Three Square Meals Ch. 065

Athena looked down at the young woman, and said, "You did well binding her to you. She has a fierce drive in her that will make her a valuable ally. Besides that, the more girls you recruit, the more powerful you'll become."

John frowned, and said, "I was just trying to help her, not for any other reason."

With a disinterested shrug, Athena replied, "The morality of the situation doesn't concern me. My only wish is to see you and Alyssa grow stronger."

Realising time was short, John pressed on with the reason why he'd wanted to speak to her in the first place, and said, "I want to help Sakura become a strong fighter, and I plan to train her in the sword, as well as with guns. Is there any conscious way I can guide her development? Maybe focus on specific ways to try to enhance her?"

Athena studied him for a few seconds, before she replied, "You aren't ready for specifics yet. Just think in general terms, and let your subconscious guide you, it's served you well so far."

He wanted to scratch his head at her cryptic answer, and said, "So I just think about making her stronger and faster, and then just hope it works out for the best?"

She smiled at him, and said, "That's right." When he grimaced at her reply, she laughed, then said, "You're better at this than you think. For example, Irillith has been working out perfectly."

John frowned at her in confusion, and said, "I agree, she's wonderful, but it sounds like you're implying something?"

Athena tilted her head slightly, and she shook her head in amazement before she said, "It astonishes me how much you've been able to accomplish, acting on pure instinct alone." Smiling at him now, she added apologetically, "I'm sorry, I must be infuriating to chat to, but I haven't had much practice, and it's such fun!"

"You said we should keep it brief?" he prompted her with a gentle smile.

She looked abashed, then explained quickly, "Do you remember encountering that AI ship on the way to Oceanus? As soon as Irillith joined you, you customised her to specialise as a cyber-psychic, to specifically counter that impending threat." She sounded impressed as she added, "It was something I hadn't thought possible actually. The psychic world is very much driven by will, whilst the digital world operates on logic."

He was shocked by this revelation, and as the news sank in, he asked "I thought she had an inclination towards that kind of stuff, anyway?"

Athena shook her head, and replied, "She naturally leans towards electricity as an elemental focus. Left to her own devices, she would have gradually developed telekinesis and learnt to harness lightning. You've massively upgraded her psychic talents beyond anything someone who isn't a Progenitor is capable of."

He wanted to ask her more about Irillith, but he had so many other questions, and he knew he had to hurry. Taking a big breath, he asked her, "Do you know anything about my father?"

Athena shook her head, and gave him an apologetic smile as she replied, "I'm sorry, I don't know anything about him. He must have been a Progenitor, but that's all I can really tell you. Everything I know was instilled in me by you, when you created me to protect Alyssa."

"And I guess I don't know anything about him, and the knowledge wasn't built into my DNA," John continued logically.

"Exactly right," she said with a smile.

"Alright, what about Progenitors themselves?" he asked hopefully. "Is there anything more you can tell me about them?"

She was a little more cagey now, when she replied, "All sorts of knowledge was ingrained in your DNA, intended as a birthright to help get you prepared to fight. Progenitors have developed a mastery of genetic manipulation that rivals their psychic abilities, as Rachel has been gradually revealing to you."

John caught her eye, and said, "Birthright... You mean like the Progenitor table of elements and those schematics that Dana had in her head?"

Athena nodded, and replied, "Yes, you imprinted those in her when she joined your group."

"Why would I do that?" he asked her, looking bewildered.

Athena smiled at him affectionately, and said, "Progenitors hoard their power, jealously guarding their tech and abilities. The girls have already told you what your Progenitor half is like, and he behaves in just the same way. You're a team player though, so you seem to like sharing your abilities and ingrained knowledge out amongst the girls. It's a very novel approach, and one that would appal the Progenitor you're facing."

"So it definitely is another Progenitor that's sneaking around, stirring up trouble?" he asked her, hoping to confirm what they had only suspected until now.

She gave him a firm nod, and replied, "Yes, without a doubt." She paused before continuing, then added hesitantly, "All this scheming and working behind the scenes is unusual. There's something very odd about all this."

"Talking of odd," he said, looking thoughtful, "what are those horrifying nightmares I keep having about?"

