John woke the next morning, feeling refreshed after the night's rest. He stretched contentedly and then looked down at his girls, expecting to see them all curled up fast asleep. Three of them were still slumbering peacefully, but a beautiful pair of rich brown eyes looked up at him from under a mass of dark hair on his left hand side. He rolled over to his left so that he was facing her, pulling her close to him and the lovely Latina watched him with a warm smile on her face. He tilted her head gently to the side, so that his lips could brush her ears.
"Let's go have a chat." he whispered to Calara softly.
The gorgeous brunette nodded and they both rose silently, being careful not to wake any of the slumbering girls. John offered her his hand and she slipped her slender fingers between his, feeling warm and soft in his gentle grasp. He led her into the lounge and sat on one of the sofa's, pulling her over to sit astride him. Calara moved lithely on to his lap, brushing her big firm breasts against his chest, causing her nipples to harden into little erect points. Seeing her pert young body reacting with arousal made John's cock throb excitedly. He held her hips, pulling her close, so that her coffee coloured tummy pressed up against the hot length of his shaft.
"I know you want to talk," Calara said quietly, as she looked down at him. "but let's do it with you inside me."
She raised herself up and positioned the blunt head of his cock at the entrance to her wet little pussy and then just rocked her hips with tiny movements, letting herself slide down his wide girthed length. She shivered as her cervix yielded for him readily, allowing her to welcome him into her womb.
"Mmm, that's much better." she purred contentedly as she took his entire length, her pussy lips spread tightly around the root of his cock. The rounded cheeks of her ass brushed his balls as she settled into position.
John pulled her close to him and held the olive skinned girl against his chest as she cuddled up in the comforting embrace of his strong arms.
"I was worried about you after last night, but you seem better than fine this morning!" John said as Calara gently squeezed his shaft with her pussy.
"It was just the shock last night." she said, as she tilted her head to the side resting on his shoulder, her eyes only inches from his.
"I do feel fine this morning," she smiled at him reassuringly. "better than fine in fact." she added with a grin, as she gripped his cock tightly inside her.
John stroked her back lovingly and held her close to him.
"I want to learn to fight though." Calara pleaded, leaning back so she was looking down on him. She arched her back, jutting out her proud breasts for John to suck on her mouth watering nipples.
"I'm tired of being the damsel in distress." The brunette said with conviction. "I want you to teach me to fight like you do." she said, looking into his eyes as he sucked on her aroused flesh.
John saw the steely determination in those warm chocolate coloured eyes and was impressed by her resolve. He reluctantly let her velvety soft nipple slip from his mouth.
"We'll start training as soon as we're back on board the ship." John promised.
Calara's eyes mellowed as she smiled at him gratefully. She placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself and she began to gently glide up and down in his lap.
"Remind me to thank Jade." John said with a contented sigh, as Calara gracefully rode him with sensual movements of her hips.
"I thought you did last night?" Calara said, remembering the touching scene in the hover-limo.
"Yes, but I haven't thanked her for teaching you to move like this!" John said, groaning in delight.
"We aim to please... Master." Calara said, with a playful smile.
They stared into each other's eyes as she massaged him with her body, her pussy gently encouraging him to give her the reward her womb craved. John saw the fiery passion in her smouldering eyes as the Latina slowly rode him, her gorgeous figure moving with a sensual allure he'd never seen from her before. The only sound in the room was their breathy sighs, as they luxuriated in the feel of each other's bodies.
The sound of excited female squeals came from their bedroom and Sparks came bounding out of the room, bubbling with enthusiasm.
"Oh my god!" she gasped. "You have got to come and see this!" the redhead said as she rushed over to them.
Sparks was so excited, she only realised what Calara and John were up to, when she dashed up to their side.
"Oh!" she exclaimed in surprise. "I'm sorry to interrupt!" she apologised.
Calara smiled at the redhead affectionately.
"What is it Sparks?" the brunette asked curiously, as she continued to move sensually on John's lap.
"John's on the holo-net!" Sparks squealed with glee, her eyes sparkling.
Calara's eyes lit up with excitement and she looked down at John eagerly.
"Ok, ok!" John grumbled. Truthfully he'd been looking forward to this himself, but Calara felt so amazing he was reluctant to let her go.
"I'll make it up to you later John, I promise!" Calara said, looking into his eyes with a thrilling intensity.
Sparks offered the smoking hot brunette her hand and Calara slowly lifted herself up, reversing her impalement on John's shaft. He eventually pulled out of her completely, leaving his cock to throb angrily in the air, annoyed at no longer being wrapped in a willing teen. Calara leaned down to kiss the head lovingly.
"I'm really sorry." she apologised to his cock. "I'll be good to you later." she promised sincerely.
Calara looked up at John and smiled at him mischievously, before she rose gracefully and offered him a hand. John stood and followed the two young women, as they dashed ahead to the bedroom chattering animatedly.
He walked into the bedroom and saw that the big vid-screen was turned on and a news programme had been paused. The screen was frozen on a smartly dressed man, the banner underneath identifying him as Bill Armstrong, lead anchor for Terran Federation Network News.
The four girls were sitting on the bed and they beckoned John over excitedly, leaving a spot in the middle for him. He climbed on the bed and glanced at Alyssa as he moved into place. The beautiful blonde was smiling at him lovingly, a tender expression on her face.
*There's no surprising you with anything, is there?* he thought to her with amusement.
Alyssa shook her head slightly with a wry grin and blew him a kiss.
John settled down on the bed and the girls crowded around him. Their sense of excitement and anticipation was almost palpable. Alyssa picked up the remote and hit play.
"...And now we move on to a special report from Jehanna Elani, exclusive for Terran Federation Network News!" The sharply dressed lead anchor said enthusiastically, as the cameras cut away from him to focus on a beautiful dusky skinned girl.
"Thank you, Bill." the young reporter said gratefully.
"Just last week we heard of a terrifying incursion into Terran Federation space!" Jehanna said excitedly.
"A band of despicable pirates had ravaged the sectors around Port Heracles, capturing and killing civilians and military personnel alike in their reign of terror!" she exclaimed.
"Any people captured by these evil pirates were being sold as slaves to the Kirrix!" the young reporter gasped with wide eyes.
"There's some truly evil folk out there Jehanna." Bill said sadly, shaking his head as the camera cut to him briefly.
