John pried the lid off the storage container, then stopped and stared distractedly at the glossy white block of Alyssium. His eyes picked up the sparkling silvery flecks in the otherwise unblemished surface, and he was entranced by the sparkling lustre, while his mind was pre-occupied with worrying thoughts. He heard footsteps behind him, and turned to see Alyssa and Jade walking over to his side.

"She'll be alright," Alyssa said with a comforting smile.

Jade nodded, and said buoyantly, "Rachel's with her, and she's very smart. If anyone can figure out what's happening to Irillith, she can!"

He nodded, and leaned into the container to lift out the cube of Crystal Alyssium, surprised at how light the block of alloy was. Edraele had been terribly worried about her daughter, and had immediately ordered the transfer of the Maliri Medical database archives to the Invictus. Their brilliant young doctor was currently up in their bedroom going through the data, while keeping a close eye on the unconscious Maliri girl who was tucked up in their bed. The block of Crystal Alyssium suddenly floated up and out of his hands, before levitating over to land with a barely audible clink on the deck of the Cargo Bay. He looked up at Alyssa, and she gave him a playful wink.

"Worrying isn't going to help anyone," she said firmly. "Rachel's already checked Irillith, and she's confirmed our blue-skinned beauty is in perfect physical health. She'll let us know the moment anything changes, so keep thinking nice thoughts about Irillith, but for the time being, there's nothing else you can do."

John nodded, and said, "You're right, but I just feel bad for the girl. She's made such great progress recently, it seems particularly unfair for her to be going through this as a reward."

Jade slipped an arm around him, then squeezed gently, and said, "I know you won't let anything bad happen to her. We'll keep her tummy nice and full, then you can make sure she'll be okay."

"I'll do my best," he replied, then leaned down to give the Nymph a tender kiss. When he straightened, he saw Alyssa watching him affectionately, and he gave her a nod before saying, "Alright let's do this."

Alyssa turned to the snowy white cube, and raising her right hand, levitated it effortlessly off the ground. The solid geometric shape suddenly trembled, them melted like a block of ice before the glare of the midday sun. The ball of sparkling white liquid quickly reshaped itself into a perfect representation of Irillith's beautiful face, depicting her as she lay fast asleep upstairs. The image froze into place, then after a couple of seconds, Alyssa sent her will into the Crystal Alyssium, carefully manipulating the alloy with her mind.

The delicate features of the Maliri girl shifted, and she appeared to yawn, as the face rotated upright, looking peaceful and sleepy. The image froze in place again, as Alyssa let the Etherite lattice harden and strengthen once more. She concentrated on the alloy again, and the glossy white face rippled as the expression changed, her full mouth lifting up into a sparkling smile.

"That was beautiful," Jade remarked, her voice full of admiration. "Would you do one of me sometime too? You're very creative, and I'd love to see how I look in your eyes."

Alyssa smiled at her, and replied, "Of course! You'd be a perfect muse." She turned back to the representation of Irillith's face, and carefully melted the Crystal Alyssium into a large number four. The strange material started to move more sluggishly now, and she frowned before she said, "OK, that's quad shaped."

She melted the sparkling white number into a roiling sphere, which turned lazily in the air, held in place by her will alone. Making a slight gesture with her hand, the orb shuddered, then flowed languidly into a number five.

John glanced at her with a frown, and said cautiously, "How was that? Don't overdo it now, you're up to quint-shaped and this Crystal Alyssium is meant to be tougher to manipulate isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's getting a lot harder," she replied with a curt nod, focusing on the five and melting it into a slowly rotating sphere of sparkling white metal.

He stepped closer, then gave her a loving kiss on the cheek, and sounding concerned he said, "That's enough now. You've already proved how impressive you are, I don't want you overexerting yourself."

Alyssa smiled, enjoying his protectiveness, but she nodded obediently, realising she was pushing her limits as it was. After taking a long, steadying breath, she focused her concentration on the orb, forcing it to flow into the form she held in her mind. The Crystal Alyssium was torpid now, moving at a glacial pace as if deliberately resisting her efforts to reshape it for a sixth time. Ever so indolently, it flattened out, then elongated into the five foot length that would form the new sword.

The psychic blonde was rapidly tiring now, her breathing growing more laboured with the physical and mental effort involved. John could see her getting visibly more tired, and he ordered her sternly, "Tap the girls for power! You're just using your own energy!"

Immediately doing as John asked, Alyssa reached out to Dana, Calara, and Rachel, gently drawing psychic energy from them as she struggled to bend the alloy to her will. She felt fortified by the refreshing waves of power as they washed over her, and narrowing her eyes with steely determination, she renewed her efforts on the sword. Her original plan was to make some embellishments to the original design, but shaping it had proven far harder than she anticipated. In the end, she settled for copying the previous design, and it was with a great sigh of relief that she finally finished her psychic forging, gently laying the sword to rest on the deck of the cargo bay.

Pulling her into his arms, John held her close, and said, "You need to be careful, honey. That looked like it took a lot out of you!"

Alyssa nodded looking abashed, and admitted, "Yeah, it got exponentially harder. That last one was a real strain."

Jade leaned in to give her a hug too, and said tentatively, "I didn't feel you draw any energy from me. Why didn't you let me help you as well?"

Giving her an affectionate smile, Alyssa replied, "I know you wanted to help John practice his powers. I didn't want to tire you out."

Jade gave her a tender kiss, and hugged her tighter as she said, "That was very thoughtful, but please don't strain yourself like that again if I can help you."

John and Jade held Alyssa for a while, until she protested that she felt fine, and was clearly impatient to see the results of her mental manipulations of the Crystal Alyssium. John gave her a quick kiss, then released her, and walked over to the blade that lay on the deck. Reaching down, he picked it up, smiling appreciatively at the lighter weight. He held it effortlessly in one hand, turning it slightly and then back again, admiring the way the tiny silver flecks in the glossy white sword caught the light.

Jade stared at it entranced, and said in a hushed voice, "It looks so beautiful."

John took up a guard stance, then began a flurry of fast strikes and chops, while moving fluidly to keep his balance. The shimmering blade moved in a blur, seemingly dancing through the air as he engaged a fearsome imaginary foe, parrying and deflecting before moving to riposte.

"The balance on this blade is incredible," John marvelled, as he came to a rest, and stared at his new sword in wonder.

Alyssa grinned with delight, and asked, "I'm still your go-to-gal for making shiny swords?"

John laughed, and nodded, walking over to her to give her a very grateful kiss. "Your psychic-weaponsmithing is legendary," he replied playfully. Raising an eyebrow he added, "What price am I going to pay for your wonderful craftsmanship?"

"I'm sure we can come to an arrangement," she replied, her lips twitching into a suggestive smile.

He smiled at her in return, but his happy expression slowly faded as he started to look more pensive. "I suppose it's my turn to wow you with psychic powers," he said apprehensively.

Alyssa beamed a brilliant smile at him, and said, "Don't look so worried! You got the hang of enhancing your strength easily enough, and we know you can use pyrokinesis on the sword, Irillith saw Progenitor John do it."

Jade said encouragingly, "You're extremely powerful, John. You'll be able to do this easily."

Smiling at them both in gratitude, John asked, "Alright, so where do I start?"

The blonde and the Nymph glanced at each other for a moment, establishing who should go first, and with a wave of her hand, Alyssa let Jade start. Holding out her right hand, Jade looked at it quizzically, then closed her eyes as she concentrated. Her slender dark-green forearm shimmered in a verdant haze for a couple of seconds, then solidified into a fur covered forepaw. Turning it over, she tensed her tendons, which slowly unsheathed a vicious set of claws. As the Nymph focused on her limb, her claws began to give off an eerie ethereal green glow, before lightning burst into life along them with a sudden crackle.

"So how did you do that?" he asked, quite fascinated.

Jade blinked and the eldritch lightning flickered and died, leaving her tiger's paw looking relatively normal again, aside from being a lush dark-green. She took a breath, then repeated the action, but this time the electricity crept out, slowly swathing each claw in crawling coils of energy.

Glancing at him over her curled paw, Jade replied carefully, "I can feel a tingling in my arm, like there's a surge of electricity waiting to be unleashed. I focus on it, then... bring it forth..." She hesitated then gave him an apologetic smile as she said, "Sorry if that's not very helpful. It's hard to describe."

John was listening to her attentively, but he frowned when she mentioned the tingling. "I haven't felt anything like that before," he admitted, looking frustrated.

Alyssa was carefully watching his expression and listening to his thoughts, so she quickly interjected, "I think Jade is acting on pure instinct, so it might work a little differently for her, than for us. When I'm using telekinesis, the principal is the same. I focus on what I want to happen, then push my will towards it, and... hey presto!"

"Hey presto?" John asked her with a grin.

After sticking her tongue out at him, Alyssa replied, "You know what I mean, crazy psychic stuff starts happening." She swished her hand about, as though waving a sword in the air, and said, "Just give it a try, and see what happens. If it doesn't work, we can try talking about it some more, and maybe give you a few pointers."

John nodded, and holding the sword in front of him, he grasped it with both hands. He stared intently at the blade, trying to concentrate on tingling, and surging electricity, but after a tense couple of minutes nothing seemed to happen. Letting out his breath in a frustrated snort, he turned to look at the girls who gave him a sympathetic smile. Jade gave Alyssa a sidelong look, and Alyssa looked surprised for a moment, then nodded enthusiastically.

"What are you two up to?" John asked them suspiciously, as they prowled towards him with sly smiles on their beautiful faces.

Alyssa held out her hand for him, and when he took it, she led him over to one of the storage crates, then sat him down on it. "Jade just had a very interesting thought," Alyssa purred, as she walked around behind him, and began to massage his shoulders. "Just relax, and let us take care of you."

Jade had followed them over to the crate, and when John sat down, she eased his thighs apart, then gracefully dropped to her knees. After unbuckling his belt and unzipping his fly, she pulled out his cock with a hungry gleam in her eye. She gazed up at him with a look of pure devotion, then slowly enveloped the head of his cock between her lips, taking her time, and savouring every moment.

"There, that's better now, isn't it," Alyssa crooned in his ear, as she massaged his shoulders with her knowledgeable hands. "Everything feels much better with one of your adoring women worshipping you on her knees."

John nodded distractedly, letting out a low groan as the Nymph began to inch his cock down her throat. He could feel that glorious, rippling sensation as she encouraged him in deeper, while keeping him entranced with her unblinking, cat-like eyes. He was still holding his new blade in his right hand, and it wavered slightly in the air as he struggled to maintain his concentration.

Alyssa leaned in, pressing her breasts against his back and began to kiss his ear, her tongue flickering out to dart along the pointed tip. "Now just keep focusing on that beautiful, exotic girl, who wants nothing more than for you to empty your balls down her throat."

John nodded absent-mindedly, and murmured, "She's so gorgeous, it's impossible to think of anything else."

Jade's emerald eyes sparkled in response, and she smoothly took the last of him down her throat, completely sheathing his cock inside her luscious body. Not breaking that eye-contact for a moment, she began to ease back a little before starting to rock back and forth, sensually massaging his length.

Alyssa whispered softly, "Very good. Now keep focusing on Jade, but I want you to make electricity sweep up from your hand, until it covers your sword. Don't overthink it, just make it happen."

Closing his eyes, and losing himself to the pleasurable sensations, John tried to imagine blue lightning entwined around the glossy white sword he held in his grasp. He felt a strange tingling in his right hand, and he pushed his will towards it, just as Alyssa and Jade had described. Alyssa's gasp and the crackling to his right made his eyes fly open, and he stared in disbelief at the dancing arc of electricity that swirled up around the blade. With a start, the weaving coils flickered out and died, leaving the sword to sparkle harmlessly as it reflected the light.

"I did it!" he exclaimed in shock, staring at the sword with incredulous eyes.

Alyssa leaned in and gave him a kiss, then locked eyes with Jade as she said conversationally, "You were spot on. Great work, clever girl."

