"So, where do I begin?" John wondered, blowing out the breath he'd been holding.

"Why don't you let me start you off?" Alyssa asked, as she rose and glided down the room to pick up the remote for the holo-projector.

She returned to her seat and then pressed a few buttons on the remote, displaying several images in the centre of the table.

*The girls are all okay with this?* John asked Alyssa considerately.

*Of course, I asked them a few minutes ago,* she replied reassuringly.

"Thanks, I've got it from here." John said, before turning to look at the three images hovering in the air. "Now no doubt, you'll recognise the lovely girls aboard this ship."

Rachel looked up at the happy, beaming faces of Alyssa, Calara and Dana, and nodded with confusion, not sure where he was going with that.

"How about these girls, do you recognise them?" he asked her probingly, as Alyssa used the remote to change the images.

The 3D holo-images were all close-up face pictures of the three girls, but as they appeared when they first met John. Calara had black eyes, a broken, swollen nose, and was looking tired and drawn. Alyssa and Dana were both ghostly pale, with Alyssa painfully thin, while Dana had a horrific red burn scar disfiguring the side of her face.

Rachel was visibly moved by the sight of the three girls in the pictures. "Those poor girls! Who are they, and what happened to them?" she asked compassionately.

"You just met them all. They joined my crew over the last few months," John said gently.

Rachel laughed politely, thinking this was some kind of strange joke where she just wasn't seeing the punch-line. She looked at John and Alyssa, noting their quiet, sombre faces, and realised they weren't joking.

"You can't possibly be serious," she protested, as she looked up at the pictures of the girls, examining them intently. She began to notice the similarities in the shape of their faces, the curve of their lips and the colours of their eyes. "Calara I can just about see, but it looks like Alyssa was suffering from severe malnutrition, and Dana's burn scars..."

"We're telling you the truth. That was me a couple of months ago," Alyssa said, looking up at the image of her ghostly pale face. She pressed another couple of buttons on the remote, and the images zoomed out, showing each of the girls as they appeared when they joined the crew. Another set of images sprang into being alongside them, showing each of the Terran girls as they were now, gloriously nude, their stunning athletic figures posed seductively.

Rachel gasped in shock at the images above the desk, and leaned forward, taking her glasses out of her pocket and putting them on, so that she could examine them more carefully.

"It just isn't possible, unless all of you underwent full body-sculpture procedures." Rachel said out loud, her mind whirring. "But that can't be right either, the recovery time for a change that dramatic would span months, and I must have met you the first time, only a few weeks after this supposed transformation."

"That's right, about three weeks after, in fact," Alyssa said gently.

Rachel stared at them both, looking from one to the other in turn, and studying their faces. "My mind tells me you're lying, but I can feel that you're telling me the truth," she said in frustration.

"Why don't I show you Dana's changes as they occurred. The ship has security cameras all over the place, and I was able to assemble a montage for you," Alyssa offered.

"Okay, go ahead," Rachel said, curiously, looking up at the images again.

The holographic images of the three girls disappeared, leaving a nude full body image of Dana as she originally looked; pale, thin and much shorter, with a crop of short spiky red hair. Alyssa progressed through the images, time-stamped over a two week period, and they showed her growing six inches taller, her body filling out and becoming more toned. Her skin began to get more colour, going from ghostly white, to a light pink, before beginning to darken to the lovely bronzed tan she now wore. Her breasts grew larger and sat proudly on her chest, going from a non-existent 28A to a pert 32D, while her hair grew thick and lustrous until it was tumbling in waves around her shoulders, darkening to a rich auburn. The final images showed her before and after the burn scar tissue had completely healed and been washed away.

"How?" Rachel gasped, staring up at the images in awe.

"It's all his doing," Alyssa said, looking at John affectionately.

"What do you mean?" Rachel demanded, desperate to understand the miraculous transformation the girls had undergone.

"You asked about my species earlier. My mother was human, but she went missing just after I was born. I never knew anything about my father, at least until a week ago. I formed an alliance with the Ashanath, who claimed to know something about my mysterious parentage. After we had saved them from the Drakkar raiders, they finally revealed what they knew." he explained carefully.

"Which was what, exactly?" Rachel asked, her eyes burning with curiosity.

"They believe I'm from a species called the 'Progenitors', who haven't been seen around our galaxy for nearly ten thousand years. We think my mother must have run into one, because everything they showed us corroborated their story," he said with a sigh.

"What did they show you?" the brunette asked, transfixed by his tale.

"Stone monoliths, with ancient pictographs depicting pointy eared humanoids surrounded by women," Alyssa interjected. "The Ashanath collected them from dozens of worlds and have them all stored on their homeworld."

"The Progenitors were a race of tyrants who conquered and subjugated planets, taking hundreds of women as slaves," John said grimly.

"But that must just be pure coincidence, you're nothing like that!" Rachel protested. "You're so heroic! You saved all those people back at Port Medea. Besides that, you're... nice," she added, stuck for words.

John laughed and Alyssa giggled too. "Thanks, I appreciate the vote of confidence," he said, the mood lightening a little.

"But I don't understand, what has any of that got anything to do with the transformations the girls supposedly underwent?" Rachel asked in confusion.

"It was John that triggered the changes in all of us," Alyssa said. "We changed after..." she paused and glanced at him lovingly, while Rachel waited on tenterhooks.

"After what?!" Rachel asked impatiently.

"Swallowing his cum," Alyssa said coyly, gazing into her probing grey eyes.

Rachel paused for a moment and then burst into laughter. "Oh man, you had me there. Ancient civilisations, miraculous healing... you guys really had me going," she said good spiritedly with a grin on her pretty face.

"We aren't playing a trick on you," John said patiently. "It sounds preposterous, but it's true."

"You mean all three girls have been..." Rachel said falteringly.

"And Jade too," Alyssa added with a mischievous smile. "She's a shape-shifter so his cum worked differently, and even more dramatically on her."

"So if I was to join your crew, I'd have to do the same?" Rachel said in shock.

"No, of course not," Alyssa replied with a laugh. "But you'd be missing out on an awful lot of fun if you don't. There are also other benefits as well, it's not just a beauty makeover."

"What do you mean?" the brunette asked bewildered.

"We're all stronger, more agile, and have faster reflexes due to the improvements to our bodies. Mentally, we've changed too. Dana was always exceptionally smart, and had a natural gift with machines, but now she's a genius. She invented a new alloy in a matter of hours, that was well beyond anything the Ashanath civilisation were able to come up with," Alyssa said, proud of her friend.

"You've already seen Calara in action. I've never known anyone remotely close to being as perceptive and insightful as she's become, and her accuracy with the Invictus' weaponry is practically supernatural," John said with a smile.

"What about you?" Rachel said tentatively, looking at Alyssa.

"I'm Psychic." Alyssa said with an impish grin.

Rachel laughed in disbelief. "Come on, this is becoming absurd! There's no record of anyone in Terran history having psychic powers, you can't expect me to swallow that one too!" she exclaimed, then flushed with embarrassment at the inadvertent double entendre.

"It's true, she can read my mind," John said honestly.

"You can test me if you like," Alyssa offered playfully.

Rachel narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she looked at Alyssa. "Okay, what did you have in mind?"

"I read your military personnel file, and it said you were an emancipated minor, that you left your parents at the age of sixteen. Tell John the reason, and I'll repeat back everything you say to him," Alyssa said, as she appraised the brunette carefully.

"There could be hidden mics in here," Rachel said, looking around the room.

"Whisper it to him then. I'll leave the door open and stay in your line of sight, so you can see I'm not listening to any receivers," Alyssa said patiently.

Rachel nodded cautiously, and Alyssa rose from her seat and glided out of the room, standing some distance away, but still visible through the doorway. The brunette moved to stand on the other side of the desk where John was sitting, so that she could still keep an eye on the blonde.

"Hello," John said with a smile, as she stepped up to his side, her body tantalisingly close.

"Hello," she replied shyly, before leaning in close to place her lips next to his pointed ear.

"My father and step-mother didn't approve of my youthful indiscretions. Apparently I was 'bringing disgrace to the family name', and he threatened to cut me off. I beat him to the punch." she whispered fiercely.

"I'm sorry," John said simply when she stepped back from him. He reached out to take her hand and squeezed it gently. Rachel looked down at him in surprise, and was about to reply when Alyssa walked purposefully back into the room.

The blonde girl had a compassionate expression on her face, as she began to repeat Rachel's words, matching her cadence exactly. "My father and step-mother didn't approve of my youthf-," she began before Rachel cut her off.

"Okay, enough! I believe you," the brunette said as she waved her hand in the air to get Alyssa to stop. She sighed for a moment, shrugging off the bad memories, before she looked at them again. Rachel appraised them with her smoky grey eyes, looking from John to Alyssa and then back again, as she appeared to make a decision.

"As surprising as all this is, I freely admit I'm attracted to you both, so I'm not completely opposed to the idea," she said with a flirtatious smile, remembering the intimate dress fitting during her first meeting with Alyssa, and her acceptance of their invitation to dine together afterwards.

Alyssa glanced at John and flashed him a big smile. "So does that mean you're still interested?" she asked the brunette eagerly.

"I'm struggling to believe what you're telling me, but I can't deny how sincere you both are," Rachel replied. "It all sounds too good to be true, though."

"Well there are some downsides," John began cautiously.

Alyssa walked back to the long desk and sat down again next to the shorter brunette. "Remember how we said John is one of the Progenitors? As kind and lovely as he is, he still has that instinctive need to be dominant, and if you were to join us properly, you would experience some changes to your personality," she explained softly.