John was shocked to see Athena suddenly look visibly afraid, and she began to tremble violently. He closed the gap between them, drawing her into his arms, and stroking her back to comfort her. "What is it?" he asked in concern. "What's got you so scared?"

She quivered with fear, and he heard the dread in her voice as she replied, "I've been trying to protect you from it, but it's so strong. You're getting more powerful as you've been adding new girls to both your Matriarchs' control, but that's drawing greater attention your way too."

"From what?" he asked her soberly, remembering just how terrifying those dreams had been.

Pulling back from him a little way, but not enough to end their embrace, she replied in a quiet voice, "People with psychic abilities can visit the Astral Plane, but when they do, they're only brushing over the surface of the Ether. There are things that lurk much deeper there. Ancient, powerful things, and you want to stay well clear of their attention if you can."

John turned to glance at Sakura again, and said, "I've fed her three times. When I sleep tonight, I'm going to get pulled into another one of those nightmares again, aren't I?"

Athena nodded, and sounding very scared, she replied, "Yes, you will."

"Can we do anything to prevent it?" he asked her, feeling as worried as she looked.

Her doubtful expression didn't fill him with confidence, but then she gave him a brave smile, and said, "I'll try and think of something. I've got all day to come up with a plan."

"Thank you," he said to her earnestly, squeezing her a little tighter.

The pulling sensation from his body was started to get stronger now, and he knew he didn't have much time. Sighing with frustration, he glanced back at his physical form, and saw the ominous grey shadow shrouding his body. It reminded him of another pressing question, and he quickly faced her again, and asked, "My Progenitor half. Can I get rid of him permanently?"

She nodded, and said, "Absolutely. He's meant to be a temporary guide, and if everything had gone normally, he would have been harmlessly absorbed into you when you'd learned all you needed. With him fighting against you now, you'll have to break him out of his prison, then confront him."

John had suspected as much, and while he wasn't overjoyed to hear that, at least it gave him a goal to aim towards. He felt the tugging sensation from his astral cord intensify, so he released her from his arms, and began to flow back to his body. Suddenly something she just said made him start with surprise, and as he was pulled backwards, he blurted out, "Wait a minute! You're a guide too! What happens to you when you merge with Alyssa?"

Athena smiled at him, her expression strangely unreadable as she replied in a quiet voice, "I'll cease to exist..."

"Wait!" he protested, fighting hard against the pull now, desperate to speak to her further.

Unfortunately the force behind it was too strong to resist, and he was dragged back into his body. The last thing he saw was Athena's forlorn face, and then his senses were reeling as he was dumped back into the physical world.

"Fuck!" he cursed as the room span around him. He grabbed at the bed to stop the room spinning, while Alyssa and Sakura sat up in alarm.

"What's wrong?" Alyssa asked him, looking worried.

He blinked a couple of times to help steady himself, then he looked at her in confusion, and asked, "I thought you could hear everything I was thinking about?"

She nodded, then replied, "Yeah, but not while Athena's out there. She sort of blocks my telepathy with you."

John flopped down on the bed next to them, and said, "Remember I told you Athena was a guide that I'd made for you? She said I'd made her to help you learn your abilities and to look after us both."

"I remember," Alyssa said with a nod. "So what's the problem?"

He looked up at her, and said mournfully, "When you get strong enough that you don't need her any more, she'll merge with you. Then she'll cease to exist."

Alyssa lay down next to him, and sounded subdued as she said, "Oh, I see."

Sakura lay down carefully as well, unused to carrying such a huge bulk around her waist. He pulled them both into him as he said, "All she's done is help us, and she's getting such a shitty reward for it."

"You want to help her?" the Asian girl asked him curiously.

He nodded, and replied, "We have to, after all she's done for us."

Alyssa smiled, then rolled her eyes, and said, "Another damsel in distress. There seems to be no shortage of those!"

The other two smiled at her joke, then John glanced at the clock again, and was surprised that only four minutes had passed since he checked it before. His conversation with Athena seemed to have taken much longer than that, but then he suddenly remembered the odd time dilation effect that occurred with a spirit-walk. They cuddled together for a couple of minutes, before his stomach gave an angry grumble, making Sakura look down in surprise, and Alyssa laugh fondly.

He patted them both on the bottom, and said, "Time to get up and have some breakfast."

