Alyssa walked towards Rachel with open arms, but then paused as she looked down at her glistening black Phalanx armour.

"Maybe this would be more inviting if I wasn't wearing power armour!" she said to the brunette with a smile.

Rachel laughed and ran over to her, giving her a hug regardless.

"I thought my time was up! I've never been so relieved to see anyone!" she exclaimed happily.

"We flew all this way to see you," John said with a smile. "It was rude of the Kintark to interrupt our interview process."

The brunette laughed, then abruptly stopped and stared at him, as she remembered what she had just seen. "You ripped the door off its hinges!" she gasped in amazement.

"Ah, yeah... It's incredible what you can do in power armour," John said awkwardly.

Alyssa leaned in close, whispering in the brunette's ear, "We'll explain later."

Rachel turned and stared at Alyssa, seeing that those piercing cerulean eyes hid a wealth of mysteries. She nodded tentatively as she gazed at the blonde girl, and Alyssa's beautiful face lit up with a dazzling smile.

"We better get moving," John said to Alyssa, ejecting the spent magazine from his railgun and slotting in another clip of caseless ammo.

"What about us?" One of the Central Command staff asked tentatively.

"I'm Commander John Blake, Special Forces, are you the senior officer here?" John asked the man.

"Yes, my name's Lieutenant-Commander Mortensen. I think I'm the only one left out of the Command staff," the man said sadly.

"We wiped out two squads of Kintark Warriors before we fought this last group. Based on the troop capacities of the dropships that landed, you should probably be safe from boarding parties now," John said confidently.

"Probably?" Mortensen asked, looking nervous.

"There's a squad of troopers we saved back at the entrance to Central Command. I'll ask them to come back here and link up with you. Your first priority should be to get the power back on up here," John advised the man firmly.

Nodding his agreement, Mortensen stopped John with a hand on his arm as he turned to leave. "Thank you, Commander, you saved our lives," he said, with sincere gratitude.

"You're welcome," John replied. "All part of the service," he added with a grin, and gave the man a friendly salute.

They strode over to the loading lift, with a chorus of "Thank you, Commander!" following in their wake from the grateful survivors. John and Alyssa waved goodbye as they descended down to the ground floor, and then strode over to the corpse of the Kintark Royal Guard.

"I can't see any signs of regeneration," John said cautiously as he studied the huge reptilian body. He prodded its head with an armoured boot, and it flopped lifelessly to the side, a massive gaping hole still yawning at the back of its cranium.

"Thank God for that!" Alyssa laughed with relief. "Killing that thing twice was bad enough."

"I can't believe you charged that monster," Rachel murmured to John, shaking her head. "It was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen!"

"He's full of surprises," Alyssa noted. "You get used to it after a while."

"I couldn't risk fighting up on the platform, it was too dangerous with all the people up there," he explained.

"But you just ran up and punched it in the face," the brunette said in awe.

"Yes, about that. It looks like me banning you from bringing your sword just made you go and punch things instead," Alyssa said wryly.

John grinned and shrugged, before glancing up to see that the big crowd of survivors were watching them in wide eyed amazement from up on the level above.

*We have an audience,* he thought to Alyssa. *Let's move this along.*

He gave the crowd a friendly wave, and they broke into a spontaneous round of applause. The sound of cheering echoed around him as he walked away down the corridor.

"Where to now?" Alyssa asked him curiously, as she and Rachel fell into step with him.

"Dana would be upset if we didn't bring her back a present..." John grinned wickedly as they headed back to the Admin complex.

"And what kind of gift did you have in mind?" Alyssa smiled at him.

"I was thinking about something along the lines of a Kintark dropship," John suggested airily.

"It's just what she's always wanted," Alyssa laughed.

"Rachel, we're going to be leaving the station in a few minutes. Is there anything you want to bring with you from the medics dorm before we go?" he asked her in a friendly tone.

"Nothing I'm too attached to, but I could do with some spare clothes, if I'm coming with you," she said hesitantly.

"I'd offer to lend you some of mine, but they won't quite fit you yet," Alyssa said speculatively to the shorter brunette.

"Yet? What do you mean?" Rachel asked her curiously.

*Alyssa...* John warned her, sensing the blonde girl's amusement.

"Oh, nothing. We could probably swing by the dorm on the way to the hangar bays, right John?" Alyssa asked him innocently.

"Sure, that's no problem." John nodded agreeably as they walked past the dead troopers and base personnel, who had fallen defending Central Command.

"But what about my contract with the military?" Rachel asked, looking up at him. "I've still got nearly five years to serve before I can leave."

"Don't worry about that," John said reassuringly. "I've pulled a few strings, and assuming you want the job as our chief medical officer, you can stay with us for as long as you want."

"But I've only just graduated from medical school!" Rachel said in protest. "Why are you even considering me for the vacancy? If I were you, I'd be looking for a medic with at least five years experience."

"I think you'll fit in just fine," Alyssa replied reassuringly.

"Don't worry about it for the moment. We'll get you to safety aboard the Invictus, and we can discuss everything in much more detail later," he suggested soothingly.

*Alyssa! We need you back here soon, things aren't looking good...* Calara's worried voice sounded clearly in the blonde girl's mind.

*What's the matter?* Alyssa replied, sensing concern from all three of the girls back on the Invictus.

*The Terran Federation forces are losing the battle, they won't last much longer!* Calara replied with alarm.

"We need to move fast, John, they need us back on the ship," Alyssa said out loud for Rachel's benefit.

He turned and nodded, then looked at Rachel. "We won't have time to collect your gear, we have to get back immediately. Let us know if we're going too fast for you," he said considerately.

When the brunette nodded at him tentatively, he gave her a reassuring grin, and they broke into a loping run. They cleared the last of the Central Command area, and ran into the surviving troopers they had encountered earlier.

"We rescued survivors in Central Command," John called out to them as they jogged past, "Regroup with them, and get power restored up here."

"Yes, sir!" one of the troopers replied along with a snappy salute, before turning to the rest of the troopers and saying, "You heard the Commander, let's move out!"

John heard the troopers booted feet disappearing into the distance behind him, the Terran soldiers jogging back to the command centre. As John and the girls sprinted through the administration complex, Rachel darted wide eyed glances at the headless Kintark corpses that John and Alyssa had neatly dispatched. They slowed to a jog to avoid any mishaps with the treacherous footing in such a darkly lit area, and as they were passing one of the dead lizardmen, Alyssa reached down to scoop up one of the plasma rifles, which she then slung over her shoulder.

*Dana will think I don't love her any more if I don't pick her up a present too,* she joked to John.

They eventually made it to the elevator and after hitting the button for the retail zone, the lift descended smoothly to the shopping district. The elevator emitted a jaunty chime when they reached their destination, and the doors swished open onto the bloodbath in the plaza. The soldiers here were still milling around aimlessly, having lost their senior officers, and no longer receiving orders from the rest of the Chain of Command.

"Corporal Gibbons!" John yelled across the plaza to the ransacked coffee shop, as the three of them jogged over to the troopers. One of the men turned and looked around pensively to see who was calling him, and his face relaxed when he saw it was John.

"Yes Commander, what can I do for you?" the trooper replied respectfully.

"What's the fastest way down to the lower hangar bays?" John asked quickly.

"There's a security elevator on the other side of the plaza, which will take you straight down there. Here, you can take my keyfob," he offered, producing a blue plastic card with a number of indentations in it.

"Much appreciated, Corporal!" John thanked him gratefully. "We eliminated the Kintark boarding parties, and the garrison forces are regrouping in Central Command. Lead your men up there."

Corporal Gibbons and his troopers saluted, and began to move out, obediently following John's orders.

"I've seen the security elevator he was talking about," Rachel said helpfully. "I can lead you to it."

They followed after Rachel, her white doctor's coat billowing out behind her as she ran, and she led them over to the other side of the retail zone, to a solid looking security door. The doorframe was marked in yellow and black chevrons, and there was a device set into the wall that looked like it was designed to take the keyfob. Sure enough, the fob slotted smoothly into place, and the robust security doors slid open quietly to reveal the elevator within. John and the two girls stepped inside, and once Alyssa had hit the button for the lower hangar bays on deck nineteen, the doors slid shut smoothly before the elevator began to descend rapidly.

When the doors finally opened, they revealed the huge lower hangar bay. A quick glance outside revealed they were in the right place, as there were two Kintark dropships in the middle of the enormous open space. Unfortunately the vessels were not completely abandoned, and there were a handful of green armoured Kintark Warriors standing nearby. Their hissing, unsettling voices could be heard echoing across the massive open space, as the creatures chattered to each other in their own tongue.

"Stay back, Rachel," John warned her, before he and Alyssa put their helmets back on and crouched by the doorway.

"Prrrkow," the railguns purred as they fired three-round bursts, sending the caseless bullets rocketing across the hangar to slam into the unsuspecting group of Kintark soldiers. The first two died instantly, their heads exploding in a fountain of yellow gore as their stunned compatriots stood by helplessly. The other two Lizardman warriors raised their weapons, and began to look around frantically before they were hit too; the first was cleanly decapitated, while the other hit repeatedly in the torso flinging him backwards.

"Let's go catch a ride," John said to the girls, as he led them in a darting run over to the dropships. The first one had greasy smoke pouring out from the burned out engines, but the second one seemed to still be fully intact. It was a big transport, almost the same size as the Raptor, but this vessel was designed purely for troop movement, rather than combat.