"That sounds more ominous. What do you mean, exactly?" Rachel asked warily.

"He's attracted to smart and capable girls, which we think is why we've all experienced such dramatic mental enhancements. The flipside, is that he's dominant, and likes submissive, compliant, bisexual young women," Alyssa said with a impish grin.

"What man doesn't?" Rachel laughed, darting a teasing glance at John.

"So you don't have a problem with that?!" Alyssa asked with delight.

"No, not at all. I've played around with domination and submission, and being a little submissive has always been a big turn on. You already know I find girls attractive too," The brunette admitted, shamelessly admiring Alyssa's figure.

"I think Alyssa's slightly downplaying this a little," John said cautiously. "It's not just that it's something that I enjoy, we think that going through these changes makes the girl adapt, to like that too."

"I could live with that, if you're man enough to tame me," Rachel replied, staring into his eyes challengingly.

John met her challenging stare and looked into her stormy grey eyes, seeing the excitement glinting within. "I'm sure that won't be a problem," he replied confidently, causing the brunette to flush with arousal.

"Now we're finally talking about sex, I was curious what you meant when you mentioned the 'youthful indiscretions'?" Alyssa asked with a playful smile.

"Okay we might as well get all the cards on the table," Rachel said with a sigh. "My dad is rich. I don't just mean well off, he's extremely wealthy. He made a lot of money with his interstellar banking business; you've probably heard of the Voss Exchange?"

"You're Henry Voss' daughter?" John said in surprise.

"Yes, that's me. All my life I had to be a good girl, no outbursts in front of the media, everything to maintain the family image. Finally, I just couldn't take it any more. I was being groomed as the heir apparent to the 'Voss legacy', but I've got no interest in galactic finance. I started 'acting out' and having some fun," she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"That sounds intriguing, what do you mean?" Alyssa asked curiously.

"Well I seduced the headmaster at my prep school," Rachel said, as she giggled at the memory. "It turned out he had all sorts of naughty thoughts about the girls under his charge."

"How old were you at the time?" John asked her.

"Fifteen," Rachel smirked. "Then I had a series of lovers, which drove my dad crazy. That hover-biker was the best though, I think the distinguished Henry Voss was going to have an aneurism when I brought Axel home."

"It sounds like you went pretty wild," John laughed.

"My dad and his trophy wife weren't exactly happy together, and I didn't want to grow up to lead that kind of existence. I just want to experience life, try out new things, and help people along the way," Rachel said passionately.

"Is that why you became a doctor?" John asked the surprising young woman.

"Yes, that's right. I dropped out of the business academy I was enrolled in, cut my ties with my father, and joined up with the military to fund my training through medical school. I was working in that boutique on Gravitus to help make ends meet. The commission I earned from your shopping bonanza help fund me through the last term, so thanks for that," she said, grinning at Alyssa.

"John paid for it all, so you should probably be thanking him instead," Alyssa smiled back at the brunette.

"It sounds like I will be," Rachel said, winking at John flirtatiously.

"So you're still interested?" John asked her with a grin.

"Well you and the girls seem lovely, and by the sound of it, you certainly lead exciting lives! If I can help save as many people as you just did, simply by assisting you and your team, I don't think I could ask for a more rewarding life," she replied sincerely.

"Yay!" Alyssa exclaimed delightedly, as she quickly rose from her seat to come around the table to hug the brunette.

Rachel laughed happily, and then accepted a welcoming hug from John as well, before looking up at him expectantly. "So how do we move this along? I'd like to join the team properly," she asked him eagerly.

Alyssa stepped up close behind the smaller brunette, and gently encircled her in her arms, as she leaned down to softly kiss the smooth skin on Rachel's neck. "We can start right now, if you're feeling hungry," she purred, rubbing her hands over the brunettes slim stomach suggestively.

Rachel shivered excitedly and nodded, looking up at John with sparkling eyes. She suddenly shook her head as if to clear away the lustful thoughts. "Sorry to kill the mood," she apologised. "But I'd really like to fully document any physical changes I might go through. I think it could be really interesting to see what happens on a biological level."

"It's one of the reasons we brought you on the team, Doctor," he said with a smile.

"I'd like to give myself a full physical workup, including a CT scan, before we start. That way I'll have a normal Terran female's results to use as a baseline for comparison." she said animatedly.

"That makes sense, but you seem quite exceptional to me. I don't think there's much normal about you at all," John said flatteringly.

"That's very nice to hear, but are you just trying to charm me into bed, Commander Blake?" Rachel asked him with a come-hither look.

"I can see there's going to be no fooling you, Doctor Voss," John replied, as he brushed a lock of her tawny brown hair from her face.

Alyssa released the brunette from her arms, and Rachel looked up at John, with her lips parted invitingly. He held her in his arms once more and kissed her, gently at first as he explored her soft lips with his own, and then more fiercely as she moaned into his mouth, and leaned into him.

They finally broke apart after spending several minutes in a passionate kiss, and Rachel sighed breathily as she stared up at him. She turned in surprise when she realised they had company, seeing that Calara, Dana and Jade had joined them in the briefing room too.

"He's a great kisser, isn't he?" Dana asked with a beaming smile on her face. "I'm so glad you decided to join us!"

They each came over to give the brunette a hug, with Jade and Calara warmly welcoming her to the crew of the Invictus as well.

"Rachel wanted to take a recording of her current physical state before she starts going through the changes," Alyssa explained. "That way she can track exactly what happens, when she absorbs John's cum."

"That's a brilliant idea!" Dana said exuberantly. "I'm really curious about that myself. Would you like some company down to the medical bay?"

Rachel nodded at the excited redhead, and when Dana offered her hand for the brunette to take, she slipped her fingers into the girl's warm grasp. "We'll meet you back in your room when we're done," Dana told John with a grin.

Dana led the young doctor out of the room, and they could be heard talking excitedly together as they headed through the bridge to the grav-tube.

"She seems really nice," Calara said, smiling at John and Alyssa as the two teenagers left the room.

"I like her too," Jade agreed.

"You do seem to have a knack for finding amazing young women," John said to the blonde, nodding in agreement.

"If she turns out anything like these two, I'll be a happy girl," Alyssa said, stroking Jade's and Calara's arms lovingly.

"We love you too," Calara said, smiling at her affectionately.

"Rachel seems really interested in alien species," Jade observed. "I think you and I might be in for some tests in the future too," she added with a grin at John.

"I wouldn't be surprised," John laughed.

"Why didn't you have me change into a tiger earlier?" Jade asked him curiously. "I would have thought she'd have loved to see that."

"I'm sure she would have, but I didn't know if she was going to say yes then. I didn't want to reveal too much about what you can do, until we knew for sure. Everyone knows Nymphs can change their appearance, but your ability to change into a nine hundred pound tiger could attract some unwanted attention if that news got out," he said, explaining his reasoning.

"I love that you're so protective," Jade said with an adoring sigh, as she glided over to cuddle him.

Alyssa and Calara stepped in to join in the hug, and John held the appreciative young women in his arms, enjoying their warm embrace.

***

Rachel walked alongside Dana as the redhead led her into the medical bay, stealing glances at her guide as they entered the room. She marvelled at the flawless beauty of the redhead, and her remarkable grace as she glided along beside her. Dana was chattering to her excitedly about the latest projects she was working on, but a lot of what she was saying was too advanced for Rachel to keep up with. The brunette laughed lightly, and Dana stopped talking for a moment to look at her curiously.

"What's so funny?" she asked Rachel curiously.

"I'm sorry, I'm just having trouble reconciling your obviously brilliant mind, with the exceptionally gorgeous girl standing in front of me. You look like you should be a swimsuit model, not an engineer on a starship!" Rachel exclaimed.

"I didn't always look this way," Dana said with a wistful smile. "Did Alyssa show you what I looked like before?"

"She did. Those burns must have been excruciatingly painful," Rachel confirmed sympathetically. "What caused those scars? If you don't mind my asking."

"I got caught in a generator explosion when I was eight. I saw there was a problem, but it blew up before I could fix it in time," Dana said regretfully.

Rachel stepped closer, and looked up at the taller redhead. At five foot nine inches, Dana was several inches taller than her. "May I?" she asked the redhead tentatively.

"Of course," Dana replied with a warm smile on her lovely face. She stood still, watching the young Doctor as she stepped close and began a careful examination of the skin on Dana's face, and down her neck.

"Everything okay?" Dana asked the brunette curiously.

"Your skin is absolutely perfect," Rachel marvelled, as she brushed her fingers gently over Dana's cheek and down her neck. "I can't see a single blemish; no moles, scars, or imperfections of any kind..."

"If you ask me nicely, you can check out the rest of me too," Dana said tantalizingly, as she stared into Rachel's smoky grey eyes.

"Would that be okay? I'd love to see more of you," Rachel asked her eagerly.

"Of course... Doctor," Dana said with a playful smile. She unzipped the figure hugging blue jumpsuit that she was wearing, revealing an ample expanse of cleavage. Maintaining eye contact with the brunette, she slipped the material of the jumpsuit off her shoulders, and then let it fall to her waist, freeing her impressive breasts.

Rachel reached out with her hand and let her fingertips glide down the redhead's neck, and then over her chest, following the path where she had been horribly scarred. "Amazing, it's like it never happened," Rachel murmured, as her fingers brushed over Dana's nipple, making it harden in response. "You're really quite beautiful."

"Thank you, Rachel," Dana replied, smiling coyly at the brunette.

"I'm sorry," Rachel started, pulling her hand away, "I'm being terribly unprofessional."

"I have a feeling we'll be far more unprofessional than that before long," Dana said enticingly, reaching out to hold the brunette's hand in her own and squeezing it gently. "But we better get started with these tests, I'm sure John's impatient to see you again."

