The Imperial Palace on Kinta was in a state of chaos, with flustered officials scurrying down corridors, their frightened faces reflecting the febrile atmosphere on the Kintark homeworld. Tamolith the Consort prowled down one of the grand corridors leading to the Emperor's throne room, her fearsome draconic features twisted into a scowl of contempt. Ever since the horrifying defeat at Terra, she'd been sensing an ugly feeling of resentment amongst the imperial subjects and she knew something had to be done, and done quickly, to avoid disaster.

Her long claws dug into the granite floor, each footfall making a heavy thump, loud enough to warn the chattel to keep well out of her way. As she approached an intersection, a terrified courtier ran out into the corridor, looking back over his shoulder as he fled. Heedless of the red dragon in his path, he thumped into her enormous scaled forelimb, then bounced away to sprawl across the floor.

"Impudent wretch," she snarled, baring an enormous set of fangs. "How dare you sully my magnificence with your filthy touch?!"

"By Dirgisss the Merciful... I beg you..." the junior official whimpered, cowering on the floor.

Tamolith sneered, then backhanded him with a huge forepaw, sending the screaming Kintark cartwheeling through the air. She watched him get some impressive ground clearance, then smiled as he slammed into one of the pillars lining the corridor with a sickening thump. When his shattered body crashed to the ground, the remaining courtiers fled in fear for their lives, much to her satisfaction. It was always good to remind the peons exactly where they stood in the pecking order.

Turning down the corridor the rushing courtier had appeared from, she padded ahead, her gaze locked on the vast ornate doorway at the end. Each door was intricately carved, a labour of love that had continued for centuries, with spectacular stylised dragons in majestic poses. There were half-a-dozen Royal Guard standing guard outside, all that remained of the Praetorian forces that Baledranax had left behind to protect his mate.

"GET OUT YOU MISERABLE CRETINS!"

Tamolith rolled her huge reptilian eyes as she heard Vilandrith's scream of fury. The Empress had been devastated to see her mate brought low at the hands of the Lion and had taken to raging at the palace officials in her grief. A flood of Kintark ministers bolted through the partially-opened doors, followed by the sound of tortured screams. When she reached the huge doors, she barged her way through, ignoring the guards who wisely scurried aside to let her pass. The doors clanged back into place behind her, closing with a thunderous crash as Tamolith prowled into the throne room.

"Is something vexing you, resplendent Empress?" she asked, picking her way through the lacerated corpses that littered the vast chamber.

Vilandrith uncurled herself from the raised dais, her fearsome draconic features etched in grief. "Why must these fools pester me in my time of mourning?!" she sobbed, amber eyes filled with unshed tears. "They should all be grieving the loss of their beloved Emperor! The Palace should be ringing with their lamentations!"

Tamolith could feel the mood-altering pheromones pouring off the grief-stricken female dragon, the emotions varying wildly from anger to fear, then grief, and finally despair. Counting herself fortunate that she was immune to their debilitating effects, she approached the wildly temperamental Empress with caution.

"Vilandrith... my heart breaks for your loss, but the Empire is critically exposed," she warned her, keeping her rumbling voice to a non-confrontational purr. "We must protect our borders, but we haven't got-"

"Why should I lift a claw to protect those disloyal traitors!" the Empress howled, eyes suddenly ablaze with fury. "If they hadn't failed their Emperor when he needed them most, we would be reaping the spoils of victory! Let those worlds burn for all I care!" She broke down again, wailing in her grief. "This shouldn't be happening! Baledranax was so powerful, so mighty... he was an immortal god made flesh..."

"I did warn him that John Blake wasn't to be trifled with," Tamolith murmured, thinking back on her return to the palace only a few short months ago. She immediately regretted her comment as Vilandrith shrieked, apoplectic with rage.

"That miserable little insect! My poor love had yielded and that heartless vermin butchered him like a... like a..." she trailed off, collapsing in a shuddering heap, the vast dragon's resonant sobs of despair echoing around the high-arched audience room.

Tamolith watched the Empress as she wept, trying to determine the best course of action. The Empire would descend into a state of total anarchy before the week was through, and would not survive without someone taking firm control of the throne.

"I might have a solution to your problem..." she tentatively offered. "A way of giving you the necessary time to mourn mighty Baledranax, without constant interruptions from the irritating masses."

Lifting her head, Vilandrith looked at her sister-in-law with hope in her vertically-slitted eyes. "What do you propose, Tamolith?"

Tamolith absent-mindedly scratched a foreclaw across the floor, gouging a deep trench in the marble. "Perhaps I could act as your regent... make sure that everything is running smoothly until you-"

The Empress peeled back her lips from her huge fangs and hissed, eyes ablaze with anger. "You dare to try and usurp my throne?!" She hunched into a crouch, her long tail lashing behind her. "I'm faced with treachery on all sides!"

Debasing herself in front of her fellow dragon, Tamolith lowered her head and neck submissively. "Of course not, Empress! I will forever be in your debt for allowing me to return to the palace with my precious darlings... all I wish is to ease the burden on you in your time of need. Please forgive me that I misspoke and overstepped my position."

All the fight seemed to leech out of Vilandrith and she sagged back onto the dais again. The anger left her too, her draconic features twisting with despair once more. "I-I overreacted Tamolith... you have been a loyal friend..."

Tamolith straightened again, then padded over to join her fellow dragon. "Come, Vilandrith... you should retire to the Imperial Quarters where these meddlesome gnats cannot bother you with their witless inanities."

Heaving a despondent sigh, the Empress lurched to her feet and walked with dragging steps towards the Emperor's personal chambers at the rear of the throne room. "My heart feels like it is made of lead... I have never known such agony," she breathed, her throaty voice communicating the depths of her pain. "How could you stand to lose Kindralax, Tamolith?"

Carefully closing the huge doors behind her, Tamolith smiled as she recalled a pleasant memory. "Ah, it was easy, Empress," she replied, her lips curling into a triumphant sneer. "He'd grown dreadfully dull, so I made a bargain with an intriguing fellow to have him dealt with. I'll have to thank John Blake for dispatching your half-wit of a husband as well!"

Vilandrith whirled around to gape at Tamolith in wide-eyed horror but was too late to react as the other dragon pounced, clamping down around her neck with those massive jaws. The Empress shrieked in agony as long fangs plunged through her scales and bit deep, yellow blood spurting from several vicious wounds. The two dragons crashed to the floor as Vilandrith thrashed to free herself, her foreclaws raking at Tamolith and leaving three bloody clawmarks across her muzzle.

Tamolith violently twisted her head back and forth, long teeth sawing through the other dragon's flesh and widening the savage gouges. Having attacked the Empress from behind, she was able to rake both her front and rear claws down Vilandrith's back, shearing through scales and tearing chunks out of the stricken dragon.

Flailing wildly, Vilandrith tried to free herself from the death grip by slamming the traitor into the wall, but blood was pouring like a waterfall from the cruel wounds to her neck. She began to grow weaker, her struggles less and less effective as Tamolith tore into her. Her final keening wail was cut short in a bubbling gurgle as Tamolith managed to bite through, ripping an enormous chunk out of her neck. After spitting the bloodied flesh from her mouth, Tamolith bit down again, severing Vilandrith's scaly neck completely this time.

Blood began to pool across the floor from the decapitated corpse and Tamolith roared in triumph as she stood over the Empress' body. She shook the dripping yellow blood from her fang-filled maw, then grinned as she surveyed her handiwork. "Poor, trusting fool," she gloated as she studied the dead Empress, making sure she couldn't regenerate such a gruesome injury. "Did you really think I'd forgiven Baledranax for banishing me to Xen-Nucheck with his loathsome brother?"

Of course, the headless body was in no position to reply, but Tamolith spotted movement deeper in the quarters, half-a-dozen sets of fearful orange eyes staring at her out of the gloom. Her ferocious draconic face twisted into a feral grin as she stalked deeper into the Imperial chambers. Tamolith's revenge against Baledranax was not yet complete...

***

John waited as the robotic limbs lifted armour plates away from his body, freeing him from the confines of the Paragon suit. Stepping out of his armoured boots, he smiled at Admiral Harris, who was gaping at the armour-equipping frame in astonishment.

"Not bad eh?" John said with a grin, strolling past his friend towards his bedroom. "Strapping ourselves into armour was taking way too long, so Dana came up with that little invention."

"I've never seen anything like it!" Charles gasped, turning to hurry after him. "You could make an absolute fortune selling tech like that!"

"I'm not sure Fleet Admiral Devereux's going to have much money left in her budget, not after the incredibly generous bounty I'm expecting for the Hera," John replied, winking at the older man.

Charles laughed and shook his head. "I thought you said you didn't want it?"

"Ah, maybe I'll hang on to it after all..." John murmured, pretending to consider the idea. "I could blast the crap out of it, then leave it in orbit around Terra, a bit like 'The Warning'. Do you think that would make anyone in the Admiralty think twice about messing with the girls?"

"I think after what Alyssa did to Weber, they won't even risk looking at any of the Lionesses the wrong way..." Charles replied with a wry smile.

John hit the button to open the doors into the Officers Lounge, then nodded towards the sofas. "Grab a seat, I'll get us a drink. Whiskey, right?"

The Terran admiral sat down and smiled as he unbuttoned his jacket. "As long as I'm not going to get a stern reprimand from Doctor Voss; I don't want her thinking I don't appreciate what she did for me."

John placed two glasses on the bar, then poured out the amber-coloured alcohol, adding a handful of ice to each one.

*Two vodka cranberries please,* Alyssa eagerly requested, as he put down the bottle of whiskey.

Charles watched as John poured out two more drinks. "Are we expecting company?"

"Alyssa and guest," John replied with a grin, gathering up the glasses and returning to the table. He handed a whiskey to the older man, then sat down facing him. "While we're on the subject of what Rachel did for you... how're you feeling now?"

"Like a new man. I haven't felt this good in years," Charles admitted, with no small amount of wonder. "It's funny... all those little aches and pains I'd been putting up with are gone. Rachel wasn't kidding when she said she'd give me another couple of decades; I feel like I've just turned thirty, not fifty!"

John sipped his drink and smiled. "I'm very glad to hear it."

"It's just a shame she can't do anything about the grey hairs," Charles said, brushing a hand through his salt and pepper hair. He raised an eyebrow hopefully. "Can she?"

"They make you look distinguished," Alyssa said, as she entered the Officers' Lounge with Lynette at her side.

John and Charles rose politely from their seats as the two women joined them, then the four sat together.

Lynette studied Charles for a moment, then smiled. "Alyssa's right; you look years younger as it is. I think I'd struggle to take you seriously without those greys."

"Really?" he replied self-consciously.

She nodded, lifting her glass from the table. "I was going to mention it earlier, but then I got distracted by the meeting with High Command. You look like you've had a huge weight lifted off your shoulders... it's done wonders for you, Charles."

He smiled, unused to the compliments. "Thank you."

Her hazel eyes twinkled as she added, "Maybe I should speak to Rachel too. What do you think?"

Charles looked flustered, then held his hand up as if in surrender. "I think I see a minefield ahead, so I'm going to take the only safe course and full-reverse away from that one."

"Very wise," Lynette replied, her light-hearted laughter bordering on a girlish giggle.

Her fellow admiral studied her curiously for a moment, his brows furrowing. "You sound... different... Lynette."

She coughed self-consciously and quickly took a sip of her drink. "Perhaps it was a side-effect of being healed..."

John put down his glass and quickly intervened, "Charles, I hope you aren't going to leave me in suspense for much longer. I'm dying to know if you're going to make it worth my while to sell the Hera, or if I should turn her into Swiss cheese...?"

"Ah yes, of course," the older man said, turning to give John a shrewd look. "You did a superb job salvaging the dreadnought without it sustaining any damage, but unfortunately the Kintark have made all sorts of modifications. The cost of restoring the Hera to her original condition will have to be taken into account..."

Shaking his head, John laughed. "Nice try, but we both know they outfitted it with upgraded Brimorian shields and state-of-the-art heatsinks in those Plasma Cannon batteries. Irillith used it to rack up an impressive kill count, so if anything, it's worth a huge amount more..."

"I tried, Fleet Admiral," Charles said, darting a smile at Lynette.

"It was a valiant effort," she noted, returning his smile.

Charles leaned forward and said, "All joking aside, John, bounty values are set at a fraction of the original manufacturing cost, or estimated cost for alien vessels. Even so, I'd like to offer you 850 million credits for the Hera... along with the earnest gratitude of the Terran Federation."

John whistled, his eyebrows climbing. "I think I'll have to give Irillith a raise!"

Alyssa nodded, her cerulean eyes flashing with amusement. "I'm sure we can come up with a suitable reward for her."

"I accept, Charles, and thank you," John said with a grateful smile. "That money will come in very useful... I'm actually thinking about setting up a new trade station of my own, on the border with the Maliri. We don't currently have a starport there, so all the trade has been going through Geniya station."

Charles briefly glanced at Lynette, his expression turning sombre as he faced John again. "I think we're all friends here and can talk freely... Are you talking about a trade port or a battle station?"

"I don't want to mislead you... I'm considering something substantial," John replied, looking at the two Terran admirals in turn. "I think we'll see a massive increase in trade coming from the Maliri Protectorate in the next few months; far more than Geniya is capable of dealing with. It would be prudent to make sure we have a safe harbour for all those ships, so we'll need to build adequate defensive capabilities. I'd also like to use it as a staging base if we need to launch Maliri fleets to assist the Ashanath, the Trankarans, and yes... the Terran Federation. The biggest base in Maliri Space is Genthalas station, but that's several days flight-time away from the border for their ships."

Lynette looked deeply conflicted and shared a concerned glance with Charles. "A military base adjacent to the border is quite a statement... it would represent a huge projection of Maliri power into Terran Space."

John paused to consider her point. "I don't want to create a political shitstorm for you... What if we built it entirely on the Terran side, then you'd get the benefit of all the docking fee revenues?" he suggested, with a hopeful smile. "It wouldn't cost you a single credit to build or operate, but would bring in a huge tax haul, as well as stimulate even more trade at Olympus."

Lynette gave him an apologetic frown and shook her head. "We could really use the money, but there's no way I could justify allowing an alien empire to build a military base within Terran territory. I have an incredibly strong mandate from High Command at the moment, but that kind of encroachment would severely erode any goodwill I have within the Admiralty."

"Straddling the border then?" John countered. "It would be Maliri run, but we could construct enough Terran-allocated docks to allow for a permanent Federation fleet presence. That way we could claim that it's a joint venture between the Maliri and Terrans?"

"And would we still get the tax revenue?" Lynette pounced, suddenly looking intrigued.

John stifled a smile as he pretended to mull it over. *What do you think, my beautiful blue queen?*

Edraele sent him a loving psychic smile before she replied, *All the Maliri Houses will make a fortune from selling their House specialities, so I think we could forego revenue from docking fees and the like. Being able to keep fully supplied Maliri warfleets right on the border would be well worth the cost of manning such a station with Maliri. As you said, we'd save days of travel time when sending reinforcements to our allies.*

*Fantastic, thank you,* he said gratefully. John hesitated for a second before adding, *Is everything okay? You were quiet all the way through the meeting with High Command...*

*I was fine, just listening attentively,* his Maliri Matriarch replied, sounding a little off-key.

*Give me a few minutes, then we'll talk,* John said with concern, before quickly smiling at Charles and Lynette. "That sounds like a reasonable compromise to me."

The two admirals grinned at each other, credit signs practically flashing in their eyes.

Lynette turned to look at John again and grimaced. "I wish we genuinely could contribute to this starbase, but I think we'll need every spare credit we've got for our fleet refit and construction projects."

John gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it. I've already arranged for Trankaran ores to be shipped to Genthalas, where Maliri engineers will begin construction on the base modules."

Alyssa nodded, looking excited as she said, "I think we should be able to get a surprising amount built in just a couple of months!"

"And in the meantime, it's far more important that you prepare Olympus to ramp up warship construction... The sooner we can start building more ships and fully upgrade the existing Terran fleets the better," he said, leaning back in his seat.

Alyssa's blue eyes flicked to the brunette opposite. *Now would be a good time to announce your plans to relocate to Olympus...*

"That reminds me," Lynette said, turning to look at Charles. "I was thinking that with our primary focus on rebuilding our fleet capabilities, it might be sensible for me to be based at Olympus for the foreseeable future." She smiled at him and quickly added, "Don't worry, I have complete faith in your ability to manage the shipyard, I just thought it might be more efficient to be close by... in case you need Fleet Admiral approval for more funding or resources."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Actually, that's a great idea! I'd much prefer to be able to speak to you in person rather than trying to schedule holo-meetings. I suspected you'd want daily progress reports anyway."

*A nice compliment to boost his ego and you made it seem like you're only moving to Olympus to help him... You're a natural at this!* Alyssa enthused, suppressing a grin.

"I'd like to be kept well-informed, but I don't want you to feel like I'm burdening you with unnecessary meetings. Perhaps we could meet daily for lunch?" Lynette suggested, her tone accommodating. "That way you can keep me updated on anything important and if there's no news... well, we still have to eat."

"That sounds perfect," Charles replied, visibly relaxing. He smiled warmly at her as he continued, "Besides, the Citadel is in a right mess after the Kintark assault. I'm sure we can make you quite comfortable here at Olympus until you decide to return."

"Thank you for being so understanding, Charles," Lynette replied appreciatively. "We'll be working closely together for the foreseeable future, so I don't want us to start off on the wrong foot."

"No problem at all," he said, his eyes flicking to John then back to her. "I'm actually looking forward to having someone else around who knows what we're facing. Henry Voss has been a huge benefit to the refit program, but... he's a little eccentric."

Lynette raised her glass in toast. "To close friends..."

John, Alyssa, and Charles all clinked glasses then sipped their drinks.

Alyssa smiled benignly at Charles, while speaking telepathically to Lynette, *You handled that perfectly! Now you two can relax over a meal on a daily basis... and you've established yourself as his confidant!*

Lynette masked her grin by taking another drink, making eye-contact with the blonde over the rim of her glass.

"Speaking of Henry Voss, Rachel wanted a quick word... she's in her quarters," Alyssa said, while idly tousling John's hair.

He looked at her in surprise, then nodded and turned to smile at Charles and Lynette. "Sorry, duty calls... If you'll excuse me for a few minutes."

Charles waved away his apology. "It's quite alright. I'll just finish this drink then I need to get going; Admiral Van Den Broeck asked to meet for dinner tonight so we could discuss her new role."

"The redhead?" John said with a broad smile. "Charles, you old rascal... she's very attractive."

The admiral laughed and shook his head. "I know... her interest in me is quite mystifying. Still, I'm hardly going to object if a pretty woman wants to buy me dinner."

The two men finished their drinks and stood, missing Alyssa's scowl of frustration and Lynette's dejected frown.

"Thanks for the pleasant company, ladies," Charles said, inclining his head politely to their companions as they quickly masked their expressions. He smiled at Lynette and added, "I'll arrange a new office and quarters for you here on Olympus."

"Much appreciated, Charles," she replied, nodding gratefully. "Thank you."

The two men headed out of the Officers' Lounge, leaving Alyssa and Lynette on the sofas.

"Shit!" Alyssa swore with a grimace. "Lina's a fast worker."

"Never a good deed goes unpunished..." Lynette muttered, her brow creasing with worry. When she saw the blonde's look of confusion, she continued, "I actually felt sorry for Lina after eliminating all the divisions she was overseeing; that was why I assigned her to oversee the Olympus trade-hub expansion."

Alyssa got up, then sat next to Lynette and put her arm around her shoulders. "Don't worry. I doubt she'll sleep with him after their first date." She paused with a frown of concern. "Unless she's a really fast worker..." Seeing Lynette's look of alarm, she quickly continued, "That means we've got one more day to make plans, then you'll have to start your charm offensive!"

"Another day?" Lynette asked in confusion.

The blonde reached over to pat the curve of Lynette's cum-filled belly, her hand disrupting the holographic projection. "We'll be leaving tomorrow night... that means you've got another day of being stuffed full of John's cum while he changes you. After that you'll be a single girl and can start seducing Charles!"

The older woman blushed and nodded, a smile of anticipation spreading across her face.

