Three Square Meals Ch. 069

They walked through the open airlock, then through the double doors into the Cargo Bay, where the personnel quartered there were getting ready to disembark. John was easy to spot in his white uniform, and soon a big crowd assembled, as people who hadn't had a chance to personally thank him took the opportunity to do so. He gave each sailor or marine his undivided attention and a firm handshake, speaking to them each individually, albeit only briefly. While he was waylaid by grateful personnel, Alyssa hit the button that opened the enormous door in the Invictus' hull, and the door began to retract into the ceiling.

Upon hearing from Rachel that these personnel didn't require immediate medical care, Commodore Hochberg had allocated several squads of Terran Federation marines to guide them from the ship. People began to trickle out of the Cargo Bay in a steady stream, most of them turning to thank Alyssa as they departed. She smiled at them warmly and wished them well, a gracious host to the end, as the marines led them away to temporary accommodation in the vast space station.

It took another half-an-hour before the Cargo Bay was clear of their guests, and Alyssa closed the hull door after she waved the last one goodbye. John slipped his arms around her from behind, and kissed her on the cheek as he said, "Let's head up to my Ready Room to talk."

She nodded, then took his hand as they walked from the Cargo Bay. The maintenance robots had already started dismantling the cots, and there was a parade of cleaning bots streaming out of the room, piled high with bedding. John and Alyssa waited for them to rush past, the bots wobbling slightly on their quiet tracked wheels as they balanced the huge loads of linen in the hampers on their backs. Faye was the ringmaster of this mechanical circus, and she gave them an enthusiastic wave and a sunny smile as they left her to organise the cleanup operation.

Alyssa seemed uncharacteristically subdued as John walked with her to the grav-tube, then through the Bridge and into his Ready Room. He led her over to the sofas, then took a seat, and pulled her onto his lap.

"That must have been really hard for you," he said sympathetically. "Feeling Calara's happiness, and wanting to enjoy it with her, but missing your own parents."

She let out a mournful sigh, and replied, "I know exactly what Sparks meant a while back, about loving Calara, but being envious of her too. Then you were so sweet, getting all nervous about speaking to Jack, and what you said..." She looked up into his eyes, and faltered as she added, "I just wish things had been different, with my own parents. I'm sorry I shut you out, but I just couldn't listen to Maria too."

"It's okay, I understand," he replied, as he stroked her back comfortingly. "I'm here for you now. You don't have to be strong for anyone."

Her face crumpled, and no longer having to maintain a brave facade, she buried her head in his shoulder as she trembled in his arms. He could hear her weeping quietly for her lost mother and father, and he knew she dearly wished with all her heart, that they could've been there to give them their blessing. Sadly, there were some things he just couldn't fix, no matter how much it meant to her. He held her tightly in his protective embrace, as she grieved for her mother who'd died in childbirth, and her father who'd been killed in a mining accident when she was only six years old.

Alyssa was a resilient girl, having grown up in the Karron slums, and she recovered quickly, just needing those few minutes of emotional release to clear her head. She cuddled with him as her tears dried up, letting out a soft sigh of regret before straddling him and looking into his eyes.

"Thanks for looking after me," she said to him earnestly. "We get so wrapped up in things, I forget to just say thank you for giving me a lovely home, and providing for me and the rest of our family. I love my life here, and wouldn't change any of it for an instant."

He gave her a loving smile, and said, "Honey, before you came along, I was stuck in a battered old freighter living like a recluse. I should be the one thanking you... profusely, every day!"

She grinned at him then, and said, "Let's just agree we're good for each other, alright? You're probably getting tired of people thanking you anyway."

John laughed at that, then showed her his right hand, and replied, "Sounds good to me, I don't think I've ever shaken so many hands in one day!"

Laughing along with him, Alyssa eventually leaned in to give him a tender kiss, before she pulled back and climbed gracefully off his lap. "Just going to freshen up," she explained as she glided towards the bathroom.

He watched the enchanting roll of her hips until she disappeared from view, then he rose from the sofa, and wandered over to the long window flanking the room. From up here, his view of the docking bay floor was partially obscured by the Invictus' topdeck. However this was one of the biggest docking bays in Port Medea, and he had a clear view of the double doors leading to the spaceport itself, where he could see the last few patients being pushed away on floating gurneys.

