Three Square Meals Ch. 091

When the Maliri sisters entered the bedroom, John was sitting on the end of the bed with the rest of the girls arrayed around him. Alyssa sat to his right, Calara to his left, Dana and Rachel behind him, and Sakura on the floor between John's legs, her back against the bed.

Alyssa glanced at Calara, who smiled back at her. They slid to the floor beside Sakura and patted the bed behind them as the blonde said, "Come and sit here, beside John."

The twins gave them a grateful smile, then moved to take the recently vacated places, sighing happily as John put an arm around them both.

"We're all set, Faye," John said, smiling at the sprite, who fluttered nervously in front of them all. "If I tell you to stop, could you pause the recording for us, so we can discuss what just happened?"

"I'd be happy to!" she said in a rush, before dimming the lights with a glance. She coughed as if to clear her throat and announced boldly, "Ladies and gentleman, I give you the Battle of Khalgron!"

The video began to play back, starting with the Invictus dropping into the Alpha Tauri system and seeing the Kirrix fleet for the first time. The footage alternated between the ground team in the Raptor and cam footage taken from the Combat Bridge. John glanced at Faye, who was watching his face for any hint that he wanted to speak, and she immediately paused the playback.

"Ah c'mon, we've barely started!" Dana protested, poking John in the ribs.

John reached behind to tickle her, smiling when he heard her giggle. "Just two things. Before I forget, I wanted to say that Calara's briefing beforehand was excellent. We knew exactly the kind of threat we were facing and could react accordingly without any really nasty surprises from the Kirrix."

Calara leaned into his leg and grinned up at him. "To be fair, most of that intel came from Thandrun. I just organised it into a cohesive briefing."

After smiling at her in return, he glanced over his left shoulder at Rachel. "The other thing I wanted to mention was the Kirrix autopsy results you showed us in the Raptor. That saved a lot of messing around once the shooting started and your quick analysis of those Juggernauts to find their vulnerabilities was incredibly useful."

"I'm really glad the information was helpful," the brunette replied, stroking his back. "Thanks very much for the Hivelord and Broodmother heads by the way. I'll perform another autopsy as soon as I get an opportunity."

John glanced at Faye and gave her a smile. "Sorry to interrupt. Go ahead."

The sprite blinked and the video playback continued, alternating the footage between ship and Paragon suit cameras as the battle unfolded. Every time footage was taken from one of their body armour cameras, Faye had cleverly superimposed a small video of the owner's face in the corner, so everyone could see their reactions.

The battle started out roughly as planned, with the Invictus engaging the Kirrix fleet at range. As things started to go wrong, Faye alternated between more cuts, showing John and the girls forced to land near the city to take the train route to the fortress. By the time the underground train came under fire and Sakura sent the Valkyrie charging in to save the civilians, John and the girls were completely spellbound, staring at the screen in awe.

No one interrupted again as they watched the thrilling battle unfold. The underground team fought through seemingly endless waves of Kirrix, while the Valkyrie and the Invictus skirted disaster countless times. The only sound from the audience were startled or frightened gasps as they witnessed everything the other team had been through. By the time the forty-minute movie had ended, they were all reeling, staring at each other in shock.

"Fuck me!" Dana blurted out, gaping at Calara and Alyssa in awe. "How the fuck did you survive slugging it out with all those drone carriers?! The amount of beams they were shooting at you..."

"We should have died," the Latina admitted, her expression grim as she looked up at John. "Several times in fact. It was only my prescience that let me save us from being destroyed."

Sakura had gone deathly pale, her face drained of blood. "It was all my fault... I had no idea how much danger I put all of you in!"

Calara let out a heavy sigh and put her arm around the badly-shaken Asian girl. "We had no choice. If we hadn't intervened to stop the drone carriers reaching the planet, you would have died. I saw it multiple times... watching visions of a future where we lost you was one of the most horrible things I've ever experienced. We were forced to destroy the Kirrix fleet at point-blank range to save you, we couldn't have destroyed them fast enough at long range."

Alyssa rubbed John's thigh and said in a hushed whisper, "I didn't know how bad it was in the tunnels... You kept that from me; you never thought about it, not like that."

"I didn't want you to worry," John explained, removing his arm from Tashana's shoulder and gently stroking Alyssa's golden hair. "I knew you were dealing with big problems, so I didn't want to have you worrying about us too. I had no idea it was as bad as that though."

