Three Square Meals Ch. 039

"Time for me to start getting killed again," John said wryly, as he glanced at his watch, and saw that it was nearly ten in the morning.

The girls giggled and waved him goodbye, with promises to lift his spirits at lunchtime, and he laughed as he headed back to the complex to get ready for his training. The remaining girls headed back to the Invictus, so that Alyssa could re-plate the hull, and Calara could get some practice time in on the firing range, while Dana and Rachel planned to continue their research.

Alyssa opened the cargo bay door with her own remote, so that she could get some replacement Invictium ore and begin her repairs. The others had every intention of leaving Alyssa to it, however, when she gestured at a block of the glistening black metal, and it came hovering out to her obediently, they all felt compelled to stay and watch.

This was the first time Rachel had seen Alyssa manipulate their Etherite alloy using only her mind, and she stood there opened mouthed with amazement. Hearing about it was one thing, but to witness this 'magic' before her very own eyes, was something else entirely. Dana and Rachel had seen this demonstration of psychokinesis a few times before now, but it was still astonishing to behold, as if their minds refused to accept what their eyes were telling them was happening.

"Do you need me to get the holo-reader, so you can look at the tech specs for the assault cruiser's plating?" Dana asked helpfully.

Alyssa shook her head as she melted the block of Invictium ore into a sphere, controlling it with her upraised hand, and watched it eventually turn an unblemished white. "I'm good thanks, I studied the armour plating schematics a while ago, when I knew I'd have to do this sometime. I've memorised them all now," she said confidently.

"Are you going to try triple shaping the Invictium like you did with the Raptor?" Calara asked her speculatively. She had a little frown of worry, her concern for the blonde showing. "Please be careful, I don't want you to overdo it."

Alyssa reached over, and planted a tender kiss on Calara's cheek. "You're very sweet to worry," she said affectionately. "I'll just double shape it for now. This is the first time I've tried it with anything so large, so it makes sense to be cautious," she said, putting the brunette's mind at ease.

She began to draw out the Invictium metal from the first section of plating on the assault cruiser's hull, and melted it into a large, slowly revolving black sphere. When it had turned from a glimmering sinister sphere of darkness to a glossy white orb, she reformed the malleable metal into a large armour plate once more and then fitted it back on the ship.

Having successfully completed the first section without any problems, she moved on to the battle damaged plating, and added a little of the extra metal to replace the missing mass. She suspended her white sphere of replacement metal with her left hand, while gradually siphoning off some to the large orb she controlled with her right, and once she had reformed the plating, she slotted it back into place. She repeated this process methodically, working from one side of the ship to the other, and it was easy to see her progress, as the Invictus gradually changed colour from glistening black to a bright, resplendent white.

"There, much better," she noted with satisfaction when she was finally done.

Dana looked at her old friend with glowing respect in her eyes. "You're such a badass," she said, as she sidled up to her and gave her a hug.

"She's right, you are," Calara agreed, and then leaned in and rubbed the tip of her nose against Alyssa's playfully.

The blonde grinned at them happily, and then answered the unspoken question that both girls had asked her immediately after she had finished. "I'm fine, that wasn't too taxing at all. I'll wait for Dana's research on the Invictium properties before I think about reshaping the armour again, as it will take a fair amount of effort to do all that in one go."

Dana and Calara both looked relieved, and then all three of them glanced over at Rachel who stood silently, staring up in wonder at the pristine and spotless white armoured hull of the Invictus.

"Are you alright?" Alyssa asked the tawny haired girl kindly.

Rachel looked back at the blonde girl, her eyes still wide with wonder. "You girls talk about psychic powers all the time, but that's the first time I've actually seen anything like that before. The way you act as a group made it obvious you were telling the truth about the telepathy, but this..." she said, waving her hand at the ship, "was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen."

"I didn't frighten you or anything?" Alyssa asked her cautiously.

Rachel smiled and walked over to the blonde and gave her a hug. "I don't think you could ever scare me, but Dana was right."

"About what?" the redhead asked with a bemused expression.

"You're such a badass!" Rachel exclaimed to Alyssa exuberantly.

