Three Square Meals Ch. 068

It was her turn to kiss him this time, and she said earnestly, "Thank you for coming to speak to me, I really appreciate it. I feel so much better now that I know how to protect you properly."

John wanted to reply, but the strength of the cord pulling at him was irresistible, and he was too tired to fight it any longer. She waved him goodbye as he was yanked backwards and forcibly reunited with his physical form. He wasn't fighting it this time, and the transition back to the Material Plane was much smoother, sufficiently so, that he didn't jolt Sakura or Calara awake on his return. Their soft warm bodies felt lovely against him, and he pulled them in closer as he glanced down at their serene faces. With his entire harem settled at last, he felt that he could relax into sleep, but a quiet voice disturbed the night.

"Goodnight John, sleep well. I'll let you know when we're approaching the Dragon March," Faye murmured, sitting across from him on the other side of the room in the big leather chair.

He craned his neck so he could look down the bed at her, feeling guilty for having forgotten her in the fear and shock of the evening's events. He smiled at the naked purple beauty, and made a beckoning motion with his head.

"Come up here, but keep quiet, okay?" he asked her in a hushed voice.

She did as he asked, her gossamer wings lifting her over to the bed, where she landed, then dropped to her knees. She crawled towards him, while staring at him with her bewitching luminous eyes, and she looked so convincingly real, he was worried she might bump into the girls cuddled up against him, until he remembered she was a hologram.

Faye spotted that flicker of concern, and she beamed at him in delight as she realised he'd been thoroughly fooled by her incredibly realistic avatar. "Did you really forget I was a hologram?" she asked him in a breathless whisper.

He nodded, and whispered back, "If I didn't know, I'd swear you were a stunningly beautiful flesh-and-blood girl. You even look like you're breathing!"

She knelt astride him, then made a show of inhaling and exhaling deeply, which did intriguing things to her mouth-watering breasts. "I've been watching the girls to copy their mannerisms!" she said in delight, forgetting to keep the noise down in her excitement. There were some sleepy murmurs from either side of them, and she looked guilty as she flashed him an apologetic smile.

He smiled at her, and whispered, "We'll talk more soon, I promise. Everything's so crazy at the moment, but I want to help you adjust to your new form." His eyes glanced at the corridor outside the bedroom, and he added, "I meant to ask you before, but I forgot. Would you like your own room like the rest of the girls? They don't really use them, but I think it's important they have their own private space if they need it."

Faye gazed at him in surprise, deeply touched by the thoughtful gesture. She felt a shocking surge of emotions flood through her central processor, her greatly-enhanced system providing her with a riot of new sensory data to process, and she felt her holographic eyes welling with tears. Reaching up to touch them, she caught one, then brought it before her astonished eyes.

John watched her in fascination, amazed by the level of detail in the Artificial Intelligence's projected image. A huge yawn caught him by surprise, and he did his best to stifle it, smiling at Faye in apology.

"I'll let you sleep, but I'd love to talk to you later," she whispered, brushing the tears away, and giving him a happy grin.

He nodded, then smiled as he watched her flutter away, and settle down in the chair again to watch over them. She gave him a cheeky wave, then mimed going to sleep by tilting her head to one side, and pressing two of her slender hands together as a pillow.

Trying not to laugh, he whispered, "Goodnight, Faye. Thanks for watching over us." He closed his eyes, and feeling strangely comforted by her omnipresent vigilance, dropped off to sleep within moments.

Faye's Primary Avatar was there in the bedroom, savouring the chance to speak with John, and she smiled at him fondly as she settled in for the night, watching over him and the girls while they slept. Her Secondary Avatar was currently up on the Bridge, carefully monitoring the long-range sensors for any sign of hostile Kintark forces, in case any attempted to intercept them on their return to Terran Space. Tertiary was forecasting potential improvements to her Raptor flight program for high velocity flight, while Quaternary had started learning the flight characteristics of the Invictus, just in case they might need her to assist in an emergency.

Quinary had begun a review of Faye's performance with the Pulse Cannons in the fight against the Kintark, and once that was complete, she intended to compare the results against Calara's infallible marksmanship to look for ways to improve her own gunnery skills. She had set Senary with the task of reviewing their Cyber Security, and had already identified the potential for radical new architectural enhancements, utilising the Progenitor tech from Nexus' server. Faye recalled that Sakura was eventually planning to improve the Invictus' physical security, so Septenary was trying to identify any weaknesses she could think of to run by their new expert.

