Three Square Meals Ch. 084

John knew that while Sakura looked no older than the rest of his nubile crew, by chronological age she was actually ninety-five. Considering the many long decades separating them, without Mikaboshi's abduction they would never have met. Mikaboshi had still robbed Sakura of those kind of memories with her parents however, even if it'd been another man she'd brought home to meet them.

He nodded, his expression filled with compassion. "It won't be long now. You'll get your reckoning with him; the chance for vengeance that you were denied for seventy-five years."

"I know and I hate him with every fibre of my being," she said vehemently, before the conviction in her voice wavered. "But I've seen how furious Alyssa is right now. I respected my law professors, my parents; I know they'd be disappointed to see me behave the same way, so twisted up with rage. If they knew all the things I want to do to Mikaboshi to exact my revenge..."

John cupped her face in his hand, looking at her with sympathy and understanding. "We've talked about this before; whether there's a fine line between justice and revenge, or if you can achieve both at the same time. My answer hasn't changed: All I care about is you and making sure you get what you need to settle your score with him. I'll support you unreservedly, however you decide to deal with Mikaboshi."

"I don't know what I want..." Sakura murmured quietly, the conflict in her eyes quite clear.

"You will, when it's time," he replied, massaging her temple to help soothe her troubled mind.

She closed her eyes and rested her head against his hand, just letting herself be supported by him. When she finally opened her eyes again, she said earnestly, "You're probably the only man in the galaxy who can truly understand everything I'm going through. I'm so lucky to have found someone so exceptional."

"I feel the same way," he replied, pulling her down for a kiss.

She gave him a coy smile when they eventually pulled apart. "Speaking of the exceptional, we came here with a purpose in mind..."

He nodded, his hands sliding down over the perfectly toned muscles in her back. "How do we want to do this? With you on top?"

Sakura shook her head and leaned in close to whisper. "I like you being on top of me, it makes me feel more submissive that way."

John smiled at her indulgently as he said, "Are you sure? Alyssa seemed to think you enjoyed a little change."

"Never with you," she purred, rolling to one side and pulling him with her. When he was on top of her, she wrapped her arms and legs around him, then kissed him passionately. "You're my Progenitor, I'm your Thrall. I fight for my Master until he chooses to breed me..."

John stared into her eyes and couldn't deny the thrill that coursed through him at her words. A flicker of doubt crossed his face as he said, "You know I don't think of you like-"

"I know," she replied, giving him a tender kiss to quieten his protests. "But I also see how much that thought excites you." She pulled him down and whispered in his ear, "It's exciting for me too!"

Interlacing his fingers with hers, he gently but firmly pinned her hands to the bed above her head. "I do like seeing you get excited..."

Sakura was a strong, powerful girl, her body lovingly nurtured and enhanced by him during their time together. She was built to take a pounding, and he gave her exactly what she cried out for, riding her hard through her climaxes as she urged him onwards. The bed was creaking ominously by the time they were done, her womb filled to capacity as he packed her full of spunk. His aching balls did their best, feeling numb after having loaded up Jehanna relatively recently.

John collapsed on the bed, panting for breath, and Sakura rolled over on her side to gaze at him adoringly.

"I found my niche," she murmured, sounding tremendously satisfied. "Promise me you'll come find me if you feel the urge for that kind of excitement again."

He chuckled as he nodded, taking a deep breath before rolling over on his side to face her. "Your niche?" he asked, looking confused.

"Nothing, just something Rachel told me a while ago," Sakura said, a little smile of contentment on her flushed lips. She reluctantly sat upright, offering him a hand. "I'd happily spend hours snuggled in bed with you but we need to get moving."

John nodded and climbed off the bed, gathering all their clothes in his arms and following Sakura out as she walked into the corridor. He left the bundle of clothing by the door to her quarters, knowing that the cleaning bots would already be racing their way in their urgency to get the outfits pressed and laundered.

They walked hand-in-hand down to his bedroom, where Jade, the twins, Dana, and Rachel were all asleep in bed. A dusky-hued new addition slumbered peacefully in their midst, Jehanna completely oblivious to her sudden change of location.

While Sakura climbed on the bed, her rounded tummy leading the way, John crouched down next to Jade. He gently stroked her pale green arm and whispered in her ear, "Little Nymph... Your Master needs you..."

