Three Square Meals Ch. 051

She glanced up at John, and saw that he was dozing, his body recovering from cumming so hard. Alyssa had a jubilant smile on her face as she watched him sleeping, and savoured the many layers of satisfaction she was feeling. She relished the small victory over Irillith, the simple pleasure of having her tummy stuffed full of his delicious, sweet-tasting spunk, and most of all, in having sated his naughty desires. Alyssa had been able to feel just how much the Maliri girl was getting to him, and for John to be able to imagine dominating Irillith while Alyssa had sucked him eagerly, had given him an explosive release. She rested her head against his chest, and gently stroked his muscles with her fingertips, sighing with happiness.

With a quiet moment to herself, she closed her eyes, and focused on the compartments in her mind that housed the bonded links to her friends and lovers. John was centre in her mind of course, with the stone mosaic representing Jade slotting in beside him. The crystal images of Dana and Calara were there too, their beautiful faces shining with happiness as they were nestled into position around John. They were now joined by a clear crystal representation of Rachel, the nebulous swirls of emotion having solidified and frozen into an exact replica of her lovely features.

Rachel looked radiantly happy, and the thoughts and emotions pouring from her meta-physical portrait only reinforced that impression. Alyssa listened in carefully, hearing the brilliant young doctor thinking through theories as she continued her examination of their genetic code. She was fascinated at the secrets locked within their DNA, and she tried to follow the mysterious trail of genetic breadcrumbs the Progenitors had left for her to study. Every once in a while, Rachel would look away from the helical structures, and gaze at Dana affectionately as the perky redhead chattered away to her about her latest project.

Alyssa smiled with satisfaction at the way Rachel had slotted so seamlessly into the team, and it seemed strange to even think about the times before she joined the crew. The blonde girl summoned up an invisible telekinetic hand, and gave herself a literal pat on the back, stifling a giggle as she did so.

***

Dana strolled into their room half an hour later, just as John was beginning to stir. She grinned at him flirtatiously and strolled over to sit beside Alyssa on the bed. The redhead pulled back the covers to expose the blonde girl's bronzed belly, and gently stroked her hand over her friend's engorged abdomen.

"That was a really big load," she said with an appreciative smile. "You must have really wanted to fuck that blue bitch into submission!"

John looked at her in surprise, and exclaimed, "How did y-"

He was cut off by Dana's impish giggle and she said, "Alyssa kept us all in the loop as she emptied your balls."

John blushed, looking mortified, which set the redhead off with another round of giggles. She shrugged and said, "I think Irillith's horrendous, but I can see how taming her bitchy ass would have some appeal."

She clambered over Alyssa, who laughed and rolled her eyes as she carefully moved aside to give Dana some room. The redhead straddled John, then leaned down to give him a tender kiss.

"Don't be embarrassed, I was just teasing," Dana said cheekily. "It was just a harmless bit of fantasy, and we're all here to help you indulge those!"

He wrapped her in his arms, and hugged her tightly, making her squeak in mock alarm. She settled down against him and snuggled in with a happy sigh.

"What brings you up here anyway?" he asked her with a smile. "Surely you didn't tear yourself away from your projects just to torment me?"

Dana shook her head where she lay on his chest, and her long auburn locks tickled his nose as she said, "I wanted to come up and take a look at the damage to your armour. Then I wanted to borrow you to unload the Raptor."

John nodded, and kissed her on the top of her head. "Sure! Let me grab a quick shower, then I'll keep you company."

The redhead sat up, and gave him an impish grin as she said, "Great, I'll watch!"

He laughed as he glanced over at Alyssa, who waved him away with a smile on her face. "You two have fun together playing with your toys. I'm going to have a nice lie-in and sleep off my early dinner. It'll be just like being back on the Fool's Gold," she said, her bright blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

John leaned over to kiss her, then lifted Dana off him effortlessly, so that he could get out of bed. She pouted for a moment, but her face lit up with a smile as she watched him stride naked over to the bathroom. She followed him in, then leaned against the wall, providing him mischievous voyeuristic company while he washed himself in the warm water. He dried himself off afterwards, then strolled into the walk-in wardrobe, where he got dressed quickly in trousers and a t-shirt, then tugged on a pair of rugged boots.

