Three Square Meals Ch. 079

When John abruptly throttled back the psychic energy he was pouring into her body, Rachel was left panting and breathless on the floor. "What did you do?!" she gasped, staring up at him in awe.

Satisfied that Alyssa seemed none-the-worse for wear after the swift withdrawal of such a huge volume of eldritch power, he turned to look at Rachel once more. He smiled at her and replied, "I just put you on an equal footing with Dana."

Rachel blushed, realising that Alyssa had told him about their earlier conversation. She was about to reply when she gaped at his face in shock. A dark supernatural aura appeared around him, temporarily obscuring his features in shadows. Her natural reaction was to recoil from that fearful shroud; it was horribly disconcerting the way it obscured and confounded her senses, but in seeing it, she instantly knew his species. He was a Progenitor.

Reminding herself that it was just John she was looking at and to stop being silly, she reached out to touch him, sensing that aura and getting a feeling for his wellbeing. Species: Progenitor - slightly fatigued... lightly wounded; laceration to left bicep. She looked around with wide eyes, gazing up at Sakura who knelt beside her. The beautiful Asian girl was swathed in her own shroud and when Rachel touched her fingers to Sakura's chest she was able to read that aura too. Species: Enhanced Terran - fatigued... otherwise unharmed.

She moved to stand up, gratefully accepting John's hand as she rose to her feet. Talari was standing nearby, his small mouth open wide in wonder. He didn't resist or flinch away as she slowly brought her fingers towards him, gently brushing them over his arm. Species: Ashanath - elevated stress levels... otherwise unharmed.

"This way, honey," John said encouragingly, beckoning her towards Ularean, who lay crumpled on the floor.

Rachel turned to look at the Senior Councillor and even though she wasn't well versed in a Grey's anatomy, she knew he didn't have long left. Ularean's breathing was shallow and laboured, his white robe soaked with blood from the vicious sword wound to his abdomen. John had crouched down beside Ularean and she followed his lead, kneeling down beside the Ashanath leader. She reached out to place her hand on his bloodied torso, intent on getting a reading from his aura. Species: Ashanath - mortally wounded; severe damage to small and large intestines, internal bleeding, punctured spleen.

"Do you know what you need to do?" John asked, reaching out to place a supportive hand on her shoulder.

Turning to face him, she looked at him in astonishment and blurted out, "You mean I can-?"

"I think he'd prefer it if you did it instead of me," John replied with a wry smile.

She caught his meaning then laughed, nodding her agreement. Focusing on Ularean again, she instinctively knew what she needed to do to save him. As she focused on the Ashanath's torn body, a misty glow pulsed out from her hand on the Senior Councillor chest and began knitting the flesh back together again. Toxins had been released into his body from the ruptured intestines, so she flushed those from his system, cleansing and purifying him as she worked. There were startled gasps from the gathered councillors as she slowly closed his ragged wound, repairing his body and saving him from the critical injury.

"You have healed me, RachelBlake!" Ularean gasped in wonder, his eerie voice sounding stronger now already.

Rachel smiled at him, then suddenly yawned, feeling overcome with exhaustion.

John caught her in his arms as she slumped backwards. "I'm so proud of you, honey. You were amazing!"

"I can't believe you gave me the ability to heal," Rachel mumbled, gazing up at him in adoration.

He smiled at her and said gently, "Get some rest now, you need to sleep. Your body still needs to recover after I healed you earlier."

Rachel nodded, leaning into him for support. He held her in his arms, stroking her back soothingly as her eyelids grew heavy and she fell fast asleep. Turning to look at the Ashanath Senior Councillor, John watched him sit upright, colour returning to his cheeks - or at least a less unhealthy grey pallor.

"The same goes for you too, Ularean. You should get some rest after having such a traumatic injury healed," John said, his voice kind and sympathetic.

"It appears I am in even greater debt to you, JohnBlake," Ularean replied, accepting assistance from Councillor Talari, who helped him stand.

John gave him a magnanimous smile. "We'll have a talk later and I've got a couple of favours to ask. After that, we'll call it even."

Ularean paused for a moment, turning slowly to look at the gathering of Councillors. There seemed to be some kind of silent telepathic conversation passing between them all, but he eventually turned back to face John again.