"That there are Bill." Jehanna replied somberly.
"Fortunately, the Terran Federation is lucky to have heroes too!" Jehanna said, passionately.
"TFNN has managed to get an exclusive interview with John Blake, Commander of the Invictus." the young woman said, her eyes flashing with excitement.
The screen opened up to show a holo image of John's face and the four girls in the bedroom whooped and cheered.
"Commander John Blake, this is Jehanna Elani from TFNN." the young reporter said. "Thank you for agreeing to this interview."
"I'm happy to oblige." the image of John said, with a pleasant smile.
"We received reports that you personally intervened and saved 423 people from the ravages of a vile Kirrix warband! Not satisfied with that, you put an end to the marauding pirate leader and mounted another rescue, saving 15 more prisoners from the pirate flagship!" Jehanna gasped in amazement.
"That's right Jehanna. As a loyal Terran Federation citizen, it was my duty and honour to save those people and stop those attacks." John's image said firmly.
"Our reports show you were outnumbered over 20 to 1, yet you managed to eliminate the entire pirate fleet, as well as rescue every single prisoner!" she gasped.
"How did you manage to succeed against such impossible odds?" Jehanna asked in awe.
"I attribute the victory to my gifted Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Calara Fernandez!" John's image said proudly.
Calara's shocked gasp pierced the electric atmosphere of the room.
"This exceptional young officer analysed the pirate attacks and discovered their base. She also formulated our plan of attack and then used the firepower on the Invictus to devastating effect." John's image continued undaunted.
"She sounds like an amazing woman!" Jehanna said admiringly.
"The finest officer it's ever been my privilege to serve with." John's image said, his voice ringing with sincerity.
"As a grateful Terran Federation citizen, let me take this opportunity to thank you and your heroic crew Commander!" Jehanna swooned.
"It was our pleasure." John's holo image replied with a warm smile.
The holo-image faded away and the cameras cut back to Jehanna who had moved over to sit at a desk next to Bill.
"I almost feel sorry for the enemies of humanity!" Bill Armstrong grinned at her.
"What a guy!" Jehanna Elani said with a sigh, beaming a huge smile at her fellow presenter.
"Thank you for that inspiring Special Report Jehanna. Now, in other news..." Bill began, leading into another story.
Alyssa turned off the vid-screen and a hushed quiet descended on the bedroom.
"Vice Admiral Charles Harris asked me to give you something." John said, smiling at the stunned Latina sitting at his side.
He got up and went to his suit jacket that was folded over a chair and returned with a hard backed case. He sat on the bed and presented it to the brunette.
Calara held out a shaking hand and flipped open the lid of the case, revealing a golden hawk insignia and a small metallic representation of a supernova with a single pointed flare.
"Congratulations Calara. You've been commended with a Novaburst and promoted to first lieutenant." John said proudly.
Calara's trembling fingertips brushed over the medal and rank insignia that were displayed on the pristine velvet cloth inside the case.
"You earned it honey." John said softly, looking at her affectionately.
"But you gave me all the credit." Calara whispered in a shocked voice. "Everyone else did so much!"
"It was you that found the pirate base, you deserved the recognition." Alyssa said with a smile, embracing the brunette fondly.
"You were amazing!" Sparks said passionately. "We never would have been able to stop them if it wasn't for your shooting!" she said, hugging the Latina from the other side.
"This one would not be here now, if not for you Calara." Jade said earnestly.
"I love you all so much!" Calara said quite overwhelmed, her eyes welling up with tears.
They all moved in to hug her tightly and share in the moment.
After a few minutes, Alyssa took Sparks' and Jade's hands and led them out of the bedroom, leaving Calara and John on the bed.
John held Calara in his arms and laid her gently down on the bed, so that he was lying by her side and looking down at her.
"Thank you so much." Calara whispered, looking up at him in wonder.
"Everything I said in the interview was true." John said honestly.
The Latina breathed in a big breath, her firm breasts brushing against his chest, before letting it out slowly.
"I keep feeling like I'm in a dream." Calara said in a hushed voice.
"It's one I don't want to wake up from." John said, leaning down to kiss her tenderly.
Calara's eyes flared with passion and she kissed him back ardently. She hooked her leg over his hips, the toned muscles in her olive skinned thigh pulling him close to her. She then pushed him on his back and rolled smoothly with him, so that she was sitting astride his body.
"We need to finish what we started earlier." she purred seductively, pressing down on the heat of his rapidly growing length.
The gorgeous brunette stared into his eyes and arched her back, so that she could position the head of his rampant cock at the entrance to her pussy. John watched her sink down on his length, her mouth held open as her lovely young body yielded for his cock and welcomed him back into her depths.
Calara then slowly sat upright and began to rock her hips back and forth in the smooth, sensual motion she had used earlier. She placed her hands lightly on John's chest and began to ride him with a languid erotic rhythm, watching his face and revelling in the growing lust she could see in his eyes.
John hands brushed along her coffee coloured thighs, feeling the strong muscles flexing and moving under his fingertips. He moved his hands upwards to rest on Calara's smoothly rocking hips, feeling her gliding up and down his cock and savouring the amazing view he had of her firm young figure. He let her ride him, just enjoying the girl's eagerness as she worked her luscious body expertly.
John slid a hand up her back and then pulled her down towards him, so that her warm breasts were pressed against his chest. He used his hand on her hips to make her grind up against him, squashing her clit against his body, so that each rocking motion stimulated her as well. Calara's eyes opened wide and she gasped at the sudden rush of sensation that shot through her body. He held her close to his chest and began to move his hips up to meet her own movements, so that his cock was plunging in and out of her tight pussy in long, deep thrusts.
The Latina stared into his eyes and moaned with pleasure as he worked her body to fever pitch, the combination of his driving cock and the stimulation of her nubbin pushing her over the edge. He watched her eyes flare, the pupils dilating widely with arousal as she clamped down on him and groaned as he brought her to an intense climax. Her eager young pussy rippled along his length, urging him to unload and he happily obliged, holding her tightly to him as his four balls trembled with relief, sending long spurts of cum inside her. They held that unblinking stare for a long moment as they both rode out the incredible orgasms, until John's balls eventually relaxed and he was finally spent. He eased his grip on the Latina and she collapsed on his chest, her swollen tummy feeling warm and taut where she lay on top of him.