Alyssa sat up, and said, "We can eat in the Briefing Room. I'll get one of the girls to bring us some food and drink."

As they had only just had a shower a short while ago, John and Alyssa climbed out of bed, and headed towards the walk-in wardrobe. Sakura was unsure what to do, until John said, "You should come along too. It'll give you a chance to meet the girls, and you can listen to their presentations. Despite the tech-talk, they can be absolutely fascinating."

Alyssa beckoned the petite girl over, and said, "I've got the perfect thing for you to wear!"

Sakura was very careful as she climbed out of bed, with four pints of cum sloshing around in her swollen belly. Alyssa and John walked back to join her, and they helped her balance until she got used to the weight.

"This is going to take a bit of getting used to," she said with a smile.

Alyssa laughed and said, "Trust me, it gets easier with practice, and you'll be getting a lot of that. When you're bigger and stronger it's not quite so awkward."

Sakura nodded trustingly, and they led her over to the wardrobe. John started to get dressed while Alyssa strolled over to his side of the wardrobe and started searching through his clothes. She grinned when she found a pristine white shirt, the cleaning robots having done a sterling job with their laundering. She walked over to Sakura, and helped her put it on, button it up, and roll up the sleeves. As soon as she was done, she stepped back to admire her handiwork.

"You look fucking hot," she said with a sly grin. Turning to look at John, she asked, "What do you think, handsome?"

The immaculate white shirt looked amazing on her, creating a sharp contrast with her bronzed skin and jet-black hair. Sakura looked at him self-consciously as she waited for his reaction, so he walked over to her, and ran his hand over the tightly stretched cotton. "It looks much better on you than it ever did on me," he said with a kind smile.

Alyssa nodded with excitement, and said, "Dana came up with this idea. We call this outfit the 'barefoot and pregnant' look."

Sakura smiled at John wistfully, her expression turning doe-eyed and full of longing. She let out a happy sigh as she cradled her tummy, joining him in stroking the rounded curves.

"Wow, you don't hang around," Alyssa noted, giving John a pointed look, and shaking her head in amazement.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked as she shook off the blissful state.

He smiled at her cautiously, and replied, "Now that you've decided to join us, there's going to be some mental changes as well as physical. The two seem to go hand-in-hand, and I don't seem to be able to do anything to separate them."

Alyssa smiled at her, and said, "Remember we chatted about this before?"

Sakura nodded, and replied, "Yes, you mentioned about not feeling jealous of the other girls, and being... curious about them too."

"Uh-huh," Alyssa murmured, moving around behind Sakura and joining the other two in caressing her rounded abdomen. She then explained, "One of the really fun things about carrying a huge load of cum, is it's just like being heavily pregnant. Progenitors use women as soldiers and breeding stock, and while John isn't planning on knocking you up anytime soon, I bet the idea doesn't sound too bad, does it?"

The petite Asian girl pondered this for a moment, having never really given motherhood a second thought before. Now Alyssa mentioned it, the idea didn't sound bad, quite the opposite in fact. She imagined cradling a beautiful baby in her arms, and her expression softened, a radiant smile lighting up her face.

John saw the calm acceptance in her expression, and as he continued stroking her, he said, "When we're done with this Progenitor threat, and we can finally settle down, I'd like to start raising a family with my girls."

"And I'm one of your girls now?" she asked him, her brilliant smile not fading for an instant.

He nodded, and replied, "That's right. Does that sound like a scary idea?"

Sakura shook her head, and surprised herself by her boldness as she replied, "No, it sounds absolutely wonderful!"

"Good," he said, enjoying the thought too, and he and Alyssa both embraced the smaller girl. After a brief hug, he pulled back and added, "We better get going, I'm sure the girls are all waiting for us now."

Alyssa nodded, and said, "Yeah, they're in the Briefing Room."

They strolled out of the walk-in wardrobe, going at a comfortable pace to let Sakura adjust to the extra bulk she was carrying. She started to get the hang of it by the time they'd reached the grav-tube, and they all stepped into the blue-glow of the anti-gravity field and rose up the short distance to the Command Deck.

Faye was up there on the Bridge, keeping a close eye on the long-range scans, as the Invictus penetrated deeper into Kintark Space. She gave them a cheery wave as they stepped out of the grav-tube, and after one last look at the scan results, she fluttered over on her delicate wings.

