Three Square Meals Ch. 072

John sat back and blinked at her in surprise, not expecting that for one moment. Ever since Calara had informed him that Jessica Blake was a murderer, he'd been so busy planning for the assault on Underworld and trying to be supportive with Irillith, that he hadn't really had much time to process the disturbing revelation. Either that, or he was forcibly repressing his own feelings about it, he reluctantly admitted to himself.

"Okay, we can talk about her. What did you want to know?" he inquired hesitantly, having no idea where Dana was going with this.

She shuffled closer so she was only a few inches away, and said, "Sorry, I'm really shit at this sort of stuff. I normally just let Alyssa, Jade, and Rachel help you deal with anything like this."

He gave her an encouraging smile, and reached out to run his fingers through her dark auburn hair, and said, "You're doing fine. What's on your mind, babes?"

She laughed when he used her pet name for Rachel, and relaxed as she leaned into his hand, turning to kiss his palm before closing her eyes and letting out a gentle sigh as he caressed her. Her long lashes fluttered open, giving him a lovely view of her sky-blue eyes once again, and she had a flustered smile on her face as she said, "See, I told you I was shit at this. I'm trying to be supportive, but you're way too distracting!"

"Supportive with what, exactly?" John asked, wracking his brain to try and figure out what specifically she was referring to.

Dana reached up to clasp his hand, then brought it down to her lap, where she held it firmly in place. She stared into his eyes, and replied, "None of us have really had a chance to talk to you about what Calara found out about your mother. I saw how much it upset you to hear that, but you said to leave you alone, so I did."

John visibly deflated, and gave her a sad smile as he said, "I'm sorry I shut you out like that. Calara just confirmed something I'd always hoped wasn't true."

"That Jessica abandoned you? Yeah, that fucking sucks," she agreed solemnly. She lifted her hand to cup his face as she added, "I just wanted to tell you that I know exactly how shitty that feels, so if you ever want to talk about it, just come and grab me, okay?"

He nodded, then letting his guard down, he replied honestly, "I feel like I'm being melodramatic, getting upset over it. You've been through far worse than me, and at least I had my grandparents to look after me growing up."

Dana shook her head, and he could see the pain in her eyes as she said, "It's a terrible thing, to feel like you were rejected by your parents. That kind of trauma can affect relationships for years afterwards, making you worry about letting anyone get too close, in case you suffer another rejection. You don't have to downplay your feelings of abandonment on my account."

John was quiet for a long moment, nodding thoughtfully as he pondered what she'd just said. There was a great degree of truth in it, and if he was being honest with himself, it might have been part of the reason why he'd shied away from any meaningful relationships for most of his adult life.

He arched an eyebrow then, and smiled as he said, "Thank you, it's good advice. You sounded awfully like Rachel there, did she brief you on what to say?"

The redhead slowly shook her head, and bit her full lower lip for a moment, before she replied quietly, "We've been talking about it, but not about you. She's been trying to help me deal with my own issues."

"I'm sorry, Sparks," he said, taking one of her hands in his, and squeezing it supportively.

She shook her head, and smiled at him as she replied, "Don't be. My life's a million times better now, since you rescued me from Karron." She leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "Please don't say anything to Rachel; she loves to try and help, but I got over most of that shit months ago."

John chuckled, and said, "Your secret's safe with me." He paused for a second, then added, "How did you put it behind you? I remember how upset you got about Calara's family when we went to visit them on Jericho."

Dana nodded, then replied, "That was before I set up the bond with Alyssa, but everything's different now. I can feel how much she cares about me, and I trust her when she says you guys all feel the same way." Her eyes narrowed as she continued, "My useless, shitty parents are in my past, but you and the girls are my future. I love being here with you, it's fucking awesome!"

John stared at her for a moment, blinking in surprise, then said firmly, "You know what? You're absolutely right."

She looked elated, and leaned in, giving him a big kiss. "Was it really helpful, what I said?" she asked, beaming at him.

He smiled at her fondly and replied, "What's the point in getting upset about the past when I've got someone like you in my life? To paraphrase someone I really respect: 'You're fucking awesome'!"

