Three Square Meals Ch. 081

She let out a happy sigh as she watched the sleeping trio, but her blissful state was rudely interrupted by her ninth avatar. Faye Nonary insisted on highlighting footage for her attention, and when Faye Primary focused her processing stream on it, she wished she hadn't. It was footage taken of Tashana when she first joined the ship, the girl's body covered in a patchwork of horrific scars, her face slashed and ruined. No sooner had she seen that shocking image, then Faye Denary played the camera footage of Irillith convulsing in agony from a Trankaran magma-shotgun wound to the torso.

Her primary avatar quivered with fear as she knew what was coming next and a flicker of light rolled up her purple form, distorting her features as it did so. Faye DuoDenary began to play back all the footage of John being injured, from his most recent flesh wound on his arm, to being impaled through the chest by a Drakkar spike.

The galaxy was such a dangerous place and she loved them all so much! How could she protect them all from harm?!

Faye Primary began to weep, glistening tears rolling down her purple cheeks as she allocated all her remaining avatars to come up with a solution. Nothing was more important than this... nothing!

***

John awoke feeling greatly refreshed after his nap, a glance at the chronometer on the wall in Tashana's quarters informing him that it was nearly five o'clock. He looked down at the Maliri twins draped over him in a tangle of slender blue limbs and grinned when he saw they were already awake.

"So, I didn't just have a spectacular dream, that really happened?" he asked playfully, glancing at one set of sparkling violet eyes after another.

Irillith arched an eyebrow as she replied, "I thought you couldn't dream?"

"Yeah, but what a way to start!" John said enthusiastically.

Tashana giggled, then shot a glance at her sister. "It did really happen, didn't it?"

Giving them both a beautiful smile, Irillith replied, "If it was a dream, it's one I hope to share with both of you many times in the future."

John hugged them both fiercely, then frowned in disappointment when he realised they'd both digested all the cum he'd fed them and were both svelte once again. His own stomach rumbled angrily and with an embarrassed smile he said, "I think it's time to get up. Would you two be interested in helping me prepare dinner for everyone in the kitchen?"

To his surprise, Tashana shook her head and declared, "You can help us instead! We did offer to make Maliri dishes for everyone and what better time than now?"

"If you're willing to share your recipes with me, I can't think of anything I'd rather do!" he enthused, remembering how much the girls had loved Maliri cuisine.

Irillith and Tashana both nodded, smiling at his enthusiasm. They got up and all had a quick shower together in the considerably smaller shower cubicle in Tashana's room. After drying off and getting dressed, they left her room hand-in-hand, then strolled through the double doors into the Officers' Lounge. John hadn't been in there since Alyssa's initial tour, and he couldn't help admiring how much lighter and more spacious it felt since she'd refurbished the room.

They walked into the kitchen and he listened attentively as the twins quickly decided on the menu for their evening meal. He was placed in charge of preparing the meat for a dish called "Crescent Orihice", named that way for the shape of the delicately spiced cuts of meat. Irillith disappeared into the pantry to collect the raw materials from the Maliri supplies they'd loaded on Valaden, while Tashana explained how to make the curving cuts.

John retrieved his favourite chopping knife, then went to work, following the instructions from both girls as he went through the numerous steps to prepare the food. It felt strange to be the one learning a recipe rather than teaching it and he couldn't help reminiscing back to happy times spent with his grandparents in their restaurant. His grandmother, Eva, had been in charge of the kitchen. She was a kind but no-nonsense head chef and as long as you followed her instructions to the letter, you'd be guaranteed to stay on her good side.

He'd occasionally helped his grandfather, Don, run front of house, but it always seemed a frantic and chaotic experience that John had never really enjoyed. By contrast, the kitchen was a place of order, with meticulous rules to define every recipe. The exact number of seconds to let a dish simmer, measuring the weight of ingredients, then making sure to add them at precisely the right time... That sanctuary of order and discipline was where he'd always felt the most comfortable.

*They're so happy, John,* Edraele murmured, her emotional voice startling him out of his memories.

Turning around, he watched the twins working together on a couple of exotic-looking dishes. They darted furtive glances and little smiles at one another as they prepared the food, and he could feel the energy crackling between them. Every so often, one of the girls would reach out to stroke the other's arm in a touching gesture, almost as if she couldn't believe her sister was really standing right there.