Rachel returned her heated look, and then grinned as she said, "If I end up looking half as good as you, I'm eager to begin too!"

Dana laughed and slipped her arms back into the jumpsuit, zipping it up. "So where do we start?" she asked the other girl curiously.

"I'll take some blood samples, run a few tests and then give myself a CT scan. We can then compare any changes after a few days," Rachel replied.

"Could I ask a favour?" Dana asked her tentatively.

"Sure, ask away," Rachel replied with an inviting smile.

"Would you mind if I keep you company for the next few weeks?" Dana asked her delicately. "I was the last Terran girl that John's been with, so I've not really seen the changes in action before, and I'm really curious to watch what happens. Jade is a shapeshifter, so she just changed instantly to the form you've seen her in now."

Rachel paused as though thinking it over. "Hmm, only if it means us spending lots of time in bed together," she replied with a grin.

"Thinking of being unprofessional again?" Dana laughed with delight.

"Oh yes, definitely!" Rachel agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

***

John and Alyssa left Jade and Calara chatting on the bridge and headed down to deck two. They walked down the corridor, and John seemed to have an extra spring in his step.

"You look very pleased with yourself," Alyssa teased him, laughing as he turned to grin at her.

"Hey, you can't blame me, surely?" he replied.

"It does you good to have some variety," Alyssa nodded in agreement. "And she's really pretty!"

"I still can't believe I'm having this kind of conversation with you," John said, watching her in amazement.

"You know I only want what you want," Alyssa smiled bewitchingly. "Besides, I'm looking forward to getting better acquainted with her myself!"

"Are you going to stay as well?" John asked, as they strolled into the bedroom.

Alyssa looked thoughtful for a moment, before she replied mysteriously, "Only to keep you entertained until Rachel gets here. It looks like she's found herself a new friend who wants to help her adjust to life on this ship."

John swept the beautiful blonde up in his arms and carried her over to the bed, before gently placing her down in the middle. He lay next to her and studied her face as she gazed up at him.

"I'm at a loss for words to describe how much you mean to me," he admitted with a smile.

"It's okay, I know," she replied, staring into his eyes, and she crossed her arms around his neck before pulling him down to kiss her.

They stayed entwined together like that, losing track of time as they kissed, and it was only when Dana coughed politely that they broke their tender embrace.

"Sorry, we got a bit distracted," John apologised, leaning up on an elbow, as Alyssa slid off the bed and walked around to greet Rachel and Dana.

"All ready?" Alyssa asked the brunette with an encouraging smile on her face.

Rachel nodded eagerly, and then glanced at the redhead by her side. "Dana asked if she could stay too, is that alright?" she asked tentatively.

"Of course," Alyssa said, before leaning in to give the brunette a gentle kiss on the lips. "And welcome to the family," she added with a charming smile, before gliding out of the bedroom.

John had got up as well, and walked over to them too. "Why don't we have a shower together first, to break the ice a bit?" he suggested amiably.

"Sounds like a great idea," Dana said enthusiastically, as she unzipped her jumpsuit, and stripped off before striding into the bathroom.

Rachel watched the other girl's nude body as she disappeared from view, then looked up at John and grinned. "I must admit, I'm curious to see what a 'Progenitor' looks like naked," she said teasingly.

John laughed and pulled his long sleeved top over his head. Rachel stepped closer by and ran her warm soft hands over the muscles in his chest, murmuring her appreciation. "Are you ready for the rest?" he asked her playfully.

The brunette nodded eagerly, and watched as he stepped out of his shoes and then unbuckled his belt, before dropping his trousers. "Holy shit!" she gasped in amazement.

"What do you think?" he asked her confidently.

"You're bigger than anyone I've been with before," she said dubiously, as she knelt down to examine him more closely.

"Don't worry, Alyssa was quite a bit smaller than you, and that worked out fine," he said reassuringly.

"You've got four balls!" Rachel gasped in shock as she noticed his taut quad for the first time.

"It means I cum a lot," he said in a sweeping understatement.

Rachel reached out to gently cup his balls, feeling the weight in her hands. They were firm and round, like four oranges in his sack.

"Hurry up, I'm getting lonely in here!" Dana called to them from the bathroom.

John smiled at Rachel, and offered her his hand, helping her rise to her feet. "I think it's my turn to see you now," he said suggestively.

Rachel looked up at him boldly, and undid the belt around her waist, before pulling the teal coloured top over her head. She unclipped her bra and freed her breasts, revealing them to his eyes for the first time.

"You're beautiful," John told her as he admired her firm breasts, and he reached out to cup them in his hands.

"I'm not quite as big as the other girls, I'm a 32C," Rachel said looking down at her chest, where he gently caressed her boobs. "Alyssa was a 32D if I remember right, and the others are all about the same."

"Variety is the spice of life," John smiled at her, and brushed his thumb gently over her nipples, causing them to harden to his touch.

Rachel smiled at him, then removed her trousers after stepping out of her shoes, uncovering her slender young body for his viewing pleasure. She was slimmer than the other girls, whose athletic thighs were more muscular, but she was beautiful nonetheless. Her pubic hair was neatly trimmed into a small triangle, and her skin felt smooth to the touch when he ran his fingertips over her tummy. He noticed a bright flash of colour on her lower belly, and another on her ankle.

"Tattoos?" he asked her curiously.

"Axel's influence," Rachel said with a smile, as John sank to his haunches to take a closer look.

The tattoo on her belly was of a brightly coloured bird; blue around the head, orange around the beak and neck, with a white chest and grey wings.

"What kind of bird is that?" John asked her inquisitively.

"It's a Swallow," Rachel said with a wry smile. "He was a man after your own heart."

John leaned in to kiss her svelte stomach tenderly, looking up at her as his lips brushed the tattoo.

"I'm looking forward to it," she purred as she looked down at him, and ran her fingers through his hair.

"What's the other one on your ankle?" he asked her as he glanced down.

Rachel placed her foot on his knee where he squatted in front of her, turning to the side slightly so that he could see it more clearly. It was a chain link tattoo that curved around her ankle, with two hearts intertwined on the side. The letters "R" and "A" could be seen in the centre of each heart.

"Yeah, that was stupid," she said, rolling her eyes. "I haven't got around to getting it removed yet, though."

John smiled up at her as he admired her shapely leg, and reached out to stroke her skin gently, feeling her youthful flesh under his fingertips.

"You've got a lovely touch; gentle, but there's a strength there too," she said approvingly.

"I've had a lot of practice at handling beautiful young women recently," John replied. "Don't worry, you're in good hands."

Rachel stared at him lustily, and the skin on her arms prickled with goose bumps as adrenalin coursed through her body. "You must be good to keep four beautiful girls so happy," she said, her eyes flashing with excitement.

"I intend to keep you very happy too," John smiled, and was about to rise, when Rachel placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I've got one other tattoo," she said, as she turned in place to show him her back. She had a heart with wings tramp-stamp across her lower back, just above her compactly rounded bottom.

"Lovely," John said, as he reached out to take hold of her pert cheeks, and squeezed them in his firm grasp.

Rachel looked at him over her shoulder, and gasped as he spread her cheeks apart, revealing the tight pucker of her ass to his hungry gaze.

"He likes to stretch us out back there too," Dana said with a smile as she walked over to them, her skin glistening wetly from the shower. "Have you been fucked in the ass before Rachel?"

"Uh-huh," the aroused brunette nodded, "But not by anyone so big."

"You'll be fine, we'll take good care of you," Dana said soothingly, and leaned in to kiss her.

John stood, and then watched entranced as the beautiful young women kissed, their soft lips moving together as their tongues darted out teasingly to flicker against each other. With Dana slightly taller, she took the role of dominant partner, and cupped the brunette's head and neck in her hands, as she leaned down to kiss her. They had their eyes closed as they kissed, and were fully absorbed in the sensations as their bodies pressed together. Rachel gasped when she felt Dana's cool wet skin against her own, and her eyes shot open with the shock.

"I'm very wet," Dana apologised with a grin.

"Now I am too," Rachel panted, as she stared into the redhead's eyes.

"We can continue this later. I'm anxious to see you get started," Dana said gently, as she glanced at John excitedly. When he nodded, she took Rachel by the hand and led her into the bathroom, with John following behind them.

Dana turned on the shower again and stepped inside, leading the brunette in after her. Rachel sighed as the warm water cascaded over her, and she let out a soft moan as Dana began to wash her, running her hands all over the smaller girl's body. John washed himself, before he reached out to gather some soap from the dispenser. He squatted down to run his hands over Rachel's legs, and massaged her thighs and calves with his strong hands. They got her spotlessly clean, without any overtly sexual activity, keeping the girl primed in a state of readiness.

"Come on, it's time for lunch," Dana grinned, and guided Rachel out of the shower behind her.

Rachel followed her, with a lusty glance at John as she passed him. They all dried themselves off, staying silent, but the lingering glances they threw at one another spoke volumes. Finally it was time to return to the bedroom, and Dana led the other girl out to the huge four poster bed, before urging her quietly to mount it. John walked around to the side, and then moved to join them, lying down next to Rachel.

"Would anyone object if I ate first?" Dana said with a cheeky grin, as she glided over to join them, and gently applied pressure with her hands to coax Rachel to spread her legs.

The brunette gasped as Dana kissed her inner thighs, trailing kisses as she moved higher, with her tongue darting out from time to time to taste the young woman's skin. Rachel was panting with excitement, and when John leaned down to kiss her lips which were swollen with arousal, the brunette grabbed him and kissed him fiercely. She moaned into his mouth as she clung to him, her body quivering with pleasure.

