Three Square Meals Ch. 053

Senator Vamred turned to look at her and said, "Some of the rebel vessels were involved with atrocities against civilians, including merchants from other races. They will have to be punished, but most of the rebellious Trankarans were led astray by rumours of an immortal queen, who would lead our people to greatness." He glanced at John and said, "You have put an end to those spurious rumours most effectively."

"Happy to be of service," John replied with a smile.

He took a sideways glance at the window to their left, where four huge Trankaran engines could be seen being guided into position at the rear of the Invictus. Trankaran engineers in spacesuits were driving open-topped tugs, and they carefully rotated the new components into place. Meanwhile several other Trankarans had landed on the glossy white hull of their ship, and were busy inspecting their retro-thrusters.

"It looks like you were as good as your word too," he said to Chancellor Niskera, giving her a grateful smile in acknowledgement. "How long will the refit take?"

She walked over to join him, and staring out the window, she said, "I've been informed that the entire refit should take no more than ten hours." After a long pause, she said sincerely, "I hope you took our words of warning about the power of these engines seriously Commodore Blake. You have proven yourself a friend of the Trankarans, and to see you injured by our technology would be a terrible tragedy."

Dana walked over to stand beside the stately Trankaran woman, and looking up at the Chancellor, who was several inches taller than her, she said, "Don't worry. I've developed a way of countering the huge forces involved, which will keep us safe. Until we can get to a drydock, and fit that system, I'll put limiters in place to restrict how much we can throttle up your engines and retro-thrusters."

The Chancellor looked down at her, and with a relieved smile on her dark grey face, she said, "It sounds like you have everything taken care of. It seems we were worrying unnecessarily." She looked thoughtful for a moment, then asked with hint of eagerness, "This new technology you've developed might be of use for our own ships. Would you consider trading it with us?"

With a grin, Dana darted a look at John and said, "He's the boss, you better ask him!"

John laughed, then faced Chancellor Niskera, and said, "I'd certainly be open to a trade. We've seen the vast amounts of mineral wealth you have in your territory, and there are some rarer ores that we might be interested in. Do you have stocks of Tyrenium? Or a black lustrous metal the Ashanath have named Onyxium?"

Niskera frowned, and said apologetically, "I'm afraid I haven't heard of this Onyxium before, although It's quite possible we have another name for it. I will speak with Forgemaster Gilgrem, and perhaps he might be able to identify this element for us. However, we do have Tyrenium reserves, so I'm sure some kind of arrangement could be made there."

John nodded and said, "I'll let you work out the details with Dana, if that's alright with her."

Dana nodded, and said offhandedly, "Sure, but I'm not sure if we still need those ores. Perhaps there's something else the Trankarans might be willing to trade instead?" The Chancellor began to look worried, and she appeared to be deep in thought as she fretted over what else might be of interest to this group of remarkable Terrans. With an artful sigh, Dana relented and said, "I guess we could make some kind of deal in metals, if you really need this tech."

Looking greatly relieved, Chancellor Niskera said, "I'm sure we can make you an acceptable offer!"

Carefully suppressing his grin of admiration for the canny redhead, John said, "We'll leave you to it. It was a pleasure to meet you again, Chancellor." With a polite nod to her advisors, he added, "You too Senator Vamred, Fleet Warden Thandrun."

The grateful Trankaran advisors gave him sweeping bows in return, and Chancellor Niskera smiled at him pleasantly, and inclined her head as she waved him goodbye. John turned and walked back into the ship, with Alyssa following at his side.

*Calara and Jade want to hang out with Dana, and spend some time with the Trankarans, as long as that's okay?* she asked him tentatively. *They were stuck on the Invictus and the Raptor last time, so didn't get to meet the Trankarans or look around.*

He turned and smiled at her as they stepped through the airlock and said, *Of course. Sounds like a great idea, and they can keep an eye on Dana too.*

Alyssa looked at him curiously and asked, *You think she'd be in danger with the Trankarans? They seem honest, placid, and peaceful to me.*

*After seeing her in action just now, I'm worried the poor Trankarans won't have the shirts on their backs when she's finished haggling with them. Hopefully Jade and Calara can reign her in a bit,* he replied with a chuckle.