***

John waved goodbye to Charles as the admiral left through the Invictus' airlock. *Okay, Edraele, I'm all yours...* he said as he turned and headed for the grav-tubes. *So what's bothering you?*

The Maliri Matriarch hesitated for a moment, then let out a rueful sigh. *I was just thinking that I'd always considered the Maliri's long lifespan a gift and the short-lived life of a Terran to be a curse, but now I see that there's a certain... agency... that Terrans possess and we Maliri lack.*

*The whiskey's probably making me a bit slower than usual,* John said with a smile. *Would you mind explaining that for me?*

*In the four hours that Lynette has been Fleet Admiral, she's already completely revamped the Terran Federation interplanetary budget, given High Command a dramatic feeling of new purpose, all while inspiring and uniting the admirals behind her,* Edraele explained, sounding slightly awed. *I realised that with living shorter lives, the Terran willingness to embrace change and their sense of urgency is a profound strength.*

*There's more to it than that,* he said intuitively. *I can tell that you feel ashamed about something... You wouldn't feel that way about the cultural differences you just mentioned, so what is it?*

*Lynette's so focused on helping Federation citizens. Her plans to improve colony development will make a major difference to the lives of people in the Outer Rim systems.* She faltered as she continued, *I-I should be doing a lot more to help the Maliri... I'm ashamed that I've been so singularly obsessed with Fleet refits at Genthalas that I've barely considered my people.*

John paused for a second as he considered his reply. *You've told me before that you lack experience with that kind of positive governance, so it's not surprising that you've overlooked that aspect of your rule. You also need to remember that you and Lynette are facing very different challenges. She needs to rebuild her fleet strength to defend Federation space against potential attacks, but you're making preparations for a war you know is coming... a war where I'm pushing the Maliri to shoulder the burden of the fighting.*

*Yes, that's true but-* she attempted to protest.

*I do hope you aren't interrupting your Progenitor, my devoted Matriarch?* John asked, keeping his tone light as he stepped out of the grav-tube on Deck Two.

*Of course not, my Lord. Please continue,* she replied contritely, a hint of amusement in her voice.

*You need to bear in mind that the Protectorate and Federation are at very different stages of development. The Federation is a relatively new civilisation that has gone through an unprecedented amount of growth in the last few centuries; all the outlying systems are severely lacking in infrastructure, so it's obvious what needs doing to improve the lives of citizens there. By contrast, from what I've seen of the Maliri worlds, they have excellent infrastructure and beautifully designed cities in place... you're just lacking the population to fill them.* He hesitated before adding, *In that regard, Lynette has a much easier job than you. Fixing the biggest problem affecting your people will take time... decades in fact.*

*Thank you for always trying to make me feel better about myself,* Edraele said quietly. *I'm not sure I deserve it, but you do... every time.*

*I love you, Edraele, I don't want you getting upset, especially when you haven't done anything wrong,* John said as he walked towards Rachel's quarters. *You've worked hard to support me in every way you can and I promise I truly appreciate everything you've done for me. I'll do my best to show you that when we return to Genthalas.*

*It feels like so long since I last saw you,* she said wistfully. *It's only been a week, but it seems like a lifetime...*

He couldn't help chuckling at that. *Honey, I know exactly what you mean...* John paused outside the door to Rachel's room. *Will you give your girls a kiss and tell them I love them.*

Edraele's playfully seductive tone came through loud and clear. *Just a kiss?*

*To start with...* he replied, smiling as he imagined it.

*I will do as My Lord commands,* she purred, sounding happy and contented once more.

John hesitated at the door, considering knocking for a moment, then smiled when he remembered that they were long past the need for that. Pressing the button on the wall, the door swished open, revealing Rachel in a matching set of black underwear holding up long dresses in front of a mirror. She turned to look his way, a dazzling smile on her face, her obvious delight at seeing him filling him with happiness.

"Hey gorgeous," he said, returning her smile. "Getting ready for a night out?"

Rachel glided over to give him a sizzling kiss. "Actually, that's exactly what I'm doing! My dad asked me to meet him for dinner." Her grey eyes glinted as she added, "Dana's coming... would you like to join us?"

He hesitated for a moment, torn between his desire to build a relationship with his future father-in-law, and his need to address some other important business.

She was surprised to see him pause and asked, "What's wrong?"

He grimaced as he replied, "I need to talk to Jade. There are some things I have to sort out with her before we add her sisters to the group and I'm on a strict deadline... I'm sorry for letting you down."

"Hey, there's no need to feel bad, I understand," the brunette said, her soft fingers smoothing out his worry lines. She smiled at him, then walked back to her dresses. "Having dinner with just Dana and my father might actually be a nice opportunity. I'd like him to see just how wonderful she is, and if you were there too, I know you'd be the focus of my father's attention."

She picked up the red and green dresses and held them against her chest, trying to decide which to wear. John glanced into her wardrobe and pulled out a mid-length sky-blue dress. "Try this... it'll subconsciously reinforce you're a couple to your father."

Rachel turned to look at him quizzically, then her smile widened. "Oh John, that's a lovely idea! I got that one to match her eyes."

She slipped it on, draping the silky material over her curves, then turned to check her reflection.

"You look stunning," he said, wrapping his arms around her from behind. One hand was drawn to her toned stomach and he gently caressed her as their eyes met in the mirror. Her gaze softened, showing nothing but love as she watched him. "Now you look truly beautiful..."

Rachel turned to face him, her expression shifting with a flood of emotions. "Thank you... for everything. I was a lost soul when you rescued me all those months ago... but you managed to make life wonderful again." She bit her lip and those gentle grey eyes welled up. "I never thought I'd get my father back, but he's so different now. He really loves me, I can see how much he cares... he was never that open with me before, even when my mother was still with us."

"I'm so glad that you're rebuilding your relationship with him," John said, carefully brushing his thumb across her cheek and catching a tear. "You're a lovely girl, Rachel, you deserve this."

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight, while John smiled and rubbed her back.

"Can I share the love?" Dana asked with a warm smile as she glided into the room.

John beckoned her to join them, "Get over here, gorgeous."

She embraced her girlfriend from behind and John repositioned his arms so he was encircling them both. They stood quietly for a long moment, relishing that shared intimacy while Rachel got her emotions under control again.

When they broke up the hug, Rachel turned to look at Dana, her eyes widening in surprise and delight when she saw the smoky-grey dress the redhead was wearing. "You had the same idea as John!" She glanced at him over her shoulder. "You're both so in tune!"

Dana blushed and admitted, "Actually, blondie just told me what John had picked out for you. I was going to wear the green..."

The three of them laughed together, then Rachel quickly put on some makeup and high heels. She gave John a brilliant smile, then stood beside her lover. "What do you think?"

"You both look incredible and it's obvious you belong to each other..." he said earnestly, admiring the two visions of loveliness standing before him.

Dana frowned and shook her head. "We belong to you..."

John reached out to caress them both, smiling as they leaned into his hands. "That goes without saying."

They rewarded him with tender kisses, then accompanied him out into the corridor.

"Who's on guard duty tonight?" John asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tashana stepped out of the grav-tube in a Paragon suit. "That would be me."

"I thought you and Irillith had plans for Jehanna this evening?" John asked, greeting the Maliri girl with a smile.

"We're going to postpone that until tomorrow," she replied, strolling down the corridor to join them. "You've got a busy schedule tonight and there's no better way to finish off some girl-on-girl loving than having your belly stuffed full of cum. We're trying to convince Jehanna to retire with us, so we want this to be something she'll never forget!"

John leaned in to give Tashana a quick kiss when she removed her Paragon helmet. "So, you like her too?"

She nodded enthusiastically, then smiled at Dana and Rachel. "We've both got a thing for Terran girls. You're all so exotic!"

They walked back to the grav-tube, with the three girls chatting animatedly about dinner that evening.

*Jade, would you meet me down in the Cargo Bay please?* John requested as he followed his nubile companions into the red anti-gravity field.

*Give me ten minutes and I'll be right there!* the Nymph readily agreed.

"Have a great time tonight," he said to the girls, when they reached Deck Nine.

"I'm sure you will!" Dana said with a cheeky grin. "You're breaking in the Nymphs, right?"

He laughed and shook his head at her choice of phrase. "I wouldn't have put it quite like that... you know I'm just trying to help them."

Rachel smiled at him and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "They're lucky girls... I wish I could see their faces when they realise you're genetically compatible with them."

Tashana put her helmet back on and said, "We won't be out too late; Alyssa wants us to have a nap before the big showdown tonight."

John parted ways with them at the Cargo Bay doors, waving goodbye to Dana, Rachel, and Tashana as they headed for the airlock. Striding across the huge room to the large crates full of refined metals, he removed the lids from several marked with a silvery-white icon. Concentrating on the shiny blocks of refined metal within, he beckoned them out, then merged them into a massive roiling orb. It was easy to lose himself in the steady rhythm of shaping then melting down the malleable metal, strengthening it each time until he was able to start creating deca-shaped plates. John found that he was comfortably able to create four at a time without overly taxing himself, so he quickly started building up an impressive stack of Crystal Alyssium armour.

He felt a light touch on his arm, rousing him from his methodical work, having not heard Jade's quiet footsteps across the Cargo Bay deck. "I brought you some dinner, John."

Turning her way, he grinned when he saw the big plate with two steak sandwiches she was holding. "Those look amazing, thank you!" he exclaimed, giving her a grateful peck on the cheek.

She grinned at him, delighted to see him so happy. They sat cross-legged on the deck with the plate between them, as Jade put down a couple of bottles of water that she'd kept tucked under her arm. John nodded his approval as he took a big bite, the food tasting as good as it looked.

"You'll need lots of energy for later," Jade said with a coy smile, before picking up the second sandwich and taking a bite.

They sat together in comfortable silence, watching each other eat. John took his time admiring the gorgeous verdant girl sitting before him, meeting her curious gaze as she studied him in return.

*So what am I going to do with you, my naughty little Nymph?* he asked, giving her a level look as he took another bite of his sandwich.

Jade flushed with shame, her skin darkening with a beautiful lustre. *I'm willing to submit to any punishment you deem appropriate, Master.*

*This is the problem I'm facing: You ran off on a whim, right before one of the most intense battles we've ever fought in.* He paused for a moment to let her process that. *You put Calara, Irillith, and Faye at huge risk, leaving the Invictus without our best pilot when we really needed you.*

Her emerald eyes were filled with sorrow, and she was no longer able to meet his gaze. *I'm so sorry, Master... I have no excuse, I was just overcome with the need to protect my sisters. I still can't believe that I effectively disobeyed you, it goes against everything I hold dear.*

John finished the final bite of his sandwich, then took a big drink from the bottled water. When he was done, he pushed the plate and bottle out the way, then beckoned her over. "Come here, Jade."

She sat in his lap, curling her arms and legs around him and hugging him tight. "How can I make it up to you?" she whispered remorsefully, resting her head on his shoulder.

John was quiet for a long moment, just stroking her back as she stayed wrapped around him. He leaned back a little so that he could tilt up her chin and look into her eyes. "Jade, do you respect my judgement as our leader?"

The Nymph looked mortified that he would think otherwise and nodded frantically. "Of course! You've steered us to safety through so many disasters! There is nobody in the galaxy I respect more than you, John, I swear it!"

"I understand it was an exceptional set of circumstances and that the Nymphs were in real danger. I'm also certain that you saved Jehanna's and Lynette's lives, as well as those of your four sisters, and you even helped bring Weber to justice. However, I can't have you running around doing whatever you like, not if it puts the rest of the team in danger," he said quietly. "You need to promise me that you won't just go off-mission like that again, not without at least warning me first."

"I promise," Jade said earnestly. "I really mean it, John."

John brushed his fingers through her hair and cupped her head in his hands. "I believe you... You're forgiven, Jade."

Like bright sunshine chasing away stormy clouds, a radiant smile lit up her sorrowful face and she hugged him fiercely. "Thank you, Master!"

He returned her enthusiastic embrace, smiling at her when she finally pulled back. "Now, shall we review you in action on Tartarus?"

She blushed, obviously embarrassed about her solo rampage. "If you want..."

Brushing his thumb across her cool cheek, he said gently, "I said you were forgiven, Jade. I'm not suggesting we look at it to make you feel guilty, I'm just curious to see how you handled yourself in combat. I saw the aftermath when I visited Tartarus and it was... impressive."

The Nymph sat up straighter, her expression lifting. "Okay then!"

Glancing up at the ceiling where he knew hidden cameras were located, John called out, "Faye, can you project the Tartarus footage in here?"

The purple sprite popped into existence, her gossamer wings fluttering as she bounced over to join them. "Sure! That's no problem!"

"I'm guessing you've compiled the relevant video into something we can watch?" John asked with a knowing smile.

Her elfin face sported a huge grin as she nodded. "You know me too well!"

John glanced at the huge Crystal Alyssium orb, surprised to see that it was still slowly rotating without him having to hold it there with conscious will. He narrowed his eyes in focus, picturing the liquid metal in his mind, then began to shape another set of plates. With a satisfying sense of accomplishment, he watched as the sparkling white armour plating began to form without him having to make any gestures.

Turning his attention back to the glowing holo-screen that Faye had conjured before them, he saw that the video began with an image taken from a camera in a big gloomy room. In the centre of the room was the black stealth shuttle he remembered from Tartarus' upper hangar.

"Do you want to talk me through it?" he asked Jade who was still sitting facing him.

"Sure!" She glanced over her shoulder and began, "This must be when I first infiltrated the base. I changed into a spider and decided to walk across the ceiling to-"

He laughed and shook his head as he interrupted her, "You'll get a crick in your neck like that." He took a firm hold of her waist, then turned her around so that she was sitting in front of him. Placing one hand on her tummy and the other on her shoulder, he pulled her back so that she was leaning against his chest. "There, that's better. Now, tell me what you did..."

Jade let out a happy sigh as she relaxed in his arms, then continued to describe her use of different creatures and what she was thinking at the time. John listened in fascination as he watched her sneak into the base as a deadly-looking spider, then she made great progress as a snake until her unfortunate discovery. After that his eyes widened at the scenes of unrestrained carnage as she rampaged through everything in her path.

"How on Terra did you change into that dragon?" he asked in astonishment as he watched her unleash a devastating energy blast from her maw. The camera filming her onslaught shorted out a second later and footage from a camera deeper in the facility picked up the mayhem.

She shrugged and turned slightly to smile at him. "I remembered how effective that form was from our last astral battle. I needed more power from Alyssa to shapeshift into something so massive and those breath weapon attacks took a tremendous amount of energy. Hopefully, with a bit of practice I won't have to rely on her so much next time."

John slowly nodded, his eyes flicking back to the video and watching as she shrugged off hundreds of Gatling Laser bolts, armour-piercing rounds, and even grenade attacks. "Didn't that hurt? Getting shot by all that? It was your body they were hitting, not a suit of armour..."

"Pain is all relative... I learned you can ignore it a long time ago," she said quietly, lost in thought. "I suppose it hurt a bit at the start, but after a while I was able to just shut it out. All I cared about was rescuing my sisters."

He squeezed her a bit tighter and she began to purr, snuggling into his embrace. The footage continued, with Jade tearing through the soldiers as she stormed through the base. When she finally caught up to Weber in his salvaged destroyer, he saw Jade charge out across the maintenance platform to shield the four feline women from harm.

"Faye, stop the video!" he called out, staring intently at the image.

She did as he asked and Jade looked at him in astonishment. "I-I... never thought about that..."

"What is it?" Faye asked in confusion, looking at each of them in turn.

"When I first met Jade, she couldn't remember her original form, so she improvised and came up with the way she looks now... But all four of her sisters are there as catgirls!" John explained, before looking down at Jade. "I just assumed you must have shown them."

Shaking her head, Jade said quietly, "No, they were already in their Lenarran form by the time I caught up to them."

"Weber ordered them to change to look like that," Faye helpfully explained. "When he became their master, they all turned into identical blonde girls... it seemed to really freak him out!"

"How did they know?" John asked, looking confused.

Jade looked troubled as she replied, "They don't have any other memories of their past... I spoke to them all and I'm sure they don't remember anything." Her expression flickered with concern. "But if they can all remember their original shape, why couldn't I?"

"Maybe Alyssa could take a look into your mind and theirs; perhaps she might be able to find out more?" John suggested, knowing she would be able to hear every word.

*I need to conserve my energy for now; I'll need as much power as I can get for the Astral Plane... but I can take a look tomorrow?* Alyssa replied, speaking to them both.

*Sounds like a plan,* John replied, hugging Jade close.

He nodded to Faye and the video continued, showing the destroyer opening fire on Jade's massive draconic form, pounding her with salvos of Gauss Cannon slugs at point blank range. It was horrific to watch, with big craters being blasted out of her scaled green hide as she desperately tried to shield her sisters from harm. John flinched every time Jade was struck, until he finally averted his eyes.

"That's enough, Faye! I can't watch any more!" he called out, unable to stand seeing his lovely Nymph being mercilessly torn apart.

Jade winced as she watched herself crawling mortally wounded across the maintenance gantry. "Yeah, that really hurt..."

"Sorry, John," Faye said quietly, turning off the holo-projection. "It's gone."

"How the hell did you survive it, Jade?" John asked, anguish in his voice. "You were shot fifty, maybe sixty times with Gauss Cannon rounds!"

She turned to face him again, with rapt devotion shining in her emerald eyes. "Only because of you, Master. Your will made me strong enough to survive and I was determined not to break my promise to you..." She leaned forward to gently brush her lips against his in a soft kiss. "You have plans for me, remember? I failed you once against Shinatobe... I wasn't going to fail again."

He cupped her head in his hands and put his heart and soul into kissing her. They started tenderly, but quickly ramped up the intensity in a deep kiss, his tongue duelling with hers. Jade's cool skin began to warm up as she responded, the Nymph pressing her luscious body against him. For the first time, he could feel her consciousness merging with his, taking his breath away with its simple purity. Jade was a delicate, innocent presence that seemed tentative at first, until she realised what was happening. At that point she rushed headlong towards him, throwing her entire being into that melding of minds. When they finally pulled apart, they were both breathless with the intensity of the kiss, gaping at each other in shock.

"That was like our kiss before the fight with the Kirrix," Jade murmured, her vertical pupils growing to big round circles, as she gazed at him with nothing but love in her eyes. "But so much more..."

"Something's happening to you, Jade," John said, gently stroking her cheek. "I've only been able to do that with Alyssa until now."

"Maybe you've been getting me ready... preparing me to be a Matriarch for my sisters?" she asked, looking nervous but excited too.

He smiled at her, then stood up with Jade still wrapped around him. "Shall we go find out?"

She grinned and nodded, reluctantly uncoiling herself so that she stood beside him. "I can't wait..."

"John, be careful!" Faye suddenly exclaimed, pointing a tiny purple finger at the towering pile of armour plates behind them.

He whirled around and gaped at the precarious stack, which had been piled high up to the ceiling and was now wobbling ominously. "I forgot I was even doing that!" he exclaimed unable to believe his eyes.

The ball of Crystal Alyssium was practically non-existent, the liquid metal having been shaped into scores of identical pristine armour panels. John gestured at the upper levels of the pile, carefully grasped a smaller stack of the spacecraft plating in a telekinetic grip, then lowered it to the ground. He repeated that several times, until it was safe again.

*How the hell did you do that?!* Alyssa blurted out, sounding as astonished as John felt.

*I've no idea... I just tried to do what the girls have been doing; you know, concentrating on two things at the same time. I just got distracted with Jade and forgot about the shaping...* John replied, quite mystified.

The blonde giggled with gleeful anticipation. *I've got to learn how to do that!* She sounded excited as she added, *Now come to bed! The Nymphs are waiting!*

John nodded his thanks to Faye, then turned to leave hand-in-hand with Jade. All the way up in the grav-tube, she darted longing glances his way, her anticipation clearly building. When they walked into the bedroom, they found Alyssa surrounded by dark-green girls, the blonde busy French kissing Marika while the other three planted loving kisses on the teenager's body.

"Starting without us?" John asked, giving the quintet a wry smile.

Alyssa's eyes were ablaze with lust, her chest heaving. "They were getting twitchy waiting... and I couldn't resist." She crooked a finger at him as the Nymphs peeled away, four sets of emerald eyes matching the sultry look the blonde was giving him. "They've been really good girls and they need rewarding..."

Jade grinned at him as she helped him quickly strip off his clothes, discarding her own dress afterwards with indecent haste. When he climbed on the bed, Alyssa slid out the way, moving over to the high-backed chair to watch. As John was welcomed to the bed by a bevy of yearning Nymphs, the blonde spread her legs and began to stroke herself.

"Alyssa was right," John murmured, putting his arms around the two striped Nymphs, while the spotted patterned girls hugged him from behind. "You've all been very patient."

