Three Square Meals Ch. 053

Irillith gave a bitter laugh, realising her own obstinance had been her undoing, before crying out with the searing pain once more. She managed to control herself again, and stared wide-eyed at the other person in the room. Locking eyes with John, she said bleakly, "You got what you wanted in the end."

He crouched down beside her and said, "I never wanted you to get hurt." Continuing in a calm, soothing voice, he added, "A couple of doses should heal you, and hopefully won't have any permanent side-effects. It should let us stabilise you long enough for Rachel to learn more about your biology, and be able to start treating you normally."

She locked eyes with him, but saw no sign of the malignant personality she had confronted earlier. Sagging back on the table, she groaned, writhing with the excruciating pain. As the agony briefly abated, her voice was weak as she mumbled in defeat, "Fine. Get it over with."

*Can you send in Jade, please,* John asked Alyssa. *Irillith's agreed to it.*

A few seconds elapsed before Alyssa's voice appeared in his mind, and she replied hesitantly, *Did you know she tried to kill you? I think that's how she ended up getting shot herself.*

John stared down at the Maliri girl, and thought back to Alyssa, *If the Progenitor version of me is as bad as you girls make out, I can't really blame her. Jade brought me up to speed a bit, and by the sounds of it, this will all be over soon. Then we can forget all about the Maliri.*

Alyssa's heart surged with joy, and she strode into the Medical Bay after Jade, then dashed over to John and gave him a rib-crushing hug. *God, I've missed you so much,* she said with relief. *The other version of you is horrible!*

He held her in his arms, but he had a vexed expression on his face as he stroked her back. *It's just me here now,* he said, his voice like a soothing balm for her fears and worries.

She released him, and gave him a quick kiss before they both turned back to look at Irillith. She was still flinching with the pain, the tremors in her arms getting worse as her body was wracked with agony by the horrific wound in her side. Jade walked up beside her, and squatted down next to the bed.

"I'll look after you now, Irillith," the Nymph said, her voice soft and caring.

Reaching out to her, she began to stroke Irillith's dark hair with her right hand, while she brought the fingers from her other hand to the suffering woman's mouth. The Maliri's body shivered violently, but this time it wasn't entirely due to the pain.

"You've seen me heal the other girls like this before," Jade said with a maternal smile. She then added kindly, "Don't worry. You know I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Irillith slowly opened her mouth, her eyes fixed on the Nymph's as Jade slightly elongated her first two fingers, slipping them between those full blue lips. Irillith's pupils flared as Jade's fingers began to pulse rhythmically, and as the sweet tasting liquid coated her tongue, a look of euphoria spread over her face. Her pain forgotten in an instant, she began to suck hungrily, and Jade murmured soothing, barely audible words to her. Irillith turned to look up at John, and she locked eyes with him as she swallowed, her eyes hooded with lust.

A few seconds later the Maliri woman's angular violet eyes glazed over, and she began to suck and swallow in a familiar suckling motion. Her azure belly began to rise as Jade pumped her stomach full, and they all watched quietly, as she eagerly sucked down every last drop that the Nymph was carrying for her. Finally they were done, and Jade eased her two fingers from between Irillith's lips, then brought her hand down to gently stroke her enormously rounded abdomen. Irillith had a blissful smile on her face as she revelled in her tender caress, and a few moments later, she fell fast asleep.

Jade looked up at John, and smiled at him with satisfaction, as she got up and walked around to join him. "Well done, Jade," he praised her sincerely. "You probably just saved her life."

Rachel nodded in agreement and said, "We'll see, but I'm pretty confident she should recover quickly. I've seen just how powerful the healing effects are."

Alyssa let out a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding, and said, "Fourteen hours then. Let's see what happens after that."

As John looked at her, a shadow of confusion passed over his face, and he looked a little embarrassed. "I've been out of it for a while now. I take it we need to go back to the Trankaran Fleet?" he asked haltingly.

Alyssa gave him a loving smile, and said, "You don't know what a relief it is to have you back. Don't worry, we've got it under control. I'll fly us back to the Beta Cephei system, and we can wrap up our agreement with Chancellor Niskera." She glanced over at Jade, and added, "Do you want to plot our return flightpath?"

