Three Square Meals Ch. 088

It had been easy to piece together a faithful set of images of John for the VI to use. Faye had offered to help, immediately providing hundreds of different samples of source footage, showing John being kind, sympathetic, or whatever other emotions they needed the image of him to portray. Irillith had managed to conceal her knowing smile as the purple sprite eagerly revealed her extensive video catalogue of John, with examples of his face displaying every conceivable emotion.

Irillith hesitated for moment as she studied the list of families, then swiped an azure finger across one of the names. When each recipient had opened the message, they'd unknowingly triggered a recording of their response. Irillith rested her elbows on the console and propped her chin up on her folded hands, then started to watch those recordings. Her lips turned up into a soft smile of satisfaction when she saw their overwhelmed and awestruck reactions.

***

"It took me a minute or two, but I finally realised how to scrub the runes out!" Dana said with a proud grin.

John listened to her in fascination as they all sat around the dinner table together. His left hand held a fork, so he could eat the delicious lasagne that Calara had cooked for them, the other was entwined in Tashana's silky mane of white hair as she bobbed her head in his lap.

"Hold on a moment, Sparks," John said, putting down his fork as his breathing quickened. That hand joined the other, caressing Tashana's head as she brought him to the brink. He gazed into her eyes and said urgently, "Get ready, beautiful!"

The Maliri girl moaned with need, her hands gently massaging his quad as she quickened the pace of her artful blowjob. John groaned with relief as he began to cum, Tashana sliding his length out of her throat so that she could taste every drop. The room was quiet as the rest of the girls watched with excited eyes, Irillith the only exception as she moaned along with her twin, eyelids fluttering as she experienced a sympathetic climax with Tashana.

When he was done, John slumped back in the chair, a lazy smile on his face at the numb feeling of relief in his four balls. He had enough presence of mind to offer Tashana a hand, helping her to rise so that she could sit sideways across his lap.

"Thank you for dinner, that was delicious," she murmured, licking her lips and quivering with delight.

John slipped his left arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him, gently patting her rounded belly with the other hand. "I should be thanking you, you've become exceptionally good at that."

"You never fail to satisfy, so I want to return the favour," Tashana said quietly, looking proud as she cuddled into him.

He smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead, then looked down the table at Dana. "Sorry to interrupt. You were telling me about the runes?"

Dana's cheeks were flushed now and she shook her head. "Don't apologise, that was fucking hot! I can't wait until it's me on my knees like that!" She shared a grin with him then frowned as she tapped her chin. "Err, where was I again?"

"You were telling him how you managed to erase the damn things," Alyssa prompted her with a smile.

"Oh, right!" Dana said, before smirking at the blonde. "Just because you couldn't do shit to them, there's no need to get mad."

John glance to his right. "You really couldn't remove them yourself?"

"Trust me, I tried alright," Alyssa grumbled. "They're as stubborn as their creator. The more psychic energy I threw at them, the stronger they seemed to get. I had to quit trying or I'd have given myself an aneurism!"

"So how did you manage to erase them?" John asked the redhead.

"I didn't know what to look for until Alyssa gave me some pointers," Dana eagerly explained. "She told me about the 'mental compartments', you guys use to keep your powers going. As soon as she'd finished explaining, I could suddenly see them all in my mind and realised it was me keeping those runes going."

John raised an eyebrow in surprise. "And you managed to stand up against the best Alyssa could throw at you?! I'm impressed, honey."

Dana beamed at him in return, then gave him a cheeky wink. "To be fair, it was a totally one-sided contest. We did a bit of experimenting and that particular set of runes are designed to resist psychic manipulation."

"Did you do that consciously?" he asked, looking at her in confusion. "Why make it impossible for us to reshape the armour?"

The redhead blushed a fetching crimson and shook her head. "It wasn't intentional, I fucked up a bit. At the time, I was concentrating on trying to make the Valkyrie's armour sturdy and resilient, but I suddenly realised how easily you and Alyssa can strip off the armour plating. I didn't want any bad guys fucking us over like that... but I didn't think the runes would stop you two as well!"

John shared a concerned glance with Alyssa, then chuckled with relief. "I hadn't even thought of that before! We really dodged a bullet there!" He turned back to Dana and smiled at her gratefully. "Well done, honey, that was great thinking."