The loading ramp into the iridescent green ship was down, and they crept on board stealthily, trying not to make a sound. They found a big empty troop compartment at the back, with a sturdy door that led further inside. The door at the back of the compartment was sealed, so John placed his hand in the Kintark shaped hand indentation on the wall, squeezing his middle two fingers together, to make his hand fit into the four digit space. Nothing happened, so he pushed, and the rounded panel depressed into the wall, activating the door which rose up into the ceiling.

A Kintark called out to them in its hissing native tongue from deeper within the ship, so John strode through the next room purposefully, before finding himself in the cockpit, face-to-face with a shocked Kintark pilot. Recovering quickly from the surprise, the armoured Lizardman went for the pistol at his belt, so John quickly reached out to grab the alien's head and twisted it savagely, breaking its neck instantly.

"We're all clear, let's get back to the Invictus," he called back to Alyssa, who was walking into the room he had darted through moments before.

The room was the armoury for the Kintark troopers who had already disembarked, and although nearly all the racks were empty, there were still several plasma rifles hooked up on the wall. "It looks like a few people had the same gift idea for Dana," Alyssa said with a smile, as she unslung the plasma rifle from her shoulder, and hooked it on the racks.

"Who's Dana?" Rachel asked curiously as she followed behind Alyssa.

"Our chief engineer," John explained. "She's great fun, I think you'll like her."

Alyssa smiled at him as she brushed past, and then moved to sit in the pilot's chair. A long focused glance at the controls told her all she needed to know, and she pressed a button that was covered in Kintark script, powering up the engines.

"Can you read Kintark?" Rachel asked Alyssa in surprise.

"No, just a lucky guess," the blonde replied with a grin.

*How did you know?* John asked her curiously.

*It... felt like the place to start,* Alyssa said cryptically, as she held the flightstick carefully in her hand. She increased the throttle and the ship began to lift up off the ground.

Once she was familiar with the flight controls, John returned to the troop compartment at the back, and then placed his hand in the Kintark shaped hand print on the wall next to the loading ramp. When he pushed the hand print in slightly, the ramp began to slowly close, and he smiled to himself with satisfaction.

***

"There they are!" Jade said urgently, pointing towards the Kintark dropship that was smoothly leaving the Port Medea hangar bay.

"I'll bring us around," Dana said, as she brought the Invictus closer to the departing green hulled vessel.

She hit the button that opened up the huge hull door for the cargo bay, and the girls on the bridge used the internal security cameras to watch Alyssa bring the Kintark dropship in, landing nice and gently in the centre of the room. A few moments later, John, Alyssa and Rachel strode down the ramp at the rear, and began to jog towards the grav-tubes.

"Shall I take us out of here?" Dana asked Calara cautiously, as she closed the cargo bay doors, now that her friends were safely aboard once more.

"No, John needs to make that call," Calara said firmly as she gazed up at the tactical map.

"What call might that be?" John said with a smile as he stepped onto the bridge, much to the delight of Jade, Calara and Dana who beamed relieved grins at him.

Alyssa pointed at a free seat for Rachel to take, while whispering to her quietly, "I'll make the introductions later."

The brunette nodded while walking over to the unlit station that she had been directed to, then settled into the comfortable seat, and looked around the bridge in wonder. Alyssa jogged hurriedly over to the briefing room, before disappearing inside to remove her body armour.

"Port Medea isn't out of danger yet, Commander," Calara said, dampening down her urge to run over and give him a hug; such was the urgency of the news she needed to deliver.

"Explain, Lieutenant," John replied, as he strode purposefully up the steps to the command podium.

Calara turned in her tactical chair so that she was facing him. "There was a Terran Federation cruiser, several frigates, and a number of destroyers based here as a garrison force, along with the CAP fighters launched from Port Medea. They would have been an even match with the Kintark fleet, if it weren't for that heavy carrier, and the sheer number of fighters and bombers it's launched into the fray," she explained hurriedly.

"What have we got left?" John asked grimly, looking up at the tactical map.

"The Cruiser Hermes is seriously damaged and attempting to retreat, while the last two frigates are providing cover. All other ships, destroyed." Calara said in a sombre tone.

"Alright, and what about the Kintark?" he asked hopefully.

"They've lost all their destroyers and a lot of their strike craft. They have their undamaged heavy carrier, a lightly damaged cruiser, and a few wings of fighters and bombers, which are all in pursuit of what's left of our forces," Calara informed him grimly. "Once they destroy the Hermes, then this system and all its assets will be finished."

"Well we didn't go through all that trouble to save Port Medea and the refineries, only for them to get blown up now!" John said decisively. "Plot an intercept course please, Alyssa," he said to the blonde who was gliding up the steps to sit in the Executive Officer's chair.

"Will do!" she replied eagerly, as she used retro thrusters to turn the Invictus around to face the combatants, and powered up the engines.

He turned to the redhead who was staring up at the dramatic battle on the tactical map. "Dana, please open a wide beam broadcast to all the Kintark ships."

"You got it, John," she said eagerly, turning back to her console. She paused a moment, unsure how to open a comm channel to only the Kintark vessels, then shrugged and just broadcast to everyone in the system.

"This is John Blake on the Invictus. The Terrans in the Iota-Leonis system are under my personal protection. Kintark forces, I give you this one chance to flee like cowards, or I'll rip you apart, just like I crushed the rest of your pitiful band," he announced contemptuously.

After a nod Dana's way, she ended the transmission, and then looked up at him in surprise.

"That ought to get their attention," he said with a grin, and winked at her.

"All Kintark forces moving to engage us," Calara said in warning as she studied the tactical map. The heavy carrier and cruiser were adjusting course to engage, with the bomber and fighter wings racing ahead on an intercept course.

"Good," John nodded with satisfaction, "We need to give the Hermes time to withdraw."

"Aren't we biting off a bit more than we can chew?" Jade asked, looking up at him in alarm, remembering full well how deadly the Kintark ships could be.

"I have every confidence in the expert marksmanship of my Tactical Officer," John said resolutely, smiling at Calara encouragingly.

The Latina cracked her knuckles, and then took a firm grip on the weapon controls, not bothering to reactivate the holographic targeting matrix. Everyone on the bridge watched in tense silence as the Kintark strike craft draw closer. There were three wings of fighters charging towards them, followed by two wings of bombers, with the Kintark cruiser some distance behind. The slightly slower but much larger heavy carrier turned ponderously, and moved up to engage at the rear of the elongated Kintark formation.

The enemy fighters reached the extreme edge of the Assault Carrier's Beam laser range, and Calara opened fire, the pulsing orange beams lancing out to disintegrate four of the eighteen fighters. The Kintark ships raced on regardless, and she switched to laser cannons, raking the wings of ships with uncannily accurate laser blasts.

The Invictus surged forward, making a beeline for the Kintark cruiser, which brought the enemy bombers closer at an alarming rate. Calara quickly switched to the mass drivers, and the Invictus trembled as the two-hundred-metre-long railguns accelerated their shells to hyper-warp. The light blue tachyon trails from the shells lit up the map, before there was a tremendous explosion as the barrage detonated, enveloping the hapless bombers in the blast. When the bright flare of the explosives dissipated, they could see that the bomber wings had been devastated, with seven of the twelve ships blown to pieces by a combination of the explosions themselves, and the concussive forces they had unleashed.

Alyssa could read John's thoughts and plans like a book, and she swung the Invictus around to port, flying perpendicular to their previous course. They were now flying in the opposite direction to the fleeing Terran cruiser, and its flanking frigates, that were hurriedly evacuating to the jump point.

Calara activated the defence grid, setting it to automatic fire, while switching weapon control back to the laser cannons. As the Kintark fighters raced in, finally in range to fire at them with their plasma weaponry, they were enveloped in a bright orange sheet of Gatling laser bolts. The plasma weapons began to chip away at the Invictus' shields, but the dozens of Gatling lasers took a far heavier toll, the energy bolts shredding through the armour on the fighters and cutting them to pieces. As the wings of enemy fighters swept past to turn for another run, there were only five of them left.

The bombers had finally closed to within Torpedo launching range, but there were only two of them remaining, the rest shot to pieces by Calara's deadly accuracy with the laser cannons. The attack craft shuddered as they released their anti-ship missiles, but the Latina had taken manual control of the defence grid in anticipation of such an attack. The torpedoes had barely cleared the launch bays when they were hit by unrelenting streams of laser fire from the Gatling lasers. The first was cut in half by the laser bolts and disintegrated harmlessly, but the second was hit in the warhead, and a colossal green plasma explosion enveloped the bomber that had launched it.

The five remaining fighters swung around and peppered the Invictus with plasma gun hits, causing the shields to flare with green pulses after every impact. Calara flipped the defence grid back to automatic fire, and then manually targeted the remaining attack craft with the laser cannons. Despite the frantic evasive manoeuvres by the desperate Kintark pilots, the fighters and bomber were shot to pieces, scattering glowing debris around the assault cruiser as their vessels were destroyed.

"All strike craft eliminated, Commander," Calara said with grim satisfaction.

"Nice work, Lieutenant," John commended her.

"Shields at 87% and recharging. We'll be back at full shield strength in just under a minute," Dana informed him helpfully.

"Shall we turn and engage the cruiser?" Alyssa asked him eagerly.

"Only if they go after the Hermes. Let's get back up to full shield strength first," John said with a cunning smile.

They led the cruiser and the heavy carrier further away from the fleeing Terran vessels. As soon as Dana confirmed that their shields were fully recharged, Alyssa turned the Invictus to charge headlong into battle once more. The carrier began to launch fresh waves of fighters, and the green angular attack craft could be seen roaring out of the launch bays like angry hornets from a riled nest.

"We'll reach beam weapon range on the cruiser and the fresh waves of fighters at the same time," Calara informed him as she focused intently on the tactical map.