Jade eased his burgeoning cock out of her throat, and gave Alyssa an elated smile as she started tucking his throbbing length back into his trousers with some reluctance. John frowned, and asked, "What's happening now? And what were you right about?"

The Nymph gazed up at him lovingly before she said, "I'm happy to milk your balls for you now if you want, but I thought we could have some fun in bed together later. As for the other thing, I guessed that you were either concentrating too hard, or your mind was unwilling to accept what it was capable of."

"My money's on the latter," Alyssa added as she gave him another kiss. "You're a practical, logical man, and you were only able to start using your psychic strength after watching video proof of it in action against the Drakkar. We didn't have proof this time, so Jade suggested distracting you from second-guessing yourself."

John chuckled and asked, "So deepthroating me was the best way to achieve that?"

"It made sense to use the beautiful tools you supplied us with," Alyssa said, as she stepped to his side, and offered Jade a hand, helping her stand up. She looked at him archly, and added, "Besides, it worked didn't it?"

John looked up at them, then reached out to gently stroke the Nymph's slender stomach, feeling the toned muscles in her abdomen. Her skin was cool to the touch, but as he stroked her, she soon began to heat up. He rose to his feet, and said firmly, "We'll definitely be continuing this later."

Jade grinned at him in delight, then she and Alyssa stepped back a bit to give him a bit of room. John hefted his sword again, and just concentrated on bringing out that tingling sensation in his hands again. Now he knew what to expect, and what he could do, it only took a moment to focus on summoning up the Eldritch lightning again. Sure enough, a couple of creeping tendrils of electricity began to make their languid way up the blade.

"That's excellent!" Alyssa said encouragingly. "Just concentrate on maintaining it for the moment, then you can try and increase the intensity."

Jade glanced at Alyssa, and said, "Maybe try thinking about that compartment trick? I just want things to happen, like changing shape, or the lightning claws, and it just works, but your mind might work differently."

"Yeah, definitely!" Alyssa agreed, nodding enthusiastically. "I find that really helpful to imagine my mind as loads of little compartments. It makes keeping track of everything tons easier!"

John darted a look their way, and the lightning wavered as his concentration slipped for a moment. He hurriedly focused on it again, then tried to imagine making compartments in his mind. He grunted in amusement as he pictured... three... metaphysical boxes, his subconscious refusing to let him imagine any more. So much for loads of compartments! Still he had to start somewhere, so he froze an image of his sword shrouded with lightning, then filled one of the mental boxes with it. Blinking with surprise, he realised that thinking about powers this way was quite helpful, and tiny arcs of electricity flickered playfully along the length of the sword.

"You're right, it's much easier to think about it that way," he told the girls as he grew in confidence. He held the sword loosely in his hand, then strolled around the cargo bay for a moment, thinking about other things, and deliberately ignoring the lightning crawling along his blade.

Alyssa smirked at him, and said, "Why don't you try cranking it up a bit? The little flickering lights look very pretty, but I doubt they'd do much more than make a bad guy's hair stand on end."

John laughed and shook his head at her condescending tone, knowing full well she was trying to goad him into action. He concentrated on his arm, and tried to imagine powerful columns of lightning completely swathing the Alyssium blade. Nothing happened for a moment, but ever so slowly the electricity began to increase in potency, the lightning forking and writhing as he pushed more power into it.

His head started to throb with the exertion, and although he hadn't exactly brought forth a surging lightning storm, the spitting arcs of eldritch power had started to look a lot more impressive. The azure coloured energy streams flickered, then died out, and he leaned the sword against the storage crate so he could massage his temples.

Alyssa walked over to join him, and said proudly, "That was a really good effort, well done!"

Jade smiled as she hugged him from behind, and said, "I've had to practice a lot to develop my abilities. Keep at it, you'll get even stronger."

John grinned and said, "Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'll call it a night for now, but I'll definitely practice tomorrow." He suddenly broke into a chuckle as he added, "I didn't even know I could make lightning like that. I thought it was fire that Irillith saw Progenitor-John using?"

"Yep!" Alyssa said with a broad smile. "So you should find that even easier."

He picked up his spectacular new sword, admiring it once again, and said, "I'll go and drop this off in our room, then we can check on Irillith."

Jade and Alyssa fell into step beside him, and they walked out of the Cargo Bay, then down the corridor into the grav-tube. They ascended in comfortable silence, then walked quietly down the corridor into the bedroom where Irillith was still lying asleep in bed, with Rachel sitting beside her. The brunette looked up at them as they walked into the room, giving them a warm smile.

John walked over to her, and leaned down to give her a quick kiss. "How's your patient doing, Doctor?" he asked her, glancing over at the slumbering Maliri.

Rachel frowned, and replied, "Physically she's in perfect health. I've spent the last few hours going through the Maliri medical data that Edraele sent, but I've found no mention of diseases unique to the Maliri that might be affecting her eyes. As a species, they're remarkably healthy anyway, so there isn't much information on congenital defects."

Alyssa sat down on the bed, and gently stroked Irillith's snowy-white hair as she asked, "Could this be caused by her psychic powers evolving? When I first began to develop telepathy, I started picking up random fragments of John's inner voice. Maybe this is the same, but just affecting her eyes instead?"

Their lovely medic nodded, and replied, "That's the conclusion I've come to as well. Irillith's mother is psychic, and she shares the same triple helix DNA as Edraele. I strongly suspect that whatever's happening is linked to a psychic ability starting to manifest itself."

"Any idea what ability that might be?" John asked Rachel.

The tawny haired girl smiled at him, and replied, "You're probably best placed to answer that one. This is almost certainly your handiwork after all."

John shrugged helplessly, having no idea what could be afflicting the Maliri girl. "Sorry, can't help you there," he said, feeling guilty as he realised Rachel was almost certainly correct, and it was his fault Irillith was suffering.

"Relax, she's just experiencing flickering lights," Alyssa said soothingly, as she heard his worried thoughts. "She's been a bit uncomfortable, but I'm sure this will pass soon enough. The voices I heard when I started developing telepathy were a bit disconcerting, but I would have suffered through far worse in exchange for the psychic gifts you've given me."

"Me too," Jade said without hesitation. She paused, and admitted, "Not that I had to endure anything when you enhanced my shapeshifting. I would have willingly subjected myself to months of agony for these powers though."

Rachel looked up at her in surprise, and asked, "Really, why's that?"

John gathered Jade into his arms, and said confidently, "I know why." He looked into her glinting emerald eyes and continued, "It's because my lovely little Nymph was able to use her abilities to save me and the girls from the Drakkar. I'm right, aren't I beautiful?"

She smiled at him shyly, and nodded, while gazing up into his eyes. John leaned down to give her a tender kiss, and she began a throaty purr as she responded.

Alyssa smiled at the pair of them, and said, "I think it's Jade's turn to feed Irillith next anyway. Why don't you two go and have some fun, then we can pack more cum into her blue tummy. She's absorbed the last load already, and the faster we can get her over this the better."

John smiled playfully at the Nymph, and scooped her up in his arms, causing her to gasp in excitement. He walked out the door, and glancing over his shoulder, he said, "We'll be back in a while. Let me know if there's any change."

He heard the blonde and brunette laughing together as he strode down the corridor, but his attention was focused on Jade. She gave him a brilliant smile, as he gave her his undivided attention, and when they reached her quarters, she hit the button eagerly. He stepped through the door, smiling at the thought of carrying her over the threshold.

She spotted his thoughtful smile, and looked at him quizzically as she said, "I do envy Alyssa sometimes, having telepathy must be wonderful. What's making you happy?"

John carefully set her down on her feet, and hesitated, unsure how to broach the subject. Seeing his indecision, Jade stepped out of her shoes, and peeled her dress off her shoulders, letting it fall to her feet. "Let's go and get a shower before you work up a sweat with me," she said impishly, and sashayed away into the ensuite bathroom.

He watched her depart, entranced by her astounding figure, then hurriedly pulled off his clothes when he heard her start up the shower. When he strode in after her, she gave him a welcoming smile, and beckoned him into the cubicle. The Nymph looked stunning under the flowing water, the lights from the bathroom making her slick skin glisten with a shiny lustre. Jade's skin was a dark green, but there were tiny flecks that caught the light, as well as the lighter coloured viridian lines that accentuated all her sensational curves.

She turned around, glancing at him coyly over her shoulder, and he took the opportunity to admire her toned, athletic form. Walking over to join her, he ran his hands over her cool skin, feeling the pliant but strong muscles under his fingertips. His cock had risen to the occasion, thickening as he admired her beautiful exotic body, and he rested it between the taut groove of her cheeks as he encircled her in his arms.

"Mmm, that feels amazing," she murmured, leaning back into him, and flexing her muscular buttocks around his shaft.

John didn't reply, instead he gathered some soap in his hands, and started to massage her breasts, letting his hands glide over her lovely soft skin under the pretence of getting her clean. She purred in delight at his touch, loving the feel of his hands over her skin, and when she turned around to look at him, he could see her eyes were hooded with lust. His cock throbbed at that look, immediately recognising that fiery intensity in her eyes.

They soaped each other down, with Jade's skin warming up as she grew more turned on. Certain parts of his anatomy were feeling pretty overheated too, aided by the Nymph's gentle but confident grasp with one of her slender hands. She led him out of the shower, guiding him by his pulsating length, and they dried off quickly before heading into her bedroom.

Jade walked over to the bed, and gracefully climbed onto it, giving him a come-hither look. "How do you want me?" she asked him breathily.

"Hot and wet," John replied, as he stalked after her.

Her eyes flashed with arousal, and she lay back on the bed, parting her legs, and bringing them right back to give him full access to her glistening pussy. John climbed up on to the bed too, and nuzzled his cock against her, feeling how wet and ready she was for him. Pushing forward, he groaned as her scalding depths seemed to wrap around him, pulling him in deeper. Knowing full well she was designed to take his cock, he drove forward powerfully, spearing her with his entire length in one long fluid motion.

"Oh God, Master!" she cried out ecstatically as he plunged into her, arching her back as she took all of him in one pussy-stuffing thrust.

John smiled at her, and said, "My beautiful little Nymph. It feels so good being inside you again."

He ran his fingers through Jade's verdant hair, then cradled her head protectively in his hands, as he just relished being with her again. She'd given him mind-shattering blowjobs with the Maliri, but this was different, and he relished the feeling of intimacy. Jade had closed her eyes when he penetrated her, but her eyelids opened languidly when she realised he had paused, and was just studying her face.

"Aren't you going to use your eager Nymph?" she asked him in a seductive whisper.

John nodded confidently, and replied, "Oh yes, definitely. But we should talk first, and it's much more fun to chat like this, don't you think?"

Jade laughed, and nodded as she brought her arms and legs up to wrap him in a tender embrace. "What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked him curiously, while gently massaging his cock with her magnificent body.

John had a few things on his mind, but he decided to go with the less complicated one first. "I heard what you said earlier. Do you really feel like you aren't contributing?" he asked her with a frown.

She saw his troubled expression, and wanting to allay his concern, she grinned at him as she replied, "Maybe I was just fucking with you?"

He smiled, then shook his head, and replied, "Perhaps, but I don't think so." He flexed his cock inside her playfully, and added, "This is your Master you're talking with now. Come on, tell me the truth."

Jade let out a forlorn sigh, and said, "Rachel and Dana are so smart. I hate not being able to contribute like they can, and I wish I could do more."

John leaned down to give her a loving kiss, and said soothingly, "You do so much already! You're a phenomenal pilot, you've nursed the girls back to health on more occasions than I can count, let alone saving us against the Drakkar. You've got your new job as Dana's Engineering Assistant too, so that'll keep you busy while we're flying around the galaxy."

The Nymph brightened a bit, and said earnestly, "I just want you to be happy with me."

He laughed, and said, "Honey, I couldn't be any happier with you! You're a wonderful girl, and none of us could do without you. Aside from the fact that I love you, I consider you an invaluable part of our crew." He watched her face light up with a beautiful smile, and he added, "That leads me on to something else I wanted to talk about. I just wanted to thank you for what you did for the Maliri. With your help, we're going to transform the lives of all those girls, and let them have the babies they wanted so much."

