Three Square Meals Ch. 072

"John! Are you okay?" she asked, dropping down to her knees beside him as he sprawled on the floor.

He groaned in reply, clutching at his head, before finally saying, "Someone make the room stop spinning!"

Irillith pulled him to her, and stroked his head as she gathered him to her bosom. She murmured soothing words as she held him, knowing that it would take a little while for him to recover from the shock of being forcibly ejected from the Cyber-Realm. Footsteps behind her drew her attention, and a cool green hand rested on her shoulder, instantly giving away the identity of the new arrival.

"Is he alright?" Jade asked, squatting down beside Irillith, her beautiful viridian face a mask of concern.

The Maliri girl nodded, and replied, "He'll be okay, it'll just take a few minutes for him to recover. It's bad enough getting pulled out of the Astral Plane, but being disconnected from the Cyber-Realm is much worse." She looked at the Nymph curiously then, and added, "I thought you were having breakfast?"

Jade's worried frown faded as Irillith put her at ease, and she smiled as she gently stroked John's hair, then replied, "Alyssa asked me to keep an eye on the Bridge, she said Faye's a bit distracted at the moment."

Twisting her head around, Irillith was surprised to see that the exuberant purple sprite was nowhere to be seen. She'd been a constant presence on the Bridge for months, so to not see her fluttering around between the stations seemed very strange. Jade patted her shoulder, and with a last lingering glance at John, she strolled down the ramp to the Pilot's Station, and started checking the long-range scans. That left Irillith sitting alone with John cradled in her arms, murmuring to him quietly while she waited patiently for him to recover.

It took a few minutes for John to come around fully, and he sat up, looking a little bleary eyed. He glanced at Irillith and gave her a grateful smile, then said with a hint of embarrassment, "Thanks, that was... nice."

"We can arrange more trips to the Cyber-Realm if you enjoyed it," she said with a teasing smile.

He shook his head, and winced for a moment as the room upended again, before saying firmly, "No, I'd rather not put myself through that again for a while." He paused as he looked into her kind angular eyes, and continued, "I meant being held by you like that. It was strange being the one needing comforting, but your voice and touch were very gentle."

She grinned at him and remembering their previous conversation, she said, "Let me guess... you prefer the status quo?"

He smiled as he replied, "Yes, but it was lovely to see that softer side of you. It bodes very well for the future."

Catching his meaning, she flushed a dark blue, her violet eyes gazing at him with longing. Before they could continue the conversation any further, there was a light gasp to their side, and Alyssa leaned back, placing her hands on the deck as she took a deep breath.

"Now that was fucking hot," she drawled, a smug lazy smile on her face as she turned to look at John and Irillith.

John was still groggy as he looked at her in surprise, and asked, "What was? Me being knocked senseless and Irillith looking after me?"

Alyssa turned around to face him, tucking her long legs under herself as she leaned in to give him a kiss. She seemed none the worse for her extended jaunt into the Cyber-Realm, far from it in fact. "Sorry that was so hard on you," she said, between kisses. "I hope you didn't mind me staying for a while, I knew you were in good hands."

"No, of course not," he replied. Looking at her curiously, he asked, "Did Faye give you the extended tour or something?"

"Yeah, you could say that," she said with a wicked smile, sharing a knowing glance with Irillith.

John looked around, and was as surprised by the disquieting lack of Faye's presence on the Bridge as Irillith had been. "Where is Faye? She hasn't left the Bridge unattended once since we gave her the new server."

"I think she got a bit overexcited. I'm sure she'll turn up again as soon as she can," Alyssa replied archly. She rose to her feet with perfect poise, and held out her hand for Irillith and John as she added, "I'm suddenly feeling very peckish. Let's go get some breakfast!"

Irillith was just as graceful as she stood unaided, and they both helped John to stagger to his feet.

"I don't know how you make it looks so easy," he grunted at Alyssa, giving her an envious frown. "Are you sure you haven't been practicing already?"

She laughed at that, the melodic sound echoing around the Bridge before she replied, "No, that was my first time into Cyberspace."

"Perhaps her mind is more attuned to Spirit-walking than yours?" Irillith suggested, giving the blonde girl a curious look. "It took me a few times to get used to it too, but I didn't get hurled out of the Cyber-Realm on my first trip either."