Dana grinned at him, then her wide smile turned playful as she tugged the zip of her top down again, leaving acres of smooth bronzed flesh tantalisingly exposed. Her hand slid lower, moving between his thighs, and she frowned sympathetically, as she cupped his balls and said, "Your quad feels really full. I know you were saving this for Tashana's tummy, just in case she wanted it, but we've normally emptied you twice by now. Will you let me help you out?"

John laughed as he joked, "Like I said... awesome!"

Her eyes blazed with lusty excitement as she practically jumped off the sofa, and began hastily stripping off her outfit. Dana made no effort to be teasing or seductive about it, her objective was simply to get naked as fast as possible. Her raw enthusiasm was infectious, and John chuckled as he stripped off his clothes too. As soon as he was done, she gently pushed him back on the sofa, then straddled him.

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to go all dom on you," she purred, as she used her hand to position his throbbing cock at her pouting pussy lips. "I just wanted to get straight into it."

With that, she eased down on his shaft, letting out an adorable gasp as his rampant girth spread her tight little pussy wide open.

"You're so fucking big," she groaned as she sank down his shaft, her eager young body lubricating the way for him.

John felt the blunt head of his cock easing past her cervix and into her womb, penetrating her depths to the fullest. She took every inch he had to give her, until he was fully hilted inside her, drawing a long shuddering moan from the luscious girl. He wrapped her in his arms, and just listened to her lusty pants and moans as she leaned against him. Dana's big, firm breasts felt warm and silky-soft against his chest, and his hands began to roam over her back, feeling the supple muscles shifting as she writhed against him.

"Getting it on with Rachel is fucking hot, but I could never give this up," Dana murmured, raising herself up a couple of inches before sliding down his length once again.

When his hands moved down to her hips, she began to gyrate against him, and leaned back so she could stare into his eyes. They were only inches apart, and he could see the golden coronae around her pupils as they flared with her arousal.

"Fuck, that feels good," he groaned, as she began to rock against him, working his big shaft with her talented muscles.

"I love taking you like this," she agreed, staring back at him, her full lips parted slightly as she gasped with pleasure.

One of her hands rested on his shoulder to steady herself as she rode him, but the other reached down to find one of his, then moved it around to stroke her toned abdomen. He could feel his big cock brushing against his fingers where her tummy bulged out to take him, and when he looked at Dana's face again, her blue eyes were soft and adoring.

"There's your future, right there," she murmured between excited gasps.

The thought of this stunning young woman that he loved so much carrying his baby inside her, was thrilling. Not only that, but it all seemed like it was so close, and he could easily imagine what it would be like. They'd watch her grow bigger as the months ticked by, sharing her pregnancy with the other girls, and surrounded by more loving family than they'd know what to do with.

"Oh, John!" she moaned with delight, as if hearing his thoughts, and she leaned against him, hugging him fiercely.

He could feel himself getting close as her rippling muscles tried to coax out his load, and her trembling thighs told him she wasn't far away either. John held her hips with both hands, and ground her pelvis against him, making her cry out in ecstasy as he rubbed her enflamed clit against his body. Her pussy clamped down on his broad girth as she came, and his four balls lurched, sending long streams of cum into the climaxing redhead.

Dana threw her head back and let out a low moan of pure pleasure, as she felt his cum splashing in her womb. Cradling her belly with both hands, she finally opened her eyes, and stared into his under her thick eyelashes, as she felt her body expanding to hold all his cum. "Show me what I'll look like when you knock me up!" she urged him, her voice throbbing with need.

Her eager pleading had a dramatic effect on his balls, and they clenched rhythmically to pump every last squirt of cum into her that they could, her sultry moans urging him onwards. When he was finally done, her tummy was huge, packed full of his enormous load. He'd been getting used to having soft eager lips sucking out the contents of his balls morning, noon, and night, and to have reached the afternoon without any release had left him backed up. Now he'd packed Dana's tummy full to the brim, so much so, that her belly button had popped out to take it all.

He placed his hands on hers over the gravid curve of her abdomen, feeling the smooth skin stretched taut to house the hefty weight of his rich spunk. "Soon," he told her, as he looked into her wide eyes. "We'll make a wonderful family, and we'll both be there for them."