He started to feel uncomfortable watching them, as if he was intruding on a special, private moment between the two women. Turning away, he let them have their privacy and focused on adding just the right amount of seasoning to the Orihice meat. Losing himself in the preparation work once again, his mind started to drift, returning to those many hours spent in the kitchen during his youth. It had been in the kitchen of his grandparents' restaurant that he'd finally built up his courage to tell them of his plans for the future.

John had always known that they'd hoped he'd take over the restaurant one day, running the family business that had been in Blake hands for several generations. He could still remember the look of shock on their faces when he informed them that he'd chosen to follow his mother's footsteps and join the Terran Federation military instead. There had been heated words and impassioned arguments before they relented, but that fleeting look of despair they'd shared had always stayed with him - their fear that they might lose their grandson in the same way that they'd lost their daughter.

*Well, I've just had a fascinating afternoon!* Alyssa declared brightly as she woke up, making John jump once again.

He sent the young woman a warm telepathic smile. *Really? Why don't you tell me all about it.*

*Wow! What've you been doing to the twins?!* she exclaimed in shock.

John flushed with embarrassment as he replied, *I thought you were eavesdropping this afternoon?*

*Yeah! But only when they were blowing you! Since you stuffed them both full of cum, their portraits have changed!* she blurted out, sounding astonished.

*Changed? What do you mean?* he asked, sounding intrigued.

Alyssa shook off the surprise and replied, *Ah don't worry, it's not urgent. I'll save it for the next XO catch-up meeting. It'll give us something fun to chat about while you stretch me out and give me a good pounding.*

*While we're on that subject, I'm afraid I'll have to ask for a raincheck on whatever you had planned with Calara tonight,* he said apologetically.

He could feel her excitement over their empathic bond as she gushed, *There's no need to apologise, I heard every word! Don't worry, I'll help make all the arrangements!*

*You're an angel. Thank you, beautiful,* John said gratefully, knowing he could trust her to make everything perfect.

*We'll get the room ready now, then you'll be all set for later!* Alyssa exclaimed, sounding delighted to be involved.

He smiled as he warned her, *Dinner will be ready in thirty minutes, so you'll have to move fast.*

*No problem! Jade's going to help,* Alyssa explained, as she sprung into action. She sounded smug as she added, *I'll let Sakura have a bit more sleep. Jade and I cheered the poor girl senseless.*

John's laughter drew both Irillith and Tashana's attention, and they shared a grin as they listened to him chuckling away.

***

Alyssa sent out a telepathic order to gather the crew and they began to arrive as it drew closer to dinner time. With John playing the role of junior chef on this occasion, he was responsible for dressing the table, so he greeted the girls with a kiss as they joined him in the dining area.

Rachel and Dana were first to appear, the redhead looking even more perky than usual, while the tawny-haired brunette looked much more alert after a few hours' sleep.

"Are you feeling better after your nap?" John asked, pleased to see the obvious improvement.

"Much, thank you," Rachel replied, walking around the table to give him a kiss. "I could still use a full night's sleep, but a certain blonde kicked me out of bed!"

*None of the other bedrooms are nearly as nice for what we've got planned!* Alyssa thought to them both enthusiastically.

"Sorry about that," John said, giving her a sympathetic hug. "I'm glad you were able to make it for dinner though. The food the twins have prepared looks and smells delicious!"

Calara appeared shortly afterwards, gliding over to give him a kiss before offering to pour the exotic Maliri wines to accompany dinner. John gratefully accepted, then returned to the kitchen to help Irillith and Tashana add the final touches to their meal and start bringing out the dishes. Alyssa, Jade, and Sakura had all arrived by then, moving to take their seats around the dining table. The Asian girl was looking a bit ruffled, having only just woken up, and she blushed furiously when John greeted her with a knowing smile.

Faye appeared in a purple flash, sitting cross-legged at the end of the table. She smiled at them all and said, "I used to think that one of the benefits of being a digital creature is that you don't need to take time to eat, but I'm not sure that's true having seen all this lovely-looking food!"

"I'd have offered to create a digital equivalent, but I've no idea how to synthetically recreate a sense of taste," Irillith said, giving the sprite an apologetic smile.

