Chereads / Three meals in the cockpit / Chapter 13 - CH. 013

Chapter 13 - CH. 013

The crew of the Invictus sat in the Officers' lounge, cuddled up on a big sofa watching the stars. John sat in the middle, with Alyssa sitting sideways across his lap, Sparks and Calara sat to either side of him. The evening had been a great success, with the girls loving the delicious dinner that John had whipped up and they relaxed sipping wine together.

"To our new chief engineer!" John said, raising his glass. "Welcome aboard Sparks, it's great to have you here!"

Alyssa and Calara echoed his comments and their glasses clinked together merrily for the toast, before they all took a big drink.

"Thanks everyone for being so welcoming. The ship feels like home already!" Sparks said gratefully, which prompted a round of hugs from the other girls.

The three teenagers chatted quietly amongst themselves, with John just soaking in the ambience of the evening and feeling relaxed and happy. He just sat and enjoyed their company, until a question from Alyssa roused him from his reverie.

"John, what are your plans for us and the Invictus after we go to Olympus?" she asked curiously.

"Well firstly I think we could use a little holiday on Gravitus," John suggested. "It will take a couple of days to equip the new workshop for Sparks, so we might as well go and have some fun while we wait".

"I've never been on holiday before," Sparks said wistfully.

"If it's anything like the last trip to Gravitus, we didn't leave the hotel room very much," Alyssa smirked, which had John laughing.

"Well we do need to take Calara and Sparks shopping," he replied. He smiled at Alyssa, and added, "You must be getting tired of Calara borrowing all your clothes.".

"Hey, it's not my fault, none of my old clothing fits me any more!" the gorgeous Latina exclaimed, cupping her pert breasts which had grown from an athletic 30B to an impressively busty 32D. She gave him an excited grin, then gushed, "A shopping trip sounds amazing though!"

Sparks was still a little intimidated by how beautiful the other two girls were, so she was feeling resigned to being the ugly duckling on this shopping trip. She had seen Alyssa's impressive wardrobe of exquisite dresses, suits and casual attire and she certainly wouldn't object to a similar selection of clothes for herself.

"That'll be lots of fun, but what's our plan after that?" Alyssa persisted.

"Well, I've been thinking that it might be a good time to upgrade the Invictus," John began. "Things seem to be heating up around the galaxy and we're bound to run into trouble. As and when that happens, I think we should make sure we have the ship fitted with top-of-the-line gear."

"What are you thinking about upgrading first?" Sparks asked, growing excited.

"I'm thinking the FTL drive is a good place to start," John replied. "If we can get the FTL drive upgraded, our journeys through hyper-warp won't take so long, and we can upgrade everything else that much quicker."

Alyssa nodded, and said, "That sounds like a good plan to me. Where do we go for the best FTL drives?"

"We need to go and see the Ashanath..." John replied, with some trepidation. After a lengthy pause, he continued, "The other advantage of upgrading the FTL drive first, is the Ashanath are masters of Power Core technology too. I guess they needed all that energy to power their drives."

"That sounds awesome!" Sparks gasped eagerly. "I'd love to take a look at some Alien tech, I've never worked with any before."

Alyssa smiled at her friend's enthusiasm, then asked curiously, "Who exactly are the 'Ashanath'?"

John took a big breath, then explained for the listening girls, "They live in the Ashanath Collective and it's very close to Terran Space. Actually, most of the Terran Federation's territory used to be part of the Ashanath Collective. They were one of the first alien species to develop FTL drives and they claimed a vast number of worlds completely unchallenged. Terra was one of those worlds and the Ashanath were the first race to make contact with humanity."

Calara was quite well versed with the major alien species, but this was all new for Alyssa and Sparks and they were fascinated as they listened to his tale. All three were familiar with tales of legendary Terra, the birthplace of humanity, but none of them had ever visited the planet.

"So how did the Terran Federation gain all that territory if it used to belong to the Ashanath?" Alyssa asked curiously.

"Well the Greys are basically pacifistic scientists and they don't really seem interested in colonising lots of worlds or fighting to hold territory. Humanity is obsessed with those things though, so the Terran Federation has annexed sector after sector that used to belong to the Ashanath Collective. The Greys have agreed to all their demands, probably just to keep the peace."

Sparks frowned, and asked, "The 'Greys'?"

"Oh, sorry. Terrans nicknamed them 'Greys' and the name has stuck for over 700 years," he explained with a smile. John looked thoughtful as he tried to recall anything else he could remember about the mysterious aliens, and he added, "The Ashanath are obsessed with cataloguing and studying all types of flora and fauna and that's how they first made themselves known to Terrans, with abductions and cattle mutilations. "

"Have you ever met one before?" Sparks asked John.

He nodded, then replied, "Yes, a few. They're happy to trade with almost anyone, and their FTL drive tech is second to none, but their tech is expensive. I used to courier parts from Ashana, the Greys' homeworld, to a few specialist buyers in the Core Worlds."

"What do they look like?" Sparks asked, leaning in and listening avidly.

He thought about the last time he'd seen the strange aliens, and replied, "They have grey skin, big black eyes, are short and thin, and they can be pretty strange. In all honesty, they creep the hell out of me."

"I can't wait to see one!" Alyssa gasped excitedly.

"I'm not sure you'll feel the same way once you've been around them for a while," John said with a wry smile. "Their homeworld is fascinating though, you should enjoy seeing that."

"What's so special about it?" Sparks asked, her curiosity peaked.

"You'll just have to wait and see!" John replied teasing her with a wide grin.

The girls tried to get him to tell them, but John was resistant to their interrogation techniques. The teenagers eventually resorted to trying to tickle it out of him, but once those gloves were off, he gave back as good as he got. The girls eventually begged for mercy as they lay panting and giggling, strewn about the sofas.

"Come on ladies, time for bed I think," John said, and helped them up.

They retired to his quarters and snuggled in to the big bed, where Alyssa and Calara watched Sparks blow him eagerly. Once she had been topped up, the redhead curled up on John's right side, with Alyssa behind her, stroking her distended stomach comfortingly and Calara settled into her usual position on the left. Feeling satiated and relaxed, John settled into a deep sleep and the girls all joined him shortly afterwards.

***

John descended into blackness as his consciousness slipped away, but tonight something new and different happened. He began to dream.

