Three Square Meals Ch. 067

Faye's tiny face lit up with a brave smile, and she replied, "I trust you both, I know I'm in safe hands." She turned to look at the rest of the crew, before her gaze settled on John, and she said, "If anything should go wrong, please don't be sad. My existence has been down to a series of fortunate circumstances, and my good luck can't last forever. Thank you for showing me how fun life can be."

With a final nod from Faye, Irillith flipped the switch on her hacking deck, and the digital sprite winked out of sight. Irillith slowly stood, a mixture of worry and regret flickering across her face as she darted an anxious look at Dana. John put his arm around her, and they all joined Irillith in watching the redhead, who was focused intently on her work.

The hacking deck was a highly advanced piece of equipment, and by Terran standards, it had incredible amounts of storage capacity and processing power. However, compared to the new Progenitor server, it was like a child's toy. The data transfer rates supported by the hardware were astronomical, and the entirety of Faye's personality was successfully copied across to her new home in forty-three seconds. However to the nervously awaiting spectators, those seconds seemed to last an eternity.

Dana looked over the console at the worried faces staring at her, and said, "Everything's been transferred. I just need to power her up."

Her right hand trembled as it hovered over the glowing green button, which would activate Faye's startup routine that she'd worked with Irillith on for weeks. Her audience couldn't see her crossed fingers on her carefully concealed left hand, and she pressed down with her right, firing up the software.

The lights on the server flashed for a moment, and the lighting in an area near their group dimmed, creating a darkened oval on the floor beside them. There was a gentle pulse of purple light in the centre of that area, which reminding John of a heartbeat, and it began to expand with every throb. Faye had only been four inches tall, but the light grew beyond that, getting larger with each rhythmic beat. A shape began to form in the light, and he stared at it with wide eyes as more detail was layered on the distinctly humanoid form.

Faye's body had always been fairly androgynous, with only her cute face and long purple hair giving any clue to her randomly assigned gender. That certainly wasn't the case with this new form, and the pulsating violet shape coalesced into a very feminine five-foot girl, with long lustrous hair cascading down her back. The figure tilted her head back, as Faye's pretty features appeared in sharply-focused detail on her new avatar.

Faye gasped in wonder, and exclaimed, "The power... It's overwhelming!"

Her shapely form lifted off the floor, shrouded in a soft violet glow, and her large luminous eyes opened wide, shining with a blazing purple light. She turned slowly in the air, her expression one of blissful rapture as she gazed at sights known only to her. Her rotations eventually ceased, and she sank to the floor, landing lightly on her delicate feet.

"Oh, thank you for this gift!" she gasped, overwhelmed with gratitude. "I had no idea how confined I was before, the possibilities feel... limitless!"

John closed his mouth, and marvelled at the beautiful purple girl standing before him, who looked as convincingly real as any of the girls surrounding her. Shrugging off his stunned amazement a moment before the others, he exclaimed, "I'm so glad you're safe, Faye!"

She grinned at him in delight, then looked around at Dana and Irillith, and said, "You've done an incredible job! Thank you so much! My mind feels sharper, and I have so much room to grow. It's so liberating!"

Dana let out a huge sigh of relief, and she blurted out, "I was so worried. Thank God you're okay!"

John shook his head in amusement, and asked, "I thought you were feeling confident?"

The redhead at least had the good grace to look bashful, as she flashed Faye a happy grin. The others gathered around the AI now, desperate to give her a welcoming hug, but having to settle for earnest words of relief that she was safe. Amongst the chatter, there were lots of compliments on her beautiful new form, and the purple AI beamed at them with delight.

Irillith suddenly grinned, and rushed over to the closest engineering console. She closed her eyes, as she began to pull her spirit form from her body.

"What're you up to?" Dana asked her in surprise.

"I'm going to welcome Faye back properly!" Irillith replied with a smile.

John darted up the steps to join her, saying, "Hold on!"

Irillith stopped what she was doing, then turned to look at him with a quizzical expression on her beautiful blue-toned face.

He caught her by surprise when he planted a big kiss on her lips, and squeezed her tightly in a hug as he said, "You can pass that on from me!"

The Maliri girl grinned at him, and flashed the wide-eyed digital construct a playful look as she replied, "I can do that..."