"That's quite alright, I appreciate the thought, though!" the purple sprite exclaimed brightly, her translucent wings quivering as she spoke.

Once everyone had sat down around the table, John raised his glass of wine to the Maliri girls and said, "I think I speak for everyone when I say that this feast smells divine and looks incredible! Thank you for your hard work, ladies."

The rest of the girls smiled and raised their glasses in toast, while Tashana and Irillith blushed at the attention and praise. Tashana waved a hand towards the fifteen different dishes and said, "Hurry up and start before it gets cold! If you let Maliri cuisine cool to room temperature, it turns poisonous to Terrans!"

Everyone gaped at her in shock, until Irillith's peals of laughter tipped them off to her sister's joke. Tashana winked at John, then speared a piece of Crescent Orihice with her fork. She sampled it cautiously, then nodded, looking impressed. "You cooked that perfectly, well done!"

John tipped an imaginary hat in her direction, delighted to have done justice their recipe. He followed her lead, as did everyone else around the table, and soon they were all sampling the exotic dishes on offer. The room was quiet while they ate, except for the sound of happy sighs as they tasted the delicious food.

Jade's face was a picture of contentment as she tried each Maliri dish and she made cute little chirrupy mews as she swallowed each mouthful. At one point she realised John was watching her and she gave him a sparkling smile, as she said, "I love the Terran dishes you make, but this Maliri food is divine!"

He returned her smile then nodded his agreement as he glanced at the Maliri twins, who were overjoyed to see everyone's overwhelmingly positive reaction to the meal they'd prepared. The sisters grinned at each other, both finding the experience tremendously rewarding.

After finishing off an intricately sliced yellow vegetable and taking a sip of wine, John said, "Now I've got everyone here, I thought it might be a good idea to go over our plans for the next few weeks."

"Where are you taking us next, handsome?" Alyssa asked, already knowing the answer, but enjoying the pretence of a normal conversation. She frowned at a curious piece of blue fish on the serving platter in front of her, skewered it with her fork, then bit into it and groaned in ecstasy.

John leaned back in his chair, watching the girls enjoying their dinner and smiled as they all turned to listen to him. "Now that the Invictus has been repaired, I'd like to leave for Terra this evening. The Award Ceremony is in two days, so that gives us plenty of time to get there. I thought you girls might like to go shopping beforehand and I'll need a bit of time to meet with Charles to trade for the advanced heatsinks they found."

That announcement was met with lots of excited chatter. Sakura in particular looked thrilled at the prospect of acquiring her own wardrobe of clothing, rather than having to borrow from the rest of the girls.

"I didn't think you'd want to hang around here for two weeks until the Maliri fleet arrived," Calara said, drawing John's attention.

He nodded to confirm her suspicions. "I suspect that the Drakkar threw most of their strength into that invasion - that's certainly what Ularean and the High Council believe. The Ashanath should be safe enough until the first of Edraele's forces get here to reinforce them and they've still got enough forces left to maintain limited defensive patrols."

"I spent this morning working on some defensive contingency planning for the Ashanath, to help keep their homeworld safer in the future," Calara revealed, smiling when John listened with interest. "I've already passed on my plans to Ularean. I suggested towing hollowed out asteroids into position around Ashana for orbital defence platforms. Until they can build some dedicated bases, they could move the planetary defence lasers from around the Legacy's hangar into those asteroids. Those guns would be powerful enough to keep anything smaller than a battleship squadron at bay."

"Excellent initiative, Commander, I'm impressed!" John said, raising his glass to her with a grin.

She smiled back and saluted him with her own glass of Maliri wine.

Turning to look at Dana, he said, "Our lovely Chief Engineer managed to discover a number of intriguing new Progenitor schematics after our trip into the Legacy. Do you want to tell everyone your plans for those?"

The redhead nodded eagerly. "We found a bunch of new tech which will improve output and energy flows from our Power Cores." She glanced at Calara and added, "Once we've got all the upgrades in place, I'll be able to swap out all our Beam Lasers for Photon Lasers!"

Calara grinned at her and exclaimed, "That'll be a huge boost to our multi-directional damage output! Can we complete all the upgrades mid-flight, or will we need some refit time in a drydock?"