He'd never experienced dreams or nightmares before, sleeping like the dead every night for his 40 long years and always waking completely refreshed. Tonight though, the darkness began to fade, as random thoughts and emotions began to swirl around in his mind; insubstantial, fleeting things, that he tried to hang on to but they were elusive and slipped through his fingers. In the swirling maelstrom of his unconscious mind, an image began to coalesce and he concentrated with all his will to try and discern what it was. It suddenly snapped into sharp focus with shocking clarity.

He stood over a world like a colossus, proud and mighty, as legions of women surrounded him worshipping at his feet. Rather than revelling in their adulation however, he felt jealousy, rage and resentment at unseen figures who might covet his minions. The anger and thirst for power were blinding in their intensity, and he felt all consuming hate towards his rivals. He would crush them all and take what they had for his own.

John tried to resist these alien thoughts, but when he tried to do so, he felt himself falling as he was sucked down into a vortex of darkness and despair. Suddenly a glowing figure appeared in his mind, a beacon of light against the mind numbing terror of the abyss. He clawed his way towards it, desperately fighting to escape from the grasping tendrils of the horrors below. When he thought all hope lost, the figure reached for him with a slender arm and clasped his outstretched hand in her own.

The touch felt like a thunderbolt and he was abruptly wrenched back into full wakefulness.

***

"Holy Fuck!!!" he gasped, lurching upright and clutching his chest, his heart pounding away and his breath ragged as his eyes darted around the room in shocked fear.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down and lower his heart rate to normal levels. When he had managed to regain control, he slowly reopened his eyes. Everything looked as it should, with the girls fast asleep and curled up cutely around him, blissfully unaware of his terrifying experience.

Shaking his head as though to clear his mind of any other daemons, he lay back down and closed his eyes with a certain amount of trepidation. What else might lay in wait for him, lurking in the dream world?

Fortunately, when he fell asleep again this time, only the comforting void of sleep awaited him and John slept dreamlessly for the rest of the night.

John woke feeling tired and drained, his mind still reeling from the shocking nightmare. He lay awake, staring at the ceiling, before glancing over at the ship's chronometer and saw that it was six in the morning. He didn't want to wake the girls up early, so he lay still and just concentrated on the warm young female bodies draped over him, trying to distract himself from the disturbing visions of the previous night.

A short while later, Sparks stirred at his side and stretched languidly. She rose up on one elbow and looked down at him, smiling when she saw he was awake too. She leaned in close and pressed her mouth to his pointy ear.

"I'm too excited about learning how the ship works, I couldn't sleep any longer!" she whispered in his ear, so as not to wake Alyssa and Calara.

John grinned at her youthful exuberance as she smiled down at him, one side of her face pretty, the other horrifically scarred. "I hope Alyssa is right," he thought to himself, desperately wanting to help the feisty young redhead.

"Mind if I blow and go?" Sparks whispered to him, grinning mischievously.

John stifled a laugh and then nodded his agreement. Sparks disappeared under the covers, being careful not to disturb the two sleeping beauties who were sharing the bed. He felt his worries and fears about the previous night disappear as the redheads talented mouth smoothly engulfed him and wrapped him in the comforting confines of her body.

He lay back and let the enthusiastic teenager perform her magic on him. Sparks was using a relaxing, methodical technique today that felt absolutely wonderful. She didn't pause or change angles or stop to lick him or any other distracting nonsense that a lesser skilled fellatrix might have used. The young woman was focused completely on her task at hand, smoothly bobbing up and down under the covers and he relished being her absolute centre of attention as she concentrated on giving him pleasure. He was surprised at how quickly she brought him to orgasm and he let out a deep sigh of contentment as his balls began to pump out his cum into her waiting stomach. His release felt like a balm to his soul and when he was done, he sat up and kissed Sparks as she licked her lips contentedly.

"Thank you honey, I really needed that this morning!" he whispered to her sincerely.

Surprised at the vehemence in his voice, Sparks nodded at him and smiled graciously before leaning forward to give him a hug. She was shocked again when John clung to her fiercely, like a drowning man might to a liferaft.

"Are you ok?" she asked with concern, when she eventually leaned back from the embrace.

"Just a bad dream," John replied quietly, waving away her worries.

"Ok, just let me know if I can do anything for you," she whispered.

When John nodded agreeably, she manoeuvred off the bed carefully, weighed down as she was by the heavy load in her belly. She picked up one of his shirts and looked his way to see if it was ok for her to borrow it. John nodded, smiling and he watched her as she dressed and then left the room. Her eager anticipation at being able to play with the Holo-reader, and learn all about the Invictus, gave her an excited spring in her step.

John lay back on the bed and slid an arm around Alyssa and Calara. They both reacted to his proximity by resting their heads on him and snuggling in close, each beautiful young woman placing an arm over his chest and draping a silky smooth leg over his own. The girls were still fast asleep, but they cuddled him lovingly, and John let out a happy sigh as their comforting presence banished his worries from the night before. A restful sleep soon overtook him and he rested peacefully.

***

Alyssa woke up a couple of hours later and smiled to herself when she found herself cuddled up against John, her hand reaching over his chest to rest lightly on Calara's deliciously smooth olive-hued skin. She wondered for a moment where Sparks might be, until she suddenly became aware of a tiny new manifestation floating in her thoughts. Fascinated by the nascent bundle of emotions, she recognised it for what it was and allocated a private place for it in her mind, so that she could nurture this blossoming presence.

The beautiful blonde kept her eyes closed and calmed herself, so that she could attune her mind to this new flicker of consciousness. "There she is," Alyssa thought to herself contentedly as she tracked the source of the new presence to the Bridge. Happiness and excitement surged from the tiny ball of emotion, which made her smile, so she relaxed and enjoyed simply being cuddled with John.

Eventually Calara and John woke as well and the three of them rose to get ready before going off to get some breakfast in the Officers' Lounge. After they had eaten, Calara said she would go and keep Sparks company up on the Bridge, while Alyssa agreed to go with John to the gym and have her first swimming lesson.

The couple walked hand in hand down the corridor from the elevator, to the gym that housed the pool, but Alyssa could sense something was troubling John.

"Hey John, are you ok this morning?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah, sure, why do you ask?" he replied, trying to brush over his worries.

"Well you haven't checked me out once yet this morning. That's a first in the six weeks I've known you," Alyssa replied with a cheeky smile. Her cerulean eyes twinkled as she added, "Either you've lost interest now you have some new girls, or something's bothering you."

