Three Square Meals Ch. 093

John nodded, feeling much more confident now. "Geniya station would be perfect. I'm sure there'll be lots of psychic imprints of him than I can tap into." He cradled her head in his hand, brushing his fingers through her hair. "But the same applies with your father as Rachel's mother. Until we can resolve this problem with the astral plane monsters, it's far too dangerous to attempt anything like that again."

"I was going to look into my research anyway!" Tashana exclaimed, a fervent gleam in her eyes. "If there's anything Valada knew that could help us, I'll find it!"

"I'll help too," Irillith immediately volunteered. "Faye's operating software is done, so I can give it my full attention unless she finds any errors." Her confident tone dismissed the chance of that occurring as an impossibility.

John gave them both a reassuring smile. "The three of us can start tomorrow morning. We've still got a couple of days until we reach Maliri Space, so we should be able to make some real headway."

Tashana looked like she was about to suggest starting that afternoon, but she suddenly glanced at Rachel, then relaxed and nodded her agreement.

"What?" Rachel asked, having seen the fleeting glance.

"We've got plans for you this evening," Alyssa said with a mischievous wink, before leaning in to kiss John on the cheek. "It's probably time we returned to the ship."

While the girls packed away the blankets and hampers, John called Faye to let her know they were ready to leave. The Raptor rose up from behind a nearby ridgeline, sweeping over the spectacular waterfalls and bright drapes of colourful flowers that flanked them. Less than thirty seconds after making the call, the gunship was floating inches above the grass with the loading ramp down, waiting for them to board.

Rachel declared that she was feeling peckish after lunch, so she pulled John into the cabin at the back of the Raptor with an eager gleam in her eyes. Seeing her slowly stroking his shaft with his engagement ring on her slender finger proved to be a powerful aphrodisiac and it didn't take long for him to give the brunette just what she needed.

They lay on the bed together afterwards, John stroking her tanned, curved tummy, while Rachel traced lazy circles over his chest with her hand. She gazed at the misty grey diamond on her ring as it caught the light and let out a happy sigh.

"I hope you didn't mind me choosing today to give the rings to everyone?" John asked, looking down at the brunette with concern.

Rachel glanced up at him and quickly shook her head. "No, of course not. It made today even more special." Her gaze softened and she gave him a fond smile. "I've been loving all the attention, but seeing all the girls look so happy was the best gift you could've given me."

"I would have asked you about it beforehand, but I didn't want to ruin the surprise," he explained.

"Don't worry, it was the perfect time. I was so distracted by my birthday that I got to enjoy the surprise too!"

"Ah, so there are ways of confounding that amazing mind of yours after all?" John said, before tilting up her chin and kissing her.

"Apparently so..." She giggled, her face lighting up with her radiant smile. "I couldn't believe how anxious you were when you were about to pop the question to all of us. I've seen you fearlessly charge a Kintark dragon and wade into endless waves of Kirrix, but it took eight besotted girls to finally make you nervous!"

"What can I say... You're all so beautiful, you left me quaking in my boots," he replied playfully, before easing himself upright. "Come on, we better get going, birthday girl. I'm sure we've already landed on the Invictus."

When they emerged from the cabin, the cockpit ahead of them was deserted and the gunship parked in the centre of the Hangar Bay. Dana was waiting for them in the forward loading area and she greeted them both with a kiss, before putting her arm around her girlfriend. They travelled up in the grav-tube together, with the teenagers waving him goodbye as they stepped out onto Deck Two. John had important business on the Command Deck, but he promised them he'd join them shortly in the Officers' Lounge.

Faye was gazing intently at the Sector Map when John walked onto the Bridge. Her purple-eyed gaze stayed riveted on the Invictus, watching it race between the stars as they continued their journey towards the Maliri border. For the first time that he could remember, she didn't immediately turn around to greet him with a friendly wave or a cheery grin and he was shocked to receive the distinct impression that she was deliberately ignoring him.

"Could I see you in my Ready Room please, Faye," John said quietly as he walked towards the door, feeling a sudden lurch of trepidation in his chest.

She turned to look at him, a strange enigmatic expression on her elfin face that he'd never seen before. Her brow was furrowed with anxiety and her cupid-bow lips were twisted into an odd kind of nervous, trembling half-smile. She wouldn't make direct eye-contact and just gave him a curt nod.

