Three Square Meals Ch. 085

Rupert looked at the men suspiciously, but they made no threatening moves against him. He gingerly reached into the safe to take his travel permits, then limped out of the room, darting worried glances behind him. Calling for the elevator, he kept a nervous eye on the door, cradling his broken wrist against his chest. He stepped inside, then hit the button for the lobby, his heart pounding in his chest.

The door to the lift opened and he rushed out, making his way for the door. It slid open for him and he stepped outside, sucking in a big lungful of air as he tasted freedom. It had been an incredibly close call, but now he just had to make his way to the starport and he'd be able to lose himself in some other outer-rim hellhole.

He was aware of a sudden click and pressure around his left wrist. Looking to his side with shock, he saw that the cloth-wrapped bundle had slapped a set of cuffs on him. The trooper threw off the bundle of clothes and gave him a stern frown as he said, "Rupert Grant, we're taking you into custody to face charges of treason."

"Wait!" Rupert protested. "That's not right, I made a deal!"

"What seems to be the trouble, Commander?" Sergeant Rathburn asked, walking across the lobby with his men.

"You said I was free to leave!" Rupert exclaimed indignantly.

The sergeant nodded and replied. "Indeed I did, and you have, in fact, left the building."

An armoured hover-truck in military grey coasted to a halt outside the apartment complex. Rupert Grant was thrown unceremoniously inside, crying out with pain as he landed on the hard metal floor. He backed away from his captors' unfriendly glares, huddling in a corner as the squad of troopers climbed in the back.

"I want a lawyer!" Rupert blurted out. "I have the right to defend myself against these charges! This brutality isn't fair!"

Sergeant Rathburn walked over to him, crouching down so he could stare into Rupert's eyes. "I'm afraid Trooper Evans over there wasn't being entirely truthful with you, Commander. You aren't under arrest and you won't be facing any charges."

"I'm not?!" Rupert asked, feeling a mixture of confusion and hope.

Rathburn shook his head. "You see, my brother worked as a merchant. He used to swing by this way, bringing Trankaran booze for me and the lads while shipping ore to Port Heracles. You can probably understand how horrified we all were to hear that he'd been captured by slavers... It was far worse when we found out that he'd been sold off to the Kirrix. So when the garrison received the tip-off from the Lion that a traitor called Rupert Grant was skulking around here, me and the lads were eager to volunteer for the job..."

Rupert's eyes widened in fear and he held up his good hand defensively. "Wait! I can explain..."

"Two weeks... that's how long Kirrix spawn take to hatch, before they eat their way out of you." Rathburn said quietly, his eyes burning with a dreadful intensity. Suddenly his face twisted with rage and he grabbed Rupert's index finger and snapped it backwards. "So I'm going to keep you alive in constant agony for two weeks, before I finally put a bullet in your fucking head!"

The armoured truck pulled away with the muffled sound of an agonised shriek echoing from inside the vehicle.

It had stopped raining now and a man standing on the sidewalk outside the building watched the truck leave. Admiring the plush silk lining of the new bulky coat one of the troopers had handed him, the man smoothed back the lapel with shaking fingers. "Everyone falls on hard times, Chief. Looks like it's your turn now..."

***

Calara sat back in John's chair, gazing out the window of his Ready Room. They were currently in low orbit around Proxima Centauri and the huge window offered an impressive view of the planet's dramatic mountain ranges. Seeing and speaking to Rupert Grant again had dredged up lots of extremely unpleasant memories, ones that she'd barely even thought about in the last six months.

"Are you alright?" Irillith asked, placing a sympathetic hand on her shoulder.

Calara nodded, looking up at the Maliri girl with a smile. "Thank you for tracking him down."

"It was relatively easy once I found his encrypted correspondence with Mikaboshi," Irillith replied, giving her a nonchalant shrug. "This Grant creature was very foolish to maintain regular contact with anyone if he was attempting to lay low. Cracking the encryption didn't take me long and then I just had to trace the comm routing back to the planet he was hiding on."

The door to the Ready Room swished open and Alyssa glided in, giving them both a warm smile. "Hello you two."

Her eyes met Irillith's and after a brief telepathic exchange, Irillith squatted down beside Calara. She gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad I was able to help. Come and find me if you ever want to talk about anything."

"I appreciate that, thank you," the Latina said gratefully.