Dana had followed him inside, but got distracted by his Phalanx armour, and was carefully examining it when he walked over to join her. She had pressed a button on a panel to the side of the armour equipping frame, activating the robotic arms, and bringing the armour plates down for her inspection. She was completely engrossed in her work, so when he goosed her playfully, she shrieked in surprise. She giggled, then beamed a sparkling smile at him.

"What had you so distracted?" he asked her, curious to see what might have provoked such intense concentration from the redhead.

Dana turned back to the armour, and said eagerly, "I was just checking out the damage you sustained against the mercs. There were a few things actually. Firstly, these hits to your chest and shoulders look they came from standard ten millimetre rounds. How did you get hit by those?"

She was pointing to three tiny craters, two on the chest, and one on the right shoulder of the glossy white Phalanx armour. He paused, thinking back to the fight, and said, "I picked those up when I cleaned out the mercs in their command centre."

Dana looked up at him, and with a cute frown on her beautiful face, she asked, "How did they get through the magnetic fields? Ten millimetre rounds should have just bounced off harmlessly."

John shrugged and said, "Well, there were five guys unloading on me with full auto. I guess a handful getting through isn't so bad, especially out of what... two hundred rounds?"

She wagged a finger at him, and said sternly, "Take cover next time! I didn't make this body armour to encourage you to go tempting fate!"

John snapped to attention, and saluted as he said, "Yes Ma'am!" He then smiled at her, and relaxed his posture as he added, "I'll be more careful next time, I promise."

Dana grinned at him, and said, "Good boy," before turning back to examine the impact sites. She ran her fingers over them lightly, and looked thoughtful as she added, "It looks like the magnetic field still reduced the stopping power, even if a few got through."

John waited for her to continue, then after watching her carefully scrutinising the three indentations on his armour for a minute, he asked pointedly, "What else were you looking at?"

She glanced back at him and blushed lightly, then said, "Sorry! I got a bit distracted again." She squatted down on her haunches, so that she was looking directly at the armour plating that had covered his right thigh. She pointed at the cracked rings spiralling out from the broad impact site, where the heavy shell had smashed into his leg, and looked up at him curiously as she asked, "What caused that? It looks like it was from a pretty fucking hefty round!"

He nodded and said, "That was from a forty millimetre autocannon shell. I got clipped by it when the mercenaries in the carrier started dropping mechs into the compound. I did a few missions years ago, working alongside the army and their mech-jockeys, and I recognised the loadout on those walkers. Thank God I was wearing your body armour, I didn't feel a thing!"

Dana gave him a proud smile as she said quietly, "If you'd been wearing the original Phalanx armour, that shell would have blown your leg clean off."

John was shocked for a moment, having got so used to the amazing tech she was churning out at such a phenomenal rate, he had started taking it for granted. He held out his hand, and she took it, rising gracefully with a quizzical look on her face.

Gathering her in his arms, he hugged her tightly, and whispered in her ear, "Thanks Dana. I don't know what I'd do without you. You're amazing."

They embraced each other for a long moment until he finally released her, and she looked up at him with a delighted smile on her face. "It's reactions like that which make it all worthwhile," she said with a happy laugh.

John gave her a playful grin and asked, "You're saying you find working on our gear to be a chore?"

Dana's laughter turned into a giggle, and she shook her head as she admitted, "You know I love all this stuff!"

John glanced back at the bedroom guiltily, and put his finger on his lips, as he said in a hushed voice, "We better keep it down, Alyssa's sleeping."

The redhead smiled at him, and nodded as she said quietly, "I'm done here anyway. We can bring up some ore and have Alyssa fix up the damaged armour plates later."

They walked stealthily out of the walk-in wardrobe, and then snuck across the bedroom, being careful not to awaken the girl slumbering in bed. Alyssa was tucked up under the duvet, sleeping peacefully, and she looked angelic with her blonde hair spread out in a halo around her on the pillow. John led Dana through the room on tiptoe, then out into the corridor, where they walked normally again as they strolled along to the grav-tube.

After stepping inside the red glow, they descended smoothly in the anti-gravity field, passing Deck Four as they travelled down to the bottom deck. As they passed the level with their troublesome guest, they both glanced down the corridor, and had quite different expressions on their faces.

