Three Square Meals Ch. 092

Alyssa appeared even more despondent when he said this. "Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say..."

He frowned and looked at her in confusion. "Did you have a better idea?"

She shook her head and sighed. "No, I just like being with you. Then I can keep you out of trouble!"

"If it's any consolation, I didn't like being separated from you either," John said, squeezing her shoulder.

"Thanks a lot for helping out with the repairs," Alyssa said gratefully, leaning into him.

John smiled at her. "You're welcome. I'm just sorry you had to do all the repairs on your own for so long." He glanced at the HUD and checked the time. "We better get moving, Niskera should wake up in about fifteen minutes."

Alyssa got up and offered him a hand, then they started walking across the hull to return to the airlock. "I can't wait to see what she looks like!" the blonde exclaimed, managing to put an excited spring in the heavy magnetic steps of their mag-boots.

"Me too," John agreed, but he couldn't help wondering if the Trankaran woman was really prepared for the new life she was embarking on.

***

Admiral Charles Harris strode through his office, nodding to his assistant when Lieutenant Adams looked up at him.

"Hello again, Sir. I trust the meeting went well?" Victor asked, the blue glow from the holographic panels around his desk casting an eerie light over his face.

"It was... interesting," Charles said, thinking back on the lengthy High Command Strategy meeting that morning.

It was his first time attending as an Admiral and an actual serving member of High Command. When he was still a Vice Admiral, he'd occasionally been asked to present brief reports at those meetings, typically providing progress updates on the Dreadnought program on behalf of Admiral Cartwright. It felt very different being one of the group of thirty Admirals that oversaw those high-profile activities, knowing that he now had the ability to influence the direction of the entire Terran Federation.

He'd been shocked to hear that a Trankaran request for assistance against the Kirrix had been rebuffed. The general consensus was that it had been wiser to retain fleet assets on the Terran border with Kirrix Space, so that they could strongly repel the recent spate of Kirrix raids. There had been a few dissenters, foremost being Admiral Kester along the Trankaran border, but that was one of the reasons he attended the meeting as a hologram. Charles was seated next to Admiral Eleanor Maybridge who quietly confided that Kester had effectively been banished to the remote posting, for vocally opposing the Fleet Admiral in the past.

Kester caused quite a stir when he mentioned that John Blake had crossed the border into Trankaran Space and the rest of the meeting was dominated by discussions about the Lion of the Federation. Charles tried to keep a low profile to find the lay of the land and it soon became quite clear this subject was quite controversial. There were dramatically opposing views amongst High Command on how to deal with the dramatic surge in popularity of his old friend, from those who considered it a useful boon, to those who considered John a threat.

The big surprise was Lynette Devereux, who seemed to defer to Buckingham's position that John should be handled with far more caution than had previously been the case. She didn't rise to the bait when she was taunted for her assistance in John's dramatic rise in popularity, or for her part in coining his Lion title. It seemed nearly half the Admirals in High Command were as startled by her volte-face as Charles had been, sharing shocked looks with one another. Their surprised reactions gave him a quick insight into which specific Admirals had previously been courted by Devereux, while she'd been scheming for election as Fleet Admiral.

Charles roused himself from his thoughts, realising that Victor was waiting patiently for any orders. He glanced at his assistant and said, "I'll be in my office reviewing the refit. Please field my calls unless it's from Vice Admiral Blake or anyone from High Command."

Victor saw that the Admiral was unsettled and now was not the time for further questions or pleasantries. "Of course, Sir," the young Lieutenant replied with a sharp nod of the head.

Strolling into his office, Charles paused to study the spectacular view of Olympus Shipyard through the huge windows that flanked the big room. There was a steady stream of traffic to and from the station, but his attention was focused squarely on the eight battleships and twenty cruisers in the drydock section of the shipyard. He cast his eye over the long rows of open docking bays that were allocated to the refit, seeing sparking lights like a vast swarm of fireflies twinkling over the hulls of those ships. He knew those lights were from plasma torches, operated by thousands of engineers working on repairing and upgrading those vessels.