*Rachel's just wrapping things up down there,* Alyssa thought to him, reading his train of thoughts. *They've evacuated the last of the wounded, and she'll come up with Dana in a couple of minutes.*

*Irillith and Faye?* He asked, then corrected himself, as he continued, *Actually, Faye's busy with a dozen different things, but I'm sure one of her avatars will be waiting for us. What about Irillith?*

*She's preparing the Briefing Room for our post-battle debrief,* she replied, then laughed as she agreed, *And you're right, Faye's all over the place.*

*Calara, Jade, and Sakura?* he asked, smiling at the thought of the Asian girl enjoying her fine-dining experience with the Latina.

*Yeah, that was fucking hot. Jade gave me a blow-by-blow account as Sakura ate her first pussy,* Alyssa purred, her raunchy side immediately coming to the fore. She giggled then and added, *Or maybe that should be a 'lick-by-suck' account? Anyway, I wanted to watch too, but there'll be lots more opportunities to see her in action. Sakura acts all shy and demure, but she's a sexy little firecracker given the right encouragement.*

*That's good,* John replied sardonically. *Because the rest of you girls are so sexually repressed.*

He could hear her musical laughter through the bathroom door, and it opened a few seconds later as Alyssa emerged, looking resplendent once more. She'd been beautiful before of course, even with her flushed face, and her cheeks wet with tears. It was a very different, natural kind of beauty though, her raw emotions giving her an unusual air of vulnerability that made him want to protect her and keep her safe.

She smiled as she walked towards him, and said, "It looks like we've found your weakness. Girl's tears seem to be your Achilles heel."

Nodding, he gathered her in his arms as he admitted, "My secret's out, I hate seeing you get upset. Are you feeling better now, though?"

"Much, thank you. I still wish my parents were here of course, but we can't undo the past," she replied, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. She hugged him back as she continued, "I'll just have to help Calara have the best wedding possible, and live vicariously through her instead. I'll get to feel everything she's feeling, and hear her every thought, so it's nearly the same."

John knew it wasn't, but he admired her positive spin on what must have been a very painful subject for her. Once again, he was impressed by her thoughtfulness for her friends, and her selfless nature made him love her just that little bit more.

Alyssa pouted then, and protested, "I just freshened myself up! If you keep going like that, I'll start blubbing again!" She gazed into his eyes for a moment, before adding quietly, "I can't really deal with you being kind and loving at the moment. Can you be horny, naughty John instead please?"

"Alright my sexy little vixen. Let's get through the debrief, then I'll give you and the girls a solid pounding to celebrate. I'll need to see plenty of girl-on-girl action, especially when I stuff you full of cum and have the others eat it out of you..." he replied, with a salacious grin. He arched an eyebrow as he asked, "How's that for a plan? Suitably crude enough to change the tone?"

She nodded enthusiastically, and her cerulean eyes sparkled with delight as she replied, "A victory orgy with loads of really fucking hot girls. I like the way you think, Mr Blake!"

"I've been corrupted by the best, Miss Marant," he replied, while tipping an imaginary hat.

Her laughter was free and unrestrained, and he was delighted to see the shadow of sadness lift from her eyes. Her melodic laughter proved infectious, and the two of them were chuckling together as they left the Ready Room hand-in-hand.

Faye was waiting for them when they arrived, and her face lit up when she saw John and Alyssa looking so happy. She sprang from the Commander's Console, then fluttered down to join them in a shimmer of translucent wings, and said, "Hi you two! What's so funny?"

"I thought you saw everything on the ship?" John asked her with a puzzled frown.

The purple sylph nodded hesitantly, then glanced at Alyssa, and replied, "You looked really sad, so I gave you your privacy. I didn't want to intrude."

"You're a sweetheart. Thank you, Faye," Alyssa replied, reaching out to brush her holographic cheek. She'd remembered that the AI had no physical presence, but knew the digital construct would appreciate the gesture of affection.

When John saw that Faye was still looking at him expectantly, he smiled at her as he explained, "It was just an old running joke between us. We were just being silly to lighten the mood."

Faye nodded thoughtfully, then brightened as she said, "All the wounded have disembarked, so we can leave Port Medea whenever you're ready." Looking straight at John next, she added, "You also had a missed call, from a TFNN news reporter, she didn't leave her name, but said she'd try calling back later."

