Three Square Meals Ch. 094

Travelling up to Deck Two, he spotted one of the cleaning bots appearing out of his bedroom, so he bundled up his clothes and lobbed them down the corridor towards it. Unfortunately, his gym gear wasn't quite as aerodynamic as he'd hoped and it looked like it was going to fall short. The bot put on a sudden burst of speed and ducked under the sweat-stained clothing, neatly catching it in the hamper on its back.

"Good catch!" he called out with a grin.

To his surprise, the cleaning bot did a funny kind of shuffle back and forth on its tracks, while doing a fist pump with its skinny mechanical arms. It looked a lot like a zero-g football victory dance. John kept a suspicious eye on it until he reached Tashana's room, then hit the button to open the door and glanced back down the corridor to look at the bot again. It had already disappeared inside Calara's room though, on the hunt for more dirty clothing.

The lights were out in the bedroom, but John could see movement under the covers. Entering the room, he saw two sets of sleepy violet eyes gazing in his direction.

"That was good timing," he said quietly as he sat on the end of the bed. "How're you both feeling this afternoon?"

"Alyssa woke us up," Irillith explained with a yawn.

"Did we really sleep until the afternoon!" Tashana exclaimed, looking at him in surprise.

John nodded and patted their legs through the covers. "What time did you go to bed last night?"

"Six, maybe Seven?" Irillith admitted with an embarrassed smile.

Shaking his head, John replied, "There's no need to feel self-conscious; I'm glad you had the opportunity to really get to know one another." Looking at them with concern, he continued, "But you haven't answered my question yet... how are you feeling?"

"I feel fine," Tashana said experimentally.

Irillith shared a smile with her. "Me too, great actually!"

John blew out a sigh of relief. "I love the fact that you're twins, but last night was a sharp reminder how much I also love you as individuals." He beckoned them over. "Come here and give me a hug."

The Maliri girls untangled themselves from the covers and eagerly moved to join him so he could put his broad arms around them both.

Looking at Irillith first, he said gently, "I'm sorry you got a nasty shock last night. I hope you understand why I kept the truth from you about what happened to Tashana; she needed that time without any reminders to give her mind a chance to heal."

Irillith gave him a quick kiss to reassure him. "You have nothing to apologise for, I know I agreed to have my memories altered. The most important thing was that Tashana got the time she needed to recover." She had a thoughtful look on her face as she continued, "I did a terrible thing to her, but being able to share all her thoughts and feelings last night... I could see that she's truly forgiven me, or at least the old version of me that betrayed her."

"You'd never do anything like that now," Tashana agreed, her voice full of the absolute conviction that came with knowing her twin as well as she knew herself. "Punishing you for what happened back then would just be punishing myself now." She looked up at John and added, "We're both putting all that behind us and moving ahead with our lives."

"Our lives with you," Irillith agreed, hugging John closer.

"That's wonderful to hear," John said, stroking their backs as they leaned into him. He looked at each of them in turn. "I'm relieved that everything's out in the open between you two, but that still leaves one other person..."

The twins glanced at each other and said at the same time, "Our mother..."

***

The Invictus dropped out of hyper-warp in the Delta Arietis system, the pale orange sun casting a warm glow over the huge formation of golden-hulled Maliri ships. The massive fleet of vessels was led by four battleships at its centre, surrounded by six heavy carriers, thirty cruisers and a host of destroyers. The Maliri didn't use corvettes, but wings of sleek fighters raced around the outskirts of the system on patrol.

Flaring as brightly as the sun, the six huge Trankaran engines pushed the Invictus forward at startling speed, bringing the battlecruiser closer to the Maliri fleet. Several wings of fighters formed up on the glistening white ship, providing an honour guard as it angled through the ranks of cruisers and headed towards the Galaena Serine. At fifteen hundred metres, the House Valaden flagship dwarfed the Invictus, which measured merely half its length. However size was not the only thing that mattered and every Maliri in the system knew who the white ship belonged to and just how powerful it was.

Retro-thrusters flared along the length of the Invictus' hull, bringing them to a gentle halt alongside the Shandrass-class battleship. A golden crystal-plated docking collar extended from the flank of the Maliri ship, engulfing the battle-cruiser's outer airlock door.

A cloud of purple pixels coalesced into the diligent sprite. "We've docked with the Galaena Serine!" Faye announced to the group waiting in the corridor outside the airlock.

