Chapter 17 - A day of surprising revelations on board the Invictus.

John sat with his back against the headboard and Alyssa, Sparks and Calara sat on the bed in a semicircle in front of him, watching as he began his tale. Jade lay curled up comfortably on her side, her beautiful dark green body rippling with the ethereal bands of light that were radiating out from her swollen belly.

“Now gather around little girls and let me begin...” he said in a creaking voice, as though he was a wizened old storyteller.

The three teenagers giggled and the room echoed with the beautiful melodic cadence of female laughter. The wonderful sound made John feel happy to be alive.

“Jade here is what is known as a Nymph.” He began.

“I thought they were just fictional creatures in fairy tales?” Calara asked sceptically.

“Yeah they are. Nymph is just a nickname, like the Ashanath are nicknamed Greys.” he explained.

The girls all nodded their understanding.

“Do you remember I told you how humanity started taking previously claimed worlds from the Ashanath?” John asked, receiving nods of confirmation from his lovers.

“Well one of those systems that the Terran Federation acquired, was orbited by a planet called Lenarra. This planet was sparsely populated by Lenarrans, who were an exclusively female species and lived in a primitive hunter gatherer society.” he explained.

“Why do you keep using the past tense?” Alyssa asked curiously.

“One of the quirks of Lenarrans, is that they possess latent psychic powers. They are naturally able to read the desires of males and then shapeshift to exactly resemble what that man finds most attractive”. He paused, making sure he had their attention.

“What did Jade turn into when she read your most heartfelt desires?” Sparks asked John inquisitively.

“Me.” Alyssa interjected quietly, embarrassed.

“Aww that’s so sweet!” Sparks replied, hugging her friend affectionately.

“You don’t mind?” The beautiful blonde asked tentatively, worried at hurting her friend’s feelings.

“We know how much he cares for us, but it’s obvious you two are made for each other.” Calara grinned at Alyssa, perfectly at ease with the reality of their situation.

This prompted lots of hugs and kind words of endearment. Eventually they all settled down again to let John continue his story.

“So when humanity first discovered the planet and the Lenarrans started shifting into whatever form men most desired, you can imagine what happened next.” he went on.

“A Nymph based gold rush?” Sparks asked quietly.

“Exactly. Pretty soon the entire populace had been wooed, or forcibly kidnapped from the planet. Now there’s not a single Nymph left on Lenarra.” he said sorrowfully.

“So what happened to the ones taken from the planet?” Calara asked curiously.

“Not many are left.” John said, his voice tinged with sadness.

“Nymphs can’t breed with humans and although they are incredibly long lived, most died off through accidents, murder and the like.” he said, his face filled with regret at the doleful behaviour of humanity towards this species.

“When did all this happen?” Alyssa asked.

“Around 300 years ago.” John said, shocking the teenagers to the core.

“Jade is 300 years old?” Calara said in stunned amazement.

“At least 300 years old, yes.” John replied.

“You would never guess. She doesn’t look a day over 200!” Alyssa joked, good naturedly.

“How do you know all this stuff?” Sparks asked in amazement.

“Well you’ve probably guessed by now I’m not entirely human.” he said, smiling at her gently.

Sparks laughed good naturedly. “And, I’m constantly thankful for it!” she grinned.

“Well my mother was human, but I have no idea what species my Father was. I spent a good 15 years or so researching all I could about every alien species known to man, trying to find any kind of clue, but I found nothing.” he said, sighing.

“But as a side effect of that, you know a lot of history about a lot of aliens?” Calara asked.

“Yes, basically.” John nodded.

“Handy fellow to have around then.” Sparks said, grinning at him.

“Yes I agree. Ladies, I think we should keep him” Alyssa said imperiously, which led to a furious round of tickling by John.

“So what’s happening to Jade’s tummy?” Calara asked with concern, while Alyssa gasped for breath once John had released her.

“She’s got to be reacting to your cum somehow.” Sparks surmised.

“Yeah, but reacting how?” John asked, concerned for the green alien girl.

“We’ll just have to ask her when she wakes up I suppose.” Sparks shrugged “She might be able to tell us more.”

“I guess we don’t have much choice.” John said with a resigned expression on his face.