Dana's eyes filled up, and she leaned against his chest, or at least as much as her swollen belly would allow. They stayed like that for a long while, with John stroking her back protectively, while she planted tiny kisses on his throat, where she was nuzzled against him. The door to the Ready Room eventually swished open, and Jade appeared at their side, with a glorious smile on her beautiful green face.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Alyssa thought it might be a good idea to fill up Dana's stomach instead. I know you want to help her unlock whatever Progenitor secrets she's got locked away in her lovely mind," the Nymph said, slipping her hand between them and caressing her friend's rounded tummy. She grinned at John then as she added, "You really filled her up!"

"She got me very turned on," John said with a smile, then leaned in to kiss the redhead, who responded immediately with a passionate liplock.

When they pulled apart from their kiss, Jade helped to lift Dana from his weary shaft, then moved her so she slumped on the sofa with her legs spread wide. The Nymph knelt on the floor between those splayed thighs, then brought one of her hands up to Dana's lips.

"This way, you can stay full," Jade explained, before nestling into Dana's puffy lower lips, and beginning to suck out all of John's cum.

Dana wasted no time in taking Jade's fingers between her flushed lips, and she sucked hungrily, filling up her stomach with the sweet-tasting contents of her womb. John stroked her swollen belly for her, drawing sighs of contentment from the teenager, interspersed between her excited moans as she writhed on Jade's long, probing tongue.

There was plenty to share, so when Dana's stomach was full, she insisted that Jade finish off the last for herself. They curled up on the sofa afterwards with the lights off, watching the mystical light show from the Nymph's verdant body as she absorbed John's cum. Dana reached across John to trace the lines of light as they pulsed out over Jade's curves, making the dozing Nymph purr with delight.

The redhead tilted her head up to look at him, and said in a hushed voice, "You know what? I just thought of something. According to Rachel, these pulses mean that you're making Jade stronger, right?"

John nodded, hugging the two girls closer to him and enjoying the dull ache of his freshly relieved quad. "Yeah, that's what she said, and she's rarely wrong about that kind of thing. So, what did you just think of?" he asked her, conversationally.

Dana glanced across at the happy Nymph, and said quietly, "Well... I guess if you keep loading Jade up, and as long as you still see a lightshow afterwards, it means she hasn't reached her full potential. It's like she hasn't been fully upgraded yet." She sat upright awkwardly with the heavy rounded weight in her tummy, and turned to look at him as she added in a whisper, "You can't have forgotten that huge fucking dinosaur she turned into?"

John blinked in surprise, then glanced down at the contented little Nymph who was nuzzling into him, and purring with satisfaction. He pulled Dana back against him, and rested his hand on her curved abdomen as he said wryly, "So many deserving tummies, so little time."

She snickered at that, then snuggled against him as she wondered, "What kind of monstrous badass do you reckon Jade could turn into with a couple of weeks of non-stop attention?"

"I suppose we'll have to wait and see," he replied, taking another look at the adorable Nymph, and watching the glowing circles of light expanding outwards from her toned stomach. Turning to look at Dana, he continued, "What's your plan for trying to unlock the Progenitor schematics?"

She smiled and kissed him as she replied, "You should be the one telling me! You're the one that stuffed them into my noggin."

He nodded, and said earnestly, "I do enjoy giving you a good stuffing."

Dana giggled at that, then let out a happy sigh before she considered his original question. "That picture Calara found, you remember?! The Progenitor spaceship on Arcadia!" she finally blurted out, then looked guilty, when Jade stirred at the sound of her excited voice.

John nodded, and said, "Yeah, good thinking. You had that same feeling when you saw it, didn't you? It seems like a good place to start."

"Exactly," she agreed. "The other time was when we saw the Progenitor ship jumping out after the Battle of Regulus. I guess we can't shoot him a message, and ask him to keep doing that until something clicks, right?"

He shrugged, and replied regretfully, "I'd love to, but I don't have his comm ID."

Dana laughed again, doing her best to keep it quiet. "I love it when you're like this," she said, with a big grin on her face.

John smiled at her, and said, "What can I say? You make me happy." With that, he pulled her in for a kiss, and enjoyed the look of delight in her sparkling blue eyes.