Calara gently separated from him and rolled to his side on her back.
"I thought the sex was already perfect, but it keeps getting better and better!" She gasped in wonder.
John leaned up on one elbow, looking down at her and lovingly caressing her cum packed belly.
"I thought you were already perfect, but you keep getting better and better!" he said, with a smile.
Calara looked up at him adoringly and placed her hand lightly over his, where he was stroking her engorged abdomen. They stared into each other's eyes, neither needing to say what both were thinking.
A few minutes later, the door to the bedroom opened and the girls all came in to join them on the bed.
"That was beautiful." Alyssa said with a contented sigh.
"It really was." Sparks said, smiling at John and Calara lovingly.
Calara looked at the redhead in surprise.
"No, I'm not psychic." Sparks said ruefully. "We begged Alyssa to tell us what was happening." she said with a smile.
"I hope you don't mind?" Alyssa asked the brunette with some trepidation.
Calara smiled at them all. "Of course not!" she said happily. "Sisters share with each other!"
Alyssa and Sparks smiled fondly at her, while Jade and John glanced at each other looking puzzled.
"This one did not realise you were related?" Jade asked Calara with a confused expression on her pretty face.
Calara sat up and opened her arms to the green skinned girl and Jade happily embraced the brunette.
"We feel so close to each other, we imagined this is what sisters must be like together." Calara explained to the Nymph.
"This one thinks that is a lovely sentiment." Jade said, smiling at the girls wistfully.
"I think of you the same way." Calara said to Jade lovingly.
Jade's emerald eyes filled up with emotion and Calara, Alyssa and Sparks all held her closely between them.
"We love you too." Alyssa said as Sparks nodded her agreement.
"I love all of you as well." Jade sighed happily.
Sparks' eyes opened wide with surprise, but when she looked at Alyssa and was about to say something, the beautiful blonde shook her head firmly. The redhead closed her mouth, shrugging and just enjoyed the hug.
After a few moments Calara lay back on the bed.
"Jade, I never properly thanked you for saving me earlier." the brunette said with a smile.
"Oh think nothing of it Calara!" Jade said smiling happily.
"But I'd saved you a nice present." Calara said, looking down at her hugely swollen belly.
Jade followed the Latina's gaze and her eyes took in the coffee coloured tummy, heavily rounded where the girl was stuffed full of sperm.
"That is a wonderful gift, thank you Calara!" Jade purred happily and moved down the bed, gently spreading the brunette's thighs.
They all watched the eager Nymph lap away at Calara's pussy, Jade's long tongue sliding deep into the supine girl and drinking John's cum from her tightly packed womb. Calara groaned with pleasure as she fed the alien girl the potent spunk, her thighs trembling as Jade's skilfully brought her to climax. Finally they were done and soft rings of ethereal light began to glow from Jade's full stomach as her body absorbed John's cum. They all cuddled up together to watch the rippling lights dance across the ceiling.
After relaxing together for an hour or so, John stretched and got up, the four girls watching him expectantly.
"I think I'm about done with Gravitus for now." he said emphatically.
"Do you girls want to do anything else here, or shall we head back up to the ship?" he asked them curiously.
The girls were all eager to get back to the Invictus too, each of them with projects in mind that they were anxious to get started with. John helped them up and the girls rapidly packed up the vast array of new clothing they had acquired on their shopping trip. John called for a hover-limo and settled up their bill for the hotel and soon they were back at the Spaceport, boarding the Fool's Gold.
Alyssa set the flight path that would take them back up to Olympus and everyone watched her smoothly lift the freighter off the landing pad, the engines rumbling with the effort. The Fool's Gold began to climb into orbit under the blonde girl's skilled hand, as she headed up to the colossal shipyard where they had left the Invictus.
"I don't know about you girls, but I don't really feel like getting up to anything now." John said to his companions. "The Fool's Gold just doesn't feel like home any more." he said with a shrug.
"Yeah I know what you mean." Alyssa said. "Let's just wait until we get back to the ship."
The rest of the flight back to the Olympus shipyard was uneventful, but anticipation amongst the crew was building as they awaited their arrival at the Invictus. Alyssa brought them around to docking bay 11 and as she brought them in to land at the side of the docking bay, the first thing they noticed was that the huge collection of shipping crates had been removed. John looked at Sparks and her eyes sparkled with excitement, eager to see her new workshop.
The freighter touched down and the crew left the cockpit to gather their belongings. John held Alyssa back a moment before they left the cockpit for the last time and pulled her into his arms. She looked up at him with her piercing cerulean eyes, a contented expression on her face and just as John was about to speak, she stood on tiptoes and kissed him tenderly.
"I know" she whispered. "I feel the same way." the beautiful young blonde smiled at him happily and then they walked out to join the others.
Sparks had brought over a grav-sled and the girls piled it high with their loot from Gravitus. They were now free to turn their attention to the Raptor gunship, that waited for them like some kind of brooding bird of prey.
John walked around it, followed by the girls, taking in its fearsome design; all sharp lines and jutting weapons. The gunship was big for a ship of its class, measuring 40 metres in length and almost the same size as the aging freighter they had just left behind. Where the two ships differed, was the Fool's Gold had more height and was squat and blocky, whereas the Raptor was lean, angular and sleek. It was only due to the lower profile of the Raptor that they would be able to fit the gunship into the hangar bay of the Invictus, but it would still be a close fit.
The cockpit was at the front of the craft, with a turret set just under the chin, the many rotary barrels identified the twin mounted weaponry as Gatling lasers. Two more single Gatling laser turrets were set underneath the backswept wings, with another two turrets on the central spine of the topdeck, one positioned at the front, the other set higher, at the back.
"Very nice!" Calara said appreciatively as she studied the configuration. "With the positioning of these turrets, you could use all six to provide forward facing fire support."
They completed their circuit around the gunship, noticing a large loading ramp at the back, a small ramp at the front and airlocks set into either side of the craft. Oversized engines at the back of the gunship suggested the vessel was capable of impressive top speeds and the numerous vectored retro-thrusters hinted at significant manoeuvrability. Sparks pointed to two pairs of large barrelled weapons set into the shoulders of the ship.
"Calara, what are those guns?" the redhead asked curiously.
