Irillith drummed her fingers on her golden armoured arm impatiently while she waited for someone to let her into this ungainly spaceship. Compared to the exquisitely designed warships of her own people, Terran ships looked crudely angular, lacking any kind of grace or beauty. Still, she did have to admit it had a certain predatory brutality to it, but she would sooner go to her grave than say anything positive about their ship to these Terrans.

She hesitated for a moment, icy fingers of dread clawing at her heart as she abruptly remembered that the Mael'nerak was definitely not Terran. She remembered all the tales Tashana had told her, and she had barely slept the last two nights, her rest tormented by horrible nightmares. Having witnessed his true, terrifying nature back on Quanthos, Irillith still hadn't figured out why he seemed to be hiding behind this pretence of being some kind of benevolent Terran hero. Still, at least when he was pretending to be "The Lion of the Federation," she recalled, rolling her eyes, he didn't leave her quaking in fear.

The airlock door spiralling open drew her immediate attention, snapping her back to the situation at hand. John was waiting for her on the other side of the airlock, and he said in a friendly voice, "Welcome to the Invictus, Irillith."

Eyeing him suspiciously, she stepped through the outer airlock door, the cases containing her belongings floating along behind her. She glanced around, wary in case this was a trap, but everything seemed to be safe enough. She removed the golden helmet from her head, tucking it under her arm, and looked around the interior of the ship. The corridor ahead of her was spotlessly clean, and was flanked by heavy double doors, before it ended at some kind of tube with one side glowing red, the other blue.

John gestured for her to follow him down the corridor, and he smiled at her pleasantly, as he said, "I'll take you to your quarters. You can either stay up on Deck Two with the rest of us on the Officers' Deck, where the rooms are slightly bigger, or Deck Four, which we use as the Guest Quarters. The rooms are smaller there, but you'll have more privacy."

Irillith paused a moment, as she mulled over the choice. Recalling her mother's explicit instructions, she replied firmly, "I'll stay on Deck Four."

John nodded agreeably, and they came to a halt at the end of the corridor in front of the red and blue glow in the tube. "Step into the blue side to go up, the red to go down," he explained. "When you reach the floor you want, just step out of the tube."

He walked into the blue side, and then floated upwards, ascending smoothly and effortlessly. Irillith leaned in tentatively, and looked around before stepping into the tube. She felt herself lift off the floor, and she couldn't help but smile at the pleasant sensation of levitating through the air. She was impressed at this ingenuous replacement to the tedium of waiting for elevators, but Irillith quickly reverted back to her scowl when she neared Deck Four, to avoid letting John see her happy expression. She stepped out of the tube gracefully, and her luggage followed behind her silently.

"Take your pick of any of the rooms," John said generously. "We aren't using any of them, so use more than one if you need more space."

He picked a room at random, and strolled inside, then gave her a quick run-through of all the amenities in the quarters. Irillith sniffed with disdain when she surveyed the room, trying to find fault with it. It was spotlessly clean, without a speck of dust in sight, and was functional if not particularly aesthetically pleasing. She couldn't really complain about the utilitarian quarters, and it would prove more than adequate for the several weeks she would need to be aboard the ship.

She curled her lip with disgust and replied, "Fine, I'll stay in this hovel, if it's the best this crate can offer."

John frowned at her surly tone, and she felt a surge of delight at having upset him, but kept that pleasure from her expression.

He nodded towards a clock on the wall and said, "The ship's chronometers are set to twenty-four hour Terran standard time. We tend to eat meals at nine in the morning, one in the afternoon, and seven at night, but it varies a fair bit. You're welcome to join us for them, or you can eat here on Deck Four in the ship's Galley."

Irillith glanced at him and asked, "Are we leaving immediately? I want this over and done with as quickly as possible."

John leaned against the doorframe into the quarters, and asked her, "We can leave right away, but are we going to be escorted back across Maliri Space again?"

She shook her head and said, "Our patrol ships have been made aware of the nature of your vessel, and my presence aboard. We will be able to leave unhindered."

John looked distracted for a moment, then nodded with satisfaction. "We'll be departing in moments," he said confidently.

"How long until we reach Trankaran Space?" Irillith asked him impatiently.

John paused for a moment, looking away distantly, then replied, "Eleven days of travel time in total. Four days until we reach Geniya Space Station, four more to reach the Core Worlds, as we have business there. Then it will take three more days to get to Trankaran Space. Our business might take a few days to resolve, so there might be a small delay."

Irillith managed to stifle a gasp, expertly masking her shock. His ship was fifty percent faster than anything the Maliri had! To try and distract him from watching her expression too closely, she snapped imperiously, "I never authorised any detours. I demand we go straight to Trankaran Space!"

John's eyes narrowed and he said in a steely voice, "You're in no position to demand anything. This is my ship, and we go where I say, when I say it."

A shiver of fear ran up her spine at his tone, and she decided it would be wise not to push him any further. She turned away, and pretended to focus intently on her luggage. Taking the hint, John left the room, so Irillith darted over to the door, closing it behind him. When it was sealed, she breathed a sigh of relief, and then turned back to her belongings.

The first thing she unpacked was an electrical pulse detector, and she clipped the red-hued curved crystal visor over her eyes. She did a quick sweep of the room, and immediately spotted several audio and visual snooping devices, as she suspected she would. Removing the visor, she replaced it in her case, and then took out a holo-pad that she hooked up to her right vambrace.

It took her just under five minutes to create a convincing audio and video loop, which she could feed to the cameras, concealing what she was really up to. She engaged the program, which linked into the video and audio feeds of the devices in her room. It showed her removing her armour, climbing into bed, and then falling asleep. The program then called a looped subroutine that cycled a sequence of her sleeping on the bed, her chest rising and falling as she supposedly slept peacefully.

Once that was out the way, she set up the remote hacking portal, and hooked it up to her right vambrace. She removed the piece of armour from her arm, and set it aside carefully, then stripped off the rest of her armour. When she had changed from her form-fitting combat jumpsuit, and into a long, figure-hugging dress, she sat down again on the bed to check on the hacking portal's progress.

The firewall protecting their ship was crudely effective, she grudgingly admitted, but breaking through that would only take her a few more minutes that she had originally anticipated. She got to work, and eight minutes later she was in, their data network laid bare. She glanced through the summary of the Invictus' network and systems, eagerly searching for anything particularly juicy. She swore animatedly when she realised that links to a research and schematics drive had been recently disconnected, with that server physically separated from the network.

She was about to give up any hope of finding anything useful, when she noticed a fully intact camera footage database archive. Eyeing it hungrily, she rapidly tapped away commands, and a broad grin spread across her face when she realised it was fully intact. Irillith turned her attention back to her vambrace, and pressed several more buttons, triggering the extremely powerful computer system stored within.

There was a hazy glow that appeared above the vambrace, and then tiny glowing purple blocks began to appear, swirling slightly before clustering together. They stacked rapidly as they formed a digitised representation of a four inch tall, androgynous purple-skinned sprite. It stood silently, its eyes tightly closed, as it finished booting up.

"Hello there," Irillith said softly to the tiny digital creature.

It opened its big luminous eyes a moment later, and after it blinked, the diminutive creature flickered, and then took on a female appearance.

"Are you my creator?" The minute sylph-like creature asked in wonder, its wide eyes trusting and innocent.

Irillith nodded, smiling at it warmly as she replied, "That's right, little one. Would you like to help me with a task?"

The pocket-sized electronic sprite nodded eagerly and said, "I'd love to help you! What would you like me to do?"

Irillith explained a detailed set of criteria, then sent the digital construct on its way. It scampered off joyfully, darting through the hacking portal, and infiltrating the security camera archives. Irillith knew full well that you always had to handle AIs delicately, but when they were born, they were just like children; naive, trusting, and so easy to deceive and exploit.

***

John strode away from Irillith's room, and stepped into the grav-tube, floating upwards in the blue glow. He walked out onto the Command Deck a few moments later, and Alyssa spun slightly in her Executive Officer's chair up on the Command Podium, smiling at him and giving him a friendly wave. He walked up the illuminated steps to stand at her side, then watched as the Invictus lifted off from the deck of the Docking Bay, and began to climb skywards as they headed for orbit.

He looked up at the overhead map, and gazed distractedly at the image of the Invictus as it eventually left orbit, before making steady progress to the Nav Beacon. Alyssa had fully plotted their route out of Maliri Space, and once the Tachyon Drive had powered up, she engaged it, sending the ship surging effortlessly into hyper-warp.

His mind kept drifting back to the beautiful blue-skinned woman several decks below them. As horrendously annoying, spiteful, and basically evil as she was, he couldn't help feeling attracted to her.

Alyssa glanced up at him, and said teasingly with a smile, "I didn't know you were into bad girls."

John was startled from his thoughts, and looked down at her sheepishly. As amazingly helpful as it was having Alyssa constantly listening in to his inner monologue, it did set him up for some embarrassing moments as well.

He smiled at her and replied firmly, "I'm not. I hate all that stuff normally. All the game playing, the scheming, and the bullshit." He then looked chagrined as he admitted, "But there's something about these Maliri women I find very attractive."

She grinned at him and said sympathetically, "Come on, let's go and have a chat."