"Ignore the fighters this time, let the defence grid take care of them. I want you to hit that cruiser with everything we've got," John ordered her decisively.

"Performing active scans," Dana informed him, as they rapidly closed with the Kintark cruiser.

The enemy ship was approximately the same size as the Invictus, the base hull a white-grey colour, and the thick armour plating an opalescent green like the rest of the Kintark vessels. Its shimmering armour was marred by long melted gouges from the Beam laser attacks from the Hermes, and although the cruiser didn't seem to have sustained any serious damage, the battle scars were ample evidence that their shields had been knocked out recently. The angular and efficiently designed cruiser was equipped with a main battery of stubby heavy plasma cannons, that were all trained on the Invictus as though eager to begin firing.

"Displaying scan results!" Dana exclaimed, as detailed information from the active sensor ping returned to them, showing energy spikes located in the bottom right section of the Kintark cruiser.

"We've got the range advantage with our Beam lasers and the Mass Drivers, so make those shots count, Calara," he advised the brunette, who was studying the enemy vessel intently.

"Weapons in range in five seconds," Alyssa called out in warning.

Calara had reactivated the holographic targeting matrix, and as soon as the targeting computer confirmed that they were in range, she caressed the trigger on the weapon control in her right hand. The six orange beams slashed across the front of the Kintark cruiser, with five of the beams absorbed by the shields, causing brightly rippling circles as the deadly energy was absorbed. Unfortunately for the Kintark, this was enough to knock out their partially regenerated shield once more, letting the sixth beam through to cut a searing crevasse in the front armour plating.

"Firing main guns," Calara murmured quietly, falling back to Terran Federation protocol as she concentrated intently on her target.

The Invictus shuddered as the Mass Drivers unloaded their deadly cargo, and the Kintark cruiser visibly trembled on the tactical map, as the four shells pounded into the front of the ship, but towards the lower right. Armour plating was rent asunder by the awesome penetrating power of the tachyon waves carrying the ordnance, and the shells plunged deep inside the enemy hull, before erupting a second later in a cluster of savage explosions. One of the detonations ripped apart their main power converter, and primary power on the enemy ship guttered out a few seconds later, leaving the once proud vessel a drifting hulk.

"Open up a comm channel to the heavy carrier!" John demanded abruptly.

"Done," Dana replied a moment later.

"Kintark Carrier, if you don't wish to share the same fate, stand down, and surrender immediately!" John ordered them sternly. "Failure to comply will mean your imminent destruction."

There was deathly silence for ten long seconds, as the Kintark fighters, the heavy carrier and the Invictus all closed within firing range, but no-one made the first move to attack. With a sudden crackle, the viewscreen displayed the image of a reptilian visage, and the Kintark leader began to speak.

"My name isss Prelate Jarganth in command of the carrier Karlan'toh. It appearsss that your power greatly exceedsss our own, John Blake. We have no desssire to die at your hand, and we accept your offer, requesssting only that you adhere to Galactic League termsss of surrender," the Kintark commander said, his hissing voice filled with regret.

"I accept your terms Prelate Jarganth. Power down your weapons, shields, and engines, and withdraw your fighters. We will arrange for Terran forces to assume control of your ship, and take your men into custody as prisoners of war." John replied magnanimously.

"We will follow your commandsss to the letter, John Blake." Jarganth nodded, as he slumped into his command chair, resigned to his fate.

John leaned forward and pressed a button on his console, ending the call. He looked around the bridge, and all the young women assembled there stared up at him in amazement.

"We did it," he said with a relieved grin, and the girls went wild, whooping and cheering.

"I can't believe they just surrendered!" Dana gasped, shaking her head with a huge grin on her face.

"That carrier is massive! I thought we had no chance against it," Jade said, blowing out a big sigh with a relieved smile on her face.

"It's a big vessel, but it's no battleship," Calara explained, her own face lit up with excitement. "Most of a carrier is taken up with flight decks and launch bays, so it probably only had about the same firepower as the cruiser."

"That was very astute, John. Calara taking out their cruiser in seconds must have scared that carrier Captain shitless!" Alyssa grinned up at him appreciatively.

John returned her exuberant grin, and dipped his head acknowledging her praise. "I have to bring my A-game to keep up with you girls," he told them all proudly.

The women on the bridge laughed happily and smiled up at him, as he rose to his feet.

"Now all that's over with, maybe I can spare a moment to remove this armour," John chuckled, looking down at his ripped and shredded Phalanx armour. "Alyssa, can you open a channel to Charles please, while I stow away my combat gear."

"Sure thing," the blonde said eagerly, pressing buttons on her console to activate the communications relay on the Invictus.

John strode down the illuminated steps of the command podium, and headed towards the briefing room, but paused when he was about to pass Rachel, who was sitting quietly, staring up at him in wonder. She suddenly sat upright with a start, when she realised his attention was focused on her, and looked up at him apprehensively.

"Sorry we've been so rude and ignored you, you've caught us at a bad time," John said apologetically.

Rachel suddenly laughed, and smiled up at him warmly. "Yes, so I see, but as you saved my life today, I'm quite willing to let that slide," she said jokingly.

"Thank you for being so understanding," John said playfully, and disappeared into the briefing room to store his gear. He returned to the bridge a few moments later, having removed his armour and put away his railgun in the weapon rack.

"We're being hailed by the cruiser Hermes," Alyssa called down to him as he strode back up the steps on the command podium.

"Go ahead and put them through," John replied as he sat down in the commander's chair.

The viewscreen flickered, and the image of a man in an officer's cap and a Terran Navy uniform appeared in the centre of the bridge.

"This is Captain Harding on the cruiser Hermes," he began, his relieved face sporting a wide smile. "We heard your broadcasts Mr Blake. Thank you from everyone on the Hermes, you saved a great many lives with your actions here today!"

John shot a glance at Dana, who shrugged and grinned at him. "You're welcome Captain, it was our pleasure to assist." he replied with a nod. "Are you still evacuating for repairs?"

"No, we'll stay in-system until a relief force arrives," the cruiser Captain replied.

"John, I've got Charles on the comm," Alyssa said to him quietly.

"Apologies Captain, I've got another call I need to make. We'll stay in the system until help gets here," John volunteered.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Captain Harding replied, and then ended the call.

His image on the viewscreen was almost instantly replaced by the older face of Vice Admiral Charles Harris. His expression changed from worried to relieved, as soon as he realised who had called him.

"John? Thank goodness you called! I'm sorry I couldn't give you more information earlier, but executive orders be damned, this is too important. I'm getting reports of a fleet engagement at Port Medea. You have to turn around now, it's much too dangerous for you to go to Iota-Leonis!" The older man started in a rush.

"That's what I'm calling you about, Charles. We were caught up in the battle, but we manag-" John began, before being cut off.

"John, this isn't time for jokes. When we spoke yesterday, your call originated from Epsilon-Eridani. It's at least a three day trip from the core worlds to the Dragon March, so you've got a couple of days before you arrive, and I'm urging you not to go to Port Medea. Trust me when I say it's far too dangerous to head that way at the moment," The grey haired man said, his face deadly serious.

"I'm not joking, Charles. Look at where this comm channel is being broadcast from," John replied patiently.

Charles looked at the call details on his comm interface, and his mouth dropped open in shock. "That's impossible!" he protested incredulously. "Nothing moves that fast!"

"We gave the Invictus a bit of a tune up, or more specifically, the Ashanath did," John said, smiling wryly.

"But..." the grey haired man stammered, his eyes wide.

"Charles, that isn't important right now, listen to me for a moment. We arrived just as a Kintark heavy carrier task force began an attack on Port Medea. We managed to fight off the bomber waves to protect the facilities here, but the garrison forces have taken a pounding. We need reinforcements to help secure the heavy carrier we've captured."

Charles stared at him, completely bewildered, stunned by one revelation after another.

"If you need verification, speak to Captain Harding in command of the Hermes. We managed to save his cruiser from the Kintark forces, and he's staying in-system until relief arrives." John continued helpfully.

Charles just blinked at him in response, until a soft beep sounded from the computer built into his desk. He looked down and away from John on the viewscreen, to see an emergency update on the battle in Iota-Leonis, filed by a Captain Leonard Harding, commanding officer in situ. His eyes quickly scanned through the data, and then he looked up at John and let out an astonished chuckle.

"I don't know how you did it John, but that's one hell of a prize you captured! We've got reinforcements inbound, but they aren't due to arrive for another hour. If you can help hold the fort until then, I'd appreciate it," Charles said, finally pulling himself together.

"Sure, that's no problem," John replied agreeably.

"You mentioned going to visit the Maliri next, but you must come and visit me at Olympus shipyard before you leave. I'll need to debrief you on your recent exploits," he requested firmly.

"We'll depart as soon as the relief fleet arrives," John promised. "We should be with you in a little under a day."

Charles laughed again and shook his head in amazement. "I'll look forward to seeing you tomorrow," he said with a broad smile, and then ended the call.

John rose from his chair, and Alyssa glided gracefully over to join him as he walked down the steps from the command podium, and over to Rachel. "You must be exhausted after a day like today," he said to her considerately. "Introductions and interviews can wait until tomorrow when we've all rested. If you'd like to follow us, we'll show you to your quarters, and you can settle in for the night."

Rachel stood to follow them, and waved a shy goodbye to the rest of the bridge crew who smiled back at her welcomingly. She walked up the ramp to join John and Alyssa who waited for her at the grav-tube, and when she arrived to stand with them, Alyssa offered her hand for the brunette to take. She did, and then the girls stepped into the red glow of the grav-tube, and sank down to the deck below.