The Nymph nodded, and gave her an exuberant grin, delighted that everything seemed to be returning to normal once again. Alyssa returned that happy smile, and the two of them glided out of the room with a spring in their step. John gave Rachel a grateful nod, then turned to follow after them, but he paused when she held her hand up for him to wait.

"Before you go, you might want to take a look at this," she said, beckoning him over to join her by the medi-scanner, and pressing a couple of on the complex machine.

A bright holographic image appeared above the scanner, rotating slowly, as it showed the results of the full body scan she had taken of Irillith. John could immediately see the terrible damage done to her right side, along with her hugely inflated stomach, where she carried the cum that Jade had just fed to her. Rachel was watching his face as he looked at the holograph, and saw that he was focused on the Maliri woman's midsection, studying the awful wound with concern.

Pressing another couple of buttons, she said softly, "Not there, look at this instead." She brought up a zoomed in image of Irillith's head, and deep within her brain a walnut sized object was highlighted in red.

John narrowed his eyes as he examined the scan, then finally turned to Rachel and said, "I can only guess that whatever that is, it's bad news."

She nodded and replied, "I'm no expert on her physiology, and the medi-scanner is configured for Terrans, not Maliri. However, our species are not that dissimilar, and if that is what I think it is, she has quite a large brain tumour."

John looked concerned, and he asked, "Can you operate to remove it?"

Rachel gazed up at him, and said, "Not right now, no. At least, not until I learn more about Maliri physiology." With a smile she then added wryly, "She might not need me to, though, if you work your usual magic."

John returned her smile, then said, "We better take another scan when the fourteen hours are up. I'd like to know the results."

The brunette nodded, and flashed a bright smile at him as she said, "You're not the only one who's curious!"

***

Everyone was overjoyed that John was back to his old self, and the dark cloud that had settled over the Invictus dissipated immediately, with the girls laughing and joking once again. Alyssa desperately wanted to drag him into bed for some passionate make-up sex, even though they hadn't actually had a fight. Unfortunately, when they checked in with Rachel to see how her patient was doing, she had some bad news. The brunette reported that although Irillith's wound was healing, it wasn't at the same incredibly fast rate as the rapid overnight regeneration the crew had previously experienced. Rachel recommended that they load Irillith up a second time, to help finish off her recovery. Alyssa pouted, but agreed to wait, and she spent the rest of their journey cuddled up with John in bed, filling him in on any blanks in his memory.

The flight back to the Main Trankaran Fleet was uneventful, as they were easily able to avoid trouble with their massive sensor range, and incredibly fast Tachyon drive. The Invictus raced through system after system in hyper-warp, and ten hours later they were nearly back in the Beta Cephei system for their meeting with Chancellor Niskera. Irillith was still unconscious, and Rachel kept a careful vigil at her bedside to watch for the slightest sign that she would awaken.

John and Alyssa had got out of bed, and were now on the Bridge, making casual conversation with Calara and Jade. They all turned to look for Dana, when they heard her whistling a jaunty tune to herself as she floated up in the grav-tube to join them. She bounced onto the Command Deck, then skipped up the illuminated steps to the Command Podium, and leaned down to give John a passionate kiss.

Sighing happily, she said, "It's fucking awesome having you back again. I missed you so much."

John grabbed her, then plonked her down on his lap, and she giggled in delight at his boisterous behaviour. She wriggled against him, and she began to moan excitedly when she felt him getting hard beneath her.

Alyssa laughed and quickly said in protest, "There's a queue! You're just going to have to wait your turn. I'm pulling rank as XO."

Dana stuck her tongue out at her old friend, then fluttered her eyelashes at John, as she asked, "Are you sure you wouldn't like me to dress up in my 'John's property' schoolgirl outfit? I seem to recall you had a fine old time plundering my tight little ass when we did that before..."

John groaned as she flexed her muscular asscheeks, gently massaging and stroking his length as she teased him.

Alyssa frowned and said sternly, "Sparks, don't make me give you a spanking!"

The redhead giggled and said, "That sounds like fun too!"

Laughing, John said, "Come on girls, no fighting, please." He then gave Dana a knowing smile, and said, "I'm sure you didn't come up here just to lure me into bed. Do you have any news on your research?"