The leader of the Ashanath bowed slowly, his huge black eyes focused intently on John as he said, "We are your humble servants JohnBlake. Whatever you ask of us, we shall do our utmost to facilitate."

***

"Jade's already on her way," Calara said, greatly relieved to see John's face again. "We've swept the battlefield clear and the Drakkar threat has been completely eliminated in the Ashana system."

"Excellent work, Commander," John said, giving her a tired but deeply appreciative smile. "I'll look forward to seeing you soon."

"Likewise, Admiral," she said with a grin, blowing him a kiss before closing the comm channel. She glanced at the Tactical Map again, eyes darting from side to side, double-checking in case there were any more dangers lurking amongst the broken sea of wreckage.

Irillith squatted down beside her and said soothingly, "You can relax now, Calara. It's time to switch off that busy brain of yours. We won."

The Latina glanced at Irillith in surprise, then slumped back in her seat, blowing out her breath. Suddenly her Paragon helmet felt stifling, and she pressed the button to unseal it before quickly pulling it off. Shaking out her hair, she tilted her head back and took in big lungfuls of fresh air. Irillith copied her, removing her own helmet, then reached up to stroke Calara's lustrous brown mane.

Calara stared out at the forlorn battlefield, filled with hundreds of shattered spacecraft, each one a tragic tomb for the crew within. Barely thirty-nine of the Ashanath's cruisers were still operational and they were down to their last seven battleships, every one of which had sustained damage of some kind. She hadn't had a chance to count the destroyers yet, scattered as they were, but she knew they'd lost well over half their number. It might have been a victory, but the cost had been horrific...

"So many lives lost," she murmured, eyes welling up as she gazed at a burned-out hulk that used to be a shining silver battleship. Her voice quavered as she added, "Maybe I could've done something different; come up with better tactics..."

Shaking her head, Irillith turned Calara's face with her hands, gazing into her eyes as she said fiercely, "The fact that ANY of those ships survived is miraculous! They were outnumbered two-to-one by a greatly superior force. The Drakkar ships were tougher, they outgunned the Ashanath, and their forces were vastly better in a boarding action. You're probably the only person in the galaxy capable of snatching a victory in the face of such impossible odds!"

"So why does it feel like I failed them?" Calara asked wretchedly, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Irillith opened her arms to the girl, pulling her in for a tight hug and whispering comforting words in Calara's ear.

Tashana had removed her helmet as well, then watched and listened to Irillith with her mouth open in shock, marvelling at the compassion she was displaying. She jumped when Dana reached out and gently pushed up her chin to close it, then whirled around to see the redhead standing beside her.

Dana gave her a tired smile, then leaned in to whisper in Tashana's ear, "I still like to tease your sister, but she's changed beyond all recognition from the woman she was when we first met her. She's really lovely now, just like you."

The Maliri girl looked up at the redhead with wide eyes, then embraced her in a rush, suddenly overwhelmed with affection for her newfound friend.

***

John shared a smile with Sakura as the white hull of the Raptor slid past the window set in the outer airlock door. They both heard the docking clamps locking into position and ten seconds later, the gunship's door began to spiral open. John nudged the button to open the Legacy's airlock and when it had slid up into the ceiling, they saw Jade waiting on the other side, giving him a beaming grin.

"You're a sight for sore eyes, honey," John said to her, nodding towards Sakura to go first.

He followed the Asian girl inside the Raptor and Jade bounced over to his side, unsealing his helmet and removing it so she could give him a tender kiss.

"I'm so glad you're all safe!" the Nymph exclaimed, glancing with concern at the unconscious girls and reaching out to stroke Sakura's arm too. She looked at their tired faces and continued, "Come and have a sit down in the cockpit. I'll have us back at the Invictus in a couple of minutes."

She hit the button to close the airlock door, the Legacy's airlock sealing automatically behind them. Leading the weary group up to the upper deck via the grav-tube, she darted through the cockpit to take her seat and disengage the docking clamps from the Legacy. John carefully placed Alyssa in one of the chairs, then pulled the sword from his back so he could sit down too. Sakura did likewise with Rachel, then sat opposite him with her twin ninjato across her knees.

All three weapons were painted in blue blood, gruesome evidence of the brutal combat they'd all seen. Sakura's nimble fingers moved down the hilts, tracing the faces of her parents on the pommels.

