Three Square Meals Ch. 108

Alyssa's kiss silenced whatever else she was going to say, leaving the brunette moaning into her mouth.

John embraced them both, then whispered in Calara's ear. "No more talk like that." He slid a hand between them and gently rubbed her tummy. "Terran, Progenitor, Nymph, Maliri... you're all equally beautiful."

Finally pulling back, Alyssa gave John a knowing look. "And of course, you want to see us happily paired up, gazing adoringly into our girlfriend's eyes while we carry your babies." She turned back to Calara and continued, "So I'm afraid you're stuck with me, sexy girl. Blonde and brunette is the classic combination, we can't give that up..."

Calara laughed, feeling totally at ease once more. "That's very true... Sorry for being silly."

Dana strolled into the shower to join them, smirking at Calara when she saw the trio standing in an intimate embrace. "I wondered how long it'd be before you ended up as the meat in a Progenitor sandwich. I know you're the one with prescience, but my future prediction is that they're going to fuck the hell out of you tonight!"

"I certainly hope so," the Latina purred, grinning when John and Alyssa gave her a suggestive squeeze.

John left Alyssa and Calara holding each other and reached for Dana, pulling her into a hug. "How are you this morning, Sparks?"

She snuggled into his arms, the water slicking her long auburn hair to her back. "I feel totally loved-up this morning. Whatever you did to that load you pumped into Alyssa... keep doing it!"

He gently stroked Dana's back and shared a curious glance with his blonde Matriarch.

*No, I don't know what changed,* she replied to his unspoken question, giving him a helpless shrug.

Tilting his head to one side, he looked into Dana's sky-blue eyes. "So where are we at with the refit?"

Before the redhead could reply, Rachel rushed into the bathroom, her grey eyes shining with excitement. "I knew it wasn't just a cosmetic alteration! Your DNA has changed!"

The concerned look that John shot at Alyssa was met by one of astonishment from the blonde.

"But all I did was copy the shape of the twins' ears! That was it!" she exclaimed, sounding bewildered. "I couldn't even make any changes to myself until I had a tummy full of your cum!"

John paused for a moment, then he raised an eyebrow as he studied the blonde. "Athena..."

Alyssa appeared shocked for a moment, then her eyes narrowed in irritation. "She just said she wants to talk to you tonight..." Seeing John's concerned expression, she sighed and shook her head. "Athena's a part of me... I don't think she's any kind of threat."

"Are you absolutely sure? What about my guide?" he asked, pointing out the obvious.

"It's not the same," she replied with certainty. "Besides, you created Athena... and I know you'd never do anything to hurt me."

He nodded hesitantly, still not entirely convinced. Turning to look at Rachel, who had stripped off to join them, he asked, "Did you find out anything else?"

The tawny-haired doctor tilted her head back and let the water cascade over her long brown mane. "I'm afraid I don't fully understand the intricacies of Progenitor genetic modifications yet. All I can really tell you is that Alyssa's triple helix strand has been altered from my previous sample and now there's a number of additional similarities to your third helix. I recognised the pattern of those genetic markers, even though I don't know what they mean."

"What the hell is Athena up to?" John asked aloud, but his rhetorical question was met with blank looks. He sighed in frustration, then continued, "Hopefully, I'll get some straight answers tonight, but I'm not holding my breath. Athena can be quite enigmatic..."

Alyssa gave him a sympathetic smile. "We need to hurry, we'll be arriving at the rendezvous point in eight minutes."

John nodded and they quickly began soaping each other down.

"I can offer you some straight answers about the refit," Dana said, nudging him with an elbow.

"Sorry, Sparks, I got distracted," he said with an apologetic frown. "Go ahead, where are we up to?"

Dana grinned as she replied, "I just checked with Faye: her boys finished installing the Solid-Phase Shield Matrix last night and the Zero-Point Regulators were all fitted this morning! The Tachyon Lances have all been built, so as soon as we drop out of hyper-warp, the maintenance bots are going to start swapping them out. They'll start with replacing the Heavy Quantum Guns, then move on to the Photon Lasers."

"Brilliant! It's great to see everything's going to schedule," John said, giving Rachel an appreciative nod for her planning. "What about the Raptor and the Valkyrie?"