John laughed at that, then admitted, "Okay, you're right. I am feeling a bit out of sorts. I had a horrible nightmare last night and it came as quite a shock, as I never normally dream."

"Never?" Alyssa asked in surprise.

"This was the first one," John replied as he glanced at her. Remembering the terrifying nightmare, he added earnestly, "And hopefully the last!"

Alyssa stopped in front of him and cupped his face in both her hands. "You spend all your time worrying about us girls, but you've been through a lot of big changes too recently. Perhaps you're a bit unsettled as well?"

He shook his head, and said, "No, I'm fine-."

"Don't try to deny it," the beautiful blonde interrupted him, heading off his objection. She smiled at him as she stroked his temple, and added, "I know, remember..."

John pondered for a moment and realised that Alyssa was right, he did actually feel different. He'd given up the Fool's Gold, the freighter he'd called home for the last eleven years. Not only that, he was now in a relationship with three teenage girls, trying to help them wrestle with their own demons from the past and keep them safe from the dangers in the galaxy. For a lone wolf who had shied away from any meaningful relationship with a woman, this was a huge change for him.

"You're right," he conceded. "A lot has changed for me too and I guess I'm feeling a bit out of sorts."

"Well I'm always here to talk too. Remember we're a team now, and you should never feel you have to shoulder your burdens on your own," Alyssa said, then raised herself up on tip toe to kiss him affectionately. She gave him a maternal smile, and asked, "Feeling a bit better?"

John nodded, smiling at her.

"Ok let's go get in that pool. Saving me from drowning will stoke your rampant White Knight syndrome and help distract you!" she joked impudently.

Laughing loudly, John followed her into the gym. They stripped off their clothes and John held out his hand to lead her down the steps into the shallow end of the pool. He could feel her body shaking with fear as she followed him trustingly into the water, until she was eventually standing in water about four foot deep.

"There, that's not so bad is it?" he asked her his voice supportive and comforting.

Alyssa answered with a brave smile, and replied, "Not with you here to look after me..."

He smiled at her, then said, "Okay you're doing really well. Now come here and hold on to me."

Alyssa moved in close to him and wrapped her slender arms around his neck. He could feel her shivering with fear, so he wrapped her in his strong arms which soon calmed her down.

"I'll sink into the water a bit, so you can feel what it's like being weightless with the water supporting you," he said, soothing her with his calm manner.

He glided out into slightly deeper water with Alyssa hanging on to him tightly. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her deliciously smooth thighs gripping him as she clung to him as though her life depended on it. He cupped her firm bottom in his hands and stayed still, letting her get used to being surrounded by the water. The nervous teen gradually relaxed her death grip around his neck, but still hugged him closely. John waited until she had stopped trembling and seemed more relaxed.

"Very good!" he congratulated her, as he glided back to the shallow part of the pool. They just hung out for a while there, with John letting Alyssa build up her confidence level about being surrounded by so much water.

"There's one last thing I'd like you to try today before we end the lesson," he said. John ducked down in the shallow water and scooped up the blonde girl, cradling her in his arms, as if holding a baby.

"Now just relax, I've got you," he said to reassure her. "Remember this water is very shallow, so you can stand up in it easily."

Alyssa nodded, wondering what was going to happen next.

"Now straighten yourself out as though you were lying on a bed and stick your arms out to your sides," he explained.

He saw the flash of fear in her eyes, but she fought it hard and relaxed as he had asked. She straightened out in the supportive embrace of his arms and carefully laid back in the water. When water began to lap at her ears, she felt a fresh tide of panic rising within her, but she looked up at John's caring face and controlled herself.

"Excellent!" John said, impressed by her show of courage. "Just relax like that and float on top of the water."

Alyssa stayed calm and just relaxed, feeling the reassuring presence of his strong hands under her back and bottom. With her head partially submerged, her ears were under water and John's voice felt muffled and insubstantial. She didn't want to disappoint him though, so she stayed relaxed and floated as he asked.

*I'm going to move my hands away in a moment,* she heard him think clearly.

Alyssa's eyes flashed open, wide with panic, as she protested, *Wait! Don't!*

*I won't let anything happen to you, you know you can trust me,* he told her, his thoughts strong and comforting as he quelled her fears.

She nodded and felt his hands drop away and then... nothing. She still floated peacefully in the water, the water lapping gently at her sides. The feeling of weightlessness was something she had never experienced before, and Alyssa found it was not as terrifying as she had imagined. Eventually she even began to quite enjoy the sensation, finding it soothing and restful.

John let her float for a couple of minutes, before encircling her in his arms again and lifting her head from the water.

"That was exhilarating, John! Thank you so much!" she gasped excitedly.

"You were amazing. For someone who had never been in a pool before today, you were incredibly brave!" he said, very proud of her.

As always, Alyssa's heart lifted to hear his praise and the beautiful young woman beamed a huge sparkling smile up at him. The pool didn't seem anywhere near so frightening to Alyssa as before and she felt much more confident as they moved to the side and climbed out. They walked over to the towel rails and each took a lovely warm towel to wrap themselves in.

"Thanks for my swimming lesson, that wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared!" Alyssa admitted as she smiled at John.

"You're welcome honey, it was fun teaching you," John said, returning her happy smile. "You're a very fast learner, I'll be able to teach you to swim in no time."

"Ok, I trust you," she said, smiling up at him.

John scooped her up and kissed her soundly, causing Alyssa to squeak excitedly in surprise. She wrapped her arms around him and returned his kiss passionately.

"I want you," John said simply, turned on by her unquestioning faith and trust in him.

"But what about Sparks?" Alyssa asked questioningly.

"I've got it covered," John replied, smiling mischievously.

Alyssa read his thoughts and a thrill went down her spine. "Oh you bad boy!" she said, grinning eagerly. They left the gym and headed to their quarters, as John called Sparks on his watch communicator.

Sparks was engrossed in the holographic images surrounding the engineering station. She had started to delve into the arcane technical minutiae of the Invictus, guided by the invaluable Holo-reader and was loving every minute of it. The assault cruiser made anything she had worked on back on Karron seem like a child's toy in comparison, even her proudest works seemed utterly trivial when compared to this behemoth.