He returned to his desk, a worried frown creasing his brow. Although he had plenty of manpower after Devereux's allocation of more resources just over a week ago, the main problem now was supplying enough raw materials to maintain the pace of the refit. They'd been able to quickly equip and roll out the first squadron of Claymore-class fighters by building the new components at the shipyard and modifying a score of Rook-class gunships. However, upgrading all those cruisers and battleships was a far more daunting prospect.

Charles brought up his holographic message log and started scanning through for the progress reports. He found the one he was looking for from Rear Admiral Richard Dacres, his frown deepening as he started reading its contents...

--

Admiral Harris,

Orbital-Galactica have still not delivered any of the new battleship or cruiser class Tachyon Drives and Energetica-Corp were supposed to be sending the first Power Core three days ago! I haven't heard anything from our reps with either company since the Voss acquisition. I contacted OG corporate, but they've been giving me the runaround...The TF Contract Division on Callisto has been less than helpful.

Work crews have been reallocated to focus on repairs to avoid them sitting idle, but we scheduled deliveries once every four days to meet the end-of-month deadline. Any chance you can expedite the situation to avoid slippage on the completion date?

Respectfully,

RA Richard Dacres

--

Charles had allocated the Rear Admiral to provide close supervision of the refit of those ships, as the officer had a vested interest in the rapid rollout of the new tech John had supplied. Dacres' battleship, the Nereus, was one of those grounded in Olympus, currently undergoing repairs and awaiting the upgrade.

Pinching his nose to try and stave off the headache he felt building, Charles slumped in his chair and cursed Henry Voss for wrecking his meticulous plans.

***

John smiled at Alyssa, his hand hovering over the button to Niskera's quarters. "You ready?" he asked with a playful smile.

She groaned and rolled her eyes at him. "Come on! I'm dying to see what she looks like!"

Having mercy on his blonde companion, John pressed the button and the door slid open. Even though the overhead lights were still out in the bedroom, it was illuminated by a warm orange radiance.

"Wow..." Alyssa murmured, walking slowly through the door and gazing at the Trankaran Chancellor in fascination.

John followed close behind her, similarly riveted to the spectacular sight.

Niskera's arms and head were covered in graceful flowing lines that pulsed with a soothing amber light. The Trankaran woman's large body was partially covered by the white bedsheet, but the illumination from those lines was bright enough to shine through, revealing that the swirling patterns covered the rest of her body too.

Alyssa sat beside the sleeping woman on the bed and traced a finger over the throbbing light, following the shape of the curves with her fingertips. "The patterns are beautiful," she murmured, caressing the Trankaran's arm. She glanced up at him and smiled. "How do you think she'll react?"

John glanced at the countdown he'd added to his watch. "We'll soon see... just a couple of minutes until the fourteen hours is up."

The young blonde rose to her feet and glided over to the water dispenser. "I've a feeling she'll be wanting a drink," she said, giving him a knowing look as she started filling a glass. Her expression wavered then as she glanced at him in confusion. "I wonder why all of us were so thirsty when we woke up after the first time? Your cum tastes sweet, it's definitely not salty..."

Pausing in surprise, John shook his head. "To be honest, I've never thought about it before. Perhaps Rachel might have some idea?"

Alyssa returned to the bed carrying a tall glass of chilled water, with her head slightly tilted to one side as if listening to something... or someone. She darted a grin at John and said, "Rachel says she'd like to perform some tests to find out. Maybe when we reach the Maliri fleet, you can find some sultry dark-haired temptresses and start filling up blue tummies..."

He laughed and was about to reply when a deep groan came from the bed. John shared a quick glance with the blonde then sat on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling, Niskera? It's me, John..."

"Thirsty..." she rasped in a croaky voice.

Alyssa handed the groggy Trankaran woman the glass. "Here you go. Drink this and you'll feel tons better!"

Niskera sat up and gulped down the entire glass of water in several swallows, letting out a sigh of relief afterwards. "Thank you, that feels so much better," she replied in deep melodic tones, the former gravelly edge to her voice gone. Her eyes widened in surprise and her hand went to her throat. "My voice has changed!"

"It sounds lov-" Alyssa started to reply, but the Trankaran let out a shocked gasp.

Holding her arms out in front of her, Niskera stared at the lines of warm light shining across her forearms in utter astonishment. "I've actually started glowing..." she whispered, sounding awed.