"The girls are going to help me get them upgraded," Dana replied. "All the components are built, it's just a case of installing all the new equipment. With everyone pitching in, we should be able to get the refits done by the time you're finished with your meetings."

"You know that Alyssa and Calara are coming with me?" he asked, darting a quick glance at the teenagers before looking at Dana again.

"Yeah, I heard all three of you are slacking off," the redhead replied with a grin. "Don't worry, we should still be fine. Jade's going to do all the heavy lifting in her dragon form."

Alyssa smiled at her friend. "Did you ever think you'd end up having a dragon as an engineering assistant?"

The redhead raised her chin and said imperiously, "Of course! The Grand Engineering Overlord deserves such a magnificent minion!"

Her haughty stance didn't survive the tickling onslaught.

After finishing their shower and leaving the bathroom, they found Faye waiting. "If you go straight to the stealth shuttle when you're ready, I'll fly you to Admiral Zelig's ship," she offered, leaning against the doorframe as Alyssa and John started to get dressed. "We'll be arriving in just over two minutes."

"Thanks, Faye," John replied, pulling on his white Lion uniform. "Hopefully we won't be too long... unless Zelig doesn't pass the test."

Alyssa buttoned up her shirt and shrugged as she said, "If he's a bad guy, I'll just take him out. I spoke to Lynette about it and she gave me carte blanche to do whatever we need to do. We can be out of there in five minutes."

"We can't just stroll in there, execute an admiral, then walk off," John patiently explained. "We'll have to handle the situation delicately. The last thing I want to do is to leave the T-Fed forces shocked and leaderless; we need them to help with the liberation of those worlds. If we do have to deal with Zelig, at the very least we'll need to make sure that the next officer in the chain-of-command is competent."

The blonde nodded as she reached for her Lioness jacket. "Sure, we can play it however you like."

John glanced at her suspiciously as he pulled on his peaked hat. "Are you sure Lynette said we can do whatever we wanted?"

"She did ask that we handle it discreetly," Alyssa admitted, with a mischievous smile.

He chuckled and shook his head at her. "How's she doing anyway? Did the date with Charles go okay?"

"Give me a second and I'll check in with her," the blonde said, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

***

Lynette was gently roused from a lovely dream by a soothing telepathic caress.

*Good morning, beautiful,* Alyssa murmured, her melodic voice filling the brunette with a comforting sense of belonging. *How did the big reveal with Charles go?*

Becoming aware of her surroundings, Lynette found herself curled up next to a firm warm body, shocking her wide awake as she realised there was a man in her bed. She sat upright and looked down at Charles, memories from the previous glorious night flashing through her mind.

*Oh, Alyssa... last night was magical!* Lynette's gaze softened and she leaned down to give Charles a loving kiss, lightly brushing her lips against his.

The touch roused Charles and he stared at her in astonishment for a moment, before waking up fully and breaking out into a grin. "You need to clear your day, I'm taking you ring shopping."

Lynette let out a blissfully happy sigh, then gave her a fiancé a seductive smile. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, but first, I need breakfast..."

As she disappeared beneath the covers, Charles folded his hands behind his head and grinned in delight.

***

Alyssa sauntered out of the walk-in-wardrobe. "It sounds like the date went very well."

John smiled with satisfaction as he followed her over to the express grav-tubes. "I'm really glad it's working out for them."

"Yes, it really is... Lynette gave Charles a blowjob and he proposed, " Alyssa said, grinning at John over her shoulder before stepping inside the red anti-grav field and dropping out of sight.

John's jaw dropped open in shock, then he rushed after her, diving into the grav-tube. "Wait... what? They're engaged?!"

Alyssa was waiting down in the armoury and she smirked as she nodded. "It must have been one hell of a blowjob..."

He laughed and slipped his arm around her waist as they walked towards the second set of grav-tubes. "I can't believe they're taking things so fast."

Pausing by the entrance, Alyssa turned to look him in the eyes. "I'm sorry for having doubts about the way you handled Lynette. She's ecstatic to be with Charles... they really are perfectly-suited for each other. Oh, and she asked me to pass on her thanks for keeping things platonic between you two. Charles asked her if you'd slept together and Lynette was really relieved that she could tell him honestly that you hadn't."