"Can we have another group hug please?" Rachel asked in a small voice, clearly upset at seeing her friends' close shaves with death.

"That's the best idea I've heard all day," Alyssa said, standing up and climbing onto the bed. She wrapped the tawny-haired girl in a big hug and continued, "Watching you get shot by neutron bolts was awful! I know how much those fuckers hurt."

John and the rest of the girls joined in the hug, no longer triumphant about the battle, but more relieved that everyone had managed to survive through all the carnage. They held each other for a couple of minutes until everyone started to feel a bit better. Everyone that is except Sakura who still looked aghast at the repercussions of her impetuous actions. Pulling the mortified young woman into his arms, John gave her a gentle kiss.

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled looking to be on the verge of tears. "I thought I was doing the right thing, but I nearly got you all killed!"

He rubbed her back, then said quietly, "But no one actually died... Yes, you made a mistake, but Calara and Alyssa were able to save the situation. Let's talk it through and see what we can do to learn from what happened, alright?"

Sakura rubbed at her eyes and gave him a shaky nod. "Okay."

John sat back against the headboard and beckoned her over to join him. As Sakura sat between his legs with her back resting against his chest, the rest of the girls fanned out into a circle on the bed.

Encircling Sakura's waist in his arms, John said, "After watching the battle, there were quite a few things I think we should discuss, but we might as well start with Sakura engaging in the mech." He glanced down at the Asian girl and continued in a softer tone, "Do you want to talk us through what happened? Why did you ignore my orders and attack the hive ships?"

Sakura took a deep breath to calm herself and her voice was steadier as she replied, "I was just hanging back to cover the train station entrance to begin with, just as we had planned. Then I started watching the Trankaran civilians and realised what was about to happen to them all... the Kirrix were going to kill the children and feed them to those grubs!"

"That little girl and her mother," John said, nodding as he remembered the cam-footage from the Valkyrie before Sakura attacked. He had a bleak expression on his face as he continued, "I know it's horrible to think about, but sometimes we might be forced to make those kind of impossibly hard choices, like sitting back and not intervening. If the Invictus had been destroyed trying to rescue you, then you, me, and all the rest of the girls would have been killed shortly afterwards. If that happened, then billions of people would die at the hands of this other Progenitor. It becomes a choice between saving tens-of-thousands or preventing the genocide of several entire species."

She hung her head in shame and said softly, "I know, I do, but it was so hard... the little girl, she reminded me of one of Shinatobe's victims. That look on her face was exactly the same; the shock and disbelief that the Universe was a far more horrible place than she could have ever imagined. To see that loss of innocence all over again was heartbreaking..."

John was filled with sympathy for the girl and hugged her closer. "I'm so sorry, honey. I shouldn't have put you in that situation. You're so strong and resilient, I sometimes forget about all the terrible things you've been through. Maybe we should rethink you being so heavily involved in combat? I don't want you getting traumatised every battle..."

Sakura shook her head fiercely, turning to look up at him. "This was just an exception, I promise! When you've made me this powerful, keeping me from helping you would be crazy!" She darted a guilty look at Alyssa then Calara. "I'm so sorry I put you in that much danger. I'll never go off like that again, I swear it!"

Alyssa placed a comforting hand on Sakura's arm and gave her a warm smile. "It got a little bit hectic for a while, but there was no real harm done. The Invictus got a bit torn up, but no one got hurt. The next time you decide to take on impossible odds, just discuss it with me and John first, okay?"

"Okay, I will. I promise," Sakura readily agreed.

Calara had a thoughtful expression on her face as she said, "With hindsight, Sakura taking out the hive ships actually helped the ground team. You were only able to escape up the tunnel because she knocked out the Kirrix vessel near the entrance. It looked like you were on the verge of being overwhelmed at that point."

"That's very true," John agreed, nodding to the Latina. He glanced down at Sakura and smiled at her. "We were almost out of ammo and close to breaking point. Once Rachel went down, the rest of us wouldn't have been able to last without her. Thank you for clearing an escape route."

The Asian girl looked much happier now. "You're welcome!"

"On a more upbeat note, your combat performance in the Valkyrie was absolutely outstanding," John said, open admiration in his voice.