"Please, Master... this one needs you so badly," Leylira begged him, moulding herself to his body as she kissed him with a desperate hunger.

John kissed her back, smiling as he felt her cool skin flush warm, her breath quickening with arousal. He pulled back then turned to meet Marika's kiss as she pressed herself against him. Betrixa and Neysa were quick to change places, eager to get their own kisses as soon as his lips were free.

"I'm going to take each of you in turn, then Jade's going to feed you my cum," he said, glancing around at the four panting girls, the Nymphs looking like they were in heat.

He could see the overwhelming need they had to be claimed by their Master and didn't want to torture them with waiting any longer. Embracing Leylira, he eased her back onto the bed, moving with her to lie at her side. With her dark-green skin and almost jet-black hair it was almost like holding Jade in his arms, but he paused to really appreciate the differences. He traced a finger along the thin viridian stripes that marked her torso, crossing back and forth as he explored the lovely contours of her body.

Her breath caught as he circled each dark nipple, a soft moan escaping her lips as he kissed each erect point. Flicking his tongue out to lap at them, they hardened further, drawing a soft gasp from her in response. John smiled as he raised himself up to study her gorgeous face, admiring the sensuous pout of her lips, the slender lines of her delicate nose, and the long-lashed set of enchanting eyes that gazed back at him. John let his fingers glide up the graceful length of her throat, then followed the shape of her jawline with a fingertip. Leylira's eyes widened at that distinctive caress, one that Jade had introduced him to many months ago.

"Master?" she asked, her expression caught between astonishment and joy.

"You're a very beautiful girl, Leylira," he said, giving her a warm smile. "I'm going to make you mine, then set you free."

She shook her head vigorously. "This one never wishes to leave you, Master!"

"Don't be alarmed, I don't want you to leave either," he said quietly, stroking her to keep her calm. "You won't understand right now, but eventually, I am going to give you that choice..."

Leylira was about to reassure her master that she would never dream of going anywhere without him, but he silenced her with a kiss, making her melt into his arms. He let his hand slide down her body, brushing over the firm oval of her belly and dipping lower. Her moans were muffled into his mouth as he explored her pussy with his gently probing fingers, finding her soaking wet and more than ready for him. Slipping his index finger into her silken folds, her inner lips welcomed him inside with a delicious snugness. He paused for a second with concern, wondering if he might need to feed her first before they made love; his finger was a fraction of the size of his cock...

He felt warm hands caress his back. *She can take everything you've got, John,* Jade purred, letting her fingers brush down his spine. *You don't have to be gentle, she just needs to be filled by you... however you want her.*

*I want our first time to be special... hopefully something she'll remember fondly,* he said, trailing kisses down Leylira's throat, then across her chest.

The Nymph writhed against him, a look of startled delight on her lovely face as he kissed his way around her navel, before he shifted to lie between her parted thighs.

"Oh, Master!" she gasped, her sensitive body quivering as he began to explore her silky-smooth labia.

Just like Jade, Leylira was entirely bare, giving John unrestricted access to her slick folds. She tasted of mint too, a flavour he particularly enjoyed, and he attempted to show his appreciation with enthusiastic worship at her feminine altar. Her startled cries at his intimate exploration grew more vocal as he showed her everything he'd learned from his harem of lusty girls and it didn't take him long to draw out a thigh-trembling climax from the panting Nymph.

"Please Master, claim this one as yours!" she managed to gasp, her eyes pleading.

He did his best to ignore the mewling moans of desire from her sisters, who were consumed by a lustful haze, keeping his full attention on Leylira. Repositioning himself over her body, he held his weight off her as he guided the head of his cock into position. She was hot, wet, and craving his length, wriggling her hips as if trying to impale herself.

"Just relax," he said, with a sympathetic smile. "I'll give you what you need."

Leylira bit her lower lip and held still, spreading her thighs as wide as they would go. She let out a low cry of triumph as he pushed forward, steadily impaling her for the first time. John groaned as her tight velvety grip enveloped his shaft and he watched her eyes widen as he penetrated her womb, her mouth falling open in wonder.

"There you go," he murmured, letting his stomach rest against hers and smiling as she wrapped her legs around him. "Does that feel better?"

The tension she was holding seemed to flow out of her and she relaxed, as if all her anxieties had been expunged. "This one feels complete now, made whole with you here, Master..." She slipped a hand between them to caress the bulge his girth had made in her tummy.

"I'm sorry you've had to wait," he said remorsefully, pulling back a few inches then sinking home, watching her long eyelashes flutter as she thrilled at the sensation. "I didn't realise just how much you needed it..."

"Everything's wonderful now, Master," she purred, letting out a blissful sigh.

He began to pick up the pace and Leylira's calm demeanour quickly evaporated. Her pupils flared as he drove his thick cock deep into her belly, and she began to meet every thrust with ones of her own. She let out sweet cries of pleasure, her body shaking with her mounting excitement, nails digging into his back every time he ground against her clit. He could tell just how close she was to her release and hammered her clutching pussy, making the tiger-striped girl arch her back as she humped back at him in a frenzy. Leylira let out a strangled scream of ecstasy, her body going rigid as she clamped down on him, her inner folds rippling in enticing waves along his shaft as though urging him to paint her womb with his cum.

John was surprised but delighted to see how wildly she responded to him and smiled at her fondly as she thrashed through her climax. "That's right beautiful, cum hard for me," he murmured in her ear as she pulsated around his girth.

The strength of her orgasm left her reeling and she collapsed back on the bed, with a languid smile on her face. "Master... that was spectacular..."

"We'll be doing that lots more," he said, giving her a kiss. Glancing down where they were joined, he smiled regretfully. "I need to take care of your sisters too..."

"Go... pleasure them as you have this one, Master," she said, giving him a sultry look.

John eased out of her steamy depths, his cock bobbing angrily as if in frustration when he withdrew. "Who's next?" he asked, smiling at the panting girls.

They all darted frantic looks at one another, clearly equally desperate to be with him, but unable to decide between them. He settled it by reaching for the Nymph with large jaguar-like spots marking her verdant skin.

"Oh, thank you, Master!" Neysa gasped gratefully, swooning in his arms.

He eased her down to the bed and began to explore the exotic patterns on her skin, feeling her body immediately warm to his touch. She groaned, writhing with every caress, her expression one of almost painful ecstasy.

*John, don't tease her with foreplay,* Jade requested, her voice filled with concern. *They need you to penetrate them...* She sounded uncertain as she faltered, *I-I think it consummates our connection to you, fully establishing you as their new master.*

He glanced back and nodded his understanding, then quickly moved into position between Neysa's deliciously-smooth thighs. She was just as soaked as Leylira had been, so sliding inside her glorious body was like plunging into a skin-tight sleeve of liquid honey.

"Oh, Master!" Neysa gasped, almost sobbing with relief.

"You're mine now, lovely little Nymph," he said, running his fingers through her lustrous hair.

She calmed straight away, her expression serene as she gazed up at him. "Does that feel good for you, Master?" she asked, a gentle caring smile on her face.

"Of course, you feel incredible," he replied, pulling back and sheathing himself inside her, his quad bumping against her rounded ass.

"This one wishes to make this as pleasurable for you as possible," she murmured, her expression turning thoughtful. With an adorable frown of concentration, he felt her pussy massaging the length of his shaft, like several oil-slicked hands carefully stroking his cock. "Better?"

He couldn't help groaning at the exquisite sensation, which brought a satisfied smile to her face. "You'll make me cum really quickly like that," he said, then laughed when he saw her smile widen. "You feel amazing, but we'll save that for later. For now, I want to see you cum for me, then it'll be your sisters' turn... okay?"

"This one understands, Master," she replied, lifting her thighs a little and shifting her hips, so that with each thrust he'd be rubbing against her clit.

John began to build up a comfortable rhythm, watching her expression as she reacted to their coupling. Neysa seemed demure and dignified as she gazed up at him, but he could tell by her heavily dilated pupils, flushed skin and heaving chest that she was very aroused. It was startling to see just how deeply the Nymphs needed to be with him for that first time, and he was fascinated to see their personalities emerge once that burning need had been quenched.

*I don't remember you reacting like this,* John said to Jade, feeling her presence beside him and glancing up to see her beautiful face.

Jade gave him a fond smile as she stroked his shoulder. *If I remember correctly, I didn't have time to get antsy... Within an hour of meeting you, I was on my knees with your huge cock throbbing in my throat.*

He blushed with embarrassment. *I did try to give you your freedom, but you weren't able to understand what I was offering you. I realised you needed a master, so I decided not to fight the inevitable.* He smiled at her self-consciously. *You were very hard to resist, Jade. You know I think you're gorgeous.*

*I remember it all,* she purred with a loving caress. *You're the only man who ever considered my needs and desires, or tried to do what was best for me. I wonder if that's when I knew I'd met my soulmate...*

John focused on Neysa, sharing a smile with her as the lovely girl drew closer to her climax. *I don't remember your personality changing once we'd been together, Jade. You were always so adoring and eager to please...*

*I take great pride in my total submission to my powerful Master,* Jade replied, her emerald eyes glinting at the thought. *Although I have a feeling my sisters might have their own unique twist on things...*

"That's a good girl," John said encouragingly to Neysa. "I want to watch your beautiful face when you come for me..."

Her mouth opened in a silent cry and the Nymph arched her back, trembling against him as she climaxed. She gripped his cock with pulsating squeezes, while she stayed frozen in ecstasy, her eyes rolling up as she crested that overwhelming surge of pleasure. John stayed still so he could appreciate the look of rapture on her face, feeling a sense of pride at coaxing such a powerful orgasm from her.

She sagged back on the bed and gave him a shy smile. "Thank you, Master. You're very kind."

"The first of many," he replied, leaning down to give her a tender kiss.

He slowly pulled out, Neysa giving him a look of contentment before rolling away to make room for the next Nymph. John turned to face the last two girls and could see that Betrixa was practically climbing the walls, her breathing coming in short pants as she stared at him like he was a big juicy steak. He grinned at her and beckoned her over, then the leopard patterned girl practically flew into his arms.

Guiding her down to her back, he manoeuvred himself between her obscenely splayed thighs, wasting no time in giving her what she needed. Betrixa shuddered with every inch, closing her eyes as her lovely features shone with euphoria. John sank all the way inside her, nudging the back of her womb with the blunt head of his cock. That contact drew a low moan from her, prompting Betrixa to slowly open her eyes.

She giggled, her emerald orbs sparkling with mischief. "We're going to have so much fun, Master!" Hooking a leg around his, she pushed at his chest, urging him to roll over. "Let this one drive!"

Surprised but amused by her dramatic shift in behaviour, he did as she asked, letting her roll him over onto his back. "Show me what you've got, honey."

Betrixa purred as she rolled her hips, getting him well seated inside her. "Oh my goodness... you have an enormous cock, Master!"

He placed his hands on her hips and ground her against him, the contact on her clit making her moan wantonly. "And you're deliciously tight and wet... I think we're a good match."

"Uh-huh," she crooned, walking her fingers over his chest. "Mmm, big muscles too... how scrumptious!"

He heard Alyssa laugh. *Oh, I like her...*

"Now, just let Betrixa take good care of you, Master," the Nymph said, giving him a flirtatious smile. Leaning forward a little, she began to rise up on his shaft, her pussy fluttering all the way. When only the head was left inside her, she dropped down, plunging him deep into her belly again. "It's like getting fisted by an Ashanath!" she marvelled, eyes wide with joy.

He shook his head in amazement at this surprising girl, not sure how to respond to that.

"This one is only kidding..." She winked at him. "Master's much bigger!"

Now it was John's turn to laugh, and he reached up to tweak her nipples, making Betrixa giggle. "I think you're right, we are going to have a lot of fun... but just focus on yourself for now. I still need to take care of Marika; the poor girl had to wait till last."

Betrixa shot a concerned glance at the tabby-striped Nymph, her smile wavering for a moment as she looked at her with sympathy. Turning back to John she carefully interlaced her fingers with his, then pushed them back, so they were pinned on the mattress above his head. She stared intently into his eyes, checking for the slightest flicker of disapproval, then grinned when he nodded his consent.

"Master's in for a treat," she murmured, her face only inches from his. "This one can be very naughty..."

"This is just about you tonight," he said with a smile, gently squeezing her fingers. "Show me what a sexy little Nymph you're going to be for me."

She nodded, then began to gyrate against him, biting her lip as she stimulated all her sensitive nerve endings. John watched her in fascination, amazed at the hidden personalities they were revealing. He'd expected the four Nymphs to be slight variants of Jade's lovely nature, but they each seemed radically different. Betrixa rode his cock with consummate skill, her lithe limbs letting her ride him at a frisky pace. It was obvious from the cute look of concentration on her face that she was focused on following his orders, fully intending to make herself climax.

Screwing him with a smooth, accomplished rhythm, John knew that this vixen would bring him to orgasm all too soon, unless she finished quickly. Fortunately, it didn't take much longer and she threw her head back, letting out a feral scream of release as her pussy clamped down on him in a vice-like grip.

Betrixa eventually calmed, then gave him a cheeky grin as her inner muscles unclenched. "This one is going to love being Master's slavegirl!"

He paused and shook his head firmly. "It's not like that, Betrixa, I promise!"

His frown clearly unsettled her, wiping away her smile. "This one is so sorry, Master! Betrixa never meant to give any offense!"

John sat up when she hurriedly released his hands, then wrapped his arms around her to hold her close. "We'll talk about this later, but you aren't my slave, honey. Now that I'm your master, it's my job to take care of you and keep you safe... but I'll never make you do anything you don't want to."

"Okay," she said quietly, her lovely face a mask of confusion.

He sighed, then rubbed her back. "I'm very happy with you, Betrixa, you did nothing wrong."

The Nymph smiled with relief, then leaned forward to rub noses with him. "Riding you was super fun! Thank you, Master!"

"You're welcome," he replied, returning her smile and helping her dismount.

He opened his arms for Marika and the tabby-striped girl rushed to him, longing for his touch. Knowing what she needed, he shifted position to cover her as she fell back on the bed, embedding himself up to the quad seconds later. As his cock slid deep inside her, Marika held her breath, goosebumps covering her whole body. John watched her face and couldn't help feeling like a child at Christmas, filled with anticipation as he waited to see what Marika was really like.

Her eyes softened and she gave him an enchanting smile, her arms curling around his biceps and her velvety thighs moving slowly against his flanks. "Please make love to this one, Master," she whispered, pulling him down for a kiss as she undulated beneath him.

After Betrixa's larger-than-life personality, Marika's gentle tenderness came as a surprise, but a very pleasant one. Her flushed lips moved against his with a wonderful sensuality that made him feel like she was enveloping him in her love. Responding to her touch, he stroked into her at the same languid pace she had set, hearing her purr deep in her throat as she nodded her approval.

"Such a skilled lover," she murmured in his ear. "So handsome, so virile... this one is so lucky to have been claimed by you..."

"Is this what you like?" he asked, gazing into her eyes. "Slow and gentle?"

She hesitated, a hopeful look in her eyes. "Is that okay, Master?"

"Of course it is, honey," he replied, cradling her in his arms. "I always want you to enjoy whatever we do together."

Marika seemed to melt into his embrace, then nuzzled into him, planting fluttering kisses on his neck. He felt like he'd been reunited with a long-lost lover, she was so tender with him, and he was astonished at how strongly he wanted to reciprocate those feelings despite barely knowing the girl.

*They're very good...* Alyssa marvelled, the surprise quite clear in her voice.

*So subtle...* Edraele agreed, sounding equally as astounded.

When he glanced at Jade, he saw a strange expression on her face, one that he'd never seen before. *Are you alright? What's the matter?*

*Love her, John, I'll tell you later,* she replied, giving him a wistful smile, before leaning in to kiss him.

He studied her for a moment, but it was clear she wasn't going to reveal more. Turning back to look at Marika again, he gave her a smile of apology. "Sorry, beautiful. I should be giving you my undivided attention."

The tabby-striped girl flicked an affectionate glance at Jade, before shaking her head as she met John's look of concern. "Master has nothing to apologise for." She traced a finger along his jawline and gave him a knowing smile. "You love her; it's beautiful to see."

They kissed again and John was amazed at the way Marika seemed to open her heart to him, knowing he could easily fall for a girl so guileless in her desires. He wanted to protect these gentle Nymphs and try to ensure that they'd never be hurt or abused again, the thought of them suffering through years of torment at the hands of sadistic masters filling him with profound sadness. John dearly hoped that when these four lovely girls regained their lost memories, they wouldn't be as traumatic as the horrors Jade had been forced to endure.

Marika's breathing quickened, tickling his neck between kisses as she murmured more loving endearments in his ear. He could feel that she was getting close and watched her face light up as she let out a breathy moan, her snug grip on his shaft turning to a fluttering ripple as she climaxed. The look of elation she gave him was tremendously satisfying and they shared a final kiss as she relaxed, her beaming smile reflecting her contentment.

After carefully pulling out of Marika, he turned to Jade. "Are you ready, honey?"

She nodded, showing no trace of her previously-troubled thoughts, reassuring him with a glorious smile. "I am."

He sat with his back against the headboard and looked at the four satiated Nymphs who lounged around him on the bed. Their feline eyes watched him without the previous intensity, but that smouldering heat had been replaced by genuine affection, which was alluring in its own way. John expected Jade to straddle him, but she paused to give him a naughty smile, then bent low to examine his glistening cock. She parted her lips and took her time sliding down his length, her long tongue coiling around him, cleaning him thoroughly as she lapped his shaft.

She unsheathed him from her throat, a coy smile teasing her lips when she sat up again. "They taste delicious..."

"I've always loved mint," he said with a grin, reaching for the playful girl and pulling her onto his lap.

There was something unreadable in her expression as she relaxed in his arms. "I know."

"What is it, Jade? Something's obviously bothering you," he said, really starting to worry.

She placed a light kiss on his lips. "Let's feed them now... then we'll talk, I promise."

John glanced at Alyssa and she shook her head. *She's right, you need to hurry to keep to our schedule. We'll tell you all about it afterwards, but now's not the time.*

Realising he wasn't going to get any answers, he held Jade's waist and carefully repositioned her over his cock. The Nymph slid down him like she had so many times before, but this time, her emerald eyes seemed to be studying every square inch of his face. It was almost as if she was searching for something... looking at him in a way she never had before. John was stroking her back as he watched her and was about to ask again what had so unsettled the girl, when he felt a rippling under her soft skin. He pulled his hands away as four green tentacles emerged from her back, curving through the air to approach each of the kneeling Nymphs.

"I need your help, sisters," Jade said softly, glancing at them over her shoulder.

The ends of the tentacles shimmered and reformed into exact replicas of John's cock, then slowly weaved towards four sets of dark-green lips. Rather than being shocked or afraid, the Nymphs leaned forward with no hesitation and opened their mouths. John felt the exquisite sensation of a pair of lips enveloping the head of his cock, but repeated four times as Jade mimicked the gentle pressure of their mouths on her phallic appendages. She pushed her tentacocks into four willing throats and John could only groan in response, feeling each blessed inch as their touch was faithfully reproduced by Jade's remarkable body.

"They're such lovely girls," Jade whispered, gazing deeply into his eyes. "Thank you..." She looked down for a moment, a flicker of emotions crossing her face before she lifted her head to meet his curious gaze. "...for reuniting me with them."

He ran his fingers through her long hair, trying to focus on Jade while distracted by the incredible sensations he was feeling at that moment. The four Nymphs had started putting their all into the blowjobs, the gentle wet sucking sensation multiplied fourfold into an irresistible pressure to unload his quad. With their unnatural ability to manipulate their bodies to enhance his pleasure, John felt like he had hundreds of tongues lapping away at him, all urging him to reward them for their efforts.

Taking a deep breath, he did his best to hold on, knowing the inevitable was soon approaching. *Your sisters are amazing...*

*They'll be with us forever...* Jade murmured, her voice fluttering through his mind. *Mothers to a whole new generation of Nymphs...*

He groaned as she rocked on his lap, adding a thrilling extra dimension to the whirlwind of pleasure overloading his senses. *I-If that's what they w-want...* he struggled to reply, bucking back at her.

She kissed him passionately, her tongue flicking deep into his mouth. *You know they'll want that as much as I do! And I need it, John, with every fibre of my being! I want your beautiful babies growing in my womb!*

That thought had John crying out as he came, blasting deep into Jade's gorgeous body. Her pussy wrapped around him in a snug inescapable grip, then she began to milk him, drawing out huge spurts of cum as she set about thoroughly emptying his balls. The Nymphs were each rewarded with a thick jet of cum, Jade's tentacles throbbing in their throats.