She rose from her chair, holding out her slender hand for him to take, and led him down the steps and into his Ready Room. They walked over to the sofas there, and when he sat down, she sat sideways across his lap. He encircled her with his left arm, and began to absent mindedly stroke her swollen belly with his right hand, where she still carried all the cum that Jade had fed her earlier. Alyssa shivered with delight at his touch, and then watched him patiently, waiting for him to start the conversation.

"Where is everyone?" John asked her innocently, attempting to change the subject.

She laughed and said, "Nice try, mister! I'm not falling for it though. Now, tell me why you want to fuck that malignant bitch downstairs?"

There was no disapproval or jealousy in her tone, and he could sense her genuine curiosity over their telepathic link.

He chuckled and said, "I wouldn't have put it quite like that, but I do feel drawn to her. It's not just Irillith, I felt that same attraction to all the Maliri women we encountered."

Alyssa giggled and said with some amusement, "Even Edraele?"

John nodded, and actually flushed as he looked guilty, stopping before he revealed more.

She smiled at him reassuringly, and said gently, "I know what you're thinking remember, and as I promised you ages ago, you can tell me anything. Talk it through with me, it might be helpful."

He smiled at her, and reluctantly admitted, "Yes, I thought Edraele was beautiful, just like all the other Maliri women we met. With Irillith, I think she's an absolutely horrible person, but that just makes me feel something else..."

"Go on," Alyssa said encouragingly. "No judgement, remember."

He took a big breath, and then stared into her bright blue eyes as he said in a quiet voice, "She makes me want to break her. Not physically of course, but the way she behaves feels like a challenge. Part of me wants to crush that defiance, and make her submit to me. I've never felt that way before, and it scares me..."

Alyssa nodded and looked thoughtful, not perturbed in the slightest. "You're dominant with us girls, but there's no dark edge to it," she told him supportively. "It feels playful, and is very exciting, but we all know you'd never hurt us."

John smiled at her, feeling immensely relieved that she was taking his confession in her stride. He said to her insistently, "You know I wouldn't actually do that to Irillith, though, right?"

"I know," she told him lovingly.

"Thanks for being so understanding," he said to her gratefully.

The blonde girl smiled at him, then leaned in for a tender kiss. She sat back afterwards, and continued thoughtfully, "This could well be your Progenitor nature making itself felt. We know that the Maliri have been heavily modified by Progenitors in the past, and perhaps part of you is responding to that, recognising that they've been deliberately designed to serve you."

He pondered what she told him, and said, "I know that Ceraden warned us against trusting Irillith, Edraele, or any of the other women there. I don't, especially after the Fulmanax, and what happened to you in the palace."

"So why did you agree to Edraele's plan? It's not really like you, you're normally so cautious," she asked him curiously. "With Irillith aboard, she'll see what kind of upgrades we've done to the Invictus, and inform her mother about it the first chance she gets. If Edraele is every bit as treacherous as Ceraden says, she'll probably try to have us killed when we return to Valaden, so she can just strip all the tech she wants from the ship."

John looked away distantly and said quietly, "I'm not sure why. Your arguments are foolproof, and It goes against every bit of common sense to follow down this path. I don't know if this is coming from the Progenitor part of me, but there's this gut feeling I have, that I need to see where things lead with the Maliri. I feel certain it's the right move..."

Alyssa watched him for a long moment as he thought about it, and tried to identify what he was feeling. "What makes you so sure?" she asked him finally.

He focused on her face, and paused as he tried to put his feelings into words. "We could easily walk away. Even now, we could dump Irillith off at Geniya Space Station, and just forget about the Maliri. When we met Edraele though, I wasn't terrified of her, as Ceraden warned I should be. I was curious, and there was something else..."

"What?" Alyssa asked him curiously.

John sighed and said reluctantly, "Amusement. I know it sounds crazy, but knowing that Edraele was outright lying to my face about everything, while plotting and scheming against us, felt... amusing, like she was a wilful child acting out. By agreeing to her deal, it felt like I was indulging her infantile games, curious to see where it would all lead."

"I'm glad you feel so blasé about our safety," Alyssa said with a wry smile.

John shook his head, and said, "You know that's always been my highest concern." He shrugged and said, "As I said before, if we have second thoughts, we can dump Irillith off at Geniya either on the way there, or on the way back and be done with it."

She nodded, and said agreeably, "Sounds like a sensible plan. We can play it by ear."

John smiled at her and said, "Thanks for this chat. I do feel better after talking to you about it."

She grinned at him with delight, and said, "It is my job after all." She glanced down at her curved tummy and added, "As your XO, I lighten your load, and help you with heavy burdens."

John laughed heartily, and hugged her tightly, her relentless flirty optimism making him feel much better already. "Are you going to tell me what the other girls are up to now?" he asked her playfully.

She grinned at him and said, "Only because you were a good boy, and let me help perk you up. Calara is working with Dana on the new armour designs. Jade is working on honing her shapeshifting, and Rachel is with her, as she wanted to continue researching our lovely Nymph."

"Have you got any plans?" he asked her with interest.

She nodded eagerly, and said, "I'm still working on the designs for the body armour, so I was going to head down to Engineering, and work on those." She paused, with an excited gleam in her eye, and added, "Unless you want to roleplay me being Irillith, and you can put me in my place?"

John looked a bit startled and said, "Thanks, but we better not go there. Besides, Jade drained me dry only half an hour ago."

Alyssa grinned at him and said, "Well, if the wicked ice queen stresses you out over the next few weeks, just grab one of us girls, and we'll be delighted to help you unwind."

He chuckled and nodded, smiling at her appreciatively, then helped her rise to her feet. "Let's head down to Engineering. I'm curious to see what Dana and Calara have designed so far."

***

It took the tiny AI sprite a couple of hours to trawl through the camera archives, and retrieve the relevant data that Irillith was looking for. She had dismissed it in her usual fashion once the task was complete, and then sat down to review the dozens of hours of recorded video that had been assembled. She had asked the digital construct to look for footage where any kind of lengthy conversations occurred amongst the crew, and from a quick glance at the sources for this data, the vast majority came from the bedroom cameras.

She started to play the first sequence in the retrieved footage, which was actually taken from some kind of roomy office area, tagged as data from "Ready Room cams 01-03 composite". John was accompanied by that simpering blonde-haired slut; her name was Alyssa, Irillith reminded herself from the recording. The two of them flirted for a while, and then the Terran whore pulled out John's cock, and Irillith stared at the image in shock. He was at least twice as big as any of the handful of Maliri men she had dalliances with over the years. Even more astonishing was watching the blonde girl somehow manage to swallow down his full length, and then blow him enthusiastically, without any obvious signs of discomfort.

Irillith rewound the footage several times, telling herself that she was just checking to make sure the footage wasn't faked. She felt herself grow flushed, and quickly decided to move on. After she finally got over that surprise, Irillith watched in open mouth amazement, as John hosed the girl down with a vast volume of semen. She was appalled that any woman would let herself be so degraded by a man, but this debauched girl, Alyssa, seemed to absolutely revel in the experience. Apart from the disturbing revelations about John's anatomy, everything they were discussing was of no consequence, so she skipped to the next scene.

The next one was assembled from "Firing range cams 01-02 composite" and she was bemused to see John putting Alyssa through a lengthy weapons and tactics basic training. The timestamp on the footage revealed that it was recorded only a couple of months ago, which Irillith found extremely hard to believe, considering the uncanny accuracy the blonde girl had employed against the Fulmanax.

She skipped on again, watching with incredulous eyes as Alyssa somehow managed to accommodate his huge cock as he penetrated her. They spoke passionately while he fucked her, and Irillith let out a groan of frustration, rolling her eyes as she realised that these Terrans obviously liked to talk while having sex. She mused that this no doubt accounted for why the AI had assembled such huge quantities of footage from the bedroom cams. Irillith was about to skip onwards when she watched John climax inside the blonde, blowing up her belly like a balloon. The Maliri woman stared at the image in absolute amazement, and then rewound it a couple of times to make sure her eye were not deceiving her. Sure enough, when he dismounted that little whore, he stroked her swollen abdomen possessively.

Irillith shuddered with revulsion, but was amazed that the slim blonde girl was able to house such an enormous load in her womb. She rewound and watched it again a couple more times, before she moved on to the next scene with shaking hands. The next one was John on top of Alyssa, who was lying face-down in bed. She was appalled when she saw John having what looked like anal sex with his concubine. Even the thought of that act disgusted her, so she quickly skipped onwards.

She learned nothing new from the video footage, other than the fact that the blonde appeared to be hopelessly addicted to John's semen. She watched her appearing again and again with a bloated belly, after having had sex, oral or otherwise with him. Irillith was starting to despair of learning anything meaningful from this oversexed well of madness, until a olive-skinned brunette suddenly appeared in the next section of footage. She rolled her eyes when she realised John was sleeping with her too, and watched her eagerly swallow his cum before sleeping off the enormous meal.

This new girl, Calara, seemed to have sustained some dreadful injuries, but they disappeared in short order over a few days. Remembering her mother's specific interest in Alyssa's fast recovery from the Fulmanax injuries, she watched this section closely, and saw the scars on Calara's back disappear completely over a week or so.

