Three Square Meals Ch. 065

John frowned, and replied, "I'm just trying to take precautions to avoid any mishaps. As much as I hate the idea of letting the traitors go, we wouldn't stand a chance against that many ships."

"We smashed those Kintark ships in the Nebula," Jade said, recalling the one-sided massacre. "Are you sure we couldn't take them?"

Calara answered for him, and replied ruefully, "That fleet we ambushed was at a huge disadvantage. Our approach was masked by the Nebula interfering with their sensors, their shields were down, and their crew were completely unprepared." Gesturing towards the map, she continued, "Tensions will be high amongst the Terrans and Kintark. I expect both vessels have all crews on high alert and shields-up in case there are any misunderstandings."

John nodded, and said, "Yeah, it's far too risky. I expect the traitor fleet will drop off their prisoners, then be rerouted somewhere else in Kintark Space. As soon as they leave, we can evacuate the prisoners, then regroup with the Terran invasion fleet. By that time, they'll nearly be back in the Dragon March."

Alyssa nodded, and said, "Sounds like a good plan to me." She looked at him curiously, and asked, "Who's going with you?"

He turned to look at Rachel, and said, "I'll definitely need you, honey. There's probably other prisoners there too, and they'll most likely be in a bad state with sulphur poisoning. If there's anything you can come up with to help them, that would be amazing."

Rachel smiled at him and said, "As soon as we found out about the prison I started thinking about ways to treat any personnel suffering from sulphur dioxide poisoning. It affects eyes and lungs, with respiratory damage being the primary cause of fatalities. Prolonged exposure is normally incurable, but I've had a few ideas, and I might be able to reverse the lung damage."

"Perfect," John said smiling at her appreciatively. He turned to Dana next, and said, "I'll need your help too, Sparks. We could be dealing with containment fields, bomb collars, or any manner of security to keep the prisoners under control. I have a feeling your skills will be very useful."

She grinned at him, and said, "Sure thing! I'd love to help!"

"Can I come too?" Calara asked, eager to help save her brother.

As much as John wanted to grant her request, he locked eyes with her, and slowly shook his head. His tone was sympathetic as he replied, "I'm sorry, but I'll need you up here. If something goes wrong, I need you on the Invictus' guns. It's the most powerful weapon we have, and none of us can even hope to match your gunnery skills."

Calara wanted to protest, but she knew it made sense. She sighed, then nodded as she said, "I understand. Mateo's best chance is if I'm up here to provide cover for you guys."

"Good girl," he replied gratefully, proud of her for thinking about the situation logically. He said more firmly, "I'll be leaving you in charge up here, Commander."

She gave him a sharp salute, and the reassuring smile that followed afterwards left him certain she'd take good care of the ship while he was away.

Jade was looking at him expectantly, and John smiled at her as he said, "You're not going anywhere near trouble, little Nymph. Besides, you're just as effective as Alyssa at flying the Invictus, so if things kick off up here, you're going to have your hands full."

"Whatever you say," she replied agreeably.

Irillith was waiting for him to turn to her, and when he did so, she asked, "Do you want me to come along too? I'm fluent in Kintark, remember?"

John hesitated for a moment, torn with his decision, before he finally replied, "It'd be great to have you with us, but I think it's best if you stay up here. I've seen how brutally effective you are at hacking enemy ships, and if Calara is forced to engage, you'll make a hell of a difference."

Irillith nodded, and said, "It's a sensible decision. I doubt you'll need a hacker down there, so I'd probably just be another gun."

He smiled at her, then looked at Alyssa with a raised eyebrow, knowing she'd already read his mind.

She grinned at him, then said, "Yeah, I'll fly you down there and keep you out of trouble." She glanced at Faye, and asked leadingly, "But what are we going to do with the Raptor once we land? I can't fly that, and help you free the prisoners..."

Dana grinned at her tiny purple friend, and said, "I've established a dedicated link from the Invictus to the Raptor, so you're all set up to remote pilot the ship from up here."

John looked at the stunned sprite, and asked, "What do you think, Faye? Can you keep an eye on the Raptor for us while we're busy rescuing the prisoners?"

"Oh, wow!" Faye exclaimed, her expression one of wondrous disbelief. "Really? You'd trust me with the Raptor?"

