spinal plate, blowing the Pulse Cannon turret to bits. Under that ruined armour plating, the hardpoint itself had been left mangled and broken.

*Dana, I'm going to replate the Raptor, but I'll leave the newly forged armour plate on top of the hull,* she said to her friend as she examined the wreckage. *There's a lot of damage to the turret emplacement , but you won't be able to repair if I refit the armour plating.*

*Oh, sure!* Dana replied in surprise. *I thought you were leaving that until later though? Aren't you looking into the new trading stations now?*

Alyssa sent a teasing telepathic grin to the redhead. *You aren't the only one who can multi-task, Sparks,* she replied, as she glanced at the floating holo-viewer that levitated in her telekinetic grip. Gesturing to the big block of white metal sitting on the grav-sled on the deck below, she melted a chunk of it into a stream of liquid metal and it surged up to form a slowly rotating ball beside her. *I actually wanted to talk to you about the trading stations...*

*Shopping for starbases isn't really my forte,* Dana replied in confusion. *What do you want to know?*

As Alyssa began to reshape the metal, she studied the Rastan-Cooper catalogue of generic starbase facilites. The price tag for a simple trading station was astronomical, but it didn't look all that impressive to her for the eye-watering cost. Even more annoying was the fine print on the brochure which mentioned mandatory maintenance contracts for twenty years, which would cost nearly half of the stations "all-inclusive" price.

*These off-the-shelf facilities aren't really what I'm looking for. I was wondering; is there any way you could design some kind of modular starbase? That way we can build what we can afford, and keep adding to the stations as we get more cash,* Alyssa explained, as she shaped the crystal Alyssium for a third time.

Sounding thrilled, Dana gasped, *Design my own starbase?! That sounds fucking awesome!* Getting more excited now, she continued, *We could buy all the materials on the cheap from the Trankarans, then get them shipped to Genthalas! I'm sure the Maliri would be happy to help construct it for us, as soon as they've finished refitting all their fleets.*

*That's a great idea!* Alyssa replied, glancing at the solid block of crystal Alyssium as she melted it and reshaped it a fifth time. *Actually, if we had a chat with Chancellor Niskera and offered the Trankarans a bunch of tech, I'm sure they'd give us a huge amount of metals in exchange. We could get the materials and the labour for the starbases pretty much for free!*

*When do you need the designs?* Dana asked, bubbling with enthusiasm. *I'm still looking into the Drakkar gear at the moment, but I can make a start when I'm done!*

*There's no real hurry,* Alyssa said, smiling at her friends eagerness. *We should probably do the trade with the Trankarans in person and I'll need to run the idea by Edraele and John. Then there'll be a long wait until all the materials arrive.*

*We could load up the Primary Hanger and haul a bunch of it back with us!* Dana suggested eagerly. *The speed the Invictus goes, we could take two weeks off on our skiing trip and still get to Genthalas way before any slow-ass freighter leaving Trankara, even if they left today!*

Alyssa sent the redhead a telepathic smile as she did her seventh reshaping, the metal growing more stubborn by the moment. *I'm sure John wouldn't need much convincing to make a flying visit to Genthalas. He's got some unfinished business to take care of there,* she said with a salacious grin.

*Do you reckon he'll let us watch him knock up the Young Matriarchs?* Dana replied breathlessly. *I'm getting really horny just thinking about it!*

More than a little turned on herself, Alyssa bit her flushed lower lip and moaned at the thought. She continued shaping the crystal Alyssium then glanced at in annoyance as it resisted her will, the metal fighting against her as she tried to push it into the shape she had in her mind. Focusing intently, she shaped it an eighth time, forcing the stubborn material to match her perfect recollection of the Raptor's upper armour plate. *How many reshapings to be laser immune? Eight isn't it?*

*Yep, that's right,* Dana agreed. She sounded pensive as she added, *I dunno if John mentioned it, but I was thinking of reshaping the Valkyrie's armour enough times to make it immune to laser fire.*

*Were you indeed?* Alyssa teased her friend, as she lowered the Octo-shaped armour plating, letting it settle on the Raptor's glossy white hull. *And how were you planning on doing that exactly?*

Flashing her a cheeky grin, Dana replied, *By asking you nicely?*

*Alright, but you'll owe me,* Alyssa replied, with a radiant telepathic smile. *I'll go and make a start on that now.*

Dana seemed surprised by her blonde friend's willing agreement. *I thought shaping something eight times was almost impossible? Especially on something the size of the Valkyrie!*

Alyssa stepped off the Raptor and glided down to land on the Hangar decking, the holo-reader following obediently at her side. *I guess I'm getting stronger,* she replied with a nonchalant shrug.