Jade's smile grew even wider, and her eyes sparkled as she said, "I loved seeing them all staring at you in awe. It felt so wonderful to help the Maliri like that, and I just wish we'd had a few more days there, so you could have used me to impregnate them all yourself." She sighed wistfully, then continued, "They were lovely, beautiful girls, and leaving all eighty of them with your babies growing in their bellies would have been amazing."

"Knowing that I'll eventually be having children with you, and my girls on the ship, is more than enough compensation, believe me," he said playfully, emphasising his point with a loving kiss that brushed her full green lips.

The Nymph's expression softened as she asked him reverently, "Did you really mean what you said before, about breeding me over and over, and creating hundreds of new Nymphs?"

"Of course, I'd never lie to you. I love and respect you too much to ever do that," he told her sincerely. "When we've dealt with the Progenitor problem, I plan to keep you pregnant for decades."

Jade shivered with excitement, her pussy sucking at him hungrily as if she was urging him to start right now. "I feel so happy," she said with an airy sigh, gazing at him with wonder.

*Go ahead and ask her,* Alyssa prompted him eagerly. *It's the perfect time, trust me.*

John took a deep breath, then said, "Jade, there's one other thing I wanted to talk to you about."

She gave him a kiss, gently brushed her lips against his, and purred, "I've loved this conversation so far, I can't wait to hear what it is."

"You asked me before what I was thinking about, when I smiled as I carried you into the room," John began, studying her face carefully. "I've been holding back from asking you about this, to try and find the perfect time, but I realised that just being with you is about as perfect as it gets."

Jade sighed with delight, her tender expression showing him the strength of her feelings for him. "What did you want to ask me?" she asked, her voice soft as her enchanting eyes studied his face.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I'm planning to have lots of children with you too. I love you so much, and I want us to get married," he told her, his words heartfelt, and his expression earnest.

The Nymph looked stunned, and blinked at him in shock. "But it wouldn't be right," she mumbled incredulously. "You're my Master. I'm here to serve you and your mates."

John smiled at her and asked, "You must know I love you just as much as the other girls?"

Jade gave him a hesitant nod, but replied quietly, "I'm just here for you to use, and I want to give you pleasure. This kind of formal declaration of affection feels wrong somehow."

Tracing his fingertips along her jawline in the loving gesture she'd often used with him, John said, "When Alyssa and I found you, that might have been how you felt, but you aren't driven by just that simple need any longer. I can see how much you've developed and grown, and you want more out of life now, don't you?"

Jade stared at him with wide eyes, and nodded slowly.

"Tell me," he urged her. "What do you want?"

After taking a big breath, Jade said in a rush, "I want to protect you and your girls, and grow stronger so I can do that. I want to learn lots of new things, like I did when I trained to become a pilot, so I can make myself useful on this ship. I've spent centuries surrounded by the worst of humanity, so more than anything else, I know you're a good man who cares about others, and I want to help you protect and save people!" She paused, shocked by her own vehemence, and added in amazement, "You're right, I do want more!"

Smiling at her affectionately, John said, "I know, and that's what makes you so special. You've grown so much over these last few months, and I love the smart, capable, loving, caring girl you've become."

Jade looked overwhelmed, and he held her close while she processed this revelation about her own development. Her dazed eyes eventually sharpened, and she stared at him intently as she said, "I've only changed because you've nurtured me and helped me grow." Her eyes filled with tears as she continued, "I thought that I hadn't really changed much since knowing you, not like the other girls had. But you've given me the same wonderful Gift as the others haven't you?"

John smiled at her, brushing his fingers through her hair, as he nodded. "I love you, and want you to grow and develop just as much as the other girls. I'll do everything I can to give you a happy, fulfilling life," he told her honestly.

Jade bit her lower lip, and she smiled at him shyly as she said, "Then I accept."

He grinned at her in delight, hugging her fiercely, while Jade let out a beautiful carefree laugh, feeling absolutely overjoyed. They kissed each other passionately, both overcome with happiness.

When they eventually parted, Jade gazed at him from under her long lashes, and she asked softly, "John, could I ask you for something?"

"Of course, anything," he replied without pause.

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she said, "I love you being my Master, and I don't ever want that to change. I -need- to be submissive to you, it's just my nature. But just this once, could we make love as equals?"

"That would be wonderful, Jade. I can't think of anything I'd love to do more," John said in return. He gave her one last kiss, then gently eased out of her.

"What are you doing?" she asked him in surprise.

"Shh, just lay back and relax. I've lost count of the number of times you've gone down on me, and I have a huge deficit to make up for!" he said, giving her a playful grin.

She stared down at him with wide, unblinking eyes as he trailed kisses down over her breasts, pausing to suck on each of her nipples, while kneading her pliant flesh with his strong hands. Her eyes grew hooded with lust as she sank back on the bed, moaning in ecstasy as her fiancé worked his magic on her.

***

Alyssa lay back on the bed, and she felt a lump in her throat after listening to the moving words between John and the lovely Nymph he was intertwined with. It was so wonderful to be able to experience these loving moments, and she felt incredibly grateful for her telepathic gift. She let out a happy sigh, then turned to cuddle up with Irillith, who lay fast asleep beside her. Glancing over at Rachel, Alyssa saw that she was still sitting on the other side of the bed, staring at the holo-reader in fascination as she scanned through the Maliri medical archives. Deciding to leave the brunette to her research, Alyssa stroked Irillith's hair as she snuggled up behind her, then closed her eyes and focused on the metaphysical representations of each of the girls in her mind.

Irillith's blue rose was just as beautiful as before, but most of those sharp thorns had faded away, leaving the slender green stem smooth for the most part. There were still a few barbs, which tweaked Alyssa's curiosity, because the Maliri girl's personality had transformed radically since she had first joined them, showing no sign of her previous sharpness. She realised she was jumping to conclusions about the thorns representing Irillith's prickly personality, but it was too much of a coincidence, and the symbolism fit too well. That was one thing that Alyssa had learned about the metaphysical world, that symbols and imagery seemed to be more powerful here.

She turned her attention to Calara next, the first of her beautiful crystal depictions of the Terran girls. The Latina was radiating happiness, and seemed to have found a new level of peaceful contentment after her sparring session with John. Alyssa never really got their obsession with Martial Arts, or the Terran Federation for that matter, but Calara and John were like two peas in a pod on those things. It was what had made the brunette such a perfect choice to join them in the first place, let alone her unsurpassed tactical abilities, along with her incredibly perceptive powers of deduction. Alyssa sighed happily as she listened to Calara's thoughts, and smiled when she caught her daydreaming blissfully about her lovers.

Focusing on Rachel next, the tawny-haired girl seemed to have been revitalised with a renewed sense of purpose. She was currently throwing herself into her research on Maliri ailments, searching for any incurable afflictions she could focus her fearsome intellect on. Alyssa had been listening in on Rachel's intimate conversation with John that morning, and she marvelled at the powerful affect his words and actions had on each of the girls. The compulsion to obey him had been removed, but he'd built such strong relationships with each of them, the removal didn't seem to matter.

Speaking of which, she focused her attention on the mosaic of tiny stone pebbles that represented Jade in her mind. The image was largely the same, with John still resting his hand on her tummy protectively, as a husband might over his wife's expectant belly. Jade was still gazing at him in wonder, but her posture and stance had changed subtly. The couple now seemed to be exactly that, with Jade's perception of her own status raised substantially, and no longer quite so slavishly deferential to John. By contrast, the look of absolute devotion on the Nymph's face was breathtaking in its intensity. To see such a pure representation of love was overwhelming to her senses, and she almost felt guilty for intruding.

Turning quickly to Dana next, she chuckled inwardly as she felt the impatience radiating in waves off her old friend. Sparks was currently inspecting Irillith's Laser rifle, having dismantled it earlier that morning. It wasn't the research into the Maliri tech that was making Dana so impatient, as she was finding their technological secrets to be quite fascinating; she was eagerly awaiting her own turn with John. It had been a couple of weeks since the redhead had been able to spend any time alone with him, after Progenitor-John had taken over and caused chaos. The poor girl had been missing him terribly, and Alyssa regretted not pushing John to go to her first.

Alyssa had already been with him since that ugly episode, but she knew just how her old friend had been feeling. She concentrated on sending soothing, sympathetic thoughts to Dana, wrapping her subconscious up in a loving embrace of positivity. It only took a few minutes to work, as she calmed the other girl's mind, filling her with a sense of serenity.

*Thanks, that feels tons better,* Dana thought to her with relief. *I've been so distracted recently, it's been getting hard to concentrate.*

*Don't worry, it'll be your turn soon,* Alyssa told her encouragingly. *It's going to be worth the wait, I promise!*

Dana groaned inwardly, and begged her, *Stop, please! It's bad enough having to wait without being reminded about it.*

Alyssa soothed her mind again, then switched the topic of conversation by asking, *Found anything interesting in Irillith's rifle?*

The change of tone of Dana's thoughts was dramatic as she replied exuberantly, *The Maliri's knowledge of Laser tech is outstanding! The design for Irillith's Laser rifle is significantly different from the Pulse Cannons, their Beam Lasers, or the Nova Lances. I've learnt so much from this already, but I've already seen eight different ways I can improve the power and efficiency of their focusing techniques.*

*I have a feeling the new version's going to be something pretty awe-inspiring,* Alyssa said, grinning to herself.

Dana was incredibly excited as she replied, *When I've finished, we'll be able to seriously fuck up bad guys!*

Alyssa heard footsteps echoing down the corridor outside the bedroom, and she sat up, waiting expectantly for John and Jade to arrive. "Hey you two," she greeted them warmly when they walked into the room hand-in-hand.

Jade glided across the room to join her, somehow managing to move gracefully despite the heavy weight of her enormously pumped up bust. She sat on the end of the bed, and asked, "How's Irillith doing?"

"She hasn't woken yet," Rachel informed them, giving them a friendly smile.

John leaned over to give Alyssa a tender kiss, and they exchanged a quick look.

*Your conversation with Jade was beautiful. I wish I could have been there to see you together in person,* Alyssa thought to him wistfully.

He smiled at her, and said, *I know, but it's been lovely having some one-on-one time with each of the girls.*

Alyssa returned his smile, and said, *I wish you could feel the effect you have on each of them, it's really wonderful to see how happy they all are. Which reminds me, you need to spend some time with Dana, the poor girl's been missing you loads.*

*Your sexy flame-haired minion is the next on my hit list, Sex Boss,* John replied playfully.

The blonde stifled a giggle, then pulled him in for another kiss. When they parted, she asked, "Shall I try and wake up Irillith? I might be able to rouse her telepathically, then Jade can top her up again."

John nodded, and said, "We need to find out what's been happening to her. Do what you can, but be gentle."

Alyssa gave him an indignant look, but smiled when he raised his hands apologetically. Turning to look at the sleeping Maliri girl, Alyssa reached out to her with her mind, saying softly, *Irillith, can you hear me? It's time to wake up now, sleeping beauty.*

Irillith's serene expression shifted slightly as her full lips twitched up into the hint of a smile. They all waited patiently, as her eyes flickered open, and she looked around to blink at everyone owlishly.

John sat down beside her, and swept her long white hair away from her pale-blue face, as he said, "It's so good to see you awake again, we've all been worried about you. Do you remember what happened?"

She frowned and replied, "I went up to the Command Deck with Calara, and I was fine in the grav-tube, but as soon as I stepped onto the Bridge, I got overwhelmed."

"By what?" John prompted her curiously.

Irillith was about to reply, but she faltered for a moment before saying, "It's hard to describe. Numbers, letters... flickering insubstantial things; but there was just so much of it, it's like my mind couldn't cope. I guess I must have blacked out."