Irillith rose then glided out of the room, brushing hands with Alyssa as the two girls passed each other.

Alyssa sidled over to the desk and reached over to interlace her fingers with Calara's. "You know you're not going to be able to fob me off so easily, don't you?"

"My girlfriend being able to read all my thoughts is extremely unfair," Calara replied with a laugh, letting the blonde pull her up from the chair.

"Can I let you in on a secret?" Alyssa asked, leading her lover over to the sofas. "I only hear what you want to share with me. That means you wanted me to know you're upset and I'm very glad you did."

Sitting down, she gestured to the sofa beside her. Calara lay down, resting her head on Alyssa's lap and looking up at her beautiful face. The Latina relaxed as Alyssa's fingers brushed through her hair, stroking her comfortingly.

"It just came as a bit of a shock finding out Rupert Grant was the one who set all this in motion," Calara admitted, gazing into Alyssa's cerulean eyes. "I'd forgotten about him to be honest, but he ended up causing us so much trouble by hiring Mikaboshi."

"The assassins are dead now and Grant will be executed for treason soon," Alyssa replied, picking up Calara's hand and bringing it to her lips. She kissed it gently as she added, "He hurt you badly, so he's very lucky you and John decided against personally hunting him down. I would have been quite creative in finding a fitting way to punish him for everything he'd done."

"I like it when you get all protective, Alpha Lioness," Calara said with a fond smile, turning her hand to stroke Alyssa's cheek.

Alyssa gave her a tender smile as she replied, "I'm surprised you don't feel like you're being smothered with two overprotective Progenitors watching out for you."

Sitting up, Calara shook her head as she leaned in to kiss her girlfriend. "I love it," she purred between kisses.

Pulling back for a second, Alyssa gazed into Calara's brown eyes and said in a hushed voice, "I'm so sorry I left you exposed at the club like that. If I'd been there, then..."

Silencing her with a kiss, the Latina replied, "There was no way you could've known what was about to happen." She smiled wryly as she added, "Although I think I might give the next clubbing trip a pass. I don't have much luck when we start doing any celebrating."

"Maybe we should confine our celebrating to the bedroom?" Alyssa replied with a twinkle in her eyes. "I can guarantee you'll get lucky."

Calara laughed at that, nodding her agreement. "When's John back anyway?"

"He's just landing now," Alyssa replied, her eyes going distant as she focused on his thoughts. "Let's go and meet with the others; they're all waiting in the lounge."

The two girls rose from the sofa, then walked out onto the Bridge hand-in-hand.

***

"That interview was amazing!" Jehanna gushed, leaning against the wall in the Combat Bridge armoury and gazing at John with a brilliant smile on her face. "You should have heard my boss after it aired! Avery almost sounded happy!"

John stepped out of the armour equipping frame, returning her smile as he walked over to her. "Thanks for your help. I wanted to send a message and blasting Mikaboshi's base seemed like the best way of doing it."

"I can't see anyone even thinking about going after the girls again, not after that little display!" Jehanna exclaimed. She grinned at him as she added, "I'm happy for your crew, but I must admit, it's a relief from a purely selfish point of view too."

"You're still interested?" John asked, pulling her towards him and running his hand over her slim stomach. She worked out and he could feel the definition in her abdominal muscles as he caressed her.

Jehanna gave him a coy look as she leaned into his hand. "A chance at immortality, living with the Lion as one of his Lionesses? What girl would turn down an offer like that?"

He gave her a lingering kiss before replying, "I don't want you to make any hasty decisions. I'm sure all this must be quite overwhelming, so I'm going to give you plenty of time to make sure this is definitely what you want." Looking thoughtful, he added, "The girls are waiting for us in the Officers' Lounge. Would you like to meet them?"

"I'd love to," Jehanna immediately agreed.

Taking her hand, they walked over to the rapid-access grav-tube and were rushed up two levels to the main bedroom. Jehanna gave the bed a lingering look, glancing suggestively at John as she sauntered past it.

He met her seductive gaze and gave her an apologetic smile. "I can't wait to pick up where we left off, but I promised I'd talk to Faye after we dealt with Mikaboshi and I don't want to keep her waiting."

"A man who keeps his promises," Jehanna said playfully. "Is there no end to the Lion's virtues?"

He laughed and tugged her along by her hand. "You can get intimately acquainted with my virtues this afternoon."