Alyssa giggled, and slipping her arm through his, she looked up at him with an adoring smile as she said, *I've missed this so much.*

John stopped, and turned to look at her as he asked, *What?*

*You, us, this banter, everything being back to normal... all of it,* she replied with a happy sigh.

He pulled her into his arms, and said perceptively, *All this trouble with my Progenitor side has been harder on you than anyone, hasn't it?*

She shook her head, but he could see she was just trying to stop him from worrying. He brushed his hand through her silky blonde hair, and said earnestly, *I'm so sorry about everything that's happened. I'll make it up to you, I promise.*

*That sounds intriguing,* she said, as a playful grin spread across her face. *If you aren't doing anything right now, we've got a few hours to ourselves. Why not start making it up to me in bed?*

Dipping her backwards, he kissed her lovingly, and said, *I'm yours to command, beautiful.*

***

Several hours later, Rachel looked up as John, Alyssa, and Jade walked into the Medical Bay. She had been leaning over a medical console studying scan results, and she gave them a cheerful wave as they strolled over to greet her. Jade had joined John and Alyssa in bed a little earlier, leaving Calara and Dana with the Trankarans. The Nymph's breasts were enormously inflated once again, loaded up with their precious cargo, while Alyssa had a blissful expression on her face as she darted loving glances up at John.

"How's our patient doing, Doctor Voss?" John asked the tawny haired brunette.

Rachel smiled at his light hearted tone, and said, "There's been some significant changes. Come and look for yourself, Commodore."

She turned and walked over to the other side of the Medical Bay, where Irillith was still asleep on the hospital bed, flanked by the medi-scanner and several other unfamiliar monitors. When John, Alyssa and Jade took a look at the slumbering Maliri, there was a collective intake of breaths.

"Her hair's changed colour!" Alyssa gasped.

Rachel nodded and said, "It started happening about three hours ago, and went from black to completely white in the space of a couple of hours."

Jade stared intently at the blue skinned woman, and her shock of white blonde hair, then noted in a soft voice, "She looks just like the women on those Ashanath pictographs now."

John leaned in for a closer look, and as Rachel had said, there was no longer any trace of Irillith's old dark colouring in her snowy white locks. "I guess that's one mystery solved then," he said thoughtfully. "I had wondered about the hair colour difference. I suppose this confirms without a doubt that it was the Maliri in those pictures."

"It suits her," Alyssa said as she studied Irillith's face and hair. "She might have a few choice things to say about it, though."

Looking across the sleeping woman, John asked Rachel quietly, "How's her wound doing? And what about that tumour?"

Rachel clicked some button on the medi-scanner and a slowly rotating holographic image of Irillith appeared above the console. She zoomed in on the Maliri woman's head, and the walnut shaped object that had blighted the image before, was nowhere to be seen.

"It's completely healed," Rachel said, shaking her head in wonder. "It's astonishing how quickly it disappeared."

"Does that mean her gunshot wound is fixed too?" Alyssa asked inquisitively.

Rachel turned and slowly peeled back the raised sheet that had been covering Irillith's torso, and the scorched and ragged wound had disappeared. In its place, there was a smooth expanse of unblemished azure blue skin across the Maliri woman's midriff.

"That was fast!" John remarked, then frowned as he asked, "I thought you said it wasn't healing that quickly?"

With a wry smile, Rachel said, "For her to have healed her skin like that in such a short period of time is astounding, but unfortunately it's just cosmetic. The skin probably healed over to protect the wound site from infection, but she's still got some serious internal damage." Her hands drifted over the console again, and the holograph focused on a dark area of trauma on Irillith's flank. "Although she didn't heal as quickly as we've done in the past, her wounds have still recovered far faster than the scars on Calara's back, or the burn scar on Dana's face. I do have a theory about that, in case you're interested..."

John and the girls listened attentively, and he asked, "Why was the healing rate different?"

Rachel tapped her finger on her chin, and looked thoughtful as she replied, "I think their scars took a long time to heal, because the Gift was focusing on upgrading their bodies to be more receptive to fast healing. It was a gradual process, as so much was changing with their entire body, making them taller, stronger and faster as well. Irillith is already pretty much the same build as us, and the females of her species have been modified by the Progenitors already. I think that's why she's healing so quickly, and if she went through the normal change process, then I'm sure she'd be able to heal overnight just as you guys have. As it is, although she's healed quickly, there's still a lot of damage to repair."