Rachel had risen from the chair, and was now standing at the side of the bed. She looked down at her patient, and said, "You've been asleep for over four hours. Alyssa woke you, as Jade's ready to give you another feed."

The Maliri glanced down the bed at Jade, who had climbed on it and was crawling towards her. They could all see the hungry gleam in her eye as she looked at the Nymphs engorged breasts, knowing full well what they contained.

"I've been looking forward to feeding you like this," Jade admitted. "It wasn't the same using my fingers, but you were hurt too badly before, and I couldn't risk aggravating your injury."

Alyssa moved backwards on the enormous bed to make room for the green-skinned girl, and Irillith sat up, a conflicted expression on her face. She was as eager as the Nymph, but she felt a little embarrassed and self-conscious at the same time.

Sensing what she was feeling, Alyssa said kindly, "We can leave you alone with Jade if you want. We don't want you to feel awkward, we're just trying to make you well again."

Irillith gave her an appreciative smile, and said, "There's no need, I'm just being silly. I've been intimate with all of you before." She turned to look at Jade, and asked, "How should we do this?"

Jade smiled, and opened her arms invitingly. When Irillith moved to her, the Nymph tilted her to the side, cradling her in her left arm, as she brought her swollen breast to Irillith's lips. The Maliri opened her mouth obediently, and as soon as Jade pushed forward with her nipple she began to suckle eagerly.

"That's a good girl," she said to Irillith, staring into her eyes. She watched as those violet orbs glazed over for a moment as the rich, creamy liquid coated her tongue, bathing her taste buds in the sweet taste.

John sat beside them, and stroked Irillith's soft flowing hair. She made eye contact for a moment as she swallowed deliberately, her lustful expression reminding him that she was hungrily filling her stomach with his sperm. She looked away again, gazing into Jade's emerald eyes as the Nymph murmured loving things to her, while she stroked the Maliri girl's slender but growing stomach. It didn't take Irillith long to empty one breast, before Jade swapped sides, and had her start on the second. By the time she was done, her stomach was heavily rounded, her dinner of cum filling her up to the brim.

Irillith stretched languidly when she was finished, then ran her hands over her bloated abdomen. She smiled at them coyly, then moaned with delight when John and Jade ran their hands over her taut flesh.

"Thanks so much for sharing," she said to Jade appreciatively. "I'm sorry you didn't get to keep this for your own tummy."

Jade leaned in and gave her a tender kiss on the cheek, before moving to her ear, and whispering, "I'm sure it won't be long before I'm hungrily sucking cum from you."

Realising what she was implying, the Maliri blushed a dark blue, but Alyssa smiled with satisfaction when Irillith didn't try to deny it. "I'll summon the other girls, and we can have an early night," Alyssa said, to spare Irillith any further embarrassment.

They all got ready for bed, greeting Calara and Dana as they returned to the bedroom. They eventually settled down with John spooned behind Irillith, placing a possessive hand over her spherical azure stomach. Alyssa flanked the Maliri on her other side, and leaned in for a gentle kiss.

John watched the two blondes kissing lovingly, and whispered into Irillith's pointed ear, "We think the letters and numbers you saw are due to your psychic powers manifesting themselves. Unfortunately we don't know exactly what they'll be. Our plan is to keep filling you with cum until this passes, and your powers are fully developed."

Irillith paused for a moment as this sank in, turning to look at him with a trusting expression. "I know you'll look after me," she said softly, before turning to Alyssa and leaning in for another kiss.

Calara was cuddled up behind Alyssa, and throwing John a lustful glance over the blonde girl's shoulder she said, "It's a good job I don't get jealous any more! These two look beautiful together."

There was a murmur of agreement from the other girl's in the room, who were all watching avidly. With playful grins at each other, they all partnered up, filling the room with the enticing sounds of girls kissing. John sat up, and watched with interest as the gorgeous women embraced each other affectionately. Excited moans started up around the room, and he enjoyed the amazing view, but refrained from joining in, wanting to save his energy for Dana tomorrow.

Realising he wasn't going to initiate an orgy, the girls eventually settled down for a restful sleep, in a tangle of long limbs, pert breasts, and unruly tresses. John embraced Irillith from behind, hearing her let out a deep sigh of contentment before she dozed off. The last thing he saw before falling asleep himself, was Alyssa's piercing blue eyes watching him with a playful twinkle in her eyes.

***

John awoke the next morning, and was surprised to find only one warm, nubile body next to him. When he looked down and saw the flowing auburn hair, and Dana's sparkling sky-blue eyes watching him, he grinned happily.

"Good morning," she purred seductively.

John laughed, rolling her onto her back and pinning her beneath him. She giggled in delight at his cheerful exuberance, her beautiful face lighting up with a dazzling smile.

"There's no need to try and seduce me," he told her confidently. "I'm going to fuck the hell out of you this morning."

Dana let out a lusty moan when he pinned her hands above her head with one hand, then brought the other up to her mouth, slipping his first two fingers between her luscious lips. She sucked on them hungrily, lashing them with her tongue, and gazing at him with hooded eyes.

"I was thinking about having you dress up in that hot schoolgirl outfit," he said conversationally, as he pulled his glistening fingers from her hot little mouth. He trailed his fingertips down her body, taking his time to pinch her nipples as he did so, causing her to gasp with excitement. She groaned when he began to rub her clit, writhing helplessly beneath him as he continued, "But I think I'll save that for another time. You look so good paired up with Rachel, seeing two naughty schoolgirls experimenting with each other is worth waiting for."

"I love performing with her for you," she murmured, then gasped as he pushed his soaked fingers inside her, then continued rubbing her clit with his thumb.

John nodded, saying, "I know, you're a very good girl." He began a steady insistent rhythm with his fingers, as he added, "I'd also thought about handcuffing you, but we can save that for later too. You said you missed having to be my obedient girl, but as you can see, I don't need handcuffs or mind control to keep you right where I want you."

Dana groaned, arching her back, her thighs trembling as he brought her closer to a thunderous orgasm with the skilful manipulations of his hand. She knew he was right, pinned to the bed as she was, and that feeling of powerlessness was a potent aphrodisiac.

"Oh my God!" she shrieked, as her body convulsed with a throbbing climax, her hips rocking as John brought her off with his fingers.

John leaned over and kissed her fiercely, staring into her eyes as she moaned into his mouth. She sucked on his tongue, and he watched the golden coronas around her pupils flaring wildly as his insistent fingers stroked through another intense orgasm. She lurched underneath him, her body twitching as she was wracked with pleasure.

"And why do I know exactly what you need?" he asked her firmly.

"Because you own me?" she squeaked breathlessly.

He nodded his confirmation, saying, "That's right, clever girl. You belong to me, and I like to take good care of my possessions."

Dana tried to respond, but his thumb gliding over her clit sent her crashing through a third explosive climax, and whatever she'd tried to say was lost in a wordless scream of ecstasy. When her trembling had subsided, he carefully removed his fingers from her soaked pussy, and brought them up to her lips. She sucked mindlessly, still reeling from her back-to-back orgasms, but she soon focused when he moved between her splayed thighs, and sank up to the balls in her steaming depths.

"You haven't finished yet," he informed her, as she groaned in disbelief. He intertwined his fingers with her own, keeping her hands pinned down above her, and began to drive into her luscious young body with powerful thrusts of his hips. "I think I can make you come at least three more times before you pass out. What do you think?"

Dana wailed out her fourth consecutive climax as he stretched her yielding flesh, her womb taking him hungrily, as her wanton body cried out for his cum. John was careful to maintain a pounding relentless rhythm, which didn't let her climb down from the peak of ecstasy he'd driven her to. She did manage to last until her sixth climax, but she finally blacked out when he started pumping her womb full of powerful blasts of spunk, her mind unable to cope with any more pleasure. He grinned with satisfaction when he was done, carefully pulling out of Dana and rolling her on her side, so he could wrap her up in his protective arms.

She only dozed for a little while, before regaining consciousness woozily. John gave her a gentle kiss on the shoulder, cuddling her tightly as she awoke, and asked, "How was that? Am I forgiven for neglecting you for the last few weeks?"

The redhead giggled with delight, and shivered for a moment, as she shook her head in amazement.

"So I'm not forgiven?" he asked her playfully.

Dana turned in his arms, so she was lying on her back and smiled at him lovingly. "You're a fucking beast in the bedroom," she said, her voice full of admiration. "I don't know how you do it, but you can fuck me absolutely senseless whenever you put your mind to it!"

John laughed, and leaned in to give the astonished young woman a tender kiss, then he said teasingly, "It's easy, really. Shall I tell you my secret?"

Dana was thoroughly spellbound, hanging on his every word, and she nodded slowly.

"I just listen to what you tell me you like, then go ahead and do it. Fortunately I get off on the same things too," he explained with a broad smile on his face. He gazed into her eyes as he added, "It helps that I think you're absolutely gorgeous, and that I'm hopelessly in love with you. It means I bring my 'A-game' to the bedroom every time."

Dana laughed with delight, and flung her arms around his neck, kissing him animatedly. "I love you so much," she finally said when they parted for breath.

"Perfect. Then I think we'll be very happy together," he said with a playful tone, resting his hand on her rounded tummy, and stroking her gently.

"Mmm, that feels nice," she said appreciatively, closing her eyes for a moment, and snuggling into him.

"I'm afraid we'll have to feed Irillith in a little while, but you can enjoy carrying my load for a bit first," he told her as he gave her an apologetic smile.

Dana sighed with satisfaction, and she murmured, "Alyssa was right, this was well worth waiting for."

John smiled at her, then looked thoughtful as he said, "It's good you mentioned her actually, thanks for reminding me of something."

"What's that?" Dana asked him curiously.

"Well I'm sure you haven't forgotten that we're hauling thirty tonnes of Tyrenium in the Cargo Bay. I plan to sell that to the Terran Federation when we get back to Olympus," he explained.

She nodded, looking at him quizzically, as he wasn't telling her anything she didn't know already. Her expression brightened as she suddenly said, "We might want to hang on to some Tyrenium actually. If we can get the Tech schematics for those Dreadnought mounted Singularity Drivers, I might be able to enhance and miniaturise the tech, then fit them on the Invictus. I doubt we need that much extra firepower, now we've got those insane Nova Lances, and our power problems are a more pressing issue at the moment. Still, it's always handy to have some nice big guns."

John smiled at her, and said, "That's a great idea, and I'll do my best to get the schematics for you. I plan to sell all the Tyrenium though, so we'll acquire more in the future for Singularity Drivers." He paused for a moment, studying her beautiful face intently before he finally added, "I want you to have all the profits from that trade with the Trankarans, to put in the trust I'm going to have set up for you. We made that money from selling one of your innovations, so by rights, all that money should be yours to use."

Dana frowned, shaking her head as she said, "I don't want any money myself. You give me everything I need anyway."

"I know," John said softly. "But I want you and Alyssa to use the money to make a trust fund to help orphans. We should make half-a-billion credits from that sale. Just think how many hundreds of thousands of children you can save from experiencing the traumas you two had to endure growing up."

Dana gaped at him in astonishment, too stunned to speak.

He could feel Alyssa trying to speak to him telepathically, but she was too overwhelmed to form coherent speech. Instead, her wordless message conveyed a deluge of emotions.

Alyssa ran into the room a few moments later, having been in the kitchen preparing breakfast, and John turned as she leapt into his arms. The two Karron orphans hugged him fiercely, tears filling their eyes as they stared up at him in gratitude.

"Us orphans have to stick together after all," he said wryly with a hint of sadness in his voice. Looking from one girl to the other, he added, "Just look how wonderful you two turned out with a bit of love and attention."

Alyssa and Dana were sobbing openly now, and he encircled them in his arms, hugging them to him tightly. They lay like that for a while, the two girls both too astounded to speak coherently. Eventually, Alyssa was the first to pull herself together, and she sat up while wiping the tears from her eyes, looking down on the pair of them.