"Hi Sakura! I'm so pleased you decided to join us!" she said enthusiastically.

Even though this was the second time the young woman had set eyes on Faye, she still found it astonishing to see the purple fairy flitting around in front of her. She smiled at the tiny sprite, and said, "I always thought fairies were just a myth."

Faye giggled, then returned the smile as she said, "They are I'm afraid. I'm a hologram, not a real fairy!"

"You're real alright," John said indulgently. He smiled at her as he added, "Although, you're probably the first fairy left in charge of a five-hundred-metre warship!"

The purple sprite laughed at that, and when she saw Sakura's look of confusion, she explained, "I'm actually a digital creature, an Artificial Intelligence."

Sakura wasn't aware of the first law of robotics, and had never heard of the Ganymede incident before, so she just smiled, and said, "It's lovely to meet you, Faye. Thanks for being so welcoming."

"No problem!" the diminutive construct replied. She frowned ruefully, and added, "I'm sorry, but I better get back to work. Being the Watch Commander is amazing, but it takes a lot of concentration."

She waved them goodbye, then flitted up to the Command Podium once more to check the Sector Map for potential threats.

Alyssa walked ahead of them down the ramp to the Briefing Room, then hit the button to open the door. The rest of the crew were already there, standing around chatting while they waited for the late arrivals. When Alyssa glided into the Briefing Room, with John leading Sakura in her wake, the other girls all grinned at her with excitement.

They seemed to glance at Alyssa questioningly, and she said, "It's alright, she's a brave girl. You aren't going to frighten her off."

All at once the girls gathered around her, taking it in turns to give her a hug, while offering a warm and heartfelt welcome to their group. Sakura's almond eyes widened in amazement as she was embraced by one breathtakingly beautiful girl after another.

Despite everything that had happened with her arm, Calara already knew it wasn't this young woman's fault, and so there was nothing to forgive. The Latina gave her a lovely smile, and said, "Welcome to our family, Sakura. I'm so glad you decided to join us."

Before Sakura could reply, Dana stepped in and gave her a big hug as she said, "I can't believe I'm going to have another sister!" When Sakura looked confused, the redhead grinned and said, "Don't worry, I'll explain later, and give you the lowdown on ship life."

"That's very kind, thank you," the smaller girl replied politely.

Dana gave her a distracted nod, her attention drawn to Sakura's rounded abdomen. She reached out a hand to stroke her, but stopped at the last moment, and asked, "May I?"

"Yes, that's fine," Sakura replied, with a hesitant smile.

Dana bit her bottom lip as she ran her hands over the other girl's swollen tummy, and she said enviously, "I so wish I was you right now. Getting stuffed full of cum morning, noon, and night for two weeks solid was fucking awesome!"

Sakura was startled by the redhead's exuberance, and seeing her reaction, Rachel stepped forward with a gentle smile on her face. She had been carefully watching the girl for any signs of distress, and she said in a kind voice, "Please excuse Dana. Her heart's in the right place, but she swears like a drunken sailor. It can be an acquired taste."

With a snort of laughter, Dana said, "You seem to have acquired it alright."

Rachel smiled fondly at her lover, then enveloped Sakura in a comforting hug, and said, "It can all seem a bit overwhelming at first, but you'll settle in fine, don't worry."

Sakura gave her a grateful smile as Rachel stepped back, then looked apprehensively at the last two members of the crew. While Calara, Dana, and Rachel were stunningly attractive girls, which made them all quite intimidating in their own way, at least they were Terran. She looked really astonished when she got a proper look at Irillith, as the exotic alien stepped forward to embrace her.

"I'm a Maliri," the blue-skinned beauty explained. She smiled as she added, "Now you're one of a select group that know what we really look like."

"I'm not surprised your people kept it a secret," Sakura said as she gaped at her. "It if ever got out how gorgeous Maliri girls are, there'd be a stampede into Maliri space!"

Irillith smiled at her for the compliment, and said, "You're very sweet, thank you."

Sakura nodded, then turned to look at Jade. She'd spotted the dark-green Nymph the moment she'd set foot in the Briefing Room, and she had immediately darted a wary glance in her direction. Jade had returned her look with a reassuring smile, and she stepped forward now that it was finally her turn.