Her answering smile was radiant, showing him her sparkling white teeth. "No problem! I'm the girl who takes care of your gear after all!"

"You certainly do," he agreed with an indulgent grin. "So, how much equipment can you protect like that at any one time?"

Dana looked a little uncertain and gave him a helpless shrug. "I'm not too sure at the moment. Once I got rid of those runes, Alyssa reshaped the rest of the armour and I runed them all up afterwards. I've already got the Valkyrie covered, but I haven't started on our guns or swords yet. The mech takes up a shitload of those mind-boxes though..."

John sat back and thought about it for a moment. "The main priority is keeping you girls safe, so now the armours done, you should probably aim for the Raptor and the Invictus next."

"I could probably manage the Raptor, but the Invictus..." Dana faltered, a look of trepidation in her eyes. "It's so fucking big!"

He gave her a reassuring smile. "As you get stronger, you'll be able to deal with bigger challenges. It might take a while, but you'll get there in the end." He paused a moment to consider the threats they'd been facing so far. "The only enemy we know of who might be strong enough to psychically strip the Invictus of armour is this other Progenitor. I've got no intention of picking a fight with him until we're ready, so keep working at it, you've still got time."

"Will do!" Dana agreed, enthused at the prospect of enhancing her abilities.

Tashana shifted slightly in his lap and glanced at John's half-eaten dinner. "I'm stopping you from finishing your meal. Let me move out the way."

"I like you exactly where you are," John protested, keeping a possessive hand on her rounded tummy and gently caressing her. He glanced back at the plate in front of him. "That lasagne was lovely though..."

Her full lips twitched in amusement as she picked up on his not-so subtle hint and turned to retrieve his fork. Scooping up a piece of the pasta, Tashana turned to face him and brought the morsel to his lips, an endearing look of concentration on her face as she tried to avoid spilling any food. He gazed into her eyes as she fed him, and was rewarded with a shy smile before she eagerly turned to get some more food.

"I'm definitely getting spoiled now," John said to Alyssa, flashing her a grin.

He was surprised by the wistful look in her cerulean eyes. "I can easily arrange for you to never have to bother feeding yourself again if you like. Trust me, there'll be no shortage of volunteers..."

He glanced down the table and was startled by the looks of fascination and yearning on all the beautiful faces watching his every move.

Rachel caught his eye and gave him a lovely smile. "Feeding someone else is such a primal act, demonstrating that person's full trust in you. That's probably why it's been a part of wedding ceremonies for thousands of years." She gave him a knowing look as she added, "You of all people should know exactly what I'm talking about."

The twinkle in her grey eyes was enchanting, reminding him of all sorts of intimate moments they'd spent together. He nodded to her, confirming his understanding then turned back to Tashana. She carefully fed him more of his dinner, her breath catching as she gazed adoringly into his eyes.

***

The following morning, deep within the Citadel on Terra, five of the highest-ranking officers in the Admiralty sat around a long meeting table. The atmosphere in the room was tense, just as it had been every other day of these emergency crisis meetings.

"You can't possibly be serious, Carl!" Admiral Jayanti Mishra balked, looking aghast at his suggestion.

Admiral Lynette Devereux stared incredulously across the meeting table at the man seated opposite her. "Are you out of your goddamn mind?! It's too early in the morning to deal with this level of insanity!"

Narrowing his eyes in anger at her tone, Admiral Carl Weber shook his head. "Edwin's taken great pains to point out that we can't trust our men if we need to make a move against John Blake. The cult of personality that you helped create around 'The Lion' is undermining the loyalty of our own troops to High Command! If we can't trust Terran forces to oppose him, then why not use robotic ones instead..."

"We are not reactivating the Nexus program!" Fleet Admiral Vincent Buckingham said curtly, slapping his hand down on the table with a sharp crack. "Need I remind you of the consequences should news of that slip out? After an AI nearly vaporised Terra for God's sake!"

"Well, what are we going to do then?!" Weber said, frowning with irritation. "We've been debating how to deal with the Lion for days, but I've not heard any innovative suggestions from the rest of you!"