The next segment of archived video was even more shocking. John seemed to have picked up some scrawny, spiky haired waif, with some horrific burn scars down her face. She was soon kneeling before him submissively, and Irillith watched with wide eyes as the girl deep-throated his cock. She watched it several times, and even from the awkward camera angles, she could see his heavy shaft creating an obscene bulge in the petite girl's throat. She watched the next few weeks of footage in stunned disbelief, as that disfigured slip of a girl transformed into the tall, confident, busty redhead she had seen cavorting around with John now. When the scar tissue had finally healed, Irillith was grudgingly forced to admit that the redhead looked quite beautiful.

Watching with fascination, she saw the green-skinned alien girl called Jade join the crew next. Of course John proceeded to feed her cum for a couple of weeks, and the Nymph seemed to revel in the relentless orgy of oral sex, kneeling before him and gazing up at him devotedly. Irillith was astounded, as waves of bright light pulsed out of the green girl, every time he swelled her belly with his cum. She was unable to tear away her eyes from the screen, enthralled by the entrancing images.

***

John ducked as Calara swung a roundhouse kick at his head, narrowly missing him by inches. He dropped and performed a sweep, hoping to knock her other leg out from under her, but she brought the kicking leg down sharply, and used the momentum to perform a spectacular cartwheel that moved her out of danger.

He darted forward, throwing a volley of punches in her direction, but she had already regained her feet, and she dodged and deflected his strikes. He extended slightly too far with his right, and she stepped to the left and snapped off a lightning fast jab to his kidneys, before darting out of reach.

Wincing slightly at the dull ache where she had connected, John whirled to face her, and watched her warily. Calara's face was lit up with a delighted grin, and she was overjoyed to have managed to land an unanswered hit on him. She looked full of life, her brown eyes sparkling with excitement as her body coursed with adrenalin.

"Want me to slow down a bit, let you keep up?" she taunted him playfully.

"Is that a joke about my age?" he asked her, pretending to be offended, but his smile gave him away.

Calara grinned back, and quipped, "If you need to have a little nap, I underst-."

John lunged forward, trying to catch her by surprise while the Latina wasn't paying attention, but she spun to the side, effortlessly deflecting his blow. Despite appearing to be distracted by their banter, she had been watching him like a hawk, and eagerly anticipating this kind of surprise attack. Groaning, he realised he'd been lured into a trap, and he desperately tried to recover his vulnerable position. She flashed past him to his side, grabbing him, and pulling him off-balance by using his own momentum against him. With a clever twist of her arms, she sent him sprawling face first across the mat.

John laughed as he rolled over onto his back, shaking his head in admiration. He looked up at her, and Calara stared at him in shock. He sat up and bowed his head to her respectfully, acknowledging the first time she had defeated him, without duping him with her feminine charms.

Her face lit up with joy, and she grinned at him triumphantly. "I can't believe I finally managed to beat you!" she exclaimed jubilantly.

John beckoned her over, and she walked over to him obediently, and knelt on the training mat directly in front of him. "You've learnt everything I've taught you, and grown from there. Congratulations on your victory, I'm very proud of you," he told her earnestly, staring into her eyes.

He could see that she was touched by his heartfelt praise, and she climbed into his lap, wrapping her arms and legs around him and hugging him tightly. Encircling her in his arms, he stroked her back while holding her to his chest, and he leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the cheek.

Pulling back from him, she stared into his eyes, and said softly, "As the victor, I'd like to claim my prize."

He smiled at her affectionately and said, "Name it."

"Make love to me," she whispered to him, and he lost himself in her soulful brown eyes. She leaned forward and her full, luscious lips brushed against his, while she gazed at him adoringly.

***

Jade had spent the afternoon practicing a variety of new forms, and had been pleased with her progress. She was able to mimic new shapes without having to spend so much time studying them, and reforming her body into each unfamiliar shape was now coming easier to her too.

The inquisitive ship's doctor had joined her after half an hour, eager to learn more about Jade's abilities. The first time Rachel had asked to watch her, she had been so polite and had looked so enthusiastic, the Nymph hadn't the heart to turn her down. It had been a little disconcerting to practice in front of an audience to start with, as Jade would have preferred to practice alone, but she had soon adjusted to having a spectator. After some initial shocked gasps, Rachel had stayed quiet, and remained unobtrusive for each of the following practice sessions.

Building in confidence, Jade crouched in the middle of the Cargo Bay, gearing herself up to really push her boundaries, when Alyssa's voice suddenly appeared in her mind.

*Hey, green-eyed girl!* Alyssa thought to her affectionately. *Sorry to interrupt.*

Jade smiled as she replied, *It's no problem, always lovely to hear your voice. Is there anything I can help you with?*

*Would you mind making dinner tonight?* Alyssa asked tentatively. *Calara is celebrating her sparring victory with John, and I'm helping Dana with something pretty awesome. I don't want to disturb you if you're in the middle of something, though.*

The Nymph rose smoothly to her feet, and replied, *I'd love to, that's no problem. I was getting a little tired anyway and a break is a good idea.*

Alyssa sent her a huge telepathic grin, and said gratefully, *You're such a treasure! Love you, sexy!*

Jade giggled with amusement, then strolled over to Rachel.

"Oh, are you stopping?" Rachel asked her, sounding a little disappointed.

Jade smiled at her as she said, "Afraid so. Alyssa asked me to make dinner. Fancy being my sous chef?"

Rachel grinned back at her and said, "Sure! Have you got anything in mind?"

Jade laughed as she replied, "After the glowing reception your French Toast got, I was hoping you might have some ideas."

The tawny haired girl looked thoughtful, and they walked hand-in-hand out of the Cargo Bay together.

***

John ran his hands over Calara's back, massaging the muscles in her shoulders as the warm water in the shower cascaded over them. She sighed rapturously as his strong fingers worked their magic on her, and he could see her visibly relaxing to his touch. Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around her, and placed his hands over her swollen belly, feeling her wonderfully smooth coffee-coloured skin under his fingertips.

She placed her slender hands over his own, stroking his fingers gently, as she leaned back against his chest. "How many children do you want to have?" she asked him wistfully, as she tilted her head back, to gaze up at him with big, doe-like eyes.

"I grew up as an only child," he said to her quietly, as he stroked her tummy, her hands resting lightly on his. "I always wanted to have lots of brothers and sisters, as it got a bit lonely at times. I wouldn't want my son or daughter to feel that way, so a few, definitely."

Calara laughed softly, and said, "I think being lonely is the last thing a little one would need to worry about, what with our extended family. That's a sweet thought though, and I'd love to have several children with you."

She turned in his arms, and encircled his neck with her hands, pulling him down to kiss her. They stayed like that for several wonderful minutes, just enjoying the intimate embrace, before they finally broke apart.

*Sorry to interrupt, but dinner is ready,* Alyssa told him softly, having waited for them to finish.

John smiled, and replied, *Thanks, we'll be right there.*

Alyssa's telepathic voice caught for a moment, before she said earnestly, *That was wonderful by the way. She loves you so much, I wish you could feel it.*

*It's alright,* John replied, as he smiled down at Calara, and she smiled back at him lovingly. *I know.*

***

Alyssa and Dana sat at the dinner table chattering away excitedly about the experiments they had been working on together. Alyssa always enjoyed being able to work with her friends on projects like this, but this one required even closer cooperation between herself and Dana. As they had worked on Dana's experiment in the Engineering Bay, she had felt the embers of their old friendship rekindling and roaring to life, like nothing had ever changed between them. They had soon been chatting and joking just like the old friends they were, and that more than anything, had meant this had been a wonderful afternoon.

Jade walked out of the kitchen carrying a broad dish of food that smelt absolutely amazing. "Lamb Tagine," she announced with a grin as she set down the dish in the middle of the table. "Another of Rachel's ideas."

*You were so right about me and Dana,* Alyssa thought to the Nymph gratefully.

Jade turned to her, and smiled, as she asked, *You two had a good afternoon?*

The blonde girl nodded and replied happily, *It was just like being back on Karron; well the good bits anyway, working closely together like that. I'd really missed it.*

Jade stopped on her way around the table, and leaned down to give Alyssa a hug. "We all love you, nothing will ever change that," she whispered in her ear, then kissed her tenderly on the cheek.

Alyssa smiled up at the Nymph, more glad than ever before that they had rescued the exotic green-skinned girl. Jade winked at her playfully as she walked around the table and sat in her usual spot. Rachel appeared from the kitchen a few moments later, carrying a steaming bowl of fine grained couscous, with sultanas and almonds hiding amongst the dish. Just as she put the dish down, John and Calara strolled in, broad smiles on both of their faces. When they sat down at the table, the girls broke into a spontaneous round of applause for Calara.

"We hear you defeated your first Progenitor today!" Alyssa congratulated the olive-toned brunette.

Calara grinned at them all, and did a little bow. "He was a worthy adversary, but I knew he'd be mine eventually!" she replied playfully.

"I see you brought his body back," Rachel said wryly. "Let me know when you want me to perform an autopsy."

The girls giggled in delight at that, and John's baritone chuckle echoed around the room.