"I'll administer the fund," she said decisively. "I've needed something to keep my mind occupied, and this is perfect. I've been memorising the galaxy as a side project, but this is a far more constructive use of my time. I'll master finance and business administration, then I can use all the profits I make to grow the fund."

John blinked in surprise as he gazed up at her, and asked hesitantly, "Wouldn't it be easier to just get an expert to administer the money for us?"

"Nope," she replied with certainty. "People are easily corrupted, and I'm not having our money, which could be used to help people, being siphoned off by some smart-suited thief! I mastered Astro-Navigation in a week. How hard could this be?"

Dana sat up too, although a bit more awkwardly with the heavy weight of her rounded belly, and nodded saying, "You could handle this easily. You're far smarter than anyone else I've ever met, aside from Rachel of course."

John grinned at Alyssa, and said, "Maybe you should just look after my cash too. It's just sitting in the bank at the moment, not doing anything."

She nodded, her mind whirring, and said, "That would probably be sensible." She stared at him for a long moment, and finally said, "Thank you for this, John. It was a wonderfully thoughtful gesture, and I know we're going to help a lot of people."

Dana smiled wistfully at him, and said quietly, "I never thought my life would amount to much, when I was back on Karron. I always thought I'd probably end up getting killed in some kind of pointless gang fight. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to really make a difference."

Alyssa glanced at her old friend and said soberly, "I used to feel the same way, so I know exactly what you mean."

Both girls turned to gaze at him lovingly, so John sat up, and gathered them in his arms. "You both transformed my life," he told them earnestly. "Between us, we'll be able to help those who really need it."

The girls planted tender kisses on his cheeks, then leaned into him, smiling at each other. They both felt blissfully happy, and filled with a new sense of purpose.

***

Irillith appeared at the bedroom door a few minutes later, summoned by Alyssa with a cheerful telepathic call of, *It's time for breakfast!*

She walked into the room, and with a coy glance at the three bedmates, peeled off her long flowing dress and climbed onto the bed with them. The Maliri girl was about to lie down between Dana's thighs to begin her feast, when Alyssa sat up with a mischievous grin on her face.

"I've got a better idea!" she said insistently. "This will be much more fun, I promise!"

"What are you up to now?" John asked her, seeing the gleeful look on her face.

Alyssa smirked and replied, "It involves lots of girl-on-girl action. Don't worry, you'll love it!"

She crawled across to Irillith, then coaxed her to lie on her back. She then beckoned over Dana, who sat up awkwardly, and waddled over to her, with her enormous swollen belly leading the way. With Alyssa's prompting and support, Dana swung a lithe leg over Irillith, then tentatively lowered herself, so the Maliri was able to lap away at her pussy.

"Perfect!" Alyssa said with satisfaction. She moved down the bed, parted Irillith's blue thighs, then began to eat her out with enthusiasm.

Dana and Irillith's breathy moans filled the room, and John saw Alyssa's eyes twinkling at him in excitement. *Fucking hot, right?* she asked him playfully as she went to work on the Maliri.

John laughed then moved to the middle of the bed, where he place a hand on the shrinking and expanding bellies before him. The moaning from the redhead and the blue-skinned girl intensified as he massaged them, and he replied to Alyssa, *You do know your stuff, Sex Boss. Yes, this is much more fun."

***

They left Irillith to sleep off her hefty breakfast, and after a fun shower, John, Alyssa and Dana got dressed in their walk-in wardrobe. They strolled down the corridor towards the Officers' Lounge hand-in-hand, and when Dana hit the button to open the double doors, the enticing aroma of cooked food wafted over to them.

Calara greeted them with a friendly wave, then beckoned them over to their places. She disappeared into the kitchen, and reappeared a few moments later accompanied by Rachel and Jade, carrying plates with a full English breakfast, and a serving dish loaded down with French toast.

John grinned with delight, when Calara placed the plate of cooked food in front of him, then planted a loving kissing on his cheek. "Best morning ever!" he announced happily.

Dana and Alyssa exchanged glances, and nodded, saying, "Yes, it was."

Calara brushed her fingers through John's hair affectionately, and said, "Alyssa told us all about your plan with the Orphan fund, and we were all moved by it. It was a lovely gesture, John."

He looked up at her, and said, "You helped give me the idea actually. Remember when we met that merchant? Peter, I think his name was. Anyway, we were talking about helping people without having to slaughter a bunch of bad guys to do it. I figured this was a nice, non-violent way of making that happen."

The Latina nodded, smiling as she said, "Selling one of Dana's brilliant innovations to the Trankarans was an inspired way of making some bloodless cash."

John grinned and said, "Exactly!" before taking a bite of sausage that he'd skewered with a fork.

"I'm very proud of you," Rachel said to him, walking around to lean down and kiss him on his cheek.

"Thank you," he replied with a smile, then looked up at the three standing girls, and asked, "Are you going to join us for breakfast?"

"We've already eaten," Rachel explained apologetically, "But I hope you enjoy it."

"I'll stay with them, and help tidy up," Jade said with a smile. "You two go ahead with your work. I need to wait for Dana anyway, as she has to show me how to construct the first of the new Body Armour Suits before I can make a start."

Calara and Rachel smiled at her gratefully, and waved goodbye to everyone as they left the Lounge. Jade sat down with the others, and sipped a mug of coffee while she waited for them to finish. It didn't take long, as they were all ravenous after working up an appetite that morning. John groaned happily when he was done, having ploughed through a substantial portion of the French toast. They quickly cleared the plates, and tidied up the dining area before strolling back out of the Lounge.

"So, I know you two are off to work on the armour," John said, looking at Dana and Jade. He glanced Alyssa's way, and asked, "How about you, beautiful? What are you up to?"

Before she could reply, Dana interrupted, saying to her, "I could use you in the Engineering Bay for a few minutes. If I give you the schematics for the armour plating, can you start shaping Crystal Alyssium into all the pieces we need?"

Alyssa nodded agreeably, and said, "Sure, I can do that. If you download the plans to the holo-reader, then I'll head on down to the Cargo Bay and start forging it all."

"Not a problem!" Dana grinned at her exuberantly.

John smiled at the three girls as they reached the grav-tube, and said to Alyssa, "I'll go and retrieve my sword, then I'll meet you in the Cargo Bay. It's more psychic training for me today."

She nodded, and blew him a kiss goodbye, then stepped into the red glow of the grav-tube, and started sinking down to Deck Seven. Jade followed after her, but Dana paused, and came over to him for a hug.

"Thank you for this morning, it was wonderful," she told him earnestly. She gave him a wicked grin, and added, "And I don't just mean the philanthropy!"

John let out a throaty chuckle, and reached down to squeeze her cheeks as he said, "Any time, you sexy little minx." When he saw a speculative twinkle in her eyes, he smacked her on the bottom, and laughed as he said, "Except right now! I need some recovery time."

She giggled, then gave him a loving kiss, before waving him goodbye, and stepping into the grav-tube. Left alone in the corridor, John strolled back to his bedroom, and smiled when he saw Irillith slumbering peacefully in the bed.

*Are you there Edraele?* He called out to the Maliri Matriarch, still not quite believing that they could maintain contact over such vast distances.

*I'm here,* she replied immediately, as he walked into his wardrobe to retrieve his sword. Her voice was filled with concern as she went on to ask, *How's Irillith doing?*

*We woke her about half an hour ago, and she was a bit groggy at first, but soon came around. We think the disorientation with her eyes is linked to her psychic abilities making themselves known, as my doctor's given her a full check-up, and she seems to be in perfect health,* John explained, being careful to try and put the girl's mother at ease.

Edraele sounded relieved, and replied, *Let me know if anything changes. I know you'll take good care of her.*

John picked up his newly forged blade, which had taken pride-of-place on hooks above the weapon racks, then glanced down at his old sword. Picking the old one up to compare them, he immediately noticed the extra weight, with the new blade weighing about half the old one. Alyssa's crafting skills were coming along in leaps and bounds, and even though the old weapon was a splendid sword, - well balanced and an excellent blade, - it paled in comparison to the exquisite balance of the new one.

Leaning the old sword against the wall again, he asked Edraele, *Did you experience any problems when your powers first started to appear?*

She paused for a moment, thinking back over nearly a century, then replied, *They took a few years to fully develop. My telepathy began with overhearing fragments of conversation, and after months of concentration and focus, I was able to start picking up whole sentences. Telekinesis was very similar, starting with being able to move tiny items, and with laborious practice over several years, developed into larger, heavier objects.*

John thought back on how rapidly Alyssa had developed her abilities, being able to hold half a dozen telepathic conversations simultaneously, and moving multi-ton objects with her mind, all in a matter of a few brief months. He was astounded by how much she had mastered in such a relatively short period of time. Both his Matriarchs were listening to his thoughts of course, and had their own opinions on the matter.

Edraele got there first, saying, *She must be extremely gifted to have seen such incredible growth in power over such a tight timeframe. I suspect she's a vastly more powerful psychic than I am.*

Alyssa sent him a telepathic giggle as she said, *You've kept my tummy packed with your cum for months. That stuff's like miracle-grow for girls, so it's no wonder I got the hang of this space-magic so fast!*

He had to stifle his laughter as he left the bedroom so that he wouldn't wake Irillith, then strolled down the corridor to the grav-tube. As he stepped into the red glow, he thought to Edraele, *I spent some time practicing using psychic-lightning on my sword yesterday, and it was tough going, but I got better by the end of the session. I just wondered if you might have some advice?*

He could feel her amusement over the connection as she replied, *Yes, I could hear your furious concentration over our bond. Jade and Alyssa have some rather unconventional, but effective training techniques.* She paused a moment, then carefully corrected him as she added, *Forming lightning like that is called Electrokinesis. If you're planning to experiment with Pyrokinesis today, you might want to try Cryokinesis too, which is the manipulation of ice with your mind. Just as my mother was gifted with Pyrokinesis, you might find one of the elements easier to work with than the others.*

*Interesting advice, thanks!* John said gratefully, as he strolled down the corridor into the Cargo Bay.

Alyssa hadn't arrived yet, but he strolled over to the crates of Crystal Alyssium so that he could keep her company when she started working on the armour plating. He sat down on one of the empty crates, and held his sword in a comfortable two-handed grip. The beautiful, gleaming white blade caught the light, and he stared at it for a moment, quite captivated by the way the light flickered and reflected off the tiny Etherite crystals embedded in the metal.

He started to focus intently on the sword, but was immediately interrupted by Alyssa, who said sharply, *Relax! Remember that you're powerful, and this should be effortless, you don't need to give yourself an aneurism! Or do I need to get one of the girls to start giving you head to distract you again?*

John chuckled and replied, *OK, OK! I'm a master psychic; this is a no harder than field stripping an assault rifle.* Taking a deep breath, he relaxed, and looked at his sword again. "Fire," he murmured quietly under his breath, and he immediately felt a strange sensation of heat in his hands.

Pouring more of his will into that odd burning feeling, bright red flames suddenly blazed into life around the hilt. He grinned in delight, and the Eldritch tongue of fire rolled up the blade, swathing it in an aura of flickering and dancing flames. He watched the psychic fire for several minutes, his mind still struggling to deal with the idea that he could just summon a flame from thin air.

*You decided to summon fire, and your mind made it happen,* Edraele told him in a matter-of-fact tone. *Don't try and second guess yourself. Doubts about your abilities will make it harder to use them to full effect.*

Alyssa strolled into the Cargo Bay, the holo-reader clutched in her hand, and she grinned at him with delight when she saw the fire shrouding the sword. She let go of the holo-reader, levitating it with her mind to float along beside her, so that she could free up her hands and applaud enthusiastically.

"Nice work, handsome! It looks like you got the hang of using fire easily enough," she said, and he could see she was proud of him.

He let the flames gutter out, so that the blade was sparkling white once more. "Thanks, honey," he replied gratefully. "It really was much easier when I followed your advice not to overthink it."

She jogged over to him, and threw her arms around his neck to give him a congratulatory kiss. He kissed her back enthusiastically, until he suddenly remembered the sword, and quickly swung it away in case he accidentally burned her with the heated blade.