"Forward mounted Laser cannons. They're the same as the turreted mounted versions we have on the Invictus." the Latina replied, narrowing her eyes as she studied them.
"You can see the heatsink venting on the sides and top over there." she said, pointing to the heat dissipation devices spaced evenly along the 20 metre long cannons.
"I like this a whole lot more than that Kirrix dropship!" Alyssa said, grinning appreciatively.
"Alyssa and Calara, could you check over the systems on the Raptor and then load it into the hangar bay please." John requested. "I'd like to take a look at the workshop with Sparks."
The blonde and the brunette grinned at each other, eager to take a look inside the gunship. As they started to walk towards the craft, Alyssa stopped and turned back to the rest of the group.
"Jade, do you want to come with us?" Alyssa asked the Nymph, beckoning her over invitingly.
The green haired girl glanced at John, then smiled and nodded back at Alyssa. She rushed over to catch them up with a spring in her step.
John and Sparks walked with the grav-sled over to the Invictus and John operated the remote that would open up the huge doors in the side of the hull. The massive reinforced doors to the cargo bay and the hangar bay began to swing smoothly upwards, allowing access to the belly of the assault cruiser. They walked up the loading ramp and Sparks brought the grav-sled into the ship, positioning it near the heavy set of double doors that led to the elevator, so they would be able to easily unload their new purchases and take them up to their quarters.
The Tyrenium was now gone from the cargo bay, the vast room looking strange without their familiar presence. In their place were a number of carefully placed containers, emblazoned with the logos of McCarran Arms and the Steinbeck Armoury. John walked up to a nearby weapons crate and lifted the lid, the dark grey form of the XR75 rifle lurking within.
"New guns?" Sparks asked curiously, looking over his shoulder.
"I figured with the growing crew and the amount of scrapes we run into, it might be time to expand our arsenal a bit." John said with a smile.
Sparks reached into the crate and pulled out one of the rifles, feeling the weight of the sleek, high-tech rifle. She held either end and rotated the rifle in her hands, studying it with the appraising eye of a master gunsmith.
"Very nice." She said approvingly. "The frame is strong and should be easy to enhance. Give me a little time with these and I think you'll like the results." she said, glancing at John with a grin.
"I can't wait to see what you come up with." John said with a smile.
Sparks replaced the assault rifle back in the container and then walked with him over to the larger rectangular boxes that sported the anvil logo of the Steinbeck Armoury. John pressed a button on the side of the container and with a click and a hydraulic hiss, the front panel slid open, revealing the suits of Phalanx Alpha armour suits stored on racks within.
"Now these look badass!" Sparks said, nodding appreciatively at the futuristic styling.
She walked up to the fully sealed armoured bodysuit that was hanging in place and started muttering to herself.
"Mirrored composite, sloped armour..." she said, studying the design. "decent energy absorption and kinetic penetrator deflection..."
She casually removed the helmet, placed it on the floor and then stood on top of it, balancing gracefully as she used the extra height to peer down into the suit of body armour. The redhead dropped down and then darted to the side, looking at the clasps and interlocking panels with a frown on her face.
"These look like a bitch to put on though!" she said disapprovingly.
"It took at least twice as long to equip compared to my old set of armour." John said, impressed that Sparks had been able to identify with a glance, the same problems he had noticed only after equipping the suit personally.
"Don't you worry, I'll fix these too." Sparks said confidently, coming over to give him a kiss.
John kissed her back enthusiastically, finding her self-assurance very attractive.
"You like me working on your equipment, hmm?" Sparks smirked, enjoying the passionate embrace.
John chuckled at the feisty redhead and her happy laughter joined his and echoed around the huge cargo bay. They walked over to the newly fitted loading lift that had been put into place by the Olympus refitting crews. There was a DNA reader on the wall and John placed his hand on it, the green light flickering across and then beeping quietly as it recognise him.
Yellow chevrons glowed in a large rectangle on the floor of the cargo bay, highlighting the area and rotating lights set into the wall began to spin up, warning of potential danger. Overhead a large section of the ceiling slowly slid apart and a loading lift descended, supported by four big anti-grav cyclics. John glanced at Sparks to make sure she was well clear and the excited teen looked up at him with sparkling eyes, her building anticipation to see her new workshop filling her with nervous energy. He waited patiently and Sparks less so, for the loading lift to descend and they both stepped on to it gingerly. John walked over to a raised panel he had spotted at the back of the lift.
"The lift can support up to 50 tons." he said with a laugh at their trepidation, as he read the instructions on the panel.
He pushed the fairly obviously purposed up arrow and the lift began to smoothly ascend upwards to the gaping hole in the ceiling.
"Excited?" he asked Sparks with a smile.
The redhead took his hand and placed it on her chest above her left breast. Under her smooth warm skin, he could feel her heart pounding with all the adrenalin coursing through her system. Her eyes flashed brightly as she gazed up at him and he loved seeing how passionate and full of life she looked. They stood like that, staring at each other and almost failed to notice when the lift locked into place with a clunk, that had a comforting sound of finality to it.
John glanced around and was astonished at the transformation this room had undergone, since he had last come in here with the luscious redhead at his side. The long empty racks that had previously stored the weapons and armour for three hundred marines had all been removed, clearing the huge room of clutter. In their place the room now contained an enormous variety of intricate and expensive looking mechanical equipment, that spread outwards from the open area in which they now stood. To the side of the chevron marked loading lift, was a big clear space for the Chief Engineer to work on her latest projects. In the centre of the room was a multi consoled podium, with a short flight of illuminated steps leading up to the currently dormant computer systems.
Sparks walked slowly over to the podium, powerless to resist its siren call. John accompanied her with a wry smile of amusement and thought that If he found this place impressive, his young companions must have been in seventh heaven. Sparks climbed the three steps to the raised platform and then pressed a number of buttons on each of the consoles, powering them up. Panels on the consoles lit up one after the other, some accompanied by holographic projections displaying power levels and fluctuating energy efficiency graphs.
The redhead pressed more buttons and machinery began to light up around the huge workshop, brightly illuminating the room and making the room feel like it was coming to life. Sparks turned to him and grinned, shaking her head in wonder.
"As a kid I dreamed of just being able to touch some of this hardware," she said spreading her arms wide to take in the whole room. "and now I'm in charge of one of the best equipped engineering bays in the Terran Federation." she said in amazement.