"Let me guess..." Alyssa said with a playful grin. "Dusky brown skin, smoky eyes, and a fantastic rack?"

"Do you know her?" Faye asked curiously.

"Jehanna Elani," John said, sharing a smile with Alyssa. He looked thoughtful then as he added, "I wonder if she wants to set up another interview?"

Alyssa grimaced and replied, "Remote calls are rubbish." Her tone turned sultry as she continued, "You should arrange to meet, then she can interview you in the flesh, so to speak."

He chuckled at her blatant innuendo, then said, "I'll talk to her later. For now, we should get moving."

Alyssa nodded, and said, "Jade brought the Raptor back, so I just need to plot us a course, and we'll be ready to go. We're heading to Underworld next, right John?"

"That's right," he replied. "It's well past time to go and rescue Irillith's sister."

She ascended the steps to the Command Podium, then sat in the Executive Officer's chair as she began to plot their flight path. The holographic sector map sprang into view, and John watched as a blue line began to weave through the star systems, displaying her intended course towards the nefarious stronghold known as the Underworld. Their flight path looped around the edge of Maliri Space, through the borders of the Ashanath Collective, across a stretch of Drakkar territory before plunging into the Unclaimed Wastes. The tag against the glowing line showed an estimated arrival time of thirteen days, eight hours.

*You don't need to take a huge detour around Maliri Space,* Edraele suddenly announced with satisfaction. *Alyssa can plot a direct course to the Underworld.*

*I saw the map my Progenitor-side drew up of Maliri Space, and we'll be a long way from Valaden territory if we take that route,* John said cautiously. *We'd be trespassing through House Ghilwen and House Loraleth territory won't we?*

*I'm impressed John, you have a good memory,* she replied, surprised by his accurate recollections of the star systems held by those Maliri Houses. However, Edraele sounded confident as she continued, *I've come to an... accommodation... with the Matriarchs of those Noble Houses. You'll be able to pass through their territory unopposed.*

He shrugged to himself, and replied, *Sounds good. Thank you Edraele, that'll shave a few days off our travel time.*

*You're quite welcome,* she replied, sounding delighted that she'd been able to help him.

John walked up the Command Podium's illuminated steps, and said to Alyssa, "I've just had an update from Edraele. Apparently we've been given the green light to sail straight through Maliri Space, there's no need for the detour."

Alyssa glanced up at him with a frown, and said, "I thought all the Matriarchs hated each other's guts? We'll be travelling through Ghilwen and Loraleth space if we take that route, and Ghilwen forces tried to ambush us the first time we left Valaden."

He looked at her in surprise, and said, "I take it you had a good look at those conquest maps too then?"

"Of course," she replied with a sly wink.

"Well, Edraele seems convinced it's safe, and I trust her implicitly. Let's take the short cut," he said, putting his faith in his Maliri Matriarch.

Alyssa bowed her head obediently, and said with a teasing edge, "Whatever my Progenitor Lord decrees."

She adjusted the flight path so that they were now ploughing directly through Maliri Space. The new course took them a long way from the safety of House Valaden territory, and through the completely unknown systems belonging to two other Maliri Houses. When she'd finished making the correction, the new flight time was listed as ten days, two hours.

"Irillith should be pleased," John noted with satisfaction. "She was an invaluable help in the Dragon March, so It'll be nice helping her rescue Tashana that little bit faster."

Alyssa looked up at him, and said innocently, "Yes, it'll be lovely to see them reunited. I can see why you're looking forward to helping Irillith rescue her -twin- sister..."

John saw the twitch of a mischievous smile on her lips, and he laughed as he said, "Come on you, that's quite enough sullying of my motives."

"I can take us out of here if you'd like?" Faye offered as she skipped up the steps to join them.

"Really? You know how to do that?" John asked her in surprise.

The purple construct nodded enthusiastically, and replied, "Absolutely! I've been studying the Invictus' flight characteristics so I could help out if you needed me to."

Alyssa smiled at her, and said, "The helm is yours, Trainee Pilot Faye. Show us what you can do."