"Oh my God!" the brunette suddenly cried out, her eyes going wide, as Dana began to greedily lap away at her soaking wet pussy.

John held the quaking young woman in his arms as she trembled with arousal, her body climbing ever closer to release. Eventually Dana took pity on the girl, and lashed her clit with flurried movements of her velvety tongue. Rachel screamed, and her back arched as she exploded in orgasm, her stormy grey eyes staring at the ceiling as she cried out in ecstasy. The redhead pulled back and grinned up at John with satisfaction, taking great pleasure in the explosive climax she had just coaxed out of the brunette. Dana gracefully prowled up the bed to lie on the other side of Rachel, who watched her with a look of amazement on her pretty face.

"How was that, beautiful?" Dana asked her playfully.

Rachel laughed in delight and hugged the other girl exuberantly. "That was amazing!" she exclaimed with a wide grin on her face. She looked back at John, and asked him quizzically, "Why did you bother with all that interview stuff? You should have just asked Dana to go down on me; I would have agreed to join you in a heartbeat!"

John and Dana laughed heartily in response, and Rachel looked up at them both happily.

"You tasted delicious, I was happy to oblige," Dana grinned, "But I think it's your turn now," she added as she traced circles over Rachel's slim stomach with her fingertips.

"Are you looking forward to feeding me your cum for the first time?" Rachel asked John seductively.

"Very much so," he agreed, his cock throbbing excitedly at the thought. "When a new girl joins us, she normally gets three big meals a day for the next two weeks."

"So I'll just be living off your cum for all that time?" Rachel replied with wide eyes.

"Alyssa had him on her own for nearly a month before Calara joined them," Dana said enviously. "My two weeks were amazing, though," she added, sighing wistfully at the memories.

"Having second thoughts?" John asked her attentively.

"No, not at all. The thought of fuelling my body by feeding off your semen feels deliciously naughty," Rachel said, thrilled at the debauched idea.

"Let's get started, I can't wait to see!" Dana blurted eagerly.

John grinned at the girls and moved into the middle of the bed, with Rachel kneeling between his legs. She looked up at him excitedly, and then she took hold of his heavy cock in her hand.

"I don't know how this is going to fit," she said, as she felt his pulsating length beneath her fingers.

Dana moved to her side, and whispered to her encouragingly, "You'll be fine, just lick the head for a while, you'll be surprised at the taste!"

Rachel leaned in trustingly, and gently swirled her tongue over the head of John's cock. "It tastes sweet!" she gasped, as his pre-cum washed over her taste buds.

"Try some more," Dana urged her, and the brunette began to lap away, savouring the sweet tasting liquid that his balls were eagerly feeding her.

Soon enough, Rachel's eyelids grew heavy as the pheromones in John's cum began to take over. She swallowed down a nice mouthful of the pre-cum she had been enthusiastically lapping up, and then spread her lips wide to envelop his whole head in her mouth. Her smoky grey eyes began to glaze over as she repeatedly swallowed down all the pre-cum he was feeding her, and she began to move back and forth, taking him deeper into her mouth.

"This is so hot!" Dana exclaimed, as she stared at the entranced brunette. "Did I look like that too?"

"You all did," John confirmed, watching as Rachel began to brush the head of his cock against the entrance to her throat, his spurting pre-cum helping her with her goal.

Dana moved up to John's side and she leaned in to kiss him. He could taste Rachel on Dana's lips, which made his cock throb excitedly in the brunette's mouth. They eventually broke apart, just as Rachel leaned forward, swallowed hard, and then sank his broad head into her throat.

"Fuck that feels good!" John exclaimed, as he pushed his way into this new girl for the first time.

"Her throat is bulging out with your cock shoved in there," Dana gasped as she gently stroked the brunette's neck.

Rachel sank all the way down, taking his cock to the root, before gently easing back so that she could take a big breath of air. She leaned in again and deep throated him for a second time, her already widened throat yielding to him acceptingly.

Dana stroked Rachel's head affectionately, and then sat next to John, curled up at his side. She pressed her breasts into his chest and gazed into his eyes. John watched her sky blue eyes, but darted glances down at the brunette that was kneeled before him.

"Are you going to add another nubile young woman to your growing harem?" Dana purred at him excitedly. "She's so eager for it. You'll be fucking her pussy, and stretching out her tight little ass in no time."

John groaned as Rachel bobbed up and down, massaging his cock with her throat. "You sound just like Alyssa did," he said, while staring at her with lust filled eyes.

"When you broke me in for the first time?" Dana asked, her eyes sparkling. "She's so naughty!"

"Yeah, she was thanking me for taking you in, and talking about this being the first time of many that I'd be feeding you my cum," he groaned as Rachel sucked on him purposefully.

"Oh she was so right! I've lost count of the number of times you've fucked me or filled my belly," Dana moaned, squirming with excitement. "Rachel will be like us soon, ready and willing whenever you want to take her."

John gritted his teeth to stop himself from coming, and he stared down at the pretty brunette who was insistently gliding up and down his length with her constricting throat.

"Why are you holding back?" Dana asked him. "I want to see her belly bloated with your sperm. It will be like a preview of what she'll look like when you get her pregnant as well." she added with a teasing smile.

"Ah, Fuck!!" John groaned, as his cock lurched at the thought, and his four balls convulsed as he was overwhelmed by a powerful orgasm. His cum shot up his shaft and then down Rachel's throat, filling her stomach with strong, steady blasts of his cream. He held her head gently in position in his lap, as he pumped her full of his spunk for the first time.

Dana watched with delirious excitement as the lovely young brunette knelt submissively in front of her lover, sucking eagerly on his cock. She could see her slim tummy bowing outwards as the hefty load filled her stomach to the brim. Finally John shuddered as his orgasm petered out, and he sank back, his shaft slowly slithering out of Rachel's welcoming mouth.

Rachel sat up and took a big breath, then began to rub her cum packed belly, with a drowsy, contented look on her pretty face. Dana helped the young woman manoeuvre her enormously swollen abdomen, so that she could lie down comfortably on her side. John curled up behind the brunette, encircling her in his arms, and he began to stroke the girl's bloated belly with his hand. Dana pulled the covers over them both, and then snuggled in on the other side of Rachel, placing her hand on top of John's where it rested possessively over his new woman.

"That was amazing, it was so exciting to see you with her for the first time," Dana sighed dreamily.

"You were lovely with her, thanks for making such an effort to make her feel welcome," John said appreciatively.

"I like her a lot. I'm so glad you decided to ask her to join us," Dana said gratefully.

"No feelings of jealousy?" John asked her gently.

"I wish it was going to be me on my knees for the next two weeks," she replied wistfully, "but no, I'm delighted she's here."

"You're a good girl. I'm very lucky to have you," John told her proudly.

Dana shivered excitedly, and stared into his eyes as she stroked the brunette who was sleeping peacefully between them.

***

Alyssa sighed with satisfaction, as she listened in on the conversation in the nearby room. "It's done, Rachel's sleeping off her first load," she told Calara and Jade, who were lying nude on either side of her, in the big bed in Calara's quarters.

"Shall we go and join them?" Jade asked eagerly.

"In a little while," Alyssa replied in a mellow voice. "I'm enjoying having some time with you girls," she added, pulling them both in towards her.

"You were very enthusiastic," Calara said with an appreciative smile, as she ran her fingers over the blonde girl's deliciously smooth stomach, feeling the slight sheen of perspiration from their energetic lovemaking.

"That was lots of fun, but I do miss John's cock," Jade said longingly.

"He screwed your brains out just last night!" Calara said with a chuckle, remembering the epic session they had all enjoyed together.

"It's okay, I know what you mean," Alyssa said supportively, giving the Nymph a reassuring squeeze. "There's nothing quite like getting a good pounding, and a full tummy afterwards."

All three of them sighed wistfully, and then glanced at each other, before bursting into fits of giggles.

"What do you think of Rachel?" Jade asked them both curiously. "She seems very warm and friendly. I think she'll feel like part of the family in no time."

"I liked her from the first time we met her on Gravitus. She was kind, friendly, and I could sense there was an attraction between us almost straight away," Alyssa replied, smiling at the memories. "Dana and Rachel are getting on very well together too, which is a pleasant surprise."

"Jealous about losing your BFF status?" Calara teased the blonde playfully.

"Not when I have you two beauties to play with!" Alyssa said with a happy grin, and leaned down to kiss first the Latina, then the Nymph affectionately.

They cuddled up together, but Jade didn't seem to be able to settle, her eyes subconsciously darting to the door every few minutes.

"Come on, let's go and rejoin the others," Alyssa said with a laugh. "I don't think Jade will be able to last much longer."

"I can't help it, I love being in bed with him," Jade said, giving them a cheeky smile, before she leapt out of bed.

Alyssa smiled at the Nymph indulgently as Jade darted out of the door, and headed towards John's room, flashing them a lovely grin as she departed. The blonde turned towards Calara, and caught the Latina as she was about to rise, pulling her down so that she was lying over her. Calara smiled wickedly and straddled her friend, rubbing her breasts against the other teenager's pert chest.

"I'm devoted to John, but I'm so glad you're here," Alyssa said to the brunette earnestly, as she looked up into her deep brown eyes.

"I know exactly what you mean," Calara replied lovingly, and leaned down to kiss the beautiful blonde girl beneath her.

They kissed each other tenderly, neither seeking to escalate their embrace to the passionate lovemaking from earlier, but simply for the pleasure of tasting each other's lips, and communicating their feelings for one another. Alyssa suddenly paused as a thought came to her.