The redhead had spent a productive morning training herself on the basic operations of Engineering and she was now looking forward to studying the systems in more detail. The ability to be able to divert power from one set of subsystems to another was intriguing and she was eager to begin experimenting. She looked across the bridge to see that Calara was still sitting at her tactical station, engrossed by the System map of Chendar. Sparks opened her mouth to speak to the brunette, but then closed it again, not wanting to disturb Calara's intense focus as she planned possible attack scenarios for the upcoming battle against the pirates.

Sparks still found Calara a little intimidating, even though the gorgeous Latina had been extremely friendly and welcoming. That kind of flawless beauty was difficult to be around at times, especially when someone felt as ugly and damaged as Sparks did. The teenager reached up to touch her terribly scarred face self consciously and wondered again how she could ever possible fit in amongst these paragons of feminine perfection. Still, Calara, Alyssa and John had been nothing but overwhelmingly inclusive and generous with her since she had come on board, which got her thinking about the workshop again.

Her very own workshop! The one back on Karron with the Diablo's didn't really count, as it was all their equipment and she was their indentured servant. She didn't doubt for a moment John's sincerity in offering her a permanent place here though and the vast space he had happily turned over for her to use at her whim was slightly daunting. The teenagers mind whirled with possibilities at the gear she could make for her crewmates.

She pressed a couple of button on the console and a Holo-feed display for the Engineer's Almanac sprang into being before her. As a small child she had spent hours looking through their advertising material, poring over capacitors, generators and fabrication equipment. She had always dreamed of being able to afford one of their technical wonders and now she had John providing her a blank cheque to buy whatever she liked. The redhead swiped her hand over the holographic pages and idly cycled through page after page of expensive machinery.

"Oh wow! They've got an Optron Plasma transformer! That was meant to be coming out in 2780!" she thought to herself excitedly, as she wondered how they'd managed to have it ready in time for the 2779 catalogue.

A soft chime from her console interrupted her thoughts as she noticed that John was calling her. She pressed the button to receive the call.

"Hey Sparks, could you come and join us in our quarters?" John's smiling image said, with Alyssa peeking over his shoulder, a huge grin on her face.

"Okay, I'll be right there," Sparks replied agreeably, and closed off the call as Alyssa blew her a kiss.

She got up and stretched, feeling stiff after the entire morning sat at the engineering station.

"Time for lunch?" Calara asked, smiling at her.

Sparks laughed good naturedly as she replied, "It's a good job his cum tastes so good right?" Truth be told she was feeling hungry and lunch sounded like a great idea. She licked her lips reflexively and grinned at the thought.

The sound of Calara's lovely laughter filled the bridge. "You don't fool me for a second," she said, smiling fondly at the redhead. "You just say the word and I'll take your place in a heartbeat!"

"No, no it's ok!" Sparks said quickly. "I can see you're busy."

"Yes, I thought so," Calara grinned knowingly at Sparks as the redhead got up and began to walk up to the elevator.

Sparks returned the Latina's friendly smile and waved her goodbye as she entered the elevator and headed down to the Officer's quarters.

Calara returned her attention to the System map for Chendar and continued to pore over the detailed survey maps for the solar system. The Gas mining station was orbiting Chendar D, the Gas giant which formed the fourth planetary body in orbit around the G-type main sequence star. The yellow dwarf had six planets in total in its system, another gas giant and four rocky planetoids, as well as the asteroid belt that formed a sporadic ring in the fifth orbital path around the star.

She zoomed in on the Rastan-Cooper Gas mining station and the likely source of the pirate attacks expanded in the hologram, looming over the tactical station like a malevolent red spider. Rust coloured, the centuries old mining station had a cylindrical body with eight fuelling arms, which could be used to refuel ships or to load Tank-freighters with the harvested Gas from the planet below. Underneath the central body, the station flared out into a larger bulbous section which sank into the swirling eddies of the upper atmosphere of the planet. This section of the mining facility was used to process and store the valuable resources it leeched from the Gas Giant below, like some kind of huge planetary parasite.

The mining facility had been shut down and stripped by the Rastan-Cooper corporation when they had retired the station, but if it been converted to a pirate base, who knows what kind of modifications the pirates might have made to the place. The tanks would have been drained of gas before it was abandoned, so she wasn't too worried about rupturing the storage cylinders and triggering a gas explosion If she did have to attack. Her main concern however, was that these pirates were known to be slavers and she was worried about sailing in guns blazing and accidentally killing innocent civilians.

Calara's basic plan so far was to approach stealthily in the asteroid belt and then perform some passive scans of the station. Once she had been able to confirm the location of life readings in the pirate base, then they could alter their course of action accordingly.

The other big wild card was the composition of the pirate fleets. Black box recordings from the shattered hulls in the pirate's hunting grounds provided some clues, but it was difficult to come up with a precise order of battle. The pirates seemed to have access to a lot of older models of Terran Federation military ships, which in itself wasn't that unusual, as a budding privateer might well pick up a decommissioned hull from a salvage dealer for a cheap price. However, the sheer number of ships that made up the pirates fleet nagged at her and she was sure there was something that she just wasn't seeing.

Exasperated, she sat back and rubbed her eyes. "Perhaps I should ask John to take a look," she wondered. Calara had been impressed at how quickly he had been able to sniff out the potential site for the pirate's base. Even though he hailed from a marine background, he seemed to have a natural flair for naval combat and tactics.

She sat there dreamily, as her thoughts inexorably returned to her man. Ever since he had rescued her from the pirate attack, Calara had fallen helplessly in love with him. Strong, decisive, a natural leader, she admired his ability to command and a thrill ran through her every time he gave her orders. Not only that, but he was kind and considerate, going out of his way to make sure that she, Alyssa and Sparks were comfortable and happy in their new home onboard the Invictus.

Then of course there was the sex! God, she had never known she could feel so good! The Latina had only been in two relationships in her young life prior to meeting with John, the first was an innocent school dalliance, a boy she grew up with and had slept with to satisfy her own curiosity. It was a fumbled and brief encounter, marred by lack of experience on either side and had been largely disappointing. Her second relationship was an affair with a senior at the Terran Federation Academy. Craig Harrison was a rising star, scoring highly in command and tactics, which led him to be actively groomed for great things by the Academy faculty. Craig had been drawn to her by her exotic good looks and she had fallen for the big man on campus.

Calara had brought Craig home to meet her parents at the end of her first year at the Academy, hoping they would like him as much as she did. Her parents had been polite, but never really warmed to him and their intuition had borne out when Craig dumped her unceremoniously before he shipped out to his first posting after his graduation. This was the first time she had thought about Craig in the last several months and she was surprised that she no longer felt any feelings of rejection or loss over the end of her first long term relationship. She compared Craig with John in her mind and laughed to herself at how Craig failed to match John in any category.