She picked up on his alarm, and asked, "Is the blade still hot? I assumed it would be back to normal after you turned your powers off."

John looked at her curiously, and replied, "I must admit, I'm not sure."

Alyssa shrugged and reached out to touch the blade.

"Wait!" John cried out in a strangled yelp. "Don't burn yourself!"

"It's fine. If I get burned, I'll just suck you dry and you'll have me good as new in no time," she said nonchalantly, moving quicker than he could safely keep the sword out of her reach. She touched the blade, being careful not to go near the razor sharp edges, and gave a satisfied nod as she confirmed her suspicions. "Cool to the touch. Either the heat dissipated really fast, or the flames just surround the sword without actually heating up the metal itself."

He breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned at her and said, "You're far too blasé about me healing you. It would have been awful seeing you get burned."

She leaned down and gave him another tender kiss, then stared into his eyes from only inches away, as she said softly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. Do you forgive me?"

John smiled at her, unable to stay mad at the lovely young woman, and nodded his forgiveness. She beamed a bright smile at him, then stood up and walked over to the crates to start working on the Crystal Alyssium for Dana. He watched her walk away, then concentrated on his breathing to clear his mind and try some Cryokinesis next. When he felt calm and ready once again, he held the sword in a two-handed grip, and murmured, "Ice."

His hands started to feel an odd numbing sensation as though he were out on a chilly winter's day, and had forgotten to wear a nice cosy pair of gloves. He focused his willpower on intensifying that sensation, and there was a sudden deathly chill in the air, as if the heat was being sucked out of their surroundings. There was an odd cracking sound, as though someone was breaking a sheet of ice, and frost began to rime the length of his blade.

"Wow! I can feel the cold from here!" Alyssa exclaimed, turning to look at him with a startled expression on her face. She walked over to stand beside him, and said eagerly, "Trying touching something with the sword, I want to see what happens!"

John nodded, then stood up and walked over to one of the empty storage boxes. He touched the tip of the blade to the container, then stared at it in amazement as ice instantly began to form. It spread out in frozen tendrils, the corner of the grey box turning white, as ice crystals began to cover the surface. He could see what looked like tiny snowflakes appearing in the frigid air around the sword, which slowly drifted down to the deck.

"Very nice," Alyssa said, obviously impressed. She looked down at her erect nipples, which were hard as diamonds in the frosty chill, and smirked as she asked, "Got any glass that needs cutting?"

He laughed, then let the icy cold radiating out from the blade dissipate, and his sword was back to normal once again. "The advice you and Jade gave me was really helpful," he said appreciatively. "She mentioned feeling a tingling sensation in her paws, for the lightning in her claws, so I kind of recreated that, then just focused on making it stronger."

The blonde girl smiled at him proudly, and said, "You've done really well. I know you were saying how good I was learning psychic abilities so fast, but you only really started yesterday, and you're loads better already!"

"Well, practice makes perfect!" John said, giving her a grateful smile.

He spent the rest of the morning training, taking a break just before noon, when Jade came down to join them. She was here to collect the armour pieces that Alyssa had been busy quad-shaping, and they helped her stack them up on the loading lift in neat piles. It didn't take long to collect up all the armour plating, and the Nymph gave them a cheerful wave goodbye as she activated the lift, then rose up towards the Engineering Bay.

"Dana reckons they'll be done by late afternoon," Alyssa said after a brief telepathic chat with the redhead. "I might as well make a start on the plating for the rest of the female suits, if you want to keep practicing your elemental powers?"

John smiled as he nodded his agreement with her plan, saying, "I ate like a horse at breakfast, so I might just skip lunch." He chuckled and added, "I don't want to end up piling on the pounds!"

Alyssa gave him a wicked grin, as she said, "You're in no danger of that happening, not with the amount of calories you burn through entertaining us girls."

"Any news on Irillith?" John asked, his mind automatically drifting to the girl who was the current beneficiary of all that entertainment.

"Rachel's with her at the moment, and she's still asleep. Do you want me to wake her, so you can load her up again?" she asked him curiously.

He shook his head as he replied, "It's alright, just let her sleep for the moment. I'll go and check on her after Dana's armour demo."

"I'm sure she'll enjoy you 'checking' on her," Alyssa smirked impishly.

John laughed, but the thought of seeing the beautiful Maliri girl carrying another of his loads started getting him hard again. He glanced over at Alyssa, who gave him a knowing smile, and he flushed with embarrassment before turning his concentration back to his sword, to continue his psychic training.

***

The rest of the afternoon went by in a blur, and John only realised it was four o'clock when Calara strolled into the Cargo Bay.

"Hey guys, how've you been getting on?" she called out to them, as she jogged over eagerly.

John put down his sword, and rose to his feet to join Alyssa and Calara who were hugging each other warmly. He wrapped the teenagers in his arms, and watched the two stunningly attractive girls kiss each other enthusiastically. They paused to include him in the kiss, and they were all grinning a few minutes later.

"Much better now you're here," John replied, squeezing the pair of them tightly. Calara gave him an enchanting smile, and he added, "But to answer your original question, it's actually been a really constructive day. I've improved a lot with my psychic abilities, and Alyssa's nearly finished all the armour shaping."

The blonde smiled as she said, "Making plating for body armour is so much quicker than replating the ship. I'm sick of the sight of Invictus' armour plating!"

John and Calara both laughed at that, then John paused, looking thoughtful, and said, "Maybe I should try experimenting with Telekinesis too. Irillith did say she'd seen Progenitor-John use it, and If I can improve enough, I can help shoulder some of the reshaping burden."

Alyssa grinned and said, "I'll be your compliant sex-slave forever, if you can save me from more Assault Cruiser plating!"

"I thought you were already?" John asked her with a confused frown, while playful squeezing one of her asscheeks.

She gave him a wink, and replied, "Alright you got me. Yeah, I am, but I'd still be very grateful!"

Calara gave them both a tight hug, and said passionately, "This feels so amazing, having everything back to normal again. We really need to celebrate together sometime."

John reached down to massage her cheeks too, squeezing her firm flesh with a strong grip, and causing her to flush with excitement. "We can get together when Irillith's feeling alright again," he promised her, smiling at the heated look she was giving him.

"We don't necessarily have to wait that long," Alyssa said, her voice turning husky and seductive. "We can always include our exotic blue-skinned girl and make it a foursome. I know Calara thoroughly enjoyed feeding her earlier."

The Latina gave the blonde girl a knowing smile, and said, "You're just trying to make me blush, but I've been around you too long for that. I've already been thoroughly corrupted by your debauchery." She glanced up at John, then watching Alyssa she continued brazenly, "You're right, it was lovely gazing into Irillith's violet eyes when she licked me to a wonderful orgasm. We had a nice cuddle afterwards, and I feel closer to her now, just as you intended."

John laughed and shaking his head in disbelief, he asked Alyssa, "You're getting each of the girls together with Irillith as a team building exercise?!"

Alyssa shrugged, her bright blue eyes sparkling in the light as she replied, "It's the fastest way of smoothly integrating her into the team. I can't think of a better way of building trust between the girls than them sucking your cum out of each other. Besides, Irillith looks so hot with that euphoric look she gets as she has her first taste, and I wanted everyone to see that. Our lovely new Maliri girl ends up getting her tummy packed full of spunk regardless, so it satisfies multiple objectives at once."

He chuckled, and said, "Unconventional methods, XO, but I can't see any reason to object. Carry on."

Calara giggled as Alyssa snapped to attention, and said, "Will do, Commodore!"

Dana and Rachel strolled into the room at that moment, carrying several armoured helmets in their arms. They smiled to see everyone looking so happy, and after glancing at each of them, Rachel asked, "What did we miss?"

"We were just discussing Alyssa's current team building exercise," Calara explained to them with an arched eyebrow.

Dana grinned and said, "Yeah, that was so hot when I sat on Irillith's face, and she sucked all that spunk out of me. She made me cum so hard, and was so appreciative afterwards, it was lovely!"

Rachel nodded her agreement as she said enthusiastically, "It was wonderful to see her loving going down on me, and I could have spent hours gazing into those gorgeous eyes of hers. She's already been a great help to the team, but she's really starting to feel like one of us now."

When John glanced across at Alyssa, she winked at him, and gave him a smug smile. He quickly grabbed her to give her a solid tickling, and she shrieked with laughter as his playful hands found all her ticklish spots. The others waited patiently, laughing at their antics, until John finally relented and helped the breathless blonde girl to her feet.

Dana, and Rachel handed out the armoured helmets, and when John took his from Dana, he looked at the redhead quizzically. "What are these for?" he asked, quite intrigued.

"It's a helmet. You wear it to protect your head," Dana explained patiently, then giggled when he approached her with tickling hands at the ready. She quickly darted away, pleading "Wait! Wait! We need them for the demonstration!"

John laughed, and swatted her on the rump before rejoining the others.

"Switch to Thermal-imaging," Dana explained, smiling at John as he winked at her. "I'm going to show off one of the new features of the Paragon Body Armour."

"That's a bold name for the armour," John said teasingly. "Are you sure it's going to live up to it?"

"Absolutely," Dana said succinctly with bold confidence.

He smiled at her, and said, "Proceed with your demonstration then, Chief Engineer."

She produced a remote, which she brandished dramatically in the air. "All got Thermal-imaging switched on?" she asked them, looking at each of them in turn.

When everyone nodded, she pressed a button on the remote with a soft click, and they were suddenly plunged into darkness as she turned off the lights in the Cargo Bay. The Thermal-imaging kicked in, painting the room in cool shades of blue, apart from each of them who stood out sharply in bright shades or red and orange as the helmet cams picked up their body heat. Dana grinned and pressed another couple of buttons, opening the double doors into the Cargo Bay, and activating the loading lift down from her Engineering Bay.

After a ten second wait, she said, "Now, keep your eyes peeled. Can any of you see Jade?"

Her audience looked around, staring out across the Cargo Bay, and searched for the telltale red glow from the powered body armour. Calara wandered over to look behind the storage containers full of ore, but they could see her shrug as she walked back to them.

Dana sounded gleeful as she said, "Now, switch to Mag-view. Where is my elusive Nymph assistant?" They switched views as instructed, and all the metal from the decks, walls and ceiling shone up in bright shades of white. They had to blink for a while to try and adjust their eyes to the glare, while Dana continued, "Normally you'd never use Mag-view in an all-metal environment like a ship, but it's useful for the purposes of this demo."

"I see her," John said, spotting her standing in the open on one of the maintenance gantries. "But only because she appears as a dark figure against all this glare."

"Exactly!" Dana said enthusiastically. "Crystal Alyssium is mostly crystalline, hence the name, so we'll only appear as faint ghosts on Mag-view. You'd never use Mag-view like this because of all the glare, so we'll be pretty much invisible to it when it matters."

"Very impressive," John said with a grin. "How did you make her invisible to Thermal-imaging?"

"Do you remember that flight suit we got off that Kintark pilot? It had heating tubes built into it to warm up their cold-blooded bodies. I copied their design, but put my own spin on it. The Paragon suits have an inner and outer layer of armour, just like the Phalanx body armour had, and modified heatsinks are incorporated between the layers. Temperature sensors detect the ambient heat levels, then adjust the outer shell of the armour to match the temperature. Instant invisibility to Thermal-imaging!"

Shaking his head with admiration, John said, "Alright, you can consider me suitably impressed so far. What next, Grand Engineering Overlord?"

Dana grinned with delight, and said, "Now it's the really fun stuff. Turn off the image enhancement overlays please."

They did so, using the helmet HUD to deactivate Mag-view, and leaving them in pitch darkness once more. John could hear Dana pressed another button on the remote, and it emitted a soft beep, before the lights in the Cargo Bay began to gently illuminate the room in a soft glow as she brought them up to their normal levels. Realising that the helmets were no longer needed, they took them off, then looked up at the Nymph to get their first look at the Paragon armour. Jade was still standing atop the maintenance gantry a good twenty metres above their heads, and they were all looking her way as their eyes adjusted to the increasing light.