"What is it?" Calara whispered, as she planted gentle kisses on the other girl's cheek.

"I've been feeling closer to you over the last few weeks, and it reminds me of a conversation I had with John a while ago. I was listening to his thoughts, and he was enjoying the idea of us being lovers, and then 'straightening us out' when we join him in bed," she explained.

"Mmm, that sounds like fun," Calara purred as she began to nibble the blonde's ear.

"I was just wondering if me falling for you is natural, or if it's John's influence," Alyssa mused thoughtfully.

Calara stopped her kisses, and stared down at the blonde girl beneath her. "You're falling for me?" she asked her friend, touched.

Alyssa nodded shyly, her bold confidence temporarily abandoning her. "I love you," she said to the Latina tentatively.

"Oh, I love you too," Calara replied breathlessly, and kissed her blonde lover passionately.

The beautiful young women moved as one, brushing against each other with gentle sighs and moans as they explored another set of full, yielding lips. They writhed against each other, enjoying the soft, feminine sensuality of their embrace; such a stark contrast to the raw physicality of being taken by John. They could feel each other's emotions and thoughts across the bond, and it was a comforting and wonderfully familiar sensation to share that with another girl. They eventually stopped their kisses and just hugged each other tightly, both luxuriating in the loving feelings they shared across their telepathic connection.

"We should probably go and join the others," Alyssa said gently, as she stroked the brunette's hair, running her fingers through the thick dark brown locks.

"Did you make your mind up, whether this was natural or John's influence?" Calara asked her playfully.

"I decided it doesn't really matter," Alyssa replied with a broad grin. "I love feeling this close to you, and being fucked senseless by John is always going to feel incredible. If it turns him on knowing that we're growing closer as lovers, then it's one more trick at our disposal to blow his mind!"

"I can hardly wait for the next time we perform for him," Calara said, her eyes flashing with excitement.

"We're going to need some serious straightening out," Alyssa agreed, her own eyes glinting with anticipation.

***

John smiled as Jade darted back into his bedroom, and slipped into the covers behind him. She sighed contentedly as she wrapped herself around him, moulding her cool flesh against the contours of his body. Her arm snaked around his waist, before reaching out to the girl who lay in front of him, and stroked Rachel's swollen belly.

"I love that you've taken another mate," she purred in his ear. "A man of your stature deserves to be served by lots of beautiful young women."

John turned around so that he could face Jade, being careful not to disturb Rachel as he moved. "All the other girls serve me quite voluntarily, but you're special. I own you, don't I?" he asked her solemnly, using language he knew would excite her.

The Nymph shivered and stared at him transfixed, her cat-like eyes dilating with her arousal. "Completely!" she affirmed for him wholeheartedly.

"You're such a good girl. Two weeks seems like such a long time without being able to take you. Maybe I should make love to you sometime, and then you can feed Rachel for me. Would you like that?" he asked her enticingly, and Jade could only nod eagerly in reply.

John smiled at her as he held her in his arms, murmuring all the things he'd like to do to her, which had the Nymph quivering with anticipation. Alyssa and Calara entered the room a little while later, with Alyssa grinning slyly at John, having heard all the things he had whispered to Jade. The green skinned girl sighed adoringly as she stared up at him, and John gave her one last kiss, before looking at the two girls who just sat at the end of the bed.

"Rachel looks adorable, sleeping like that," Calara said quietly.

"If it works the same with her as it did everyone else, she'll be asleep for nearly fourteen hours," Alyssa said softly, admiring the rounded curve of Rachel's cum swollen belly.

"Let's not risk disturbing her," John whispered to the girls, nodding towards the shower.

They got up carefully, leaving Rachel fast asleep in the centre of the bed, as they all walked into the bathroom. Dana closed the door quietly, and they went into the shower to clean up after their energetic morning.

"So what's everyone's plans for today?" John asked them curiously as they washed themselves in the lovely warm shower.

"I've got more analysis I'd like to do," Calara said. "I'd like to be well prepared before we reach Olympus."

"We need to repair the armour on your Phalanx armour suit, John," Dana reminded him. "I'm not sure the Psi-shaper can take anything too strenuous though." she added in a cautionary tone, glancing at Alyssa.

"So I guess that's my afternoon planned for me then," Alyssa said with a dry chuckle.

"You seem much less reluctant than last time," John observed, as he washed the blonde girl's back.

"To be honest, I found it much easier than the first time," Alyssa agreed, enjoying the firm movements of his strong hands. "Maybe it's just getting some practice that's helping."

"How about you two?" John asked Dana and Jade, who were smiling coyly at one another, as they made sure each other's breasts were spotlessly clean.

"I'd like to keep an eye on Rachel, to make sure she's OK, but I should probably come along to help with the armour repairs," Dana said reluctantly.

"I can keep an eye on her for you," Jade said cheerily. "I love being able to look after John's mates."

"Don't you mean your little kittens?" Calara said playfully, and Jade laughed as the three teenagers made cute meowing noises.

They finished in the shower and then split up to get dressed, before reconvening in the Officer's Quarters for lunch. Everyone was eager to get on with their tasks for the afternoon, so after grabbing a quick bite to eat they waved each other goodbye at the grav-tubes, with Jade heading back to the Commander's Quarters to look after Rachel, while Calara headed up to the command deck, accompanied by John who was going to collect the ravaged Phalanx armour. Dana and Alyssa went straight down to the cargo bay, and were busy scrutinising the Psi-shaper when he finally rejoined them, fully dressed in the damaged body armour, and holding the helmet in his hands.

"Yeah, this isn't looking too good at all," Dana said, rubbing her chin as she examined the gaping fissure along the crane arm of the psi-shaper. "It seems to have begun stress fracturing, due to the strain, but I don't understand enough about their technology to fix it properly," she added regretfully.

"We can just detach the outer Invictium plates manually," John suggested, as he looked down at the ripped and gouged plating on his body armour. "Then Alyssa could forge some new double shaped plating, and we can fit that on the way we did with all the female variants of the amour. The Psi-shaper seemed to handle that without any problems."

"That seems like a good plan," Dana agreed, "Just take it easy, okay?" she asked Alyssa tentatively.

"Hey, I'm an old hand at this now," Alyssa grinned confidently. "We did several complete suits last time after the Psi-shaper got damaged, so I'll only use the same amount of focus as I did before."

"Okay, I trust you," Dana smiled at her, and then beckoned John over.

He walked over to stand by the redhead, as she produced the multi-tool from her belt and began to swiftly and skilfully detach the glistening black outer plating from the body armour. Dana dropped the ruined armour plates in a pile as she removed each one, and Alyssa reached down to pick up the right shoulder plate. It had several long deep gouges carved through it, where the huge Kintark Royal Guard had attempted to rip him to shreds.

"It's annoying that I damaged the Psi-shaper, but it seems like a small price to pay after looking at this," she said, as she held up the plate, and looked at Dana through the hole torn in it.

"Yeah, thank God you triple shaped it, we needed every last bit of extra toughness!" She said to Alyssa, before turning to John. "Fortunately the inner shell of the Phalanx armour is undamaged, but that Lizard would have got through if you'd let it continue any longer," Dana admonished him with a frown.

"I'm sorry, I'll take better care of my toys in the future," he promised her with a smile.

"You'd better!" Dana chastised him with a grin on her face, and then stood on tip-toe to give him an affectionate kiss.

After a couple more minutes, the Phalanx armour was stripped completely bare, and John put his helmet back on, before strolling over to the nearby crates to pick up a block of Invictium ore. He then walked underneath the looming crane arm of the Psi-shaper, and looked up at the emitters at its end, making sure he was positioned correctly, directly below it. He placed the Invictium block down on the cargo bay floor, and then nodded to the blonde that he was ready.

"Relax, I'll be very gentle," Alyssa said teasingly to Dana, who was looking up at the frail Ashanath equipment and biting her thumbnail with worry.

The redhead laughed nervously at the blonde, and waved at her to continue. Alyssa smiled confidently, then looked at the Psi-shaper as she gently gathered her will, before directing it at the sensors, putting in the same amount of mental effort as she'd done the last time.

The sensors and emitters on the Psi-shaper flashed a bright pink, and with a shrieking groan, the long metal arm snapped cleanly in two.

"Look out!" Dana screamed, as the long, heavy arm of the Psi-shaper tipped over to fall directly towards John, who was standing underneath it.

John braced himself, and caught the big round disc that housed the psychic emitters, letting out a groan as he struggled under its weight. He staggered slightly trying to keep the unstable Psi-shaper arm stable, and the long metallic beam wavered unsteadily in the air.

"Get clear!" he ordered the girls urgently, who darted backwards out of danger. As soon as they were far enough away, he let the thirty foot long arm topple over, and it landed with a deafening crash on the cargo bay floor.

"Are you alright?" Alyssa asked him with concern, as she and Dana ran over to his side.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he reassured them, as he removed his helmet to take a deep breath of air, and stretched his back gingerly. "It just came as a bit of a surprise!"

Dana and Alyssa hugged him fiercely, and he encircled them in his arms. "There's no harm done, don't worry," he told them both soothingly. "Well at least not to me," he added wryly, glancing at the broken Psi-shaper.

"I thought you were going to be careful!" Dana said in an accusatory voice, as she frowned at the blonde.

"I was, I promise!" Alyssa protested, "The Psi-shaper must have been weaker than it looked! I used exactly the same amount of effort as when I double shaped the Invictium last time."

"Well it sure didn't look like it," Dana grumbled. "The psychic sensors and emitters lit up like a supernova!"

"No fighting please, girls," John said firmly. "Dana, you know Alyssa wouldn't deliberately do anything to damage your equipment, and especially something that would put me at risk."