"I'll be back shortly, but just let me know if there's any trouble," John told the girls, and they nodded to him, with earnest assurances that they had everything well in hand.

He stepped into the grav-tube behind the other two girls and then strode quickly after them to catch up. They had walked a little way down the corridor, and Alyssa had brought them to a halt by the now open doorway into one of the empty officer's quarters. This room was adjacent to Dana's, the second door down on the right hand side from the end of the corridor which housed the Commander's suite.

"These will be your quarters if you choose to join us as Chief Medical Officer," Alyssa said warmly. "You might as well use them until you decide, either way," she added with a smile.

"This room is huge!" Rachel gasped in amazement as she looked around the large room. "I've been sharing a dorm room for the last few weeks, so you've no idea how roomy this feels," she explained with a big grin on her face.

"Well make yourself at home," John said in a friendly tone. "We'd like you to feel comfortable here."

Rachel turned to look up at him, and was going to make some lighthearted comment when her lower lip began to tremble, and her eyes filled up with tears. John opened his arms to her, and the overwhelmed young woman stepped into his embrace, crying softly. He looked over her light brown hair at Alyssa, with a surprised look on his face as he held the young woman supportively.

*The adrenalin must be wearing off. I think she's finally reacting to the shock of the attack,* Alyssa thought to him, as she stood at their side, and rubbed Rachel's back soothingly.

"It's okay, you're safe now. We'll look after you." she said softly to the brunette.

Rachel let out a little laugh, and looked up at them both. "I barely know either of you, and here I am, sobbing into your arms," she said and took a big sigh, pulling herself together.

"Don't worry about it. I'm guessing this was your first experience of combat?" John asked the young woman, as he released her from the comforting embrace of his arms.

"How did you guess?" she replied with a self deprecating chuckle, and brushed away her tears with the back of her hand. "I must be making an amazing impression." she added sardonically.

"You handled yourself well," John replied with a dismissive shrug. "You followed my orders and got to safety, giving us time to reach you. You did exactly what we needed you to do."

"Thanks, John," The brunette said distractedly, her worries temporarily forgotten as she looked up at him with a captivated expression on her face. This was the closest Rachel had been to him so far, and she stared up at him curiously, examining his pointy ears.

"Yes, I'm not entirely human," he said with a smile.

"I never noticed before, when we first met back on Gravitus," she murmured, as she gazed at his elongated pointy ears.

"You were a little distracted at the time," Alyssa said coyly, and the two girls shared a knowing look, before Rachel blushed slightly.

"Sorry, I must seem terribly rude, I just find aliens species fascinating," Rachel said, looking embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it, it's human nature to be curious," John said with a shrug.

"Besides, if you like meeting aliens, you're in the right place," Alyssa laughed light heartedly.

Rachel smiled, and then looked up at them both, her face growing more serious. "I don't know why you'd come all this way to see me, but I'm extremely grateful you did. Thanks for saving me from the Kintark," she said earnestly.

Alyssa stepped forward and wrapped the brunette in a hug, while John placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"You're quite welcome. Besides, if you become our doctor, you're bound to end up saving us from one scrape or another. We'll be the ones thanking you in no time!" he joked.

Rachel smiled at his attempt to lighten the mood, and when Alyssa stepped back, the brunette let out a big yawn before quickly covering her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I'm used to Port Medean time, and it's about three in the morning for me right now," she apologised profusely.

"No need to apologise. The Invictus is on Terran standard time, which is about midnight right now, so we'll be heading to bed soon too," Alyssa said understandingly.

"We'll hand over that carrier to the Terran reinforcements, and then call it a night," John said to the blonde, who nodded agreeably.

"We're just down at the end of the corridor in the Commander's quarters. If you need anything at all, just come and find me," Alyssa told the girl, with a friendly smile.

Rachel stifled another yawn, and they left her to settle into her room, closing the door behind them. Walking hand in hand, they strolled back to the grav-tube and stepped inside, enveloped in a soft blue glow as they ascended to the command deck.

"Anything interesting happened so far?" John asked the girls curiously.

"We got a hail from Captain Harding on the Hermes. Apparently the reinforcement group should be here within a few minutes." Dana informed him.

"If we hadn't been here, the Kintark would have had enough time to destroy everything in the system, and jump out before the reinforcements even arrived," Calara said with satisfaction.

"Now that it's just us, I think it's time for a group hug," John said invitingly, and the girls laughed happily as they darted up the slope to join him and Alyssa.

The girls leaned into him and he encircled them in his arms, feeling a huge sense of relief that none of them had been injured in the protracted battle.

"You were all amazing today," he said proudly, looking at each of them in turn. "We saved hundreds, if not thousands of people, and our intervention here will save many more throughout the Dragon March."

"You didn't do too bad yourself," Alyssa said, looking up at him lovingly. "Although, no more wrestling giant lizards please, I'm not sure my heart can take it!"

"Is that what happened to my Phalanx armour?" Dana frowned disapprovingly. "It looked like you decided to hug a TBM!"

Alyssa laughed at that, but the others all looked confused. "What's a TBM?" Jade asked, not recognising the acronym.

"A Tunnel Boring Machine," Dana explained patiently. "They're big, and have lots of sharp bits."

"You actually aren't far off," John said with a chuckle, remembering the huge reptile that had savaged his body armour.

A chime on the console indicated an incoming hail, and numerous new sensor signals began appearing on the tactical map. John and they girls moved swiftly back to their seats, while the transponders on the newly arrived ships identified that they were Terran vessels. It was the relief force, led by a colossal Terran battleship, tagged by the transponder as the Artemis.

John sat down in his command chair and pressed the button on his console to accept the incoming call. The viewscreen flickered to life and the image of an older Asian woman in a Navy Officer's uniform appeared in front of them.

"This is Commodore Sasaki on the Battleship Artemis, please identify yourself, assault cruiser," she requested formally.

"This is Commander John Blake on the Invictus, I'm glad to see you Commodore," John said in a friendly voice.

"I'm not sure why. If these reports I'm reading aren't some fairy tale, you seem to have things well under control," she replied wryly.

"Well, we have places to go, people to see. We can't stick around to babysit a Kintark heavy carrier all day long," John replied with a grin.

Commodore Sasaki let out a loud laugh at that, her eyes sparkling as she appraised him. "I'm just glad you were here. According to Captain Harding, we would have lost everything in the system if you hadn't intervened," she said gratefully.

"I'm just happy to do my part, Commodore," John said graciously.

"Well consider yourself relieved. Safe travels, Commander," Sasaki said, saluting him respectfully, before closing the comm channel.

"Plot a course for Olympus please, honey," John said with a smile, as he looked to the blonde seated in the Executive Officer's chair to his right.

"It's already laid in," she said with an impish smile, as she powered up the Tachyon drive. Moments later the Invictus leapt into hyper-warp, and they raced away from the Iota-Leonis system, following the course she had plotted that would take them to Olympus shipyard.

"Do we want to leave someone on watch, until we're a good distance from the Dragon March?" Calara asked him, worried about possible encounters with Kintark forces.

"The Interdiction automated response will give us plenty of time to react. It isn't necessary for one of us to be up here too," Dana said confidently.

"Assuming it doesn't kill us all in our sleep," John said teasingly, and the girls laughed as Dana rolled her eyes.

"Talking of dead things, we've got a Lizardman corpse in the Kintark dropship we swiped," Alyssa reminded John with a grin. "We need to move that to cold storage in the medical bay while it's still... fresh."

"Well remembered. Let's sort that out before we call it a night, it should only take a few minutes to stash the body." John agreed.

They all rose and walked over to the grav-tube, stepping inside and sinking down in the red glow as a group. When they reached deck nine, they strode out into the corridor, passing the hidden defences, before arriving at the double doors into the cargo bay. Dana and Jade exchanged shifty looks as they glanced at the hangar bay door, and Alyssa paused as she was about to hit the button to the cargo bay, before turning abruptly, and gliding over to the double doors opposite. She frowned disapprovingly at the two of them as the doors slid open smoothly.

"Holy shit!" John exclaimed in shock when he saw the gunship.

He walked into the hangar, looking up at the Raptor in disbelief, astonished at the damage it had sustained. The starboard and upper-spinal Gatling laser turrets had been blown apart, leaving ugly craters in the side and top of the gunship. The front of the vessel was marred by a number of impacts, where the superheated plasma had gouged the Invictium armour plating. He walked around it silently, and shook his head when he saw the terrible damage the rear half of the ship had sustained. The armour plating was hit in dozens of places, leaving a pockmarked mosaic of battle scars all over the aft of the Raptor, and the starboard engine was a blackened charred mess from where it had been destroyed by the Kintark fighters.

"You never said how close that was," John said with a stern frown, as he came back to the group, the girls watching him intently.

"You were busy, and I thought it best not to worry you," Dana admitted.

"You saved a lot of lives today, and I'm very proud of what you achieved," John said, staring into Jade's emerald eyes. "But as cold as it sounds, I'd never have let you risk yourself, if I knew just how dangerous it was beforehand."

Jade looked up at him as he stood in front of her, and then reached up to cup his face tenderly. He returned the gesture as he stared back at the beautiful green-skinned woman, his heart lurching at the thought of anything happening to her.

"The same applies to all of you," he continued, looking around the group. "I don't want to even think about losing any of you."

They gathered around him and he held them possessively in his arms, as though trying to ward them from any possible danger.

"Come on, let's finish up down here, and we can continue this conversation in bed later," Alyssa said with an alluring smile.

They laughed while nodding their agreement, before heading back to the corridor, sealing up the hangar with the wounded Raptor, and moving into the cargo bay.

