Three Square Meals Ch. 082

"Thanks for coming, ladies," John said, smiling at each of them in turn. He had to raise his voice slightly to be heard clearly over the hum of the Mass Fabricators working in the background. "Sorry we aren't meeting somewhere more comfortable, but I wanted to make a start on the Photon Lasers."

"I'm not going to complain if it means we upgrade the Beam Lasers even quicker," Calara said with an eager grin.

"Actually, that reminds me of something!" Dana blurted out, glancing at Jade. "Can you hold off on building the new Photon Lasers until I give you new schematics? Checking out the Progenitor Power Relay gave me some good ideas on how to reduce their crazy power consumption. I'll make some tweaks and then give you the mark-two version."

The Nymph nodded agreeably and replied, "I haven't started on them yet. I'm still working on the maintenance bots at the moment and the Mass Fabricators are creating components for the Power Couplings."

"Okay, great!" Dana said with a happy smile.

John waited patiently for them to finish then cleared his throat. "As I mentioned last night, we need to come up with some ideas for saving Athena. Have any of you had any thoughts about ways we could help her?"

Dana raised her hand and replied, "I have a few." She grimaced as she added, "Although I'm not sure how practical they're going to be."

"I'm willing to listen to any suggestions at this point," John said, encouraging her with a smile.

"Well my first idea was that we could create her a cybernetic body!" the redhead exclaimed enthusiastically. "It'd be a bit like the kind of thing I've been planning for Faye. The prototype body would be a bit crude at first, but we could always upgrade it as I get better at cybernetics."

Rachel shook her head and gave her girlfriend a rueful look, "I don't think that's going to work, babes. Athena's an aspect of Alyssa's personality, not a digital AI that we can just download into a cybernetic body. I don't think we'll be able to rely on the mechanical to save her."

"I did think about that, so I spoke to Ularean and asked him for the blueprints for the Ashanath psychic control interfaces. I thought maybe we could rejig them and somehow download Athena into a cybernetic brain that way," Dana said, but she had none of her usual brash confidence as she said it.

John lowered the Photon Laser barrel he'd just shaped to the ground and said quietly. "That sounds like a real long shot to me. What's our chances of success?"

The redhead shrugged helplessly. "Five percent?" She gave him an apologetic smile as she said, "Sorry, I tried thinking of everything I could, but that was the best I could come up with. The rest is crazy, out of the box stuff."

"How about an example?" John asked curiously.

"Well... I'd need to somehow create a matter transportation device that would effectively allow teleportation. Then I'd need to keep sending Alyssa through it until it fucks up, and hopefully creates two copies of her. Then Alyssa can have one, Athena gets the other, although I'm not entirely sure how we'd separate the two. We'd also have to hope the other copy doesn't turn out evil, that seems to happen a lot," she explained, sounding particularly dubious.

"Aren't those ideas the plots from a bunch of different sci-fi shows?" Irillith asked with a raised eyebrow. "I recognised quite a few of them."

Alyssa shook her head firmly. "Even if you were able to invent a teleporter, I'm not sure I like the idea of being zapped around until something 'fucks up'! I'll have to veto that one I'm afraid."

Dana blushed, exasperated that she couldn't be more helpful and gave John a helpless shrug. "I did say they were out of the box ideas. Sorry they weren't more useful."

John gave Dana a grateful smile. "Thanks for the suggestions, Sparks. You did warn me this was outside your area of expertise." He turned to look at the rest of the group and continued, "Does anyone else have any ideas, before we move on to Rachel?" When they all shook their heads, he looked at their tawny-haired Doctor. "It looks like it's down to you, honey. You mentioned you had some suggestions, but that they might be morally questionable?"

The brunette nodded and looked a little pensive. "I'm not saying we should actually go ahead with either of these ideas, but I'm just raising them in case they lead to something we can actually use."

"Go ahead, no one's judging," John said, with an encouraging smile.

"Well they're both on similar lines to Dana's actually: transferring Athena's consciousness into a separate body, but I was thinking more along biological lines. The first suggestion would be to use an existing adult female, perhaps someone in a coma that's effectively brain dead. Finding someone that fits the bill would be relatively easy considering the amount of accidents that happen on a daily basis amongst the billions of people in the Terran Federation. We could put out a request to hospitals and ask them to keep an eye out for potential candidates," she explained hesitantly, the look on her face telling them that she knew John was already going to reject that plan.