The redhead looked suitably chastened, and she glanced remorsefully at her friend. "I'm sorry Alyssa, it was just the shock of seeing it break, and then watching it tip over on John."

"It's okay, I understand," Alyssa replied, forgiving her friend immediately. "We better kiss and make-up though," she added, glancing mischievously at John.

He laughed as Dana nodded eagerly, and the two girls turned to embrace one another, then kissed each other lovingly.

"Okay, enough," John protested with a smile, as the girls started to really get into it. "If you keep that up, I'm going to have to join in, and I'm supposed to be feeding Rachel remember?"

The girls grinned at him slyly, and then moved apart. They both suddenly looked thoughtful, as Dana studied Alyssa, and the blonde girl looked carefully at the broken Psi-shaper arm.

"How much do you think that section of the Psi-shaper weighs, Dana?" Alyssa asked her friend.

"At least fifteen hundred pounds," Dana guessed as she glanced at the twisted remains of the Psi-shaper arm, with the emitter disc at the end. "It's made of steel, not the Etherium alloy they use for everything else."

"Well it looks like you've broken your previous lifting record," Alyssa congratulated John with a grin.

"It wasn't too much of a strain, just very unwieldy," John replied, thinking back. "I'm sure I could lift more if I had to."

"I think you might have got stronger too," Dana said to the blonde girl. "If you used the same amount of effort as before, and you've become more powerful, then that's what could have overloaded the Psi-shaper."

"That makes sense," John agreed, as he studied Alyssa. "You have been pushing your limits recently, what with the expanded telepathy range, and creating stronger bonds with the girls."

"True, and the last time we tried Psi-shaping, it definitely felt a lot easier," the psychic blonde nodded.

"I guess I'll just have to take this thing apart and see what makes it tick," Dana said with a gleam in her eyes, as she looked at the Psi-shaper. "Until I can put together a replacement, you'll just have to use your backup Phalanx suit I'm afraid." she added apologetically.

"I don't like the idea of John not being able to have the best armour we can make for him though," Alyssa said with a frown, as she looked at his stripped down Phalanx body armour.

"I want you in the best protection too," John protested. "It feels wrong putting more effort into upgrading my gear, and not yours as well."

"We've got to fix the Raptor too," Dana said soberly. "We can't risk taking that into combat with the state that armour is in."

"Well, it looks like I'm going to have to hang up my psychic-armoursmithing hat for the moment," Alyssa sighed regretfully, "At least until Dana can repair the old Psi-shaper, or build a new one."

They stood quietly for a moment, looking at the broken piece of Ashanath equipment, until the silence was broken by Dana.

"We might not have to!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"What do you mean?" John asked her curiously.

"The Psi-shaper is just a tool. It enhances the psychic abilities of an Ashanath engineer, and then lets them manipulate psychically receptive material. In their case they use Etherium, which is an Etherite/Aluminium alloy, and in ours we're shaping Invictium which is an Etherite/Titanium alloy," Dana explained patiently.

"I remember all that from your show-and-tell," John said, smiling at her indulgently.

"Sorry, I forgot you were a good boy and paid attention," Dana grinned at him playfully, and leaned in to give him a kiss.

"So what are you getting at?" Alyssa asked her, looking puzzled.

"Well we're using psionic energy to manipulate an Etherite based material, and the Psi-shaper is just a tool to let a relatively weak Ashanath engineer have enough Psionic strength to do so. You were already getting so strong you practically broke the Psi-shaper in the first place, and the Ashanath confirmed you're way more powerful than any of them. Maybe you just don't need it any more?" Dana suggested excitedly.

"You probably didn't need it in the first place. What do you think, honey, ready for the training wheels to come off?" he asked her encouragingly.

"You're normally the one asking us to be cautious," Alyssa replied, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.

John gathered her in his arms, and leaned her back for a soul-searing kiss that left the beautiful blonde breathless. He stared into her eyes as she gazed up at him adoringly, and when he saw that he had her undivided attention, he spoke to her softly, "I've seen how much stronger you're becoming. You're a truly exceptional young woman, Alyssa. Why don't you show me what you can do, and make me proud."

Alyssa's face took on a look of steely determination as she stepped back from John, and turned to face the block of Invictium ore that was sitting untouched on the cargo bay floor. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then extended her hand out towards the square metallic block, her fingers upraised, as though urging it to lift off the ground. The block of Invictium ore began to glow with a soft pink aura, and when she opened her eyes again, it lifted gently off the ground, drawing a startled gasp from Dana.

Alyssa focused intently on the cube of metal, and it began to lose its hard edges, rolling back in on itself as it turned into a rotating sphere of liquid metal. The glistening black sphere suddenly seemed to pick up a long thin streak of white, that spun lazily in the viscous orb, as though someone had poured in a long stream of white paint. As they watched entranced, the streak of white slowly spread throughout the sphere, the strip growing wider, until it edged out and obliterated all traces of darkness.

As Dana and John looked on in awe, the Invictium responded to her psychokinetic guidance and began to smoothly reshape itself into a long section of armoured hull plating for the Invictus. The fully formed armour plate rotated smoothly in the air, before settling down silently on the ground.

"You were right," Alyssa smiled wryly, "I have outgrown the Psi-shaper."

"That was so awesome!" Dana grinned exuberantly, torn between running over to give her friend a congratulatory hug, and examining the new section of armour plating. The hug option won out, and she embraced her friend, before turning to eagerly look at the newly forged armour with a big grin on her beautiful face.

Alyssa turned to John, and looked up at him expectantly. "Did I make you proud?" she asked him playfully, but there was an underlying yearning in her voice.

"So many times, I've lost count," He said sincerely, as he took her in his arms once more. "But that was truly outstanding."

They kissed, and Alyssa sighed happily as their lips move together passionately. She could feel the depth of his admiration and love for her through their bond, and her heart fluttered as her mind thrilled at his telepathic touch.

"It's perfectly formed!" Dana exclaimed happily, as she looked at the holo-display on her hand held scanner. "There's no bubbling or warping! You did an amazing job, Alyssa."

John and Alyssa separated with one last affectionate smile, and then looked towards the redhead who had skipped over to join them.

"Okay, step back. I'll reshape it again, and form it around your armour," Alyssa said confidently.

"Hang on!" John and Dana said at the same time.

"You go first," Dana said with a grin.

"How difficult did you find that compared to using the Psi-shaper? Any adverse effects afterwards?" he asked the blonde girl with concern.

"No, I feel fine actually. It didn't feel any more difficult than before," Alyssa replied, assuaging his worries.

"Perhaps your increase in psychic power counterbalanced the loss of assistance you were getting from the device?" Dana mused, as she contemplated the lack of a discernible increase in difficulty.

"Maybe," Alyssa said with a shrug. "In any case, that means I should be able to triple shape with no problem," she added eagerly, reaching her hand out towards the glossy white armour plate once again.

"Wait, I haven't had my turn yet!" Dana protested.

"Sorry, go ahead. Why did you want me to stop?" Alyssa laughed.

"Can you leave that armour plate for the Invictus as it is please? The same with the damaged triple shaped black Invictium plating over there," Dana asked, pointing towards the shredded remains of John's Phalanx armour plating.

"Sure, but why?" the blonde asked with a puzzled look on her beautiful face.

"I'd like to run some tests on the triple shaped Invictium, to see how much stronger and reflective it is than the single shaped variety. The same with this new white stuff to see if it's any different. Oh, and why did it change colour, do you think?" Dana asked them both, curiously.

"Maybe it's because you're so pure and innocent?" John teased Alyssa playfully.

"That boat sailed a few months ago, when you hopelessly corrupted me," Alyssa retorted with a grin.

"He is a very naughty Progenitor," Dana agreed, and John laughed loudly, which had both girls grinning.

When his laughter had subsided, Alyssa spoke to him pleasantly, "Could you go and get me another block of Invictium please, handsome, and I'll patch up your armour."

John nodded, and walked over to the ore containers before collecting another cube of Invictium ore. He carried it back comfortably under one arm, and then stopped a few paces from Alyssa and placed it on the ground. She smiled mischievously at him, and then reached her hand out towards the block of ore and focused her will on it. Like before, the block glowed with a gentle pink and then rose in the air, before turning into a liquid. Alyssa let it roll slowly in place as the white streak appeared and then filled the globe, turning it a brilliant glossy white. Once the transformation was complete, the orb began to form into an elongated shape, that eventually became more distinct as the silhouette of a slender, beautiful woman, until it had formed rigidly in place.

Dana laughed at the sight, and then looked disappointed as the shape folded in on itself, turning liquid once more. Alyssa winked at the redhead and then the tumbling orb of Invictium formed itself into the image of a girl's face, the details becoming more clear as it solidified. The image was clearly that of Dana, but it was how she looked in the throes of passion, her eyes closed, and her mouth open as she climaxed.

"I recognise her," John grinned, and Dana flushed slightly in an adorable mix of embarrassment and arousal.

"Put your helmet back on, please," Alyssa requested politely, and John did just that.

With a slight frown of concentration, Alyssa melted the bright white metallic representation of Dana back into a glowing sphere of Invictium. She turned it into long white tendrils that reached out towards John, following the direction of her guiding hand, and they wrapped around and embraced him, forming the outer armour plating of the Phalanx suit.

"Seeing you do that without any assisting devices looks so cool," Dana sighed appreciatively.

"I'm glad you enjoyed the show," Alyssa laughed merrily.

"Is it okay to take this helmet off again?" he asked the girls cautiously.

"Yeah, it looks solid now," Dana agreed, as Alyssa nodded.