“Hey, don’t worry so much!” Sparks said, smiling at him happily. “Look what it did for us three! I can’t imagine it will do anything bad to her.”

Calara nodded eagerly, remembering how quickly her terrible wounds had recovered under John’s tender ministrations.

“I wonder why she talks the way she does?” Calara asked curiously. “Is all the ‘master’ talk some kind of fetish thing?”

“Oh no, that’s completely sincere. Nymphs are unquestioningly obedient to whoever they imprint themselves on. Desire to abuse that was one of the things that led to their effective enslavement by humanity.” John explained sadly.

“Which was why you were initially reluctant with her?” Alyssa asked perceptively.

“Yes.” John replied simply.

“She’s the first Nymph I’ve met, but I’d heard all the legends. I was hoping to somehow free her, but it’s obvious to me now that’s just the way she is.” he said with regret.

“So she’s unquestioningly loyal and obedient?” Calara asked.

“Sounds like us.” Alyssa grinned.

“She’ll fit right in.” Sparks giggled.

John laughed along with them, but something nagged in his mind suddenly. A kernel of truth in the girl’s statements that seemed to resonate within him. Shaking his head at the odd sensation, he ignored it and it went away.

He stretched languidly, feeling great after the relaxing shower and then the fun with Jade. He glanced over at the clock, having lost track of what the time was. His daily routine was constantly shot to pieces over the last few days; literally in this case.

“Are you girls ready for a late lunch?” he asked them enthusiastically.

“Ready to go already John?” Calara purred suggestively, rubbing her coffee coloured stomach in anticipation.

“You’re getting as bad as Alyssa!” John laughed and Calara laughed with him, her lovely brown eyes sparkling with amusement.

“No, I meant I’ll make us some lunch in the kitchen.” He clarified.

“Besides, I’m running on empty!” he grinned at Calara.

“You better refuel then.” Sparks told him. “You have four girls to feed now!” she said impishly.

They all got dressed except for Alyssa, who stayed in bed.

“I want to stay and keep an eye on Jade.” the beautiful blonde explained.

“I think I’ll check on our guests, to see how they’re settling in.” Sparks volunteered.

“I’ll go up to the bridge and check to see if there’s anything on the long range scans.” Calara said.

“Afraid not Lieutenant, I need a helper in the kitchen.” he said, smiling at her warmly.

“Yes Commander!” the gorgeous brunette said, snapping him a sharp salute and a smile.

They headed out of the bedroom, leaving Alyssa alone with Jade and her thoughts.

The beautiful blonde curled up behind Jade and wrapped her in a hug. With the others now gone, along with their distracting albeit entertaining conversation, she now felt free to investigate the new presence in her mind.

All of her lovers had their own little pockets reserved for them in her consciousness. John was centre stage of course, a comforting constant, with his ever present stream of thoughts from his inner voice. The small bundles of emotion that represented Sparks and Calara were growing daily and every so often Alyssa had been getting fleeting glimpses of words, whenever the girls felt passionately enough about anything.

This new manifestation was something new and very different. Whereas Calara and Sparks seemed like small bundles of nebulous swirls of emotion, Jade’s presence was sharp and well defined. It had appeared with shocking abruptness, the very moment John had cum inside the alien girl.

The connection with Jade had manifested into a hard edged, rectangular shape, filled with tiny fragments of what looked like coloured stones. The fragments had reformed into a mosaic, depicting John standing in a heroic pose, while Jade knelt at his feet looking up at him worshipfully. Instinctively Alyssa knew that the ecstatically happy image of Jade’s beaming face, would reflect her new companion’s current mood. How she knew this, Alyssa had no idea, but with all the other weird stuff happening recently, she just shrugged and accepted it.

Feeling at peace with the new presence, she tucked it into its own little place beside John in her mind, sensing it slotting into place with a satisfying ethereal click.

“Yes, you’ll fit in just fine.” she whispered, smiling at Jade. She kissed the green skinned girl’s cheek lovingly, before wrapping her arms around the luscious Nymph in a protective embrace.

John and Calara walked hand in hand down the corridor towards the officer’s quarters, bidding Sparks farewell, as the sultry redhead stayed behind to wait for the elevator. John led Calara into the lounge and then sat down on one of the sofa’s, pulling a surprised Calara to sit astride him. The gorgeous young brunette moved lithely on to his lap and looked down at him coyly.