"Do you like your present?" John asked Dana with a broad grin on his face as the doors opened, revealing the Kintark dropship they had appropriated.

"Oh John, you shouldn't have!" the redhead said with a grin, and then skipped exuberantly over to the Kintark vessel, letting out happy little gasps of excitement as she looked over her gift.

John smiled indulgently, delighted at her ecstatic reaction as she revelled in the opportunity to study more alien technology. He watched her for a few minutes, while Alyssa went aboard to retrieve the plasma rifles. She emerged a little while later with two slung over each shoulder and the last held cradled in her arms, along with a bundle of plasma clips.

"Wow! Those are for me too?" Dana bounced up and down eagerly, when she saw her blonde friend reappear.

Dana cautiously took the plasma rifle out of Alyssa's hands, whilst being careful not to cause her to drop the clips. Calara and Jade laughed, and moved over to help carry the weaponry, then the girls followed the distracted redhead as she walked over to the loading lift up to her workshop. She was examining the weapon closely, studying it with the appraising eye of a master gunsmith, and plans for possible upgrades once she had reverse engineered the tech began to flash through her mind.

John watched them depart, then walked into the dropship to collect the Kintark pilot's corpse. He found the body where they had left it a couple of hours earlier, and he dragged the armoured cadaver out the back of the dropship into the cargo bay. He looked over at the loading lift, but couldn't be bothered to wait for it to slowly descend again, so he hauled the body effortlessly over his shoulder and then strode out to the grav-tubes. He carefully placed the corpse on the floor inside the blue lit side of the anti-gravity tube, and then stepped in afterwards as it began to rise in the air, as though reanimated by some twisted necromancer.

Stepping out onto deck seven, John grabbed the dead Lizardman's clawed and scaly foot, then pulled the body out of the grav-tube and back over his shoulder once again. It was only a quick walk to Medical from there, and once he had gone inside the medical facilities, he walked over to the cryo-tubes. These devices were intended to keep a critically injured patient alive in suspended animation, the cryo-stasis keeping the patient stable until more advanced medical facilities could be reached. Two of the eight tubes were already occupied with the hulking corpses of the Drakkar raiders who had drowned while attempting to board them. He stuffed the Kintark corpse into the next cryo-tube, being careful not to damage the body, before sealing the pod shut and activating the cryo-stasis that would keep it perfectly preserved.

The sounds of girlish laughter reached his sharp ears, coming from some distance down the corridor outside Medical, and he strode quickly out of the room to wait for them.

"You look like you're in a hurry, big date tonight?" Dana teased him.

"Yes, with four beautiful women actually," John replied cheerfully.

"Four!" Alyssa gasped in mock surprise. "You must have amazing stamina to satisfy that many girls in one night."

"I've heard he never disappoints," Calara said eagerly.

"They sound like very lucky girls to me," Jade purred, her eyes sparkling lustily.

John waited for them at the lift, and then stood aside to gallantly let the girls go first.

"That's very gentlemanly," Calara said with a teasing smile. "What lovely manners."

"Manners have nothing to do with it," Alyssa smirked, as she ascended in the grav-tube. "He just wants to watch us walk ahead of him down the corridor to his lair."

"It's such a spectacular view," John smiled in agreement, as he watched the girls sashay down the corridor with an extra swing to their hips. The tight, rounded little spheres of their asscheeks rolled and flexed enticingly as they sauntered ahead of him, and they glanced over their shoulders occasionally, enjoying seeing the unvarnished lust in his eyes.

They crept quietly past Rachel's closed door, being careful not to disturb the exhausted young woman, and then finally entered the Commander's quarters with John closing the door behind them.

"Oh no! Now we're trapped in here with this rampant beast!" Jade giggled as she watched him.

"That's right little girl, there's no escape, not until I have my wicked way with you!" John said in a theatrical villain's voice. "Now, off to the shower with all of you!"

They laughed and went into the bathroom, with clothes flying off them as they went. John was the last to enter, and the girls watched him from inside the shower as he stripped off the last of his clothes before stepping into the roomy shower with them. The girls surrounded him and began to wash his body as the warm water cascaded over him. He closed his eyes as they began to massage him gently, all the teenagers having been tutored by Jade, and the wonderful feeling of eight eager hands stroking and teasing his muscles was driving him wild.

"You seemed to particularly enjoy the sight of our bottoms this evening," Calara observed mischievously. "The last time I saw that look, I lost the fastest ever sparring match I've ever fought."

"Is that what you fancy tonight, some tight little teenage ass?" Dana asked him excitedly.

"The idea of making you squeal does sound very appealing," John replied, gathering the auburn haired girl in his arms, then dropping his hands to her pert behind, and squeezing the toned cheeks firmly. Dana practically panted with lust as she stared up at him, and he saw her pupils dilate widely with excitement.

Surprisingly it was Alyssa who objected to the plan. "That does sound like fun, and I like getting my ass stretched as much as the next girl, but I think we should do something different tonight," she said intriguingly.

John turned towards Alyssa as she stepped forward to replace Dana in his arms. "What did you have in mind?" he asked the beautiful blonde curiously.

"I think we've all been very naughty girls, and let you do most of the work so far," Alyssa said remorsefully. "You're always the one that fucks us senseless, and we need to return the favour to show you how much we love you."

Her teasing declaration was followed by sincere apologies from the other three girls, as they brushed their hands over his body sensually.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," John agreed wholeheartedly. "It must have been pretty obvious that I've been disappointed in my sex life over the last few months," he added playfully.

"We'll make it up to you, I promise," Alyssa purred seductively, as Jade, Calara and Dana all nodded their heartfelt agreement.

"Shall we take this through to the bedroom then?" John suggested eagerly.

"Sure, but one last thing before we start," Alyssa said, drawing all their attention once more. "If things work out with Rachel, and she agrees to join the crew, you'll be packing her belly full of cum morning, noon, and night for the next couple of weeks. I think you should hold off from coming as long as you can tonight, then make sure we're all well fed to tide us over," she said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"You come up with the best plans," John told her approvingly, before looking around at the faces of the excited young women gathered around him. "What do you girls think? Does that sound like a good idea to you?"

They licked their full lips suggestively, while stroking their slim stomachs, and gazed up at him with hungry eyes. "See, they can hardly wait to carry your cum," Alyssa whispered to him teasingly.

John beamed the smile of a man who'd just won life's jackpot, and the girls giggled with delight at his blatant arousal. They left the shower one after the other, then dried themselves off quickly, and used the moisture evaporators to blow-dry their hair in seconds. He followed their perfectly sculpted athletic figures as they swayed alluringly into the bedroom, and let him over to the bed.

"Lie down in the middle please," Alyssa requested politely, and he climbed onto the huge bed to follow her instructions.

"We better make sure he's nice and hard for us," Dana advised them, looking at John's painfully erect cock.

"That's an excellent idea, thanks Dana," Alyssa said seriously, and the girls glided gracefully onto the bed, moving in perfect synchronisation as they followed the blonde's telepathic instructions.

They knelt with two girls on either side of him, and then leaned forward to brush their velvety smooth tongues over his length. The feeling of four girls lapping at him with teasing little licks was indescribable, and John arched his back, as though desperate to plunge his cock into one of their mouths. The girls gazed lovingly at one another over his cock as they worked as a group, each sliding their tongues up and down the four quarters of his shaft.

After a few minutes of this delicious torture, they eased back and made room for Calara, who pivoted so that she was facing him. She lifted her athletic thighs over his, and Jade held his cock upright so that the brunette could sink down on him nice and smoothly. John groaned as his head pushed deep into her pussy, and then moaned with pleasure as her pert coffee coloured buttocks brushed his taut balls. Calara rocked back and forth on him sensually, putting into practice everything that Jade her taught her, and they all watched her glorious athletic body appreciatively.

Alyssa moved up beside him and then lovingly kissed his ear. With her lips brushed up against him, she began to whisper to him, to test his willpower.

"She looks so exotic and beautiful," the blonde said, admiring Calara's toned physique. "And the way she's learned to move her body to please you is breathtaking. Do you think she'll still be able to move that way with your baby in her belly?" she asked him seductively.

"I'll never be able to last if you keep that up," John groaned, revelling in the wonderful sensations around his cock as the brunette stroked him with her tense muscles.

Calara leaned forward, and gently pressed her pliant breasts against his chest. "You made love to me spectacularly well after the visit to Jericho, so I'll let the other girls have some fun. I'll make it up to you the next time you beat me in a sparring match," she promised him excitedly, and gave him a loving kiss before sliding off his pulsing cock.

Dana was next and she eased her way down his slippery length, her passage lubricated by Calara's wetness. She shuddered as she sank down on every inch of him, his blunt head pushing into her womb.

*I'm so glad you let me bring my old friend on board the ship,* Alyssa thought to him happily, sharing her thoughts with Dana too.

*We did so much as a pair growing up together, and it seems only right that you're going to impregnate us both at the same time,* Alyssa said excitedly. Dana gasped as she heard Alyssa's debauched commentary, and began to rock back and forth on him eagerly, sliding up and down his cock as her hips moved rhythmically.

*She loves that idea, don't you little sister?* Alyssa asked the redhead rhetorically. Dana nodded eagerly as she stared into John's eyes, and he moved his hands up to squeeze her firm breasts and tease her nipples in time with the gliding motion of her hips.

*And now, you want to marry us both too!* Alyssa exclaimed, then paused as if thinking of something. *What if we were to combine the events? That way we could both be sporting heavily pregnant bellies in our white dresses when we're wed!*

Dana slumped forward and whimpered into John's other ear as she came explosively around his cock. Her clenching pussy seemed desperate for his cum, and he didn't need to be telepathic to know what she was thinking about as she climaxed. He gritted his teeth, and managed to fight off the urge to fill the beautiful and eager young woman, who was gasping and writhing on his cock.