"Any adverse effects after that?" John asked Alyssa curiously once he had removed his helmet.

"Nope, I feel fine," she replied with a relaxed smile.

"Do you feel up to re-plating the Raptor?" Dana asked her friend tentatively.

"Sure, I'm up for that," Alyssa said with confidence.

"Let's go then," John smiled, and turned to head to the hangar bay.

"Hold up a second," Dana called to him. "Can you bring a couple of blocks of Invictium ore with you please? We can reshape the damaged pieces, but we'll need some more to plug the gaps."

"Sure, that's no problem," John said, handing the Phalanx armour helmet over to Dana, then strolling over to collect a couple of cubes of ore. He stacked them on top of each other, and then carried them out effortlessly, following after the girls as they walked through to the hangar bay.

They approached the severely damaged gunship, and while John placed the cubes of Invictium ore on the ground, the girls circled the ship, looking over the scarred armour plating.

"I haven't made these kind of plates before. Do you have design schematics for the armour I'll need to create?" Alyssa asked Dana, as she eyed the Raptor speculatively.

"The technical readouts of the Raptor came with the gunship, when the Terran Federation gave it to us. I can upload them to the holo-reader, then you can use that as a guide," Dana suggested helpfully.

"That would be perfect, thanks," Alyssa said appreciatively.

"Okay, can you go and get the holo-reader? It's on the central podium in my workshop, you can't miss it," Dana asked her friend, "I'll upload the instructions from the Raptor's central computer to it."

"And while you two ladies do that, I'll go remove this armour," John said with a smile.

"Catch!" Dana said with a giggle, and threw the Phalanx helmet to him, before she started up the ramp into the Raptor.

John waved them goodbye and re-entered the corridor outside the hangar bay, as he headed to the grav-tube. He stepped inside the glowing blue light, and then rose smoothly and effortlessly all the way up to the top of the ship. When he reached the command deck, he stepped out onto the bridge. He saw that Calara was engrossed in the sector map she was studying, and not wanting to disturb her concentration, he walked down the ramp towards the briefing room. Calara didn't realise he had arrived on the bridge, until she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, and jumped with a start as he appeared right beside her at her tactical station.

"Oh, honey, I'm sorry!" John apologised, "I didn't mean to scare you."

Calara laughed and placed her hand on her chest, feeling her heart hammer in her chest. "It's ok, there's no need to apologise. I was just totally wrapped up in this analysis," she said with a warm smile.

"Find anything interesting?" he asked her curiously.

"Yes, but first of all, what happened with your armour?" she asked him, as she stood up and ran her hands over the glossy white armour plating. She looked closely, and the light seemed to reflect off it, giving the bright white armour a sparkling finish.

"We broke the Psi-shaper. It seems Alyssa's got too powerful to use it, so she plated this body armour just using her mind," John said, marvelling at what he was saying, himself.

"She's an amazing girl," Calara said with a happy sigh, a wide smile on her face, her sparkling white teeth matching the brilliant gleam of his armour.

"She certainly is," John agreed. "To answer your question though, we've no idea why it changed colour. Perhaps it's something to do with Alyssa manipulating the Invictium directly, instead of using the Psi-shaper, but that's just a wild guess."

"Well you look much less sinister," Calara said approvingly. "But I'm not sure how practical that's going to be, unless you're fighting in the snow," she added with a tinkling laugh.

"Hopefully it'll cut down on the friendly fire incidents," John replied, rolling his eyes. "In any event, Alyssa's going to fix the Raptor now. It's impressive to watch, so you might want to come with me and see her in action, if you're at a good place to stop?"

"I've learnt what I can for now, anyway," Calara replied with an exasperated sigh. "If I had full access to Terran Federation fleet movements, and an audit log of orders in the Dragon March, I would have finished ages ago. Unfortunately everything is locked up tight, high security clearance only."

"What have you found out so far?" John asked, intrigued.

"I can't verify this for certain until I have full access to the secured data, but it definitely looks like there's a traitor in the Terran Federation, and high up in the Chain of Command," Calara said grimly.

"I was bracing myself for this, as soon as you mentioned you had your suspicions. After seeing your mind at work, I trust your hunches as though it was a definitive report by a team of top analysts," John told her proudly.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," she said gratefully, looking up at him with her big brown eyes.

"It's well earned. You're quite brilliant, did you know that?" he asked her rhetorically, holding her in his arms and leaning in to give her a kiss. He stopped for a moment, looking down at his full body armour with a self-conscious grin.

"It's fine, I like it. You look like a heroic knight from some chivalrous tale," Calara grinned back at him.

"Would the fair maiden bestow on me the great honour of a kiss?" he asked her gallantly.

Calara threw her arms around his neck and kissed him fiercely, sighing into his mouth as he held her protectively in his arms.

"You're making all my childhood dreams come true," she said with delight. "Rescued by a heroic knight!"

"Maybe that's one to roleplay later?" John laughed.

Calara bit her bottom lip, and stared at him lustily. "This is going to be the longest two weeks of my life!" she groaned with frustration.

"Don't worry," he told her soothingly, "Perhaps you can help me feed Rachel at some point, too?"

The Latina writhed excitedly in his grasp, looking even more turned on, then looked at him curiously. "Too?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Jade volunteered her services earlier," John grinned, which had Calara laughing merrily.

"She's such a helpful girl," she said affectionately. "Okay, enough teasing for now! I don't think I can handle any more. I'll be tearing that armour off you in a minute, and that would be a shame after Alyssa made it look so nice."

John nodded and went into the briefing room, removing his armour in a few seconds with the aid of the robotic arms on the equipping frame. He strode out to rejoin Calara, who was waiting for him at the tactical station. He took her hand and was about to walk with her up the ramp to the grav-tube when she stopped him.

"You'll need to be very careful when we're back at Olympus," she warned him forebodingly. "Until we can identify who the traitor, or even traitors are, everyone will be under suspicion."

"You can't mean, -" John began, before she interrupted him.

"Yes, even Charles too. I know he's an old friend, but we can't afford to take any chances," she advised him gently.

John's face twisted up in a grimace as he pondered the idea of his old Commanding officer, Vice Admiral Charles Harris, being a traitor. One glance at Calara calmed his mind however, and he nodded acceptingly.

"I trust you with my life," he told her adamantly. "If someone as gifted as you advises caution, I'd be a fool to ignore it."

Calara looked ambivalent for a moment and was about to say something, but remained quiet, as she looked up at him appreciatively.

"What were you about to say?" he asked her curiously. "You know you can always tell me anything."

"I was going to warn you; if you make any more comments like that, Rachel's going to miss out on dinner! But it seemed horribly inappropriate considering the topic at hand," she admitted with a rueful smile.

"We better get going then," John said with a chuckle, "If we stay up here alone, I'm not going to be able to stop complimenting you."

"Lead on, Ser Knight," Calara said with a grin, and they stepped into the grav-tube hand in hand.

When they walked out into the hangar bay, Dana was holding up the holo-reader and Alyssa was leaning over, carefully examining the technical specifications of the armour plating.

"Hey guys!" Dana called out to John and Calara as they walked over to join the two girls.

"I'm nearly done," Alyssa said distractedly, as she flicked through the images of the various sections of armour plating that were appearing in the holographic display.

"Did you find out anything with your analysis?" Dana asked Calara curiously.

"Yes, but if it's okay with you, I'll go through it with everyone later when Rachel wakes up. It'll save me repeating myself," the brunette said apologetically.

"Sure, I don't mind waiting," Dana replied with an easy going smile.

"Okay, done!" Alyssa exclaimed with a relieved smile, as she scanned through the last image.

"Have you got enough Invictium ore?" John asked her proactively.

"Yes, that should be plenty, thanks. Step back everyone, please," she cautioned them.

"Do you still need the holo-reader?" Dana asked her tentatively.

"No, I've committed all the images to memory," Alyssa replied confidently, as she turned towards the Raptor.

She held out her left hand towards the blocks of Invictium ore, and they glowed an ethereal pink before lifting off the floor, and melting together almost instantly into a large liquid orb. She waited patiently for the white streaks to appear, and then when they did, they enveloped the sphere completely. As soon as they were done, she formed the liquid Invictium into an image of John's smiling face.

"Just matching it up with the current armour; single shaped," Alyssa remarked with a grin, before she dissolved the image into liquid form once more.

The Invictium sphere revolved lazily in the air as she held her left hand upraised, as though supporting it with her fingertips. She then turned her attention back to the gunship, and reached out with her right hand towards the front armour plating around the cockpit. Making a beckoning motion with her fingers, the black metal dissolved fluidly, and streamed through the air into a smaller orb, rotating as if in orbit around the first. Once the lines of white had appeared and overcome the black completely, she began to funnel a tiny stream of liquid metal from the bigger globe to the smaller one, providing enough mass to replace that which had been destroyed.

"That should be enough to fill in the bits that were missing. I'm only going to double shape the gunship's armour for the moment, just in case I start to get tired," she explained, before unfurling the fingers of her right hand, and sending streams of flowing white Invictium back to encase the hull of the Raptor.

Alyssa walked slowly around the gunship, and repeated the process, replacing each piece of tattered armour on the various armoured sections of the hull. Gradually the ball of white Invictium she held in place with her left hand grew smaller and smaller, as she used it to replace the missing pieces of damaged armour plating. Once she had completed a full rotation of the vessel, having repaired all of the gunship's armour, the ball of liquid white Invictium was tiny, no bigger than a fist. She split it in half by making a grabbing motion with her right hand, so she had two small spheres rotating in front of her. The one on the left she flattened out and then shaped into a tiny representation of Dana's smiling face, which she floated over to the redhead, and dropped neatly into her upraised palm.