"I can't wait to see what you can come up with." John said with a smile.
"I promise, you won't be disappointed." the sultry redhead said, coming over to him and circling her arms around his neck.
"Then or this evening." she said suggestively as she stared into his eyes.
John took a deep breath and sighed happily. He was sorely tempted to just bend the horny teen over one of the nearby consoles and fuck her senseless, but she obviously had something fun in mind and the girls never failed to disappoint him. Deciding to leave before he put the instant gratification plan into effect, he gave her a kiss and told her to have fun. Sparks grinned at him with excitement and when he turned to leave, she darted up the steps to begin playing with her new toys.
John left the armoury, or more accurately the engineering bay he reminded himself and walked to the elevator, sidestepping a couple of the dutiful cleaning robots who were going about their business. He took the elevator down to the lowest level and went to see how the rest of the girls were getting on. The double doors leading into the hangar bay were now open and the Raptor gunship was now safely secured in the middle of the large room. Seeing the hangar bay housing a Terran dropship again reminded him of the many times he had rallied at this exact same spot before boarding a troop transport with the rest of his cohort of marines. His memories of the past were interrupted by the sound of a female voice calling to him.
"Hey John!" Calara said, as she bounded over, please to see him.
Her long dark locks billowed out behind her as she jogged over to him and she looked exhilarated as she ran up to his side and gave him a hug.
"The Raptor is amazing!" she enthused, her eyes flashing with excitement as she looked up at him.
"It has all the latest targeting arrays and HUD subsystems. The optical recognition interface means a single gunner can independently lock on all six Gatling lasers, just by glancing at each target!" She grinned.
"Bored of being tactical officer on the Invictus already?" John said, teasing her playfully.
"Oh no, I wouldn't give that up for the world!" she said quickly. "Besides, I think Alyssa has someone else in mind to ferry you two around." she hinted mysteriously.
"What's that little minx up to now?" John asked the brunette, rolling his eyes.
"Oh she'll tease you a bit," Calara said, knowing the blonde's antics all too well. "but she's actually a very good judge of people's abilities."
"She certainly is." John said with a smile, hugging the brunette tightly.
Calara sighed happily and gave him an affectionate peck on the cheek, before he let her continue with her mission to start packing away her new clothes. He turned back to the gunship and walked up the front loading ramp and into the newly acquired vessel for the first time. He could smell the aroma of well oiled hydraulics and he paused for a moment, recognising the distinctive new ship smell that he remembered from his days in the military.
At the top of the ramp were two heavily reinforced buttresses that flanked each side of the entrance. John realised they could be used for cover when landing at a hostile drop site and nodded approvingly. He'd seen too many of his colleagues hit by stray rounds before even having a chance to disembark a troop transport and was very grateful he wouldn't have to witness that now.
He went to the back of the room and opened the robust looking, heavily reinforced door leading further into the ship. The door led into a corridor with doors on either side and at the end. The door on the left opened into an armoury, which was currently empty, weapon and armour racks looking desolate without any of the tools of war stored there. He shut the door and seeing that the door opposite was an elevator, he walked down the corridor to see what else the gunship had on the ground level.
The heavily reinforced double doors at the other end of the corridor led into a big empty space at the back of the gunship and the far wall of the room was actually the big loading ramp at the back, currently locked into place. Having this kind of storage space could prove very useful, he thought to himself, especially with the large scale rescues they'd been performing recently. Closing the solid double doors behind him with a satisfying clunk, he took the elevator up to the top deck.
The elevator opened out into another corridor, that led to a small but functional crew living space at the rear of the ship and the cockpit at the front. John walked into the roomy cockpit and found Jade sitting in the pilot's seat and Alyssa standing behind the green skinned girl, looking over her shoulder. John moved stealthily up behind the blonde and then wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss.
"Hello John!" Alyssa said, greeting him warmly as she snuggled into his arms.
"Hi honey." he said, hugging her tightly. "What are you up to here?" he asked, already guessing the answer.
"Calara spoilt my surprise." Alyssa said with a frown, having heard his entire conversation with the brunette through her link to John's mind.
"Greetings master!" Jade said happily. "Alyssa is teaching this one how to fly the Raptor!" she said, beaming up at him with a dazzling smile.
"Is she now..." John said, raising an eyebrow at Alyssa.
"Oh she's perfect for it." Alyssa told him smugly, with the hint of a challenge to her voice.
"Ok honey, I trust you." John told her blithely. "I'm sure Jade will make an awesome pilot!"
The ravishingly attractive Nymph, looking deliriously happy. "Jade will be the best pilot master could ever wish for!" she promised him emphatically.
Alyssa's beautiful face adopted a cute looking frown and her bottom lip pouted.
"You're taking all the fun out of this!" she complained. "You were supposed to object and then I'd go ahead and do it anyway and then you'd be all surprised when Jade turned out to be great!"
"Maybe I can still surprise you after all!" John said, his eyes twinkling mischievously.
"Hmpf! If Calara hadn't warned you, it would have worked out to plan!" Alyssa grumbled.
"That girl's getting far too feisty." Alyssa said, her eyes narrowing. "Perhaps she needs a good spanking..." she pondered with a smile.
John pictured Calara bent over Alyssa's knee, the blonde soundly spanking the gorgeous Latina's pert little ass cheeks. He found himself getting very aroused, very quickly.
"Would you like to see me taking a firmer hand with the crew?" Alyssa asked him coyly, her eyebrow arched playfully. "The ship's XO is in charge of discipline after all..."
"This one will do her best to make sure she does not need to be reprimanded." Jade said sincerely.
"We're only playing honey." John said to Jade reassuringly.
"Oh! This one understands now. Being submissive can be very exciting!" Jade said eagerly. "Would master like to take a firmer hand with Jade too?" she said, her emerald eyes sparkling.
The exotic Nymph rose gracefully and then moved forward to brush up against Alyssa, squashing her breasts against the blonde's. "Perhaps master would like Jade's assistance with asserting his dominance over his executive officer?" she purred in a sultry voice.
Alyssa gasped with excitement, not having experienced Jade's playful side herself.
"That sounds intriguing Jade." John said finding the whole conversation very arousing. "I already have plans with Sparks in a few hours though, so we'll have to keep my XO in line another time."
"Master knows best, of course." Jade said with a smile, before leaning across Alyssa to kiss John passionately.