She wondered what her parents, Jack and Maria, would make of John. Her father was a naval officer as well, Captain rank and in command of the Terran Federation cruiser Damocles, while her mother had been a communications officer before she left the military to raise a family. They owned a big townhouse on Jericho, a planet in the Epsilon Eridani system and Calara had grown up there as the youngest of four children. Her three older brothers had all joined the military before her, following in the proud military tradition of the Fernandez family.

Calara smiled to herself as she imagined how the scenario at her old home would play out. Her father and brothers were all fiercely protective of her and she knew John would be subjected to one of their infamous interrogations. Craig hadn't fared too well, but she knew John would be able to hold his own. Calara was a fair bit younger than John, but there was a 10 year age gap between her parents, so that wouldn't be too big a deal. There were a few things that did have the young Latina worried though.

Firstly, how was she going to explain the physical changes she had undergone over the last month? She had grown a couple of inches taller and her bust had gone up a few cup sizes, which could perhaps be dubiously brushed aside as a late teenage growth spurt, but she wasn't convinced her parents would buy that. Calara knew she still mostly looked like her old self, although her skin was now flawless, all imperfections magically wiped clean and her hair was now thicker and more lustrous. She still found it a surprise when she looked in a mirror and this stunningly beautiful version of herself looked back in amazement.

The second thing was what to say about her intimate relationship with Alyssa and Sparks. Her parents were fairly conventional and though they would probably be able to accept her newfound bisexuality, she was pretty sure they would balk at her being in a polyamorous romance with two other young women as well! Calara didn't want to lie to her parents, but perhaps that was the only route available to avoid a huge fracas.

Then there was the subject of marriage. Her parents no doubt expected her to get married and raise a family eventually, but although she loved the idea of being Mrs Calara Blake, she realised that it was an unlikely scenario given she was sharing John with two other eighteen year old girls. She smiled to herself as she thought how her family would react if she, Alyssa and Sparks descended on the Fernandez household all sporting swollen bellies and proudly carrying John's babies. Perhaps a visit back home sooner rather than later might be a good idea after all!

The thought of teenagers with well rounded tummies got her wondering how Sparks was getting on with John and Alyssa. Growing increasingly aroused, the gorgeous brunette rose and strode purposefully towards the elevator. Perhaps a little peak on her lovers was in order? She pressed the button and waited impatiently for it to arrive, until the doors swishing open quietly and she stepped inside. She hit the button for Deck 2 and then strode down the corridor as soon as the door opened.

The sound of a young woman getting fucked hard drifted down the corridor to her eager ears and Calara felt her heart begin to beat faster. She recognised the gasping female cries as belonging to Alyssa and the distinctive sound of flesh slapping against flesh reverberated down the hall. As she drew closer to the Commander's quarters, she prowled forward stealthily, not wanting to disturb the lovers within. She eventually reached the open door and looked around the edge.

John, Alyssa and Sparks were all completely nude and in the middle of the huge four poster bed. Alyssa was on all fours, her incredible athletic figure arched, John using his tight grip on her hair for reins as he rode her tight young body. Calara wondered for a moment if her teenager lover was taking their man in her pussy or her ass. The scene reminded her of the time he had pushed his way into her own tight little butt, however she also remembered the first time John had fucked like this in his ready room, holding her firmly in place as he stroked in and out of her until he had flooded her young womb with his seed.

Her thighs ground together at the erotic memories and she felt herself getting increasingly turned on. Calara's eyes drifted over to Sparks and saw that the redhead was rubbing her pussy in time with John's thrusts into the beautiful blonde. The Latina ducked back out of sight and stripped off her own clothes, before hurriedly moving back to watch the unfolding action. Her slender fingers dipped between her legs, wetting her fingertips, before moving up to rub her own clit in time with the fierce pounding Alyssa was taking. John thrust hard into the blonde, while his other hand moved under the girls toned tummy, stimulating her nubbin.

"Oh my god, you're so fucking good!" Alyssa cried out, as he drove into her over and over again.

Calara watched her friend being taken hard by their powerful, dominant man and the brunette silently cheered him on as he brought Alyssa to a wailing climax. John relaxed his grip on Alyssa's thick mane of hair, letting her head fall forward, as he continued to stroke into her perfectly presented young body. Calara gasped slightly with excitement when she realised that he intended to ride the teen through multiple orgasms.

John's sharp ears had picked up Calara's gasp and he turned to face her as he continued his relentless rhythm into the kneeling teenager before him. He pointed towards her and beckoned her into the room.

"I want to see you two together," he said intensely, looking from her to the redhead and Calara approached Sparks obediently.

Calara could see that Sparks was very aroused, her eyes wide, her pupils dilated, as the Latina knelt on the bed next to the smaller girl and leaned her head forward to kiss her. They kissed enthusiastically, both equally turned on by the lovers adjacent to them and the two teenage girls moved gracefully to lie down next to Alyssa and John. Calara pushed Sparks on to her back so that she was lying beneath her and then knelt over the girl so that her own big breasts brushed against the smaller girl's bust. Calara leaned down, so that her olive skinned titflesh enveloped Sparks's smaller, fair skinned boobs and their nipples both grew into firm little points as they reacted to the sensitive skin rubbing together. Calara moved in for another kiss, lightly brushing her tongue over the girls lips, until Sparks flicked her with the tip of her own tongue, encouraging the brunette to french kiss her passionately.

To her side, Calara could hear Alyssa gasping her way through another climax as John played her body like a skilled musician would play an instrument. The bed shook in time to the steady thrusts, making the kissing girls rock together in time to the vibrations. Abruptly the vibrations ended and Calara heard Alyssa gasp as she felt weight shifting on the bed behind her. Suddenly John's strong hands had encircled her own waist and she felt the blunt head of his cock nudge into place at the wet entrance to her pussy. The primed Latina stopped kissing the redhead beneath her for a moment to look over her shoulder and saw John ready and waiting.

"Give it to me!" she urged him.

Calara's mouth hung open in a silent scream as John pushed steadily forward into her yielding body. Aided by Alyssa's slick juices around his cock, he was able to push every last relentless inch into the brunette's tight little grasping pussy, until he was pressed right up against her. Calara's round buttocks quivered as the teenager trembled and tried to adjust to the massive presence that had so shockingly been driven deep inside her.