Wearing almost identical looks of glee, the four Nymphs suckled eagerly as John's load was pumped into their stomachs. Split between the four of them, it was only enough to slightly round their midriffs, but as they began to absorb his cum, circles of light began to pulse out from their bellies. Lost in the throes of his orgasm, John was unaware of the spectacular lightshow, and just clung to Jade as he thrust reflexively inside her.

When she'd got every last drop, he slumped backwards with a disbelieving laugh. "I love Nymphs," he said, grinning at Jade. "But five of you are going to kill me!"

Jade wasn't really listening though. Her eyes were wide in amazement and she seemed to be staring at something only she could see. "My sisters!"

Alyssa gasped, then sounded giddy as she exclaimed, "Four Nymphs at once... God damn, what a rush!"

Before he could ask either of them to explain, he heard the sound of sobbing from behind Jade and quickly looked over his shoulder. She had started to withdraw her tentacles, pulling them from her fellow Nymphs' flushed lips and snaking them back into her body. It was Marika who was crying, fat tears rolling down her cheeks as her hands went to her glowing stomach. Her sisters just looked stunned, gaping at each other in utter disbelief, before all turning to stare wide-eyed at John.

"Jade, let me up," John requested, slapping her lightly on the rump to rouse her from her bewildered stupor. "Marika's upset."

The Nymph gracefully dismounted him and rolled aside, shaking her head as she murmured, "No, she's overjoyed..."

John went to the tabby-striped girl, enveloping her in a comforting embrace. "Are you okay, Marika?"

She looked up at him but was unable to speak she was so overcome with emotion. With a low cry, she clung to him as though never wanting to let him go, hot tears splashing onto his shoulder, Marika trembling as she wept.

"Is it really true, Master?" Neysa whispered, gaping at him in awe. "Can this one really have babies with you?"

Feeling a surge of relief, he gave her a broad smile. "Yes, we can... as long as you wan-"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence as Marika showered him in kisses, her three sisters wasting no time joining her in surrounding him in a four-way hug. Glancing around at each of them, he saw matching looks of devotion in their emerald eyes and knew that Jade was right... there was no way that any of them would ever willingly choose to leave him. He was determined to eventually give them the choice though, as soon as they'd developed the free will to be capable of making that decision.

Neysa pulled back a little and ran both hands over her glowing tummy. "Master, this feels so good..." Watching the vibrant lines pulse along her arms in awe she whispered, "What are you doing to this one?"

"He's making you stronger, little kittens," Jade said, her voice warm and gentle. "You must be feeling tired... I know I always like a nap after getting a tummy full of John's cum."

Betrixa let out a cute yawn, then giggled, nodding at her fellow Nymph. "Yeah, that sounds like an amazing idea!"

Giving him final kisses goodbye, Leylira, Betrixa, and Neysa peeled away from John, then curled up together on the bed.

Marika's eyelids were growing heavy but she gave John a wistful smile. "When would you like this one to have your baby, Master?"

"Get some sleep, beautiful, we'll talk about it later," he replied, stroking her back and releasing her from his embrace.

She nodded, then joined her sisters, Neysa beckoning her over to cuddle with her. In less than a minute, all four girls were fast asleep in each other's arms, the viridian waves pulsing across their bodies creating chaotic patterns across the ceiling.

"They didn't go into the trance," John remarked, watching the vivid kaleidoscope of light in fascination before focusing on the four girls once more.

Jade frowned for a moment, then slowly shook her head. "I don't think I did either. That first time I wasn't sleepy until you told me to get some rest."

"It must have been the original bond!" Alyssa exclaimed, looking surprised.

Jade turned to smile at John. "The compulsion to obey you..."

Alyssa tilted her head to one side as if listening, then the light of understanding appeared in her cerulean eyes. "Ah... that makes sense. Rachel reckons that Nymphs must already be accustomed to mental contact with a Progenitor; they were all originally owned by Mael'nerak."

John stretched then glanced at the bathroom. "I need a shower... and I think now's a good time for you two to explain what I missed back there."

He noticed the brief eye-contact they made with one another and knew they were reluctant to tell him something.

Alyssa slid off the bed and held out her hand for him. "Come on, we'll fill you in."

John followed her into the bathroom with Jade beside him, then stood with his arms around them both as the hot water cascaded down. His muscles were tired after having sex with five girls without a break, so Jade and Alyssa began to wash him, massaging away his aches and pains.

Jade spoke up first, her eyes focusing on his shoulders as her dark-green hands caressed the contours of his body. "After we fed them, I saw my sisters in my mind, each one appearing as a beautiful portrait. Their images were like mosaics made up of tiny stones, the Nymphs kneeling beside you and looking at you in wonder."

"I saw the exact same thing when we recruited Jade," Alyssa said softly, smiling at her friend. "It looks like you've joined the exclusive club of John's matriarchs, congratulations!"

*It's already been a delight listening to your thoughts, Jade,* Edraele greeted the Nymph, her tone warm and welcoming. *I'm glad John decided to make it official.*

*Thank you both so much!* Jade turned back to face John and slowly shook her head, an almost incredulous look in her eyes. "Me, a matriarch, I never would have believed it... I still can't believe it's true."

John smiled at her, pleased that they'd discussed this possibility beforehand. "As I said before, I think you'll be perfect for this. You're kind and caring, and you've already experienced everything the Nymphs have in store for them." He cupped her head in his left hand and rubbed his thumb across her temple. "You knew that Marika was happy... I take it you can feel their emotions?"

She nodded, her smile widening. "After having sex with their new master for the first time, then finding out that you can get them pregnant, it's probably not surprising that they're all ecstatic."

"They've suffered enough in the past," he said, his tone filled with sympathy. "Let's try and keep them feeling that happy."

"I'll do my best," Jade said earnestly, receiving a kiss from John as a reward.

He glanced at Alyssa next. "You mentioned something about a rush when the Nymphs joined... was that like the power surge that Edraele experienced after I was with the Young Matriarchs?"

"Yeah, exactly," she replied, putting an arm around Jade and hugging her. "They're powerful psychics, John. The extra bandwidth from them joining us will make a huge difference, especially if they grow as strong as Jade."

"Wait a second," John said, looking at her in confusion. "Why did you feel that and not Jade?"

Alyssa frowned as she thought about it, her eyes glazing over. "I can still see Jade in my mind, so I'm still connected to her. Maybe I'm in charge of energy management for the Nymphs, but I just draw it all through Jade?"

He closed his eyes then focused on the images of all the girls connected to him in his mind. There were now three portraits directly connected to him: Edraele with all her Maliri, Alyssa with all the girls on the Invictus, and Jade who was linked to her four sisters. The connecting lines from Jade were dazzling in their intensity, but that energy was all diverted via Alyssa rather than coming straight to him.

"Looks that way," he confirmed a few seconds later.

"I guess it doesn't really matter," Alyssa said with a shrug. "I've been handling energy management for most of the girls for months, I can easily handle loads more." Her playful wink made it quite clear what she was hoping for.

He chuckled and did his best to stop himself from rolling his eyes at her, but the blonde's smirk let him know she'd heard his every thought.

John's expression turned serious again, and he cupped Alyssa's head in his right hand, looking into her eyes before turning to do the same with Jade. "Alright, so we've discussed the interesting but harmless stuff. What's really bothering you two... three, I should say, because I know Edraele knows about it too."

*I do,* she confirmed a moment later. Alyssa and Jade were both tense, looking at him with big eyes and clearly reluctant to reveal more. Edraele realised it was up to her, so she continued in a soft voice, *All three of us felt it... when you entered the Nymphs for the first time.*

*You could feel me having sex with them?* he asked in confusion.

*No, John. We felt them make contact with your mind... and you letting them in. They were looking for guidance,* she explained carefully. *It was extremely subtle; I can see why Alyssa missed it with Jade that first time around, but we're all much stronger now.*

*Guidance...* John repeated, at a loss as to why the girls were being so cagey with him. *But I already showed them the form I wanted them to take, so that they could be my 'perfect woman'.*

*Their physical appearance, yes,* Edraele said, her voice sympathetic. *But they wanted to know what personality you'd chosen for them too.*

His mouth fell open in shock, then he blurted out loud, "So I just picked a bunch of different personalities for them and that's it... that's who they are now?!"

"We wouldn't be your idea of a perfect woman if you didn't actually like us," Jade said with a sad smile.

His gaze snapped to the Nymph, his expression of disbelief turning to horror. "Oh, Jade... not you too..."

"Confident, fun, warm, friendly, caring, bisexual, submissive, not jealous, honest, open, compliant, appreciative, and eager to please. Do you remember? You told us what you liked months ago... and that's me," she whispered, a conflicted look in her eyes.

"I shaped your entire personality..." he whispered, unable to believe what he was hearing, but instinctively knowing it was true.

"Is anything really me, John?" she murmured, resting her head against his chest. "I was so proud that I'd grown beyond my limitations... but was any of that true?"

He rubbed his hand over his face, trying to gather his shattered thoughts. "Yes!" he suddenly gasped, desperate to find something to give her hope. "The shapeshifting... the way you protected Calara on Gravitus and the way you've protected all the girls since then! I had no idea you could do any of that; I didn't even want you anywhere near combat, but you stepped up every time we needed you!"

Jade brightened, a cautious smile on her face. "That's true... I'll never let anyone hurt your mates if I can help prevent it. Growing those claws on Gravitus, then shapeshifting into a tiger to fight the Drakkar... I did all that purely by instinct."

"And you're obsessed with me getting every girl we meet pregnant!" he exclaimed, on a roll now. "That's not coming from me. I've been trying to cut down on the numbers, so I can be a good father to all my children."

She grinned, a sparkle in her emerald eyes. "I can't help it... the thought of hundreds of Maliri with swelling tummies gets me so excited!"

"Me too," Alyssa said, with a lascivious smile.

*Four down, a billion more to go,* Edraele agreed, a note of satisfaction in her voice.

"You're all as bad as each other," John said with amusement, feeling a surge of relief as the mood lightened. He paused for a moment, lost in his thoughts, then gave Jade a gentle squeeze. "I know you expected me to freak out when you told me this and it has come as a shock... but I'm not sorry it happened."

Jade studied him with a questioning look in her eyes but stayed silent.

"You're perfect, honey," he said, stroking her back. "The Jade I know is a lovely, sweet girl, and I fell head over heels in love with her. I won't ever apologise for that, I can't imagine life without you."

Alyssa turned to smile at the Nymph and kissed her on the cheek. "He's right, you're an absolute sweetheart. We all love you."

Jade hugged them both and let out a happy sigh. "I love you both too." She blushed and traced a finger along John's jawline, "Thank you for the choices you made when we met; I like being me..."

"It really was my pleasure," he replied, catching her hand and kissing her fingers. He hesitated for a moment, a thought springing unbidden into his mind. "So how come your four sisters all have such different natures? If I created their personalities for them, shouldn't they all just be the same as you?"

"Perhaps you've diversified a bit; you're not the same guy you were six months ago," Alyssa suggested, looking thoughtful. "From what we've seen of the Nymphs so far, they seem like lovely girls. It'll be fun getting to know them better."

John blew out his breath and smiled. "So was that everything? No more shocks you ladies want to spring on me?"

"That's all for now," Alyssa replied with a playful smile. Her expression turned serious as she continued, "We actually timed that perfectly. Getting all that extra psychic energy from the Nymphs couldn't have worked out any better."

"Do you feel ready?" he asked, studying her with concern.

She nodded, a look of confidence and determination in her cerulean eyes. "Athena and I have worked out a plan. I'm going to go for it as soon as we're done in the shower... it's time to create my own pocket plane."

***

Calara let out a groan of despair and placed her head in her hands. "This is impossible! How can anyone be expected to make decisions this complicated?!"

Maria stroked her daughter's back and gave her a fond smile. "Callie... you just saved Terra from a Kintark armada, I'm sure you're quite capable of choosing bridesmaid dresses." She turned to look at the holo-catalogue floating in front of the sofa, hundreds of exquisite outfits on display in a bewildering array of pastel colours. "These might be expensive but they're all beautiful..."

The distressed bride shook her head, a wild look in her eyes. "You've seen how many different coloured skin complexions my bridesmaids have! This would be hard enough with all the Terran girls, but green is out because of Jade, they can't wear blue because of the Maliri, Teal would wash out Helene and any shade of purple would look terrible on Faye!" She shuddered and added, "Don't even get me started on colours clashing with their hair!"

Sakura was sitting on the other side of Maria and leaned forward to look at her friend. "I thought the tradition was to make the bridesmaids look as terrible as possible so they don't outshine the bride? You can stick me in anything you like... it's your big day."

Calara smiled at her and shook her head. "I could never do that to you."

Maria put her arm around Sakura and said with a hint of wry amusement, "Actually, I don't think that tradition applies when the groom is already sleeping with all the bridesmaids. I'm sure John will want you all to look stunning."

The Asian girl blushed then gave her a shy smile. "I can't believe how understanding you are about all of us and John."

"If I was single and twenty years younger, I'd be doing whatever it took to convince Alyssa to let me join the Lionesses..." Maria said with a wistful smile.

*How intriguing,* Alyssa purred to her girlfriend. *Perhaps you could ask Maria exactly what she has in mind? Then I could let her know how successful she'd be... *

Calara groaned. "Mom! She heard that!"

Maria's eyes twinkled with mischief. "I know she did, dear. It's not just you and Jack that like blue-eyed blondes..."

Calara shook her head and laughed as she got up. "I'll go and make us another drink while Alyssa has fun tormenting me. Would you like a tea or coffee?"

"Tea please," her mother requested, with a grateful smile.

Sakura shook her head. "No, I'm fine thanks."

When Calara had left the lounge, Maria turned her full attention to her guest. "Sakura, may I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course."

"I've seen you with John and I know how much you love him... all of you do. So why is everyone taking a back-seat at this wedding for Calara?" she asked with concern. "I adore my daughter, but this wedding seems incredibly unfair..."

"Please don't think this was Calara's idea," Sakura quickly replied, her eyes darting towards the door, then back to Maria. "She adamantly rejected the plan at first, until we convinced her that her being his official wife was for the best."

"But why?" Maria asked, brushing her fingers through the young woman's silky black hair. "You're such a lovely girl, Sakura. You deserve to be the centre of attention on your own big day."

Sakura looked away, unable to meet the older woman's sympathetic gaze. "Weddings are all about family. I would have loved a big wedding once... but that time is long gone." She swallowed around the lump in her throat. "It's like that for all of us except Calara, so we just want to be there for her and make her feel special. Please don't say anything to her about it, she feels guilty enough as it is."

Maria wrapped Sakura up in a loving embrace. "I hope my daughter knows just how lucky she is to have friends like you," she said in a voice husky with emotion. "Your parents would have been so proud of you."

The Asian girl began to cry into her shoulder, nodding as she said, "They were... John brought them back to say goodbye."

The older Latina looked down at her in astonishment, but stayed quiet, stroking Sakura's back to comfort her instead. They stayed that way until Calara returned, placing two steaming mugs on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"Alyssa's going to be starting soon," she said quietly, sitting beside her mother and cuddling into her.

Sakura nodded her understanding and pulled away from the older Latina, giving her a grateful smile. "Thank you, I needed that."

Maria gave her a warm smile. "Any time, angel. Now, why don't you lie down here and have a rest." She patted her thigh to make her invitation quite clear that Sakura should use it as a pillow. "From what you were telling me, you're both going to be worn out after Alyssa has finished."

The Asian girl lay down on the sofa and rested her head on Maria's lap, recalling cherished evenings lying like this with her own mother as they watched holo-movies as a family. She suddenly froze, staring up at the older Latina in shock. "I thought it was just a coincidence you calling me angel! Alyssa must have told you that was my mother's pet name for me!"

Maria nodded and gave her a look filled with sympathy. "She called while you were on your way to Jericho and told me all about your mother. Emiko sounds like she was a lovely woman, I wish I could have met her," she said with a wistful sigh, then met Sakura's shocked stare with concern. "I hope I haven't behaved inappropriately. I meant no disrespect to Emiko, I just wanted to help you relive some loving memories."

Sakura's gaze softened and she shook her head. "I wasn't offended, just surprised. It was a lovely thought."

Maria ran her fingers through Sakura's raven tresses then began to gently stroke her head, watching the young woman close her eyes and relax.

Letting herself be transported back 75 years to happy times on New Eden, Sakura whispered, "Thanks, Mom, that feels nice."

Calara let the tears roll down her cheeks as she watched Sakura's breathing deepen, her friend lulled into sleep by her mother's loving caress. She finally brushed her tears away and kissed Maria on the cheek. "I love you so much, Mom. I'm so lucky to have you."

Maria wiped away her own tears and nodded, hugging her daughter close. "I feel the same way, Callie." She glanced down at Sakura slumbering peacefully on her lap. "These poor girls... the things they've been through..."

Calara was about to reply, but she let out a sharp gasp instead, echoed an instant later by Sakura. Alyssa had thrown their connection wide open, tapping them both for huge amounts of psychic power.

***

John watched Alyssa with concern, his blonde Matriarch sitting cross-legged in the middle of the Observatory. She had her eyes closed and was surrounded by a brilliant nimbus of dazzling white energy, the radiance so bright that it was difficult to look directly at her. The rest of the Invictus crew were gathered around her in a circle, Dana, Rachel, Jade, and the twins immersed in some kind of trance.

"Are they all okay?" Faye asked, bouncing nervously on her toes.

"I hope so, Faye," he replied, forcing himself to relax his clenched grip on the hilt of his sword. Glancing at Helene, Jehanna, and Lynette he frowned and shook his head. "I still think it's a bad idea you three being here. If something goes wrong, I don't want any of you getting hurt."

Lynette didn't back down from his stern gaze, looking back at him defiantly through the clear-crystal of her Paragon helmet. "If you have to start fighting, you'll need us here to pull the girls to safety. We've been over this already."

Jehanna nodded, her expression grim. "We saw the Raptor footage of the portal monster that attacked you on New Eden. You can't fight something like that and protect everyone at the same time."

"We care about the girls, we don't want them to get hurt," Helene said with conviction, placing her armoured gauntlet on his shoulder.

"Okay, point taken," he said, forcing himself to smile, before looking at Alyssa again. *Edraele, have you heard anything yet? Has Alyssa said anything to you?*

*No, John, nothing so far. You know that she would speak to you first anyway,* she replied quietly. *I just wish I was able to transfer my energy to her... I feel so helpless not being to assist in any way.*

*I know, this is torture,* he grumbled, knowing exactly how she was feeling. *I need to keep myself distracted or I'll tie myself up in knots... Can you tell me how the fleet refits at Genthalas are going?*

*As you already know, the second House Valaden fleet departed several days ago on its way to the Ashanath Collective. They will rendezvous tomorrow with the cruisers we diverted from the first fleet, then they should arrive at Ashana in five days' time,* Edraele replied, with a note of satisfaction. *The first House Loraleth fleet has also been completed, but I'm holding it at Genthalas until we've installed the new Brimorian shield generators.*

*How soon until you can build the upgraded versions?* John asked, keeping a close eye on Alyssa.

*We've been busy modifying our existing shield generator manufacturing facilities so that they can produce the new upgraded variants. The first batch off the production line will be for cruiser-class vessels and will be completed later tonight. Production should ramp up quickly, so the first House Loraleth fleet will be fully upgraded in two days' time. Modifying our heat sink fabrication from the first set of Kintark blueprints to their more advanced one was actually a relatively simple process, so we've already started installing those.*

*It sounds like you're making great progress,* John said, pleased to hear how well the refit was proceeding. *Dana actually modified those heat sinks with Crystal Alyssium; perhaps your researchers could try something similar with Maliri crystals?*

*Yes, she's quite the marvel,* Edraele said, the admiration quite clear in her voice. *After I suggested following her approach, my materials scientists were able to make a quick substitution with existing Maliri tech. Our expertise with crystals meant that we were able to see substantial improvements over the Kintark original.*

*Excellent work, well done,* John said, suitably impressed.