Dana smiled at him, and nodding exuberantly, she replied, "I've come up with a new system to replace the Inertial Dampeners! Faye was a great help, really speeding my research up, and we've worked together to create a functional simulation."

Turning in his lap, she gave him a flirtatious grin, and wriggling excessively she leaned over and began to press buttons on his console. Faye appeared a couple of seconds later, sitting on the rim of the Commander's console, and shortly after that a slowly rotating holographic image of the Invictus materialised in the middle of the bridge.

"Hi!" The purple sprite said with a cheery smile on her tiny face.

Dana grinned at her and asked encouragingly, "Do you want to explain what we came up with?"

Faye bounced up and down with childlike eagerness, and she replied, "I'd love that! As long as you don't mind?"

When Dana shook her head, Faye turned to the holograph, and pointed at the middle section of the ship before glancing back at John. "Dana's super smart," the AI informed him with open admiration on her face. "She came up with a new Inertial Negation Device, which will let you utilise the full power of the Trankaran's most powerful engines."

John looked impressed, and glanced down at the redhead and asked, "Really? Full power?"

Dana nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement, as she exclaimed, "This ship;s going to be a beast when I'm done with it!"

Calara and Jade both looked equally as enthusiastic, and the Latina spoke first, asking, "Just how fast will we be able to go?"

Dana sat up a bit so she could look at her friend over the Commander's console, and replied, "If my calculations are correct, then we should be able to triple our speed!"

"Will the ship's handling improve a lot too?" Jade asked her with a hopeful expression on her lovely green face.

The redhead nodded animatedly, and said, "If they swap out all our retro-thrusters for their improved versions, the Invictus will be able to dance around like a fighter!"

Calara smiled at her indulgently, and said, "Come on, you're exaggerating, surely?"

"Well, maybe a little bit," Dana grudgingly admitted, "but we'll still make a corvette look like a bulk freighter!"

The Latina's mind raced with the possibilities, and she grinned at her, saying, "Having that much agility will give us so much more tactical flexibility. I can't wait to see this in action!"

John frowned and asked, "Are you sure the ship's hull will be able to take that kind of strain?"

"Yeah, I've run detailed stress tests, and it all looks good," Dana replied, and she smiled at the digital construct as she said, "Give him the details, Faye."

Faye drew herself up and said in a clear voice, "The device works by building a central truss structure, that will hold a very powerful anti-gravity device. This central core will need to run vertically through the Invictus' hull, and it must be extremely strong to withstand the forces applied. The engines will push against this anti-grav device, which will create a gravitational field that opposes the acceleration of our ship."

As she spoke, the proposed central column was highlighted on the image of the Invictus, and clearly showed the forces spreading out, repelling thrust from both the engines and retro-thrusters. Dana clapped, and the others joined in too, so Faye gave them a sweeping bow and she stood tall, flushing with pride.

John smiled, but said with an air of caution, "It sounds like we might need a major refit to build this central core into the Invictus."

Dana replied ruefully, "I'm afraid that's the one downside. We'll be driving a central core right through the ship, and that's going to take several days to complete. I'll be able to build the anti-grav device easily enough by modifying and greatly enhancing the Maliri's anti-grav tech. We could use reshaped Alyssium for the central core, but I'd much rather wait while I finish this super material I'm working on. Unfortunately, I think I'm still some way off figuring that out, but it'll be worth it."

John looked extremely impressed, and he said, "You did a fantastic job, Dana! You never let me down." He gave her a heady kiss in gratitude, and she was panting breathlessly when he finally released her. As she swooned against his chest, he glanced up at Faye and giving her a grateful smile, he added, "And thank you too, Faye. It sounds like you were a great help."

The purple AI pixie smiled back at him, and said, "You're welcome! I see why Dana works so hard on her research, it's lovely to be appreciated."

Jade had been watching their progress on the sector map, and they arrived in the Beta Cephei system a few moments later. "We're here," she announced, as she powered up the Invictus' engines, and began to turn towards the loyalist Trankaran fleet. Dana gave John a quick peck on the cheek, then hopped off John's lap, and walked down the steps from the Command Podium before returning to the Engineering Station.