He gave her a look of regret. "You seem to have guessed my response to that one already. With your healing abilities, you could probably heal any candidates the hospital finds, which means we'd effectively be 'killing' the old personality to replace it with Athena." He paused and added curiously, "Have you managed to come up with a way we could transfer her personality?"

She smiled at him and said, "Don't worry, I knew you'd reject that idea. Regarding the personality transfer, I thought of an effective workaround. We all know that you created Athena in the first place and that you also rebuilt Edraele's mind. I was thinking that if we found a candidate, we could have Jade feed her, then you take a snapshot of Athena's current personality and rebuild her consciousness inside the new body. The original inside Alyssa's mind would still eventually be destroyed, but Athena would be able to effectively live on in a new body."

"That actually does sound like a viable plan, although we still have the issue of finding a new body for her personality, and it wouldn't actually save the original Athena," John said, nodding thoughtfully as he considered her idea. He paused for a moment then added, "It sounded like you had a second suggestion; what was the other one?"

Rachel blushed now and glancing furtively at Alyssa, she replied, "This idea follows on from the first and is a way of trying to circumvent the morally dubious action of personality replacement in an injured woman." She hesitated before she continued, "Although this idea would open up a minefield of new moral conundrums, for example: at what point does a person gain a soul - or at least develop a personality of their own?"

"I'm not following," John said with a look of confusion.

Alyssa gasped with excitement. "She wants you to get me pregnant!" she exclaimed, her cerulean eyes sparkling at the thought.

John blinked in surprise, then quickly shook his head. "Nope, definitely not, or not for this reason at least. The baby would have to have a sufficiently developed brain to support a fully fledged personality, which means one would already be forming. I'm not mind-wiping my own daughter!"

Holding her hands up defensively, Rachel said, "I'm not for one moment suggesting you do that, but you did ask for any idea, no matter how outlandish. We wouldn't actually have to go down the conventional pregnancy route, we could investigate cloning technology instead. Mael'nerak seemed to have access to extremely sophisticated machinery that allowed him to create fully functional Terrans, Trankarans, Ashanath, and I'm assuming Drakkar. If we could find his original lab, we might be able to grow a clone of Alyssa and use that as a host for Athena."

"That's the best idea yet," John said, nodding thoughtfully. He frowned as he glanced at Tashana and added, "I don't suppose you have any idea where his cloning lab might be?"

Tashana slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't remember seeing any mention of it." She paused, and correcting herself, continued, "Actually, I only found out about the cloning lab after we watched the files from those Progenitor data crystals that Dana recovered. If I was to look through all my old research notes again, it's possible I might be able to spot something this time, now I know what to look for."

Alyssa gave John a worried frown as she said, "Athena didn't think she had much time left and we're quite some distance from Valaden. We'll probably need to set course for Maliri Space immediately if we're going to be able to save her in time."

Tashana sounded grim as she said, "That's assuming Mael'nerak's lab is even in Maliri Space. Valada drastically shrank the borders of his original territory when she recalled her people."

"We're also making the big assumption that the cloning facility still exists, is in an operational state, and that we'll be able to figure out how it works," Rachel said, giving John a look filled with sympathy and regret. "I know we excel at snatching victory from the jaws of defeat in the last possible moment, but this one might just be beyond us."

He nodded sadly, staring at the block of crystal Alyssium in front of him, all shaping forgotten for the moment. "I think that cloning idea might have just worked, but you're right, we're nearly out of time. I'll speak to Athena and see what she wants to do." He took a deep breath, then smiled at the girls gathered around him. "Thanks for doing your best, ladies."

Alyssa walked over to his side and ran her delicate fingers over his arm. "Do you want to talk to Athena now?"

"Yes, please," he replied, giving her a troubled frown in return.

The rest of the girls came over to give John a hug, before they quietly dispersed, going back to their work. Tashana gave him a tender kiss on the cheek. She was about to ask him something, but took one look at John's distracted expression and turned away instead, leaving him to his thoughts.

Alyssa sat down on the storage crate beside him once the girls had all departed. She gave him a sympathetic smile and said, "Whenever you're ready, John."