*Thank you, My Lord,* she said playfully. *Makaela has also been bringing more of the station online, including 26 new drydock bays. The second House Loraleth fleet should complete its refit in four days, with the first of House Aeberos' and House Naestina's fleets completed three days after that. Our current forecasts predict that we should complete the full upgrade of all House vessels within 23 days.*

*That's incredible! I can't believe how quickly you've been able to turn those fleets around!* John exclaimed, feeling a huge sense of relief. *Charles would never believe me if I told him that every warship in the Maliri Protectorate has been fully upgraded in just over a month!*

*Bringing so much of Genthalas back into service has made a huge difference, as has the scale of the recruitment programs for starship engineers,* Edraele replied modestly. *At the rate you've been supplying new schematics, being able to execute rapid refits will be critically important to keep the Maliri fleets up to parity with Thrall vessels.*

*Not just up to parity...* John said quietly. *I've seen the kind of difference a tech advantage makes; we have to aim for just that kind of edge over the Progenitor's forces.*

He could sense his Maliri Matriarch's earnest agreement. *I'll do whatever I can to speed up our manufacturing processes. I'm hoping Dana might be able to suggest some improvements...*

John turned to look at his Chief Engineer, the redhead sitting opposite Alyssa with a serene expression on her beautiful face. *I can't help feeling guilty for relying on her so heavily. She must be under tremendous pressure to meet the sky-high expectations we have for her.*

*You haven't got any choice, John. Dana's the key to unlocking all the technology we need; you've made her the window into the Progenitor legacy encoded in your DNA,* Edraele said, her voice sombre.

*Yeah, I know, but I wish there was some other way.* He sighed and glanced at Alyssa again. Squinting against the glare, he noted that her expression had shifted into one of intense concentration.

*I believe my daughter might be on the cusp of discovering some new technology. Irillith's been making impressive progress on decoding the Vulkat tech archives. From what we know of their ships, at the very least we should anticipate some innovative improvements in-* Edraele's voice trailed off in a shocked gasp, her astonishment radiating over his empathic connection with her.

*What is it Edraele?* he asked in alarm. *Are you alright?!*

His calls were met by ominous silence.

For a man grown used to having three talkative women chattering away in his mind, her lack of response filled him with a dark sense of foreboding. Alyssa's face was showing the strain now, her brow furrowed as she fought some kind of tense internal struggle.

"I think something's wrong," John said, darting a worried glance at his four companions. "I just lost contact with Edraele!"

"Is there anything you can do to help them?" Faye asked, her big expressive eyes looking to him for answers.

He hesitated, his gaze returning to Alyssa. When he saw a flicker of pain in her taut expression, his heart ached with a terrible feeling of helplessness. "Without Alyssa or Edraele giving me support, I'll never be able to get into the Astral Plane... the drag effect from my imprisoned Progenitor side is much too strong. Even if I could start a spirit walk, I'd be yanked back into my body in seconds and it would leave me completely drained of psychic energy."

"So we just wait?" Jehanna asked, looking worried.

"I don't think I have any choice," John was forced to admit. "The plan was for Alyssa to build her pocket plane, then for all the girls to sleep and recover their energy. I was going to feed them all late at night, probably about 2am, then go to bed and trigger the nightmare. The girls would be full of energy and ready for combat, then we were going to fight off the Astral monsters until Alyssa-"

He didn't get to finish as Alyssa interrupted him with a wordless cry of anguish, then pitched over, clutching at her head. Around her, the five girls collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. John leapt over to the blonde, tearing off a gauntlet so he could feel for a pulse. "Check the others!" he yelled in alarm.

The thunderous pounding of his heart settled down to a raucous thump as he felt the fluttering pulse in Alyssa's throat. "She's alive..."

"Irillith's okay!" Jehanna called out a second later, sounding greatly relieved.

Lynette was next to respond. "Tashana too, but her heartbeat is very faint!"

"Dana's pulse is weak, so is Rachel's," Faye said, her normally chipper voice on the edge of panic.

Helene gasped in horror. "Jade has no pulse!"

"She doesn't have one," John said, holding his hand up to the aquatic girl in a calming gesture. "Let me check..." He quickly closed his eyes, checking the network of connections in his mind. To his eternal relief he saw that the Nymph was still present, nested under him as a matriarch. However, he didn't have an active connection with her, so was unable to tell if she was hurt. "She's still alive... I don't know any more than that."

The Fleet Admiral pulled off her Paragon helmet and sat next to the unconscious Maliri girl, studying her with concern. "Do you want me to call for medical assistance? I can get a team of doctors here in two minutes..."

John was busy checking Edraele and her girls, then let out a long sigh of relief when he found they were all still alive and connected to his Maliri Matriarch. He sat down on the bed and carefully brushed Alyssa's mop of golden hair away from her face. "Thanks, but they won't be able to help. I think Alyssa tapped out all the girls... there's nothing medics can do to treat psychic exhaustion."

Helene glanced over at him, sky-blue eyes tense with worry. "John... what are you going to do if they don't wake up tonight? Will you face the bad dreams alone?"

He met her anxious gaze, then looked at the three equally worried faces looking his way. Slowly nodding, he said quietly, "I might have to..."

***

"That's it... they've stopped glowing!" Faye called out from beside the bed, her luminous eyes fixed on the four Nymphs.

"Good. If they've absorbed all my cum, they won't be pulled in with me," John said, his expression grim as he sat cross-legged on the bedroom floor. He glanced at the ship's chronometer, watching time roll inexorably onwards as the display changed to 2:00. "Are the girls stirring?"

"No change," Lynette said quietly, checking each of the sleeping women on the bed. "Pulse is there, but still weak..."

"I don't like this, John," Jehanna said, her pretty face shadowed with worry as she squatted down next to him. "From everything I've heard about the nightmares, you barely survived the last few times... and that was with ALL the girls with you."

"I've been relying on them too much, I see that now..." John said, his voice distant but with an undercurrent of steely determination.

Helene knelt at his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Faye told me that you get your power from us... that you're stronger when you fill us before battle. Let me help you... I'm not afraid."

John shook his head. "You're a brave girl, but I can't let you do that. I'm not going to risk dragging you in there with me." He smiled at her and added, "But I will take a kiss for good luck..."

She tried to return his smile, but he could see that it was strained. Helene crossed her wrists behind his neck then leaned in to give him a tender kiss. "Please don't leave me..." she said softly when she pulled back. "I've only just found you... I don't want to be alone again."

"You'll never be alone, the girls are your sisters now," John said, giving her a supportive smile.

"It's not the same," Helene whispered back, on the edge of tears.

"My turn," Jehanna said, dropping to her knees beside him. Helene moved aside, then Jehanna's dark-red lips were pressing against his with a frantic urgency edged with fear. "You can't make me fall in love with you then not come back to me..." she whispered, her brown eyes desperately staring into his. "I can't survive that."

"Everything will be okay, I'll just be gone a little while," he said to them both, his voice filled with a confidence that he didn't feel. He glanced at the other two and saw they were both watching him, Lynette looking deeply conflicted, while Faye's cute elfin face showed how distraught she was. "I want that first kiss tomorrow, Faye," he said with an encouraging smile. "Nothing's going to stop me coming back for that."

She wrung her hands and nodded, but he could see she wasn't convinced by his bravado.

He Inhaled deeply, then stifled a yawn and closed his eyes. Centring himself and finding his focus came easily that night. Despite his uncertainty at venturing alone into the Astral Plane, he was convinced that what he planned to do now was the right course of action. His breathing slowed and his senses sharpened as he prepared himself, a host of new sounds and smells coming to his attention... the rapid beating of Jehanna's heart, Helene's alluring scent, and the barely audible song that Faye was singing under her breath to give herself courage.

Blocking out all thoughts of the women in the bedroom, he concentrated his heightened awareness inwards.

*It's just me and you now...* he thought to himself, feeling that lingering black presence in his mind. It was an ugly thing, malignant and cruel, with waves of hate pouring from the mental prison he'd constructed to bind his Progenitor guide. *You know what I'm facing and what's at stake... how strong is your sense of self-preservation?*

Gathering his will, he waited patiently for any sign that his malevolent other half had heard his challenge. The minutes ticked by, his breathing deep and slow as he bided his time...

Then he felt a seething surge of resentment and there was a slight shift in his consciousness, Progenitor knowledge springing unbidden into his mind. John gained a sudden understanding of powerful eldritch runes... and how to form them into runic scripts that were ideal for the Astral battle he would shortly be facing. His Progenitor guide was still dug into his mind like a tic, but in that moment, John felt that implacable grip loosen for just a split-second. Tapping into months of tightly suppressed rage, John hurled it at the parasitical presence that had nearly usurped his very being.

*Fuck you!* John snarled, riding a righteous wave of fury. *It's my mind, you bastard! You stole my birthright from me!*

He heard a howl of disbelief as his Progenitor guide was caught completely off-guard and hurled backwards, the slight shift in the mental boundaries between them becoming a tearing wrench. John gasped as he reclaimed a substantial portion of his mind, lifting a huge overbearing weight that he'd only subconsciously realised was there. His guide's startled cry turned into a scream of inarticulate rage, echoing without end in a mental prison designed to keep him locked away for eternity.

John's eyes snapped open, lit by a blazing blue light as the secrets tumbled forth. Rising to his feet, he was barely aware of the girls in the bedroom as they stumbled backwards, staring at him in shock. Summoning his will, John imagined a wall of hexagons, the six-sided plates forming a perfect dome. He raised his hands to begin his psychic runecrafting, then paused abruptly and glanced down at his chest. He grabbed his shirt and ripped it open, buttons flying everywhere as he bared his torso... a far more suitable canvass for the battle runes he was about to inscribe.

Holding his hands an inch from his skin, he watched the glowing runic script flowing across his chest, each runeword throbbing with barely controlled power.

Courage to face the most terrifying of foes.

Strength of a thousand to crush any that dare face my wrath.

Speed and precision to seek the heart of the beast.

Temporal inversion to undo the cruel hand of fate.

Wellspring of power to sustain my fury.

"John, what is all that writing?!" Jehanna gasped, her voice filled with wonder.

"Progenitor Astral battle runes," John said quietly, surveying the archaic phrases he'd just etched across his body. "They'll start working as soon as I get pulled into the Astral Plane."

"Is there anything you need us to do?" Lynette asked in a hushed voice, lifting her eyes from the elaborate glyphs on his muscular chest.

He glanced at the bed, his face reflecting his concern for the women sleeping there. Leaning forward, he whispered in her ear, "If I don't make it, do what you can to help the girls. It'll hit them hard, but I've tried to keep things at a distance between the two of us... you'll be okay."

She shook her head and the torment was quite clear in her hazel eyes. "I-I won't be... but I promise I'll do my best to take care of them."

John sighed with regret and caressed her cheek, "Thank you. I'm sorry if-"

Lynette leaned forward, catching him by surprise as she cut him off with a kiss, her lips soft and responsive against his. She blushed when they parted and murmured, "I had to do that... just once."

He smiled at her in understanding, then turned to lie on the bed beside Alyssa. Brushing his fingers through her golden hair he whispered, "Be safe, beautiful..."

Closing his eyes, he succumbed to the exhaustion, letting himself be pulled down into sleep... and the nightmares lurking in the darkness. His perception went black then suddenly began to lighten, the curling wisps of misty cloudbanks edging around his peripheral vision, just as they had the other times he'd been sucked into the nightmarish sub-plane.

This time, however... he'd come prepared.

He could feel that insidious aura of fear, designed to fill the most stalwart of men with terror, leaving them cowering and helpless. John's chest blazed with a brilliant light and that oppressive feeling was brushed aside, filling him with hope and freeing him to act. Channelling his willpower, John was instantly covered in a gothic suit of gleaming white armour, the intricate scrollwork over the plates inscribed with fine runic script. He clutched a massive sword in an armoured gauntlet, the runes that sheathed the blade thrumming with the promise of formidable power.

John's eyes shone with a fierce light as he crouched low and thumped the ground with a clenched fist, unleashing a blast wave of telekinetic force. The mists recoiled, swept backwards by that wall of psychic power, clearing a circle for a hundred-metres in every direction. Inhuman cries told of creatures caught in the backlash of his eldritch assault, their misshapen bodies hurled across the dreadful plane.

More of their foul kind lumbered out of the roiling fog, their nightmarish appearance starkly revealed now that he'd swept away that obscuring shroud. No two creatures were alike, each one a hideous amalgam of disgusting tentacles, vicious claws, and malevolent eyes, their fang-filled maws gibbering for a taste of his flesh. The horrific sight would be enough to drive any normal man to madness, but shielded by his runes and fortified by hard-won experience against these unholy monsters, John stood unbowed.

Taking a firm grip on his two-handed rune blade, he faced the closest horror, a triple-headed monstrosity that charged across the open ground on a set of six wickedly-barbed hooves. Performing a whirling cross slash, a force projection blasted out of his blade, crossing the fifty metre gap between them and slamming into the stampeding beast. The rolling boom at the unleashing of so much destructive power was followed by an agonised scream, as John cleaved through all six legs and sent the monster crashing to the ground.

Lunging forward with his sword outstretched, a lance of psychic energy hit the next monster in its contorted face, melting through its sickening features and exploding out the back of its brutish head. John span around, hacking down the next wave of eldritch terrors that lurched out of the mists, dismembering them with a series of lethal scything cuts. Every savage chop with his runeblade sent another unstoppable wave of force across the glade, severing limbs and piling mangled corpses in a circle around him.

Now that the fearful denizens of the mists had been alerted to John's presence, far more of them began to pour out of the billowing fog. Moving with fluid steps, John spun his sword around as he flowed through the kata he'd spent months learning with Yamamoto and refining with Sakura. Telekinetic arcs lashed out across the clearing, slicing through blackened hides and pustulent flesh, leaving glowing wounds in their wake. He felled one after the other, but their numbers were too great, swelling to a relentless horde of feral bloodthirsty beasts all champing to sink their fangs into his flesh.

Eyes widening in alarm, John spotted a stampeding monster in his peripheral vision, the squat six-legged abomination charging at him from his flank. He leapt aside to avoid getting flattened by its huge clawed hooves, but a flailing barbed arm clipped him as it passed, smashing his vambrace and sending a shooting lance of pain up his arm. The collision knocked him off balance, battering him towards the dripping maw of a particularly vicious-looking horror. John drove his sword deep into the ground as an anchor, jerking himself to a halt. The impact of the potent runeblade striking the obsidian sent a thunderous quake through the ground, the aftershock knocking the monster off its feet.

John found himself only metres away from the contorted features of that disgusting beast. He could see the rows upon rows of serrated teeth that lined its huge mouth, as well as the razor-edge whip-like tongue that flickered over its enormous fangs. A dozen malevolent eyes locked onto his face, its gleeful hunger for his blood quite plain to see. The creature thumped the ground with legs as thick as tree-trunks and hauled its corpulent body aloft, its sickle claws rearing back to strike.

Channelling his will through the runeblade, John unleashed rolling waves of blue flame across the cratered ground, the walls of fire spreading out like ripples on a black pond. The azure fire enveloped all the creatures in the clearing, licking up their limbs and immolating their foul flesh. He saw the look of anguish in the eyes of the four-legged abomination beside him, an agonised roar of torment escaping its enormous maw. The fire swept up and into that gaping hole, blistering blubbery lips and sizzling the thrashing tongue to a crisp. Painful cries turned to horrified whimpers as one eye after another popped, melted in its socket by the fiery inferno.

All around the clearing, hundreds of the Astral horrors writhed in their death throes, the dreadful smell of cooked flesh saturating the air. John surveyed the burning hellscape looking for threats, but the cascade of fire had consumed everything in sight, oily smoke pouring from the piles of incinerated corpses. He straightened and glanced down at his wounded arm, the pain fading as he healed himself, his armour unbuckling and straightening as it was repaired.

The runic well was helping to fuel John's psychic powers, but his personal reserves of energy would only go so far. John knew that time was not on his side and a protracted battle would only end one way. Hauling his gleaming sword from the ground, John faced the sinister wall of fog that surrounded the smouldering glade.

"Face me!" he roared across the astral sub-plane, throwing every ounce of contempt he could muster into his brazen challenge. "Or will you hide behind your minions like some pathetic coward?"

"TOO LONG HAVE I SUFFERED THE INDIGNITY OF YOUR EXISTENCE. YOUR FOUL CORRUPTION IS AN AFFRONT TO EVERYTHING WE HAVE FOUGHT SO LONG TO ACCOMPLISH. YOU SHALL BLIGHT OUR PRESENCE NO LONGER, JOHN BLAKE..."

John felt the ground shudder under his feet and a gust of wind whipped past, a chorus of tormented voices echoing around him on that breeze. The swirling eddies quickly built into a howling gale, accompanied by a nerve-shredding cacophony of tortured screams that assaulted him in an endless dirge. The mists billowed away to reveal the endless obsidian plateau beneath his feet, only distinguishable from the blackness of the sky by the twinkling stars dotting the heavens.

He stared in mounting dread at the murky grey fogbank as it parted around titanic limbs, revealing something dreadful lurking deep within the mists. John gaped at the towering behemoth facing him across the plain, the staggering size of the immense creature revealing how laughably mismatched they were.

"NOW YOU FINALLY UNDERSTAND THE FUTILITY OF YOUR PITIFUL EFFORTS... GROVEL WORM AND I MIGHT ONLY PROLONG YOUR SUFFERING FOR A DOZEN MILLENNIA!"

John felt his heart lurch in terror, then the runes emblazoned on his chest flared to life, fortifying him to face the architect of this horrendous place. John drove his rune blade into the ground and snarled, "This ends now!"

Clenching both gauntleted hands into fists, he brought them together knuckle to knuckle, his eyes closed as he focused his will. He felt another of the runic phrases pulsating against his chest, working in conjunction with him as he channelled his reserves of psychic energy into his body. John's eyes snapped open and he seized his sword by the hilt as he started to grow, his armoured form expanding as he squared off against his ancient foe.

The terrifying dreadlord that ruled this sub-plane far surpassed its ugly minions in the twisted insanity of its burgeoning form. A dozen tentacles swirled around its shoulders, fanged mouths competing with razor-sharp talons and rolling eyes for every inch of space along each writhing appendage. The bulk of the beast's fetid hide was covered in rivers of dripping slime, splashes of the foul ichor sending hissing steam skyward and melting ugly scars in the blackened ground. Its body was held aloft by six sturdy legs, each covered in a forest of wicked barbs.

As John continued to grow, he watched the hulking titan stalk forward, twin tails lashing in furious anticipation as it closed on him. All too soon though, his growth spurt tapered off, leaving him less than a quarter of the size of his grotesque opponent. He set off running to the right, moving perpendicular to the beast, and whirled his blade around in a lightning-fast slash. The arc of force rushed out to clip its leading leg, gouging a huge trench out of the rubbery flesh below the knee joint and sending fountains of viscous black blood spattering on the ground.

Any sense of jubilation at landing the first strike was quickly dispelled, as the thatch of repulsive tentacles whipped around to attack, slamming down around John. He was forced to leap aside from each crushing blow, dodging and spinning to avoid being squashed like a bug. One smashed into the ground missing him by inches, so John turned and drove his blade into the loathsome appendage. He unleashed his will, funnelling it into the rune sword, which amplified the torrent of psychic energy and projected it outwards in a cone of force. The tentacle exploded as it reeled from that eldritch assault, huge chunks of ghastly gristle and gelatinous flesh showering the plain.

The leviathan let loose a distorted howl of agony and indignation, the rest of its tentacles hammering the ground as it tried to flatten the interloper. John sped away, narrowly avoiding lethal rows of hooked talons as they crashed down around him, creating huge trenches in the cracked obsidian. He had just got clear when he heard a whistling noise and felt a searing stab of agony in his left thigh. Stumbling over, he skidded across the ground, looking down at the metre-long black spike that had skewered his leg. Looking up in horror, he saw the vast fiend leering at him, the multitude of crazed eyes in its hideous face gloating in triumph. The creature's tails hovered overhead, new spikes pushing through the scaly skin to replace the salvo it had just fired at him.

John managed to lurch to his feet, fighting off dizzying waves of pain. His eyes widened as he saw another tentacle whipping towards him and reacted by instinct, swinging his sword up in a frantic looping blow. The energy wave he unleashed caught the tentacle mid-length, lopping it in half and sending the tip sailing overhead, the greatly shortened stump flopped impotently on the ground a dozen metres short. He tried to limp away to put more distance between him and the rampaging beast, but the demonic abomination stomped after him, catching up easily.