Alyssa turned to watch them kiss and let out a little moan of excitement. The thought of being double teamed by John and Jade again left her breathless with anticipation.
"Sorry to interrupt your lessons." John said with a smile, as he and Jade pulled back from the kiss.
"It's no problem master!" Jade reassured him. "This has been a very interesting conversation!" She said with a grin.
"It certainly has." John agreed. "I think we should get underway though, I'm eager to go and meet with the Ashanath. Are you up for plotting us a course XO?" he asked the blonde who was currently sandwiched between them.
"Lead on Commander!" she said with a grin.
They headed out of the gunship and left the hangar bay, ensuring that the massive hull doors were securely closed behind them. Calara was in the corridor, carrying a couple of bags with her from the cargo bay. As they approached, they could see that she had moved all their shopping into the elevator and was getting ready to take it up to deck 2, to be put away in the officer's quarters.
"I'll grab Sparks as well, then we can get everything cleared in one go." John said logically.
"We'll make a start without you, come and join us when you have her." Alyssa said with a smile.
They stopped at the next deck up and John jogged down the corridor, the elevator heading upwards behind him as he approached the engineering bay. He opened the door and strode in, looking around the huge workshop for the adorable redhead. He found her in the open workspace in the centre of the big room, leaning over an intricate set of hovering workbenches. To her side, John saw one of the weapon containers had been opened and an XR75 rifle was now broken down into component parts and methodically placed on the tilted workbench. The various hovering platforms of the levitating workbench meant that Sparks was able to see an exploded out view of the weapon, with various disassembled components placed directly above the core frame of the assault rifle.
"Wow! You didn't waste any time!" John exclaimed.
"I'll be finished with the prototype by tomorrow morning." Sparks said distractedly, as she examined the barrel section of the rifle closely.
"We're just tidying up at the moment. The girls are putting away their clothes." John said, feeling a little foolish at distracting Sparks from such useful work.
Sparks stepped back from the workbench and stretched contentedly.
"You look like you're enjoying yourself though and I wouldn't want to drag you away at a bad time." John said cautiously.
"No, it's a good time." she reassured him. "I have the mass fabricators working on some replacement components anyway and I can't proceed until they've been completed."
"Oh great!" John said with relief.
"This workshop is incredible." Sparks sighed dreamily. "You're going to get tired of hearing me say it, but thanks again for letting me have all this equipment! No matter what crazy ideas I come up with, this engineering bay has the facilities to put it into practice." The girl said in wonder.
"I want nothing but the best for you honey." John said with a smile.
"I know, you're awesome!" Sparks said enthusiastically.
John led the buoyant young woman back to the elevator and she held his hand, squeezing his fingers with her own, as she looked up at him with a happy smile on her face. The other girls had sent the elevator down to them again so they walked straight in, without having to wait. John pushed the button for the officer's quarters and a few seconds later, the door chimed softly and swished open quietly as they reached their destination.
He picked up a few of the redhead's bags and the two of them walked down the hallway to her room. The door to the room opposite was open and he could see Jade inside, humming happily to herself as she put away her clothes in the roomy wardrobe. Sparks had already gone into her room and had dumped her bags in front of the wardrobe before coming back to collect the last of her purchases from John. She gave him a grateful kiss before turning back into her room.
John turned and stood in the doorway to the Nymph's room, watching the green skinned alien girl as she methodically tidied away her clothes. She spotted him out of the corner of her eyes and smiled at him blissfully.
"Alyssa said I could have my very own room!" She said, with wide eyed amazement. "I don't remember ever having my own room master!" she said with a delighted sigh.
"I'm sorry Jade, I should have remembered before, but you seemed so happy sleeping with us that it slipped my mind completely." John apologised.
"Oh no master, you have nothing to be sorry for." Jade said, walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Jade would very much like to continue sleeping with master and his mates." she said, looking up at him adoringly.
John kissed the appreciative girl tenderly, brushing his hand down the smooth skin of her supple back. She felt cooler to the touch than the other girls, but her mouth was warm and inviting as her tongue flickered out playfully to duel his own. They eventually broke apart, sighing happily. Jade looked up at his face with surprise, as he mirrored her own reaction and then she grinned at him happily.
"I'll let you get back to settling into your new room." John said with a smile and Jade turned away to skip excitedly back to the wardrobe.
He walked down the corridor, heading to his own quarters, pausing briefly to greet Calara as he passed her room. He strode into the Commander's quarters and found Alyssa waiting for him patiently, lying on the bed.
"Everything alright honey?" he asked her as he lay down on the bed next to her.
"Of course, everything's great!" she said, smiling up at him fondly.
"Is now a good time to talk about Jade?" she asked him curiously.
"I'm sorry your plans to wind me up didn't work out." John said with a grin.
Alyssa's musical laughter filled the room. "No, not that." she said with a smile. "Besides, I have something much more fun to look forward to now!" she breathed, her eyes flashing with arousal.
John looked down at the exquisitely beautiful blonde girl lying at his side and gently slid his hand under her top to run his fingers over the smooth expanse of her toned stomach. Her skin felt so soft and pliant under his firm touch and he marvelled at having the right to be able to touch her so intimately. Jade had been right earlier, he did consider Alyssa to be perfect and sometimes he just couldn't believe that she was his.
"You're very sweet." Alyssa said, smiling up at him lovingly. "But let's get back to talking about Jade, before I leave you too exhausted for Sparks!"
John laughed and nodded.
"So you've noticed the way her speech has changed over the last few days I presume?" Alyssa asked him curiously.
"Yes, it's happened a few times now." John agreed. "She seems to be developing more of a sense of her own identity." he marvelled. "I've never heard of Nymphs behaving like this before."
Alyssa grinned at him happily. "I think the more we nurture her and make her feel at home, the more this new side of her develops."
"Yes, that's what I was thinking too." John said with a smile.
"I love being able to help her like this." Alyssa sighed happily.
"I feel the same honey." John agreed wholeheartedly. "It just feels like the right thing to do."
"You love fixing your wounded little birds..." Alyssa sighed affectionately, stroking the side of his face with a loving hand.
John leaned down to kiss her and they lost track of time, their lips communicating their strength of feeling for each other.
A light chime from the ship's communicator sounded through the room, interrupting the couple on the bed. Alyssa sat up and looked over at the display by the side of the bed, checking the glowing green readout showing the caller details.