Dana smiled at her and replied, "We can build everything aboard the ship, then start installing all the internal components like the Power Regulators and Power Couplings as we finish them. We'll need to stop somewhere to swap out all the weapons, but with John, Alyssa, the Valkyrie, and the maintenance bots helping out, I reckon we can replace them all in a day!"

"That's fantastic news, Sparks!" John said to Dana, sharing the Latina's enthusiastic grin. "Upgrading to batteries of Photon Lasers will be amazing!"

The redhead nodded eagerly, then glanced at Jade as she said, "We'll get cracking on the maintenance bots first, to bring them up to twelve. Faye can put them to work installing all the new components, while you and I start building all the new guns." She smiled at John and Alyssa, adding, "Either of you feel like volunteering to shape seventy-two Photon Laser barrels?"

"I thought we only had hardpoints for twenty-four?" John asked in confusion.

"Triple-barrelled guns, baby!" Dana explained with a huge grin.

He chuckled and said, "Alright, I'll be happy to get started on that."

Alyssa smiled at him and said suggestively, "I'm planning something significant with your huge assets, otherwise I'd offer to help too."

"That sounds ominous," John replied, arching an eyebrow. "What're you up to?"

Alyssa's bright blue eyes gleamed with excitement as she unveiled her plan. "I figured that with the Maliri Regency going through something of a renaissance, they're going to see a massive spike in demand for trade. Geniya station is basically it, in terms of trading stations for the bulk of Terran trade with the Maliri and the Terran Federation don't have any significant outposts along the border themselves. I thought we could invest in trading stations spaced evenly along the Terran side to encourage and speed up trade. With the huge surge of merchant traffic I'm predicting, we should make a fortune!"

*That's a marvellous idea!* Edraele exclaimed, sounding intrigued by the plan. *I'm bringing more of Genthalas online by the day and the demand for raw materials to supply the shipyards is increasing exponentially. If Alyssa puts this plan into action, I'll increase the scope of facilities on the Maliri side of the border to expedite trade and the transfer of supplies to Genthalas.*

"If this works, it'll eventually be worth billions of credits..." Alyssa said in a hushed voice, staring into John's eyes. "We're talking about the kind of money that can eradicate the kind of lawless slums that Dana and I grew up in."

"You don't need my approval for this, but you've got it anyway," John said, nodding his wholehearted agreement.

There was quiet around the table for a moment as the details of Alyssa's plan started to sink in and Dana shared a poignant smile with her old friend.

Rachel suddenly grinned as she said, "We could use the new trading posts as distribution centres for the new skin care product line that we discussed a few weeks ago! That surge of merchant traffic would become a huge flood!"

Alyssa beamed a sparkling smile back at her. "We'll make an absolute fortune just in docking charges!"

"How soon can you move on this?" John asked, curious to see what kind of timeframe she had in mind.

"I've already done considerable amounts of research and I used shell companies to put the requests in for provisional construction permits a while ago. Now that you fully approve of the plan, it'll only take me a day to expedite the permits and cut through all the bureaucracy. We should be able to start construction by the end of the week," she replied, mentally checking through all the Terran Federation agencies she'd need to pursue and the key staff she'd need to incentivise to process the permits quickly.

John stroked her back as he said, "It's a very exciting project, beautiful. I can't wait to see how successful it'll be."

"Insider trading on a Galactic scale! I know my father would heartily approve," Rachel said with a smirk.

"We'll be near the Core Worlds for a little while, do you want to drop by New Eden and say hello?" John asked her, while watching carefully for a reaction. "I'd like to meet him properly as long as that's alright with you?"

The brunette looked torn for a moment, then reluctantly nodded, her grey eyes meeting his. "You're right, I can't keep putting this off forever. I do need to speak with him; we have a few important matters to discuss."

Dana put her arm around her girlfriend and said, "If you want me there too, I promise I'll be on my best behaviour."

Rachel smiled at the redhead affectionately, putting her arms around her and giving her a grateful hug.

Turning to look at Sakura, John saw that she was watching him intently. He met her emotional gaze with a question in his eyes and she nodded decisively in reply. His answering smile was sympathetic and supportive, and the Asian girl bit her lower lip, eyes welling up before she quickly glanced away.