He had to dive again to avoid the next tentacle attack, but he was slow and weak now, his sadistic opponent just toying with him as it sensed this was the end. The tentacle wrapped around both John's legs, grinding them together and making him cry out in pain. It squeezed like a boa-constrictor, insane eyes rolling in ecstasy as sharp talons pierced his armour and dug into flesh, gouts of blood splashing across each deranged orb. John let out a tortured scream as his bones snapped under that incredible pressure, his lower body a blistering shroud of agony.

The gigantic beast hauled him off his feet and the overwhelming rush of vertigo nearly made him black out. Barely conscious now, John lost his grip on his sword as he was jerked into the air, his rune blade slipping out of his fingers to tumble to the ground. The monster dangled John over one of its fang-filled maws and he watched the endless circles of teeth gnash in glee, wishing for the oblivion of unconsciousness.

"TENS OF THOUSANDS OF SUPPLICANTS HAVE GONE BEFORE YOU! SUCH ARROGANCE THAT YOU BELIEVED YOU COULD DEFY OUR WILL WHEN THEY ALL BENT THE KNEE... NOW YOU WILL PAY THE EXCRUCIATING PRICE FOR YOUR HUBRIS..."

Cackling laughter mocked him as the tentacle uncoiled, dropping him into that obscenely gaping orifice, teeth snapping with indecent hunger as they waited to tear him apart.

"So this is the end?" John wondered, his mind numbed with pain as he dropped to his doom.

His last thought as he fell towards those slavering fangs was relief that the girls hadn't been exposed to this hideous creature and were safely back on the Physical Plane. His mind flashed through the beautiful faces of the remarkable women that had transformed his life over the last six months, lingering lovingly on each one in the split-second before his death.

"JOHN!" Athena screamed, her thoughts searing through the darkness, seeking him out like a lodestone.

In that brief instant of contact, everything became clear. Athena had been desperately searching for him but was unable to penetrate this horrific sub-plane... until John's loving memories of their time together had drawn her to him like a beacon. As their minds touched, he knew that Alyssa and the girls were safely sleeping, exhausted after she had poured every drop of their psychic energy into her herculean task.

Athena appeared like a radiant angel, a shining female figure reaching for him with her slender hand outstretched as he dropped towards the slavering jaws. "Take my hand!" she screamed at him, frantic to pull him clear from this nightmarish realm.

Pushing back the crashing waves of pain, John found his focus again, calming and centring himself. He knew what he had to do. Athena's eyes widened in disbelief as he ignored her hand and dropped past her, her expression twisting in horror as she watched him fall to his death.

"It's time to finish this," John said quietly, closing his eyes as vicious jaws clamped shut around him.

The runes blazed on his chest, the radiance so bright that it shone through his armour. He heard the leviathan's howl of fury as he was snatched from its grasp at the last second, the sound cutting out abruptly as everything flashed white. John was ripped from existence, then hurled backwards through the timestream, reappearing in a flash to stand unsteadily on the obsidian ground. He wobbled for a moment as the timeline reasserted itself, with John facing his gargantuan opponent once again. His armour was pristine as it had been at the start of their fight, his limbs renewed and whole once more, his massive sword steady in his hand... but he felt a dull ache on his chest where his runes had burnt out.

John could sense the girls' presence now, the connection between them there all along, just masked from his perception by the subversive nature of this despicable place. After being rendered unconscious by Alyssa's efforts on the Astral Plane, the girls had all slept for several hours, their nubile forms brimming with psychic potential once more.

"Heed me, Matriarchs," John called out, words echoing with an ancient cadence. "I petition you for aid!"

John was suddenly at the centre of a whirling maelstrom of power, eldritch energy pouring forth from his matriarchs and flooding every fibre of his being. He'd never experienced anything like it... the sum total of their entire psychic might all at his disposal.

"WHAT MANNER OF INSANITY IS THIS?! YOU WOULD WARP TIME ITSELF?!"

He heard the fear in that shocked outburst, his unstoppable foe stunned that he would dare to do such a thing. Taking advantage of that surprise, John set off at a sprint, but not perpendicular to his opponent this time... he charged straight towards it. The behemoth seemed smaller now and far less intimidating, John's armoured legs a blur as he closed the distance between them. It bellowed in fury, the mass of tentacles striking out at him as they had before.

John whirled his sword in a figure-of-eight, launching a whirling storm of telekinetic waves at those undulating limbs. One by one the tentacles exploded, fountains of black blood dousing the beast as he denuded it of those terrible appendages, each flopping limb bouncing off its head or torso before dropping to the ground with a stomach-churning squelch. The monster roared with pain, flinching back as each tentacle was severed, its enormous body quivering under the onslaught.

Twin tails arched up over its head, launching a relentless barrage of spikes in John's direction. However, this time, he was ready for them. A glowing blue hex-shield sprang into existence between them, just in time to protect him from the deadly hail. Scores of spikes pierced through the hexagons, but robbed of their speed, they fell harmlessly to the ground. The instant the first shield was pulverised to oblivion, a replacement instantly appeared to weather the storm, then another, and another, until the hail of spikes petered out.

He could feel a deep sense of fear pervading this place, but this time it wasn't the debilitating aura of terror that had assaulted him every time he'd entered this pocket plane. It was the huge behemoth that was cringing away from him, shocked and frightened at the turn this battle had taken. The mists rolled backwards in a rush, tumbling across the plane to swirl around him once again, masking the presence of the ancient leviathan.

"Hiding in the clouds won't save you," John snapped in irritation, as he heard the deep boom of hurried footfalls beating a hasty retreat.

"THIS BATTLE IS FAR FROM OVER... YOU THINK ME DEFEATED SO EASILY?"

John held his gauntleted hand palm-up in the direction he'd last seen his opponent and fired a fan of telekinetic darts in a wide arc. They shot out through the mists leaving glowing blue trails in their wake, until one off to his left made a faint squelching noise as it struck home. John briefly considered that there might be more of its hulking minions lurking within the fog but decided to take the chance and sprinted in that direction.

The crashing echoes of enormous clawed feet striking the ground got louder and John smiled as he realised he was heading in the right direction, firing off another spray of darts to confirm it. Three of them struck stomping limbs this time and he readied his sword in anticipation of catching the retreating monster. Suddenly his vision swam, leaving him disorientated and confused, and he stumbled a step as he ran through the billowing grey clouds.

He heard an agonised cry that chilled him to the bone, the scream all the more dreadful because he recognised that voice. The mists parted and he saw Irillith stagger out of the fog, her naked body covered in a patchwork of horrific wounds.

"John... help me!" she begged him, eyes wide with terror.

He felt his heart lurch in his chest, horrified to see her in such torment. "Oh my God, Irillith!" he gasped, spinning in his tracks and rushing towards her.

A tentacle whipped out of the fog and lashed around her waist, yanking the Maliri girl off her feet in a spray of blood and lifting her into the air. Her shrill screams reverberated around him, before they were quickly choked off in a sickening gurgle, blood raining down around him.

"No!" he screamed into the fog, the utter desolation he felt at her horrific death threatening to overwhelm him.

Mocking laughter boomed out around him, his despicable foe delighting in the agony of his grief.

"ALL YOUR CHERISHED LOVED ONES WILL BE MY PLAYTHINGS... I HAVE ONLY JUST STARTED PUNISHING THEM FOR YOUR TREACHERY!"

To his horror, John heard another terrified scream, this time from Calara. "John! It hurts so much... please make it stop!"

He was about to rush to try to save her when he heard a faint whispering in his mind. "Not... her... safe..."

John staggered and clutched at his head, trying to focus on the familiar voice through the numbing haze that muffled his thoughts. "Girls... not... there..."

Crouching down he took a deep breath and shut everything out of his mind, everything except that gentle melodic voice. Bright light sheared through that murky gloom, bathing him in a brilliant white aura that dismissed the confusion in his thoughts. The behemoths sadistic illusions were laid bare and when a petrified Calara lurched out of the fog, she suddenly dissipated into motes of light. The accompanying roar of disbelief was shot-through with an undercurrent of dread.

"DAMN YOU AND THAT ACCURSED WITCH!"

"You'll pay for that," John snarled, whirling his sword around him, the runes blazing bright.

The fogbanks were hurled backwards, unable to withstand the ferocious glare shining from the blade. Swirling clouds parted around a vast cloven foot, then another as the leviathan was stripped of its concealment. It had not been idle in the precious minutes it had gained with its retreat, a fresh set of tentacles having grown from the mangled stumps of the old. It bellowed a deafening challenge and lurched to the attack, the forest of slithering tentacles attempted to batter him into the ground.

Moving in a blur, John slashed with his blade as he dodged, telekinetic blasts tearing savage holes through those appendages and severing tentacles in gouts of thick black blood. One of the massive limbs swung around in a sweeping arc, moving too quickly for John to avoid. Instead he braced himself and stabbed down with his sword, the colossal blade plunging through rubbery flesh and impaling the wriggling tentacle to the ground. It was like trying to stop a freight train with a knife, but John braced himself, and ignored the screaming protests from his muscles.

His eyes narrowed in concentration and blue fire erupted from that gruesome wound, sizzling and scorching its way back up the stricken limb towards the vast beast's body. It staggered backwards in terror, letting loose a fearful roar shot through with pain. The tentacle stretched and ripped at the base, torn from the creature's body in its desperation to free itself and escape the inferno consuming its flesh.

With the leviathan momentarily distracted, John crouched down then leapt into the air, his gathered will leaving a cracked crater in the ground as he launched skyward. He held his sword in a two-handed grip, pouring as much energy as he could muster into its runic embrace, charging the weapon with vast amounts of psychic might. Lifting it aloft, the shining blade became an incandescent shard of eldritch power, the light shattering the murky gloom that pervaded this plane.

Thousands of demented eyes locked onto that blazing pillar, the creature's hundreds of maws sagging open in a silent scream as John plunged downwards. His colossal sword cleaved through its gigantic head, piercing deep into its body until the blade was fully impaled, with only the hilt protruding from what passed as the beast's forehead. John retreated as light crisscrossed its repulsive form, the demonic beast uttering a discordant wail of terror as white beams shot out of its shaking body. Limbs and tentacle stumps twitched as glowing lines blazed across rubbery hide, the trembling appendages unable to escape the radiant light.

"IT BURNS! I BEG YOU, MAKE IT STOP!"

John watched the death throes of the titanic monster from a safe distance, a grim smile of satisfaction on his face. "You hurt the girls too many times... I had to put you down."

The monstrous ruler of this shadowy realm let out a bestial howl of agony, the violent shaking intensifying. It seemed to collapse in on itself for a second before exploding outwards, glowing chunks of the abomination blasting clear as if trying to escape from the purity of that light. When the blazing light from that radiant detonation had faded, all that remained was John's sword, the massive weapon floating back to his outstretched hand.

Sagging with relief, John was about to reach out to Athena to extricate himself from this desolate place, when the ground tipped over, upending itself and knocking him from his feet. As John toppled backwards, the ground seemed to pull away, leaving him staring up at the sky as he fell. He saw the stars ripple and with a feeling of dread, realised that they were a field of eyes, all of them staring intently at him.

The mind behind those eyes belonged to a being beyond his comprehension, which surveyed him with amusement and mild irritation, like one might study a meddlesome ant. John knew that he'd been the focus of attention from this antediluvian horror before, but he was only just beginning to get a glimpse at its true nature. He suddenly realised that the plateau he'd been fighting on was no more than the palm of this creature's impossibly vast hand. The sub-plane he'd been dragged back to time and again was only a tiny fragment of this unholy demigod's domain... a tempering ground for those of his kind, although for what purpose he couldn't begin to fathom.

Then Athena was back, wrapping herself tightly around him this time, a stern look of disapproval on her face. She kissed him and everything went white, his mind jerking away from that dreadful fall. They landed with a thump on solid ground, the radiant girl's alluring nude body sprawled atop him, with John absorbing the worst of the fall for both of them.

"We've got to work on those landings..." he groaned, his back aching from the impact.

Athena raised herself up from his chest and glared at him furiously. "Have you gone completely mad? What possessed you to attack that thing?! You could have been killed!"

He began to laugh, revelling in the simple joy of being alive, a sensation made all the sweeter after teetering at the brink of death's door.

"It's not funny!" she exclaimed, brow furrowing in anger. "I was worried sick!"

John rolled over, Athena yelping in surprise as he brought her with him. He cupped her indignant face in his hands, then leaned down to give her a tender kiss. She struggled for a moment, then melted into his arms, moaning softly into his mouth as his lips moved against hers.

"Thank you for rescuing me," he said quietly, gazing into her glowing eyes. "I'd be dead right now, if it wasn't for you."

Her face lit up with a gentle smile, her eyes softening with affection. "You're welcome."

John sat up with a wince, both his back and chest feeling sore. He tried to blot out the pain and offered his radiant companion a hand, helping her up.

Athena looked at him with concern. "I'd offer to heal you, but everyone is completely drained of psychic energy."

"That's okay, a bit of pain will remind me not to do anything quite so reckless for a while," he said with a self-effacing grin.

"For a while?" Athena asked him, her eyes narrowing. "How about never again!"

His smile faded and he brushed his fingers down her arm. "You know I can't promise you that, honey."

She sighed and nodded, her face falling. "I know." Her lowered gaze focused on the charred imprint of the Progenitor runes on his chest and she lightly traced them with a fingertip, being careful not to touch the damaged skin. "So... these are new."

John chuckled, nodding as he relaxed. "A generous gift from my twisted alter-ego."

"Wasn't he thoughtful," she said with a wicked smile. "I hope you wrote him a thank you note."

"Don't worry, I thanked him in person," John said, rising to his feet and offering her a hand. He glanced around, his eyes widening as he got his first proper look at their surroundings. They were standing in a vast courtyard surrounded by imposing fortifications, the precise, elegant masonry reminding him of a high-fantasy castle. "Is this..."

"Alyssa's Astral sub-plane," Athena finished for him, twirling around with her arms spread wide. "Welcome to my humble abode."

"You live here?" he asked in surprise.

She nodded, her smile widening. "Alyssa made me the caretaker of this place."

He hesitated, looking around at the rather empty interior to the fortress. "Don't get me wrong, I think the castle is impressive... it's just a little spartan."

Athena laughed gaily and shook her head in amusement. "Goodness me, you're hard to impress!" She walked over to him and looked into his eyes. "Alyssa just created the equivalent of the Ashanath Command Net... and is maintaining it by her own strength of will. Mael'nerak was a Progenitor at the height of his powers when he managed such a feat."

John blushed and quickly said, "I wasn't trying to undermine her achievement... It's just that there's not much here; I was worried about you being lonely."

She gave him a loving smile. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. Shaping all this out of the chaos-material of the Astral Plane was exhausting for Alyssa, but once she's had some time to recover, I'll work with her to add more to this domain." Clasping his hand, she continued, "As for companionship, you're very sweet to worry about me, but Alyssa's made sure I'll be well taken care of."

Athena set off across the enormous courtyard, tugging on his hand to get him to follow. He caught up and walked beside her, glancing around at the towering walls that stretched as far as the eye could see. "Where are we going?"

"Alyssa's inner sanctum," she replied quietly. "It's a place she built just for you."

The stone flagstones seemed to rush by under their feet and John found himself standing by a glowing pink sphere. He instinctively knew that he stood at the heart of this Astral domain, the central point of Alyssa's newly-created pocket plane.

"Go ahead," Athena encouraged him, nodding towards the two-metre-tall orb.

He reached out to touch it, then felt a dizzying swirl as he was pulled inside, his senses reeling as his surroundings changed once again. A refreshing breeze brushed across his face, the brightness of the sun overhead warming his skin. He stood in a beautiful meadow, brightly coloured flowers waving gently as butterflies alighted on their dainty petals. In the centre of this tranquil scene stood a small wood-panelled house, complete with a white picket fence that surrounded a carefully tended garden.

"Welcome home, John..."

John felt a soft touch to his shoulder and Alyssa glided into view. Her cerulean eyes sparkled in the sunlight, her hair like a golden halo as it tumbled down over the shoulders of her blue summer dress.

"Alyssa!" he exclaimed, pulling her into his arms. "I was so worried about you!"

She smiled at him and shook her head. "Alyssa's sleeping, remember?"

"Athena?!" he asked in confusion, reaching up to caress her cheek. "But you're not glowing!"

Shaking her head, she leaned in to kiss him. "Not here, not in this place... you'll see why in a moment."

Ignoring his questioning look, Athena led him into the house, then up the stairs to the master bedroom. A comfy-looking four-poster bed dominated the room, wispy white drapes fluttering in the light breeze.

Athena turned to face him, crossing her wrists behind his neck as she gazed into his eyes. "I'm going to draw your subconscious to me every night, then watch over you while you sleep. You won't get much rest with me glowing like a firefly..."

"So no more nightmares," John marvelled, placing his hands on her slender waist. "You girls are incredible..."

"Alyssa will look after you during the day, then I take over at night," she said softly, her lips brushing against his. "Only pleasant dreams from now on..."

"How can I possibly repay you after everything you've done for me?" he asked, looking into her cerulean eyes.

"I love you, John," Athena breathed, her adoring gaze filled with desire.

He held the remarkable young woman close, relishing the moment together. "I love you too."

She kissed him passionately and they fell onto the bed, eagerly pulling off their clothes...

***

John stretched as he awoke, rousing from a wonderful dream. He went from holding a gorgeous blonde in his arms, to... holding a gorgeous blonde in his arms.

"Sleep well, handsome?" Alyssa asked with a mischievous grin.

He wrapped her up in a tight embrace. "I was so worried about you! You fell unconscious and we couldn't wake any of you up!"

"Yeah... it turns out that making your own permanent Astral reality is a bit tiring," she said with a wry smile. "I had to draw a shitload of energy from... everybody."

"And the girls? Are they okay?" he asked with concern, starting to sit up so he could check on them.

He immediately felt half-a-dozen hands reach out to calm him.

"We're all perfectly fine, John," Rachel said with a soothing smile. "It's 8am, we've all been asleep for over ten hours."

John sighed with relief, then he looked at Alyssa again, his face twisting in confusion. "How on Terra did you tap Edraele like that?" He quickly added, *Edraele, are you and your girls alright?!*

*We're all in perfect health, John,* she replied, sounding relaxed and refreshed. *Alyssa completely drained us of psychic energy, but there were no lingering side-effects. Unfortunately, the pull was so strong it knocked me out.*

*Sorry about that, I panicked a bit... I only realised just how much power I needed once I'd already started,* Alyssa ruefully admitted. "I have actually taken energy from Edraele before, but we were a bit distracted, so none of us picked up on it. Remember that time in the nightmare realm when you channelled energy to me so I could nova lance that big-ass beast? Well this time, I was getting desperate and suddenly realised that the connections must go both ways, so I went ahead and tapped Edraele for all the power she could give me."

"Well it worked... Your new sub-plane is amazing," John said, making no attempt to hide the wonder in his voice. "You really excelled yourself this time, honey; the castle, the house, Athena... I loved it! And I love you..."

She giggled, hugging him back. "24/7 Matriarch TLC. How's that for dedicated service?"

"No Progenitor could ask for more!" He laughed along with her, until his happy expression turned sombre. "That last nightmare was a bad one... if Athena hadn't intervened..."

"I know, she told me what happened," Alyssa said softly, a hint of anguish in her voice. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that alone... if I'd known how it was going to turn out, I would have stopped everything!"

Dana sighed impatiently and interrupted before John could reply. "Look, there's nothing to worry about... In fact, it all worked out great! John pimp-slapped his guide, found out a bunch of new Progenitor tricks, and blasted the living shit out of that nightmare boss. Alyssa made a new pocket plane and now the nightmares aren't a problem anymore, because John gets to fuck Athena every night! That was it, wasn't it? Did I miss anything?"

John rolled over onto his back so he could turn and smile at the redhead. "What's the matter, Dana? You seem... agitated."

She darted a furtive glance at Rachel, then traced a slow heart-pattern on his arm with a fingertip. "Alyssa said it's our turn to be with you this morning; we do need to keep Lynette topped up..."

John sat up and looked around the crowded bed, noting that he was surrounded by the Invictus crew, with the exception of Calara and Sakura. The four Nymphs, Helene, Jehanna, and Lynette were all there as well, watching his every move.

"Morning, ladies..." he said with a smile for each of them, his eyes finally stopping on the brunette. "Are you sure you're alright with this, Lynette?"

The Fleet Admiral blushed, her hazel eyes flicking to Rachel and Dana. "I don't mind, honestly. The last few days have been... enlightening."