"It would've complicated things unnecessarily for her," he said sagely. "Decades from now, Lynette might eventually end up with us in Maliri Space, but for the moment, she'll be much happier being Fleet Admiral with Charles at her side."

Alyssa gave him a warm smile. "It feels nice playing cupid."

John nodded and guided her into the grav-tube. "It's a refreshing change being able to make a positive difference to people's lives without having to kill anyone to do it." They dropped down through the levels in a blur, until they arrived at Deck Nine.

"I think we'll be back to the usual status quo this afternoon," the blonde said soberly, accompanying him across the hangar and gesturing at the door controls.

"I'm not looking forward to liberating those worlds," John said, nodding his agreement as the double doors opened. "It was bad enough seeing what happened to the Trankarans on Khalgron, I think it'll hit much closer to home with Terran civilians."

They walked across to the shuttle, then stood quietly together, sharing a grim look that spoke volumes.

Calara rushed into the hangar a few moments later, then jogged over to join them, pulling on the peaked hat for her Lioness uniform. "Sorry to keep you waiting, I had a reminder message from my mom to speak to my dad."

John gave her an understanding smile as he gestured for her to enter the shuttle's airlock before him. "We'll visit the Damocles once we've wrapped up our business with Admiral Zelig. Hopefully we won't be long."

Faye sat in the pilot's chair, her wings swirling in a lazy figure-of-eight pattern as she powered up the shuttle's engines. "Hey guys!" she said with a friendly wave. "I'm bringing the Invictus in close to the battleship Porphyrion, so we'll have a really short shuttle flight."

She glanced at the hangar entrance as the door swung up into the ceiling and the spectacular view of space was soon blocked by the dull grey of an enormous titanium armoured hull. Retro-thrusters blazed bright as the battlecruiser sidled up to the Porphyrion, slowing the Invictus and eventually bringing it to a halt adjacent to the huge Terran Federation capital ship. The shuttle lifted off the deck and glided through the hangar door, crossing the short gap to the gaping shuttle bay entrance opposite.

"Looks like we've got a welcoming committee," Calara noted, seeing the massed crowds of personnel waiting for them in the Porphyrion's hangar.

"Do you reckon they're going to want a speech?" Alyssa said, putting her arms around her lovers.

The Latina groaned and glanced at John. "I hope they don't ask me to say anything. It was nerve-racking enough doing that speech at Olympus; I don't want to make a career of public speaking!"

"You were amazing," he said, making no attempt to conceal his pride. "You managed to hit just the right note and it was completely off-the-cuff."

Calara blushed as she admitted, "When Charles specifically requested that I attend, I did plan out a few things to say... just in case."

"Your secret's safe with us," Alyssa said with a grin, hugging the Latina closer.

Faye carefully touched down with a textbook landing, the stealth shuttle parked precisely in the centre of the designated landing pad. The airlock door opened and they were met with silence, but John could almost feel the feverish anticipation hanging thick in the air. When he emerged from the shuttle with Alyssa and Calara moving to flank him, the crowd greeted the saviours of Terra with rousing cheers. The applause intensified when John responded with a grin and a salute, while the girls acknowledged the tumultuous applause with sparkling smiles and exuberant waves.

A delegation of beaming senior officers were waiting over by the exit, a man with a close-cropped beard and wearing an admiral's uniform leading the group. John recognised Admiral Zelig from his hologram in the High Command meeting and headed in his direction. The leader of the border relief fleet was composed and reserved, the hesitant smile on his face not quite reaching his eyes. There was no way they could hold a conversation with the deafening noise of the crowd clapping and cheering, so Zelig half-turned and gestured towards the corridor beyond.

Calara shot John a grin now that it was apparent there wasn't going to be any public speaking and he chuckled as he nodded, feeling equally glad. They followed Zelig and his entourage of senior officers down surprisingly empty corridors, making it clear that almost the entire crew of the Porphyrion had been waiting to greet them in the shuttle bay. It actually came as a relief to John to escape from that wall of sound, his sensitive ears still ringing with the echoes of their jubilant welcome.

"It's an honour to meet you at last, Admiral Blake," Zelig said, turning and giving him an appraising look.

John inclined his head politely. "Likewise, Admiral Zelig. Thank you for agreeing to meet with us in person."

"I could hardly deny the man who saved Terra from destruction twice in as many months," Zelig said, a hint of tension in his reply.