“I thought you needed to refuel?” she said, smiling at him.

“I do.” John replied, smiling back at her warmly.

“So why the detour from the kitchen?” the Latina asked curiously.

“Not that I’m complaining of course!” she grinned, as she rubbed her firm bounteous breasts against his chest.

John reached up to gently cup each side of her ravishingly beautiful face in his hands and pulled her down so that he could kiss her tenderly. Calara returned his kisses before he released her and she leaned back, sighing happily.

“I wanted to have a chat with you first.” he began.

“What about?” Calara asked curiously.

“Everything that’s gone on with the pirates.” John said to her. “I’ve been worried about you.”

Calara slumped a little in his arms, relaxing her previously perfect composure. “I’ve been a bit obsessed recently haven’t I?” She admitted honestly.

John nodded his agreement with her.

“It’s understandable honey, after everything you went through.” John said reassuringly.

“Revenge can become an obsession though and I was starting to worry about you.” he explained.

“It wasn’t revenge I was after exactly...” Calara said, struggling to find the words. “I just wanted to stop the same thing happening to anyone else.”

“And you did.” John said. “The rest of us all played our part, but the entire attack on the pirate base only happened after you managed to put together the location.” he said proudly.

Calara smiled happily, glowing under his praise.

“Do you feel you can move on now?” John asked with concern. “I’ve been worried that this has been haunting you.” he said honestly.

Calara nodded slowly. “It feels ... done.” she said in reply. “When you healed my wounds, you got rid of the physical aftermath, but this feels like it’s healed the emotional pain too.” she said earnestly.

“That’s all I wanted to hear.” John said, smiling at her happily.

“Wait a minute...” Calara said, her mind rapidly turning over the events of the last few days. “The attack on the pirate base, hunting down that pirate lord...” She looked at him sharply. “You did all this just for my benefit didn’t you!” she said, her eyes widening in sudden realisation.

“Well they did have to be stopped...” John said, trying to deflect her.

“The Terran Federation could have sent a fleet that would have stopped them with ease” she said, waving her hand dismissively, her mind still racing.

“Sparks and Alyssa were in on it too, weren’t they!” Calara gasped in shock. “You all put your lives in danger, just to make me feel better!”

“I sometimes forget just how smart all of you are.” John said fondly, caressing the brunette’s cheek as she sat there in stunned silence.

“We ... I care about you honey.” he explained. “Nothing is more important to me than making sure you’re ok”.

“Oh John... “ Calara sighed, sinking into his welcoming arms. “You’re just too perfect. What did I ever do to deserve being part of your life?”.

“You’re pretty much perfect yourself!” John smiled, stroking her soft thick hair as she laid her head on his shoulder.

“Beautiful, caring, intelligent, perceptive, the best tactical officer I’ve ever seen!” he said enthusiastically.

Calara’s body suddenly stiffened and she sat up in his lap, looking at him askance.

“I’m not though.” She said insistently.

“Sure you are, you’re absolutely amazing!” John said earnestly.

“No, I’m actually not” the Latina said, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him.

John looked at her in confusion, not sure what she was saying.

“When I left the Academy I was doing really well, definitely top 10% of my year, but nothing truly exceptional.” she said in self deprecation.

“You’ve just gotten better with experience.” John suggested dismissively.

“Until you pointed it out, I hadn’t even noticed.” Her eyes went wide with wonder, as her mind closely examined the events over the last few weeks.

“John, I practically never miss!” She said, urging him to understand.

“No-one shoots like that ... not ever!” she said, stunned at this revelation.

“I’ve reviewed countless hours of naval battles during my time at the Academy and I’m telling you, my hit record blows any human in our archives out of the water!” she said in amazement.

“The tactical analysis, breaking down the pirates attack routes, finding the base...” she said.

“Yeah that was incredible!” John said, shaking his head in appreciation.

“The Terran Federation has entire teams who do that kind of analysis and I put it together by myself in just a few days!” she exclaimed.

“Then there’s this conversation!” she said, her arms spread wide. “How am I having this epiphany? I’ve never been this perceptive or smart!” she insisted.

“Ok so what are you saying?” John asked confused, “You’ve suddenly got much better at everything?”