Alyssa stretched, making no attempt to hide her nudity. "Actually, Dana's right. This isn't the time for a lengthy post-mortem and we've already covered all the important things anyway. Have some fun with these two, then we'll load up Lynette." Slipping from the bed, she said, "Come on ladies, let's give them some privacy... because it's not like we haven't seen John in action before..."

The girls giggled and slid off the bed, with the regular crew disappearing off to their own quarters, Jade accompanied by her entourage of Nymph sisters. Alyssa pulled the trio of new girls into the bathroom with her, flashing a cheeky grin at John as she left. *Just because you're being all noble with Lynette doesn't mean I have to be...*

He shook his head in amusement, then glanced at Dana and Rachel as they sidled closer, the two girls watching him with hunger in their eyes. "Hey, hold on a second before you eat me alive!" he said with a smile, holding up a placating hand. "How did dinner with Henry go last night?"

Dana ran her fingers over his pectoral muscles, her pupils flaring with arousal. "Can't you fuck us first, then talk? I'm really horny..."

Rachel laughed and rolled her eyes. "You're not going to get any sense out of her until you give her what she wants." She smiled at John and added, "Dinner went really well, but we can tell you all the details afterwards..."

The redhead grinned at her. "You need it just as bad as me, don't try and pretend otherwise!"

Rachel's subsequent blush was all the confirmation John needed. "Alright you two, let's do this. On your sides please, tummies pressed together and start kissing. I want to see how much you two love each other!"

The two teenagers gave him a heated look and scrambled to obey his orders, lying on the bed seconds later as he had requested. He decided to start with the instigator of this particular session, lifting Dana's left leg and placing it on his shoulder as he straddled her right thigh. An exploratory caress revealed that she was just as soaked as he'd expected, so he nuzzled his cock at the entrance to her scalding-hot pussy and slid home.

"Fuck yeah!" she hissed, as John pushed his way deep into her belly.

He slapped her rump playfully. "Hey, I never told you to stop kissing! You two look gorgeous together... keep going!"

She laughed, her sky-blue eyes twinkling. "Sorry, John, I just got... mmph!"

Whatever she had been about to say was smothered by her lover's flushed lips, Rachel passionately kissing the redhead.

"See, Rachel's a good girl," John said, his hand stroking the brunette's toned thigh. "Maybe I should have started with her..."

Dana clamped down on his cock, her internal muscles rippling along his length.

"Ah, I see... I'm not going anywhere until I get you off?" he asked with a knowing grin. Whatever Dana said in response was muffled by Rachel's kisses.

John held Dana's thigh against his chest and proceeded to give her the vigorous pounding she'd requested, riding her bucking body through several climaxes. He stopped just short of fucking the redhead senseless, so she had enough presence of mind left to take over the kisses when he switched to Rachel. John gave the brunette a lusty ploughing, watching as she moaned into Dana's mouth, their tongues duelling as Rachel trembled with ecstasy. John pressed them close together at the end, alternating between each girl before he was overcome by his climax. He managed to round out both their tummies nicely before he collapsed back on the bed with a broad smile on his face.

Dana snuggled up against him, planting a tender kiss on his cheek before lying down with her head on his chest. "That was so awesome... just what I needed." She let out a contented sigh. "Don't get me wrong, making love with you is wonderful, but sometimes a girl just needs to be treated like a piece of fuck meat."

Rachel snorted with laughter as she took her place in the crook of John's arm. "I wouldn't phrase it quite like that, but I agree with my charming girlfriend's sentiments."

John stretched, then put his arms around them both and stroked their backs. "Happy to be of service, ladies." He glanced down at them and smiled. "I wouldn't have minded something a bit more loving after my close call with the Grim Reaper last night, but whatever my girls need..."

"Oh shit! I'm so sorry, John!" Dana exclaimed, looking at him in horror.

Rachel tried to sit up, her expression fraught. "I didn't even think... Oh, no!"

He shook his head and pulled them closer. "Relax, I was only kidding. I just wanted to celebrate being alive, and what better way to do that than seeing two beautiful girls making loving to each other while they took turns cumming on my cock."

"You bad boy," Dana said, playfully hitting his chest. "You had me freaking out then..."

Rachel nodded and wagged a finger at him. "No more teasing like that please."

"Okay, I'm sorry," he apologised, caressing their flanks. "So, tell me about dinner with your father? How did that go?"

The two girls interlaced their fingers over his chest, the look they gave each other warming his heart.

"Dana was amazing," Rachel said breathlessly, her voice filled with admiration for her lover. "We'd only been there five minutes and she had my father wrapped around her little finger."

Dana blushed and gave the tawny-haired brunette a self-conscious smile. "I just got lucky, babes."

Rachel shook her head. "Luck had nothing to do with it."

"What happened?" John prompted them, listening attentively.

The redhead had a satisfied smile on her face as she replied, "Henry's all into the Olympus refit at the moment, so I suggested a bunch of ways to ramp up productivity. Alternative alloy compositions, energy efficiency modulators, the formula for that super-lubricant, schematics for advanced robotic assembly lines... you know, just trivial stuff really."

Rachel giggled and kissed Dana's fingers. "When you created the blueprints for him out of thin air, I thought he was going to have a stroke!"

Dana winked at her. "Nah, you gave him a check-up remember? I knew he'd be fine."

"I'm sorry I missed it," John said ruefully. "But I'm really glad the meal was a success."

"You needed to connect with the Nymphs and I didn't give you any notice," Rachel said, waving a hand to dismiss his apology. "Daddy wasn't offended that you couldn't make it and Dana charmed the pants off him anyway!"

"I thought she might," John said with a fond smile. "I promise I'll be there for the next one though. I'd like to get to know your father better."

Rachel kissed his chest. "He's eager to meet you again too," She glanced up at him and continued earnestly, "I love the two of you more than anyone in the galaxy... it means so much to me that you're both being so supportive about me rebuilding my relationship with my father."

They shared a loving group hug, enjoying the feeling of intimacy as they lay together.

"Aren't I on your list of treasured loved ones?" Alyssa asked airily, sitting on the bed as her freshly showered companions followed her into the bedroom.

Rachel blew a kiss at her. "You would be, but you torment my fiancé too much!"

The blonde scrunched up her nose and darted a glance at John. "Damn, I can't give that up." She shared a smile with him, then placed her hand on Dana's cum-filled belly. "So, Lynette... fresh from the source? Or do you want Jade to top you up?"

Dana winked at the flustered brunette, who turned a bright shade of red.

"J-J-Jade," Lynette stammered nervously, unable to take her eyes off the two girls' luscious bodies.

John could see the interest there and couldn't help wondering if Lynette had been bisexual before the Change, because she certainly was now.

"Ignore their teasing," the Nymph said as she strolled into the room and greeted Lynette with an affectionate kiss on the cheek. "I'll take good care of you."

Faye appeared in a purple flash, her holographic wings thrumming as she fluttered over to the bed. "Before you get started, there were a couple of things I wanted to mention! Dana, your new Mass Fabricators have arrived."

"Oh yeah!" the redhead crowed, fist pumping the air.

The purple sprite turned to the brunette lying beside her. "Rachel, I've been reviewing the Tartarus data and found what appears to be eugenics research. Would you like to take a look?"

Rachel relaxed on the bed as Jade prowled across the covers towards her. "That does sound interesting, Faye. Please can you transfer it to my console in Engineering? I'll start reviewing the data this morning."

"Will do!" the elfin girl replied, before waving goodbye to everyone and disappearing again.

John turned to Alyssa and gave her a rueful look. "We need to replate the rest of the ship today..."

She let out a very convincing groan in despair, then suddenly brightened. "Hey! You can show me how you managed to do that passive-shaping trick!"

"Sure," he agreed amiably. John glanced at Lynette then shrugged and climbed out of bed, figuring she'd already seen him naked. He headed towards the bathroom and called over his shoulder. "Anyone fancy a shower?"

Alyssa, Helene, and Jehanna rushed to join him, John welcoming them with open arms. Lynette laughed at their eagerness, especially as the three girls had only just come out of the shower. She turned back to watch Jade and Rachel, finding herself unable to stop staring in fascination as the Nymph began to lap away at the cum-filled girl.

***

The Invictus' repairs proceeded at an unprecedented pace for the rest of the day. Once John had taught Alyssa how to automate the shaping of the psychic metal, they were able to keep manufacturing plates while stripping the rest of the ship of armour. The maintenance bots completed construction of the three replacement Trankaran engines, so they proceeded with their installation, mounting them in place made trivial by a combination of John's super strength and Alyssa's telekinesis.

They stopped work at midday, so that John could spend some time with Tashana. As they fell into bed together, she gave him a shy smile and asked him to make love to her, giving John the intimacy that he'd been craving earlier. He suspected that she'd been tipped off by Alyssa, but the Maliri girl seemed to really savour every caress, her sensual cries of ecstasy telling him she was enjoying it just as much as he was. Jade dutifully fed Lynette afterwards and once everyone else had eaten lunch, the repairs continued, with more of the blackened battlecruiser returning to a sparkling white sheen. By four that afternoon when John took another break to be with Irillith, eighty percent of the Invictus' armour plates had been replaced by deca-shaped crystal Alyssium plating.

When the Maliri twin swept into his bedroom, John had a terrible flashback of seeing her in the nightmare, so he gathered her in his arms and held her tight. "God, I love you, Irillith," he murmured in her ear, his voice thick with emotion.

"What's wrong?" she asked in surprise, pulling back to look into his eyes. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

He drew a shuddering breath and quietly replied, "I saw you on the Astral Plane... it was just a trick, but... you died. It was awful, honey, I felt like my heart had been ripped out."

"I'm okay, John," she said softly, her voice gentle and reassuring. "You kept me safe from harm."

John relaxed and lay back on the bed with her, brushing a lock of snowy-white hair from her face before giving her a loving kiss. "I don't want you going back there ever again..."

"You'll get no complaint from me," she said, her angular eyes sparkling in the light. "Now, I'd like the same kind of tender lovemaking that Tashana just had... as long as you're not going to get bored of taking identical twins exactly the same way?"

"I'm sure I'll find a way to cope," John said with a smile, rolling her onto her back and kissing her passionately...

While the position was the same and physically the two girls were identical, the Maliri twins had very different personalities, which was reflected in the way they made love. With Irillith's penchant for anal sex and the almost confrontational way she often had sex with John, often involving a collar and exploiting her submissive streak, they hadn't explored this kind of tender lovemaking before. Tashana was more carefree and abandoned in her coupling with him, while Irillith had an endearing shyness in the way she approached such close intimacy.

Irillith's self-conscious smile when they had finished was quite enchanting and John couldn't stop kissing her as Jade eagerly sucked all his cum from her womb. John got dressed after they were done then sat on the end of the bed, watching Jade with Lynette, the Fleet Admiral's stomach expanding as the Nymph fed her. He could sense Lynette in his mind now that they were actively connected, so he took a moment to review her body, noting with satisfaction just how much she'd changed in such a short space of time. Although she hadn't gained much height yet, the changes to her appearance, her muscle tone, and her figure were... impressive... to say the least.

*I can finish off the rest of the ship myself,* Alyssa thought to him as she continued slotting armour panels into place. *Why don't you take a few hours off to relax before your big date with Faye?*

Irillith brushed her fingers across John's back, then leaned over his shoulder to plant a soft kiss on his ear. "You were magnificent, thank you."

John pulled the Maliri girl into his arms and giving her a smouldering kiss, much to her delight. While savouring Irillith's soft moans, he replied to Alyssa, *Are you sure you can manage all of it? I know how much you hate shaping...*

*I don't even have to concentrate on it now!* the blonde replied, sounding overjoyed. *I've spent all day thinking up ways to improve my sub-plane!*

*Then I gladly accept your kind offer, thank you,* he replied gratefully, caressing the azure beauty in his arms. *Will we be fully repaired by midnight?*

*Yep! Dana's got to finish hooking up and configuring the Power Regulator, then we'll be all set.*

John helped Irillith up, the Maliri girl dazed by the soul-searing kiss. "Are you and your sister still planning on having fun with Jehanna tonight?"

Irillith sighed happily, then gave him a coy smile. "Oh yes, absolutely." She reached down to rub him through his trousers. "I hope I haven't left you too exhausted... we wouldn't want Jehanna to be disappointed."

"I think you'll find me more than adequate to the task," he countered, earning himself a grin from the Maliri hacker. "How's work on the Vulkat archives going?"

"Actually, I'm making really rapid progress!" she exclaimed, her violet eyes lighting up with excitement. "At this rate, I should be able to start actual translation by tomorrow!"

He nodded appreciatively. "That's great news, beautiful. Well done."

Irillith gave him a dazzling smile, followed by a quick peck on the cheek. "I better get back to work, you're far too distracting..."

She waved goodbye and left the bedroom, just as Rachel strolled inside, a pensive look on her face.

"Everything alright, honey?" John asked, walking over to greet her.

The brunette frowned and shook her head. "I've just been reading about some very disturbing research, so not really." She blew out her breath and glanced at Lynette, who was pulling a very stretchy shirt over her cum-packed belly. "I'll tell you about it in a minute. I actually needed to talk to Lynette about something else first."

"What can I help you with?" the Fleet Admiral asked, giving the unsettled doctor an encouraging smile.

"It's the other way around, Lynette," Rachel replied, walking over to the bed and sitting beside her. She was carrying a holo-reader and held it up between them. "After our last encounter with the Kirrix, I developed a number of useful devices that will be invaluable to the Terran forces liberating captured worlds."

Her nimble fingers darted over the holographic display until they were viewing a weapon schematic. "I've been working with Dana to modify Sonic Cannons for use on infested Terrans." She played back a video of her using one of the weapons to liquefy Kirrix eggs inside Trankarans civilians. "Trankarans are far more resilient than we are, so Dana changed the harmonic wavelength to make sure the Sonic Cannons were safe. Treatment sessions on each Terran patient will take a little longer, but they won't be harmed by the procedure."

"This is incredible, thank you!" Lynette said gratefully. "The only way we were previously able to save the infested was with surgery, so this will save tens-of-thousands of citizens!"

"It was the least I could do," Rachel said with a satisfied smile. Her hands moved over the holo-panel again, this time the display shifting to show a complex bio-chemical formula. "The next item I reverse-engineered from a salve that we recovered from the Kirrix. It acts as a fast-acting coagulant, while also keeping wounds covered and sterile. I've analysed the composition of the salve and was able to synthesize it without too much trouble. If the medi-gel in trauma kits is replaced with this salve, you should see a marked increase in survival rates from critical injuries sustained in the field."

"Amazing work, Doctor Voss," the older woman murmured, her hazel eyes filled with admiration. "With the protracted fighting necessary to liberate those worlds, upgraded trauma kits will prove invaluable!"

Rachel inclined her head politely. "Anything to help save more lives."

Lynette rose from the bed and gestured to the holo-viewer. "Please could I borrow that? I'll arrange for the relevant schematics to be transmitted to Admiral Zelig's fleet. By the time he arrives on the Outer Rim, he should be able to manufacture sizable quantities of both items."

Faye popped up in a purple flash. "If you'd like to come with me, I can take you up to John's Ready Room and you can make your calls from there. I'll provide you with the schematics you need!"

"That would be wonderful, Faye. Thank you," Lynette said, nodding in gratitude to Rachel before accompanying the fluttering sprite out of the bedroom.

Jade gave John a parting kiss, then followed the Fleet Admiral into the corridor, leaving him and Rachel alone.

"So, you mentioned being bothered by some research you were investigating?" John asked, turning to look at the unsettled young woman. "Was this the Tartarus eugenics program that Faye found?"

"Yes, on both counts," Rachel replied, her expression turning grim. "The research has actually been ongoing for decades, with Terran Federation scientists working on 'positive selective breeding' to try to create an elite tier of 'superior humans'. They supplemented that program with genetic tampering, although their efforts were extremely crude by Progenitor standards. Buckingham didn't instigate this research, but he enthusiastically approved and ramped up the funding during the time he was Fleet Admiral."

"That sounds ominous," John said quietly. "If they were working on it at Tartarus, I can guess that their research was highly unethical at best."

She nodded, her eyes glistening as she swallowed around the lump in her throat. "Over the last ten years, the researchers targeted impoverished young women for recruitment. In exchange for having their debts paid off, those women 'volunteered' to become breeding stock, and were repeatedly inseminated by sperm gathered from 'superior males'. The babies they carried to term were 'owned' by the state and subjected to a merciless battery of tests... All the women and their children were eventually killed to eliminate any chance of a security breach."

John grimaced, mouth twisting in disgust. "Those sick bastards... how could they do something like that?!"

"I know, it's appalling... I struggled to get through all the data," Rachel said, leaning into him for a hug. She let out a heavy sigh and continued, "As for why they did it... the early stages of the eugenics program in the mid-2720's saw very promising results. By careful selection of bloodlines, the first wave of children were born with impressive natural aptitude for various disciplines. High Command was delighted and increased funding, but as those children got older they began to exhibit flaws..."

"Flaws? What do you mean?" John asked, frowning as he looked down at her.

Rachel's face shadowed with a flurry of emotions. "They manifested in a wide variety of different ways, so no two children were alike. Examples given were irrational outbursts of rage, extreme narcissism, rampant kleptomania, numerous obsessive compulsive disorders... The eugenics program managed to greatly enhance positive aspects of their subject's personality, but at the cost of inadvertently emphasising some of the negatives too."

"So the Tartarus team was trying to work out how to eliminate the flaws..." John said, nodding his understanding. He looked at the young woman perceptively, reaching up to gently stroke her cheek. "There's something else upsetting you... what more did you find?"

She looked up at him, her expression unreadable. "Do the character traits of those 'superior humans' sound familiar to you?"

He frowned in confusion. "Surely you don't think I'm one of them? I developed a bad case of OCD about cleaning, but I'm fairly sure that was connected to suppressing my Progenitor Guide..."

Rachel quickly shook her head. "No, not you... someone else. A person with incredible natural aptitude towards mechanical devices, but with a susceptibility towards single-mindedness, manifesting in combat as target-fixation."

"Dana!" John gasped, looking at her in wide-eyed disbelief. "You can't seriously be suggesting that she's one of them?!"

The brunette nodded, looking deeply unsettled. "I checked her DNA for the relevant genetic markers... Once I knew what to look for, I saw the distinctive patterns immediately. There's no doubt about it, Dana is definitely one of those gifted children."

John sat down heavily on the bed, stunned by her findings. "How on Terra did a baby from a highly-classified eugenics program end up living on an Outer-Rim cesspool like Karron?!"

Rachel sat beside him and slowly shook her head. "I have absolutely no idea."

"Have you told her yet?" he asked, putting his arm around the brunette.

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "No, not yet. I wanted to discuss it with you first... I wasn't sure whether you'd want to tell her or not?"

*Dana needs to know this,* Alyssa said firmly. *We've never been able to find out anything about her parents... and it's always troubled her.*

John sighed and nodded. *Trust me, I know what that feels like. Can you bring her up?*

*Already on my way,* the blonde replied.

They didn't have to wait long and Dana bounded into the room with Alyssa at her side. She took one look at John and Rachel then frowned, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "You two look like you're about to shoot Old Yeller. What's up?"

"Come here, honey," John said, moving back on the bed and opening his arms to the redhead.

"Okay..." She went to him, sitting obediently on his lap as he wrapped her up in comforting embrace.

Alyssa sat beside them and slipped her hand into Dana's, giving it a supportive squeeze. "Rachel found out something... interesting... while she was reviewing the Tartarus research."

The brunette looked at Dana with sympathy in her grey eyes. "It's related to your parents. I would have told you immediately, but I needed to discuss it with John first, to see if he wanted to wait until we knew all the facts..."

Dana glanced nervously at John, her best friend, then her girlfriend. "You three are freaking me out! Stop fucking around and just tell me, whatever it is!"

Rachel sighed then proceeded to tell her everything she'd discovered about the eugenics program and Dana's connection to it.

When she was done, the redhead gaped at her companions in open-mouthed astonishment. "You've got to be fucking kidding me! So I was like some kind of test-tube super-baby?"

"We don't know all the specifics," John said, holding her close. "Rachel just ran the tests against your DNA and confirmed that you were somehow part of that program."

Dana shook her head in bewilderment. "Well, at least that explains why I was always so good with machines... but why the hell was I dumped in a shitty orphanage in the ass-end of nowhere?!"

"I wasn't able to find out much about the original eugenics program," Rachel said softly, her voice full of sympathy. "The research conducted in Tartarus started ten years ago, just after Buckingham became Fleet Admiral."