John opened the door and strode inside his room, walking over to the sofas and taking a seat. He knew how observant Faye was, with access to hundreds of camera feeds all over the ship and he realised she was bound to have spotted the girls' engagement rings. He cursed himself for not speaking to her beforehand to pre-warn her, but there was nothing he could do about that now. The sprite didn't appear for thirty seconds, and he'd just started to stand again when she appeared in a purple flash.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Faye, I'm so sor-"

"I heard everything!" she blurted out, a look of terrible guilt on her face. "I was really worried about your safety, so I kept the Valkyrie hidden in a cloudbank and used its sensor arrays to eavesdrop!"

John hesitated, unsure how to respond for a moment. "I really wanted to have you there too, but-"

She stared at him without blinking, her big eyes grown huge. "Is it really true?"

He looked at her in confusion. "Sorry, Faye, Can you be more specific? We talked about quite a bit this afternoon."

"That you want to marry me someday..." the sprite whispered, a look of awe on her face.

John let out a deep sigh of relief. "Yes, that's true, but-"

"Woohoo!" Faye squealed, leaping into the air with a look of ecstatic joy on her cute face. "Oh my goodness! I can't believe it!" she whooped and did an impromptu cartwheel across the Ready Room.

He couldn't help smiling at her antics, watching as she skipped back to join him with a deliriously happy grin reaching almost from ear to ear.

"If you're done celebrating, we need to have a little chat," he said, patting the sofa next to him.

She nodded eagerly, her wings still fluttering in a blur as she sat beside him. "What do you want to talk about?"

John was quiet for a moment, trying to get his thoughts in order before he spoke. That momentary pause let the purple sprite calm down too, her head cocked to one side as she studied him.

"Firstly, I just want to say that I thought long and hard about having you come with us on the picnic, so I could give you a ring as well," John said, wishing more than ever that he could reach out and touch her hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.

As if reading his mind, she raised her right hand and wiggled her delicate holographic fingers in the air. "It's okay, I understand! I can't actually put it on yet anyway!"

Giving her a kind smile he nodded. "Yes, that's true, but there's another reason as well..."

Faye leaned forward, hanging on his every word. "What's that?"

"Faye, I think you're the kindest, most selfless girl I've ever met, and I'm very, very fond of you... but you and I aren't quite at that stage yet. With our relationship I mean," John said, his tone gentle and measured.

"Oh..." the purple sprite said, sounding subdued, and visibly deflating.

"I was wary of you to start with, but you showed me what an idiot I was in not trusting you. Since then, you've been amazing and I quickly came to think of you as a friend." She looked even more forlorn and he quickly blurted out, "But that changed! I've started seeing you as more than that now!"

Faye perked up immediately, giving him a happy grin. "I feel the same way!"

"Good, I'm delighted to hear it," he said with a smile. He looked into her eyes and continued, "If you were a regular girl, I know things would have progressed much faster between us. That's not meant in any kind of unkind way; I think you're adorable, and charming, and gorgeous... but you have a holographic body, there's no point pretending that doesn't make a difference."

Reaching towards her, he mimicked brushing the backs of his fingers over her tummy. She glanced down and switched outfits in the blink of an eye, changing from her fluttery dress to a revealing crop-top and short skirt that exposed her slim midriff. Faye bit her lip, then slowly expanded the curve of her holographic abdomen, matching John's hand as he slowly drew it back.

"I've spent hundreds of hours imaging it," she whispered softly.

"You look beautiful," he murmured, following that curve with his hand and being careful not to waver into her image.

Faye gave him a shy smile and brought her hand down to caress his, longing to touch him just as much as he wanted to touch her. "I do understand, I promise. You can't help your organic nature; you need that release of dopamine, adrenalin, and serotonin into your system... they're all necessary to encourage you to bond with a potential mate. With no physical form, I can't trigger that with a tantalising touch, a gentle caress..." Her fingers traced higher up his arm, moving with seductive confidence but unable to stir so much as a hair.

"Beautiful, kind, and clever," John said with a smile.