"Calara!" She called loudly. "A Maria Fernandez is contacting the ship!"
A few moments later, the gorgeous Latina dashed into their room, her eyes wide.
"We missed seven calls from her this morning." Alyssa explained, looking at the communicator log. "It must be something important."
"You can take the call in here honey." John said. "We'll give you some privacy."
"No, you don't have to leave." Calara said quickly. "Just stay quiet and out of view of the holo-cam please?" she asked plaintively.
John and Alyssa got up from the bed and went to stand by the doorway, soon joined by Sparks and Jade who had heard Alyssa's raised voice.
This would be the first time Calara had spoken to her family for the last few weeks, the last time being back at Port Heracles when she told her mother about the transfer to the Invictus. Calara had been putting off this call, still not entirely sure what to say about the metamorphosis she had undergone recently. The anxious young woman took a deep breath and then answered the call on the communicator. The vid screen came to life, the holo image of her mother projected into the room.
"Calara!" the attractive middle aged woman said, her olive skinned face lighting up with relief.
"Hello mother." Calara said, smiling warmly. "Is everything alright?" she asked with concern.
"Oh yes, of course! Everything's wonderful!" Maria Fernandez exclaimed."We've all seen the interview on the holo-net!"
Calara blushed with embarrassment.
"Did you really do everything Commander Blake said? He gave you credit for the entire operation!" her mother said, glowing with pride.
Calara nodded slowly , feeling self conscious.
"I've been promoted to first lieutenant and awarded a Novaburst." Calara said shyly.
"I'm so proud of you Calara, that's amazing!" her mother said, enthusiastically.
"It wasn't all my doing mother." Calara protested. "I'm with an incredible crew and the Commander is wonderful." the brunette said, her eyes going dreamy for a moment.
Her mother's observant eyes took in the expression on her daughter's face.
"Your father and brothers are on shore leave in a couple of weeks time. It would be lovely to have the whole family together, if you're able to make it too?" Maria asked longingly, missing her daughter.
Calara glanced to the side at John, who nodded with certainty.
"Yes, I'll make sure I'm there." Calara said smiling fondly.
"Your father and brothers all send their love. They'll be delighted to hear you're going to be able to make it!" her mother exclaimed.
"Perhaps you could bring Commander Blake with you as well?" her mother asked with a knowing smile.
"I'll see mother." Calara said with a happy laugh.
Maria Fernandez smiled with delight to see her daughter looking so deliriously happy. It was a massive change compared to the haunted girl she had been so worried about a few weeks before. With her worries banished and the exciting news about Calara's exploits over with, Maria finally noticed the subtle and not so subtle changes her daughter had undergone.
"Oh my goodness Calara!" her mother exclaimed in surprise. "You look absolutely beautiful!"
"Oh yes, about that..." Calara stammered. "I've been through a bit of a growth spurt recently." the luscious Latina said awkwardly, glancing down at her impressive bust.
Her mother's startled expression softened as she looked at her daughter's beautiful face in the holo-image.
"You look wonderful Calara." her mother said sincerely.
"Thanks mother." Calara said, blushing slightly.
Maria reached out as though to cup the holo-image of her daughter's face in her hand.
"My beautiful baby girl." she sighed wistfully. "I'm so proud of you Callie, I love you so much." her mother said, her voice catching.
"I love you too." Calara said, with a warm smile. "I'll see you in a few weeks and I'll bring John!" the brunette said, realising the cat was out of the bag.
"I can't wait to see you and I'm very interested to meet him!" her mother said, smiling happily.
They waved goodbye and ended the call.
Calara turned to look at her friends and lovers, feeling self conscious as her two worlds; her home life and her life here on the Invictus intermingled so suddenly.
"She's so lovely." Alyssa said with a deep mournful sigh, desperately wishing her own mother could still be here. She hugged Sparks, who had tears rolling down her face.
Calara stood up gracefully and glided over to them both, joining Jade and John in giving the girls from the Karron mining colony a hug.
"What's wrong?" Calara asked with concern.
"I always wondered what it would be like to have a mother who loved me like that." Sparks sniffled. "Your mother is nicer than I even dreamed."
"I'm sorry Sparks." Calara said sympathetically.
"Thanks Calara." The redhead said with a sad smile. "It's no wonder you turned out the way you are, with family like that." she said, turning to hug the Latina affectionately.
They consoled Alyssa and Sparks until they both felt a bit better and then everyone returned to finishing off the last of the tidying up. John waited while they all finished, the call with Calara's family reminding him of his own losses.
"I'm sorry John!" Alyssa came up to him and gave him a big hug. "I was feeling so sorry for myself, I forgot that you'd been orphaned too." she said apologetically.
"It's ok honey, I had loving grandparents that looked after me." he said with a reassuring smile.
Alyssa smiled at him and tapped the side of her head, reminding him that she knew what he'd been thinking.
"It's ok to feel sad about not knowing your parents John." she said. "If there are answers to be found, I promise I'll do whatever I can to help you find them."
John smiled at her affectionately, her positivity cheering him immeasurably. "Come on, let's head up to the bridge and you can plot a course for Ashana. Then you can keep me company while I make us some dinner!" he said with a big smile, leading her out of his quarters by the hand.
They told the girls to meet them in the officer's lounge in an hour and they headed up to the bridge to lay in the course for the Grey's homeworld. Alyssa darted up the steps two at a time and then sat in her chair, spinning it around to face her Navigation console. With a few button clicks a hologram of the Galactic map sprang into existence in the centre of the bridge, laid out in front of them like an old map from ancient Terra.
The Terran Federation was displayed in a soothing green colour, curving in a long broad sweep that encompassed hundreds of stars. Their present location at Alpha Centauri was highlighted by a glowing white arrow and their recent journey to Karron was shown by a glowing gold line, arcing out from Alpha Centauri and travelling in a long path to the extreme right or "eastern" edge of Terran space.
John joined Alyssa at her console and pushed a few more buttons, causing more galactic civilisations to be shown on the map. Firstly, displayed in a neutral grey tone was the Ashanath Collective. This grouping of stars was much smaller, perhaps only including around a hundred stars, all clustered to the "southern" edge of Terran Federation territory which curved around it.