Alyssa shook her head, and replied, "No, it's not that." She paused, and conceded, "Well it might be a little."

John looked grim as he nodded, "Yeah, it's the Astral shadow of my Progenitor-half. Until I can do something about him, I think any more trips into Cyberspace are out of the question."

"Do you feel up to confronting him yet?" Alyssa asked quietly, staring at John with her piercing cerulean eyes. "You've definitely been getting stronger."

He didn't answer for a long moment, and just gathered the two blondes in his arms as he leaned against them for support. It was out of character for him to rely on them like this, and the two girls shared silent smiles as they easily steadied him between them.

With a heavy sigh, he finally admitted, "No, I'm not ready yet."

"How do you know?" Irillith asked him, stroking his back as she waited for an answer.

"I know how powerful he was, and I can't afford to take any chances," he replied, glancing down to look into her inquisitive violet eyes. "Athena said I'd have to break him out of his ethereal prison to confront him, and If I lose that confrontation, it'll be permanent. I'm not willing to put you girls at risk, not unless I can be sure I can defeat him."

Alyssa narrowed her eyes as she looked at him, then said quietly, "Alright, let's forget about it for now. Sakura's made breakfast for us with Calara and Dana. They're waiting for us in the Galley."

John's stomach rumbled as if on cue, and the girls both laughed fondly as he gave them an apologetic grin. He straightened now, feeling more steady, but the two blondes kept their arms wrapped around his waist, enjoying the physical contact. They waved farewell to Jade, and stepped into the grav-tube, heading down to Deck Four.

Jade smiled at her friends, then turned her attention back to the long-range scans. The Unclaimed Wastes stretched before them for hundreds of light years before they would reach the border with Maliri Space. She glanced at the upcoming systems, seeing more dense asteroid belts, and the occasional gas giant, but no real signs of life. The few ships she did see were much too far away for their primitive sensor technology to detect the Invictus, and they went about their business without so much as a minor course correction.

She watched a couple of nearby mining vessels cutting free big chunks of a mineral-rich asteroid with their mining lasers. As the hunks of rock sailed free, they focused the beams on them, breaking them up so that the ore could be gathered for later processing. A purple flash at her side drew her attention that way, and she smiled at Faye as the digital girl wobbled on her feet.

"Oh my!" Faye gasped, flopping down cross-legged on the floor.

Jade laughed, and said, "I've seen that dazed look before."

"She overloaded all twelve of my avatars! She's insatiable!" Faye marvelled, luminous eyes gazing at Jade in wonder. "I've never felt anything like it... I'll be processing all that sensory data for weeks!"

The Nymph smiled at her, then leaned down to whisper, "Remember, that was just Alyssa. Think what it'll be like with John and all of us girls helping out."

Somehow the sprite's eyes got even bigger, and her iridescent wings began to quiver, although she wasn't sure if it was through fear or anticipation.

***

Sakura, Calara, and Dana were waiting for the latecomers in the kitchen, and after being alerted to their imminent arrival by Alyssa, they disappeared into the kitchen to finish preparing breakfast for John and the girls. The six women they had rescued from the pirates were all seated at the table, and they all turned to look at him when they heard the footsteps coming down the corridor towards them. There was a chair set up for him at his usual spot, but he ignored it for the moment, as he walked up to the other end of the table to greet his guests.

John was delighted to see that their bruises and black eyes had all been fully healed, and the six women all looked none the worse for their recent ordeal. Giving them a warm smile, he asked, "How are you ladies this morning? Feeling better?"

"You really did it!" the Latina said in awe, staring at him in amazement. "I didn't believe it, but you did everything you promised!"

"I believed you!" the young blonde sitting beside her said emphatically, climbing quickly off the bench and rushing towards him. He knew what Tanya wanted and he opened his arms to her, accepting her warm embrace.

The other girls got up now, and they quietly walked towards him, so they could join in the group hug. He looked around at the six sets of eyes staring up at him in earnest gratitude, and tried hard not to get distracted by how good they felt pressed up against him.

*We've always got room for more,* Alyssa thought to him playfully. He could feel her amusement over their empathic bond as she added, *It'll mean six more mouths to feed, but you're a good provider.*

*Shh, you. I'm trying to be the valiant hero,* John replied, doing his best to blot out her salacious thoughts.