Jade's eyes flickered open an instant later and she looked up at him with heavy-lidded eyes. "I'm sorry I fell asleep, Master. I was just so tired..."

"Shh, I should be apologising for waking you," John said gently, running his hand through her thick hair. "I need your help, but first I've brought a treat for you. I want you to drink deep and feed yourself, then I can help you get your strength back."

He helped the exhausted Nymph reposition herself on the bed between Sakura's athletic thighs, a hungry glint appearing in Jade's cat-like eyes when she saw the golden-brown curve of Sakura's tummy. Jade wasted no time in lapping away, her long prehensile tongue snaking deep into the splayed girl's pussy. Sucking slowly at first, she soon began to intensify the suction, her body rapidly darkening and looking healthier by the second.

"That's a good girl," John said, stroking Jade's hair as she gripped Sakura's thighs with strong hands and greedily drank from her. "Don't forget to save some for the girls, we need to wake them too."

Jade nodded her understanding, diverting the flow of cum away from her belly as she continued to empty Sakura's womb. Glowing viridian circles of light began pulsing outwards from the Nymph's stomach, curving around her spectacular body and flowing down her limbs, rejuvenating them as John filled her with vigour. Her emerald eyes were bright and alert when she eventually sat up, her bounteous green chest having grown a few cup sizes to house their new cargo.

"Which kittens first?" she asked, looking down at the five girls lying in the bed. Her gaze flicked to Jehanna and she began to purr, glancing back at John and nodding her approval.

"Irillith first, then Tashana please," John replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. "They were both knocked unconscious and I want to make sure they're alright. They shouldn't need much, just enough for me to establish an active connection."

Jade nodded, then smiled at Sakura, beckoning her over. "I'm sorry I took all his cum," she said, gathering her in her arms. "Take some back and fill your tummy while I feed the others."

Sakura glanced at John and he gave her an approving smile. "You need to recover too. You used up a lot of energy today and I'm not just talking about the phenomenal sex in your quarters."

Her eyes shone with arousal and she gladly let herself be cradled in Jade's arms as she began to suckle. The Nymph snaked her free hand over to Irillith's mouth, then slipped two fingers between her lips. The Maliri murmured something in her sleep before the noise was abruptly smothered as Jade's fingers eased down her throat.

As cum started to pump into her stomach, Irillith's violet eyes fluttered open, looking at Jade in shock. The Nymph eased her fingers back and filled her mouth with a sweet-tasting spurt, Irillith instantly calming as she let out an ecstatic groan. Jade moved from one girl to the next, sharing out enough for John to be able to heal wounds and purge the drugs from their overwhelmed systems. One by one they returned to consciousness, each sitting up and staring at John with wide eyes.

"Come here," he said, giving them a gentle smile and welcoming them with open arms.

They each rushed across the bed to him, the Maliri twins first, and then the redhead and brunette who hugged him from behind.

"I was so worried about all of you," he said, stroking them reassuringly.

"What happened?" Tashana murmured, looking at him in confusion. "We were dancing in the nightclub and then... I don't know. Blackness..."

"There was an explosion. You were attacked by assassins," John said, glancing over the girls at Sakura and Jade who knelt together on the bed. "I would have lost you all, but my amazing Security Chief and Nymph were there to save you."

The girls went over to hug Sakura and Jade, showering them in grateful kisses.

John let them have their moment, then said quietly. "Calara's been taken."

There were sharp intakes of breath as the newly-woken girls looked at him in horror.

"We've got to get her back!" Dana blurted out, stating the obvious in her shock, the colour draining from her face.

He nodded, staying calm to try and instil them with confidence that he certainly didn't feel. "We've got a plan, but we need your help. Get dressed and we'll meet in the Briefing Room to fill you in."

***

There were grim faces all around the briefing table as the girls learned what had happened and the plan to rescue their lost Lioness.

"So that's why we need your help, Irillith," John explained, waving his hand towards the holographic Sector Map that showed dozens of spacecraft in flight.

Each ship that had left Terra since Calara had been captured was highlighted in red, the vast majority of them Terran merchant vessels of varying sizes and classifications. They were slowly creeping their way across the Sector Map, their progress in hyper-warp tracked by the Terran Federation sensor grid.