***

Irillith paused the playback, and sat up, stretching her muscles after staring at the footage for nearly six hours. Checking the ship's chronometer on the wall, she saw that it was nearly seven in the evening. After the... painful... meeting with her mother, she had lost all her appetite, so hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Her stomach growled angrily as she thought about food, and she remembered that John had said they normally ate dinner at around this time. Yes, a little scouting mission to feel out the enemy might be a nice little break, she thought to herself, and rose from the bed.

After having a quick shower, and changing into a long black dress with various revealing slashes down the sides, she took a glance in the mirror to check her appearance. Her short dark hair was artfully styled, revealing the pointed tips of her light blue ears. She smirked when she recalled how the Terran women all wore their hair long. Didn't they know, that to do so signified a woman as being a wanton slut? She chuckled with amusement at the shocked looks Alyssa's appearance had raised amongst the Maliri back on Valaden.

She deftly applied some cosmetics that accentuated her angular violet eyes, and she beamed a sparkling smile at herself, satisfied that she looked absolutely gorgeous. Irillith paused for a moment, wondering why she was going to so much effort on her appearance, but she shrugged, and saw it as an opportunity to make John's women feel jealous of her spectacular good looks.

Irillith retrieved a golden metallic star-shaped device from her case, and then glided out the door, shutting it behind her. As soon as the door had swished closed, she placed the device against the doorframe, holding it in place as it began to hum quietly. The centre section lifted up and rotated through an entire rotation, before sinking slowly back into place. With a solid click, the magnetic lock was securely in place, and nothing would be able to get into her room without her permission. She smiled to herself, and then strode away to join the others for dinner.

***

John was listening avidly to the girls recapping their activities that afternoon, whilst sighing contentedly with each bit of Tagine. There was a delicious mixture of lamb, apricots, and dates in the dish, and it worked wonderfully well with the couscous. Jade and Rachel had looked delighted when their cooking efforts had been so well received, and they teased Dana and Alyssa that it was their turn next.

Suddenly the door to the Officers' Lounge swung open, and the conversation came to an abrupt halt as the girls on the right hand side of the table, went silent. Alyssa, Dana and Rachel stared across the room, wide-eyed in shock, and letting out surprised gasps. Wondering what had captured their attention so completely, John, Calara and Jade turned to look that way too.

Irillith sashayed regally into the room, looking demure, and supremely confident as she glided over to join them. She looked incredible in her long, figure-hugging black gown, and the make-up she had artfully applied to her already gorgeous face made her look ravishingly beautiful. She was tall, slender and athletic, and with the revealing, clinging material of her long dress, they could see she had an impressively pert bust.

*If only she wasn't such a bitch,* Alyssa lamented, her thoughts appearing in John's mind. *She's absolutely stunning!*

Irillith smiled with satisfaction at the devastating effect her grand entrance had made on the people seated around the table. She walked unhurriedly to join them, and then looked to John with a raised eyebrow, as she waited for him to make the introductions.

John stood swiftly, knocking over a glass of wine, which Alyssa only just managed to catch before it spilt. "Irillith, thank you for joining us," he said courteously, before turning to the girls and saying, "You haven't been properly introduced to my crew yet. They are: Alyssa, my Executive Officer, Calara, my Tactical Officer, Dana, my Chief Engineer, Jade, the Ship's Pilot, and Rachel, our Chief Medical Officer."

She smiled, and nodding to them each individually, she stated, "My name is Irillith, heir-apparent of House Valaden."

The girls all greeted her politely, and John asked, "Would you care to join us for dinner?"

Irillith nodded, smiling at him graciously. Jade looked up at her in a friendly fashion, and gestured for the beautiful blue-skinned woman to sit next to her, along the left side of the table. Instead, the Maliri woman glanced at John with a sly, calculating smile, and then sat directly opposite him at the other end of the table.

*And the game playing begins,* John observed to Alyssa with a telepathic groan.

Alyssa smiled back at him, and said with a dangerous edge to her voice, *She'll find I play for keeps.*

Rachel fetched another plate and set of cutlery from the kitchen, and Jade served their guest a generous portion of Tagine. Irillith eyed it suspiciously, before taking a tentative bite. She grimaced as she swallowed, and then took a large drink of water. Jade had been watching her eagerly, waiting to see if the Maliri woman would enjoy her cooking, and she looked disappointed at Irillith's reaction.

Conversation was fairly muted with Irillith present, as no one wanted to mention anything about Jade's abilities, or ongoing research, or the prototyping going on in Engineering. They tried to draw her out with questions about Maliri society or growing up on her homeworld Valaden, but Irillith was just as cagey with her own replies. In the end, dinner finished fairly awkwardly, and Irillith rose while dismissing herself abruptly, before gliding out of the room to return to her quarters.

There was a collective sigh of relief when she left the room, and everyone relaxed again afterwards, apart from Rachel. She immediately rose from her chair, and walked over to where Irillith had been seated. Leaning over the table, her eyes gleaming acquisitively, she carefully picked up the glass that Irillith had used by its base.

She then looked around at them all, as she wrapped her prize in a napkin, and said speculatively, "Was it just me, or did the rest of you notice anything uncannily familiar about Irillith's body shape?"

Jade nodded and said solemnly, "She looks just like us."

"All the Maliri women seem to have the same sort of build," Alyssa confirmed. "Every single one of them we met, had a very similar kind of figure to me."

Dana smirked at John and said, "You must have been in your element! A whole planet of hot women who looked just like your type."

John replied grimly, "It wasn't as fun as you might think, the Maliri aren't exactly friendly. It also sounds like a pretty huge coincidence to me, and you know how I feel about coincidences."

Rachel looked thoughtful as she said, "So you think we all changed via the Gift to look like the Maliri, rather than Alyssa as we had originally thought? Or at least the genetically modified version, of the Progenitors' standard template for bipedal mammalian species?"

John nodded and said ruefully, "It looks like I did just turn you all into soldiers after all."

Rachel smiled at him reassuringly, and corrected him by saying, "Very beautiful, very feminine, athletic women. Don't forget the Maliri's twenty-to-one gender ratios. They were obviously primed as breeding stock as much as anything."

John nodded, looking thoughtful, and his pained expression lightened a little.

Alyssa threw Rachel a quick glance, and smiled at her as she thought gratefully, *Thank you.*

Deciding to change the subject, Dana asked, "Would you guys like to see something interesting?"

Everyone nodded eagerly, so they cleared the table, and then followed the exuberant redhead out of the Officers' Lounge, and then down the grav-tube to Deck Seven.

***

Irillith unlocked the golden star-shaped security device, and sauntered happily into her room. She was delighted that she had gone to dinner, and it had been tremendously successful. She had upset that ridiculous green-skinned woman, Jade, by pretending to find her cooking distasteful. In fact, she had thoroughly enjoyed it, and found the different flavours to be quite exotic and delicious. Conversation for the rest of the evening had been stilted and awkward, and she was quite certain that her mere presence had ruined their meal.

With a wicked grin, she stood in front of the mirror, admiring herself one last time before changing outfits. The highlight of the evening had been noticing the way John had watched her with obvious interest. Even though she reminded herself that she loathed and feared the man, she still took a perverse delight in having teased him with her body. She changed quickly, and then sat back on the bed eagerly, wondering what else she might be able to uncover from the video archives.

***

John followed a cheerfully exuberant Dana, as she bounced along the corridor ahead of them into the Engineering Bay. Rachel peeled off from their group as they passed the Medical Bay, and said that she would join them shortly. John politely waited for the girls to enter the Engineering Bay first, before walking in behind them. By the time he had entered the workshop, the girls had gathered around several large pieces of equipment, which he was sure he hadn't seen before.

There was a large cylindrical vat of some kind, made of silvery metal, that stood about six-feet-tall. A couple of consoles flanked the vat, with all sorts of complex readings displayed in holographic text, and curved graphs seemed to track the progress of something in the vat. Finally, there was a large square table that looked something like a tray, and was illuminated in a soft turquoise glow. The cylindrical vat had metallic tubes coming out of it, that swept around and connected to the odd table. Covering the bottom of the tray was a viscous light grey liquid of some kind, that glimmered, and caught the light.

"I thought you were my Chief Engineer, not my mad scientist," he said to Dana light heartedly.

She cackled manically, and cried out, "It's alive!"

Once the laughter had died down, Dana strode over to the Engineering Podium, and leaned over one of her consoles. She tapped away at the keyboard, until she nodded with satisfaction a few seconds later.

She pressed a button, and then nodded towards Alyssa, saying, "Whenever you're ready!"

Alyssa grinned, turning towards the tray, and John noticed what looked to be a holographic shape floating over the table-like apparatus. They watched spellbound as the blonde girl reached out her hand, and made a gentle upwards motion. The liquid began to spiral upwards, under her careful direction, moving sluggishly beneath the holographic image of a tube. The liquid had a bizarre icy structure to it, and it reminded John more of half-melted slush than any form of water.

Moving her guiding hand slowly, Alyssa sheared off a large piece of the crystalline liquid, and carefully moulded it into a perfect replica of the holographic tube. She then floated it over to John, and dropped it into his hand. He was surprised to find it slightly warm to the touch, rather than cool, as he had been expecting.

"Alright, I'm intrigued," he said with a grin. "What is it?"

"That, my handsome man," Dana said jovially, "is a reinforced Maliri and Etherite crystal compound, formed into an XR 75 railgun barrel."