*I thought white was just for virgin brides?* John replied, desperate to think of anything except the orgasming redhead who was wrapped around him.

*Well you were the first man to take my ass,* Alyssa replied, as if pondering his question. *And you got to break in every one of Dana's holes... So I'm sure that counts.*

Dana just whimpered as she heard this, climaxing again as she lay impaled on John's cock. He ran his hands up and down the contours of her body, feeling her shiver as she was overcome with pleasure. Eventually she was done, and Jade moved lithely to take her place on his lap, her cool skin a wonderful contrast to the hot and panting redhead.

*I overheard your conversation in the kitchen the other day,* Alyssa began, maintaining eye contact with Jade as the nymph began to rock expertly on John's lap.

*Did you like what you heard?* Jade replied teasingly as she looked down at the mischievous blonde girl.

*Oh yes, very much so,* Alyssa said, seeing the challenge in Jade's emerald eyes. *But not as much as John. I wish you could feel how ecstatically happy he is with you, and how urgently he wants to put a beautiful green-skinned baby in your belly. He wants to show the world how he owns you, and that you belong only to him.*

Hearing this, Jade mewled and whimpered, her body heating up dramatically as Alyssa told her everything she desperately yearned for. Her sensual, rhythmic motions were thrown off-stride by the things Alyssa was telling her, and the Nymph stared down at John, a loving expression of pure joy on her face as she rode him erratically.

*You won't have to wait long Jade. Before you know it, you'll be showing us all what a wonderful mother you'll be,* Alyssa's loving thoughts echoed through the girl's mind, and she cried out wordlessly as she climaxed.

John held the nymph's incredible body against him as she rode him through one intense orgasm after another. Her pussy was massaging him and sucking on him, as though craving his cum, and he groaned as he tried to hold off on joining her with his release. Eventually she wound down from her intense climax, and he helped her slide bonelessly off his body, letting her sprawl out on the bed, panting for breath.

Alyssa rose from where she lay at his side and looked at the girls playfully. "Naughty girls, you were supposed to make him feel good, and you just used his hard cock for your own pleasure," she chastised them. "Well apart from you Calara, you were a good girl."

The brunette laughed at Alyssa's antics and leaned in to kiss her. The two teens leaned over John's chest and kissed each other passionately, while his cock throbbed angrily in the air.

"Sorry John," Alyssa apologised as she moved lithely across him, and sank down on his length. "You should be buried in a willing young girl while you watch us perform for you."

"Is that what you are? My willing young girl?" he asked her teasingly as she began to kiss Calara lovingly once more.

*Of course,* she stated emphatically. *You could do anything you like with me, and I'd love you all the more for it.*

When Calara and Alyssa stopped their sensual kissing for a moment, John reached up to grasp the startled blonde girl in his arms, and pulled her down to his chest, so that her eyes were only inches from his own.

*I want you to open up to me now, Alyssa.* he thought to her as he stared into her bright blue eyes. *No more games, I want to 'know' you, your desires and needs,* he urged her lovingly.

Alyssa's pupils dilated fully, and she gasped as she gazed adoringly at him. He began to share her thoughts and emotions, but this time felt different, more profound somehow. It was as though she was sharing every private part of her soul, opening herself fully to him, so he could experience every nuance of her personality. Overriding everything was her absolute desire to please him, to help him achieve his goals and dreams, and to be unerringly at his side for whatever purpose he chose for her. He was astonished at the depth of her devotion to him, so absolute in fact, that it made Jade's desire for John to be her master seem almost like a whimsical thing.

Under that layer was a driving need to protect and nurture the beautiful young women that she brought into their expanding family. To help keep them safe, and help them grow into the "tools" that John might require to meet his goals. Finally, at the very centre of her being, was a nebulous swirl of emotions that desired nothing more than to be a part of a family, to feel protected and cared for by the man she loved.

Shocked by the overwhelming surge of such intense emotions, John blinked, breaking their connection. Alyssa glanced at him shyly, looking vulnerable after sharing herself so completely with him, as she waited to see how he would react. He wrapped his arms around her protectively, and stared into her eyes once more, reopening their connection.

Alyssa sighed ecstatically, as he embraced both her body and mind, holding both tightly to him. She leaned down to kiss him tenderly, gazing back at him with unblinking eyes, as they strengthened their unbreakable bond with one another. They lost track of time locked together like that, and when they finally became conscious of the outside world once more, they realised that Calara, Dana and Jade were lying around them on the bed, quite spellbound by the whole encounter.

"Sorry girls, we got a bit distracted," John said quietly, awed by the experience. "How long were we like that?"

"Just over an hour," Calara said, kneeling at their side. "Are you both okay?"

"I've never felt more at peace," Alyssa sighed blissfully, as she sat up and stretched, giving John a spectacular view of her firm, youthful breasts.

Despite feeling the profound connection of what he had just shared with the beautiful blonde, he was still buried inside her, and she still turned him on immensely. His cock twitched reflexively where he was buried up to the balls in her pussy, and Alyssa looked down at him affectionately.

"We've teased you long enough," she said lovingly, as she gently dismounted him and then knelt at his side, with the other three girls scurrying into place as well. She took the head of his cock in her mouth and then began to suck on him insistently, with only one purpose in mind.

John groaned helplessly as the other three girls began to lick him eagerly too, and he writhed under their loving caresses. There was no teasing now, and there was an air of quiet determination about the four young women as they brought him ever closer to climax. He couldn't last long, not under their four tongued onslaught, especially after being teased to distraction by each of the four girls. His back arched as he came, and he roared with his release, as his taut quad sent his cum rocketing up his shaft.

Alyssa's mouth filled rapidly with each long surge, and she began to swallow noisily, drinking down his cum like it was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. She stopped sucking for a moment, and he felt another hot little mouth move smoothly in place to drink down more of his cum. The girls all took their turns, drinking down his sperm and filling up their stomachs with his seed. Eventually he was tapped out, and he had to reach out to Jade to urge her to relent.

"You've drained me dry," he chuckled as his emptied balls throbbed and ached after pumping out such a huge load.

"You can't blame us, you're just so tasty!" Dana grinned up at him, licking her lips enthusiastically.

The other girls laughed merrily, and he marvelled at the beautiful sound of the chorus of feminine delight. They curled up around him, moving gracefully into their usual places at his side, and he knew what Alyssa meant. He'd never felt more at peace either.

***

John slept more soundly than he ever recalled doing before, and when he awoke the next morning, he felt gloriously refreshed. He wanted to spring out of bed, ready to start the day, and he glanced down quickly to make sure he hadn't disturbed any of the girls. He was surprised to see they were all awake already and they looked up at him with bright eyes.

"I feel on top of the world this morning!" he exclaimed exuberantly.

"We know, we've been feeling the same way." Alyssa said, smiling up at him lovingly.

John glanced at the chronometer and saw that it was eight in the morning. "We should get up and ready in case Rachel has woken up. I wouldn't want her waiting around for us feeling awkward."

"That's very considerate," Alyssa said, leaning in to give him a kiss. "Maybe that's why I love you so much!" she added happily.

The other girls grinned at them, and then wanted their own kisses. They managed to eventually get moving without losing too much time, and showered together before separating to go and get dressed for the day. They met up in the corridor outside their rooms as they all finished getting ready, and Calara brought out a stack of clothes with her as she left her quarters to join them.

"These are some of my old clothes. I thought Rachel might appreciate a fresh set of clothing, and it didn't look like she brought any luggage on board with her," the Latina explained

"That's very kind, thanks gorgeous," Alyssa said to her affectionately as Calara handed over the stack of clothing.

"We'll go make breakfast while you go and check on sleeping beauty," Dana grinned, and they headed quietly off to the officer's lounge, leaving Alyssa with the folded clothes in her arms.

Alyssa walked up to the quarters next to Dana's and knocked lightly on the door. She didn't have to wait long before the doors swished open, revealing a tousled looking Rachel.

"Good morning!" Alyssa said breezily, "I hope you slept well?"

"I was out like a light!" Rachel exclaimed, "My head had barely touched the pillow before I was fast asleep."

"I'm glad, you obviously needed the rest," Alyssa said caringly. "May I come in?" she asked the brunette politely.

"Oh, of course!" Rachel blurted out, stepping aside so the lithesome blonde could glide gracefully into her room like a catwalk model.

"One of the girls had some spare outfits they thought you might like to borrow," Alyssa said as she carefully placed the stack of clothing on the end of the bed. "I'm really sorry we weren't able to collect your own things before we left Port Medea, it was all a bit of a rush."

"Thank you so much," Rachel said, glancing guiltily at her doctor's coat and the rest of her clothes, that she'd left in a jumble on the floor when she had stripped off the previous night to fall into bed. "And thanks for leaving me this nightshirt too," she said appreciatively.

"I'll get those washed for you if you'd like," Alyssa offered, and when Rachel nodded, she collected the errant clothing in a pile in her arms. "John and the girls are making you breakfast, and I'll take you to see them whenever you're ready. There's no rush though, so take your time." she added soothingly.

Rachel nodded and smiled at the blonde. "I appreciate you trying to make me feel so welcome, thank you," she said gratefully.

"We all want to make you feel at home. Just give me a call when you're ready," she replied, returning the girl's smile with a sparkling one of her own.

Rachel nodded, and Alyssa sashayed out of the room, carrying the pile of laundry with her.