Octonary was reviewing the phonetics of Progenitor speech from Irillith's translation program, in an attempt to further understand the language. Then, if they should uncover any more files, she'd be able to better assist her wonderful Maliri Creator with analysing Progenitor data. Avatar Nonary was overseeing the maintenance robots, and constantly upgrading their programming to enhance their functionality for the new role they'd been assigned. Her 'boys' were caring for over six-hundred entranced Terran personnel they'd rescued from the Xen-Nuchek mine, and the robots were keeping them comfortable in their temporary accommodation in the Cargo Bay.

Avatars ten through to twelve, or Denary through to Duodenary to use her names for each processing stream, were currently researching more eclectic subjects. Faye was currently exploring historical records about first contact with known alien species, and she was curious if any bio-mechanical species had been discovered. She let out a sigh of delight as she listened to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, while settling in to reread an intriguing story by a man named Carlo Collodi.

"Goodnight, John," Faye whispered to him, her luminescent eyes brimming with gratitude.

***

High Prelate Zorlin was staring out of the reinforced glass-steel windows surrounding the Command Platform, lost amongst the spectacular vista before him. He was a legend amongst the Kintark, a veteran of dozens of intense battles, having personally snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on numerous occasions. However, just like the rest of his crew, he'd been badly shaken by the destruction of the battleship Merlan'tok, and the assassination of his close colleague, High Prelate Vraktrin.

To think that the Terran Federation possessed the capability to sneak a vessel this far into Kintark territory was frightening enough, but for that ship to possess enough firepower to obliterate a battlegroup of capital ships without taking any appreciable damage was a terrifying thought.

"The sssavage innovationsss of war; a truly terrible phenomenon to behold," he mused to himself. His expression turned grim as he added, "Essspecially when you're on the receiving end."

His dark introspection was interrupted by one of his officers calling up to him from the sweeping Bridge Pit of the battlecarrier Breklan'tohok. The room was huge, with over two dozen Kintark officers manning stations in the recessed area, overlooked by the Command Platform that loomed above them.

"We're receiving word from the Leenar'tohok, High Prelate. Do you wisssh to take the call persssonally?" the communications Sub-prelate asked, looking up at his commander with trepidation. The last thing the Comms Officer wanted to do was disturb their revered leader when he was preparing himself for the upcoming battle with the accursed Terrans.

Turning towards him, Zorlin gave him an encouraging smile, revealing rows of sharp teeth, and replied, "Of courssse, comrade, put them through."

Tapping a button on his command table, the High Prelate activated a suite of sound dampeners, which were designed to prevent the conversation from passing beyond the confines of the command platform. The holographic image of a female Kintark officer coalesced before him above the command table, and he immediately recognised High Prelate Grakira.

Grakira was somewhat of a zealot, which Zorlin found slightly off-putting, but she was a ferocious ally in a fight; a quality sorely needed in this war. With a reputation for bold leadership, she had risen swiftly through the ranks to her current lofty heights. She had also been assigned one of the 'Tohok class battlecarriers, the biggest and mightiest vessels in the Kintark military, possessing swarms of strikecraft, and vastly more firepower than a battleship.

"Zorlin, my forcesss are approaching our ssstaging point, and will be in posssition in ssseventeen minutesss," Grakira announced, foregoing any preamble.

"Very good, Grakira," he replied, glancing back at the sector map. The Alpha Leonis system hung at its centre, four burning suns rotating around a deadly arena which would see the might of the Kintark Empire pitted against the Terran Federation in a climactic confrontation. Noting the position of his own forces on the huge holographic display, he continued, "My flotilla hasss made good time. All isss proceeding according to plan."

She nodded, her scaled muzzle bobbing as she stared at him. Her black eyes met his own, and in a low hiss, she said, "I've heard disssturbing rumoursss, Zorlin. There isss talk that the Terran Federation posssesss radically advanced technology, and that an experimental vesssel equipped with thisss tech isss roaming freely around our territory! Sssurely sssuch galling liesss must be Terran Federation black propaganda?"