“Yes, exactly!” Calara grinned at him. “We’ve all been so distracted by the physical changes that these,” she said, moving her hips back so she could gently cup his quad with her hand. “have had on us. We’ve been missing that there have been amazing mental changes too!”

John’s eyes widened to match Calara’s own, shocked at how clear it was to him now.

“It’s not just you.” he said. “Did you hear Sparks say how she hacked the security subsystems on the Stalingrad?”

“Yeah I know!” Calara exclaimed. “At the time I was busy and just shrugged it off, but there’s no way she should have been able to do that. We’re talking about military grade encryption!”

“She’s naturally gifted with machinery, but yeah, I think she’s been ‘enhanced’ just like you have” John agreed.

They sat for a moment just trying to process the news.

“Don’t mention it to the other girls yet.” John asked her gently. “Once we’ve dropped off the civilians, let’s get together as a group and talk about it then.”

Calara nodded her agreement and he smiled at her affectionately.

“Thank you John.” The gorgeous brunette said sincerely.

“I can’t really claim credit, it was my four friends that did most of the work!” John grinned.

Calara laughed. “No I don’t mean that, but thanks to them too. What I meant was: Thank you for this conversation and for making sure I was ok.”

John opened his arms and Calara hugged him tightly as he stroked her back, holding her close to his chest. They both breathed a contented sigh at the same time and then laughed at being so in sync.

“Come on, let’s go and make some lunch.” John said, sitting up and helping Calara off his lap. They walked hand in hand to the kitchen.

Sparks meanwhile had taken the elevator down to deck four. She had taken a tour around the entire ship with John, but they had skipped this level. The fourth deck contained the crew quarters and the ship’s mess, but with the Invictus having such a small crew, there was no need to even have any of the subsystems on this level powered up.

Sparks laughed to herself when she realised she hadn’t actually set foot in her own quarters, since John and Alyssa had shown her around that first time. She had spent almost her entire time on the command deck, or in the Officers’ lounge and she had slept every night in the commander’s quarters cuddled up with her lovers.

The elevator chimed softly and the door swished open, rousing Sparks from her reverie.

“Time to check on the houseguests.” she thought to herself.

She strode purposefully down the corridor until she came to the first of the occupied rooms. They currently had 15 people staying with them, a ragtag bunch of traders and ore haulers that had been captured by the pirates to be used as hostages.

A bulky man in a tired looking, many pocketed, set of overalls was lying on the bed with his hands folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

“Hey! Everything ok?” Sparks asked in a friendly voice.

The man looked down from the ceiling and when he saw her, he sprang up from the bed looking embarrassed. “Err, sure ... I’m fine, thanks miss.” he stuttered.

“What’s your name?” the redhead asked the blushing man curiously.

“Geoff McIntyre, Engineer 2nd class on the Dolphin.” he muttered quietly.

“Oh! My names Sparks, I’m the Chief Engineer on the Invictus!” She said, excited to meet another gearhead.

“You’re the Chief Engineer?” Geoff asked dubiously.

“Yes, is that a problem?” Sparks said, feeling a little defensive all of a sudden.

“Err no, you just look like...” he stumbled, blushing.

“Go on...” she said, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

“Like a model!” Geoff blurted out. “I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful!” he clamped his mouth closed, surprised at his own outburst.

“Ohhh! Thanks Geoff!” Sparks said smiling warmly, disarmed by his simple honesty. Horrifically scarred for most of her life, she was quite unused to compliments.

“I really am the Chief Engineer, honestly.” she said to him.

“And your name’s Sparks?” Geoff asked curiously, relaxing a little.

“You don’t like my name now?” Sparks asked him, laughing.

“No, no, it’s just a funny name for someone who looks the way you do!” Geoff replied, blushing again and smiling.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to cause any offence!” he said in a rush, desperate not to offend this gorgeous young woman.

“None taken.” The redhead replied and smiled at him warmly.

They chatted for a little while, talking shop about power couplings and energy relays. When it was apparent to Geoff that Sparks really did know what she was talking about, he relaxed around her and they had a detailed technical discussion that she would have liked to continue but she eventually ran out of time. She said goodbye and went to check on the rest of their guests, having thoroughly enjoyed chatting with the man.