John shared a confused glance with Alyssa. "I thought you knew what the Glowing Queen looked like?"

Niskera slowly nodded. "I'd heard all the rumours, but I suppose I never really believed them. I assumed she was just extremely beautiful and charismatic, which is why the rebels respond to her in the way they did..."

"Do you want to see yourself?" John asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "There are full-length mirrors in the bathroom."

The Trankaran woman hesitated for a moment, appearing self-conscious about getting out of bed naked in front of them.

John gave her an understanding look. "We can give you some privacy if you want?"

Niskera smiled at him, her glowing eyes darting to Alyssa next. "My memory's a little hazy about last night, but I remember some of it vividly. Feeling shy seems a little silly at this point."

"That's the spirit!" Alyssa said with a grin, rising to her feet and offering the big woman a hand. "Come and take a look at yourself. You've got nothing to worry about, I promise."

John helped Niskera up and they led her through to the adjoining bathroom. There was no need to turn on the lights, not with the radiant glow pouring from her body.

Niskera inhaled sharply when she got her first glimpse of her new physique, a look of pure wonder on her face. "I've never seen anything so beautiful..." she whispered, mouth falling open in stunned disbelief. She turned, looking at herself over one shoulder then the other, before her hand rose to her face. "My eyes... it's like the fires from the Great Maker's forge are burning within me..."

"You do look magnificent," John agreed, smiling at the expression of pure delight on the Trankaran woman's face.

She turned to look at him, a fierce gleam in her transcendent eyes. "I don't know how I can ever repay you for what you've done for me... for the Trankaran Republic." She darted a glance at Alyssa and smiled. "You were absolutely right. If I were to appear like this before the Senate, the Senators will be 'putty in my hands'."

Alyssa nodded, then winked at her. "You'll be fighting off the Senators with a stick."

Niskera's brow furrowed and she slowly shook her head. "I do not think so, Alyssa. I suspect the Senators will find my new form very appealing, I don't believe any of them will threaten me with violence..."

The blonde laughed and rolled her eyes. John couldn't help smiling at the Trankaran and said, "It's just another Terran expression. She meant that the Senators will find you very attractive."

The glowing Trankaran turned to him with a curious look in her eyes. "And how about you, John? Do you find my new appearance attractive too?"

John reached out with his hand to gently brush the backs of his fingers along one of the flowing lines, tracing it down from her shoulder and across one of her huge breasts. "You look beautiful, Niskera," he replied honestly. "You're the most exotic woman I've ever seen."

She gave him a coy smile and said in her mellifluous voice, "I suggested last night that we might take things further between us. I find that my interest has not waned in the slightest, far from it in fact."

A flicker of doubt cross John's face and Niskera flinched when she saw it, suddenly embarrassed. "My apologies, John! I did not mean to make you uncomf-"

Alyssa slipped her arms around the Trankaran woman from behind and gently shushed her. "It's not what you think..." She met John's gaze over Niskera's shoulder and caressed the Trankaran woman's chiselled stomach. "We'd both love to have some fun with you, but there might be a problem if he fills you up with any more cum."

"A problem?" Niskera asked, turning to look quizzically at the blonde over her shoulder.

John offered the Trankaran his hand. "Let's go back to the bedroom and we can talk about it."

Niskera let him lead her back to the bed, where she sat on the covers, no longer having any reservations about her nudity.

Alyssa sat on the bed beside her and asked, "Do you remember the pictures of me as I was before I met John? Then how I looked after he fed me his cum for a few weeks?"

Niskera nodded, an expression of sympathy appearing on her face. "Yes, you were much smaller and thinner, and had obviously been starved of decent nutrition." She paused for a moment, a hint of a smile appearing on her face. "Until John provided you an ample supply..."

The blonde laughed and nodded. "Yeah, exactly!" She gave John an affectionate glance. "He did a great job of filling me up."

John shared a smile with her, then turned to look at Niskera. "Do you remember the Maliri girls I had with me during the evacuation? Irillith and Tashana?"

Niskera smiled, the light in her eyes shining a little brighter. "How could I forget! They're both exceptionally brave, beautiful, and formidable women."