John let out a low whistle when he got a glimpse of the new armour, and said, "When I mentioned figure hugging, chromed-up bodysuits, you know I was joking, right?"

The new Paragon suit that Jade was wearing left the observer in no doubt that the wearer was female. The new body armour made the old Phalanx suit seem bulky and cumbersome in comparison, as it neatly followed the contours of Jade's spectacular figure. The vambraces and armoured boots bulged slightly, and when Jade turned for them, they saw a ridged protrusion around her shoulder blades, which fitted neatly on her back. The suit was the glossy, sparkling white that John had expected, and at the shoulders, the armoured plates showed a holographic image of a wise-looking green lioness.

"I love the design," Rachel gasped, seeing it for the first time too. She smiled at Dana, and said, "I had no idea you were so creative!"

Dana shot Alyssa a look, and said, "I'd love to claim the credit, but that's all her handiwork."

Alyssa took a sweeping bow, then grinned at the girls as she saw them all nodding approvingly. She turned to look at John, eager to see his verdict, but she looked alarmed when she saw his concerned expression.

"Don't you like the design?" she asked him, sounding worried.

He shook his head, and said, "It's not that. You'll look smoking hot in that armour, and if you were trying to distract male troops, bravo! mission accomplished! No guy is ever going to be able to shoot a girl who looks like that." He paused and studied her apprehensive face, then added gently, "But a battlefield isn't a beauty pageant. Yeah, you'll get more manoeuvrability, and will be a slimmer, harder target to hit, but that armour must be paper thin!"

Alyssa looked relieved when she realised why he was concerned, and smiled as she glanced at Dana, who explained, "You're forgetting just how tough the ultimate material is. I've also refined my armourcrafting techniques, and was able to eliminate a lot of the useless substructure between the plating layers. The new armour is at least twice as tough as the old enhanced Phalanx suits, and you can take the odd Heavy Laser hit without worrying about it penetrating."

John wasn't quite sure he could believe that, but seeing the absolute confidence in Dana's expression, he ceased his objections. He turned to Alyssa, and said wryly, "I just hope I'm not going to be running around looking like I'm in a skintight bodysuit!"

She frowned, shaking her head in confusion as she said, "No, you wanted assless chaps didn't you?"

The blonde girl giggled in delight at his expression, and he laughed with relief a moment later when he realised she was joking. "You nearly had me going for a minute there," he admitted with a grin.

She slipped her arm around his waist, and gave him a kiss on the cheek as she said reassuringly, "Just fucking with you, Commodore. Don't worry, you'll look the part."

He hugged her to him, then turned to look at Dana, as he said, "Alright then, Sparks. What's next on your list of exciting new features?"

The redhead looked up at Jade, then made a beckoning gesture to the Nymph, who was watching her attentively. Jade nodded, then calmly stepped off the maintenance gantry causing the audience to gasp in alarm. Instead of crashing to the floor, there was a golden flare behind her, and the familiar sound of retrothrusters filled the Cargo Bay. She held out her hands to steady herself, and she gently descended to the ground before landing lightly on her feet.

Dana looked overjoyed at John's stunned expression, and said calmly, "Yes, that's right. Now we can fly."

Before their astonished eyes, Jade lifted smoothly off the ground, hovering in place for a moment, before suddenly racing up towards the ceiling. She raised her hands, which slowed her speed, just as the bright golden glow from the back-mounted thrusters dimmed. Turning in the air, she flew in a graceful loop around the Cargo Bay before dropping down to the deck in front of them once more.

Jade pulled off her helmet, and said enthusiastically, "It's so easy to use! I've only been practicing for half an hour in the Hangar Bay."

John laughed heartily, and grinning at Dana, he exclaimed, "Alright, that's pretty awesome! How does it work?"

She grinned back at him, equally as excited, as she replied, "I miniaturised the Trankaran retro-thruster tech, and fitted one in the back, below the suit's power core. The slight bulges at the wrists and calves contain anti-grav generators which help stabilise and guide your flight. The back-mounted retro-thruster is much more powerful than the thrust the anti-grav can generate, so you just use the fields to help point you in the right direction, then go forward."

Jade nodded, saying, "It sounds much more complicated than it is in practice. When you activate flight mode, you'll be surprised how instinctive it is to use."

"There is one downside," Dana admitted reluctantly. "The Paragon armour has the same magnetic repulsion field that I built into the Phalanx armour, but you can't use that in flight mode. The magnetic field interferes with the anti-grav field in the boots and vambraces, so I've set it to deactivate automatically if you start flying. If there's a lot of incoming conventional rounds, you don't want to be caught while flying, which means you'll have to watch out for solid slug anti-aircraft fire."

John shrugged, and gave her an enthusiastic grin as he said, "We can work around that. I can't wait to have a go myself!" His eyes gleamed as he added, "Anything else in these new wonder suits?"

Dana nodded, and turning to Jade she made a gun out of her right hand, and pointing it at the Nymph, she said, "Pow!"

Jade smiled as she put her helmet back on, and then slumped to the floor, lying prone as if unconscious. Dana walked over to her, beckoning her audience to follow, then squatted down on the floor next to the incapacitated Nymph.

"What are you up to now?" Rachel asked, her professional curiosity piqued.

Dana smiled up at the brunette, and said, "I had the idea for this feature after your scrape with the Trankarans. You told me that when Irillith got hit, Alyssa levitated her out, right?"

Rachel nodded, and said, "Yes, that's correct."

"So would have happened if Alyssa had been hit too?" Dana asked her pointedly. She didn't bother to wait for an answer, and stated rhetorically, "You'd have been fucked, wouldn't you? There's no way you could have hauled out two KO'd girls on your own."

Frowning, Rachel said, "I can't disagree with you there. Even trying to drag Irillith out on my own down all those tunnels would have been a nightmare."

Dana looked grim, and said, "Plan for the worst, but hope for the best." She flipped up a tiny concealed panel on Jade's waist, and pressed her thumb to the small square. It flashed green, and she closed the panel again before standing up. As she stood upright, Jade's armoured form gently rose from the ground, still positioned exactly as she had fallen.

Rachel stepped closer, then walked around Jade before crouching down to look underneath her. "Is the armour locked in place?" She asked, quite fascinated.

"Yep, exactly. I figured it would be best not to risk further injury from unnecessary movement, so the armour keeps the patient rigid until they can be evacuated and treated," Dana explained as she danced backwards, with Jade floating along behind her, easily keeping pace. "The anti-grav generators in the boots and gauntlets keep the patient hovering behind whoever activated the medevac control. The control is protected by a DNA reader, and is linked to friendly Paragon suits, but for this demo, I'm carrying a special transmitter that works in the same way."

"How many people could I tow out at once?" Rachel asked, nodding appreciatively.

Dana shrugged, and said, "There's no limit, so the whole team if necessary. If you're leading out more than one of us like this, proximity sensors in the suits will prevent them bashing into each other. As the suit follows along automatically, it frees you up to fight your way clear if you have to."

Rachel grinned, and looked delighted as she said, "I've been worrying about how I'll be able to pull you guys out of danger ever since the fight with the Fulmanax. If we didn't have Irillith's grav-sled with us, evacuating Alyssa up that slippery slope would have been horrendous."

Dana nodded, frowning at the disturbing thought. Her expression brightened as she said, "In the same scenario now, we'd be able to just fly out of those tunnels, with Alyssa floating along behind us. We'd have been out of there in a couple of minutes, max."

"It's a really well thought out feature, thanks so much!" Rachel said to her best friend, as she gave her a grateful hug.

Dana smiled, and said, "Let's just hope we don't have to use it!" When Rachel released her, she walked over to Jade and flipped up the hidden panel and pressed the button again. It flashed green as it recognised her genetic code, then gently lowered the Nymph to the floor before unlocking the armour with a click. Jade flipped up to her feet, moving with impressive agility that was unhampered by the Paragon Body Armour.

John walked up to Jade and Dana, and pulled them in for a hug as he said, "Thanks girls, that was an incredible demo. The new armour features are phenomenal!"

They both hugged him back, and Dana glowed with pride at his praise. "I'm so glad you liked the new armour! I thought up most of these ideas weeks ago, but I didn't have a chance to put them all together until now," she said with relief. She grinned at Calara, and added, "Actually a lot of the flight mode controls were her idea."

The Latina waved her away, and said, "Nonsense, I just gave you a few suggestions at the start, you did all the hard work."

John beckoned her over to join the group hug, and she laughed merrily, and joined them anyway. He turned to look at Alyssa, and said, "I'd give you a hug for the impressive design work, but I'll wait until I see my own armour, just in case."

She laughed gaily, and then skipped backwards towards the loading lift, gesturing for them to follow as she said, "Come on then! Let's go take a look!"

They broke apart from the group hug, and followed Alyssa over to the lift. John looked at Jade, and asked, "How did you get on with learning how to construct the Paragon Armour? Was it very difficult?"

Jade shook her head as she fell into step beside him, and said, "Dana's a very patient teacher, so it wasn't too hard to pick up."

Dana smiled fondly at her new assistant and said, "Alyssa was right about you. You're a very quick learner, and an excellent student."

The lift started to rise into the air, as John placed an arm around each of their shoulders, and said, "Sounds like you two make a perfect team! I'm really glad to hear it's working out for you both."

They smiled at him happily, then everyone looked up as the panels in the ceiling retracted to the side, allowing them to access Dana's workshop. As they ascended through the gap, John darted looks around the Engineering Bay, as he tried to spot his new suit of Paragon body armour. The girls were all watching him with amused anticipation, and they grinned when his eyes widened in shock, as he set eyes on his new Paragon suit.

Alyssa smirked as she studied his expression, and said, "Yeah, that's the kind of reaction I was aiming for."

***

The two House Loraleth agents walked with practiced indifference along the bustling corridor in Genthalas Shipyard, wearing jumpsuits emblazoned with the crossed blades insignia of House Valaden. To the casual observer, they appeared to be a couple of House Valaden technicians that were calmly going about their business. In reality, their every sense was heightened as they kept alert for danger, while being extremely wary not to give away their carefully maintained cover.

Loraleth agents Avelissa and Renaya had arrived on-station a couple of hours earlier. They had been prepared new identities as recently transferred technicians, there to assist with the extensive fleet upgrade currently underway at Genthalas. Security was tight on this busy section of the massive shipyard, but no one had questioned their identification tags so far, and they had been able to pass unimpeded to the small but functional quarters they were sharing.

The first order of business had been to perform a brief reconnaissance to get the lay of the land, and the two agents had split up to cover their allocated sections of this part of the station. Nothing seemed to be overtly alarming, but they both sensed that something was slightly amiss aboard Genthalas. Matriarch Edraele Valaden was here at the shipyard, and with her legendary reputation for arbitrary acts of malicious cruelty, they expected the Maliri here to be tense and fearful. However the mood aboard the station seemed to be uncharacteristically... happy. Both agents had noticed these disconcerting white-haired engineers strolling around, chatting and laughing amiably with their dark-haired colleagues.

When Avelissa returned to their quarters, the solid crystal door rose up into the ceiling, and she found her fellow assassin waiting for her, pacing nervously. "You look worried, Renaya, what is it?" she asked her, once she had stepped into the room, and closed the door behind her.

Renaya was biting a nail, but she stopped as she hissed tersely, "You must have observed the same thing as me! You've been in service to House Loraleth for nearly as many years as I have, and I'm sure you've done your share of recon missions in Valaden territory. I don't know about you, but I've -never- seen Valaden personnel looking this relaxed before."

Avelissa nodded, looking pensive as she replied, "I felt the same shift in mood too." She stared at her teammate for a moment, then let out a troubled sigh, as she added, "Would you want to tell Shaedra Loraleth that we aborted the mission because we've seen a few happy Maliri?"