The girls giggled and walked over to the airlock in the side of the Invictus, to get on with their firearms practice and research respectively.

"While I've got you girls here, would you mind me taking some blood samples and giving you a full body scan too?" Rachel asked them tentatively. "I can then compare your current state with mine when I complete the change."

The other girls agreed immediately, having complete trust and faith in the latest addition to their team. She thanked them gratefully, and they disappeared inside to head up to Deck Seven and the Medical Lab.

***

"You are dead!" Yamamoto snarled, as his blade flashed back into its sheath. "Again!"

John ground his teeth with frustration, but did as he was ordered. The older man was apparently satisfied with his learning of the new Kata, and they had begun to spar. Well, if you could call it that, as it was nothing like any kind of sparring sessions John had been involved with before. He would cautiously attack, before being brutally murdered time and time again by Yamamoto, which the simulator would then announce gleefully, along with a replay showing his hand, or head, or leg, sailing across the dojo.

He controlled his temper, and breathed deeply to achieve a state of focus once more. As much as Yamamoto's remorseless executions were annoying him, he instinctively knew he was learning a huge amount from the dour man. Yamamoto's attacks were lightning fast and incredibly precise, but he never overextended himself for some massive killing blow, instead seeking to use the incredibly sharp cutting power of his blade to sever John's simulated unarmoured flesh.

John knew that he might not be able to use his colossal strength now in the simulator, but as and when he did this for real, these quick controlled slashes with his incredibly sharp Invictium blade would cut his opponents to pieces. He stepped forward again, and took a cautious right to left slash at Yamamoto's arms. The man sidestepped gracefully, parried, then counterattacked so quickly, John struggled to see where he went.

"You are dead!" Yamamoto announced, as his blade flashed across John's throat, and then back into its sheath. "Again!"

John watched the simulator replay intently, carefully observing Yamamoto's impressive footwork, and smiled as he filed that away to practice and use. He nodded respectfully to the man and moved back across the wooden floor of the dojo to begin again.

***

The girls were true to their word, and treated John like a king at lunchtime, leaving him refreshed and energised for his afternoon session. He waved them goodbye as Rachel rose, licking her lips happily, with one hand on her rounded tummy.

Dana set up the mass fabricators to create more of her newly developed heatsinks, and the other girls helped her fit them in the Raptor that afternoon. After the long sweaty job that upgrading the Invictus had turned out to be, replacing the heatsinks in the six Gatling lasers and two laser cannons on the gunship proved to be a breeze. It took them less than ten minutes to replace them all, and the girls grinned at each other with relief and exchanged high fives. After a few hours in the firing range, they spent the rest of the day lounging in the sun on the beach.

John rejoined them in the evening, looking much happier at the end of this training session, as he explained how much he was learning. Jade joined them shortly afterwards, having spent the day swimming wild with her new dolphin friends. They got dressed up for dinner, and had an enjoyable meal sitting together and chatting. He had asked Rachel to wait for her main evening meal from him, and she had nodded obediently, eating lightly with them instead.

At one point John looked around at each of the girls, and it was like he could almost see their worries lifting away as they embraced life here at the island, relaxing and having fun together. It was wonderful to see them all looking so happy, and when he finally looked over at Alyssa, she returned his gaze fondly.

He had added Jehanna Elani to his list of people that were allowed to contact him through the communications blackout surrounding the planet Oceanus, and she had sent him a message that afternoon. She had grinned excitedly, her dark brown eyes flashing with glee, when she told him that the Terran Federation had authorised almost everything in the interview he had given with her after the award ceremony. The broadcast would be going out at eight that evening, so he was looking forward to seeing the girls' reaction to it, even Alyssa, as he had blocked her from his thoughts while giving the interview.

They finished the rest of their dinner, then sipped some alcoholic drinks as they stood on the sun terrace, and watched another spectacular Oceanus sunset.

"If you girls would care to join me in the lounge, we should be in perfect timing for the TFNN interview," he announced, drawing all their attention.