John smiled at her, and said good naturedly, "Something tells me you're itching to go into more detail."

Dana nodded at him eagerly, and slapped her hand down on the red button on one of her engineering consoles. The lights went out on the other side of the Engineering Lab, and a second later a bewilderingly complex chemical formula was displayed in scientific notation.

"That's the formula for this crystalline gel," she said proudly, nodding towards the light grey liquid in the large tray. "I took the reinforced crystal formula that the Maliri use for their crystal armour, then mixed it with Etherite crystals to form a new compound. It's a lot more robust than the base Maliri version."

Calara looking impressed, and asked enthusiastically, "Could we replace the armour on the Invictus with this compound? Replate ourselves in crystal armour, like the Maliri do with their ships?"

Dana looked chagrined as she replied, "Yes, but it would take forever using the manufacturing equipment I have here. If we could get full access to that Maliri shipyard, they must have some kind of large scale crystal cultivation facility to grow their armour plating. With Alyssa's help, and a few tons of Etherite crystals, I could cook us up a special batch of super crystal and we'd be in business."

Calara nodded, and asked curiously, "How about the properties of this super crystal? How does it compare to our triple forged Alyssium plating?"

Dana replied enthusiastically, "That's a very good question! The Maliri crystal is about six times more resilient than standard Titanium plating, and by adding Etherite crystals to the mix, it makes it even tougher and psychically responsive."

The Latina grinned and said, "That all sounds wonderful, but I sense a big but coming along."

Dana glanced at her pert posterior with a raised eyebrow, before continuing with a smile, "Yes, that's right. Alyssium is an alloy of Etherite and Titanium, but it gets all its absorption capabilities from that black Onyxium ore we swiped from the Drakkar. Alyssium has a built in latticework that siphons away energy, which combined with the capacitors makes us incredibly resilient to lasers unless they can overload the capacitors. If we keep reshaping Alyssium enough times, it will make us immune to laser weaponry, which is obviously totally awesome."

Jade looked puzzled and said, "So which is better?"

Dana pondered the question for a moment and said, "Alyssium for the ship armour, the new super crystal for making body armour, because I couldn't get capacitors to work on those suits anyway. The crystal will be perfect for making incredibly strong weapon barrels as well. They'll let me push projectiles through with more force, without having to worry about the barrel warping due to stress. The other nice thing, is that it doesn't use Onyxium, so we can make as much of it as we like."

John looked at the light-grey railgun barrel in his hand, and asked, "I thought the Maliri used a clear version of this stuff for those domes?"

The redhead nodded and said, "Yes, that's right. Making it transparent, or adding different colours to it just requires a slightly different chemical mix. It's not a big deal."

"Can't you just add Onyxium ore to the crystal compound?" Calara asked Dana curiously. "Wouldn't that give you the best of both materials?"

Dana frowned and had a pained expression as she explained, "Combining Etherite crystals with the Maliri compound was easy, but what you're asking for is on a whole different level of complexity. I had to use sixteen other elements to get Onyxium to bond with Etherite crystals. It's a real stubborn son of a bitch to work with."

Alyssa laughed and nodded to the huge sprawl of holographic chemical formula that was floating over on the other side of the Engineering Bay. "You call that easy?" she asked the redhead, sounding impressed.

Dana nodded and said, "Compared to combining it all together into one ultimate material? Yeah, that was like doing some ten-year-old kid's chemistry homework for him."

John smiled at her and said, "Alright, one last question. What about reshaping?"

Alyssa answered for the redhead and said, "Yeah it works, and makes it tougher. Unfortunately, the Maliri crystal won't liquefy like Alyssium does, so reshaping it is hard work."

He nodded, then suddenly remembering something, he blurted out, "Handguns!"

"Bless you," Calara said with a smile.

He chuckled and then said to Dana, "We're still using standard issue Terran Federation sidearms. We've had a few situations recently where we were only carrying my old heavy pistols, and if things had got nasty, we would have been in deep shit. While you're looking at developing new weapons, could you make us some new pistols too?"

She nodded eagerly and replied, "Yeah, of course. I've got some ideas about new rifle designs, and modifying those for a pistol should be easy enough."

Rachel strolled into the room, and grinned at them all, as she said, "One female Maliri's DNA ready for analysis!"

John grinned back at her, nodding his approval as he said, "Nice work. Are you going to study that next?"

The tawny haired girl nodded, and replied, "I'm actually done with my research into Jade, but she was thinking about giving you guys a demonstration tomorrow. I thought I'd do a follow-up presentation, if that's alright?"

"Fine by me," John said agreeably.

Jade looked at them all apologetically, and said, "I'd do it tonight, but lots of rapid shapeshifting gets quite tiring. I thought it would be better if I had a rest first."

Rachel looked over at Dana and asked, "So, what did I miss?" When the redhead groaned at the thought of repeating everything, Rachel laughed and said, "Alright, just give me the executive summary."

Alyssa spoke up and said, "Dana's made some new material out of the crystal tech she's ripped off. She's going to make us body armour and guns out of it."

Dana pouted and protested, "There's lots more to it than that!"

"Why don't you fill her in later?" Alyssa asked innocently, pretending not to be aware of the lewd innuendo.

They all laughed at that, while Dana and Rachel flashed each other flirty looks. They noticed John watching them with interest, so Rachel walked over to Dana boldly, and leaned over to give her a tender kiss. They hugged each other, while looking his way coyly, and he grinned at them in delight.

"And on that note, it's time for bed," Alyssa announced, walking over to Calara and slipping her hand into her lover's.

The blonde and brunette leaned in for a kiss, while glancing smouldering looks over at John to gauge his reaction. Unsurprisingly it was quite enthusiastic.

The four Terran teenagers sashayed out of the room hand-in-hand, with John watching entranced. Jade waited by his side patiently, and he turned his attention to her when the other girls had left.

"I'm getting worried about my crew," he told her, faking concern. "They seem to be getting seduced by Sapphic pleasures."

Jade looked up at him, and nodded as she said seriously, "I agree, it might become a problem. I suggest we follow them up to the bedroom, and you can watch them closely to see if we should be taking steps."

He looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "I think you might be right. I'll probably need your assistance while we watch. If I get too turned on, I might have to interrupt them."

"I'll help, don't worry," she replied solemnly.

John laughed, and Jade giggled cutely. He held his hand out to her, and said, "Anything you'd like to try tonight, lovely little Nymph?"

She shrugged at him happily as she took his hand, and said, "I love doing anything with you, so whatever you fancy. I'd like to make one request, if that's alright?"

"Hmm, I'll have to see..." he teased her playfully as they walked out of the Engineering Bay.

She laughed again, and bumped him with her shoulder as they walked along the corridor. "If it's not too much trouble, I could do with a full tummy tonight to make sure I'm fully rested for tomorrow's demonstration," she requested enthusiastically, with a cheerful smile on her face.

John pulled her into his arms for a soul-searing kiss, and they spent several minutes in a passionate embrace. When he finally pulled away, he left her panting with lust. "I'll see what I can do," he told her with a smile.

After rising up in the grav-tube, they walked along the corridor on Deck Two, and the noises that drifted down to meet them from his bedroom, let him know that the girls hadn't wasted any time. Following the intriguing sounds of breathy moans, and soft cries, they walked into his room, and John marvelled at the sight. The girls had paired off, and were eagerly going down on each other, their slim, beautiful figures intertwined as they pleasured their partner.

Jade stepped out of her dress as soon as she walked into the room, and then stood in front of him, unbuttoning his shirt as he watched the four girls writhing sensually on the bed.

"How do you want me?" she asked him accommodatingly.

John smiled at her, and brought the chair over to the foot of the bed, before beckoning Jade over to him. "Why don't we both enjoy the show?" he asked her generously.

The Nymph nodded eagerly and then leaned over the back of the chair, arching her back and standing on tiptoes for him. John ran his fingers down her smooth green flanks, and smiled when he watched her skin react with goosebumps. He stepped close behind her, and nuzzled the head of his cock against her pussy, lining himself up. Not wasting any time, Jade pushed back against him, steadily impaling herself on his broad shaft.

"Mmm, that feels so much better," Jade purred ecstatically.

John wrapped his arms around her, and massaged her breasts as he pushed himself up to the balls inside her. "You're right, that feels amazing," he agreed, leaning down to nibble at her ear.

Jade ground back against him, moving her hips in a rhythmic rocking motion, and she sighed happily as she felt his quad swinging forward to brush against her clit. Turning her attention back to the girls on the bed, she said, "Your mates look spectacular."

John looked over her shoulder, as he thrust into her pliant body and nodded as he said, "They do. Watching them make love to each other is breathtaking."

Jade looked up at him, and gently kissed him on the throat as he looked over at the bed. "Just imagine how they'll look when you put a baby in all of their bellies," she said softly. "Will you have them perform for you then as well?"

He nodded as he looked down at her, and said, "I'm looking forward to seeing you like that too."

He moved his hand down to her slim waist, then brought it round to massage her lower belly, and felt his throbbing cock moving inside her. Jade gasped at his touch and began to move more urgently, as she got more turned on. They stared into each other's eyes, seeing the growing arousal as they worked one another to climax. Jade got there first as John moved his hand lower, and began to stroke her throbbing clit, and he drove hard into her when she finally came.