"They'd both be very proud of you today. I know I am," John said quietly. "You saved a lot of lives."

Sakura looked at him with a sad smile on her face as she said, "Thank you, that's very kind of you to say." Letting out a rueful sigh, she added, "But I think I'll ask Alyssa to remove their images from my swords."

Nodding his understanding, John asked, "You don't want them to see what we have to do to save people?"

Shaking her head, she raised the blood-soaked weapons for him to see and replied grimly, "No, I don't like seeing them covered in blood, blue or otherwise."

He looked at her in surprise, then couldn't help smiling despite the macabre nature of the conversation. "We can speak to her about it tomorrow. I'd offer to do it myself, but she's far better at psychic shaping than me."

She nodded to him gratefully, giving him a little smile in return.

John glanced to his left through the cockpit window, looking at the Invictus for the first time after the battle. He frowned and rose from his seat, walking over to take a closer look.

"Did you get boarded?!" he exclaimed, spotting the black armour of a Drakkar dropship still attached to the battlecruiser's sparkling white plating. Or at least it had been the last time he'd seen the ship. Now the hull was pockmarked with laser scars and there were a couple of disturbingly big craters where the ship had been hit by some kind of large ordnance. He frowned as he added, "I thought I asked everyone to be careful?"

"I think I'd better let Calara fill you in on the details," Jade said, glancing his way and giving him a guilty look.

"Hmm, okay," John said disapprovingly, before giving her a reassuring smile and leaning down to give her a quick kiss.

Jade looked immensely relieved that he wasn't upset with her and she expertly docked the Raptor in the Secondary Hangar at the back of the battlecruiser. John saw the rest of the crew gathered by the double doors, waiting for them with smiles on their faces. Dana was being propped up by Tashana, the redhead still exhausted from being rapidly healed not much more than an hour ago. John returned their waves, then walked back to his seat to place his sword on his back and gently pick up Alyssa.

They all walked down the loading ramp, the girls in the Hangar running over to join them. After sharing a few awkward hugs while carrying the blonde in his arms, he eventually laughed and said, "Ladies, please! I'm just as overjoyed to see all of you, but could we put Alyssa and Rachel to bed first? Then I can give each of you a proper hug!"

Everyone agreed that was an excellent idea and they started walking back towards the express grav-tube at the back of the Hangar. Faye fluttered along at his side, a strangely conflicted expression on her cute purple face. She was clearly delighted that they were all back safely, but she looked distraught to see Alyssa and Rachel incapacitated like that.

"Faye, can you bring us into orbit of the planet, please," John asked her gently. "The Ashanath said we're welcome to use their shipyard so we can undergo repairs, but there's no point flying to the drydock yet. We'll need Alyssa's help with the repairs and she'll be asleep for a while."

She met his gaze, her luminous eyes fixed on his face as she exclaimed, "I'll set course immediately!"

John smiled at her and said, "Thanks, honey." He paused for a moment before entering the grav-tube, studying her worried face before he added, "There's no need to look so upset, everybody's fine."

She nodded, but the pensive expression didn't quite leave her face. She kept her gaze on the unconscious girls as she waved him goodbye and left in a purple flash.

John stepped into the blue glow then whooshed up to Deck Four in the accelerated anti-gravity field. He waited for Sakura and when she walked out behind him, he said, "I hate to wake Rachel up again, but it'll be easier and much faster to get her out of her armour that way."

"That makes sense," she agreed, glancing down at the sleeping brunette cradled in her arms.

Dana uncoupled herself from Tashana, then stepped forward and said, "Let me!" She deftly removed Rachel's Paragon helmet, then leaned in to give her a tender kiss. She smiled as she whispered in her ear, "Wake up sleeping beauty."

Rachel's eyelids fluttered open and Sakura gently lowered her to the ground. The brunette was still in a half-asleep daze, so Dana put the helmet back on her head and helped the Asian girl guide her over to an empty armour equipping frame.

"I'll hold Alyssa for you," Jade volunteered and when John nodded, she slid her hands underneath the slumbering blonde, freeing him to remove his armour.

He stepped into the only man-sized frame, then stood still as he pressed one thumb to his palm to unlock the armour and the other to activate the robotic arms. As soon as they pulled away the armour plating, he stepped out of his armoured boots, then said, "I think Alyssa will be out for the count for the rest of the night. We'll have to remove the armour for her."