They began to chatter excitedly, speculating on what John might have said in the interview, and he laughed when he heard some of the more raunchy comments. Dana bounced ahead, eager to set up the view-screen for them, and when they caught up with her in the lounge, a twenty foot tall section of the glass windows had turned opaque. She pressed a button on the remote, and with a brief crackle of static, the image transformed into the familiar face of Bill Armstrong, lead anchor for Terran Federation Network News.

The smartly dressed and immaculately groomed man was talking about escalating tensions with the Kintark Empire, and how the Terran Federation had been urging for peace, whilst robustly defending its territory against such unwarranted aggression. John rolled his eyes at the blatantly biased reporting, but remained silent while he waited for the interview. They didn't have to wait long before the attractive dark skinned reporter they had met at Olympus appeared on the screen.

"... And now we have a TFNN exclusive with our very own Jehanna Elani!" Bill Armstrong said with a warm smile. "Jehanna, I'm sure our viewers can't wait to find out what you have for them."

"Thanks, Bill!" Jehanna replied gratefully. "As you might remember, nearly a month ago I brought you a special report on the heroic actions of Commander John Blake, and his valiant crew aboard their ship, the Invictus!"

The girls cheered enthusiastically when they heard themselves being mentioned on the news.

"I certainly do, Jehanna," Bill beamed at the young woman. "It's always heart-warming to hear tales of heroism against enemies of the Terran Federation!"

"Well you should enjoy this special report then, Bill," Jehanna told him with a wide grin. "I had the privilege of being invited to a special award ceremony in honour of 'Commodore' John Blake and his crew," she said, emphasising his new rank.

"A promotion to Commodore!" Bill exclaimed. "He must have done something incredible to earn that..."

Jehanna nodded, her face turning serious. "A rampaging Kintark warband attacked the Iota-Leonis system, heavily outnumbering the stoic Terran forces stationed there. All could have been lost if not for Commodore Blake and his stalwart crew, who defended the starport and protected our ships, rescuing well over a thousand brave and loyal Terran Federation personnel. Not only that, our bold hero managed to capture the flagship of the warband, along with several hundred Kintark warriors," she said, her face filled with wonder.

"Absolutely incredible!" Bill exclaimed. "I believe you had the exclusive honour to interview this bold hero?"

"It was the highlight of my career, Bill," Jehanna told him, nodding emphatically.

John grinned at the screen. "They're laying it on pretty thick," he said self-effacingly.

The girls were watching spellbound, but Alyssa glanced over at him, her voice appearing in his mind, *There's no need to be modest, everything that hot reporter said was true. You did lead us against the Kintark, and we saved over a thousand people because of it. You can't get much more heroic than that.*

John smiled back at her, grateful for her kind words. He glanced back up at the screen when the girls let out a collective cheer. The image had changed from the reporters in their studio, to the room in the Olympus Shipyard where he had given the interview to Jehanna. They were sitting opposite each other with their chairs slightly angled towards the screen, the cameraman holding them both in the shot.

"... Commodore John Blake, it's wonderful to be able to interview you in person this time. Thank you so much for agreeing to speak to me," the pretty young woman said, as she flirtatiously brushed her long black hair away from eyes.

*She wants you so bad,* Alyssa told him with amusement.

*Shh, you naughty girl,* he chastised the blonde with a chuckle.

"Thank you, Jehanna. I'm always pleased to speak to the hardworking journalists at TFNN," John replied with a warm smile.

*Oh! You want her too,* Alyssa teased him.

John stifled a laugh. *She's hot, I can't help it,* John replied, and the two of them shared a smile.

The twenty foot tall image of Jehanna smiled gratefully at John before she continued, "Firstly let me congratulate you on your recent promotion! When we last spoke you held the rank of Commander, and had retired some years ago. Are you back in full-time service now?"

"Thanks. It was a pleasant surprise, but I'm always honoured to serve the Terran Federation in whatever capacity I can," John said gratefully, neatly evading the question.

"You and your brave crew were also awarded the Lion Defender medal, I believe?" she asked him leadingly. "Would it be alright to show it to our viewers?"

John nodded and turned slightly towards the camera, so that it could zoom in on his chest, focused on the golden image of the lion roaring defiantly at the dragon.