"Not to worry," Jade said with a smile, "I came prepared!"

Rachel chuckled, eyeing the Nymph's prodigious breasts and noted wryly, "Yes, I can see. She should be waking up any minute now, the fourteen hours are nearly up."

Alyssa walked over to a nearby water dispenser, and returned with a large beaker of chilled water. They waited patiently for the injured woman to awaken, and sure enough, a couple of minutes later, Irillith coughed weakly, blinking slowly as she came around.

"Thirsty," she croaked, and Alyssa immediately passed her the glass, and helped Irillith hold it steady in her shaking hand.

Rachel pressed a button, which raised the top half of the bed, making it easier for Irillith to drink. She eagerly gulped down the entire glass, but winced when she was done, and glanced down at her side fearfully. The look on her face changed to one of confusion when she saw her unmarked skin.

"I'm still in a lot of pain," she said to Rachel with a grimace.

The brunette smiled at her kindly, and said, "I think another dose from Jade will give you a full recovery. Alternatively, you're probably stable enough now for me to just try and treat you with conventional medicine. Unfortunately you'll be in a lot of pain for the next few hours, at least until I can start developing some painkillers which I'm certain won't accidentally harm you."

Irillith flushed and said immediately, "It's alright, another dose will be fine." She glanced over at Jade, and eyed her heaving breasts, licking her lips in an unconscious gesture.

Jade walked over to her with a coy smile on her face and asked, "Breast? Or fingers again?"

Irillith eyed those huge verdant breasts with a hungry gleam in her eye for a moment, before she suddenly blushed with embarrassment, and murmured, "Fingers, please."

The Nymph reached up with her hands, and gently brushed her fingers through Irillith's hair with one hand, while bringing the fingers of the other to the Maliri girl's lips. Irillith opened her mouth eagerly this time, and when Jade rested her fingers on her lower lip, she closed her mouth and began to suck insistently. A moment later Jade began to siphon cum down between those flushed lips, and Irillith's eyes rolled back for a moment in ecstasy, as the white liquid coated her tongue and filled her mouth.

She let out a low moan, and her eyes had a wild intensity to them as she stared up at John. He watched her swallow down the first mouthful, and her violet eyes glazed over as she began to suckle instinctively, feeding as though on autopilot. It didn't take her long to suck down every last drop that Jade could give her, and she sank back on the bed afterwards with a glorious, blissful smile on her beautiful face. Seconds later, she was fast asleep once more.

"I think she likes that vintage," Jade chuckled, her breasts having been restored to their normal pert perfection.

"Hmm," Alyssa noted dryly, "Perhaps a little too much."

Rachel studied Irillith for a few seconds, and mused, "I think she's out of danger now. I'll keep a close eye on her for the next four hours, then when she wakes up, we can return her to her quarters if she's fully healed."

John smiled at her gratefully, and said, "Thanks Rachel. Do you want us to keep you company too?"

She smiled back at him and said, "Sure, it's always great to have you guys around."

***

They whiled away the next couple of hours chatting, as they speculated on what kind of deal Dana might have brokered with the Trankarans. The redhead bounded into the Medical Bay a little later, with Calara following close behind, and it seemed like she couldn't wait to tell them her news.

Dana was about to launch into some loud and excited recounting of her exploits, so John put his finger to his lips, and said, "Let's go into Engineering. You can tell me how you got on in there."

Nodding eagerly, Dana led him out of Medical, then down the corridor until they reached her workshop. The moment they were inside, she leapt into his arms, wrapping herself around him like a limpet. He laughed in surprise as he supported her by her firm cheeks, and when she pulled back to look him in the eye, he could see the golden coronas around her pupils had flared wide with excitement.

"You look like you've been having fun," he observed, pleased to see her looking so happy.

Dana nodded eagerly, and said, "I've been a busy girl! I sold off all those Maliri electronics, and used some of the profits to buy two Trankaran engines for the Raptor. You forgot to ask for them, silly!"

He looked chagrined, then smiled at her and said, "Nice work! How about the ores we were after?"

She gave him a brilliant smile, revealing her pristine white teeth, as she said, "The Trankarans did have Onxyium! They called it something else," and deepening her voice as she pretended to be a Trankaran, she rumbled, "We call it Vu-karam."

John grinned and said, "I think I prefer the Ashanath name."