She strolled out of the room, heading towards the Valkyrie's Launch Bay with the grav-sled following obediently behind her. Thoughts of those five beautiful Maliri girls pregnant with John's babies added a real spring to her step.

***

John smiled at Sakura as he set aside his empty plate and gave her a tender kiss. "I loved this morning, thank you."

She gave him a dreamy smile as she replied, "It was wonderful." Her eyelids fluttered and she let out a throaty moan, her cheeks flushing with arousal.

Grinning at Tashana next, he brushed a lock of white hair to one side, giving him an unimpeded view of her glazed violet eyes. She looked up at him over Sakura's rounded tummy, while lapping away between the Asian girl's spread thighs. "And I hope you're enjoying your breakfast, honey."

Tashana hummed in response, a twinkling smile in her eyes as Sakura bucked against her mouth, her back arching as she came.

"Good girl, give her one from me too," he said, stroking the Maliri girl's head and leaning in to give her a kiss on the forehead. "I'll see you both later."

They were both too occupied to reply, so he watched the girls as he got dressed, then left them to their fun and walked from the room. He turned right into the corridor on Deck Three and strolled towards the grav-tube, planning on dropping down four levels to Deck Seven.

*You might want to pop in and see Rachel before you check up on Dana,* Alyssa advised him. *She's in the Medical Bay at the moment.*

Stepping into the red glow of the anti-gravity field, John replied, *Is everything alright?*

*Just getting to grips with her new abilities,* Alyssa replied, sounding a little strained all of a sudden.

John frowned as he listened to the tension in her voice. *How about you? That didn't sound good.*

*Just Octo-shaping a piece of the Valkyrie's armour,* Alyssa explained offhandedly. *That eighth reshaping is still a bitch.*

*Wait, you're shaping the entire mech in octo-shaped crystal Alyssium?!* John exclaimed in surprise. *You were struggling to just forge the swords for me and Sakura only a few weeks ago!*

She sent him a happy telepathic smile as she replied, *Reshaping Sakura's ninjato a ninth time wasn't quite as hard as I thought it was going to be, so I figured I'd have a go at patching the Raptor's hull. Shaping an armour plate eight times actually wasn't too bad, so when Dana asked me, I thought I might as well make the Valkyrie immune to laser weapons too.*

*That's thirty-metres of mech you're covering!* John exclaimed, sounding stunned. *Be careful you don't leave yourself exhausted!*

*I thought I'd give the upgraded Psi-shaper a go,* Alyssa admitted, sounding distracted again as she reshaped another armour plate an eighth time. *It doesn't make it any easier, but it's definitely less tiring with the machine helping out.*

John nodded thoughtfully as he stepped out of the grav-tube onto Deck Seven. *I'll have to give that a try too. It should make re-armouring the Invictus much easier.*

*Oh! While you were getting it on with Sakura, Dana and I had an great idea!* Alyssa exclaimed, sounding thrilled.

John smiled as he walked along the corridor, enjoying hearing the excitement in her voice as she quickly outlined their plan. When she came to the part about getting the materials for free from the Trankarans, he nodded, suitably impressed. *That's sounds like a fantastic idea!* John exclaimed in wholehearted agreement. *I'd actually like a chance to meet Chancellor Niskera now that my Progenitor Guide is out of the picture. It would be interesting to see if we can set up some kind of alliance like we have with the Ashanath.*

*How about making your own 'Glowing Queen'?* Alyssa teased him. *Niskera was a big girl. I'm sure ringing her bell would be an interesting challenge!*

John rolled his eyes and groaned, stopping outside the door to the Medical Bay. *You're absolutely incorrigible, you know that right?*

*Only because you love it,* she replied, while projecting a telepathic smirk. Her voice turned serious as she added, *All joking aside, you might want to give it some serious consideration. The old Glowing Queen had a dramatic effect on the rest of the Trankarans, rallying millions to her cause. If Niskera is up for it, we'd be able to quickly reunify the Trankarans and add her to the telepathic network with Edraele.*

John blinked in surprise, then frowned as he said, *I don't really want to start following the same path as the other Progenitor - I'm sure that wouldn't end well. Besides, how would I even broach something like that with Niskera?!*

*'Hey boulder tits! Fancy giving your beautiful granite noggin a nice healthy glow?'* Alyssa suggested, doing her best to stifle her laughter.