"I believe Admiral Devereux awarded you a new title to go along with the medal as well?" Jehanna asked him with raised eyebrow and a smile.

"That's correct, Jehanna. I believe she called us the 'Lions of the Federation'," John replied with a smile. "With regard to my crew, it's a very appropriate nickname, as they really do have hearts like lions. They are amongst the bravest people I've ever served with," he added earnestly.

Alyssa, Calara, Dana and Jade looked up at him adoringly, and he smiled back at them affectionately.

The dusky skinned reporter grinned at him, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "We actually have a picture of you with these Lionesses," she said eagerly, and a moment later the feed of John and the reporter was replaced by the holo-image they had had taken of the four girls in uniform draped over John.

"They are breathtakingly gorgeous girls," Jehanna exclaimed, admiringly. "They must be breaking hearts wherever you lead them."

"You have no argument from me there. They're as capable as they are beautiful, and our success at Iota-Leonis is in large part due to their incredible skill and dedication," he said proudly.

"Well thank you for taking the time to give this interview, Commodore. Congratulations again on your well-earned promotion, and to all of you for the medals," she gushed effusively.

John smiled back at her warmly, "It was a pleasure as always, Jehanna."

The image cut away, and returned to Bill Armstrong and Jehanna Elani in the TFNN newsroom. "And there we have it, the Lion of the Federation and his Lionesses," the attractive young reporter said with a huge smile.

"It sounds like we owe them a huge debt of gratitude, Jehanna," Bill said sincerely.

Jehanna nodded emphatically. "We certainly do, and I'm sure this isn't the last we've heard from Commodore Blake, either!"

The camera cut away as the TFNN moved on to the next news story about the increase of piracy around the galaxy.

"We're your lionesses!" Jade gasped, her cat-like eyes widening excitedly.

"I love it!" Alyssa grinned, enjoying the surprise. "A pride of lions seems to fit us quite appropriately."

"Well, I am very proud of you all," John laughed and nodded.

Calara smiled up at him. "You're always so proud of us in the interviews, it's lovely," she said gratefully.

"Nothing too embarrassing for the family?" John asked her considerately.

The Latina shook her head, and grinned as she said, "No, but getting our own special medal is going to cause quite a stir. I also hadn't thought of it before, but you now outrank my father!"

"Jack seems like a level-headed guy, I'm sure it won't be a problem," John said with a shrug.

Jade had got up from her seat and had sidled over to John, brushing her fingertips along his shoulders as she walked behind his chair. She leaned down behind him and began to kiss the side of his neck breathily.

"This lioness is in heat. Would the mighty lion like to show his dominance over his pride?" she asked him in a husky, passionate purr.

John tilted his head back and she kissed him fiercely. He could feel the heat radiating off her body, and knew she was going to be a handful. He stood and swept the Nymph up in his arms, carrying her over to the glass elevator. The other girls grinned at one another, and followed in his wake.

Alyssa slipped her arm through Rachel's as they walked. "I think you might get to try the Mint flavour after all," she joked with a smile.

"Sounds delicious," Rachel replied, and the girls laughed at her obvious delight.

***

They woke late the next morning, everyone still tired from the frenzied orgy the previous night. After they had seen John roughly take Jade from behind, with her begging him to ride her harder, they had all wanted to be ravaged by the Alpha male in charge of the pride. He had very nearly succumbed to temptation with Rachel too, the look she had given, letting him know she was more than up for it. He managed to resist though, and she settled for filling her stomach while Jade writhed under her eager tongue.

When John checked the call log, he saw that Calara's mother, Maria Fernandez, had called them in the middle of the night, their time-zones being several hours apart. Calara nodded and smiled when he told her, and said that she would call her mother back that evening. They went about their day training, researching or having fun, and after they had eaten dinner, Calara went through to the lounge to try contacting her family home on Jericho.

It only took a few rings before her mother's face appeared on the screen, and her attractive features broke into a huge smile when she saw her daughter, along with the rest of the crew.

"Callie! It's wonderful to see you," Maria gasped with delight.

"Sorry I couldn't take your call last night, Mom," Calara apologised with a self-conscious smile. "We're on Oceanus, and there's a six hour time difference for us here."