"If you can get me within interdiction range, I can easily hack any of those ships," Irillith said, nodding emphatically. "It should only take me about thirty seconds to gain complete control of any vessel, at which point, I can start scouring the internal cams for any sign of Calara or the assassins."

"What if they're hidden in concealed compartments?" Tashana asked, a worried frown on her face. "A kidnapped Federation officer is about as illicit a cargo as they could possibly haul. I'd be astonished if they haven't taken any additional precautions."

John looked at her in surprise. "Memory flashbacks?" he asked with concern.

"Yes, but nothing bad," she replied, giving him an appreciative smile. Turning back towards the map, she frowned as she added, "We have to allow for the fact that they might have taken a circumspect route to try and throw off suspicion. Are we tracking every ship that left Terra since the kidnapping?"

Faye nodded, her elfin face bobbing up and down exuberantly. "I've been monitoring every ship just to be on the safe side!" She blinked at the map and it expanded until it was showing hundreds of vessels, each trailing a green line that led back to Terra.

"Nice work, Faye," John said, looking at the other ships for any sign of erratic flight paths. He glanced at Dana and continued, "What about active scans? Can we check the listed crew on the ship's manifest, then compare that number against the lifeforms picked up by the scan?"

"Yeah! That would work, we could definitely do that," Dana said, tapping her finger on her chin as she thought about it. "We'd need to get a bit closer to be in range and the ships would know that they're being scanned."

"If I gain control of the ship before you initiate the scan, I should be able to prevent any retaliation against Calara by locking down bulkheads, ejecting the crew, that kind of thing," Irillith mused, thinking of the relevant subsystems she'd need to hack.

"There are scores of ships; this is going to take a lot of time," Alyssa said, looking very worried. "What if the assassins wait for a day, then make their move? The sheer number of vessels leaving Terra will make finding Calara impossible."

"I know," John said, his expression bleak. "We just have to hope they're moving her immediately. They'll probably be operating on the assumption that they need to escape from Terra before the planet is locked down."

Alyssa snarled angrily, "They obviously don't know how fucking useless Terran Flight Control is!"

John nodded, then shrugged as he said, "If they have stayed on Terra, we'll just have to deal with the situation if that turns out to be the case." He looked around at the girls and continued, "So, to summarise then: we chase down all the ships that are heading to those five target systems and start searching each vessel for Calara. We get close enough for Irillith to hack them, then move in closer for Dana to perform an active scan. If we see any discrepancies between the crew manifest and the scan results, we make our move, with Irillith locking down the ship to keep Calara safe."

"Sounds good, let's get started," Alyssa said, with an impatient nod.

"Or, we can just follow Calara's ethereal cord!" Sakura gasped, staring in astonishment at Alyssa, having just noticed the seventh glowing cable snaking away from the fuming Matriarch.

"Wait... what?!" John blurted out, staring at the Asian girl in shock.

Looking at him in awe, Sakura replied, "I only just spotted it when I looked at Alyssa! This must be something to do with having an active connection with you. When you preloaded us before the Battle of Ashana, I used the same ability to find Alyssa on the Legacy." She looked upset as she added, "I'm so sorry! With all the stress of combat, I completely forgot about it."

John shook his head, and he gave her a reassuring smile. "You're trying to adjust to a lot of new abilities so you've got nothing to apologise for. Which way is her cord pointing?"

Sakura sprang to her feet and stood beside Alyssa, holding her arm out in the same direction as the ethereal cord that snaked off through the hull of the ship. "She's that way!"

Alyssa's eyes narrowed as she turned to look at Sakura's outstretched arm, then her intense blue-eyed gaze swung back to the holographic Sector Map. "That one," she said, pointing at a freighter inching its way towards a red dwarf star. "They're heading towards Proxima Centauri."

John's eyes fixed on the small freighter. "They've nearly arrived, let's get geared up and move out. How long until we get there?"

"Twenty-two minutes," Alyssa replied, a dreadful smile of anticipation appearing on her face.

Sakura glanced John's way. "What's our plan?"

John rose from his chair, replying solemnly, "We show everyone what happens when you fuck with the Lion and his Lionesses."