Admiral Edwin Caldwell had remained silent during this exchange, sitting straight-backed in his chair. "Although I strongly disagree with any attempt to use AI again, we really can't trust our own forces to oppose John Blake at the moment. I suggest we approach this problem with far more subtlety. Perhaps start working to undermine the reputation he's building for himself..."

"False Flag operations..." Weber nodded, his expression eager. "A few atrocities that we place squarely at the feet of the Lion would soon turn public opinion against him!"

"Subtlety, Carl! Listen to what Edwin's saying," Devereux said in exasperation. "John hasn't actually made any hostile moves against us yet, we just need to prepare for the worst."

Caldwell flashed her a small smile in gratitude for the support. "John Blake must have some skeletons in his closet; none of us are whiter than white. I suggest we start investigating everything he's had his hand in recently and see what actions we can twist to fit our own narrative."

Buckingham nodded thoughtfully. "It's an excellent suggestion. I want all of you putting teams onto it, starting immediately."

Recognising that the meeting was over and that they were being dismissed, the four Admirals rose from their seats and began to file from the room. Vincent remained seated however, catching Admiral Weber's eye as he walked past the head of the table.

"There's something I'd like to discuss with you a moment, Carl," he said in an off-hand manner.

The others left the room and Weber retook his seat, looking at the Fleet Admiral with interest. "What can I do for you, Vincent?"

"Did you see the latest TFNN interview with John Blake?" Buckingham asked him bluntly.

"The last one I saw finished with him levelling that mountain," Weber replied wryly, but there was a flicker of fear in his eyes.

"He's been talking to that pet reporter of his again," Buckingham said with a grimace, hitting a button on the desk. "Watch this; TFNN broadcast it late last night."

They turned to look at the holo-screen as it flickered to life.

Jehanna's beautiful face appeared, smiling at the camera. "In more good news for the Terran Federation, hundreds of citizens were brought home safely today, rescued from the hands of slavers and escorted to Terran Space by Trankarans. In joyful scenes on Mescina III, those citizens were welcomed back as they landed planetside."

The camera cut to a shot of a bulky freighter in a planetary starport, with a large group of shabbily dressed people descending down the loading ramps. The freed slaves looked elated, hugging each other as they were met by medical teams.

A local reporter smiled warmly at one of the jubilant men and asked, "Sir, would you like to tell us what happened to you? I believe you've travelled all the way from the Unclaimed Wastes?"

"John Blake happened!" the man exclaimed with a wild grin. "I was captured by slavers two years ago and I'd given up hope of ever seeing home again. No one ever comes back from the Underworld!" Shaking his head in wonder, he continued, "I've never seen anything like it... The Lion just turned up with his lionesses, guns blazing as they purged that festering shithole! Slavers, pirates, narc-dealers, it was judgement day for all those fuckers!"

Carl Weber groaned as he shot Vincent Buckingham a dark look. "That bastard gets everywhere! What the hell was he doing in the Unclaimed Wastes?!"

Buckingham nodded, his expression bleak. "That wasn't the important part though, listen to this next segment."

The camera had cut back to Jehanna who was busy extolling John Blake's virtues. She smiled at the camera and continued, "I caught up with Vice Admiral Blake this afternoon. He wanted to broadcast this message on behalf of a very worthy cause."

John's image appeared a moment later and he gave his viewers a respectful nod. "As you are no doubt aware, I have made it my personal responsibility to aid those in real need. I've been on the news recently for my efforts to protect humanity, but today I'd like to make a personal appeal to right a horrible wrong that was committed by Terrans three-hundred-years ago."

His expression turned bleak as he gazed intently at the camera. "This incident was a dark stain on the impeccable honour of the Terran Federation and I think it's long past time that something was done to atone for humanity's actions. I'm sure you must be wondering what terrible incident I'm talking about? I am of course referring to the treatment of the Nymphs, a species of peaceful creatures that were removed from their homeworld of Lenarra to satisfy the basest of humanity's selfish desires."

John gave them a disarming smile as he continued, "I know that no one alive today was directly responsible for what happened all those years ago. However, it is a distinct possibility that some of those long-lived Nymphs might still be alive today. If that is the case, I'd like to gather and resettle them so that they can live out their remaining years together in peace. I am therefore offering a reward of five million credits for information that leads me to any surviving Nymph. I'm also offering five-hundred-thousand credits for any of their fallen, so that they can return to their ancestral home."