"Mmm, I can't wait," she replied, echoing his earlier words.

They walked along the corridor to the double doors at the end, which opened invitingly as they approached. Alyssa was waiting for them on the other side and she stepped forward to hug Jehanna.

"Why don't you let me look after our guest?" she suggested to John, leaning over to plant a light kiss on his cheek. "The girls and I can have a nice chat with her, while you go and speak to Faye."

John glanced at the raven-haired girl and asked, "Is that alright with you? I don't want you to feel like I'm throwing you to the lions. Or the lionesses in this case..."

"I'll be fine," Jehanna replied with a confident smile. She glanced over at the seven women seated on the sofas in the Officers' Lounge and added, "I'm more likely to find out all the juicy gossip without you here!"

"She does have a point," Alyssa agreed, nodding with the hint of a smile teasing her lips.

Suddenly uncertain about leaving Jehanna alone with the girls, but this time for an entirely different reason, John reluctantly let himself be shooed out the door. The doors swished shut, leaving him standing alone in the corridor. With his sharp hearing, he could hear the sound of excited chattering and laughter coming from inside the lounge.

Feeling a dark sense of foreboding, he stepped into the grav-tube and rose up in the blue anti-gravity field until he reached the Command Deck. Faye was up on the Command Podium, leaning against his console, but she turned and waved at him as he walked onto the Bridge.

"I'm free now if you'd like to talk?" John asked, walking towards the purple sprite.

"Sure! That would be fantastic!" she replied, sounding cheerful, but there was a brief flash of anxiety that crossed her face. She glanced back at the holographic Sector Map that floated in the centre of the room and added, "We're still in orbit around Proxima Centauri. Now that we've vaporised Mikaboshi's base, would you like me to fly the Invictus to a new destination?"

John nodded and replied, "Back to Terra would be great, thank you. We'll need to drop Jehanna back in a few hours."

"We will?" Faye asked in confusion. "I thought she was going to be one of the Lionesses now?"

"Nothing's been decided yet," he replied with a slight shrug. "She's got her job with TFNN, so whatever happens, I doubt she'll want to just abandon her old life."

Faye smiled brightly. "Okay! I'll set a course for Terra!"

"Thanks, Faye," John said, watching the elfin girl as her wings thrummed with a nervous flutter in a non-existent breeze. "Where do you want to chat? Here or my Ready Room?"

She hesitated for a moment considering her choices. "Your Ready Room if that's okay? It's more private in there."

John shot her a playful grin. "Oh, it's one of those kind of chats, is it? Should I ask Jade if she can help out again?"

Faye blushed a dark purple and although she was half-tempted to say yes, she reluctantly shook her head. "I really wanted to talk, as long as that's okay with you?"

"Sure, honey. I guess I've been around Alyssa too long, the urge to tease you was just too tempting!" He turned around and headed for the Ready Room, saying over his shoulder, "I'll see you in there."

He pressed the button to open the door, then strolled inside, finding Faye waiting for him over by the sofas. Walking over to join her, he gestured for her to take a seat beside him, then waited for her to sit down. Sitting on the sofa, he turned to look her way, smiling at the nervous girl to put her at ease.

"I'm glad we're finally getting a chance to talk," he said, looking into her large luminous eyes. "I've actually got a few important things to discuss with you too."

Faye gave him a relieved smile and said, "Why don't you go first? I'm curious to know what you want to talk to me about."

"Sure. Well, firstly, I just want to thank you for everything you did for the girls. Sakura and Jade filled me in on what happened, and it's quite clear that you saved them all," John said, his tone earnest.

Faye gave him a self-conscious smile and replied, "Oh, I'm sure they were exaggerating. They're both extremely capable."

"I'm only going by what they told me and I trust their word implicitly," John said, shaking his head. "If it wasn't for your warning, Sakura wouldn't have been able to raise a Cryokinetic barrier and Jade wouldn't have had enough time to shapeshift. They'd have both been killed in the blast if you hadn't intervened, which would have meant the twins falling to their deaths without Jade there to slow their fall. Rachel and Dana would have been captured or killed if Sakura hadn't been able to chase away the last of the assassins, and we wouldn't have been able to rescue Calara without her either."

"I didn't realise how close it all was!" Faye blurted out, eyes wide in shock.