"Oh fuck!" she gasped, "You're so big!"

John pulled back slowly, letting her snug little passage recover from being stretched so tightly around his weighty shaft. Calara looked down as the cute redhead beneath her began to suck and nibble teasingly at her erect nipples.

"That feels so good, thank you babbbbbiiieeee!!" She suddenly shrieked the last word, as John forced his entire length into her gorgeous body in one pussy stuffing thrust.

Now he really began to work the lithe athletic teen as John picked up the pace and began to fuck her forcefully with long, powerful strokes. Calara could only moan as she rested on the redhead beneath her and hung on tight as she was ridden hard, loving every moment of being shafted by her Commander. She felt a slender arm working its way under her tummy and Alyssa began to gently but insistently rub her clit in a steady undeniable rhythm.

"Oh my god!!!" The Latina groaned helplessly as all three of her lovers concentrated on giving her pleasure.

The teenagers senses were completely overloaded and she screamed as she came explosively. Her pussy grasped John in a vice like grip, but her feminine muscles were powerless to restrain the rock hard firmness of his throbbing masculinity. He drove his cock relentlessly in and out of her as Calara rode a second orgasmic wave, then a third and eventually a fourth. Finally they had mercy on the sobbing teen and John slid his cock out of the vanquished young woman, helping her to flop on to the bed, utterly exhausted.

Alyssa grinned up at him, proud of the way they had triple teamed the panting brunette. She then gracefully lay back on the bed and parted her toned thighs invitingly, offering John a warm tight place to house his cock. John wasted no time in taking up her invitation and he moved to cover her, nestling his pulsing head at the entrance to her pussy. A combination of Calara's juices and her own helped John slide all the way inside his beautiful blonde, until his throbbing head was nestled in her womb.

Alyssa wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding him tightly to her.

"This is where you belong," she whispered in his ear as he lay on her. "Deep inside us."

John turned to face her, and they looked into each other's eyes as they kissed each other hungrily. Alyssa loosened the tight encircling embrace of her arms and legs, offering up her body for him to use. John maintained unblinking eye contact with his soulmate as he fucked her young body with long smooth strokes.

"You're so beautiful!" he gasped, as he drove into her luscious youthful flesh, still finding it hard to believe that he was able to have such an incredible girl for himself.

"I'm all yours, forever," Alyssa purred at him, as her pussy massaged him rhythmically, her hips rocking gently in time with his thrusts.

John raised himself up on his arms as he looked down at her, delighting in the spectacular view of her gorgeous young figure. Her bronzed skin was covered in a sheen of perspiration and she glistened enticingly in the light. He looked down at her slim, toned stomach and watched the bulge of his cock as he thrust in and out of her.

Sparks had been watching the entire encounter spellbound. Her blonde friend and her lover looked absolutely incredible together and she would have rubbed her pussy to another orgasm if she had not already brought herself off twice watching John pound Calara. She reached out between them, careful not to interrupt John's steady driving rhythm and gently caressed the protrusion where he was deeply buried in her friends abdomen.

"It'll be your turn soon," Alyssa told the redhead, as Sparks stroked her tummy.

"Rub my clit for me, help make me nice and tight for him," Alyssa pleaded with Sparks.

Following her friends instructions, Sparks slid her hand lower so that her fingers could feel where John's cock was shoved into her friend's pussy. She let her fingers get nice and wet and then brought them up to stroke Alyssa's clit as she had requested.

Alyssa's breathing became more laboured and her breasts heaved high on her chest as she got more and more excited.

"Oh, that's so good!" she groaned "You're making me cum!!" she finally gasped, as she felt the climax burst over her.

Alyssa's orgasm was enough to push John over the edge and he thrust himself up to the hilt and threw his head back, as his quivering balls prepared to unload into the supine young woman below him. The blonde's sucking pussy coaxed out long, powerful spurts of cum from his quad and her womb began to expand as it rapidly filled with his spunk. John's cock was sufficiently heavy girthed to have stretched the teenagers pussy tight around him, so there was nowhere for the cum to escape to. That meant the girls belly would have to do some work to accommodate the huge blasts of cum and Alyssa's waistline rapidly expanded as he filled her full of his sperm, enough to have made her pregnant a billion times over.

John was panting after all the exertion, his thighs trembling, as he gave one last shove and his balls shot out the last of their cargo in to Alyssa's tightly packed teenage womb. Finally he was completely spent and he carefully eased out of the blonde's tender pussy and flopped down on the bed at her side to recover his strength.

Alyssa felt a momentary sadness when John finally pulled out of her, but she loved being able to stroke the bloated sphere of her abdomen, feeling the evidence of how much he loved her by the vast quantity of spunk he had pumped into her belly. She smiled when her oldest friend ran her own hands over her tummy, gently caressing the tightly stretched skin.

After a little while John and Calara had recovered and they watched fondly as Sparks dreamily stroked Alyssa's cum bloated stomach.

"Sparks," John said to the redhead. "Alyssa is going to give you lunch today."

The girl's eyes widened for a moment before glinting excitedly as she moved lithely between the blonde's spread thighs.

"That's a good girl, are you going to help empty my belly for me?" Alyssa asked seductively.

Sparks nodded lustily as she lay down and began to lap at the blonde's hot pussy.

Alyssa sighed as the redheads tongue licked away eagerly, and said, "she's so hungry for it."

Calara and John began to massage Alyssa's cum swollen belly, helping her relax, so that she could feed her friend. Alyssa moaned and they could hear wet slurping sounds as Sparks eagerly sucked out John's load. The blonde's distended stomach gradually began to deflate as the young girl between her legs greedily feasted on John's sweet tasting spunk. Eventually Alyssa's toned midrift had returned to its normal sleek athletic state and it was Sparks who was providing a warm home for all of John's cum. They helped the girl waddle her way up the bed and then cuddled up around her as she lay down to have an afternoon nap and sleep off her high protein feast. The other three soon joined her and they all dozed together peacefully.

They stayed in bed for a couple of hours and then gradually began to rouse themselves to make use of the rest of the day. Alyssa wanted to train in the firing range and Calara asked John to help her with her battle plans for the pirate assault. Sparks was eager to learn more about the Invictus, so all of them except Alyssa headed up to the bridge for the rest of the afternoon. They all reconvened together in the Officers' lounge for dinner and then they relaxed together for a couple of hours, sitting around the sofa's making leisurely chit chat. Finally they called it a night and retired to bed, where Calara and Alyssa watched Sparks suck a stomach filling nightcap out of John's quad.