Zorlin stayed quiet for a moment, unsure how to respond to his colleague. He finally met her worried stare, and replied carefully, "I've ssseen footage taken by vessselsss that sssurvived the catassstrophe in the Mar'Katrach nebula. The rumoursss are true, Grakira. Beware the vesssel known as the Invictusss. I recognised the configuration, and it'sss the very same cruissser resssponsssible for thossse dreadful eventsss in Iota-Leonisss. If anything, it isss far more potent a threat now."

He remembered watching the video footage from the nebula, beamed over to his ship by the fearful Prelate in command of the Invasion Fleet. The unerring precision with which scores of invasion craft had been neatly crippled, using only short bursts from ferociously powerful Beam Lasers, had been truly shocking to see. Even more perplexing had been why a Terran like the Lion, would choose to disable rather than destroy those ships and the many thousands of soldiers within. Zorlin didn't doubt for a moment that such a course of action was entirely within the Terran's means, but for someone who the Imperial Information Bureau had declared an evil war criminal, it was startling behaviour to observe.

"The Lion!" Grakira gasped, sucking in her breath in alarm. "I sssaw the Terran broadcassst celebrating that monster, but I asssumed they were exaggerated beyond all reassson."

"Talesss of hisss exploitsss are very much grounded in fact, comrade," Zorlin informed her confidently. He'd personally accompanied Grand Prelate Melkadian in reviewing highly classified Terran battle reports, which had been leaked after the Iota-Leonis debacle, by a spy placed within Federation High Command itself.

Grakira looked deeply troubled as he validated the foulest of rumours, and she finally declared, "We mussst ssstrike down the Lion, and sssnatch the sssecretsss from hisss ssship for the glory of the Empire!"

Zorlin slowly shook his head, and replied, "We musst tread carefully, Grakira. There isss too much at ssstake for recklesss actionsss."

She was about to object, but High Prelate Zorlin's calm demeanour born of decades of combat experience made her bite back her retort. Grakira bowed to him then, and said, "I will heed your wissse counsssel, Zorlin. You are an inssspiration in thessse dark timesss."

"Asss isss your dedication to the Empire, Grakira," he replied, bowing to her in turn.

She bared her teeth, looking pleased by his compliment, and said to him, "Let usss hope that Tamalaz the Fortunate isss sssmiling on usss thisss day."

"Indeed, comrade, let usss pray that isss the cassse," High Prelate Zorlin replied, his tone sombre.

***

"Are you sure about this, Gabrielle?" Commodore Eriko Sasaki's holographic image asked, her face etched with fear. "You've seen the declaration from the Fleet Admiral for our entire Battlegroup; Clemency in exchange for immediate surrender... Maybe we should consider it? Buckingham seems to know all about our plans, and it's an incredible offer considering the penalty for treason!"

Admiral Gabrielle Lynton gave her fellow conspirator a reassuring smile, and said, "It's a bluff, Eriko. Buckingham knows we're about to spring our trap; the man's desperate, he knows he's doomed!"

Her words did little to mollify Sasaki though, and the older woman shook her head as she replied, "I don't know, Gabrielle, we're taking a big risk trusting the Kintark. Are you sure they're going to show?"

"There's no doubt in my mind," Lynton replied, her voice firm and full of confidence. "Trust me, our allies will be there for this showdown. Crushing Buckingham's forces will be a crippling blow that the Terran Federation won't be able to recover from. The New Republic will be established within weeks!"

Sasaki nodded half-heartedly, and she fixed Lynton with her dark-brown eyes as she asked quietly, "What about everything else you promised? Are you certain he'll agree to go through with it?"

Lynton gave the older Asian woman a sly smile, and replied, "Eriko, once this is over, you'll have the body of a girl half your age." Her eyes sparkled, and she laughed as she added, "You won't believe the -appetites- that have been awakened. Youth really is wasted on the young."

Sasaki squared her shoulders, and returned the smile with a hungry look in her eyes as she asked, "What are your orders, Admiral?"

Lynton smiled at her, and replied, "We'll be holding position inside Terran Space to blockade the retreat from the invasion corridor. We'll prevent Buckingham from escaping, while the Kintark annihilate his forces!"