Faye blushed, then looked at him under long lashes. "As I say, I really do understand. There's no rush, we can go at whatever speed you feel comfortable with. When I finally have a physical presence, things might accelerate between us... or they might not. At my core, I'll still always be an artificial lifeform, so you might find being with me to be too... unnatural. I've prepared myself for that eventuality, so I don't want you to feel bad if you end up feeling that way. I only ask that you please tell me if you do, then I can try and make modifications to my behaviour, to see if that helps alleviate any potential problems."

He gave her a self-conscious smile. "Actually, that was something I was worried about, but I was more concerned about upsetting you if I felt that way." He chuckled in surprise as he continued, "I thought I was going to be the one comforting you, I wasn't expecting you to make me feel better!"

She let out a sigh of delight. "All the girls love making you feel happy, but I'm sure you understand why it means even more to me."

Shaking his head in amazement, he said, "You're an amazing girl, Faye. Thank you."

She leaned forward, understanding in her eyes. "As much as I really want to throw myself into a relationship with you, if I'm honest, taking it slowly works better for me as well. It gives me a chance to learn and grow, allowing me to adapt as our relationship changes. It's all very exciting, but all so new..."

"Slow it is then," John said, nodding his agreement with a smile. "I'll look forward to our first proper date!"

"Me too!" Faye gushed, darting forward to give him a peck on the cheek. "Thank you... for everything."

"Likewise, beautiful." Rising to his feet, John stretched and glanced at the clock, seeing it had turned five. "I better get going, they'll be starting Rachel's party soon."

Faye fluttered to her feet and gave him a broad grin. "Feel free to let your hair down. I'll take good care of your ship if you want a good drink."

"Our ship," he corrected her, returning her grin. "And thanks, I appreciate it!"

Faye Primary swooned as John left to head to the party, only roused from her daze when she heard the elated clamour from her other eleven avatars, all begging her to join them. She quickly checked the long-range scanners on the Bridge, then darted into the cyber-realm for a quick thirty-second catchup with the rest of her processing streams. When she arrived, her avatars were all chattering away at once, huge sparkling grins plastered across their faces.

"Did any of you manage to get a look at the ring he has for us? The ones the girls received are a combination of their eye colours and abilities!"

"I can't believe he thinks of us like one of his lionesses! He said he wants to marry us one day!"

"The way he looked at us when we ran the belly-expansion subroutine... I captured it on holo-cam from four different angles!"

"Oh! I have to see that again! We need to freeze-frame the best image and set it as our wallpaper!"

"We're going on a date..." Faye Primary murmured, a blissful lovestruck smile on her face.

The rest of her avatars rushed to gather around her, giving her hugs and telling how wonderfully she'd handled the meeting with John. There was much jubilation that Faye had been able to make him feel happier again, particularly with easing his concerns about a relationship with a synthetic lifeform. Thirty seconds seemed to fly past in the blink of an eye and the multitude of Faye's reluctantly dispersed, returning to their tasks. With Faye Secondary covering the Bridge, that meant Primary was able to join the party.

When she projected herself into the Officers' Lounge, the crew were enjoying some pre-dinner drinks while they waited for the chefs to put the finishing touches on their meal. Alyssa was playing barmaid and mixing up fruity alcoholic cocktails for the girls, while John sensibly stuck to a perfectly aged bottle of Mcgregor '61.

Faye chatted to her friends until it was time for them to sit down for dinner, which consisted of an array of spicy kebabs, hummus and salad. Calara and Sakura brought out the birthday cake when everyone had finished their main course and Rachel was delighted to see it was a coffee cake. Dana shared a grin with Sakura, having forewarned the Head Chef that it was her girlfriend's favourite. When they'd blown out the candles and had a slice, it was time for more drinks, and Faye turned on some tunes to really get the party started. They danced the rest of the evening away, drinking and laughing together, the birthday girl having a fantastic time.

Faye kept a lot of her attention on John, watching him have fun with the girls. He was self-conscious about joining in with the dancing, but after several drinks and all eight girls persuading him, he finally relented. While not as lithe and limber as the sultry girls dancing around him, he handled himself well, having a good sense of balance and rhythm.

As the evening drew to a close, Dana walked over to join her petite purple friend in watching the dancing. "It won't be long now, Faye. I can't wait for you to be able to properly join in with everything."