*Thanks XO, I'll take your suggestion under advisement,* John replied dryly.

*You think it might be too 'rocky' a relationship?* Alyssa giggled, unable to restrain herself.

John chuckled and said, *You're just lucky you're out of tickling range.*

He pressed the button to open the door into Medical and strode inside, looking around for Rachel. She was exactly where he thought she'd be, over by the DNA analyser, examining the distinctive shape of triple helix DNA.

"Good morning, Doctor," John said breezily, as he walked over to join her.

The brunette jumped, startled out of her intense focus on her work. She turned around to greet him with a warm smile, but she still seemed a little distracted as she said, "Hello, John. This is a nice surprise."

"I didn't mean to make you jump," he apologised, walking over to give her a kiss. "We need to figure out some kind of system to stop me scaring the hell out of you when you're working."

"I suppose it's just one of the drawbacks of concentrating so much on my research," she replied with a resigned shrug.

John glanced at the triple-helix strand behind her and asked, "Ularean's DNA I imagine?"

She nodded, turning to stare at the slowly rotating image. "A few months ago, I would have found his genetic code to be absolutely groundbreaking - I'm afraid those days have long passed though."

"You didn't learn anything new?" he asked, placing his hands on her waist as he looked at the holographic image over her shoulder.

"His DNA did confirm all my earlier theories," Rachel conceded. "As you can see, the Ashanath have triple helix DNA. His third helix is encoded with a specific set of information that enables telepathy and telekinesis, I recognised the same patterns when I studied Alyssa's DNA."

"It seemed pretty conclusive that the Ashanath were created by Mael'nerak. Did you see his 'fingerprints' on their genetic code to confirm that?" John asked, recalling the terminology Rachel had used in the past.

Rachel smiled at him and nodded. "Yes, that's right; well remembered." She frowned a moment later as she added, "Although it seems odd that Mael'nerak gave the Ashanath such limited forms of telepathy and telekinesis when he was experimenting in collective consciousness. The genetic programming in Ularean's DNA is nowhere near as complex as the coding that you inscribed on Alyssa's DNA. Considering Mael'nerak's mastery of genetic manipulation, I'm sure he could have made them much more powerful with only a modicum of greater effort."

"Maybe he was worried about the Greys rebelling and turning against him? By keeping them comparatively much weaker it would be a lot easier for Mael'nerak to have suppressed a revolt," John suggested hugging her closer.

"Perhaps..." Rachel murmured, although she didn't sound entirely convinced. She leaned back against him, her grey eyes gazing into the distance as she was lost in thought.

John leaned down to place a kiss on the exposed skin of her neck before he said, "You seem awfully distracted today. Is there something on your mind?"

She laughed and turned her head so that she could kiss him. "Did Alyssa tip you off? Yes, I must admit I'm finding it hard to concentrate on my research this morning, my thoughts keep drifting back to healing the Ashanath."

"We haven't really had a chance to discuss your new abilities yet, aside from our frolic in the bath the other day," John said, sliding his hands around over her slim stomach.

"That was mind-blowing," Rachel readily agreed with a coy grin. She looked a little apprehensive for a moment as she added, "It would be good to talk about my new abilities though, thank you."

John pulled away from her and started walking across the Medical Bay, leaving her looking at him in confusion. When he sat down on one of the chairs and patted his lap, she laughed and sauntered over to join him.

"I love these chats with you," he grinned as she obediently sat sideways across his lap, smiling at him indulgently as he supported her with his left arm and unbuttoned a couple of her shirt buttons with his right. He started to caress her toned stomach and continued patiently, "Now, tell me what's on your mind."

Her eyes softened for a moment as she enjoyed his gentle touch. "You'd have made an excellent psychologist, although your method for calming your patients is a little unorthodox," she said as she relaxed in his arms.