The Nymph let out a long cry of ecstasy, and her pussy gripped and massaged him as she gyrated against him. He kept his focus on her, and brought her to a second shuddering climax, before he felt his quad start to rise as he struggled to hold back.

"On your knees," he ordered her firmly, remembering her earlier request.

Jade's emerald eyes sparkled with anticipation, and she smoothly dismounted him, then dropped to her knees as instructed. Not wasting any time, she sank his cock down her throat, and she gripped his bottom, pulling him towards her and urging him to move. He held her soft locks in his hands, and began to thrust cautiously in and out of her mouth.

*Jade says to just fuck her face, it won't hurt her,* Alyssa thought to him, and looking up, he realised all four of the other girls were now lying on the bed watching them.

"Come here," he commanded them, and they immediately moved to kneel around him, looking up at him with excited faces.

He then began to stroke more roughly into Jade's eagerly sucking mouth, and her throat gripped and squeezed him encouragingly, urging him onwards.

Alyssa's eyes gleamed with excitement as she said eagerly, "We've all cum at least twice, and now it's your turn. We'll help!"

The four girls crawled over to him, two in front, two behind, and each began to lovingly lick and massage one of his four balls with their hot little tongues. He held still, unable to move as his senses were overwhelmed, so Jade began to bob eagerly against him. When he looked down, he saw a fierce hunger in her green eyes, and so he pulled her lips right down his shaft, and then began to unload his balls.

It was a tremendously powerful orgasm with his quad being given such exquisite attention, and he shuddered as Jade sucked him like a woman possessed. With their combined efforts, he gave her every drop of cum he had, sending long spurts down her throat to settle in her stomach. He could only groan weakly when she was done, and he swayed unsteadily above them. The four teenagers stood gracefully and then helped him to the bed, lit up by the green glowing bands that were shining out from Jade's heavily rounded tummy.

John collapsed in the middle of the bed with Jade snuggling up alongside him, and the other girls cuddling up on either side of them. "That was a hell of a team effort girls, thanks!" John panted as he struggled for breath.

They giggled with delight, and he could feel several soft hands reach out to stroke him gently as they told him he was welcome. Calara and Dana pulled the covers over them, but Rachel suddenly clambered over the redhead behind her, and darted around the bed to retrieve the psi-detector from the chair.

"Come to bed!" Dana said to her, shaking her head at the girl's tireless dedication to her research.

Rachel nodded and said, "Sure, I just want to check on one thing. Can you girls all move off the bed a minute? I want to confirm my theory about what's happening with Jade and these glowing pulses of light."

The girls groaned and grumbled dramatically in protest, but they slipped out of bed nonetheless. They waited patiently while Rachel studied John and the now sleeping Nymph, until she finally nodded with satisfaction.

"Find out anything interesting?" John asked her curiously.

Rachel nodded with satisfaction and said, "Yes, I've confirmed my working theory. I'll show you in the presentation tomorrow, if that's okay?"

"Sure," he replied with a smile, then beckoned her over. "Now, come to bed."

A delighted smile lit up her beautiful face, and she put aside the psi-detector, then clambered back over the bed. Dana and Alyssa made room for her, and she smiled at them gratefully as she got to cuddle up next to John.

"Goodnight," she told him, with a warm smile.

He encircled her in his arm, resting his hand on her shoulder, and said fondly, "Sleep well, clever girl."

She hugged him tightly, and they all drifted off to sleep shortly afterwards.

***

Irillith let out a big yawn, and blinked sleepily. When she glanced at the ship's chronometer, she was astonished to see that it was nearly two in the morning. She had pored over the video footage from the camera archives, becoming completely absorbed in the compelling images, and had spent hours listening to all the conversations by the crew. Although she hadn't yet learned anything about how this ship could travel at such incredible hyper-warp speeds, she had found out all sorts of interesting background information about her temporary shipmates.

She finally turned off the archived footage, after watching them chatter away on the bridge as they annihilated a huge band of pirates, and a Kirrix hive-ship. She climbed into bed, pulling the covers up around her and felt a newfound appreciation for just how effective John and his crew could be. Unfortunately, the action on the bridge had only been a brief respite from watching John gleefully fucking his doting whores.

For nearly twelve hours, she had seen him alternate between bringing his women to screaming climaxes, and using them shamelessly for his carnal desires. It had left her feeling flushed with arousal, despite seeing these women debasing themselves so submissively, and she tossed and turned in the bed, unable to settle to sleep. She was half tempted to bring herself off, but she chastised herself for letting the debauchery on the ship get the better of her. When she did finally manage to fall asleep an hour later, the nightmares that had recently started plaguing her sleep took on an entirely different tone.

***

John awoke the next morning to the wonderful sensation of his cock being lovingly enveloped in someone's eager mouth. He decided to just enjoy the sensations, and not try and work out who it was, liking the idea of being serviced by a mysterious girl. She did a phenomenal job, and he soon found himself emptying his taut sack down her throat. The covers lifted once he was spent, and a mane of lustrous auburn hair appeared, revealing his mysterious fellatrix as Dana, who grinned at him with satisfaction.

Smiling back, he made room for her to cuddle up in his arms, and she sighed happily as he stroked her full stomach. John chuckled and said, "Thanks for the amazing wake-up call!"

"Thanks for all that tasty cum!" she said gratefully with a gleeful grin.

The others started to wake up too, and after some teasing stretches, everyone looked towards Jade.

John asked her curiously, "When do you want to show off your skills?"

"I'm ready now, if that suits you guys? If you aren't in a rush, we can go and have breakfast first," she replied tentatively.

"I don't want to wait, I'm ready now!" Dana blurted out eagerly.

Rachel laughed at her friend and gave her an affectionate hug as she said, "You've had breakfast already!"

When their laughter died down, John looked around at the others and said, "I'm looking forward to seeing Jade in action. Breakfast later?"

They nodded agreeably, and everyone climbed off the bed, to get a shower. Once they had dried themselves off, Calara, Rachel, and Jade left to go to their own rooms to get some clean clothes. John and Alyssa went into their walk-in wardrobe, and Dana sauntered in afterwards.

"What are you up to?" John asked her curiously.

The redhead grinned at him impishly, as Alyssa rolled her eyes, and handed her some underwear, shoes and trousers. Dana put on the dark blue trousers cautiously, taking care not to fall over with the heavy weight she was carrying in her swollen belly. Once she was dressed, and had slipped on a pair of shoes she had borrowed too, she sashayed over to John's freshly laundered shirts, and slipped one on. She shivered with delight at the feel of the soft cotton gliding over her bronzed skin, and at the thought of wearing one of John's borrowed shirts. She buttoned it up, and then rolled up the sleeves, before grinning at him happily.

Alyssa smiled at her wryly and said, "I've got to admit, you look great in that outfit."

John had been watching her with amusement, and when Dana glided over to him, doing a pirouette to show off the look, he gathered her in his arms.

"I'd better buy a lot more shirts," he said thoughtfully, reaching down and placing his strong hand on her rounded tummy. "They'll make great maternity tops for you when you've got my baby in there."

Dana sighed as she gazed up at him adoringly, and he smiled down at her as he gave her a hug.

Alyssa laughed, and said, "She's just hoping you'll give her a second round of breakfast."

John chuckled as the redhead looked up at him mischievously, "Come on, let's not keep Jade waiting."

They walked out into the corridor outside, and found the other three girls waiting for them patiently. Jade was standing there nude, with a pile of clothes under one arm. When she saw him smile at her nakedness she giggled and explained, "I'd have to strip off anyway as soon as we got to the Cargo Bay. It's not like you guys haven't seen me like this before!"

She took the lead, and they followed her as she strode confidently over to the grav-tube and stepped into the red glow, then sank out of sight. She led them through to the Cargo Bay, and handed over her clothing to Calara, smiling at her gratefully. Jade then walked back into the centre of the huge room, giving herself plenty of space.

Crouching on the floor, she smiled at them, then closed her eyes, taking a big breath. Her body seemed to shimmer briefly, and then before their astonished eyes, she changed into a large, eight limbed octopus, complete with bulbous head, and eight long tentacles covered in dozens of suckers. She raised one of her mottled green limbs, and waved it at them in a friendly fashion, before her body shimmered again, and she gathered her long tentacles into her body.

When the shimmering faded away this time, she had changed into a snake, covered in dark green scales. She uncoiled herself, before slithering across the floor towards them. Fully extended she looked to be about five feet long.

"You're only about half your normal body size!" John remarked in surprise.

Jade raised herself up, lifting her upper coils off the floor to look at him with her cold, reptilian eyes, and then flashed a look at Alyssa, who began to translate for her.

"That's right," Alyssa said, repeating the Nymph's words verbatim. "By squashing myself down, I can make forms that are about half my size."

They watched spellbound as she moved languidly over the deck in a smooth, oscillating motion, and approached one of the maintenance gantries. Shimmering again, she changed into a three-foot-tall, green furred monkey, and ignoring the staircase, she clambered up the side of the maintenance gantry with quick movements of her agile little paws. When she reached the top, she dashed along the railing, balancing herself perfectly, and they let out a collective gasp as she leapt through the air, and deftly caught hold of one of the loading arms that hung from the ceiling.