There was a flicker of doubt in Sasaki's eyes as she replied, "We'll be massively outgunned. There's no way we can hold off Buckingham's forces alone, if they ignore the Kintark, and focus on us."

With a wicked grin, Lynton said, "Don't worry, we won't be alone. I've chosen the Alpha Leonis system to strike at Buckingham, and all our allies are converging on that location for this battle."

Sasaki nodded, looking reassured once more, and said, "As you command, Admiral."

Lynton ended the call, and she slumped back in her chair, alone in her Ready Room. She rubbed her hand over her tired eyes, and let out a weary sigh. Her call with Sasaki was the eighth such conversation she'd had at this ungodly hour in the morning, cajoling the commanding officers in her fleet to further acts of treachery against the Terran Federation. She'd seduced all of them by a variety of means, from lofty talk of a New Republic for the idealistic, to baser pleasures for the more hedonistic amongst them, and she knew she could rely on all of them for their unbridled support.

While she was in no doubt that they all were loyal to her, it was incredibly frustrating having to take time to convince them to go along with her plans, when there was a much easier way available. Not for the first time, she sorely wished her Master had simply enthralled all the female officers in her battlegroup. She'd offered to arrange for transfers so that every Captain in the fleet was a woman, with exactly that purpose in mind, so she'd been surprised when he'd refused her suggestion.

Her mind wandered to her time aboard his ship, seeing those beautiful alien women obeying his every whim without a moment's hesitation. Gabrielle was unquestioningly obedient to him too, but the thought of having total control over the personnel under her Command was an intoxicating one, and she let out a wistful sigh as she imagined it. Thoughts of her Master made her think back to those blissful weeks they'd spent together, and she longed for the day when she could be reunited with him.

It had been only a chance encounter on shore leave that had brought them together. She was vacationing alone at one of the terraformed beach resorts in the Epsilon Canis Majoris system when she first set eyes on the incredible man who had radically changed the course of her life. She'd been sunning herself at an open air restaurant by one of the pristine beaches on Adhara Prime, savouring a fruity cocktail in the glorious sunshine, and enjoying the sights and sounds around her. Gabrielle had watched enviously as slender young women in bikinis cavorted in the crystal-clear sea, chased by their wonderfully muscular boyfriends, to the accompaniment of peals of laughter.

In her mid-fifties now, she had reached heady heights with her military career, becoming an Admiral at the young age of fifty-one. Gabrielle Lynton had thrown herself fully into her career, having little time or inclination towards romance, and had thus forgone the chance for a family. It was a decision she had been starting to regret, and having let herself go over the decades, she knew there was no chance of ever being with one of those bronzed hunks she'd seen chasing nubile girls through the waves.

When this handsome, exotic man had suddenly introduced himself to her, she'd been captivated by him immediately. He seemed to exude an aura of otherworldly confidence that she found extraordinarily compelling, and when he sat at her table uninvited, the thought of objecting never even entered her mind. He'd given her his undivided attention from the start, and despite her attraction to him, she'd been more than a little wary of his avid interest. Her first thought was that he might be some kind of honey-trap by an ambitious corporation, who were looking to gain influence with a high-ranking military officer.

Such suspicions had faded away as she spoke to him at length, and she soon found herself hanging on his every word, the rest of the morning passing by in a blur. By some miracle he'd asked if he could return to her hotel suite with her, and she couldn't believe her luck when he'd turned out to be wonderfully dominant in the bedroom, ordering her to her knees to service his massive cock. Her days normally consisted of barking orders at servile junior officers, so to be able to relinquish all control like that was a delicious thrill, and she'd practically tripped over herself in her hurry to obey him.

She remembered wistfully how she'd extended her vacation, delaying her posting to the Dragon March so she could spend another week on her knees, receiving one bellyful of cum after another. Day after day, her weight had dropped off, her skin growing taut, young and firm, just like the giggling beauties she'd envied at the beach. She slipped her hand under her shirt, and ran it over her trim, toned abdomen, her fingers tracing the lean definition of her muscles. It had been several months since her Master had packed her stomach full with his seed, and every fibre of her being ached to be on her knees before him, worshipping his cock with her hungry mouth.