***

The muggy darkness seemed to fall away from Calara's mind and she groaned as she awoke, her tongue feeling thick in her mouth. She was vaguely aware of a slight sting in her left arm and that she was lying on a cold, metal table of some kind. Feeling groggy, she tried to sit up, but bands restraining her chest, arms, and legs held her tightly in place. Her eyes slowly opened and the lights seemed much too bright at first, before the glare faded away, and her pupils were able to adjust.

The ceiling was oppressively low and constructed from large, rough-hewn stone blocks. Aside from the few operating spotlights, the room seemed to be shrouded in gloom. Operating spotlights... That realisation sent a shiver down her spine.

Realising John and the girls would be searching for her, Calara reached out with her mind. *Alyssa? Are you there?*

*Calara!* Alyssa blurted out, her voice throbbing with emotion. *Oh my love! I've been worried sick!*

*I just woke up. I was shot with a tranquiliser dart by an invisible attacker, probably someone wearing nanoweave. I'm not sure where I am right now, but the room I'm in is made from big stone blocks. It's a bit musty, so I think I'm underground,* the Latina replied, trying to give her girlfriend as much useful information as possible. A shoe scuffed the floor, and she tensed, wondering who was there. *There's someone else here, hang on.*

*We know where you are, we're coming!* Alyssa replied, the absolute conviction in her voice filling Calara with a surge of confidence.

"She has awoken, Idaina-sha," an obsequious voice murmured, from somewhere behind Calara's head.

There was a long moment's pause, until a cold voice replied, "Thank you, Doctor."

Calara glanced downward, trying to get a glimpse of her captor, until a handsome golden-brown face suddenly filled her vision. There was no warmth in his unnerving gaze and there was a hint of a metallic sheen to his almond-shaped brown eyes.

"My name is Amatsu Mikaboshi, but you may address me as Idaina-sha, Commander Calara Fernandez," Mikaboshi gloated, sounding extremely pleased with himself. "I imagine you must be terrified at this moment. Are you wondering where you are? Hoping with all your heart that your friends will save you? I can assure you, they will never find you."

Calara looked at the man with anger, then her expression shifted to contempt.

Mikaboshi seemed confused by her reaction, but a wicked smile appeared on his face as he continued to taunt her, "John Blake took something very precious from me, so I will return the favour and replace what was lost." Stepping aside, he gestured to his right and added with an evil grin, "Behold and despair!"

Looking off to her left, Calara saw what appeared to be the body of an Asian woman lying on a table beside her. However, the woman's face was tilted sideways at an angle, like a hinge door partially opened. The silvery metal surrounding that oval face glinted as it caught the light.

"Your glorious new body!" Mikaboshi declared, leaning forward to study her reaction. "You will be magnificent when our work is complete, my new Shinatobe!"

Giving him a level look, Calara said patiently, "You have no idea what you've done, do you?"

"John Blake destroyed my most precious possession! I will make him feel that stinging pain of loss!" Mikaboshi snarled, his face twisting with malicious glee.

Calara slowly shook her head. "No. You've managed to enrage three of the most powerful people in the galaxy." Glancing away for a moment, her mind whirred as she started analysing the situation, calculating variables, predicting the most likely outcomes.

"Your false bravado will provide you scant comfort!" Mikaboshi crowed, accompanied by a mocking laugh. When Calara didn't react in the slightest, the Master Assassin frowned in irritation. This wasn't unfolding the way he'd been hoping. He'd expected weeping, screams of terror, and begging for mercy, but not... total indifference. His lip curled in annoyance and he studied her look of concentration. "What on Terra are you doing?!"

"One moment. Could you tell me the time, please?" Calara requested politely.

Mikaboshi gave her a confused frown. "It's three in the morning. By the time the sun arises, you will be encased in a cold metal shell! You shall be my obedient servant for the rest of your life!"

"Interesting, thank you," the Latina replied gratefully. She gave him a grim smile as she continued, "To answer your earlier question: I'm just trying to calculate which one of my friends will end you and how much time you've got left."

Eyes narrowing in anger, Mikaboshi glared at this stubbornly defiant woman. No, this was not how he'd imagined this encounter going at all. He glanced at the doctor who had remained silent during the entire exchange. "Prepare her for surgery! We shall see how brave she is when we begin the operation... with no anaesthetic!"