Dana nodded exuberantly. "When John asked me to let you pilot the Valkyrie, we were both thinking about your psychic speed affecting the mech, that's why I upgraded it with frictionless joints so it could keep up with you. That worked great, but I never thought about you using your Cryokinesis to cool the Photon Lasers with ice! That firepower was off the fucking chain!"

Calara grinned, an excited gleam in her eyes. "With no cooldowns on those quad guns, the Valkyrie must have rivalled the damage output of the Invictus' Photon Laser batteries!"

Sakura blushed at their praise, but she turned and looked curiously at John. "I didn't realise you'd spoken to Dana first about me piloting the Valkyrie instead of her. Why did you make me think it was a spontaneous decision during that debriefing?"

Before he could answer, Dana replied for him, "He was just trying to spare my feelings and not embarrass me in front of you girls. I kept fucking up in combat and nearly getting myself killed, so he grounded me in the mech for my own safety." She grinned at the Asian girl. "But you were a beast in that thing! Out of all the stuff I've built so far, that was totally the coolest!"

The Asian girl raised herself up a little to give John a tender kiss. "You were very sweet, looking out for Dana like that. I'm really glad I was able to justify your faith in me." She blushed again, and added quietly, "From a purely combat perspective at least."

"Honey, you vastly exceeded my expectations," he said with a proud smile. His smile faded into a frown as he looked into her dark brown eyes. "But you deliberately disobeyed my orders and we need to give you a suitable punishment."

Her face fell and she slowly nodded, her eyes filled with shame. "I'll do whatever you think is necessary to atone for my disobedience..."

"How do you think you should be punished," John asked quietly.

Sakura was silent for a long moment, then said in a forlorn whisper, "No sex with you for a month?"

He snorted and rolled his eyes playfully. "Don't be ridiculous! You're supposed to be coming up with a punishment for yourself, not for me!"

The girls laughed and Sakura blushed hard, a tentative smile teasing her lips. "How about a spanking in front of the girls then?"

"Now you want to be rewarded for being naughty?" John asked, an incredulous expression on his face. When the subsequent laughter subsided again, he continued, "Maybe I need to think of a fitting punishment for you instead."

John rubbed his chin as he thought it over, everyone waiting with anticipation, while Sakura looked up at him with a look of apprehension in her lovely almond eyes.

"I've got something suitable," he finally said, nodding with satisfaction. "I'm assigning you as the ship's Head Chef for the next week. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all prepared by your fair hand."

Sakura gaped at him in horror. "No! You can't! I'm a terrible cook!"

"Then it's about time you learned," John said quietly, brushing his fingers through her lustrous black hair. "I remember what you told me before... about wanting to be the perfect wife and cooking for our family."

She bit her lower lip and slowly nodded, a shy smile on her face.

"Don't worry," Calara said stroking Sakura's arm. "I'll teach you everything I know, okay?"

Sakura looked greatly relieved and darted across the bed to give the startled Latina a fierce hug. "Thank you so much!"

When she settled down again, John smiled and said, "Alright, that's Sakura dealt with." He looked at Calara next and continued, "Perhaps if we just go around the circle and I'll raise any points I thought of. We've touched on your use of Prescience, but your performance in that battle was outstanding, Commander. I'm sorry that the future visions were upsetting though... I hadn't really thought of that when I came up with that ability for you."

Calara reached across to clasp his hand. "It was a small price to pay, believe me." She smiled at Sakura who was sitting beside her. "Being able to prevent what could have happened to her makes up for that a thousandfold!"

"Thank you for saving me," Sakura said, leaning in to give the Latina a grateful kiss.

"You're welcome, Head Chef," Calara replied with a wink. She turned back to look at John. "I'm really sorry about the state of the Invictus though. We lost a starboard Heavy Cannon and the armour got badly torn up, but I promise that was the best outcome we could have hoped for."

He nodded his understanding, then glanced at Dana. "How hard will it be to repair everything?"

"Well the armour's pretty fucked," the redhead said with a grimace. Her expression lightened as she continued in a more upbeat tone, "But it was just quad shaped anyway. You guys were probably going to reshape it all anyway, right? Can you do that in space, or do we need to find a drydock?"