He nodded, then closed his eyes and focused his will inwards, concentrating on peeling his spirit-form away from his body. He encountered the same resistance as before, but was in no mood for the stubborn drag he usually felt when he tried to Spirit-walk. He snarled in anger, and the pull back to his body abruptly diminished, letting him step cleanly away from his physical form with the minimum of effort.

"Thank you for coming to see me," Athena said quietly, her radiant aura much dimmer now, making her look more like Alyssa. She gave him a sad smile and added, "I fear it might be for the last time."

"I thought you said you had weeks?!" John protested, stepping over to her and gathering her in his arms.

"Alyssa's growing stronger in leaps and bounds. You should have seen her against the Drakkar, she was magnificent!" Athena exclaimed, a look of tremendous pride on her face. She gazed into his eyes and added, "She's a remarkable girl, learning, improvising, and improving at an incredible rate - but that also means my time guiding her is nearly over."

"If only we had a few more weeks!" John protested in frustration. "We thought there might be a way... Mael'nerak's cloning facility -- there might still be a chance!"

She leaned in to kiss him, quieting his objections. "I can feel it... the moment where I'll be subsumed is fast approaching -- a day or two at most." Giving him an affectionate smile she continued, "I wish I had more time with you, but these past months have been extremely rewarding. Thank you for the gift of life you've given me."

"I feel like I've failed you, Athena," John said despondently. "You've saved us over and over again, and the one time you needed me, I let you down. You deserved to live a long life of your own as reward."

She gave him an enigmatic smile. "As one of your doting girls aboard the Invictus? That's awfully presumptuous, Mister Blake."

He winced and replied, "I'm sorry, I just meant..."

Athena kissed him passionately then, making his lips tingle with the electrifying contact. "I would have loved that," she breathed as she gazed into his eyes.

Brushing his fingers through her long glowing hair, John asked softly, "Is there anything I can do for you? If there is, just name it."

She hesitated for a moment, then asked in a hushed whisper, "Would you come back one final time? Come to see me when the moment of reunification is here?"

"Of course! Just say the word and I'll be there, I promise," John immediately agreed. "Is there anything else?"

Athena leaned against his chest and said softly, "Just hold me..."

John lost track of time as he held the glowing girl, stroking her back as he did his best to comfort her. They both knew this would be the last intimate moment they had together and John was determined to make it special for her. He leaned down to give her a tender kiss and she responded immediately, tangling her fingers in his hair as she moaned into his mouth. With no need to breathe on the Astral Plane, they were able to kiss for what seemed like an eternity, until John suddenly felt the sharp tug of his astral cord. He turned to glare at it in annoyance, but felt Athena's tingling touch as she brushed his cheek with her fingers, drawing his face back to hers.

"No, don't fight it," she said with a sad smile. "I'm touched that you resisted him that long to spend this time with me."

"I'm sorry..." John began, until she silenced him with another kiss.

She shook her head. "Don't be."

The cord yanked him backwards, pulling him from her arms, and the last thing he saw before he was thrown back into his body was the mournful expression on Athena's beautiful face.

"You were gone for ages!" Alyssa exclaimed in surprise as he lurched back into his body. "I didn't think you could Spirit-walk for that long!"

"I failed her," John said quietly. "We've run out of time..."

"How long?" Alyssa asked, her voice filled with sympathy as she rose from her seat and wrapped her arms around him.

He let out a heavy sigh."A day or two at most." Enveloped her in his arms and hugging her back, he said, "She's very proud of you. I am as well."

Alyssa gave him a loving kiss then rested her chin on his shoulder. He seemed content to just hold her for the moment, so she nuzzled into him, enjoying the physical contact and the opportunity to be there to support him.

Gazing across the Workshop she watched Dana and Rachel together up on the Engineering Podium. Rachel looked worried as she spoke to her auburn-haired lover and Alyssa tuned into their thoughts, listening as they discussed the upcoming visit to New Eden. Even though Rachel's relationship with her father had been strained, she still felt an instinctive need to seek his approval. Although she loved John and Dana with all her heart, she couldn't help worrying about how her father would react to her rather unusual living arrangements. Dana was touched that her girlfriend was determined to introduce them, but she had no idea what to say to assuage Rachel's concerns.