"I can't believe it..." Dana murmured, gazing off into the distance. She let out a humourless laugh and continued, "All those years I thought I was some drunken miner's kid, but no... my parents are some kind of crazy scientists."

"Are you alright?" John asked, rubbing her back.

She looked at him and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. At the end of the day, the bastards still abandoned me on Karron, whoever the fuck they were." Her full lips lifted into a smile. "At least now we know why I keep screwing up in combat... So, are you going to fix it now? Fix me, I mean?"

"You're not broken, honey," John said, giving her a warm smile.

Rachel relaxed when she saw that Dana wasn't upset. "John, I can show you the genetic markers I mentioned before. For someone with your abilities, you'll easily be able to correct the genetic tampering and remove those flaws."

Dana darted a hurt look at Rachel. "You do think I'm broken..."

The brunette shook her head vehemently and threw her arms around her lover. "No, of course not! I think you're wonderful! It's just that we do so much fighting and you keep getting really badly hurt... I want you to be safe, that's all, baby."

"Okay, that's alright then," Dana said with a grin, hugging her back. She glanced up at John and added, "So what do you reckon? Can you sort me out?"

He blinked in surprise and put his arms around both girls. "As long as Rachel is sure it's perfectly safe and that making changes won't alter your personality. I really like you just as you are, honey, I don't want to do anything to risk that."

"I've been thinking about it ever since I found out," Rachel admitted, darting a smile at Dana. "John can put a stop to the target fixation problem without any adverse effects to your personality."

Alyssa raised an eyebrow and asked airily, "How about the excessive swearing and the greediness for John's cum?"

Dana snorted indignantly, then grinned at the blonde. "You can talk, you cheeky bitch! You swear like a drunken sailor when you start getting horny..."

"I'm afraid we're stuck with those," Rachel said with an affectionate smile at her girlfriend.

John gave them both a gentle squeeze. "Good, I wouldn't change that for the world."

"Me swearing, or how much I love glugging your man-juice?" Dana asked, her sky-blue eyes twinkling.

"Both," John said solemnly.

The three girls giggled, with Alyssa joining in the group hug.

Faye blinked into view a minute later. "Hey guys, sorry to interrupt!"

"No problem, we can't sit here hugging all day," John said with a smile. "What's up, Faye?"

"While Lynette was passing on Rachel's research, she received a message from a diplomat to the Kintark Empire," she explained, a cute, serious expression on her elfin face. "The Kintark Empress has been in contact and wishes to discuss terms for a peace treaty... Lynette asked if you wanted to join her for the discussion?"

"Tell her I'll be right there," John replied, giving her an appreciative nod.

Dana and Rachel reluctantly untangled themselves and climbed off John's lap.

He reached out to hold Dana in place before she got up. "I always knew you were special, I just never suspected you were the result of billions of credits worth of research." Brushing his fingers through her auburn hair, he continued, "But it doesn't make the slightest difference to the way I feel about you."

Her gaze softened and she gave him a loving smile. "Thank you, John. It means a lot to hear that... more than I realised."

They shared a tender kiss, then John rose from the bed, leaving Dana in safe hands as Rachel and Alyssa cuddled with her. He headed up to the Command Deck, strolling across the deserted Bridge before entering his Ready Room. He found Lynette sitting in the chair behind his desk, staring intently at the holo-interface; she was so absorbed that she didn't notice his arrival.

"Busy catching up with mail?" he asked, as he walked over to join her.

She jumped, startled by his voice, then greeted him warmly, "Hello, John, thank you for coming to see me. Actually, that's exactly what I was doing." She sighed and glanced at the holo-screen. "I've been neglecting my inbox for the last week; I've got a lot of catching up to do..."

"To be honest, I've pretty much handed that over to Faye. She does an amazing job filtering through all the spam and lets me know about anything important," John explained, feeling a surge of gratitude towards the tireless AI.

"She doesn't have a sister does she?" Lynette asked with a lopsided smile.

John glanced up at one of the cameras. "Faye, any chance you'd be able to create a VI to help Lynette with her holo-messages?"

The purple sprite popped into existence and nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, that'll be easy!" Her brows furrowed for a second and she glanced apprehensively at the Fleet Admiral. "Unless you want the VI to answer your messages too? That'll take me a little longer, as I'll need to build up a library of your facial expression, then establish behavioural rules and-"

"I was only joking!" Lynette blurted out in alarm. "High Command would have a fit if they discovered I had an AI handing out orders!"

Faye winked at her. "Trust me, they'd never know the difference!" She suddenly looked stricken, quickly waving her hands at Lynette in apology. "No, wait! I didn't mean to make it sound like you weren't any smarter than a VI! I just meant you'd look the same!"

John smiled at the apologetic girl. "I think we'd better pass on the VI, thanks though, honey."

Lynette sighed with relief and managed a weak smile. "Yes... thanks, Faye. Don't worry, I realised what you meant and I wasn't offended."

Blowing out her breath, Faye brushed a lock of purple hair away from her face. "Phew! Okay, just let me know if you change your mind!"

"Wait a second, Faye," John called out to her before she left. "We need to speak to the Kintark Empress. We'll take the call on the sofa, I'll let you know when we're ready."

"Sure, John!" She gave him a cheery wave before vanishing from sight.

"That was my fault, sorry," John said, turning to Lynette.

She rose awkwardly from her chair, one hand on her swollen tummy. "There's no need to apologise. If it wasn't for Terra's dark history with Nexus, I would have gladly taken Faye up on her offer. Unlike the rest of the Admiralty, I don't harbour any grudges towards Artificial Intelligences, not after getting to know Faye. I'm not ashamed to admit that I've grown quite fond of her."

John offered Lynette his arm and they walked over towards the sofa. "I'm glad to hear it. It took me a while to get over those prejudices, but Faye is absolutely wonderful. We'd be completely lost without her." He glanced at the brunette's youthful features and her heavily-rounded abdomen. "I think it might be wise to activate those holo-projectors..."

She looked down and blushed. "I keep forgetting... I've been so relaxed here on the ship for the last couple of days, it's almost like being on vacation."

He reached a hand towards her curves, pausing for a second to wait for her permission.

"I told you before, you don't need to ask," Lynette murmured with a bashful smile. She reached for his hand and brought it to her tummy, her long eyelashes fluttering as he caressed her.

"We're nearly done, Lynette," John said quietly, his fingers moving in a slow circle. "I've got used to having you active in my mind... I'm going to miss you."

She gave him a look filled with longing. "Does this have to be the end?"

John guided her down to the sofa so that she was sitting next to him, then continued stroking her. "We both know that the way you're feeling right now is just a side-effect of the Change. I still think the right thing to do is end things here, before anything develops further." He looked at her quizzically for a moment, then continued, "Alyssa told me yesterday that she was planning to do a bit of matchmaking. She's been quite transparent in her recent attempts to get you and Charles together; do you actually like him or is she a terrible cupid?"

Lynette smiled as she thought about her fellow admiral. "I do like Charles and not just as a friend. We started out as colleagues, but his genuine concern and support have meant a lot, and..." She blushed as she admitted, "...I think he's quite handsome. It's amazing how dashing he is, now that he isn't bowed down by all that stress."

Nodding his agreement, John said, "You're both getting a new lease on life... I think the two of you will make a great couple."

She sighed wistfully and reached up to brush her fingers against his cheek. "My head knows that and I suppose my heart knows it too... but the desire to be with you is so powerful." She looked him directly in the eyes and added softly, "You know I'd do anything you asked... absolutely anything."

"But you realise that those feelings aren't really genuine, don't you?" John asked, his voice gentle and sympathetic.

"Aren't they?" she whispered, uncertainty in her amber eyes. "You healed me, saved my life, helped me attain my dream of becoming Fleet Admiral, and gave me my youth back... Isn't it natural to develop strong feelings for someone who's been so kind, caring, and generous?"

"I don't know, Lynette," John said, sounding truly conflicted. "I hate the idea of betraying the person you were before... the real you, before I started tampering with your mind."

She gave him a furtive smile. "I must admit, I've started wondering what it would be like to hold our baby in my arms... I'm pretty sure I wasn't daydreaming about that last week!"

He grimaced and nodded. "I remember the girls mentioning that after the first few times I'd fed them." Interlacing his fingers with hers, he stroked the back of her hand. "I'm sorry for putting you through all this... it must feel like I'm leading you on then rejecting you."

Lynette shook her head and gave him a sympathetic look. "You've been nothing but honest with me throughout... you really don't have to keep apologising." She glanced down at her chest and cupped her impressively pert bust, a wry smile teasing her lips. "I don't need a mirror to see just how... diligent... you've been in keeping your promises. I can hardly complain about a few minor side-effects."

John laughed and glanced down at her cleavage. "I'll refrain from commenting on your appearance until you see the big reveal."

"I can't wait!" she said with eager anticipation.

He shared a smile with her, then carefully brushed a lock of her chestnut hair away from her face. "If we were to start a relationship, you'd end up having to share me with two-dozen other women. You'd be doing yourself a huge disservice when you could be with another man... someone who can dedicate their whole life to you."

"Progenitor induced infatuation aside, I realise that," Lynette agreed, meeting his gaze. "Part of me wants to sleep with you just one time to get this out of my system... but I have a feeling it wouldn't work out that way."

"Probably the opposite would happen," John agreed.

Lynette inhaled deeply, squaring her shoulders as she made a decision. "As much as I'd love to be with you, I really do like Charles and I'd like to make a genuine attempt at starting a relationship with him." She hesitated and looked him in the eye. "But if it doesn't work out, if these feelings I have for you don't go away, then... would you reconsider... us?"

He thought about it for a second, then nodded. "I do think your best shot at happiness is with him, but if not, then we'll throw you to the Lion and Lionesses..."

She gave him a warm smile. "You're trying to make that sound like a fate worse than death, but I've seen how all of you are together..."

*You'd certainly go out screaming,* Alyssa said, making them both laugh.

John reached over and buttoned up a couple of her jacket buttons, then double-tapped the disc in her pocket. "Ready for a chat with the Kintark Empress, Fleet Admiral?"

The holographic projectors floated into position and she flickered, her old features super-imposed over her face. "I am."

Faye didn't have to be prompted and a holo-screen appeared a second later, the stylised dragon icon for the Kintark Empire looming in front of them. John was expecting a long wait for the call to be routed through the comms beacons, but the draconic sigil scattered almost immediately, making him realise that she'd already made the connection. The picture changed to show an enormous throne room, with an imposing red dragon standing imperiously on the raised platform.

The Empress watched them with her huge reptilian eyes, then bowed her head in an obvious gesture of supplication. "I wish to convey my sincere gratitude to you for deigning to speak with me, Fleet Admiral Devereux. Considering the appalling behaviour of my predecessor and the terrible indignities the Terran people suffered at his hands, I was uncertain if you would consider my request for a peace treaty."

Lynette was startled by the enormous dragon's conciliatory tone, not expecting such a mighty creature to be so humble. "It's a pleasure to speak with you, Empress. I won't hold Baledranax's sins against you personally, but I want to make sure that you fully understand the nature of this conversation. While I am eager to end the war between our two civilisations, we will not be discussing a peace treaty, rather we'll be establishing the terms of the Kintark Empire's surrender."

"I am all too aware of the unfortunate position we find ourselves in," the Empress replied, her flashing eyes revealing her tightly-suppressed fury.

John had been staring intently at the red-scaled dragon, her appearance and deep throaty voice were both disturbingly familiar. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Tamolith, is that you?"

She inclined her huge head to him, her lips peeling back over enormous fangs into a draconic smile. "We meet again, tiny Progenitor. I hope you are well, John Blake?"

"I'm fine thanks," he replied, frowning in confusion. "But I thought you were Kindralax's consort, not the Empress?"

Tamolith's expression turned to sorrow and she said mournfully, "Alas, we have suffered a tragedy here at the Imperial Palace on Kinta. Upon hearing of her mate's untimely death, Empress Vilandrith was driven mad with grief. She slaughtered all of Baledranax's male heirs then ripped off her own head... a most unpleasant business."

"I'm very sorry to hear about those tragic circumstances," he said to the formidable dragon, trying not to sound too sceptical. "You must be heartbroken."

Her big eyes glinted as she added, "Quite so... and I thank you for your condolences. As luck would have it, I was already here at the Palace, so I was able to step in to guide the Kintark Empire in its time of need. Until my eldest is old enough to rule, I will act in Zulkayr's stead as Empress."

*Yes, that was lucky...* Edraele noted wryly. *It seems Tamolith has quite the talent for betrayals.*

*We'll have to keep a careful eye on her,* John agreed, having come to the same conclusion.

"I'm sure Zulkayr will make a fine Emperor when he's old enough," John said, arching an eyebrow. "How long are you intending to be his regent exactly?"

"Oh, a good twenty or thirty years," Tamolith said, while idly dragging a claw across the throne room's granite floor. "There's no rush, I want to make sure he's ready for the crushing burden of leadership."

John couldn't help marvelling at her brazen power grab. "That's very considerate of you."

Tamolith's smile widened to wicked proportions. "I care a great deal about my precious darlings." Her eyes flicked to Lynette and she continued, "So... shall we discuss my Empire's surrender, Fleet Admiral?"

Lynette had been listening to the exchange in fascination, picking up the obvious subtext. She cleared her throat and said, "After lengthy deliberations with High Command, I wish to propose a number of terms. The first we need to address will be the ceding of a number of Kintark worlds over to the Terran Federation." She was about to reach for the comms-interface when an icon flashed, letting her know that Faye had sent Tamolith the map detailing the revised Kintark borders.

The Empress took one look at the proposed borders and her claw made a shrill scraping noise as she gouged a big chunk out of the floor. "You're demanding... half... my empire!"

"Rather than annexing Kintark territory in its entirety and reducing the Empire to a vassal state, I'm proposing a compromise. You can hand over a number of systems to atone for the war crimes committed by Imperial forces in Federation space," Lynette said coolly. "The rump of the Kintark Empire will remain independent under your full autonomy."

Tamolith snorted, actual steam coming from her nostrils. "Preposterous... I couldn't possibly accept these terms!"

"Empress, I'm quite aware of just how precarious a position the Kintark Empire finds itself in," Lynette said, with a knowing smile. "You have no fleet assets... Baledranax threw every warship in the Empire into his invasion armada. With no forces left to patrol your borders, the Drakkar and Enshunu will start raiding one flank, while the other is exposed to the Brimorians... how soon before the Enclave realises your vulnerability and turns on you? I'm sure you also know that the Maliri have started launching expeditions for the first time in... forever. What if they decide to take a nice juicy bite out of Kintark Space? The Empire is teetering on the brink of disaster... you risk losing ALL your worlds."

"Yes, I'm painfully aware of the situation my imbecilic predecessor left me with," Tamolith snarled, her calm facade cracking further. "But giving you half my worlds would just accelerate the destruction of the Empire!"

"Not necessarily, Empress," Lynette said, with an enigmatic smile. "We captured a huge number of Kintark fleet assets at the Battle of Regulus. I'm proposing that we sweeten this deal by returning those ships to your control, as well as offer you a prisoner exchange... all the Kintark Fleet crews captured at Regulus for any Terran personnel imprisoned in the Empire."

Tamolith uncoiled herself from the throne, a predatory gleam in her eyes. "You have piqued my interest, Fleet Admiral... What of the Imperial forces captured at Terra?"

"We'll be stripping the ships of useful salvage, like shield generators and heatsinks, but I see no reason the hundred remaining vessels couldn't also be returned to you," Lynette replied in a reasonable tone. "However, the fleet crews that took part in the invasion will remain in internment camps. They'll be facing tribunals for war crimes..."

"I don't care about those fools, execute them at your leisure," Tamolith said waving a dismissive claw. Her eyes narrowed as she mulled over the Terran offer. "So you would return approximately 300 ships to Kintark Space..."

"More than enough to provide a strong defensive force to protect your borders," Lynette suggested. "Additionally, I'd like to propose a demilitarised zone along the Kintark/Terran border. That will further alleviate the pressure on your forces, letting you redistribute patrols where they're needed." She leaned forward and added, "I'm sure I don't need to remind you that these are far kinder terms than the brutality Baledranax and Melkadian had in mind for the Terran Federation."

Tamolith was quiet for a long moment, her face torn with indecision. "I admit, your proposal has merit... but you're forcing me to concede hundreds of systems. The impact to morale throughout the Empire will be catastrophic... losses of ancestral homes, families divided, I can just hear the wailing in the streets."

"If I may be frank, Empress, the Terran Federation needs room to expand, but I don't want to be dealing with rebellious Kintark populations demanding a return to the Empire. I am more than happy to assist with repatriation of your citizens to the Kintark core worlds; any that choose to remain in systems ceded to Terran control will be granted Federation citizenship."

The dragon grimaced, then nodded reluctantly. "I am left with little choice. I will agree to these terms, on the condition that John Blake gives his word that there will be no future encroachments into the Kintark Empire. I have no desire to be slowly pecked to death as the Terran Federation is doing to the Ashanath Collective..."

"Only the Fleet Admiral can speak for the Terran Federation, but I can promise you that the Maliri will respect your existing boundaries." He glanced at Lynette, then back at Tamolith. "As far as I'm concerned, if you agree to this proposal, I would consider the slate wiped clean. With peace restored we can reopen borders for trade and work on restoring our relations to the previous friendly state."

"You have my word that this treaty will draw a line under this terrible conflict," Lynette said earnestly. "I'm asking a lot from you, Empress, but High Command is baying for blood. It could have been much, much worse."

"Yes, I can imagine," Tamolith said with a heavy sigh, her breath whistling between her teeth. She made eye contact with Lynette and continued, "You're a shrewd and merciless negotiator, Fleet Admiral Devereux; I mean that as a compliment, not an insult. I shall do my best to ensure that the Kintark Empire never finds itself in this position again..."

"We have a deal then?" Lynette asked with a hopeful smile.

The Empress nodded. "I accept your terms of surrender. There will be an outcry on those worlds that are changing hands, but when I explain that the alternative is enslavement, I'm sure order will be quickly restored." She paused for a second, then asked with a pleading note to her voice, "How soon might you be able to return the captured vessels?"

"The Regulus forces should be safely back in your hands in approximately a week, allowing for flight time from Olympus to the Dragon March," Lynette replied. "We'll keep some skeleton crews behind to man the Kintark ships in the Sol System, which we'll return once salvage operations are complete."

Tamolith bowed her head, before making eye-contact with them again. "This was hardly a pleasant conversation, but it certainly was interesting. I hope that the next time we speak will be under more congenial circumstances." Her fang-filled maw curled up into a wry smile. "I certainly can't afford a repeat of this one... I would have no Empire left!"

Lynette smiled and nodded. "I hope so too, Empress. With a bit of luck, this will be the start of a strong friendship between our civilisations. My best wishes for good health to your family."

"My thanks, Fleet Admiral," Tamolith replied. Her eyes flicked to John and she added, "I sense your hand in this agreement, John Blake. My thanks for your intervention on our behalf."

"It was good to see you again, Tamolith," John said, with a polite smile. "I never did get a chance to thank you for honouring your side of our bargain and freeing my brother-in-law unharmed."

"Merely an act of simple self-preservation," she replied, a glint in her eyes. "I suspected that if I'd reneged on our deal, you wouldn't have let that pass, would you?"

John shook his head. "No. It would have got... unpleasant. Fare well, Empress."

She looked unsettled and nodded, looking away. "Farewell to you both."

They ended the call, the sigil for the Kintark empire slowly fading away.

John turned to face Lynette, a broad grin on his face. "So, Fleet Admiral Devereux... Two days in the job and you've already increased Federation territory by 50%! Congratulations!"

She beamed a huge smile back, shaking her head in amazement. "I can't believe it! She actually agreed to everything and we still managed to end the conversation on a reasonable note!"

"You put in a brilliant performance, Lynette," John said, making no attempt to hide his admiration. "You'll go down in the history books for this!"

"Thank you so much for all your support," she gushed, feeling elated, his praise lifting her heart. She laughed and ran a hand through her hair, making her holographic concealment fracture around her wrist. "I've dreamed of moments like this for the last three decades..."

He rose from the sofa and offered her a hand. "Calara and Sakura will return soon, we can all get together to celebrate later."

"Are you sure I can't tempt you to have a drink now?" Lynette asked hopefully.

"Afraid not," he replied with an eager smile of anticipation. "I need to get ready for a date..."