John shared a glance with Alyssa then shrugged. "Yeah, that's true enough; it did need upgrading. Between the two of us, we should be able to patch and reshape it all. What do you think about doing a spacewalk and fixing the armour?"

"You take one side, I take the other?" Alyssa replied, looking hopeful.

John smiled at her, knowing how much she hated repairing the ship's armour plates. "Sure, I'll be happy to help."

Alyssa beamed at him, then said, "With the maintenance bots replacing the hull plating as we reshape it, we could get it done in four or five hours maybe?"

"Sounds good," John agreed, before turning to look at the redhead. "So we should be able to repair the armour easily enough, but how about the Heavy Cannon?"

She gave him a helpless shrug. "I can't tell you until I've had a chance to inspect the damage. If the turret-well got really fucked up, we might need a bit of time in drydock to fix it."

"Alright, well we can survive without a Heavy Cannon if we have to," John said, feeling more relaxed. "Faye managed to keep the Raptor unscathed, so that's one less ship to worry about. I've also seen the Valkyrie and the damage didn't look too bad there."

Dana nodded. "Yeah, we lost a Pulse Cannon turret and the armour needs patching, but nothing too dramatic."

"The Kirrix disabled the Punisher Gatling as well," Sakura admitted, giving the engineer a guilty look. "It took a hit to the ammo feed."

"Actually, that's not so bad, I can patch that in no time," Dana replied, giving her a reassuring smile. "But the Punisher Gatling is old tech now anyway. I need to look into coming up with an upgrade that uses the Quantum technology in the rifles."

"They were excellent by the way," John remarked, looking pleased. "The stopping power was very impressive!"

Dana laughed and darted a glance at Irillith. "Shit... after seeing her hosing down anything that moved with that Pulse Cannon, my Quantum rifle seemed a bit sad in comparison! Irillith was like the fucking Grim Reaper, if he was a sexy blue chick with a great ass!" She suddenly sat bolt upright and gasped, "I know! I'm going to start calling them Reaper Cannons, after you!"

John smiled in admiration at the Maliri girl. "She's right, you and your Reaper Cannon were magnificent."

"Did your Maliri Thrall please her Progenitor Master?" Irillith asked him with a playfully arched eyebrow.

His smile wavered and he replied, "Just be yourself, okay? I'm a bit uncomfortable with how much I like you playing the obedient Thrall..."

Her answering smile was warm and understanding as she replied, "Of course, John." She grinned at Dana as she added, "That Reaper Cannon was thrilling to use! It just felt so natural and the raw firepower was phenomenal!"

"Do we want the whole squad using them next time?" Dana asked John, an eager gleam in her eyes. "Just imagine how badly we'd fuck up anyone who crosses us!"

Sitting back for a moment, John gave her question some serious thought. "We definitely need more, but I have reservations about equipping all of us with what is effectively a squad support weapon. I need to switch to my sword sometimes, so I'll stick to a rifle as my primary weapon. The same probably applies to Sakura."

The Asian girl nodded her agreement. "I wouldn't be able to carry a Reaper Cannon across my back if I need to engage with my swords. It's just too big."

John glanced at the tawny-haired doctor next. "I'm not sure how practical it'll be for Rachel either. In her role as combat medic she needs the use of at least one free hand..."

"I think it'll be fine!" Rachel said in a hurry. "Dana built anti-grav stabilisers into the gunframe, so maybe she could just tweak mine a bit? Then I could support it with one hand in an emergency and I'll have a free hand to be able to use psychic healing."

Looking a bit dubious, John glanced at his Chief Engineer, who just shrugged at him and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll come up with something to make it work for her."

"You're the best!" Rachel enthused, hugging her girlfriend affectionately.

When the two separated, John said to the brunette, "While we're on the subject of healing, you keeping the Trankarans on their feet during the evacuation was invaluable. We would have probably been forced to leave them behind in the fort otherwise, as there was no way we could have evacuated them; those wounded rockmen were far too big to carry. Without them there to act as a shield, Niskera or the diplomats might have taken some bad hits. You basically prevented what could have turned into a really ugly situation."

Rachel was ecstatic to hear his lavish praise. "I always felt like a bit of a fifth wheel beforehand, but not this time! Thank you so much for my healing ability! I love being able to save lives that way. It always feels tremendously rewarding, far more so than using conventional medicine."