He turned to smile at the Latina, and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name before?"

"Anna," she replied in a hushed voice, her brown eyes gazing up at him.

"Have the memories gone? Of everything that happened to you?" he asked, glancing down the table at Irillith to see if she was listening. She was. Avidly.

Anna paused for a moment, and it sounded like she could hardly believe what she was saying when she replied, "I can still remember what happened to me, but I just don't -feel- anything about it." Her voice was filled with wonder as she added, "It's almost like it all happened to another person. The memories of the fear, pain, and horror are just gone."

"That's wonderful news, Anna," John said, giving her a warm smile.

"You really did undo the past," Tanya said, with a look of adoration in her lovely green eyes.

He could see it now: a few kind words, and she'd be on her knees, gazing at him reverently while servicing his cock and filling her stomach with his cum. The other five girls would kiss him tenderly while they eagerly awaited their turn, and it would just take a few more weeks of feeding them all until he'd helped each of them to grow strong. He had no need for soldiers, not yet, but he could fill their wombs with his cum and breed them all. Six pretty girls with his lusty offspring kicking in their bellies, looking at him doe-eyed as he stroked them possessively, feeling the new life growing inside them.

The thoughts were positively intoxicating...

But he managed to shrug it off, and keep his resolve. With a ragged sigh he gave them a warm hug, then carefully pried himself from their embrace and stepped away; from both the grateful women and the seductive path they offered him. Just like that the spell was broken, and he sat down in his chair as they returned to their seats.

"What now?" Anna asked, and he could see the flushed look of arousal in her cheeks.

John smiled as he made eye contact with them, and said enthusiastically, "Breakfast!"

They laughed at his joke, before Anna persisted, "No, I mean, what happens to all of us now?"

"We'll be meeting some friends in the Maliri Regency tomorrow, and they'll carry you safely back to Genkiri station at the border with Terran Space," he replied, meeting her probing gaze. "It's a busy trading station that sees plenty of Terran traffic, so from there, I'll see that you can get transportation back to each of your homeworlds. I've also arranged for a significant amount of credits to be transferred to each of you, which you can use to get started with living whatever life you choose for yourselves."

"Why would you do all this for us?" the second blonde girl asked, looking at him in bewilderment.

Alyssa winked at the blonde, and replied, "He just likes getting grateful kisses from pretty girls."

John rolled his eyes at Alyssa, then smiled at the young women as he said, "There's no ulterior motive. I'm simply in a position to help, and it feels good knowing I'm undoing some of the harm the pirates did to you."

The smouldering look the blonde gave him confirmed his earlier thoughts that it wasn't just kisses on their minds. At that moment, Sakura arrived beside him, and he smiled indulgently at the Asian girl as she placed a steaming plate piled high with an aromatic cooked breakfast on the table in front of him. After she'd put down the accompanying glass of water too, he pulled her down for a grateful kiss.

"I hope you enjoy it," she said when he released her, blushing at the attention, and conscious that the six liberated women were staring at her with curiosity and a hint of envy.

"It smells delicious!" John said enthusiastically, brandishing his knife and fork, and wasting no time in tucking in. He closed his eyes and groaned with delight as he savoured the first mouthful, then asked, "Did you cook this yourself?"

"I just did the toast and eggs," she admitted. "Calara roasted the gammon."

The Latina brought out a steaming plate of food for Alyssa and Irillith, which she set down on the table, then laughed as he pulled her in for a kiss too. She sat next to the blonde a moment later, with Dana sitting next to Irillith after bringing them some drinks.

Breakfast was a fairly quiet affair after that, with John and Alyssa having worked up an appetite after their trip into the Cyber-Realm. Irillith was distracted by worries and picked at her food, until she received a cautionary word from Alyssa that she should eat well for breakfast, so that she'd be more alert later on for speaking with her sister. The freed women talked quietly amongst themselves as they discussed their options, and while John could have listened in with his sharp hearing, he deliberately tuned them out instead, letting them have their privacy.

When breakfast was done, Dana and Sakura quickly cleared the table as John relaxed in his seat. "Is it nearly time?" he asked Alyssa, with a quick glance at Irillith.