John nodded his agreement, his expression sombre. "Just a couple of seconds made all the difference between the girls being safe and well, or me losing everyone at the club. You really came through for me when I needed you the most. Thank you, Faye, I'll never forget it."

"You're welcome," she replied quietly, looking stunned.

"You stopped the assassins taking the Invictus too," he said, looking into her eyes. "I can't even imagine the chaos they would have caused with all that firepower in their hands... Not only that, but the ship is our home. Losing it would have been a real blow."

A look of guilt flashed across her face for a second, but it was too fast for John to notice. She simply smiled at him as she said, "It's my job to protect you and the ship from enemies. It was such a relief to have the tools to be able to defend the Invictus this time! The electrified floor and the Sonic Cannons worked perfectly!"

"Dana and Sakura will be very pleased to hear it," John replied with a chuckle. "Although with the benefit of hindsight, it's very lucky we didn't have those defences in place when Shinatobe attacked. I've grown very fond of Sakura."

"Me too! She's lovely," Faye agreed, an affectionate smile lighting up her face. "She really feels like a part of the team now."

"That actually leads me onto the second thing I wanted to talk to you about," John said, reaching into his pocket.

He pulled out the Paragon of Terra medal and held it up so that it reflected the light. Faye stared at the golden disc, studying the image of Terra in the background, with the Lion and nine Lionesses in the foreground.

Turning it slightly in his hand so that he could see its face too, John said, "I told Charles that I had nine girls on the crew, but the ninth one couldn't make it to the Award Ceremony. Devereux gave me this medal to pass on to my missing Lioness, so here it is, and it's very well deserved." He placed the medal on the sofa between them. "I hope you do feel that you're part of the crew, because we very much think of you that way."

Faye's eyes had grown even wider as she stared at the medal, her fingers tracing the images of the lions in front of Terra. "I've just tried my best to look after all of you," she murmured, the purple light from her holographic projection making the metal gleam. "I'm truly honoured you think of me that way..."

"I definitely do," he said, giving her a kind smile. His smile faded as he added, "The last thing I want to say, is that I owe you an apology."

She frowned in confusion at that. "An apology?! What are you apologising for?"

"I'm sorry I was so distrusting with you at the start. It was totally unfair and just based on my own stupid prejudices and preconceptions about AI," John said, gazing into her eyes.

"That's okay, I under-" she started to say.

"Let me finish please, honey," he said humbly. When her voice trailed off, he continued, "Although I promise that I think of you as part of the crew, I admit I do overlook you at times. I'm really sorry, and I honestly don't mean to... it's just that I respond instinctively to the physical presence of the girls on the ship. I'm hoping things will be different when Dana can give you an actual body."

Faye had a sympathetic smile on her cupid-bow lips, as her purple fingers traced the contours of his jawline. "You don't have to apologise for that," she said, giving him a knowing look. "You're in a relationship with eight different girls, nine including me; it's only natural to devote more attention to those you also have a physical relationship with."

"You're being very understanding, thank you," he said, giving her a grateful smile.

Inching closer, she looked like she was going to say something, then faltered.

"What is it? You can tell me, it's alright," John said, wishing he could wrap the purple girl in his arms.

"I'd love to have that same kind of physical intimacy with you," Faye breathed, gazing at him with unblinking intensity. "I've dreamed of it so many times."

"If I could make you a living body, I'd do so in a heartbeat," John said, his tone sincere. "After everything you've done for me, you deserve nothing less. Unfortunately, something like that is beyond my abilities, so we'll just have to see what Dana and Irillith can build for you instead."

Faye let out a wistful sigh. "I'm trying not to build up my hopes too much," she said, her hands ghosting over his chest. "But to be able to touch, to feel! I can't help letting my imagination run away with me."

"I'm sure the girls will do their absolute best for you," John replied, relaxing back against the sofa. "They care about you as much as I do."

The purple sprite beamed at him in delight and John was quite certain he'd never seen her look so happy.

"Well, that was everything I wanted to tell you," he said, studying her cute face. "I believe you wanted to talk to me about something?"

A flicker of worry crossed her brow and she gave him a tentative nod. "There is something, but I'm worried how you'll react. I don't want to upset you."

"I promise I'll do my best not to get upset, how's that?" John replied light-heartedly. His tone turned more serious as he added, "If there's something bothering you, please let me know. We might be able to figure out a solution together."