Alyssa reached out to them both, soothing their worries and explaining that she'd be there too, to help make sure everything went smoothly. She wasn't entirely sure how she was going to manage that, but Dana and Rachel's trust in her was absolute and they both turned to flash Alyssa a grateful smile. Dana settled back into her work on miniaturising the shield modulator, while Rachel left to call her father and warn him of their impending arrival.

Jade was busy constructing the new maintenance bots, while watching John with concern. She hated to see him upset for any reason but in this case, she felt helpless, unable to come up with any solutions to the problem that was vexing him. Alyssa sent her a loving surge of emotions, calming the Nymph's worries and murmuring gentle words to relax her, saying that she would make sure John was okay. Jade's empathic bond throbbed with gratitude as she returned to work, at peace again knowing that Alyssa was looking after her Master.

Sakura had returned to the Training Dojo, the diligent young woman eager to experiment with her exciting new ability to manipulate ice. The upcoming trip to New Eden weighed heavily on the girl, so Alyssa swaddled her mind with long-forgotten memories of Sakura's time with her parents as a child. A trip to the beach to build sandcastles when she was six, a ballet recital when she was seven, her eighth birthday party out in their garden with bunting looped around the trees... Sakura experienced them all with a sense of wonder, Alyssa's perfect recollection of those events stirring strong feelings in the girl. *Thank you, so much,* she murmured, with a profound sense of gratitude.

Calara was up on the Bridge, working out what defensive structures and weapon placements the new Trading Stations would need. Alyssa had shared her plan amongst the group, once it had received John's enthusiastic approval, and the girls had all been equally thrilled by the idea. While the Latina was busy calculating possible threats to the station and the amount of firepower needed to suppress such threats, her mind was also preoccupied with thoughts of her mother and their return to Jericho. Calara wanted to handle this next trip slightly differently, and as her thoughts drifted to her blonde lover, Alyssa gave her mind a loving caress that sent a thrill through the young woman.

Irillith was in the Firing Range with Tashana, helping her to improving her skill with a rifle. Alyssa hadn't bonded with Tashana yet and as she wasn't able to hear her thoughts, she listened to the conversation from Irillith's perspective. It wouldn't be long until Tashana was ready though, Alyssa could feel that they were already getting close to that moment. The latently psychic girls were always quicker to embrace the bond and Tashana was already profoundly grateful to Alyssa for everything that she'd done for her.

Edraele was currently talking to Kali Loraleth, being open and honest about her affection for the young woman in much the same way as she had been with Valani. Alyssa smiled as Kali threw her arms around the Maliri Matriarch, the young woman crying with joy as she expressed how much she returned the same feelings -- that she loved Edraele more than she ever had her own mother. Kali was the last of the original four Young Matriarchs with which Edraele was having this discussion, the other women all having responded just as favourably.

Even more importantly from Alyssa's perspective, this was a critically important experience for Edraele. She'd been able to feel the weight of guilt bearing down on the House Valaden Matriarch. Edraele blamed herself for all the dreadful actions her predecessor had committed, which the new personality could remember so clearly, despite not actually responsible for any of them. For Edraele to receive such genuine affection from these Maliri girls was doing wonders for quelling what had been a growing sense of self-loathing.

*You should feel very proud of yourself,* Alyssa murmured to her, as Edraele began to forge a bond with Kali. *The way you've nurtured and cared for those girls has got you here today. You can't force this kind of connection.*

*I never thought anyone would feel this way about me,* Edraele gasped, her words throbbing with emotion. *My mind feels so full of their thoughts, it's wonderful!* She sent a huge wave of affection towards Alyssa, full of her own strength of feeling towards the remarkable Terran girl.

All of their telepathic voices merged into a glorious chorus, one that meant Alyssa was never lonely; constantly surrounded by the voices, thoughts, and feelings of her loved ones. To be the focal point for this maelstrom of emotions was exhilarating and she hugged John tighter, overwhelmed with gratitude that he'd entrusted her with such a position of responsibility. Mael'nerak's experiment with the Ashanath had been an intriguing one, but ultimately it was flawed. What Alyssa was building with her girls was a true collective consciousness and it was one she'd gladly share with any girl John chose to include in their growing family. After all, every new voice added to that chorus of beautiful voices made it that little bit brighter, the notes resonating with even greater perfection.