She nodded, and replied, "Rachel says that going by Tashana's body weight and the dosage of sedative she gave her, she should wake up in about ten minutes."

John smiled, and said knowingly, "There's no 'should' about it, is there?"

Alyssa shook her head, and returning his smile, she replied, "Rachel's calculated it to the second."

He reached out to take Irillith's hand, and he squeezed it gently as he asked, "Are you ready?"

"No, not at all!" she replied, laughing nervously.

"It'll be okay," he said, stroking her hand.

*We have company,* Alyssa informed him, glancing at the six women who had left their seats again, and walked over to join them.

Alyssa gave him a coy smile, then rose from her chair and took Irillith's hand as she led the apprehensive Maliri girl down the corridor to the grav-tube. Calara, Dana, and Sakura fell in behind her, and they glided gracefully away, leaving him to look up at the six young women.

The Latina, Anna, was bolder than the others, and seemed to have adopted the role of spokeswoman for the group. She stood close beside him, her fingers lightly touching his shoulder through his shirt, and she hesitated for a moment before she said, "We just wanted to say, thank you. For everything."

Before he could respond, she leaned down and gave him a tender kiss on the lips, her dark brown eyes hiding behind closed eyelids as her lips worked against his. It was a lovely kiss, full of gratitude, and when she pulled away, he could see the indecision in her eyes. She reluctantly stepped back for the dusky-hued girl, and then her full lips were brushing against his, a hint of a smile on her mouth as her tongue flickered out to taste his lips. They each walked away after taking their turn, returning quietly to their quarters.

Eventually it was just the green-eyed blonde left, and Tanya leaned in to give him a kiss just like all the others. She paused before making contact, and her eyes sparkled as she asked, "We could do more, if you want?"

John pulled her into his arms, and she was unresisting as she sat across his lap, an eager smile on her face as she felt the heat from his throbbing cock next to her thigh.

"You're a very pretty girl, Tanya, but as tempted as I am, I'm afraid I'll have to turn you down," he replied, with more than a hint of regret.

"Why?" she asked him simply, staring at him with her big green eyes.

"Do you remember that I said I'm not human?" he replied with a relaxed smile.

She nodded then reached out to stroke the tips of his ears, as she said suggestively, "Yes, there's a few parts of you that really make you stand out from normal guys."

John couldn't resist sliding his hand over to her slender tummy, and stroking her gently, he said, "My cum healed you last night, but it has other effects too. If you swallow too much of it, you won't want to leave."

"I think I'd learn to cope," she replied, leaning in and giving him a tender kiss on the cheek.

As much as John ached to make her his, he reluctantly said, "I lead a violent life, full of combat and danger. I'd be the most selfish prick in the galaxy if I dragged you into all that."

Tanya was about to object, but she could see the firm resolve in his eyes, and the words died on her lips. She leaned in until she was just inches away from him, and said, "I won't ever forget you, John. Come and find me if you ever change your mind."

With that she gave him a passionate kiss, pressing her firm breasts against his chest as she linked her arms around his neck. It left him breathless by the end, and she hopped off his lap then flounced away down the corridor, putting extra swing in her hips to give him an enticing view.

*It's a good job you're the one with the dick,* Alyssa said with amusement. *If I was in your position, I'd have bent that little temptress over the table, and had her begging me to be her baby daddy as I stuffed her full of cock!*

*Don't... turning them down was hell enough already!* John replied with a groan, as he got up from his chair, and strolled down the corridor.

*While I admire your impressive willpower,* Edraele said, sounding thoughtful. *I'm curious about something. Why did you turn them down exactly? You clearly wanted them, and the desire was clearly reciprocated.*

*It's not that simple,* John replied, as he stepped into the glowing red field of the grav-tube. *I'm living like a nomad at the moment, roaming all over the galaxy, and that's no life for a young mother bringing up a baby. We're making long term plans to settle in Valaden, which would mean those girls would have to give up everything they've known to live with me there. I couldn't do that to them.*

*Thank you, that was interesting to know,* Edraele replied, sounding genuinely grateful for the information. Her mood got more tense then as she added, *I know you've been constantly reassuring Irillith, but how can you be so sure that Tashana will talk to her?*