"A souvenir," Alyssa said with a smile at Dana. "You can use that to test the properties of double shaped Invictium."

She then focused her attention on the tiny white globe above her right palm. It flattened out into a bank disc before hardening, and once Alyssa was confident that it had been shaped three times, she melted it into a roiling ball once more. She narrowed her eyes this time, and gritted her teeth as she stared at the ball, and it grew longer into the shape of a tiny dagger, that bore more than a passing resemblance to John's sword.

"Just checking," she said as she floated that over to Dana as well. "Quadruple shaped Invictium for your tests," she added smugly.

John, Calara and Dana clapped after her impressive performance, and Alyssa took a theatrical bow with a broad smile on her lovely face.

"That was amazing!" Calara exclaimed, who had remained silently enthralled throughout the entire display. "It was like you were performing magic!"

"Why did you do the hand gestures?" John asked Alyssa curiously. "If this is done by using your psychic ability, surely they aren't necessary."

"A magician doesn't reveal her secrets," Alyssa said sanctimoniously, before her pious expression transformed into her usual warm and friendly one. "I don't know to be honest, but it felt instinctive somehow. I think it helps me focus," she added with a shrug.

"I think you just like the showmanship," Dana said teasingly.

"You're a fine one to talk," Alyssa laughed, "I've sat through a few of your presentations, remember!"

Chattering away happily, they left the hangar bay and headed back to the grav-tube. Dana promised she'd meet them for dinner, then stepped out of the blue glow on deck seven, so that she could start running tests on the various Invictium pieces she now had in her possession.

John, Calara and Alyssa rose up to the command deck, so that they could re-forge the armour plating on the Phalanx armour stored in the briefing room. As they were striding across the bridge, John glanced up at the sector map that was hovering above them and saw that the convoy of battered Terran Federation ships had appeared on the long range scans. With the incredible speed of their Tachyon drive, the Invictus had managed to catch up with the flotilla of damaged vessels despite the huge lead they had when they had passed them yesterday.

The girls continued on to the briefing room, but he stopped and watched the vessels for a while, pondering the troubling advice that Calara had given him earlier. He still found it hard to accept that someone would turn on the Terran Federation so heinously, but after experiencing Rupert Grant's betrayal, and the way he had literally sold out the lives of men under his command, he knew he shouldn't be surprised by anything any more. Besides, after watching Calara in action identifying the Drakkar base for the Ashanath, he felt certain she was correct. He just hoped that his old friend Charles had nothing to do with it, and the thought of confronting the man if that scenario came to pass, left his heart feeling heavy.

"Come on," Alyssa said to him gently, as she slid her arm around his, jolting him from his reverie. "We're finished with the armour up here."

Calara slipped her arm around his other one, and with a cheerful young woman on either side of him, his dark mood evaporated as quickly as it arrived.

"Let's finish off the rest of the armour, then we can wrap this up with the sword," he said eagerly.

They visited the firing range, the engineering bay where Dana was hard at work running tests on the Invictium samples, and then back up to the Commander's quarters to upgrade the plating of the his-and-hers body armour in the walk in wardrobe. They waved at Jade as they walked through the bedroom, and she grinned back at them from her place on the bed, where she was sitting protectively by the slumbering brunette. Once Alyssa had upgraded these two body armour suits, the only bit of gear left to enhance was John's sword, and he picked up the glimmering black blade in his right hand.

"Let's take it through to the bedroom, then Jade can watch you in action," John suggested considerately.

Alyssa nodded her agreement, and they walked back into the huge bedroom, bringing the sword with them. John removed the bands that worked as a scabbard in the magnetic fields surrounding his armour, and then placed the sword carefully in the big open area at the foot of the bed. Jade smoothly got off the bed, then glided around to join them, her face burning with curiosity.

"Alyssa has been able to upgrade our gear without having to use the Psi-shaper," John revealed to the Nymph. "She's just enhanced all our armour, so now she's going to do the sword too."

"I can't wait to see!" Jade said eagerly, watching with avidly with her sparkling green eyes.

The blonde girl smiled at the Nymph, and then concentrated on the glistening black blade that was lying on the floor. It rose smoothly into the air, rotating a couple of times before it melted into liquid Invictium, and coalesced into a sparkling black orb. White streaks began to appear, growing wider until they joined up, eventually obliterating all traces of darkness from the spinning globe.

She reached out with her hand as she formed the image in her mind that she wanted the Invictium to shape itself into; that of a five-foot-long sword, with the quillons on the crossguard curving back into dagger like claws that ran along each side of the razor-sharp blade. Taking a deep breath, she frowned in concentration and began to apply her will on the sphere, and sluggishly it began to stretch out and lengthen, slowly forming the shape that she had envisioned. After what seemed like an eternity, the psychic-shaping was finally complete, and the blinding white blade sparkled majestically, even in the dim lighting of the bedroom.

John reached out, and grasped the blade where it hovered in front of him, feeling it's reassuring weight, as his hand fit perfectly on the grip as if it was made for him. With a wry grin, he realised it obviously had been, his psychic-weaponsmith making sure the sword was customised specifically for him, even down to the grip, and a glance at Alyssa's indulgent smile confirmed it. He took a couple of tentative swings, and marvelled at the perfect balance of the blade, as though the weapon were a seamless extension of his arm.

"The craftsmanship on this sword is incredible," he said to Alyssa in awe. "You're not just getting more powerful, your technique is hugely improving too."

The blonde girl beamed up at him, delighted at his praise, and how thrilled he was with the weapon.

"Remember, you still need training," she cautioned him quietly, and beckoned him back into the walk in wardrobe so that they wouldn't awaken Rachel.

"Yeah I remember, I'll try and arrange something very soon," John promised her, as he re-attached the metal bands back onto the grip, and replaced his sword on the rack at the end of the room.

They walked out to rejoin the others, and watched Rachel sleeping for a quiet moment.

"Has she been okay?" Dana asked softly.

"She's been sleeping soundly and peacefully," Jade said reassuringly.

"Rachel should be asleep for several more hours yet," Alyssa said, glancing at the ship's chronometer, and noting it was nearly six o'clock. "We'll arrive at Olympus a little afterwards, at around eleven."

"Let's go and have dinner, and then we can have an early night," John suggested.

"Go and join them," Dana said considerately to Jade, "I can keep her company for the last part."

Jade smiled at the redhead and then fell into step beside John and the other girls, as they headed off to the officer's lounge to cook dinner. In a short while John had prepared a beef stroganoff for everyone, and they sat around the table enjoying the meat and mushroom dish, and savouring the delicious vegetables and thick cut chips he had made to accompany the meal. Everyone was curious how Rachel was going to react when she awoke, and they talked about little else during the meal. Calara took some food along to Dana, who tucked in hungrily, and when the Latina returned with the empty dishes, they all finished the clean-up before settling down to relax on the sofas together.

They explained everything that had happened with the Psi-shaper to Jade, and she was excited to see what the Raptor looked like, now that it was sporting a brand new look. After relaxing comfortably together for an hour, they decided to retire for an early night, eagerly looking forward to speaking to their newest recruit in only a few hours time.

Bedtime posed an interesting conundrum with the sleeping arrangements, and how to accommodate the tawny haired brunette who was still fast asleep in the centre. The bed was still big enough for them all to fit, but they were rapidly running out of spare space.

"I'll take the middle," John suggested, and the girls giggled quietly knowing that was obvious.

He cuddled in behind Rachel, slipping his hand around her instinctively to stroke her stomach, finding it slim and flat once more, her body having absorbed the heavy load he had fed her earlier. Dana lay down opposite him on the other side of Rachel, with Alyssa curled up behind her, and Jade snuggled in behind him, with Calara wrapped around her for a change.

"Thanks for a fun day ladies," John said appreciatively, having thoroughly enjoyed flirting with them all.

There was a quiet chorus of happy replies, and then they rested quietly together, awaiting the sweet embrace of sleep. John listened to the young women surrounding him with his sharp ears, smiling contentedly as one after another their breathing deepened and they began to slumber. Eventually only Alyssa was left awake, and her blue eyes sparkled at him even in the darkened bedroom, the only light coming from a soft nightlight in the bathroom.

*Making sure your flock are safely tucked away before letting yourself sleep?* she asked him playfully.

*That's what my beautiful shepherdess is for. My job is to protect her too,* John replied affectionately.

*I love you,* she told him sincerely, her surging emotions pouring over their empathic bond.

*I love you too,* he replied reflexively, before continuing to send his thoughts. *You were incredible today; kind and gentle with Rachel, so tender with Calara, a good friend to Dana and Jade, then powerful and impressive with your psychic gifts. You never cease to amaze me, you wonderful girl,* he told her lovingly.

He could almost feel her heart lifting with his praise, before she suddenly sat upright in the bed and stared at him apprehensively. *You heard the whole conversation with Calara?* she asked him, sounding a little nervous.

*It's okay, I'm not upset,* he calmed her soothingly. *In fact, I think it's incredibly sexy,* he added as he smiled lasciviously.

*You know I'm absolutely devoted to you, though, don't you?* she asked him, already sounding relieved.

*I know. You shared yourself completely with me, remember? Just relax and enjoy this growing relationship with Calara. I want to see you completely fulfilled and happy too, alright?* he told her supportively.

Alyssa nodded to him in the darkness and settled back down on the bed. He could feel the waves of delight and gratitude radiating off the beautiful blonde girl as she drifted off into sleep.

Happy that all his girls were at peace, John closed his own eyes, falling into a restful dreamless slumber himself.