It took longer to do so, but eventually the entire group was stripped of armour and they made their way up to the bedroom. John tucked Alyssa up in the bed once they'd removed her jumpsuit, with Rachel and Dana cuddling up with her.

Kissing the brunette and redhead in turn, he said, "You were both amazing today. Get some sleep and we'll talk more tomorrow."

"Thanks, John. I love you," Rachel murmured.

"Yeah, me too," Dana agreed with a lovely smile.

Both of them were worn out and they fell asleep almost as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Turning to look at the rest of the girls, he said, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use a shower before bed. Anyone care to join me?"

Obviously they all did and he grinned as he watched acres of luscious flesh appear as they quickly stripped off. Jade was first in, with Calara and Sakura hot on her tail. Irillith lagged behind though, shooing Tashana on with a smile when her twin waited at the bathroom door. Sensing that she wanted to speak to him alone for a moment, John looked at her quizzically as she finished removing her clothes.

"I'm not Alyssa, so I can't tell you what Calara's feeling right now, but she was really upset after the battle. She took the Ashanath losses to heart, so it might be a good idea to talk to her about it. I tried my best, but you're much better at handling these kinds of situations than I am," she said self-consciously, violet eyes staring at him intently.

John appraised her for a moment, before pulling her into his arms. He caressed her cheek and said, "You're an amazing girl, Irillith. It's wonderful to see how much you've flourished since you joined us. Thank you for looking out for Calara like that, I really appreciate it."

She blushed a dark shade of blue, unused to such effusive praise, but she gave him a grateful smile nonetheless. "I love all the girls; they feel as close to me as sisters. I didn't do anything the rest of them wouldn't have done."

"And I love you," he agreed, his hands wandering lower to cup her gloriously pert cheeks. He gave them a firm squeeze before spreading them a few millimetres, making her quiver with arousal. Giving her a flirtatious grin he added, "I'll find a nice way to reward you for being so considerate. Something we'll both really enjoy..."

Irillith bit her lip and moaned at the thought, melting into his arms. "I can't believe how much you've corrupted me," she said with a lusty groan.

"Are you saying you don't like it?" he teased her, enjoying seeing the wanton look in her eyes.

She quickly shook her head, then blushed again at her lack of propriety. "I love it!" she hissed, leaning forward and kissing him passionately.

When he kissed her back, she bit his bottom lip, her violet eyes flashing dangerously. It hurt, but she hadn't bitten hard enough to draw blood. At least not yet. He reached up to take a firm grip on her long white mane, then pulled back, forcing her to release him. It was a careful balancing act to not use enough strength to really hurt her, but enough to remind her who was dominant in their relationship.

"I might need to restrain you for my own safety," he mused, leaning forward to kiss her exposed neck. "You seem wild and in desperate need of taming."

Her eyes fluttered and she groaned again, the sound in her throat turning into a whimper as he grazed her slender neck with his teeth.

Turning her around, he slapped her on that delicious blue rump, drawing a startled squeak as he said, "Come on, time for a shower. We'll definitely be resuming this conversation again very soon."

"I can't wait!" she said with a delighted laugh, having thoroughly enjoyed the teasing and flirting.

The other girls were waiting for them when they entered the shower and it didn't take long to get everyone wet and soapy. John scooped Sakura and Jade into his arms, then sighed with happiness as Calara and the twins joined them for a slippery group hug. Closing his eyes, he revelled in the delicious sensation of five pairs of soft hands gliding over his tired muscles. He hadn't realised how tense he was after all the stress of the battle, but under their tender ministrations, he felt all that just ebbing away.

"What's your plan for tonight, Master?" Jade purred, her emerald eyes glinting with excitement. "Do you wish to take each of us in turn, then feed Tashana?"

The chorus of excited gasps let him know that they were all enthusiastically on board with the Nymph's excellent suggestion. Reopening his eyes again he said, "That sounds like a splendid idea but I'm afraid duty calls first. I need to debrief Calara after the battle."

The Latina visibly tensed, but nodded her agreement, as did the others with some reluctance at having to wait. He felt Irillith gently pat him on the bottom, which he assumed was her tacit show of approval for finding an excuse to speak to Calara.