They watched as Faye contacted the Port Medea traffic controller, who finally granted her permission to depart after he'd got over his initial surprise at seeing the cute purple girl in command of the Invictus. She took great care as she eased the assault cruiser off the deck of the docking bay with the light touch of retro-thrusters, and once they were clear of the starport, Faye rotated the Invictus until they were pointing towards the Nav Beacon. It was a textbook example of a precise takeoff and departure, and she drifted away from Port Medea while being careful to stay under port speed.

"Very nice," John said with an approving nod. "What do you think, XO?"

"You did a great job, Faye, well done!" Alyssa gushed, smiling at the petite digital girl.

Faye clapped her hands together in glee, her gossamer wings a blur as she lifted lightly off the ground with her happiness. At least one of her avatars was still paying attention though, as they arrived at the Nav Beacon after a couple of minutes, and were immediately surrounded in tachyon particles before jumping to hyper-warp.

Before they could pass further comment, the door to the Briefing Room swished open, and Dana walked through. She had her hands on her hour-glass hips, and she said impatiently, "Hurry up you two! You're taking ages, and Irillith won't tell me anything about the new tech she's swiped!"

"I didn't steal it, I requisitioned it!" Irillith called out from behind her.

John and Alyssa joined the others in their laughter as they walked down the ramp, then followed Dana back into the room. Everyone was gathered there already, sitting in their familiar places, and John pulled out the chair at his right side for Alyssa to sit down. She gave him a grateful smile as she took her seat, and he squeezed her shoulder before he moved to sit at his place at the head of the table.

Sakura was waiting for him, standing beside his chair, and when he sat down he held out his arms for her to sit across his lap. She'd changed back into one of his shirts now, and the white material clung to her rounded tummy.

"How was lunch?" he asked her as he stroked the taut sphere, drawing a contented sigh from the Asian beauty.

He saw her eyes flash to Calara, and the two exchanged coy smiles before Sakura replied, "Jade was right. The food was delicious, and the service was exemplary." She glanced around at the other girls, and said, "There's plenty of other Terran dishes I'd like to sample, and I've heard Maliri and Lenarran are to die for."

"We'll have to see what we can arrange," he replied with a grin, accompanied by titters of excited laughter from the girls.

Dana had skipped over to her seat, and was now fidgeting as she waited, looking at John expectantly. "Alyssa said you're going to fuck us all later, can we save the flirting till then?" she asked, trying to hurry up proceedings.

He rolled his eyes, and replied, "Can't a guy just enjoy some lewd banter with his girls for a moment?"

She shook her head, and looked pained as she replied, "I've been really good, but I don't think I can wait much longer!"

"Alright, you have been very patient," he agreed.

Dana's sky-blue eyes shone with excitement as she spun in her seat to look at Irillith, and exclaimed, "You can start now!"

John glanced at Faye sitting cross-legged at the end of the long desk, and he held up a hand to Irillith gesturing wait for a moment longer. This drew a groan of frustration from the redhead.

He smiled at the purple sylph with some amusement, and said, "I think you're big enough to warrant your own seat now, if you want it?"

She gave him a winsome grin, and replied, "I quite like being up here, as long as you don't mind?"

"That can be your spot then," he replied kindly. Turning back to look at the girls, he said, "Irillith can reveal what she found out in a few minutes, I just wanted to cover a few other things first."

Dana grinned at him, as she replied, "Yeah, we know; everyone was awesome!"

All the girls laughed at that, getting used to receiving one of John's proud victory speeches after a big battle. He chuckled too, and said, "It looks like I'm getting a bit predictable."

Jade nodded, then smiled as she said, "I don't mind it one bit."

There were murmurs of agreement, so John smiled as he said, "Sparks is right, all of you did a phenomenal job. We saved hundreds of thousands of Terran lives with our actions today, and we probably helped bring a quick end to this war, saving millions of lives on both sides in the process. The Terran forces took a beating, but the Kintark lost so many ships, they're bound to try and broker a peace treaty."

"Losing over two hundred cruiser-class or larger vessels is a massive loss to the Kintark," Calara agreed. "If the Terran Federation had suffered such a catastrophic defeat, they'd have to seriously consider surrendering, what with the attrition they've already suffered in the Dragon March."

John nodded, and said, "The Kintark fared better in the lead up to the Battle of Regulus, but that was a hell of a defeat." He looked around at each of them, and continued, "I won't go over everything you each did during and after the battle, but you continue to amaze me. Well done, girls, well done indeed."