"The Ashanath used to own all of this." John said with a broad sweep of his hand.
"It's amazing they just gave it all up." Alyssa said, shaking her head in wonder.
John shrugged, not understanding why either and then pushed another button. A large red expanse of stars, comparable in size to the Terran Federation was highlighted to the "western" edge of Terran space.
"This is the Kintark Empire." John explained. "I'm still not sure why tensions escalated so quickly. Both sides are pretty evenly matched, so it's going to be a long bloody battle if this turns into full scale war." he said grimly.
"Can you show me the Dragon March stars?" Alyssa asked, curious as to their location.
John brushed his fingers over the small holo-image of the galactic map that hovered over her console and a sweep of stars were highlighted in the bigger map. The dozen or so star systems were spread along the Terran side of the border edge that separated the green and red territories.
He then hit another couple of buttons and a thin blue swathe of stars were highlighted directly above the Terran Federation.
"This is the Maliri Regency." John explained.
"They don't hold a lot of territory." Alyssa said with surprise.
"Actually no-one knows how much territory the Maliri have." John replied.
"How come?" Alyssa asked curiously.
"All those stars in blue have trade stations in orbit that permit alien traders to visit. If you attempt to travel further into Maliri space, you are warned once and then destroyed if you don't turn back." he said ominously.
"They sound dangerous!" Alyssa said with concern. "Will we be ok?"
"I've traded with them in the past and they were friendly enough. Their laser weaponry is much more powerful than anything the Terran Federation has available, so there's never been even a hint of trouble from humanity towards them." he explained.
"The Maliri don't seem to want to attack us either, so there's been a pretty stable peace for over two hundred years." he said comfortingly.
"They have been known on rare occasions to allow trades for laser weapons, so I figured we could give it a try." he said with a smile.
"What do they look like?" Alyssa asked, intrigued by this mysterious alien species.
"They wear ornate armoured suits, so no-one really knows." he said. "There's a lot of theories about why they never take off the armour, from the Maliri having some horrific infectious plague, to being so hideously ugly that they're ashamed to remove the suits." he said, rolling his eyes.
"They sound fascinating." Alyssa said excitedly, before pausing for a moment, looking thoughtful.
"You mentioned two other species you wanted to trade with when you were talking to Charles. The Trankarans and Brimorians wasn't it?" she asked him.
"Yes, that's right. Good memory!" John said, impressed.
"The Trankaran Republic and the Brimorian Enclave are both located underneath Terran space." John explained, pressing buttons on the console that displayed both civilisations in orange and brown respectively.
"The Terran Federation is kind of hemmed in!" Alyssa said, looking at the riot of colours on the galactic map. "What's that way? Past Karron?" she asked, seeing a dark mass of unclaimed stars.
"Kirrix Space." John said, frowning in distaste.
"I see why no-one wants to settle that way." Alyssa said, nodding her understanding. "Have they conquered all those worlds?" She asked, feeling afraid all of a sudden.
"They had, until the Terran Federation pushed them back about 30 years ago." John said. "We haven't seen any Kirrix forces in our territory for a few decades, so running across them with the pirates was a nasty surprise."
"They were horrible." Alyssa said with a shudder. "I hope we don't run into them again!"
"Well I have no intention of going anywhere near their territory, so we should be fine." John replied hearteningly.
"So what about all the other species I saw at Port Heracles? Do they have big territories too?" Alyssa asked, thinking about the Bolon they had run into at the trade emporium on the station.
"No, not as far as we know. There's a lot of minor races with just one or two systems under their control." John explained. "But there's over 100 billion stars in our galaxy alone and humanity has only surveyed a few hundred thousand so far."
"Who knows what could be lurking out there?" he said in an eerie voice, that made Alyssa laugh.
"Thanks for explaining all that." Alyssa said gratefully. "It feels good to know a little bit more about the galaxy."
"You're welcome." John replied, smiling. "Now why don't you work your navigation magic and let's be on our way to Ashana!"
"Will do!" Alyssa said with a grin, bringing up the sector maps between Alpha Centauri and the Grey's homeworld.
"We should be there in just under 5 days John." She said, checking the ETA from the course she was plotting.
"Nice work honey." John thanked her. "If the Grey's are willing to upgrade the ship, our journey home should be much faster!" he said with a grin.
"How much quicker are their FTL drives?" Alyssa asked curiously, as she powered up the engines on the Invictus and then guided the assault cruiser out of the Olympus shipyard docking bay.
"At least twice as fast, but they cost a small fortune." John replied. "It's only the very wealthy who can afford them, so they aren't in widespread use in Terran space."
"Isn't it lucky you're one of those privileged few then?" Alyssa said with a grin.
"It certainly is!" John replied, matching her grin.
He watched his young lover pivot the massive ship effortlessly and then plot a course towards the Nav buoy, which designated the safe jump distance from the nearest gravity well. After a few torturous minutes cruising along at port speed, Alyssa was able to power up the FTL drive and they leapt into hyper-warp, saying farewell to Alpha Centauri.
"Let's go and see about making some dinner." John said with a smile, Alyssa joining him eagerly beaming a happy smile at her man.
---------
Meanwhile, many light years away, a foreboding figure brooded in a gothic throne, watching the Terran Federation Network News on an overhanging monitor. He had just finished watching some air headed reporter fawning over some half-baked "hero" and he snorted with derision.
"The T-Feds must be getting hammered by the Kintark if they're resorting to this dross." The man thought to himself and sneered derisively.
A digital readout flashed on the machine next to him as the complex decryption algorithms went to work on the incoming message. The man looked at it with interest, hoping that perhaps this might alleviate his boredom. He read through the message and a sinister smile spread across his face.
"Oh dear Mr Blake. It looks like you've made someone very angry." he said, grinning malignantly.
He rose smoothly from the throne and stalked purposefully through dimly lit corridors, the feeble red glow of the lights doing little to illuminate the brooding stone walls. He finally arrived at the storage vault he had dubbed 'the mausoleum' in a more whimsical moment and he approached a ominous black metal sarcophagus that loomed over him.
He wiped dust from the archaic control panel and entered the activation sequence, causing the sarcophagus to give a tortured groan as it cracked down the centre. The man caught the hint of movement from inside the darkened tomb as the occupant began to rouse from their slumber.
"Yes... you'll do nicely." He gloated in self satisfaction.