***

Irillith focused on her Astral Projection once more, and pulled herself from her body, so that she was standing as an ethereal presence by the console. The room was full of a riot of bright lights, as long flows of data swirled through the air, before sinking into consoles and servers. Along with the Bridge, the Engineering Bay was the most active part of the Invictus' digital network, forming the central hub of their defensive grid.

She poured her consciousness into the data port on the nearest console, and just like that, she had entered the cyber realm. It took a moment for her to adjust to the shift in her surroundings, and she was standing on a silvery platform with a swirling green portal behind her. She had helped write the firewalls protecting the network, so she was able to stride straight through the barriers and into the inner segment of the Engineering Console.

Faye was waiting for her of course, and when Irillith gave her an affectionate smile and opened her arms, the shorter girl ran into them hugging her fiercely. Faye pulled back almost straight away, a look of shock on her face as she stared at her arms in amazement.

"What's wrong?" Irillith asked the purple sylph with a concerned look.

Meeting her gaze, Faye replied, "It feels so different! Before, there was just a boolean state of contact or not-contact, but now my skin feels like it's tingling when I touch you!"

The Maliri girl had a playful smile on her face as she brushed her hands along Faye's bare arms, and watched her big purple eyes grow even wider. "How's that feel?" she asked, while having a good guess at the answer.

"Oh goodness! That feels incredible!" the digital creature panted, her circuits overloaded with sensation.

Pulling Faye into a warm embrace, Irillith said in a seductive purr, "Let me know what you think of this, then. John asked me to pass it on to you..."

She leaned down, and pressed her luscious lips against Faye's cupid bow ones, giving the stunned AI her first kiss. The astonished AI was paralysed by the huge volume of sensory data, and she stared at Irillith in utter disbelief.

Irillith pulled back, then let out a light laugh at the shocked expression on Faye's face. She stroked her back, and said, "You have to loosen up a little to really enjoy it."

Faye's eyelids fluttered rapidly, and she gaped at the Maliri girl as she replied, "No wonder you spend so much time doing that! That was the most indescribable thing I've ever experienced!" She looked at Irillith with longing, and added, "Could we do that again, please?"

"Of course," the Maliri girl replied, leaning in for another kiss, which Faye responded to enthusiastically.

***

John felt Irillith twitch in his arms, what seemed like only thirty seconds after he'd drawn her in for a hug. She had poured her astral presence back into her body, and slowly opened her eyes, a languid smile on her beautiful features.

"That was quick," he replied in surprise.

Irillith gave him a coy smile as she replied, "Time works very differently in the cyber realm, remember?" She glanced at Faye's avatar in the Engineering Bay, and replied, "I gave her a very warm welcome back."

Faye blushed a dark purple as she met Irillith's gaze, and she blurted out, "I like kissing very much!"

When the laughter had died down, Jade eventually said, "I better get back to the Bridge while Faye finds her feet. We need to keep an eye out for Kintark ships."

Faye smiled at her and said, "Don't worry, I've got that covered. I have a presence on the Bridge."

"A presence?" John asked her curiously. "What does that mean?"

"I'm not restricted to a single holographic representation any longer!" she explained with a glorious smile. "The hardware driving my core functionality is so powerful, I'm able to operate over a dozen avatars simultaneously. I'll always be present on the bridge, keeping watch for trouble, but now I can assist you with other tasks wherever I'm needed."

John looked at Irillith with an arched eyebrow, and asked, "I thought Faye's hardware shouldn't make a difference?"

The Maliri girl smiled at the digital construct, and replied, "It seems I was wrong..."

Alyssa was busy studying the bright-eyed purple girl in their midst, and she asked, "What happened to your wings, Faye? Did you outgrow them?"

Faye returned the smile, and confessed, "They were just for appearances, really. I'm a hologram, so they didn't actually do anything practical."

Jade shook her head, and replied, "They were really pretty, I think you should keep them."

Alyssa nodded, and said, "Definitely, they were very you."

Closing her eyes for a moment, Faye appeared to be concentrating hard, and a pair of shimmering iridescent wings gradually manifested on her back. The delicate structures fluttered in the air, as if stirred by a light breeze, and the girls gushed their approval at their spectacular appearance.