He nodded, and was sombre as he replied, "You proved yourself in that last battle against the Kintark. I'm sorry you haven't been able to get any flight time yet, but we're not going to need you to do anything crazy. You'll just be keeping a low profile, and waiting for us to call you in for an evac."

Faye looked awed, but she nodded eagerly, and gasped, "I'd love to help!"

Alyssa smiled at her, and said, "We'll have a little time while we wait for the prisoners to be dropped off at the prison, so I can give you a crash course on flying the Raptor." She laughed, and then added, "With avoiding crashing being lesson number one!"

John then said to the excited sprite, "It's good you're here actually. Alyssa told me you managed to break Lynton's encrypted code while we were asleep?"

She nodded enthusiastically, and replied, "The code was indecipherable, and I was totally stumped to start off with. Then I remembered that you suspected Lynton was working for this Progenitor, so I tried matching the code against the sigils used in the Progenitor schematics that Dana had reproduced from her head.

I rebuilt the language based on Dana's reproduced schematics, then matched that against the message's encryption. Lynton's message was masked by the content code being written in the Progenitor language. It wasn't actually encrypted."

"Outstanding work, Faye," he said with a grateful smile. "Do you want to take us through it?"

She returned his smile, then blinked again, activating the holographic projector. Gabrielle Lynton's attractive face appeared above the desk as a disembodied holographic image, although the message was currently paused.

"I've already seen this, so I'll head back to the Bridge to keep an eye on things up there. Just give me a shout if you need anything!" Faye said brightly, then disappeared in a purple flash.

Irillith still had the remote in her hand, so she pressed the button to resume the video message. The archived call log tracked video from both directions, so the moment Norwood started speaking, his image appeared beside hers. Alyssa had already seen him before, having watched Devereux's memories of the obnoxious Admiral at an admiralty dinner party. It was the first time the others had seen him however, and they looked at the display in fascination.

Admiral Leonard Norwood was in his late fifties with a neatly trimmed beard, salt and pepper hair, and a broad beak of a nose. Like the rest of the high ranking Terran Federation officers that they'd met, he favoured full dress uniform, rather than the battledress uniforms favoured by junior staff.

He smiled at Gabrielle Lynton as the call between them opened up, and said, "Gabrielle! I've missed you! I'm so glad you called."

"I've got bad news, Len," she told him, her attractive, unnaturally youthful features creased with worry.

He leaned forward, and said, "I wondered why you were using encryption on a secure channel. What's the matter, darling?"

"We're going to have to change our plans," she replied in a hushed voice. "Devereux's pawn figured out what you've been up to in the Dragon March."

Norwood looked shocked, and he blurted out, "How? That's impossible! All the fleet orders are encrypted, and I haven't done anything blatant. Some exploitable gaps in the line, and a few tip-offs to our Kintark contact here and there, but there's no way you could detect that!"

"John Blake knows!" Lynton hissed furiously. "Trust me, you haven't got much time. One of his crew figured it out."

With an indignant snort, Norwood said, "Those jailbait cheerleaders he's got with him are just window dressing!"

Lynton shook her head, and was insistent as she said, "Those girls are exceptionally resourceful. I thought the same way as you, but I made a mistake underestimating them. Anyway, it doesn't matter now; the point is, he knows. He's coming for you, Len!"

Norwood suddenly looked very worried, and said, "It's too soon! The Kintark aren't in position yet, and I've only convinced about half my fleet to join us."

"Kill the rest, then," Lynton urged him. "Take the forces loyal to you, and defect to the Kintark! We'll still be able to execute the plan, it'll just take a little longer..."

If Norwood had looked shocked before, now he looked absolutely stunned as he gasped, "Kill the rest! Gabrielle, you can't be serious! We're supposed to be claiming the moral high-ground and trying to establish a new Republic. I can't order my fleet to slaughter Terran ships in cold blood!"

She shrugged indifferently, and said, "You're out of time. I've distracted John Blake with a side-mission that'll help escalate things nicely. He'll be with the Fleet Admiral in about twelve hours though, so you need to move fast if you plan to escape."

Still reeling from the bad news, Norwood had slumped back in his chair, and was gazing off to the side out a window. He seemed to be desperately thinking of ways out of his current situation, and he finally turned to look at her, and said, "Let's just tell Buckingham that John Blake is a traitor and here to assassinate him. We can obliterate him the moment he jumps in-system! He won't even get a chance to defend himself!"