"Thanks Faye," John replied. "Can I leave the Invictus in your capable hands?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Of course!"

"I'll be back in a few minutes, once I've got the bits we need," Dana said, giving the purple sprite a conspiratorial wink.

Alyssa put her arm around the redhead. "Actually, I might need you for a little while first." She gave the elfin girl an apologetic look. "Sorry, Faye. I know you're keen to get your body finished, but we'll be here for a few days. I promise I won't keep Dana too long."

"That's quite alright!" Faye replied, waving a hand to dismiss her apology.

The redhead looked intrigued as she glanced at her blonde friend. "So what do you need me for?"

"Ah, you'll see soon enough," Alyssa replied, giving her an enigmatic smile.

There was a beep from the airlock sensor panel confirming that there was atmospheric pressure on the other side of the door, so John put his hand on the DNA reader. A green light swept across his hand, then chimed when it confirmed his genetic code, the airlock door spiralling open a moment later.

Standing on the other side of the portal was a cluster of beautiful Maliri women, their faces lighting up with joy to see their guests. Abandoning decorum, the Young Matriarchs and the three House Valaden assassins all swept through the airlock to embrace John and the girls. He gathered Luna in his arms first, feeling her sag against him in relief.

"It's so good to see you!" she gasped, looking up at him with anxious yellow eyes. "I've been so worried."

"Why don't you take me straight to Edraele, then we can discuss everything else later?" John suggested.

The former assassin nodded. "Of course. She's in a Medical Bay on Deck Six."

The group crossed over into the elaborate golden-arched corridors of the Maliri battleship and Luna led them to a set of lifts. While they waited for one to arrive, John had an opportunity to properly greet Almari and Ilyana, Luna's fellow assassins, hugging them both. The lift doors opened with a musical tone and fortunately it was large enough to hold the entire group. That was when the five Matriarchs embraced him, giving him an opportunity to see the excitement and anticipation in their beautiful young faces.

Tsarra Perfaren was the last and he brushed his fingers through her short white hair. She closed her eyes at his gentle touch, shivering with delight as he caressed her.

"Would you like a little help growing that out?" he asked with a playful smile.

Opening her dark-green eyes again at his question, she looked up at him under dark lashes and nodded, licking her lips in a subconscious gesture.

John gave her a brief kiss, brushing his lips against hers. "Later, I promise."

The lift chimed again, letting them know they'd reached Deck Six. Tsarra reluctantly peeled herself away from John, giving him a lingering look then blushing a deep shade of blue when he met her intense gaze.

"This way," Luna said, striding out into the corridor.

The Medical Bay wasn't far from the lifts and was a substantial facility. Scores of large pieces of medical equipment were spaced evenly around the huge bay, the bulk of the machinery finished in gold, but with clear crystal canopies covering many of the objects.

Their entrance was met by an aloof woman with short dark hair, wearing a long flowing Physician's robe, and carrying a holo-tablet tucked under one arm. "This is a Medical Facility, not a conference room!" she said indignantly as John's entourage of sixteen women entered the room.

Luna narrowed her eyes at the Medic. "Medical Facility implies some kind of healing capability, Amadee. You've had two weeks to heal Edraele, but all I've heard are platitudes and excuses."

John entered the room last and said, "It's alright, Luna. What happened to Edraele isn't something you can cure with conventional medicine. Just show me where she is and we'll get her back on her feet."

"Over here," Luna replied, walking towards a row of golden pods on the far side of the medical bay.

Amadee had an irritated frown on her face as she turned to look at John, but that vanished the moment she set eyes on him. She gaped in open-mouthed astonishment as he walked past her, then flushed when he gave her a friendly smile.

"Could you open the cryo-pod for us please, Amadee?" he asked politely.

The Medic blinked in shock, then hurried to follow his request, her long blue fingers pressing buttons on the console beside the pod. She moved a sliding bar across a holo-panel, the temperature inside the pod quickly normalising to room temperature. It flashed orange when the thawing process had completed and Amadee pressed another button to open the cryo-pod door.

John saw that Sakura was staring at the pod with a pensive expression, so he put his arm around her and squeezed her shoulder. "You doing okay?"

She glanced up at him and nodded. "I just hope I never have to go in one of those things again."

"You won't," he said with confidence. "Not with me and Rachel here to keep you safe and well."