A flashing light on Alyssa's console let her know that they were being hailed, and she pressed the button to accept the incoming call. The view screen flickered momentarily before the static coalesced into the image of an armoured Trankaran.

"Commodore Blake!" The Trankaran commander said in his booming voice, "I can't believe you're back so quickly!"

John wracked his brain as he thought back to their first encounter with the Trankaran cruiser commander, and the creature's name came to him in a flash through his hazy memories. He smiled, then replied, "Warden Dalomherlig, I hope you're well."

The blocky, granite faced Trankaran beamed a broad smile at him, and nodded, saying, "The comm network is alive with talk of the rebellion falling apart! They say that the light of the Glowing Queen has been extinguished! I sense your hand in this, and wish to thank you for resolving this insurrection before it turned into a full scale civil war."

John replied sincerely, "You're welcome Dalomherlig, I'm glad we could help."

The grateful looking Trankaran then said, "Chancellor Niskera requested that you meet with her as soon as you arrive in-system. Please proceed to her ship, the 'Kerhom's Anvil' and dock with the adjoining maintenance stanchion."

When John nodded, Warden Dalomherlig gave him a respectful bow of his head, then closed the comm channel. Without having to be prompted, Jade smoothly pivoted the Invictus, and followed a course towards the biggest of the Trankaran capital ships. The Battlecarrier, Kerhom's Anvil, was just as vastly imposing as they remembered, and now the starboard side was festooned with some kind of robust looking framework.

Jade spotted what looked to be a docking collar on a jutting out gantry, and she asked, "Should I dock with that?"

John nodded, replying, "Yes please. The Trankarans must have set this up to carry out the engine refit."

Studying the elaborate maintenance framework, Alyssa said, "Just bring us in nice and slowly, and try not to clip the superstructure at the back with our engines."

Following her advice, Jade brought the Invictus around in a sweeping curve, until they were parallel with the enormous Trankaran carrier. When she had eased their assault cruiser to a gentle stop, she nudged them closer with the judicious use of their starboard retro-thrusters until the docking collar fitted snugly over their airlock.

"Well done," John praised her, when they nestled up against the Trankaran carrier in a perfectly executed docking manoeuvre.

Jade turned around and gave him a huge grin, and Alyssa had a proud smile on her face as she said to her student, "I couldn't have done it any better myself."

Looking with interest at the holographic representation of the maintenance structure surrounding the Invictus, Calara noted, "They did a nice job on this framework. It seems to be an exact fit for the Invictus."

Dana gave her an impish smile and said, "I should hope so too! I did supply them with the exact dimensions they needed. I just hope they managed to modify their engine chassis to fit the housing on the Invictus."

Rising from his seat, John said, "We better not keep Chancellor Niskera waiting. Are you all coming?"

The girls nodded, all except Faye, who watched them get ready to leave longingly. Dana had already started bounding up the ramp towards the grav-tube, and when she saw the sad expression on the AI sprite's face, she said, "Cheer up! I've had a new idea that should help me with my materials research, but I could use a hand if you're up for it?"

Faye sprang to her feet, and jumped off John's console to land neatly on Dana's shoulder as she walked past. "Tell me how I can help!" she requested, her little face shining with excitement.

***

Chancellor Niskera was waiting to meet them in the gantry on the other side of the docking collar, and when the airlock spiralled open, she smiled at them in welcome as they stepped through. She was accompanied by Senator Vamred, and Fleet Warden Thandrun, who both had cheerful grins on their faces. Chancellor Niskera bowed graciously as John and the girls approached.

"You were as good as your word, Commodore Blake. You have ended the rebellion, as you promised you would," Chancellor Niskera said gratefully. A troubled look crossed her face as she added, "I just wish there had been a peaceful solution."

John nodded in greeting to her two advisors, then addressing Chancellor Niskera, he said soberly, "I'm sorry it worked out that way Chancellor. We have managed to avoid this escalating into a wider conflict however, and eliminating the Rebel leaders will have saved thousands of Trankaran lives."

Fleet Warden Thandrun gave him a respectful nod as he said, "You speak truly Commodore Blake. Our patrol ships are already reporting contact with rebel vessels offering to surrender."

Alyssa spoke up, and asked, "Will the rebels go to prison for their part in this?"