Alyssa called the cleaning robots, using one of the controls on the wall panel in John's room, and gave them Rachel's clothing to clean when they dutifully arrived a few minutes later. She lounged on the bed, listening to John flirting and chatting to the other girls in the kitchen, and she smiled contentedly to herself. Being party to both sides of a conversation at once, along with all that person's accompanying emotions and thoughts, was proving to be a fascinating experience. She hadn't been waiting too long before she heard a door open in the corridor.

"Alyssa, I'm ready," Rachel called out tentatively.

She got up and walked out to meet the brunette, smiling at her reassuringly as she strode over to meet her. Rachel was wearing some of Calara's old casual clothes, and had picked out a pair of black tailored trousers and a long teal coloured top that she had drawn in at the waist with a belt, accentuating her slender figure

"Very nice, casual yet sophisticated," Alyssa smiled at her approvingly. "Not tempted by Calara's old combat trousers?" she asked teasingly.

"I didn't think they were quite my look," Rachel said tactfully.

Alyssa laughed at that, and then gestured for the brunette to join her, as she walked up the corridor towards the officer's lounge. Rachel matched her pace, darting glances at Alyssa occasionally, and marvelling at the blonde's grace and poise, as she strode along beside her.

"Well you've got a big day ahead of you today. An important interview, I hear?" Alyssa teased her playfully.

"I feel woefully ill prepared for it, truth be told," Rachel said, playing along. "I'm not even sure what they're looking for exactly."

"Oh, I'm sure they have their reasons for headhunting you. You must have done very well in your finals; scores in the top tenth percentile to have piqued their interest I'd wager," Alyssa said pointedly.

"How did you kno-" Rachel blurted, then stopped abruptly when she saw Alyssa's coy smile.

Alyssa pressed the button to the officer's lounge, and the double doors swung open, revealing the huge room within. She led the brunette past the comfy sofas and the bar, and headed to the dining area with the long table surrounded by high backed chairs. Someone had set three place settings at one end of the table, and as they arrived, John and the girls came out of the adjacent kitchen, carrying a wide selection of breakfast dishes, that smelled delicious.

"We weren't sure what you liked, so I cooked you a few different things," he grinned at her, as they put down the serving dishes at the table.

"You didn't have to go to so much trouble," Rachel protested, but her grumbling stomach begged to differ.

"John and I will join you for breakfast, but the other girls have eaten already. I'll take you to meet them all later, but let me give you a brief introduction," Alyssa said eagerly. "This is Calara, our Tactical Officer, Dana, our Chief Engineer, and Jade, our gunship pilot."

The three girls smiled at her welcomingly, and then waved goodbye before they strolled out of the officer's lounge chattering away happily.

"What species is Jade?" Rachel asked John excitedly, as she watched her disappear out through the doors. "I've never seen an alien like her before, she's absolutely beautiful!"

"She's a Lenarran, or a 'Nymph' as they're more commonly known," John replied with a fond smile on his face.

"Why didn't they stay and eat with us?" Rachel asked in confusion.

"We thought it would be a bit intimidating getting bombarded with questions by everyone, so let's have some breakfast first, and then we'll take you on a tour of the ship," John suggested.

Rachel sat down and they tucked in to the food. John had made some waffles which proved to be a big hit, and the brunette groaned with pleasure as she took another bite.

"Oh my god! Just these waffles alone would convince me to join your crew!" she sighed with delight. "And you do all the cooking?" she asked him with a laugh.

"I've got several trainee chefs under my tutelage, but yes, pretty much," John said with a smile.

They finished off breakfast, and Alyssa offered to clear the table, leaving John and Rachel to begin their tour. The first place they visited was deck seven, which contained the medical lab. John hit the button next to the door, and then ushered in the young woman at his side.

"Wow! Your medical facility is huge," she gasped in amazement, looking around and feeling a little overwhelmed by the sheer size of it. "It looks like this facility was intended to treat dozens of seriously injured people at any one time."

"That's very true," John nodded. "The Invictus is an assault cruiser and used to transport three hundred marines into battle. The ship's medical team needed a big medical facility in case a mission went badly, and it sometimes did," he added ruefully, as he remembered this place echoing with the harrowing cries of critically injured soldiers.

"You used to serve on this ship?" Rachel said perceptively, recognising the thousand yard stare that she had sometimes seen with other veterans. She walked over to stand beside him, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"That's right. I was a marine Commander, and served on the Invictus for ten years before I retired. I eventually had the opportunity to buy her when she was decommissioned," he said with a smile, as he roused himself from his memories.

"You didn't look very retired back on Port Medea, much to my eternal gratitude!" she smiled at him gratefully.

"I heard there was a damsel in distress. If that isn't a good reason to come out of retirement, I'm not sure what is," he joked.

Rachel laughed, then turned to look around the medical bay once more. She glanced at all the medical equipment, before walking over to study the devices in more detail. "This equipment is state of the art!" she remarked excitedly, as she moved over to look at the cryo-stasis tubes, inspecting the control panels at their base more carefully. "You even hav-," she began, before letting out a startled shriek as she looked up, and came face-to-face with a Drakkar through the glass panel at the front.

"That's a Drakkar raider. He boarded our ship while we were in Ashanath territory a few weeks ago. Dana drowned that particular one," John explained with a dry chuckle.

"It's hideous," Rachel said, riding a fine line between revulsion and fascination, as she looked closely at the lime green alien, with its hammer-shaped head, and bulging black eyes. "Why are you storing them here?"

"It was Dana's idea. She's been researching alien technology, and has been upgrading the Invictus and our combat gear after examining any equipment we acquire. Perhaps she thought she could learn something from studying their anatomy," he guessed with a shrug.

"And what happened to this one?" Rachel asked him as she moved along the cryo-stasis tubes to look at the Kintark pilot.

John was about to reply and then paused, unsure if it was wise to tell her the truth just yet. Rachel sensed his reluctance to answer, and went over to a nearby medical cabinet before taking a quick look inside. She retrieved something from the shelves, came back to stand next to him, and then reached for his hand expectantly, which he gave to her with a quizzical expression on his face.

"There," she said with satisfaction, as she stuck a band-aid onto the back of his hand. "All better now..."

"I didn't know I was injured," John smiled at her.

"It was life threatening," she told him seriously, looking up at him. "But I'm your physician now, and bound by doctor-patient confidentiality. That means you can tell me anything, and I won't reveal it to a soul."

He studied the gentle smile on her pretty face, before turning to look at the Kintark pilot once again. "I snapped his neck like a toothpick," he said grimly, then faced her once more.

"Ripping that reinforced door off the hinges like that... it had nothing to do with your power armour. It was all you, wasn't it?" Rachel said in wonder.

John nodded as he looked into her grey eyes, gauging how she would react to this startling information.

"Just how strong are you?" she asked him, reaching out to touch his arms, before pausing inches away. "May I?" she added tentatively.

"I'll have to get used to you giving me a physical if you decide to stay with us," he said with a grin, nodding his permission.

Rachel brushed her fingers over his biceps, feeling the muscles beneath. "You don't have anywhere near the body mass or musculature that would indicate that kind of phenomenal strength," she said speculatively as her hands manipulated the muscles in his arms, exploring his physique.

"Are you saying I'm out of shape?" he asked her teasingly.

"Not at all, you're in excellent shape for a man in his... early thirties?" she asked him curiously.

"Forty actually, but thanks for the compliment," he replied.

"Just what species are you?" she asked him, intrigued, as she glanced up at his pointed ears.

*Haven't you two finished in there yet?* Alyssa's voice asked him impatiently.

"Come on, we can discuss that later. Let's go visit the crew and some more of the ship. I think Alyssa is probably waiting outside for us too," he said enthusiastically.

Rachel nodded reluctantly, still wanting an answer to her question, but she followed him outside nonetheless. They walked out of the medical bay, and sure enough, the blonde girl was waiting for them in the corridor.

"Why didn't you just come in?" Rachel asked her curiously.

"I'm not a big fan of combat hospitals," Alyssa replied, with a sad look on her face.

"Some bad memories?" the brunette asked.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Alyssa replied cryptically.

"Let's pop in and see Jade next," John suggested, and the girls followed in his wake. He led them to the gym, and then inside to look out over the big pool. Jade was swimming up and down in the water, scything through like some kind of fearsome aquatic predator from the depths.

*We've brought Rachel to see you,* Alyssa thought to the green skinned girl, and Jade raced over to join them at the edge of the pool.

"Hey, Rachel!" Jade said cheerfully, folding her arms on the poolside and looking up at the young woman. "It's lovely to see you. I hope you enjoyed breakfast."

"It was lovely, thanks very much for making that for me," the brunette replied, staring at Jade with wide eyes.

"Oh, you're welcome," Jade beamed at her, revealing a sparkling white set of perfect teeth in her beautiful green face.

"I don't mean to be rude, but are those fins?" Rachel asked, sounding amazed.

"That's right," Jade nodded excitedly, raising a slender arm and turning it slightly to show the other girl the delicate aquamarine fins. "I grew them one day when John was teaching me to swim."

"You grew them?" Rachel asked in astonishment.

"Jade is a Nymph," John explained. "Her species are shape shifters, which has saved our hides on more than one occasion," John added, smiling at the green skinned girl affectionately.

"Is this your natural shape?" Rachel asked her inquisitively.

"Hmm, kind of. There's another form that's more comfortable for me to assume, but that causes a little... confusion," Jade replied mysteriously.

"It's okay, go ahead and show her," Alyssa said with a laugh.

Jade concentrated for a moment and then her green body began to shimmer, and a few moments later, she assumed a perfect copy of the blonde girl standing at Rachel's side. Jade let out a contented little sigh, and then looked up at the brunette with sparkling cerulean eyes.