It was obvious there was something bothering him, although the rest of his officers seemed oblivious to whatever had Zelig on edge. There were fourteen men and women in the rest of the group, all of whom seemed delighted to finally meet John and two of his Lionesses in person. They were polite and friendly, introducing themselves as the commanding officers of the battleships and heavy carriers that formed the backbone of the liberation force.

After a ride up through the decks in an elevator, Zelig led the group to a comfortably furnished conference room. He entered first, then watched quietly as his guests and the coterie of officers filed inside. The Federation personnel were obviously waiting for something to happen, because there was an air of anticipation in the room, none of them able to stop staring at Alyssa. In that brief moment of awkward silence, John glanced at Zelig with a puzzled frown.

When Zelig saw that look, he had a strange air of almost grim resignation to him as he quietly explained, "I informed my staff about the impressive display of psychic powers during the inauguration of Fleet Admiral Devereux. Please forgive the presumption, but I wondered if Alyssa might consider a similar demonstration for us?"

The explanation did nothing to alleviate John's concern about the admiral's odd behaviour, but scanning Zelig was their primary objective here and they had just been giving an open invitation to proceed. He glanced at the blonde on his right and nodded. "If you don't have any objections, Alyssa?"

"It would be my pleasure," she replied, locking eyes with Zelig.

Glowing motes of white light began to form around her shoulders, the radiance intensifying to the accompanying gasps from their audience. The overhead lighting flickered and dimmed dramatically as Alyssa gathered more psychic power, the aura swirling down her arms and gathering around her hands. When she'd harnessed enough energy, she crouched down and touched her clenched fists to the floor, a brilliant pulse of white light shooting out in a circle around her.

Much to John's relief, everyone in attendance was bathed in a pure white light, the command staff gaping at their glowing hands in wonder. Zelig darted a pensive glance at his own hands, which he kept clasped tightly together in front of him. After studying the white aura for a moment in silence, he turned to look curiously at the rest of his officers, a flicker of relief crossing his face when he saw the nimbus of white light that surrounded them.

After giving the T-Fed officers a chance to marvel at the lightshow, Zelig said, "Thank you for that indulgence, Alyssa. After seeing you in action on Terra, I wondered what it would be like to see psychic abilities first hand."

The blonde gave him a coy smile as she replied, "If the circumstances had been different, we might have seen some real fireworks. I hope it wasn't disappointing."

"No, not at all." Zelig glanced at his personnel and continued, "Please return to your vessels, ladies and gentlemen. After discussing our strategy with Admiral Blake I will provide you a detailed briefing before we jump out."

The officers saluted John respectfully before they departed, the door sliding shut behind them. That left John, Alyssa, and Calara alone with the admiral, who studied them with an ambivalent look in his eyes.

John took his hat off and placed it on the long conference table behind him. "Alright, Admiral, it's obvious something's bothering you. What's the problem?"

Zelig raised an eyebrow and said rather curtly, "I assume there isn't one, since I passed your test? That is the reason you asked to meet me in person rather than discuss strategy remotely isn't it?"

Meeting the older man's accusing stare, John nodded. "I'm sure you know the saying about 'one bad apple spoils the barrel'... we needed to be sure."

"And if I hadn't passed your test, would my life have been in danger?" Zelig asked, managing to stay composed although his eyes flashed with anger. "I didn't appreciate the implied threat."

Alyssa didn't blink as she replied, "There was nothing implied about it. If I'd found out you were anything like Buckingham or Weber, you'd already be dead." There was a stony silence for a moment, until she added, "But you're nothing like them, so everything's fine..."

"Is it?" Zelig asked, the penetrating look he gave them revealing his sharp intelligence. "After watching footage of the Battle of Terra, I'm well aware of just how powerful you both are; it's obvious that I had no choice in this matter except to acquiesce to being tested. It was also abundantly clear that my life might have been forfeit if I failed your test... a test that you have arbitrarily imposed without any oversight or disclosure of what it entails!" Before anyone could reply, he continued disapprovingly, "I suddenly find myself being reminded of the expression: Absolute power corrupts absolutely..."

John listened attentively while the admiral spoke, making no attempt to interrupt him. As soon as Zelig had finished, he said quietly, "You raise an interesting point, Admiral. Can I offer a counter argument?"