Torn with indecision, Renaya reluctantly shook her head, replying, "We'd probably get a thousand lashes with a neural whip, and that's only if we were lucky enough not to be executed immediately."

"We'll just have to keep our eyes open, but we don't really have any choice, we have to proceed. You were at the same briefing I was; failure won't be tolerated," Avelissa said grimly, recalling what was at stake on this mission.

Renaya nodded, saying, "We could just be being paranoid. I know I keep waiting for Irillith to suddenly appear and blow my cover any minute."

"I asked around about her," Avelissa said, as the hint of a smile played on her lips for the first time since they'd arrived at Genthalas. "That's one bit of good news. An engineer and a technician both confirmed they'd seen her leave on a Terran ship a few days ago."

Renaya looked relieved, and they both relaxed a little as they quickly finished their preparations for their meeting with their contact. They had been told to meet with an engineer named Ioelena, and had seen an image of her supplied by House Ghilwen Espionage Division. From the recent picture they'd seen, it appeared Ioelena had dyed her hair white, just like a handful of other engineers they'd seen around Genthalas.

With that in mind, they knew she'd be easy to spot, but it was a worry that she would appear so conspicuous. The meeting was set up in one of the impressive Arboretums in Genthalas, the huge hydroponics bay protected by a vast clear crystal dome that gave a spectacular view of the Epsilon Aquarii system. Neither of the assassins had time for such trivialities as sight-seeing however, and they walked at as swift a pace as they dared, through the grassy park.

It only took them a couple of minutes to reach their destination, and they immediately spotted their contact, her short, glossy white hair identifying her clearly. Ioelena was seated at a cluster of tables and chairs, which had been beautifully carved out of the trunk of a tree that had been felled many centuries ago. She looked up as the two assassins approached, making eye contact for an instant and giving them a brief nod, before returning her gaze to the holo-reader she held in her hands.

As they walked up to her, Avelissa and Renaya cast their eyes in a long, nonchalant sweep of their respective sides of the arboretum to watch for danger. There were a couple of Maliri walking in the park, but this particular area seemed deserted at the moment, and they didn't sense anything to make them feel suspicious.

"There's a shift change in two minutes," Ioelena explained, as she watched the two assassins casing the park. "We have at least seven minutes before anyone is likely to interrupt us."

"Can we speak freely?" Avelissa murmured in a hushed whisper.

Ioelena nodded, looking up at her with her bright aquamarine eyes, as she explained, "This holo-reader has a built in sound dampener, and is also emitting a low-powered signal disruptor. If there's any audio devices nearby, they'll just pick up static, and the sound dampener will prevent any long range audio-pickups."

Avelissa studied the white-haired engineer for a moment, trying to gauge her feel of the young woman seated before her. Ioelena certainly seemed sincere, and the assassin didn't get a sense of any deception from her. She sat down, while Renaya maintained her seemingly casual vigil, although she was actually watching any approaches like a hawk.

"You have everything we need?" Avelissa asked brusquely.

Ioelena slipped a hand under the table, and furtively passed a small data-stick over to the House Loraleth assassin. It was a deft move, completely unnoticeable to even a trained observer. She smiled as she replied, "That stick contains Edraele's schedule, and a suitable site for you to make your move. She'll be meeting with her Fleet Commanders in just under four hours time, which will be the best time to strike."

Avelissa nodded, then looked at Ioelena with an air of caution as she asked "Have you established contact with the other teams?"

Ioelena smiled confidently as she replied, "Teams from Houses Aeberos, Naestina, and Ghilwen are all prepped and briefed. They'll coordinate their attacks to synchronise with yours, eliminating any nearby military personnel, and suppress any electronic alarms, to give you as much time on-target as possible. Edraele has three bodyguards with her on Genthalas at the moment, but plans are in place to draw them away, leaving Edraele exposed when she attends this staff meeting."

Carefully stashing the data-stick in a pocket, Avelissa was about to depart, but she paused before she stood. "May I ask you a question?" she inquired, studying the engineer seated opposite her.

"Yes, but make it quick, I need to be back at my station in a couple of minutes," Ioelena replied.

Avelissa glanced at the young woman's shock of white hair, and asked curiously, "Why did you dye your hair that colour? We've seen a few engineers with white hair."

Ioelena smiled and said, "When you see Edraele, you'll understand. Someone thought she might treat those who looked like her more kindly, and it appears to work, so it's started to become the trend here on Genthalas." She shuddered for a moment, and said, "Believe me, you don't want to upset Edraele Valaden if you can help it."

The House Loraleth assassin raised an eyebrow at that, saying, "I think she's going to be fairly upset in four hours time."

Ioelena laughed nervously, saying, "Yes, but you're a highly trained assassin. What am I? A grade two engineer. If you fail, you can escape to House Loraleth territory, but I'll be stuck here with an enraged Edraele."

Avelissa stood, and said with conviction, "In a few hours, no one will be worrying about upsetting Edraele Valaden any longer."

Giving her a grateful smile, Ioelena said, "Good luck. I hope everything goes nice and smoothly."

Not bothering to respond, Avelissa walked away, with Renaya falling into step beside her. The two assassins shared a glance, then strolled purposefully out of the Arboretum. They walked along in companionable silence until they reached their quarters, and as soon as the door shut behind them, Renaya turned to look at her teammate with anticipation.

"So, what do you think?" she asked curtly.

Avelissa had been replaying the encounter with Ioelena in her mind as they had returned to their room, and she nodded slowly saying, "I trust her. I'm a pretty good judge of character, and I definitely believe her." The assassin had a slight smile on her face as she said, "I quite liked her actually, she reminded me of my youngest sister."

Renaya shrugged and said, "Alright then, let's take a look at the ambush site."

They plugged in the data-stick to the holo-reader that they'd brought with them, and examined the location that Ioelena had highlighted for Edraele's assassination. It was on the edges of the activated section of Genthalas Station, reasonably close to the docking bays there, but on the other side of the station from the busier mercantile and drydock areas.

"It looks pretty remote, so less civilian foot traffic to mess up the hit," Renaya observed, nodding her approval of the location.

Avelissa glanced over at her teammate, and asked clinically, "Set explosives in that main corridor, then wait for the detonation, and finish Edraele if she survived?"

Renaya rolled her eyes, and said, "You and your explosives. Alright, it'll make more noise and mess than I'd like, but we can't afford to take any chances."

With a sly smile of anticipation on her face, Avelissa reached over to her bag for the components she needed to start assembling the bomb.

***

An hour later they were on their way, with Avelissa carrying the detonator in a pouch at her waist, and the explosives in a nondescript backpack. This was familiar territory for her now, approaching an ambush site in readiness for a hit, and any remaining nerves she had settled down, her professionalism taking over.

They walked at a deliberately unhurried pace along busy corridors, until the number of Maliri began to thin out, as they travelled further from the more highly used parts of Genthalas Shipyard. Edraele was holding her meeting with her Fleet Commanders in a conference room, which was housed in the high-security area a little further ahead. The corridor they had just joined was the main one that linked the Valaden Matriarch's private quarters on Genthalas, with this particular high-security area, so it was highly likely to be the route she used to attend the meeting. Avelissa and Renaya began to search the corridor, looking for a suitable location to hide their explosives.

"What about behind that vending machine?" Renaya suggested, nodding towards a bulky cabinet.

Avelissa shook her head, her mouth set in a grim frown, as she replied, "No, definitely not, it might muffle the blast. That happened to me seventeen years ago, and the target got away. You never can tell how sturdy those cabinet chassis will be, and we can't risk that happening here." She looked around, then pointed towards a wall-mounted comms console which had been set up for public use, and said, "That looks promising."

Renaya pulled out a multi-tool as she walked across the deserted corridor, and quickly detached a panel on the console. "Looks big enough to take it," she nodded with satisfaction, carefully moving cabling out of the way to make room.

"Perfect," Avelissa agreed, as she unshouldered her backpack. "I'll set this up, and you can install the target-cam up the corridor."

She pulled the bomb out of her pack as Renaya walked back the way they had come, then gingerly slotted the high explosives through the exposed console panel. There was just enough room, so she reached down for the detonator on the belt at her waist, feeling the comforting, familiar weight in her hand.

Suddenly there was a swooshing noise, as well-maintained security doors began to rapidly descend in the corridor. Avelissa looked up in alarm, just in time to see Renaya's shocked face, moments before the heavy door slammed shut between them. Suddenly cut off and alone, her heart pounded in her chest, her fear intensifying when a murky green gas started pumping into the corridor with an ominous hiss.

Holding her breath, she glanced the other way down the corridor, and saw that a second security door had dropped a couple of dozen metres away. Avelissa turned the detonator, tapped at it frantically, then hurled it down the corridor as she dived behind the vending machine. She curled up in a ball, covering her ears with her hands, and five seconds later a thunderous explosion rocked the corridor.

With no time to spare, what with the viscous green gas swirling around her knees, Avelissa sprang to her feet and charged towards the security door. The detonation had ripped a savage hole through the reinforced barrier, blasting jagged fragments of crystal all over the corridor. She plunged through the gap, fleeing as fast as she could to get clear of the billowing gas cloud. When she had sprinted fifty metres up the corridor, she finally trusted the air was good enough to breathe, and desperately filled her burning lungs with crisp clean air.

She took long deep breaths, sighing with relief, as the dizzy lightheaded feeling quickly passed. The sense of relief was short lived however, when she looked up, and saw two lithe women stalking towards her down the corridor. Instantly recognising the predatory stance and measured, confident gait, she knew exactly who was bearing down on her. Reaching for the hilt that had been strapped to her back, concealed behind her backpack, she flicked it to the side. The long, crystalline blade rapidly snapped into place, forming a four-foot-long translucent sword.

One of the approaching Maliri hung back a little, but the other, with unsettling yellow eyes continued undaunted. She raised a placating hand, and called out in a rich voice, "We don't wish to harm you. Please surrender, your situation is hopeless."

Explosives were Avelissa's preferred tools of her trade, but many long years in this profession had taught her to branch out. She snarled, and raised her blade in defiance.

The Valaden bodyguard inclined her head a fraction, drawing her own blade with a whispering hiss.

Slowly the combatants circled each other, gauging their opponent, and looking for weaknesses. Avelissa was the first to strike, lunging forward in a powerful thrust to the chest. Luna parried, her own crystal blade moving in a shimmering blur to deflect the strike safely away. Avelissa was the more aggressive, chopping and striking in a frenzy with her blade. She tested Luna's defences with a rapid flurry of blows, thinking she had the measure of the Valaden assassin.

A split second was all it took. That singular crushing moment of despair, when Avelissa realised she was being toyed with, and that Luna's skill with a blade vastly outmatched her own. With a contemptuous flick of her sword, Luna sent Avelissa's crystalline blade spinning out of her hand, her fingers trembling after the ringing blow.

Bracing herself for the killing thrust, Avelissa stared with disbelieving eyes as Luna lowered her blade, and backed away. "She's all yours, Ilyana," the yellow-eyed swordmaster said quietly.

The other Valaden bodyguard strolled forward confidently, saying in a calm voice, "Please surrender. I have no wish to harm you, but accidents can happen in combat."

"Fuck you, Valaden whore!" Avelissa raged furiously, darting forward and striking with her fist for the woman's throat.

Ilyana moved fluidly with the blow, catching Avelissa's arm at the wrist, then smoothly twisting her so that she sprawled on the floor. Avelissa tried to shake off the daze, and attempted to struggle to her feet, but Ilyana was already on her.

"Shh, gently now," Ilyana whispered, as she wrapped herself around the Loraleth assassin like a snake, and started to squeeze.

Avelissa struggled valiantly, but Ilyana's grip was alarmingly strong, as she carefully cut off the blood supply to her brain with pressure applied to her neck. The last thing Avelissa saw before she blacked out were Luna's yellow eyes, as she squatted down in front of her.

"I promise you'll be quite safe. Edraele wishes to meet with you," Luna said soothingly.

Despite Luna's best intentions, Avelissa didn't find that very soothing at all.