The cryo-pod door swung wide open, giving them their first view of the House Valaden Matriarch. Edraele looked ghostly pale, her normally vibrant sky-blue skin appearing wan and sickly. Irillith gasped in shock and clung to her sister, who was similarly aghast at the state of her mother.

"I had no idea she was as badly hurt as this," John said in a hushed voice, glancing at Rachel.

The brunette gave him a worried frown and approached the cryo-pod, her grey eyes already glowing with a bright inner light as she placed her hand on Edraele's chest. A grey mist rolled down her arm to shroud Edraele and Rachel murmured, "Species: Maliri - Catatonic... lifeforce drained." She turned around to look at John in alarm. "She's been severely weakened! I don't think I can heal this kind of psychic damage!"

"It's alright, let me," he replied, before patting Jade on the shoulder. "You know what to do, honey."

The Nymph approached Edraele and gently opened her mouth with one hand then slipped two fingers between the Maliri Matriarch's pale lips. Those digits began to pulse a moment later as Jade began to pump all the cum she'd stored directly into Edraele's stomach. John stood beside the Nymph as she fed the unconscious woman, placing one hand on his Matriarch's gradually rising belly and the other above her heart.

"Brace yourselves, ladies," he murmured, as his eyes began to glow with a fierce blue radiance. "I'll need a lot of power to heal her..."

Alyssa felt the sudden massive draw of psychic energy and she tapped into the rest of the girls to help spread the load.

John could feel just how badly Edraele had been injured by the Astral leviathan, which had almost extinguished her life force to keep the portal between realities open as long as possible. He thanked the stars he'd cut their bond when he did; she probably wouldn't have survived another ten seconds being drained like that. He focused on pouring healing energy into her body to rejuvenate her withered essence, helping her grow strong and healthy once again.

After several long moments, Edraele's eyes fluttered open in shock, her hands lifting instinctively to try and pull Jade's fingers from her mouth.

John caught her hands in his and said in a soothing tone, "Easy now, there's nothing to worry about. Jade's just helping me heal you..."

Edraele calmed immediately as she recognised him, clasping his hands in both of her own. She looked up into his glowing eyes, her brow furrowed and a questioning look in her anxious purple gaze.

"I had to cut our bond... that thing would've killed you if I hadn't," he explained gently. "Just relax, we'll bond again once the healing is complete."

She nodded slightly, looking relieved as she let Jade slowly pump several pints of cum into her stomach, rounding out her abdomen.

John could feel Edraele's tattered psychic presence smoothing out as he healed it, her body regaining its lost vigour. When he was satisfied that she was fully healed, he stopped the draw of energy from Alyssa and the glow from his eyes slowly faded away.

"Holy shit... that took so much power!" Alyssa gasped, leaning wearily against him.

"Sorry, beautiful, there was no other way," he replied putting an arm around the blonde to help support her. He glanced around the group and saw that the rest of the Invictus girls were looking tired now as well.

Jade eased her fingers from Edraele's lips and murmured kindly, "There we go, little kitten. All better now..."

With John's help the Maliri Matriarch sat upright, looking bright and alert once again. "It's so wonderful to see all of you again!" Edraele exclaimed in a mix of delight and relief, looking around at the throng of visitors in the Medical Bay.

Jade moved aside to give Tashana and Irillith room, as the twins darted forward to embrace their mother.

"I was so worried about you!" Irillith exclaimed, her voice catching as she hugged Edraele tightly.

"I really missed you too," Tashana said, joining her sister in the three-way hug. "So many wonderful things have happened while you were asleep. I can't wait to tell you all about them!"

Edraele put her arms around her daughters, hugging them back with a joyful smile on her face. "I'm so glad you're both here, my angels."

John studied his Maliri Matriarch and could see that despite how happy she was to be reunited with her girls, there was still a look of yearning in her eyes when she glanced at him. Stroking Irillith and Tashana's backs, he said, "Why don't you let me rebond with Edraele, it shouldn't take too long. Then we can all get together to talk about everything that's happened."

They reluctantly let Edraele go and John helped her off the cryo-pod bed. She stood a little unsteadily, unused to the heavy weight rounding out her waistline, so John put his arm around her to help support her. She looked up at him with a grateful smile, and it seemed like she wanted to say more but held whatever it was back.