Dana giggled back at him and said, "Yeah, me too! Anyway, they REALLY wanted my new Inertia Negation tech, and I knew I had them over a barrel."

Chuckling, John said, "OK, tell me. What did you get for it?"

She gave him a cunning smile, and replied, "They didn't have a use for Onyxium so they happily gave me four tons of it."

"Wow!" John exclaimed, suitably impressed. "That stuff is priceless!"

Dana winked, and said, "Only to us, because we need it for the Alyssium alloy. I convinced the Trankarans to throw that in as a sweetener."

"Wait," John replied, looking bemused, "That wasn't the whole trade?"

"Nope," she replied nonchalantly, "The real trade was for thirty tons of Tyrenium."

"Well, fuck me," John blurted, absolutely stunned. "Do you have any idea how much that's worth?"

Absolutely delighted at his reaction, Dana replied playfully, "Yes, to both."

John swirled her around in the air as he laughed, and she joined in, giggling joyfully. He finally stopped, and looked her in the eye with a serious expression on his face, as he asked, "Where do you want it?"

Dana bit her lip, her eyes flashing with excitement as she said mischievously, "Over Rachel's console, and you know where!"

John held her in his arms as he mounted the steps of the Chief Engineer's podium, then proceeded to vigorously mount his Chief Engineer.

***

A rather dishevelled and weary looking John walked into the Medical Bay a while later, and Jade giggled as she passed him by. She blew him a kiss, then headed out of the door on her way to the Engineering Bay. He walked over to join the rest of his crew and Alyssa, Calara, and Rachel greeted him warmly.

"Well, it sounds like you're going to be even richer now," Alyssa said dryly, "Any idea what you're going to do with all that money?"

He chuckled and said, "If I can't think of anything, I know several bright young women who can probably think of fun ways to spend it."

They laughed and smiled at him affectionately, as he pulled over a chair and sat next to them.

"The Trankarans should be finished with the engine and thruster refit soon," Calara said, looking restless. "Now Dana's back, shall we get the damage to the Invictus repaired?"

John nodded, and said, "Good thinking! I'd forgotten all about that. Yeah, we should get the plating replaced while we're stuck here. The maintenance bots should be able to help."

Alyssa stood, and said, "We don't need Dana for that. Calara and I can take care of it." She turned to the Latina and said, "Come on gorgeous, you can get the bots to bring me the damaged plates, and I'll reshape and replace them."

Calara nodded, and gave her a broad smile. Rising as well, she walked over to John and leaned in, pressing her lips against his ear. She whispered to him softly, "It's wonderful to have you back again. I missed you, Commodore."

She pulled back to give him a tender kiss, then waved him goodbye as she slipped her other hand into Alyssa's, and the two walked out of the Medical Bay.

Alyssa turned and glanced at Rachel before she left, and thought to her, *Don't leave him alone with Irillith. We can't risk her setting him off again.*

Rachel's voice was determined as it came through to Alyssa's mind, *You can count on me. I won't leave his side.*

With that, they left, and it was just Rachel and John left in the Medical Bay. He smiled at her, then opened his arms, and she gladly got up off her chair and sat in his lap. "How's the ravishingly beautiful Doctor Voss?" he asked her with a happy grin.

She studied his face, and brushed her fingers through his thick hair, then locked eyes with him as she said, "I won't lie to you. It's been rough these last few days, and this is the first time in weeks you seem like your usual self."

John looked chagrined, his jovial mood disappearing in an instant, and he said quietly, "I wish I could tell you I'm not going to lose control again, but I can't make that promise. I don't know what's causing this."

Rachel sighed and said, "We think it might have something to do with the Maliri. They've been designed as a slave race for a Progenitor to dominate, and you're a Progenitor. It might be some kind of instinctive behaviour, which has somehow manifested itself into a distinct personality,"

He looked appalled as he asked, "So I really do have some kind of split personality?"

She watched his face as her hand moved to the side of his head, and lightly brushed his pointed eartips. When he looked at her quizzically, she smiled and replied, "You aren't Terran remember. What we know of the Terran mind probably doesn't apply to Progenitors. I'd love to be able to give you some kind of comprehensive psychotherapy, which would help you somehow reconcile your personality with this instinctive Progenitor part of your mind. We can try it if you want, but I suspect we'll be wasting our time."