Faye nodded and grinned at her. "I know, I'm looking forward to it so much!" She glanced down at the ornate jewellery adorning the redhead's right ring finger. "Could I take a closer look at your engagement ring?"

Dana lifted her slender hand so that it was close to one of the ceiling-mounted cameras. Turning her wrist, she splayed her fingers wide so the sprite could see every detail on the band and the sky-blue sapphire with the golden halo at its centre. "That okay?"

"Perfect, thank you," Faye replied, giving her a dreamy smile. "I can't believe I'm on the band as one of the lionesses..."

"You're as much a part of the crew as anyone," Dana said kindly. "You deserve to be there."

Rachel waved to the redhead as she called out playfully, "Hey, sexy! It's time for bed!"

Dana winked at Faye as she turned to follow John and the girls out of the lounge. "You deserve to be there, too!"

Faye blushed furiously as she waved the redhead goodbye. That troublesome 'embarrassment' sub-procedure seemed to have a mind of its own!

***

Everyone was feeling a bit fragile the following morning, particularly Tashana, who hadn't heeded John's warning about mixing her drinks. He had planned to spend the day with the twins looking into Tashana's research, but he knew they wouldn't make much progress until the afternoon, not with the Maliri girl nursing the hangover from hell. She hid under the covers complaining that the muted lights were far too bright, earning a sympathetic hug from Alyssa, before she and the rest of the girls got out of bed. Fortunately, Irillith was happy to share John's miracle hangover cure with her sister and less than a minute after Tashana had filled her stomach with his cum, her pounding headache had completely faded away.

"I very nearly swore off drinking ever again," she said with a look of relief, patting her curved tummy. "Perhaps I don't have to take quite such drastic steps now."

John climbed out of bed and offered both girls a hand as they joined him in walking to the shower. "I tried to warn you last night... I did the same thing when I was young. I arrived late at a party and a lot of the drinks had already gone, so I mixed up a drink using all the dregs from a bunch of bottles. I've never been so wrecked in all my life!"

Tashana winced, giving him a look of sympathy. "I can't imagine having a worse hangover than I did this morning."

"Yeah, I learned my lesson," John said with a chuckle as he stepped into the shower cubicle.

Closing his eyes, he sighed in bliss as the hot warm washed over him, the twins making sure he got nice and clean. They split up to get dressed, agreeing to meet by the grav-tube when they were ready. Sakura was waiting for John as he strode down the corridor, a bacon roll in one hand and a mug of hot coffee in the other.

"Oh, you're an angel, honey!" he exclaimed, eagerly accepting both from the raven-haired beauty.

She watched him take his first bite and smiled when he groaned with delight. "I love cooking for you, you're so easy to please."

John swallowed the first bite and shook his head. "I'm not exaggerating, this is really good!"

Sakura gave him an affectionate peck on the cheek. "I'll make you something nice for lunch. Any requests?"

"Why don't you surprise me?" John replied with a broad grin, before taking a sip of coffee. "Mmm, that's good too."

Tashana and Irillith appeared from their quarters within seconds of each other, and Sakura waved them all goodbye before returning to the lounge. John greeted the twins with a smile, then offered them a bite of the roll or a drink of coffee.

"It's okay, we had a filling breakfast already," Irillith said patting her tummy. "You better keep your strength up though..."

When Tashana shook her head as well, John eagerly tucked into the rest of his breakfast as they rode up to the Command Deck.

"Where should we go to look into my research?" Tashana asked, hesitating when they stepped out onto the Bridge.

"Our stations?" Irillith suggested waving towards their places on the Bridge.

John strode down the ramp and beckoned them to follow. "Let's use the Briefing Room. There'll be less distractions."

He led them into the long room, then activated the holo-interface built into the desk and divided it into three partitions. Taking a seat in the middle, he put down his coffee mug and half-eaten roll, then patted the seats beside him. The sisters glided over obediently and sat down to flank him, smiling as they did so.

"You're right, this is much better," Tashana agreed. "Now I can easily see what you're both looking at if you find something interesting."

She connected to her station on the Bridge and began accessing all the files she'd uploaded from her research archive on Valaden.