The next couple of days followed a similar pattern of meeting up for meal times and then separating to pursue their respective interests. John made an effort to spend his time with Calara, discussing strategies and attack plans with her and helping her to learn from his many years of combat experience. Although he had spent his time in the military as a Marine, he had spent a significant portion of time up on the bridge as the naval crews went to work, so he had many insights to share with the eager young Latina. Mainly though, he wanted to keep an eye on the troubled brunette, to keep her distracted by his company and to make sure that pre-battle nerves would not get the better of her.

Finally the morning of the day of the battle arrived. According to Alyssa's careful planned course, they would likely arrive at the Chendar system late that evening, which gave the crew of the Invictus one last day to prepare. John started off his day by loading up Sparks with a healthy meal and waving her goodbye as she buttoned up one of his shirts over her nicely rounded belly and sashayed off to the bridge.

Calara and Alyssa had watched through lusty eyes, as the redhead lovingly gave their man a stellar blowjob and then watched their young friend depart for her morning on the bridge. When they heard the elevator going up, they both turned to look at John.

"She's changed so quickly over this last week," Calara said in amazement, finally witnessing first-hand the transformative effects of John's cum. "I would never have believed it possible If I hadn't gone through the exact same thing".

"She doesn't seem to have noticed any of the changes yet, just like you and I were completely oblivious until we had it pointed out to us," Alyssa observed in reply to the gorgeous brunette.

"It doesn't seem to have healed her scars though," John said solemnly, remembering how angry and red the scar tissue on Spark's face, arm and chest were this morning.

"It's still early days yet," Alyssa said hopefully. "It took a while for those deep cuts on Calara's back to heal completely."

"They were fresh new wounds though honey, Sparks has had her scars for over 10 years now and the damage to her skin is extensive," John said, although his pragmatic explanation couldn't hide the sound of disappointment in his voice.

"Well she's happy and she knows we all love her," Calara said, trying to lift the mood.

"Yes you're right. I've honestly never seen her happier than she's been over the last few days," the beautiful blonde agreed. Smiling wryly, she added, "When she gets her hands on all that equipment for her workshop, she's going to be ecstatic."

Calara laughed as she said, "She'll probably start bouncing off the ceiling if she gets any more excited!"

They laughed at that, and Alyssa eventually turned to John and held his gaze with her piercing cerulean eyes, as she said, "Thank you for helping her. I'm sure I speak for all three of us when I say you've transformed all our lives for the better."

"I wouldn't even be here now if it wasn't for you," Calara reminded them both. She smiled happily, as she added, "Not only that, I now have pretty much everything I ever dreamed about."

John opened his arms for them to join him and they snuggled up against his side.

"I love you both, you're incredible the pair of you," he said to Alyssa and Calara. He smiled as he admitted, "I'm even falling for Sparks too."

This prompted the girls to hug him fiercely, big grins on their faces.

"Have you told her yet?" Calara asked curiously.

John shook his head, and confessed, "No, not yet. I'm just waiting for the right time."

"Well, just say the word when you want some alone time with her," Alyssa smiled up at him, aware of his conversation with Sparks about their plans for their first time together.

John leaned down and kissed her appreciatively, before leaning over to the other side to kiss Calara too.

Alyssa grinned at him mischievously as she said, "I bet you never thought you'd be telling your two teenage lovers about your plans to break in a third!"

"Alyssa!" Calara laughed at her outrageous friend.

Alyssa grinned at the brunette, then continued playfully, "Maybe we need to warn the poor girl about John's interest in impregnating teens?"

John laughed hard at that one, then said, "Don't you dare. You already sprung that on Calara!"

"I didn't mind at all..." Calara sighed dreamily.

"See John!" Alyssa exclaimed "She's ripe, young and fertile, just like me!"

"You're so naughty!" John admonished her.

Alyssa grinned at him, as she said, "Yes, but you love it!"

"I love you!" John said, grabbing the cheeky young woman in his arms and hugging her close to him.

Alyssa sighed happily and enjoyed the feel of his strong arms around her. She gazed into his eyes, and asked in a soft voice, "Admit it though, you love the idea of both of us being pregnant by you, don't you?"

"Okay, yes I admit it," he replied with a smile. "It's too soon now though, but eventually, yes definitely."

Calara snuggled in closer, sighing contentedly.

Alyssa smiled devilishly at her handsome lover, and said, "I'll drop the subject now and won't mention it to her, on one condition. If you also admit you'd like to see Sparks with your baby in her belly too."

"Alright you win," he confessed with a smile. "I've thought about all three of you being knocked up at the same time."

"That's very sexy," Alyssa murmured with a sigh, her expression doe-eyed and full of yearning.

"Uh-huh," Calara agreed, her dark-brown eyes staring up at him with a look of longing.

Both girls reached over to gently stroke his hard cock as it throbbed away insistently.

"Now look what you've done," John smiled at them both "Go and get me some breakfast first, I need to recharge, then I want both of you."

Alyssa and Calara nodded eagerly and got up to get dressed. Alyssa darted into their wardrobe and brought out two of John's shirts, one for her and one for the brunette. They buttoned up the oversized shirts, thrilling at the unusual feeling of wearing John's clothes.

"I can see why Sparks like these so much!" Calara sighed happily.

The girls walked out of the room hand-in hand, their long athletic legs looking sleek and gorgeous as -they each left wearing only his shirt.

"I'm going to need more of those," John mused to himself, watching the sexy teens departing.

Alyssa looked over her shoulder and stared at him with a startled expression for a moment.

*More shirts, not more teenagers,* John thought for her benefit, causing her to smile. The beautiful blonde raised an eyebrow at him archly and sashayed away, swinging her hips.

John settled back, relaxing with his arms behind his head. He sighed to himself happily, marvelling at the dramatic changes that had occurred in his life over the last couple of months. He couldn't even imagine what his life would be like without the girls in it and he realised how much he had grown to love all of their company.

He didn't have to wait long and the girls were back with breakfast. He tucked in eagerly, feeling both hungry and thirsty and wanting to get back into fighting shape. The girls watched him fondly for a moment as he tucked into the big breakfast they had prepared for him, before Alyssa turned to Calara.