"I'll take you to your private suite," Luna suggested, stroking her Matriarch's arm affectionately.

Edraele returned the caress with a fond glance at her bodyguard, then glanced around the Medical Bay. She spotted the stunned physician who was gaping at her fully recovered patient and greeted her with a smile. "Hello, Amadee. If I was in your tender care, I can only assume we must be on the Galaena Serine?"

"T-That's correct, Matriarch!" Amadee managed to stammer. She gaped at John and marvelled, "What did you do to heal her?!"

Rachel brushed her hand along the astonished physician's arm. "Perhaps I can help explain? In exchange, you must tell me more about your Medical Lab! Some of this equipment is fascinating..."

Amadee nodded mutely, gazing at her with wide eyes.

Alyssa gave Edraele a warm hug. "I'm so glad you're okay! We've all been really worried about you." She glanced at John and added, "We'll all go and have a rest somewhere to recover. See you in a few minutes."

John guided Edraele across the medical lab, following Luna towards the door. "We're at the rendezvous point in the Delta Arietis system. You've been unconscious in cryo-stasis for just over a week."

"Delta Arietis..." Edraele murmured in confusion. "That's a long way from the original rendezvous point."

"We've been pretty busy," John said cryptically, stepping aside to let her leave through the door first.

Edraele glanced back at the girls, sharing a smile with Alyssa and giving her a brief nod, before following Luna into the corridor. The three of them walked in silence, something obviously on Edraele's mind, but she was keeping it to herself for the time being. After another ride in the lift, Luna guided them into a luxurious suite, then led them past a meeting room and a well-furnished lounge before stopping at a high-arched door.

"You've no idea how much I've missed you, Edraele," she said softly, her yellow eyes filling up with emotion as she turned to look at her.

"Everything will be fine now, my darling," the House Valaden Matriarch replied in a soothing voice, embracing her lover. "Once John and I have reconnected, I promise we'll spend some time together, just you and me."

Luna nodded and gave her a tender kiss, before waving them goodbye as she turned to leave the quarters. The bedroom door opened in front of John, seemingly of its own accord and he followed Edraele into the luxurious bedroom.

As soon as they were alone, she fell into his arms, her brave facade crumbling at last. "Oh John! That Astral beast was terrifying!"

"I'm so sorry I exposed you to that," he said as he held her tight. "I never would've breached the Astral Plane if I knew that thing could exploit our presence!" Scooping her up in his arms, John carried her onto the big bed, then lay down beside her."

"I need to bond with you again!" Edraele said plaintively, fear and worry etched on her face. "It's worse not having your soothing thoughts to cling to!" Her psychic presence hammered on the mental fortress shielding his mind, desperate to be joined with him again.

"Shh, I'm here now," John murmured, tilting her chin up with his hand and giving her a gentle kiss.

Gazing into Edraele's purple eyes, he opened his mind for her and felt her consciousness rush to merge with his own.

Edraele sighed with relief, the tension in her eyes fading away as she felt his titanic mind moving to welcome and embrace her, swaddling her up in loving thoughts. She melted into his arms, letting out a soft moan of satisfaction and contentment as she was united with him again.

*There you go, back at your rightful place as my Matriarch,* John said, brushing his fingers through her silky white hair.

*That feels so much better,* she replied, a glorious smile lighting up her beautiful face.

He propped himself up on one elbow so he could look down into her eyes and said sincerely, "I've really missed you. You were only in cryo for just over a week, but it's felt like months! So much has happened since then... I've lost count of the times I longed to hear your lovely voice giving me wise advice..."

Her face shadowed with guilt and she said, "I'm so sorry I let you down, there must've been something I could've done to-"

John shook his head and silenced her with a kiss. "It definitely wasn't your fault! That monster hijacked our breach into the Astral Plane and used you and Alyssa to keep the portal open. There was nothing you could've done to prevent it." He hesitated and looked troubled. "I should be the one feeling guilty..."

"You? Why would that be?" she asked him, concerned to see his pained expression.

"When you were injured, we could've raced back into Maliri Space to come and heal you straight away. Luna told us that your doctors said your condition was stable, so I..." He paused, the guilt he felt etched plainly on his face. "...I decided to visit the Trankarans first, to speak to them about an alliance, as well as make the trade for the ore we need. I figured it would save us about a week of extra travelling time, but I felt terrible about leaving you hurt and unconscious."