Dana looked thoughtful as she asked him, "Why did you promise Irillith that we wouldn't sneak a peek at her gear? If you let me strip her laser rifle, I'm sure I could use what I found out to upgrade the Invictus' laser batteries. At the very least, I'd be able to copy the Maliri's basic laser rifle design, and then boost the living shit out of it with all the new tech we've collected."

John glanced her way, and saw she was looking away wistfully, imagining all the secret tech she could uncover. A sinister smile crept onto his face that never reached his eyes, and he said confidently, "I wouldn't worry about Irillith. Who knows, perhaps she'll have a change of heart."

Dana frowned, but by the time she glanced up at him, his expression had returned to normal. The dark look disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, and she continued the conversation blissfully unaware.

"What makes you so sure?" she asked him, looking puzzled. "Irillith seems like a dyed-in-the-wool, grade-A bitch to me. She hates us girls, and although you seem to scare her shitless, she can't seem to decide whether to loath you, or flirt with you. I can't ever see her agreeing to share her tech."

John shrugged, and smiled as he said, "Maybe I'm just an optimist."

Dana laughed, and shaking her head in amusement, she said, "I am too, but that's finding a silver lining in a pretty fucking black cloud!"

John chuckled as he stepped out into the corridor on Deck Nine, and they walked over to the double doors leading into the Hangar Bay. He pushed the button that opened the heavy, reinforced doors, and they slid open smoothly, with the quiet hum of servos.

"After you," he said politely, gesturing for Dana to continue.

The redhead grinned at him, then skipped over to the Raptor, while pulling out a remote from her pocket. She brandished it in the air, and clicked a button with a flourish, which made the rear loading ramp start to descend with the smooth hum of well oiled hydraulics. She bounced up and down impatiently as she waited for it to reach the ground, and vaulted onto the ramp while it was still a couple of feet from the floor. She scampered up the slope and then clapped her hands with glee as she looked inside the big cargo area at the back of the gunship.

John waited for the ramp to fully descend before strolling up to join her. He looked down at the exuberant redhead with amusement, and asked, "Now, what do you intend to do with that?"

Dana glanced up at him, her eyes sparkling with excitement, and said, "Just think about all the guns I could strap to it!"

He laughed and said, "I can't see how we'd find a use for it. We mostly do ship boarding actions." He glanced at her eager expression, as she watched him expectantly, and he chuckled as he said, "You're the Chief Engineer though, feel free to work on whatever you like."

"Yay! You're the best!" she cheered jubilantly, and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

***

Things on the Invictus seemed to return to relative normality as they continued their journey towards Trankaran Space. Of course, everyone was aware of the disruptive presence on Deck Four, but Irillith kept to herself and didn't cause any trouble. Dana kept an eye on her with the cameras set up on that deck, but didn't notice any suspicious behaviour. Jade and Rachel checked in on the Maliri woman from time to time, to make sure she was alright, but she dismissed them coldly on each occasion.

They followed their normal routines of training and research, with each of the girls also getting to spend some time alone with John. He boosted their morale with his loving words, just as effectively as he rounded out their bellies with his cum, and by the time they were approaching the border to Trankaran Space, there was a happy atmosphere amongst the crew. After a delicious roast dinner prepared by Alyssa and Dana, which was declared a triumph by their dinner guests, they all reclined on the sofas in the Officers' Lounge to enjoy a relaxing drink together.

Calara sat sideways across John's lap, her head resting against his shoulder. He had unbuttoned her shirt, and she sighed with contentment as his right hand gently stroked her swollen coffee-coloured belly. They had fought a long sparring match before dinner, and although she had eventually lost, him filling her womb with cum afterwards felt like a glorious victory.

The rest of the girls watched them with affectionate smiles on their faces, until Dana's inquisitive nature got the better of her, and she asked, "John, we're nearly at Trankaran Space now, could you tell us a little bit about them?... please!"

He smiled at her and nodded, then looked away for a moment as he tried to recall everything he knew about the alien species. He took a big breath, and then he began talking in his strong voice that had them riveted on his every word.