***

The purple sprite was back to her usual self when she wished them goodnight that evening, fully recovered from Alyssa's dedicated efforts to fry her circuitry. She promised that she'd keep a close eye on Tashana, and alert them if she seemed distressed or left the Medical Bay. John had topped up Dana and Jade again that evening, and they'd all relaxed in bed, watching the bewitching green lights as the Nymph dozed nude on top of the covers.

Faye's primary avatar settled in the chair - not literally of course, being only a hologram, but she made herself comfortable on the digital copy she had projected into the same space. She let out a dreamy sigh as she recalled the events from that morning, blushing slightly as she remembered the details. Kissing John had been as exhilarating as she'd dreamed, but the real surprise had been Alyssa.

She'd ploughed through Faye's army of avatars, overwhelming each one with new and wildly exciting activities that Faye had only been able to watch in the bedroom before. When her Primary avatar was the only one left, Alyssa had kissed her tenderly, then pulled her into a loving embrace, and explained that as John's Matriarch, it was her job to look after all of his girls. Now that he'd finally been able to kiss Faye, Alyssa had informed her that she was a full-fledged member of the crew, and she'd be doing her best to keep her safe and happy, just like she did for all the other girls.

It had been a pivotal moment for the stunned AI, upgrading her core processing from her perception that she was a singular entity, to becoming part of a larger collective. Faye realised that she'd been working towards that goal already, by protecting the crew and watching over them while they slept, but to have this acknowledged and reciprocated in such a tangible way had been the catalyst that took her final avatar offline.

Her gaze drifted over to the sleeping blonde, and a proud smile lit up her face as she watched over her charges. She was officially part of the crew! Her processing streams surged as she pictured what it would be like when she actually had a physical presence, and could interact with them in their world. Faye sighed happily, and settled in to count down the hours until her shipmates awoke.

They'd been making good time, and she knew they'd be reaching the Maliri Regency in fourteen hours, crossing over into House Ghilwen territory. From there, it would be just a short couple of days' journey to reach the Valaden system and Genthalas Station, their prospective new home, and base of operations. Faye was eagerly looking forward to that moment, when she could work with Irillith to massively upgrade their network into an impregnable fortress. After all, keeping John and the girls safe was her prime directive, over all others.

***

"Fleet Commander, the 'Invictus' has arrived in-system, and we're being hailed," Captain Darana said over the internal comm.

Nymaleth stopped her nervous pacing in the Command Suite, then snapped coldly, "Alright, I'll be there in a moment. Don't accept the hail until I arrive."

"As you command," Darana replied, closing the call.

Reaching for her golden helmet, Nymaleth grimaced as she picked it up and pulled it over her head. She hated having to wear full body armour around the ship, but with her Matriarch's unfathomable decision to turn the flagship of her fleet into a glorified taxi, Nymaleth was left with little choice - after all, being seen without armour would be punished with a swift and merciless death sentence. However, the thought of her battleship, 'The Encaren Valar' being forced into escorting Terrans through the Maliri Regency turned her stomach, and she strongly considered the merits of a full-fledged insurrection.

Matriarch Leena Ghilwen was currently gallivanting around on Valaden of all places, and seemed quite convinced of the soundness of her alliance with Edraele Valaden. Nymaleth had many decades more experience than that slip of a girl, and had witnessed Edraele's calculating and vicious cunning in action on numerous occasions. She'd been the downfall of nearly a dozen noble houses, either through her relentless scheming, or by sheer brute force with the extensive Valaden fleets at her disposal. Just thinking about Edraele's vindictive, capricious, and totally merciless nature sent chill's up Nymaleth's spine.

Still, Nymaleth had received some fascinating reports from her own spies within Houses Loraleth, Aeberos, and Naestina. As wildly implausible as it might seem, those houses seemed to have formed some kind of pact with House Valaden to crush House Perfaren. With House Valaden fleets committed elsewhere, now might be her last and best chance of usurping House Ghilwen from Leena's grasp.

The comm interface chimed again, and she realised she'd let herself get distracted by those most intriguing thoughts. She ignored the call, and whirled on the spot as she strode imperiously towards the portal that led out onto the battleship's Bridge. The opaque crystal door rotated up into the ceiling, letting her walk briskly out onto the Command Deck without pause. Her crew were all fully armoured too, and she gritted her teeth at the ridiculousness of the whole affair.