John shook his head in wonder, as she wrapped her tail around the robotic arm, and then let go, swinging upside down and waving at them cheerily. She then swung back up to the arm, and climbed up it deftly, until she reached the ceiling where she paused. Disappearing in a green haze once again, her form folded out, and a sinister looking, dark green spider took the place of the cute little monkey.

"Ugh, I hate it when she does that," Rachel said, looking away from the six-foot diameter spider.

Dana laughed and said with surprise, "I didn't know you were afraid of spiders!"

The tawny haired girl nodded, and replied, "Yeah, I can't stand them. Can you let me know when she's changed shape again?"

Dana nodded, and they all looked up to watch Jade skitter upside down across the ceiling. She made quick and steady progress until she had returned to the centre of the room, and then spun a thread of spider silk which she anchored to the ceiling, before dropping rapidly to the floor. Landing on her eight legs, the green spider paused for a moment, and then began to blur once more. The shimmering shape grew larger and larger until it solidified into a huge, leathery skinned, four-legged creature with two large horns.

There were collective gasps at the size of this huge creature, while Dana and Alyssa looked at Jade's new form with wide eyes, having no idea what it was. "That's called a rhino," Rachel explained helpfully, looking up when she realised Jade was no longer a spider.

Jade turned to stare at them with her small beady eyes set in her huge head, and her ears flickered towards them as she began to paw at the ground angrily. She suddenly charged towards them, the long horn lowered, and ready to impale her audience. Everyone looked at her in alarm, and she shimmered again, turning into her tiger shape mid-charge, before letting out a spine-chilling roar, and leaping into the air towards John. Just as she was about to pounce on him, she shifted into her Nymph shape, and he reacted quickly, catching her as she landed in his arms.

She planted a big kiss on his lips, and then asked playfully, "Did you enjoy the show?"

His eyes were wide with shock, and he laughed in amazement, before he replied, "I didn't expect it to have such a terrifying ending, but that was an incredible performance!"

The girls nodded and crowded around them, congratulating the Nymph, and saying how impressed they were with her amazing talents. She beamed at them in delight, and when John set her down on her feet, she did a little bow.

"Thanks guys," she said gratefully. "I'm really glad you enjoyed it."

Calara said in awe, "That rhino was enormous! How heavy was it exactly?"

Jade paused for a moment thinking it over, and then said, "Nearly two tons. That's the biggest form I've changed into so far."

Dana gestured towards Jade's body, and said, "How can a sexy little Nymph who looks like this, turn into a massive beast like that?"

Jade giggled and smiled at the redhead affectionately before saying, "I think this is where I hand over to Rachel."

All eyes turned to the tawny haired girl, and John asked, "Do you want us to come up to the Briefing Room for your presentation?"

Rachel nodded, and said, "Yes. There's some interesting things I can show you on the holo-display up there."

They followed her up to the Briefing Room, and sat down in the chairs around the long table. Rachel waited until they were all seated, before she began once she had their attention.

"I suspected that Jade's shapeshifting wasn't all natural. I mean, how could it be, with her suddenly gaining vast amounts of mass?" she said by way of introduction. "With the help of the psi-detector, I was able to confirm it," she added, clicking the button on the remote that controlled the holo-projector.

A recorded image of Jade in her Nymph shape, taken by the psi-detector, showed in the holo-viewer. Her body was surrounded with the familiar aura they had seen before, whenever they had looked at her with the futuristic looking device. As the recording continued, they watched her body shimmering, shrouded in a bright glow, before she changed shape into the Tiger form. The mighty feline flashed a brilliant white as she made the change, and then the shining brilliance slowly dissipated, returning to the normal intensity of her aura.

"So Jade's shapeshifting is some kind of psychic power?" John asked, fascinated.

Rachel shook her head, and said, "No, the shapeshifting is all her. A natural Nymph ability. The bright psionic flash you saw, was her altering her density, to add weight and substance to the shape she was assuming."

Alyssa glanced over at Jade and grinned at her as she said, "Welcome to the Psychic Powers Club."

Jade smiled back at her and then asked Rachel curiously, "Does that mean I might be able to develop powers like Alyssa? Being able to move things with my mind, that kind of thing?"

Rachel hesitated a moment, and then shook her head apologetically, "It might be possible, but I'm inclined to say no. I think your psychic powers are hard-coded into you, to make your shapeshifting more authentic and believable."

"And the telepathy," Alyssa volunteered. "Bonding with Jade was much easier than it was with you two," she added, darting glances to Calara and Dana.

They shared grins with the blonde, and she laughed at their expressions.

"So what are the limits to Jade's shapeshifting?" John asked Rachel curiously. "She seems to be able to change into bigger and more powerful creatures as she gets more practice."

Rachel and Jade shared a knowing grin, and the young doctor said, "It's funny you should ask. It's not the practice that's making her more powerful. That's just letting her change faster and into more varied shapes."

Jade nodded eagerly. "It's you, Master. You're making me more powerful," she replied reverently, slipping back into her old speech patterns in her excitement.

John looked surprised and said, "Me? What, you mean during the two weeks when you first joined us?"

Rachel shook her head, and she answered for Jade, "No, it's still happening. This is the psi-detector footage I took from last night."

With the click of a button, the image changed, showing the recording of Jade that Rachel had taken last night where the Nymph lay asleep in bed. Her rounded belly full of cum was glowing brightly, and each pulse of light that spread out from her stomach, showed up on the psi-detector as a bright white band. As they watched, her muscles seemed to crackle with otherworldly electricity in the wake of the expanding circle of light. When it spread out up and down her body, reaching her fingers and toes, the aura surrounding Jade's body seemed to flicker slightly.

Rachel clicked a button on her remote, switching the image with one recorded just after Dana had built the psi-detector, and the Nymph's aura was slightly dimmer than the image taken yesterday. "She's getting stronger, the more cum you feed her," Rachel explained in a quiet voice.

John looked over at Jade, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand, as he asked "Are you feeling alright? Any side-effects or anything?"

Jade shook her head energetically and said, "It still feels just as amazing to feed off your cum as it did the first time. Every time those glowing green pulses of light spread out around my body, it's like my body is tingling with power."

"Let me know if anything changes," John said to her adamantly.

She squeezed his hand back, and nodded obediently. "I'll inform you immediately," she said solemnly.

John smiled at her, then looked across at Rachel as he asked, "Did you find out anything else?"

Rachel looked apologetic as she said, "That's pretty much it, but I was able to verify a lot of things we knew already. Jade can hollow out parts of her body, as we've recently seen in action. She doesn't have blood, and is much more resilient that a normal person. Her agility and reflexes are much faster than mine, even though I've been enhanced by the Gift. Her eyesight is incredibly sharp, with greatly enhanced movement tracking and detail perception. Finally she's about twice as strong as I am in her 'natural' Nymph form."

Alyssa glanced at John for a moment, before looking at Rachel and saying, "What about behaviour modification? The need for a master, that kind of thing?"

Rachel looked apologetic as she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't answer those questions. The Progenitors definitely made some kind of behaviour changes, which are hard-coded into Jade's DNA strands. These kinds of modifications are the most complex of the gene-coding the Progenitors used, and I'm still trying to figure out how they work. If we can keep collecting samples of DNA that's been tampered with by the Progenitors, It will be easier for me to learn more about the process."

"We'll keep our eyes open then. Thanks for the presentation, Rachel, it was great to learn more about our lovely little Nymph " John said with a smile. He then glanced over at Jade and added, "Do you feel better knowing a little more about yourself?"

She nodded and got up to give Rachel a grateful hug. "Thanks for taking the time to study me," she said earnestly.

Rachel hugged her back tightly, and said, "I'm just sorry I can't tell you everything yet. I'll keep learning what I can, and hopefully we'll be able to unlock all your secrets!"

They laughed together, and everyone else got up when John said, "Well, time for breakfast I think."

Nodding eagerly, they strolled out of the Briefing Room and headed down to the Officers' Lounge to get some food.

***

Irillith woke up a little after ten, having gone to bed late and struggling to get to sleep. She stretched like a cat, then climbed lithely out of bed to go and freshen up. The Terran facilities were broadly similar to those of the Maliri, but she still found it bizarre to be using alien devices for the first time. Drying herself afterwards, she dressed and headed down the corridor to the ship's Galley where she prepared herself a quick breakfast.

She had just finished, and was looking forward to finding out more secrets from the archived footage, when a speaker activated in the Galley. John's commanding voice echoed around the room, "Irillith, we need you on the bridge. We're being intercepted by Maliri ships. Top Deck in the grav-tube."

Frowning as she wondered what he could be talking about, she ran down the corridor, back to her room. Darting quickly into her quarters, she picked up her right vambrace and slipped it on over her forearm. She then jogged to the grav-tube and stepped inside, and floated up to the Command Deck.

John and his crew were all seated up here on the Bridge, and they all turned to look at her when she stepped out of the grav-tube. Irillith flushed slightly, having seen all the girls here getting vigorously ploughed by John, and it was hard to look any of them in the eye. There were illuminated steps up to two thrones with John and Alyssa seated in them, overlooking the other women in the room. Behind them she could see the familiar systems of Maliri Space displayed in a large hologram, that cast a blue glow over the entire Bridge.