"All calls will be handled with the utmost discretion and a contact number will be provided by TFNN. I know that working together we can do what's right and make up for the awful mistakes of the past. Thank you for your time." John saluted the camera respectfully and his image faded away, returning to the studio where Jehanna Elani started to discuss the appeal with Bill Armstrong.

Buckingham turned to fix Weber with a steely-eyed stare. "You saw that T-Rex on Terra... My people have analysed footage taken from the Enigma nightclub. They've confirmed it was a girl, a Nymph, who shape-shifted into several different huge beasts! That's why he wants more of them, he's found a way to turn Nymphs into juggernauts of destruction! Just imagine whole combat units made up of creatures like that... they'd be unstoppable!"

Weber's eyes widened in fear as he did exactly that. Clenching his jaw, he slowly nodded. "You can count on me, I know what to do..."

The two men stared at each other in deathly silence, the video ignored behind them.

"In other startling news, the financial markets were in quite a stir today," Jehanna said, turning to her co-anchor. "Bill, I believe you have more details?"

Bill Armstrong nodded, raising an eyebrow and adopting his best 'serious news' face. "In a move that stunned the markets, the Voss Corporation announced a dramatic series of acquisitions today, branching out wildly from their traditional financial portfolio. First on the list was Orbital-Galactica, industry leader in the manufacture of military-class starship hulls. It was acquired in a hostile takeover, along with half a dozen other companies, including Titan-Solutions, supplier of ship-based gun batteries. Here's Lorena at the press conference with the Voss Corporation spokesman..."

"Mr. Harding!" a pretty reporter called out to a suited man standing behind a lectern. "Is your CEO planning on building his own private navy?!"

There were titters amongst the audience, the man in the suit smiling amiably at the press. "No, of course not. Henry Voss merely saw an opportunity to aid a series of ailing corporations, bringing them into line with 28th Century business practices..."

***

John awoke to soft singing, instantly recognising Faye's lovely voice as she banished the fog of sleep from his thoughts. She kept the melody quiet, just audible enough for his sensitive hearing to pick up but not loud enough to disturb the girls. He stretched his aching shoulder muscles while trying to avoid disturbing Irillith and Tashana, then slipped his arms around them once again. They murmured faintly in their sleep, hugging him tighter in a loving cocoon of soft blue limbs.

He felt at peace that morning, calmer and more relaxed than he could remember feeling in months... actually, come to think of it, decades would be more accurate. The recent conversations he'd had with Alyssa, Rachel, and Maria had left him feeling unburdened by worries that had plagued him ever since his heritage had started to make itself known.

*Good,* Alyssa thought to him, sounding profoundly satisfied. *As you said to Irillith yesterday: you deserve to be happy too.*

John opened his eyes and glanced to his right, finding Alyssa sitting up and watching him with a warm smile. She was absent-mindedly brushing her fingers through Tashana's long white hair and her smile faded as she glanced down at the sleeping Maliri girl.

*Do you think I should hold back from revealing the full-extent of her injuries?* John asked, thinking about how he'd managed to postpone showing Tashana those shocking images. *Can she cope with seeing that yet?*

*You've been helping her grow stronger in so many ways, but I honestly don't know if she's ready,* Alyssa murmured, her voice swirling through his mind. She looked up to meet his curious gaze. *Maybe wait until the two weeks are over. Let her just enjoy being the centre of your attention for a little while; she hasn't been able to experience that much so far. Trust me, it makes a big difference...*

John nodded, glancing down at the sleeping blue-skinned girl and smiling at her affectionately.

*We'll leave you two together,* Alyssa said, leaning over Tashana to give him a kiss. *Just let me know when you fancy some breakfast, okay?*

The rest of the girls began to wake up at their Matriarch's gentle urging. Each of them looked surprised for a moment, before rising from bed and throwing John a loving smile as they left him alone with Tashana. Irillith was the last to stir and she gave him a soft kiss before she turned to leave. John caught her wrist before she went out of arm's reach, pulling her back in a strong grip.

"Alyssa told me last night about the personal messages you sent out yesterday," he said, his voice firm and direct.