He nodded his agreement. "Well every Maliri woman I've met has the same kind of physique as them. Rachel has done a lot of research into their genetics and believes that the various species the Progenitors use for their armies, all share the same kind of body shape."

Alyssa gestured to her own figure with a sweep of her hand. "When John stuffed me full of cum, I ended up growing taller and stronger, until I looked identical to the Maliri."

The Trankaran woman's glowing eyes widened as she immediately understood. "So if I ingest more of your cum..." she murmured, darting a look at John.

"You'll probably get shorter and slimmer, then eventually end up looking like Alyssa; or to be more exact, the Maliri," John finished for her, impressed that she'd figured it out so quickly.

"Which might lessen or nullify my ability to influence the Senate," Niskera continued, her expression sombre as she nodded. "Yes, I can see how that would be a great concern."

John shook his head and said quickly, "Actually no, that's not my main worry." He hesitated for a second, then conceded, "Although you might be right about the Senate."

"If not that, what does concern you?" Niskera asked in confusion.

He reached out to clasp her hand and stroked it gently. "Your appearance has changed in a profound way and I'm worried how it's going to impact your long-term future. The effect you're going to have on your fellow Trankarans is likely to be dramatic and I'm concerned that you won't be able to have a fulfilling relationship with a Trankaran mate. Not only that; if we're right and swallowing more of my cum changes you even further, settling down in a happy relationship with a Trankaran male might change from being difficult to impossible."

Her curious gaze softened and she raised his hand to her lips, kissing it gently. "I'm touched that my happiness means so much to you." She tilted her head to one side, then added, "But why would my new appearance affect my ability to find a Trankaran mate? After seeing my reflection, I would suspect that the opposite would be true."

Alyssa moved closer and wrapped the big woman in a hug. "You'll probably have your pick of men, but you might find it gets annoying having them gazing at you in awe all the time. That's what John's worrying about."

"Oh... I see what you mean; such a relationship might feel very unequal." Niskera was quiet for a moment, then raised her chin to meet John's concerned gaze with a stoic expression. "I told you before that I was willing to make any personal sacrifice to save my people from destruction. If my long-term happiness is the price I have to pay, so be it."

"You're a remarkable woman, Niskera," John said, leaning closer to embrace her.

She pulled back slightly to give him a wistful smile. "If only you were two-feet-taller and weighed another three-hundred-pounds. You would have made a magnificent Trankaran."

Alyssa laughed and shook her head. "I like him just the way he is, thank you."

John returned the Trankaran woman's smile, then said ruefully, "I'm really sorry, but we'll have to leave Trankaran Space fairly soon. I'd like to stay longer, just to make absolutely certain you're comfortable with the changes you've gone through, but I need to return to Maliri territory to heal Edraele. She's my Maliri Matriarch, as well as Irillith and Tashana's mother."

"It's quite alright, I understand," Niskera said, patting his hand. "You've done so much for me already, I wouldn't want to delay you any further."

"I want you to stay in touch with us after we leave," John insisted. "If you ever get in trouble, let us know and we'll do our best to get to you as fast as we can. Always feel free to call though, even if you just need a friendly chat. I want to help you in any way I can."

Alyssa gave her a playful smile. *Can you hear my voice?*

Niskera looked at her in shock. "I heard you, but your lips didn't move!"

*Do you remember I said I was telepathic? You're part of the gang now; John's inner circle if you like. I'll be able to speak to you and feel your emotions, but it'll be a while before you're able to talk back to me,* Alyssa explained, her gentle thoughts swirling through the Trankaran's mind.

"How remarkable..." Niskera murmured, gazing at the blonde girl in awe.

John squeezed her hand, drawing her attention. "Do you want to quickly talk through your immediate plans? We might be able to offer some advice."

"My first order of business will be to inject some much-needed leadership into the Senate," Niskera said, her eyes narrowing. "I'll rally our fleets and put the Republic on a war footing to fight the Kirrix invaders."

"Excellent. The sooner you can rebuild your military the better," John agreed. "I've supplied Thandrun with a number of technical schematics which will make a huge improvement to your fleets. I'd suggest you start a major ship-building program as soon as you rally the Senate behind you."