Lynton shook her head, and said sternly, "Absolutely not."

"But Gabrielle, it solves all our problems at once!" Norwood whined, pleading with her to reconsider.

"No," she replied with a ringing note of finality. Her normally warm and pleasant voice had a deathly chill to it as she said, "I've got plans for John Blake, and you will not confront him. Do I make myself clear?"

Norwood was astonished by her defiant tone, and his eyes narrowed, as he said, "I'm not your puppet, Gabrielle. I care for you a great deal, but I'm fighting for something important here. The Terran Federation is an autocratic nightmare and needs to be brought down."

"I'm sorry, Len, you're right. The future of the Republic is vitally important," she apologised with a smile, her tone conciliatory. She let out a big sigh as she continued, "Please don't be upset with me, I'm just worried that you'll get hurt. John Blake is powerful, and he's massively upgraded that ship of his with alien tech. Please forgive me, baby?"

Her fawning apology drew forth a smile on Norwood's face, and he replied in a soothing voice, "I understand, darling, don't worry." He frowned, and then continued, "You might be right about defecting now, though. If Devereux's puppet knows what I've been up to, then she's bound to know as well. I think it might be wise to escape now before she gets word to Buckingham by a different route."

Lynton nodded eagerly, and said, "We can still proceed with our previous plans. My fleet here is loyal to me, and we'll block reinforcements from joining Buckingham's battlegroup. By the time he realises he's in trouble, the Kintark can surround him and wipe his forces out!"

"It's a good plan. I'll take steps immediately," Norwood agreed, looking thoughtful. He focused on her, and said, "Stay safe, my darling. We'll be reunited soon."

"I love you," she said to him, her voice throbbing with emotion, and she blew him a tender kiss.

Norwood smiled at her, then closed the comm channel, and the holographic image of his face disappeared. That left Gabrielle Lynton alone, and John spotted a flicker of a smile on her face before she disappeared too.

"Rewind that a second, then pause it please, Irillith," John requested, leaning forward slightly when the hologram of Admiral Lynton reappeared above the desk.

Sure enough, he saw the calculating smile flicker over Gabrielle's features, as she made Leonard Norwood dance to her tune.

Alyssa saw it too, and she shook her head as she murmured, "She's one manipulative bitch." Turning to look at John, she frowned as she added, "What was all that about her having plans for you?"

He shrugged helplessly and replied, "I'm not sure, but if she's been enthralled by another Progenitor, then he might have ordered her not to try and kill me for some reason."

Dana grimaced and said, "That doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't he just try and fuck us up the first chance he got? Especially with you trying to stop him..."

Jade shook her head, and said, "I think John's right. This feels like a cat toying with a mouse, and the mouse never wins." She glanced his way, and added vehemently, "I think we need to stop being the mouse."

He nodded, but his expression was pained as he said, "Until we have more information to go on, I think we're going to have to continue as we've been doing. We'll focus on upgrading the ship with new tech, and learning to make the most of our new abilities. Then, with a bit of luck, we can find out more about what we're facing." He looked around at the girls, and asked, "Do any of you have any other suggestions? If you've got any good ideas, I want to hear them."

They exchanged glances, then shook their heads, and Alyssa acted as their spokesperson as she replied, "We all agree with your current plan, and it's been working well for us so far." She glanced at Sakura as she added speculatively, "We know you get more powerful, the more girls you're linked to. Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted Sakura has joined our little group, but we do know a place full of beautiful women who can't seem to get enough of you."

They turned to look at Irillith, and she nodded her agreement, saying, "She makes a good point. Making your base on Valaden could have a lot of advantages we haven't really discussed yet."

Dana frowned and said to him, "I'm not sure I like the idea of sharing you with millions of Maliri girls."

Rachel had a teasing smile on her face as she asked her lover, "I thought you couldn't get jealous?"

Dana shook her head, and grinned at Irillith as she replied, "Nah it's not that, he can fuck as much blue pussy as he wants." She pouted then, and muttered, "I just don't like the idea of being tightly rationed on cum."

John laughed, and said, "Don't worry, I've got no plans to add a million Maliri girls to the crew."