"Poor John never got to see us the other day," the blonde said, her voice full of sympathy.

"That's right," Calara agreed, glancing at him with a playful smile on her full lips. She ran an elegant hand over the spot where he had chastised her lovely bottom, and added, "And now we know how much he was looking forward to it!"

The girls shared flirtatious smiles, and began to unbutton each other's shirts, gradually exposing their pert breasts. They leaned forward to brush their soft warm titflesh against each other, gasping cutely as their nipples grew erect at the delicious sensation. Alyssa looked coyly in John's direction, who was sitting there open-mouthed as he watched them together.

"Eat up, you're going to need your strength," she said, with a seductive smile on her face.

John's brain struggled to understand what she had said for a moment, what with all of his blood rushing to his cock. He gulped down his drink and took big bites of his breakfast as the girls turned back to face one another and began to kiss lovingly, their full soft lips tender with each other. He finished his breakfast as the girls slowly removed their shirts whilst still maintaining their erotic embrace, until they both sat completely nude facing one another.

The girls looked at him coyly as Alyssa moved to lie on her back and then Calara rotated and spun, so that she hovered over her friend and they were facing each other between their spread legs. As if acting as one they both moved forward so that their hot little mouths made contact with the other girl's pussy and began to take long salacious licks. The room filled with the breathy gasps of excited young women as they lapped away at each other, each following the other's lead in pleasuring each other so intimately. John watched with growing lust as he watched Alyssa's tongue lick Calara's clit before moving up to plunge inside her lover's tight little hole. Calara was facing away from him, so he could see over her olive skinned athletic form, that her dark mane of hair was bobbing away between Alyssa's thighs, copying the same lascivious motions.

The excited gasps and moans became more intense as they focused on each other's clits, rapidly licking each other and building towards a crescendo of pleasure. Their sensitive young bodies writhed together and then they both climaxed at the same time, their cries of pleasure muffled with their mouths still buried in their lover's pussy as they each lapped the other girl through her orgasm.

Alyssa moved her head back to lie on the bed, leaving Calara's pussy glistening where she had been made wet and ready. The blonde looked back at him, her lovely golden hair framed by the coffee coloured thighs parted above her and she darted out her pink tongue to flicker over Calara's pussy as if to show him where he should enter first. John shuffled forward with his eager cock leading the way and he presented the broad head to Alyssa first for her to get him slippery and wet with her mouth, before repositioning himself behind the Latina. Calara felt him nudge up against her, so she rolled her hips and sank down on him, eager to have John encased within her again.

John pushed forward until he was at the back of Calara's pussy and her rolling hips made it easier for him to penetrate her, as the tight channel yielded to his throbbing cock. Wanting him deeper, she rocked back and forth, nudging his head up against her cervix. He kept up the pressure until her malleable body opened up for him and he was able to sink into her most intimate places, his quad pressed right up against her as he sheathed himself fully within her. They just stayed like that for a moment, before the brunette dropped her head down between the blonde's splayed thighs and began to eagerly lap away again at her friend. Alyssa followed Calara's cue and they began to lick each other exactly the same way as before, the difference being that Calara's pussy was now stretched tightly around John's meaty shaft.

He rode Calara through two more orgasms that way, thrilling at the way her responsive young body undulated under him and her snug pussy massaged his cock. After she came the second time, he carefully pulled out of her and the girls flipped over, so that now Alyssa was kneeling over the Latina and he sank deep inside her welcoming body instead. He kept himself deeply embedded in his ravishing young lover as Calara licked Alyssa to two orgasms of her own. He relished the sensations of her tight little teenage body trying to coax out his load as she climaxed, but through iron will power he managed to hold off. Finally he pulled out of the blonde and the two girls moved to the floor by the edge of the bed.

Alyssa knelt down first and then Calara knelt in front of her, their legs slightly spread so that their pussies were resting on each other's thigh, as they snuggled in closely with each other. John watched them get in to position with growing excitement as their tummies brushed against each other and their big full breasts were mashed up against one another. The girls kissed each other, moaning lustily into each other's mouths before they separated and spread their lips into inviting ovals, presenting him a lovely target.

John stood over the two kneeling teenagers, fisting his cock rapidly as he lowered himself so that each girl could lick his balls. He looked down at two inviting sets of eyes, one deep blue, the other a rich brown, as both girls urged him to cover them in his spunk. Finally unable to hold out any longer, he moved back and then positioned the head of his cock over their faces, his hand moving in a blur. With a loud strangled cry he finally came, as big gouts of cum jetted out to glaze the beautiful faces looking up at him alluringly. Alyssa and Calara gasped with excitement at feeling his hot load shooting over them, as rivulets of his seed splashed down to cover their heaving breasts, swapping their perspiration for his jism. John's balls trembled as they spat their heavy load all over the waiting girls, his quad having been tantalised and teased by tight teen pussy for the last hour.

Finally his body spent, John stepped backwards where he could admire his handiwork. Each girl's face was coated in a thick layer of cum, that had dripped down all over their rounded breasts in a white, slippery mess. The girls writhed together, loving being painted with his seed and then began to lick each other's faces to scoop his delicious spunk into their mouths. John left them to the extensive clean-up operation and collapsed back on the bed, where he could struggle to regain his breath. He lay there and watched his young lovers as they hungrily slurped up all his offering, helping each other with scooped hands to try and swallow every last drop. Eventually they had got most of his cum inside their stomachs, split pretty fairly between them both. They stood gracefully and offered him an inviting hand to come and join them in the shower.

The three of them moved into the bathroom and stood beneath the soothing warm water from the shower head. He helped get them both nice and clean, washing away the remnants of his sticky load and delighting in running his hands over their rounded little bellies, where each girl had greedily filled her stomach with his cum. Alyssa and Calara looked up at him adoringly as he stroked their full tummies, both girls enjoying his possessive caress. When they were finally clean, they dried off and headed back to bed to cuddle up together happily. They rested for a little while, John luxuriating in being flanked by his two beautiful lovers.

A call from Sparks roused them from their tranquil daze and her face filled the holographic image when John answered the call.

"John, I'm picking up a distress call!" she said, sounding alarmed. "The message is reporting a pirate attack!"

"Ok we'll be right there," John said, before ending the conversation.

"Here we go," he said to the girls, and they smoothly rose from the bed to get dressed, before heading to the bridge.

They had a long day ahead of them.