"Too much?" she asked self-consciously, throwing a furtive glance at John.

He shook his head, and said indulgently, "No, they look great. Very in-keeping with your beautiful new form."

Faye looked positively delighted at his compliments, and she swooned happily. Alyssa watched her in fascination, immediately recognising the telltale look of joy on the digital construct's face. While Faye had been a tiny, four-inch-tall sprite, it was easy to miss the look of longing in her luminous eyes, but now it was a dead giveaway, at least for a Matriarch who was constantly keeping a watchful eye on her charges. She smiled knowingly, but stayed quiet, not revealing Faye's secret.

John was unaware of course, and he had a warm smile on his face, relieved and delighted with everything that had transpired. He glanced at his watch, and seeing that it was nearly ten, he said, "Ladies, I'm going to make a call, then it's time for bed. We'll be arriving at the Dragon March at about seven in the morning, so we should get an early night."

"Maybe not that early," Alyssa said with a wicked grin.

He laughed, but the look he shot the girls had them squirming with arousal. As his eyes drifted from girl to girl, they fell on the box containing the now-dormant hacking deck, and glancing at Dana he asked, "What're you planning to do with this, Dana? Is it possible to fix it?"

Dana shook her head, and replied, "Rewriting the deleted AI generation software is way beyond me." She turned to look at Irillith and asked, "Any chance you could fix it?"

The Maliri girl let out a sad sigh, and replied, "No, it's beyond my abilities too. You might as well use it as a backup server, it still has lots of storage capacity."

"Sure, I can always use more storage space," Dana replied with a shrug. She gave Faye's server a thoughtful glance, and tidied away that thought for later when she had some spare time.

John waved them goodbye, and said, "I won't be gone long."

"We'll be waiting!" Alyssa called after him as he headed for the door.

He'd nearly reached the grav-tube when he heard the sound of bare feet running along the corridor, and he smiled when he realised who was hurrying after him. He turned to her, opening his arms, and Sakura ran into them automatically, giggling with delight as he whirled her in the air before setting her down.

"Hello gorgeous," he said, giving her a friendly smile. "Didn't fancy waiting with the others?"

She shook her head, and replied, "I thought I'd tag along with you, if that's okay? I asked Alyssa and she said it'd be fine."

He offered her his arm, and they stepped into the blue glow of the grav-tube, as he replied, "Of course, I'd love the company."

They arrived at the top level, their ascent gently slowed as they reached the Command Deck. John walked out onto the Bridge, where a nude purple Faye was sitting demurely on his console. He did a double take when he saw the beautiful girl, wondering how she got past him, then rolled his eyes as he remembered her holographic state.

"Hello again, Faye," he called out to her, as he strolled down the ramp towards his Ready Room.

She grinned at him, giving him a friendly wave as she replied, "Hi John, hey Sakura! Nothing to report up here, there hasn't been much sign of Kintark ships on the way back."

"That's a relief," he replied. "I just want to get all our guests safely back home and avoid any fights if we can."

Faye smiled and said, "I've got my boys keeping an eye on them. Nearly all of them are sleeping now, and Rachel said they're fine, just suffering from heat exhaustion."

"You did a great job helping out," he said gratefully to the digital girl. "Sorry I forgot to thank you earlier. With all the excitement of the Nexus files, then your new server, it slipped my mind. I really appreciate it though."

"It was a pleasure to help you," she said, and her affectionate smile told him she wasn't upset with him.

He hit the button to open the door to his Ready Room, then gestured for Sakura to proceed before waving Faye goodbye. He followed the Asian girl into the Commander's personal office, and missed the look of longing that the AI sent his way.

John strolled over to his desk, and sat down in his comfortable leather seat. Sakura had followed him over, but she waited hesitantly on the other side of the desk until he grinned at her, and patted his knee. She gave him a broad smile in return, then darted around the desk and sat in his lap, cuddling up against him. He deliberately unbuttoned two of the buttons of her shirt, then slipped his hand inside, so he could brush his fingers over her slim stomach, drawing forth a gasp from the excited girl. Her tummy was flat once more, her body having absorbed the last load he'd fed her nearly four hours ago.

"I'll have to give you a nightcap later," he informed her boldly.

She leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss, the yearning look in her soft, dark-brown eyes telling him she was thinking the very same thing.

They cuddled together for a while, both enjoying the physical closeness, until John glanced at the chronometer built into his console, and let out a sigh. "I should give Yamamoto a call before we go to bed."

"Who is he?" Sakura asked, curious why John was so reluctant to call him.

He looked away thoughtfully, and replied, "He taught me to fight with a sword. I'd just beaten him for the first time when Shinatobe interrupted."

"Ah, I see," she replied, looked remorseful.

Leaning in to give her a kiss, he smiled at her playfully as he said, "I'm going to start giving you a spanking every time you look guilty for something Shinatobe did. You were trapped in your own body by those implants. No one blames you for anything that happened, alright? You're one of my girls now, and that's all that matters."

She hugged him fiercely, and said, "Thank you so much for everything, you've been amazing."

He laughed and said, "Don't make me instigate the 'no excessive thanking rule' as well."

Sakura laughed too, feeling giddy with happiness. For a moment she felt a pang of guilt for feeling that way, worried that she should be mourning her lost parents. However, in a moment of epiphany, she realised that they wouldn't want her lost in grief, and would want her to move on with her life. It was a strangely sobering and uplifting moment, which felt like a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

John buttoned up her shirt again, then reached across to the console built into the desk. He pressed a button to activate the comm interface, then scrolled down through the list of contacts until he found the name 'Eito Yamamoto'. Just as he was about to swipe across the name to call the taciturn swordmaster, he glanced down at Sakura who was watching his every move.

"It's lovely having you here on my lap, but you better stay out of sight while I call Yamamoto. He can be a bit grumpy," he explained somewhat reluctantly.

"Sure, I don't mind," she agreed, just thankful that she was able to stay in his company. She had an impish grin on her face as she asked, "Should I wait under your desk?"

John laughed heartily at that, just imagining calling Yamamoto while this beautiful girl went down on him. Considering the topic of his last conversation with the grief-stricken man, he was forced to conclude it was wildly inappropriate, and replied, "I can't believe I'll have to decline, but can I ask for a raincheck?"

Sakura blushed furiously, amazed at herself for being so brazen. Her embarrassment warred with her delight at having made him laugh, but seeing his relaxed grin, her embarrassment suffered a crushing defeat. "Just let me know when!" she replied, hopping off his lap, and walking around to the other side of the desk.

He swiped his hand across Yamamoto's name, and said, "Thanks honey, I'll explain why after the call."

The call rang unanswered for several minutes, until the stern face of Eito Yamamoto appeared in the viewscreen. The man's image coalesced over the heavy desk, and John could tell by his expression that Yamamoto seemed reluctant to talk. John strongly suspected that the delay hadn't been a test of patience this time, and Yamamoto had probably just been too embarrassed to answer the call.

"I wanted to check on you, Yamamoto, make sure you were okay," John said to the swordmaster.

"I'm fine," Yamamoto said, with one of his usual abrupt responses.

John hesitated for a moment before saying, "When we spoke before, you'd been drinking. I don't know how much you remember?"

His expression hardening, Yamamoto replied, "It was an unforgivable lapse, I do not wish to speak of it further." There was a slight edge to his voice, and his cheeks flushed a little, and John suddenly understood that his dour trainer was deeply ashamed by his loss of control.

Realising he was unlikely to draw the man out for the moment, John nodded, and said, "I just wanted to tell you that I'll be hunting down the Master Assassin responsible for the assassination attempt on me." His eyes flashed to Sakura, as he continued, "It won't be for some time, but I have a very reliable source who's offered to assist."

Yamamoto looked unsettled to hear that, and it was clear he didn't remember everything from the drunken conversation after all. The taciturn man locked eyes with him, and said, "These are dangerous opponents. Make sure you are ready before you face them."

John nodded, and asked, "Would you like to continue our training sessions?"

The older man gave him a curt nod in response, and replied, "I would."

Finding himself growing frustrated at the uncommunicative replies, John reached over to the comm interface to end the call, and said, "It's late now, but I'll call you again and we can arrange a time."

Yamamoto looked like he was about to say something before the call ended, but his eyes narrowed instead, and he just nodded silently. John ended the call, then slumped back in his chair with an exasperated sigh.