It took her a few seconds to adjust to this Terran technology, and she was astounded at the vast range of their long range sensors. All her life she had been led to believe that the Maliri were unsurpassed experts in this field, and now it seemed that this Mael'nerak possessed greatly superior technology. Focusing on the holo-map once more, she immediately recognised the depiction of their ship in white in the centre, and what looked like a Maliri attack group attempting to cut them off. Darting up the steps to take a closer look, she narrowed her eyes as she looked at the Maliri ships approaching their position. There was a Shandrass class battleship approaching, supported by a couple of Fethanar class Patrol cruisers.

"House Ghilwen!" she hissed in fury, "They must have had spies in the Space Port!"

"What do they want?" John asked her, sounding concerned.

Irillith snarled in anger, "To assassinate me! Your vessel shouldn't even be in Maliri Space, so if they strike now, they can kill the heir to House Valaden without any political fallout."

Calara looked up at them and said, "It looks like our hyper-warp speed might have caught them by surprise. If they were planning to interdict us on the way out of Maliri Space, only one of the smaller ships is in a position to intercept us before we get past them." She then looked at Irillith and asked, "What is that big ship anyway? The smaller vessels look like the cruiser class ships we've seen, but we haven't seen anything that large before."

Irillith looked pensive as she stared up at the map, gnawed by indecision. They were too far away from House Valaden forces to call for backup, and if that lead cruiser interdicted them, the battleship would be on them before they would be able to eliminate the cruiser and escape. That was assuming this ugly Terran vessel was even capable of outfighting one of the Maliri cruisers.

"Irillith," John said to her sternly. "Calara asked what class of vessel that big ship is?"

She glanced at the brunette distractedly, and muttered, "It's a battleship armed with Nova Lances. We'll be vaporised in seconds if we confront it."

John darted a concerned look towards Alyssa and said, "Any way we could avoid the incoming cruiser?"

The blonde girl looked away distantly for a moment, then nodded as she replied, "Yes, but it will mean a huge detour to avoid them. If there are other ships involved in this ambush as well, we might be in trouble."

Irillith pressed a couple of buttons on her vambrace and said to John, "I can get us out of this, but I need access to your comms relay. I need to transmit to that lead ship."

John glanced over at Dana and she shrugged at him, then nodded. "Alright, go ahead," he replied. "You can use the station over there," he added, pointing to an empty station on the right hand side of the Bridge.

Irillith nodded curtly, and darted down the steps towards it. It lit up as she approached it, one panel after another illuminating as the station came to life. She sat down in the chair, just as the AI finished its boot up sequence, the tiny purple AI construct appearing above her arm as it became aware of its surroundings.

"Are you my creator?" It asked her staring at her in awe, blinking its large luminous eyes.

Irillith nodded, and forced herself to concentrate on the digital creature, smiling at it warmly. "Yes, you are a clever little sprite, aren't you?"

It beamed a bright smile at her, and nodded eagerly, as it flickered and adopted a tiny female figure.

"I would be so very grateful if you could help me!" Irillith said to it plaintively. "You see, there are some bad people trying to hurt us, and only a clever and brave sprite like you, can help protect us from them!"

The AI construct replied earnestly, "Of course, I'd do anything for my creator!"

Irillith unravelled the datajacks from the vambrace and hooked them up to the console, tapping away commands into the holographic panel that appeared before her. Once she had accessed the comms array, she loaded a program called "Drive_Maintenance" and uploaded it to the digital pixie that was hopping up and down with eager anticipation.

"There we go," she said as she glanced over at it, remembering to smile at it lovingly. "Do you know what you need to do?"

It nodded animatedly and replied bravely, "You can count on me, I'll save you!"

It skipped along the data-jacks and appeared to dive into the port, waving her a friendly goodbye.

"What was that creature?" Dana asked curiously, standing by the station, and watching her with fascination.

Irillith looked up at her sharply and snapped, "None of your concern!"

The redhead looked disappointed, and walked back towards the Engineering Station, which made Irillith want to grin with delight. She managed to keep the smile from her lips however, and she stared up at the holographic map instead. The patrol cruiser continued on towards them inexorably, and as the Invictus had not changed course, they would be in interdiction range in a few minutes.

"What are you planning?" John asked, looking down at her.

Irillith bristled at having to look up at him, as it felt so demeaning, but she still answered smugly, "Just watch, it will only take a little while longer."

They all stared up at the holographic map, watching the graceful and sleek looking Maliri vessel get ever closer. Irillith knew by the scale on the map that the cruiser would be in interdiction range in just over thirty seconds, but she smirked, knowing they didn't need that long. Suddenly the Ghilwen cruiser shuddered as it abruptly lurched out of hyper-warp, the lights at the rear of the ship flickering intermittently.

With no other ships in range to be able to intercept them, she yanked the datajacks out of the console, and then hit a button on her vambrace coiling them back inside the armour. With the jacks disconnected, the AI would immediately de-res, so she turned off the computer built into the vambrace.

Standing, she turned to leave, until John said sternly, "Wait! What just happened?"

At the commanding tone in his voice, she felt a chill of fear. It reminded her that this wasn't someone to be trifled with, just because he hid behind this amiable facade. Glancing back at him without meeting his gaze, she said quietly, "I tricked the cruiser's central computer into performing emergency maintenance of their drive systems. That forced them out of hyper-warp while the diagnostics were engaged."

She was pleased at his look of surprise, and that he was obviously impressed. Sensing that he was satisfied with her reply, she strode over to the grav-tube and stepped into the red glow, disappearing from sight.

***

They made good progress over the next three days, and were not troubled by any more Maliri ships attempting to intercept them. Irillith kept to herself, no longer bothering with the pretence of joining them for meals, as she was too wrapped up with her review of the camera footage. The interesting titbits of information had started as a trickle, but had eventually become a deluge.

John and his crew seemed to need to discuss everything that happened to each other in great detail, but as tempting as it was to skip some of these long dialogues, there were little gems hidden within. She had watched them have a debrief after the Drakkar attack, and had witnessed even more spectacular healing. The crew had watched video camera footage of the attack, and rather than attempting to see what was happening via the bedroom camera footage of the holo-playback they had seen, she instead sought out the source files. She had stared at the screen in amazement as the innocuous green Nymph had transformed into a huge ferocious green tiger, and proceeded to savagely eviscerate the invading four-armed raiders.

As startling as that had been, watching John brutally slaughter the Drakkar raiders on Deck Nine had sent chills down her spine. She had instantly recognised that same utterly impassive, contemptuous look as he had hacked apart the Drakkar leader. She had been forced to pause the video until she got her shivering under control, and before she felt brave enough to continue watching once again. She had then proceeded to follow him with the relevant cameras, as he hunted down the rest of the ugly aliens, slaughtering them without mercy.

She forced herself to re-evaluate the redhead when the footage revealed the extent of her gifts with technology. It had been very interesting to find out that the Ashanath had such high performance power cores, and she had already witnessed the incredible hyper-warp speed that the Tachyon drive was capable of producing. After that she marvelled at one technical breakthrough after the other, and it began to dawn on her what a wondrous treasure trove of technology this ship actually was.

Watching the ship fights had proved how gifted Calara was at gunnery, while Alyssa revealed herself to be a talented psionicist. When the brunette doctor joined the crew, even more answers were forthcoming, and Irillith listened in amazement as Rachel laid out everything they knew about the Mael'nerak and his abilities. She knew that her mother would be absolutely delighted with everything she had learned, and Irillith couldn't wait to see the look on Edraele's face when she finally revealed the vast amounts of secrets she had uncovered.

She had eventually caught up on present day events, and had been horrified when she found out where they had acquired the technology for the Ship's Sensor Array. That had turned to fury when she had realised that moron Ceraden had facilitated Dana getting access to all that technology in the first place. She had previously fabricated an emergency with production in a mining facility he owned, which had kept him away from John and the others at Geniya Space Station, while she had persuaded them to join her on the trip to Maliri Space. It seemed like she would need to create a more permanent end for that meddlesome traitor however, and they were fast approaching the Maliri trading post.

Unfortunately the sex had continued unabated, and as most of the dialogue seemed to occur in a post-orgasmic haze, she had forced herself to watch dozens of hours of them rutting like animals. She had watched transfixed as John's powerful body thrust away into his women, who writhed and moaned around him. He was so much bigger than Maliri males, and she found his brawny physique quite riveting, unable to tear her eyes off him. Although his skin colour was slightly off-putting, his pointed ears were distinctively Maliri in appearance, and she found herself getting more and more heated while watching the videos.

After double checking that the fake looped video was set up on the cameras in her room, she had eagerly stripped off and lay on the bed. Telling herself that she was just going to give her body the natural release it needed after such stimulating viewing, she proceeded to rub herself to a tremendous climax. Her thoughts kept drifting to John throughout, and when she eventually sagged back on the bed, she felt horribly conflicted about her feelings around John. She had never been so powerfully attracted to a man before, but those feelings warred constantly with her very real fear towards him. Resigning herself to only having to put up with this for a few more weeks, she had eventually settled down to bed, ready to start a new day tomorrow.