*Maybe not a million...* Edraele thought to him, and he could hear a strange note of satisfaction in her voice.

*It sounds like you're up to something?* he asked her curiously.

She sent him a teasing telepathic smile, and replied, *I don't want to spoil my surprise. You'll just have to wait until you return to Valaden to find out!*

Realising he wasn't going to get any more answers from his Maliri Matriarch, he glanced at the ship's chronometer on the wall, and said, "We'll be reaching Zeta-Draconis soon, so we better wrap this up. We've got about twenty minutes until we arrive, so meet back on the Bridge in ten. We can see what Xen-Nuchek has in store for us, and we'll plan our attack accordingly."

The girls smiled at him as they rose to their feet, and began to file out of the Briefing Room, leaving him alone with Sakura. She felt warm and soft on his lap, and he felt no desperate urge to move her. He relaxed in his chair, placed a protective hand over her rounded tummy, and began to caress the taut sphere. She was a bit restless though, shifting a little in his lap so that she could stare into eyes, and he could tell she wanted to ask him something.

He watched her for a moment, then smiled as he said, "Just say whatever's on your mind. I promise I won't be offended."

Sakura smiled back at him shyly, and asked, "I just wondered what you want me to do during this rescue mission?" Sounding eager, she added, "I could come along with you, if you want? I'm sure some of my memories would be helpful with infiltrating the base."

John shook his head, then pointed towards the female-shaped Paragon armour hanging in racks on the walls as he replied, "I don't want you anywhere near combat until you're big enough to fit in one of those suits. I'm not exposing you to any unnecessary danger if I can help it."

She looked touched by his concern, then sighed as he returned his hand to her swollen abdomen and continued stroking her with a gentle touch. "What do you want me to do?" she asked him curiously.

"Absorb all this cum, and let me enhance you while you do it," he replied, as he stared into her almond shaped eyes. "If you're going to be my Security Chief, then you're going to be seeing lots of combat in the future. I'm not in any rush to expose you to it until you're ready, and that means we'll be doing lots of training together before then."

"I can't wait!" she said with enthusiasm. After a moment, she looked at him askance, and asked, "If I had been 'combat ready', what would I be doing on this rescue mission?"

"Joining me and the girls down on the planet," he replied without hesitation. He smiled at her intent expression as he continued, "You were absolutely right before. I've started relying on my doctor and engineer for these kinds of missions, and as amazing as they are, they're young girls without much combat experience. At the very least, I'd want you there to help protect them."

"I could definitely do that," she agreed, pleased at the thought of being useful, without having to do anything she found abhorrent. Snuggling into him, she added, "Just listening to those videos brought home the unbelievably high stakes you're fighting for. It'll be an honour to support you in that."

John sighed, and she heard the reluctance in his voice as he said, "I didn't want to get tangled up in this war with the Kintark, but events have forced my hand. I owe it to Calara to rescue her brother, and even though I'm facing a bigger threat from this Progenitor, I still feel a sense of loyalty to the Terran Federation. I want to try and help them avoid whatever disaster Lynton has planned for them."

Sakura laughed lightly, and shook her head as she remarked, "What you're dealing with makes my old dreams of becoming a lawyer seem pretty pathetic by comparison."

He smiled at her, and said, "You were trying to help people in the best way you could. Don't belittle yourself, it was a worthy goal."

She looked startled, then shook her head as she stared at him, and replied, "I've only known you for such a short space of time. How can you know just what to say to make me feel better?"

Raising his hand and tilting his head, he brushed his finger against the pointed tip of his ears, and said, "These aren't just for show. I'm a good listener."

Sakura smiled, and said, "It's a good skill to have. You've done a great job of putting me at ease."

"I want you to be happy here with us," he replied, holding her close. After a moment's hesitation, he added, "I hope you didn't take my earlier reluctance the wrong way. I'm delighted to have you join us, I just..."

She placed a slender finger on his lips, silencing him, and said, "You were hoping I could go back to a 'normal' life." She smiled, and leaned up to kiss him before she continued, "Thank you for looking out for me. I truly believe I've made the right decision... for both of us."

*Sorry to interrupt,* Alyssa thought to him, her apologetic voice floating through his mind. *We've arrived in Zeta-Draconis.*