"Oh, wow!" Rachel exclaimed, rapidly turning her head back and forth between the two of them. "You're completely identical!"

"You can see why it gets a little confusing," Alyssa grinned.

"We better continue the tour," John said. "The other girls will be eager to meet you too."

"Bye Jade, it was wonderful to meet you." Rachel said, finally tearing her eyes away from the Nymph.

"Likewise, I really hope you choose to join us," Jade said encouragingly, and waved them goodbye as they left the gym.

"Where to next?" Rachel asked eagerly as they walked back into the corridor on deck seven.

"We also have a well stocked pharmacy, a firing range, and Dana's workshop on this level. I was going to take you to see Dana next if that's ok?" he asked.

"Let me take a quick glance at the pharmacy, then sure," Rachel replied.

They strolled down the corridor to the ship's pharmacy, and when John pressed the button to open the door, Rachel looked inside eagerly.

"You weren't kidding!" she gasped, as she scrolled through the pharmacy's inventory computer that was set into the wall. "Tamarnathol, Benza-strinate, Colnerum; you've got huge supplies of all the major pharmaceuticals."

"I must admit, this is the first time we've properly looked in here," John said with an embarrassed grin.

"With all the fighting you guys have done, there must have been injuries?" Rachel asked them with a puzzled frown.

"There have been one or two scrapes," John admitted cagily.

"But we've managed to get by," Alyssa replied with a smile.

"Why do I constantly keep getting the feeling you're both hiding something significant from me?" Rachel asked them, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"We are, but I promise we'll be completely honest with you soon," John replied carefully.

"Well I guess you've earned yourselves some trust, so lead on, I'm in your hands," Rachel said with a smile.

John nodded, then they walked down the corridor past the firing range, and finally entered the engineering bay. Dana was standing by her workbench near the open space in the centre of the room, and was carefully studying a multi-ridged ribbon, that was spooled on one of the levitating platforms that hovered around the workbench.

The redhead was completely absorbed in her work, and didn't notice them until they were practically standing beside her. "Hey, Dana," John called out to her as they approached, and she jumped slightly, breaking her intense focus, before she turned around to look at them.

"Oh, hey guys!" she beamed at them excitedly.

"We're just giving Rachel the tour," John explained, smiling at her fondly.

"What do you think of the Invictus so far?" Dana asked her proudly.

"It's very impressive," Rachel said admiringly. "I heard you've made a lot of enhancements to it already."

"I like to look after my ship," Dana smiled back at her, and patted the workbench fondly.

"What's caught your attention so completely?" John asked the eager young woman, smiling at her possessiveness of the Invictus.

"I've been taking apart the plasma rifles you guys brought back. These things are awesome!" she gasped breathlessly.

"Found anything you think we can use?" he asked her eagerly.

"The heatsinks the Kintark use are incredibly complex," Dana replied enthusiastically, glancing at the multi-ridged component on the workbench. "I've taken that one to bits to see how it works, and once I've figured it out, we're going to see some pretty tasty upgrades!"

"What are these heatsinks used for?" Rachel asked her curiously.

"Plasma weaponry generates an enormous amount of heat. If I were to use standard Terran heatsinks instead, this rifle would explode in your face as soon as you fired it, due to the incredible spike in temperature. The Kintark version seems to smooth out the temperature gradient over the entire heatsink almost instantly, and then rapidly disperses the heat without any adverse side-effects." Dana gushed admiringly.

"So what are the practical benefits we can see from that?" John asked her.

"Well we have two options really. We can feed more power into our Laser weaponry, making them cause more damage without worrying about them melting. Alternatively, I could keep the existing power levels the same, which would mean we wouldn't have to wait so long before we could fire again, improving our firing rate," she said eagerly.

"More damage," John said with a grin.

"I thought you'd say that," Dana said, returning his grin.

"I'd run it by Calara first, but I think she'll have the same opinion. It's only really the Beam lasers that have long cooldown periods, and even then it's only about a ten second wait." John clarified.

"You got it, boss," Dana smiled up at him.

"Dana, can I ask you something?" Rachel asked her curiously, and when the redhead nodded, she continued. "Why did you store the Drakkar corpses in the medical bay?"

"Well I thought I could study them and find weak spots. Give John and Alyssa places to aim at, that kind of thing. Dissection isn't really my forte though, so I've been putting it off," she said with a shudder.

"Maybe that's something I could help out with?" Rachel offered, smiling at the young woman. "I stopped being squeamish during my first year at medical school."

"Oh, that would be awesome, thank you!" Dana said with a sigh of relief. "If you ever need any kind of equipment in your lab, just let me know, and I'm sure I'll be able to put it together for you."

"That's very kind, thanks," Rachel said grinning at her excitedly.

"It's no trouble at all!" Dana said grinning back at her. She paused for a moment and her face suddenly took a more serious turn as she gazed at the brunette, studying her intently. "You seem really nice, and I think you'd fit in here brilliantly. I know we've only just met, but if you're still unsure about joining us, let me just say this. The best decision I've made in my whole life was to join John and Alyssa on this ship."

"Thanks, that sounds like good advice," Rachel said with a smile.

"We better go and find Calara," John interrupted them gently. "You ladies will have plenty of time to get to know each other later."

Dana waved her goodbye before turning back to the plasma rifle, and they left the redhead to her work in the engineering bay as they walked down the corridor to the grav-tube.

"She really was quite adorable," Rachel said to them as they walked.

"I've known her for years now," Alyssa said fondly. "We grew up together as orphans on a mining asteroid."

"Really?" Rachel said in surprise. "Neither of you look like you come from a mining colony."

"No, we certainly don't. At least not any more," Alyssa replied mischievously.

"You have me intrigued with all these little comments, I'll give you that," Rachel said with a light laugh.

They stepped into the blue glow of the grav-tube and ascended in the gravity field all the way up to the command deck. John led the way, walking out onto the bridge, and strolling down the ramp to join Calara at her tactical station.

"Hey, Calara," he called to her warmly.

"Hey, yourself," the Latina said with delight, as she rose from her chair to greet them, and looked at the brunette standing beside John. "I hope you haven't started feeling too overwhelmed yet."

"I'm doing okay so far," Rachel replied, smiling back. "What were you doing when we interrupted you?"

"Just exploring a theory," Calara said cagily, while glancing at John.

"It's okay, you can go ahead and explain," John encouraged her.

"That Kintark heavy carrier pushed deep into the Dragon March, and I wanted to know how a force that size could slip through the Terran Federation lines," Calara said, looking up at the sector map she had been studying.

"Perhaps there was a major attack that acted as a diversion, and they got in while the Terran forces were distracted?" John suggested.

"I'm still investigating at the moment, and I need access to more data which is classified, but I have a few working theories. Your diversion hypothesis is one of them, but there are other more... worrying possibilities," she said grimly.

"Collusion from someone on our side?" John said, realising what had Calara so concerned.

"Who would betray the Terran Federation like that?" Rachel gasped in shock.

"Given enough time and data, I'll be able to find out." the Latina said confidently. "Like I said though, it's just a theory, I could be worrying about nothing."

"Based on your previous track record, this sounds pretty ominous. Keep me appraised, Lieutenant," John said to her encouragingly.

"You know I will, Commander," Calara smiled back at him affectionately, before she turned to look at Rachel again. "Sorry this took a bit of a sinister turn, I was hoping to keep things light."

"It's no problem, it's better to know these things than be kept in the dark," Rachel replied, looking at John and Alyssa pointedly.

"We have something in common by the way," Calara said to the shorter brunette.

"Really? What's that?" Rachel asked her curiously.

"These two saved my life too," Calara replied, looking at John and Alyssa affectionately.

"So much for keeping things light!" Alyssa laughed merrily.

"We'll let you get back to it," John said, "Sorry to interrupt you."

"I'm glad you stopped by. It was lovely to see you again, Rachel," Calara said, smiling warmly.

"You too," Rachel replied, returning the smile.

They left Calara to settle back at her tactical station, and then went into the briefing room at the corner of the bridge. Alyssa glided around the table to sit down, and John pulled out the chair opposite for Rachel to sit in, before sitting down himself at the head of the table.

"What's all that?" Rachel asked them curiously, as she turned to look at the Phalanx armour suits in the equipping frames against the walls.

"Some of Dana's inventions," Alyssa explained. "The robotic arms can equip you in full armour in a few seconds. Here I'll show you."

She rose from her chair and glided around the table, before stepping lightly out of her high heeled shoes. She walked over to one of the armour frames, and then stepped inside the armoured boots, while slipping her hands into the gauntlets. A few seconds later, the armour settled into place around her, fitted in place by the robotic arms, and she was able to walk out of the frame fully equipped.

"Dana must be some kind of genius to come up with all this stuff," Rachel exclaimed in wonder.

"She's a very gifted young woman," John replied. "All of my crew are."

"Thanks, handsome," Alyssa said, removing the armour again. She slipped on her heels once more, and then sashayed around the table to sit at her seat.

"But I'm not even in the same league!" Rachel said despairingly, as she watched the gloriously graceful blonde sit in the chair opposite with perfect poise. "These girls are all stunningly beautiful, and incredibly talented. How could you possibly want me to join them?"

"Well before we get into all that, would you still be interested in joining us if we offered you the position as Chief Medical Officer?" John asked her curiously.

"Are you kidding? I'd leap at the chance!" Rachel said eagerly.

John studied her earnest and hopeful expression, before glancing at Alyssa. "It's probably time for us to be completely honest with you then," he said, hoping they weren't about to make a terrible mistake.