"I did a little bit of trading with the Trankarans just a couple of years ago. The Trankaran Republic has been a peaceful and stable neighbour of the Terran Federation, ever since the first long range explorers encountered them centuries ago. They're an easy going and relaxed species, so all these mysterious reports about their ships firing randomly at merchants seems highly out of character," he replied, as he recalled what he could remember of their history and demeanour.

Rachel leaned forward, hungry to learn more, and she asked, "What about their physiology? What do they look like?"

He smiled at her eagerness, then said in a carefully neutral voice, "The Trankarans look vaguely humanoid, and have the same number of limbs and facial features as we do. They're silicon based lifeforms, though, with slightly disconcerting bodies that look like they're chiselled from rock."

Alyssa smiled at him, and said, "Don't tell me, they creep you out as well?"

John laughed, looking chagrined as he admitted, "Yeah. I was trying not to influence your opinions of them, but I do find them unsettling. They have deep gravelly voices which set my teeth on edge. It's just a personal thing though, they are usually a friendly species."

Jade grinned at him, and asked teasingly, "My, my, quite the Xenophobe! Should I be worried?"

He smiled at the playful ribbing and replied, "I don't think you have anything to worry about. Besides, it's only really the Trankarans, and the Ashanath that creep me out like that."

Rachel eyes flashed with excitement as she said, "I've never had a close look at a silicon based lifeform before. I'm sure their genetic structure will be fascinating."

Dana slipped an arm around Rachel's shoulder, and giving it a squeeze, she giggled as she said, "Maybe you can ask one of these Rockmen to donate you a pebble to examine?"

While the girls were laughing, John looked down at Calara, and asked, "Dylan is based in Port Megara isn't he? We could make a quick detour to see him if you want?"

The Latina looked up at him, her face shining with gratitude as she replied, "That would be wonderful! Thank you!"

He smiled at her and said, "You're welcome. I'm sure he'd love to see his little sister again."

Calara looked thoughtful and said, "He might know more about what's happening with the Trankarans that hasn't been released through the TFNN reports yet. We should definitely drop in and see him."

Alyssa rose from her chair, and said, "I'll go and make the course corrections now. They are only minor, but it's better to make any course deviations immediately."

John nodded, and they all watched the blonde girl jog out of the room. They waited patiently for her to return, until her amused voice filled all their minds, *You can continue. I can hear all of you remember!*

He chuckled and then looked back at the girls, and said, "Where were we?"

Dana frowned and said playfully, "I think Rachel was getting excited about having one of them under her microscope, before you started talking about going on a detour to Port Megara. Anyway, where are we going in Trankaran Space? Can we just stroll right in, or are they uptight about people flying around in their territory?"

John shook his head as he replied, "Traders are given free rein to fly around Trankaran Space. Well at least they were the last time I visited. I did a little exploring, and a lot of their worlds are volcanic, which is great for mining, but not so good for tourists interested in sightseeing."

"We've still got our cargo of Maliri electronic goods to shift," Dana mused speculatively. "Where were you planning on unloading those?"

"The last time I did any trading here, was at a big trade emporium on a space station called Demladuhr, which is fairly close to the border. If the Trankarans have been shooting up merchants though, that place is likely to be deserted," he replied with a slight frown.

Jade had been listening curiously, and she asked, "What's that going to do to the price of our cargo?"

John was about to reply when Dana chipped in, full of enthusiasm, "If we can find the right buyer, hopefully it should go up. Demand and supply, right John?"

He nodded as he said, "The Maliri electronics we're hauling were already in high demand with the Trankarans, as they usually need plenty for mining robots. There's lots of asteroid belts in Trankaran territory, and they're typically mined using automated mining facilities, which use a lot of bots. I have a feeling we'll be less of a tempting target than some poor unarmed merchant vessel, so while we should be fine, a lot of merchants might have been scared away."

Dana raised her glass in a toast as she said playfully, "To war profiteering!"

John shook his head at her mischievous nature, until Alyssa's wry voice filled his mind, *We do have form for this already. I'm sure you haven't forgotten your little trips to Karron for Tyrenium, where you acquired yourself a delightful blonde and redhead. Didn't you only get such a great selling price on the Tyrenium because the Terran Federation needed it against the Kintark?*