The rest of the people in the crew quarters were similarly cagey around her, but not having much time left before she went up for lunch with John, she just said hello and left them in peace. She had powered up the dining area in the ship’s mess, which was thoroughly stocked and invited them to use the place to make their own lunch.

Sparks left the deck and travelled up in the elevator to meet with her friends for lunch. She was surprised at how her new beauty seemed to make all those people, both men and women, uncomfortable. She had always been envious of the beautiful models she had seen on the Holo-net, but maybe being stunningly attractive came with its own set of complications. Still, it had been an interesting visit and the conversation with Geoff had given her some things to think about.

The door to the elevator opened and Alyssa was waiting to meet her at the door.

“That was good timing!” Sparks said to the blonde.

“Nice coincidence!” Alyssa said, smiling back at her warmly.

They chatted animatedly as they walked along the corridor to the Officers’ lounge to meet up with John and Calara. Tantalising smells wafted out of the kitchen when they approached and John appeared carrying a big tray of Tacos. They all tucked in, feeling famished and enjoying the spicy Tex-Mex food.

“That was amazing!” Alyssa sighed happily, as she finished off her last Taco.

“I’ve never tasted anything so spicy before!” Sparks grinned, “Top marks for the chef!”

“I had a good assistant” John said, smiling at Calara who beamed back at him happily, her bright white teeth sparkling in the light.

“Can I leave you ladies to tidy up?” John asked. “I’d like to catch up with Charles”

“Charles?” Sparks asked, “Who’s that?”

“Vice Admiral Charles Harris.” Alyssa interjected helpfully. “He’s the one who sold John the ship and also set up the commander’s room with the huge bathroom and walk-in-wardrobe”.

“I like him already!” Sparks said, smiling warmly.

John left the girls to clean up and headed up to the bridge. He climbed up the illuminated steps to his Commander’s chair and contacted the vice admiral on the powerful communications relay built into the Invictus. After several minutes wait, the stern faced man appeared on the view screen, his face immediately relaxing when he saw who was contacting him.

“John! It’s great to see you!” he exclaimed. “Everything going ok?”

“Yes, thanks to you.” John grinned wryly. “Thanks for sending the Indomitable, they arrived just in the nick of time!”

“Yes, I got the report from Captain Flintlock a few hours ago.” Charles replied soberly.

“Kirrix!” he exclaimed, “I didn’t think we’d be seeing them any time soon. Not after the last purge” he said vehemently.

“Maybe the Terran Federation needs to think about another?” John suggested bleakly.

“We’re a bit tied up with the Kintark at the moment.” Charles smiled. “Speaking of which, we could do with a bit of good news. Would you be up for doing a fluff piece on the fight for the media? I’d really appreciate it.”

“Sure, I’d be happy to help out.” John agreed accommodatingly. “I was mainly calling about Commander Rupert Grant though. Have you executed him for treason yet?”

“I’m afraid not John. I ordered his arrest immediately after you gave me the information, but he had already fled.” Charles said in annoyance.

“I’ve had data teams analysing all his private communications out of Port Heracles. Did you know he was selling civilian flight paths and military patrol routes to the pirates?” he said, still shocked at the depths of the man’s betrayal.

“No wonder the pirates were able to remain undetected for so long.” John said, shaking his head.

“You must have a hell of a team to have sniffed out that base.” Charles said appreciatively.

“The best I’ve ever served with!” John said honestly.

Charles raised his eyebrows in amusement at that.

“Except for my time under your command. That goes without saying of course.” John said, grinning.

Charles laughed good naturedly.

“Oh before I forget, I’m hauling more Tyrenium.” John said nonchalantly.

“Oh really?” Charles said, his eyes suddenly sharp. “How much this time?”

“20 tons.” John said.

Charles’ face spread into a big lop sided grin. “Drop by Olympus as soon as you can John, I’ll throw you a warm welcome!” he said eagerly.

“We’ll be there in approximately four days.” John said, smiling at his old friend.

“Excellent!” Charles replied. “I’ll see you then.”

“I’ll put you through to the Federation media if you can stay on the call.” he offered expectantly.

“Sure. Any spin you want on the story?” John inquired.

“Its friendly media John. You can say what you like.” Charles said, with a wave goodbye.

John waited for a short while until the image of an attractive young woman appeared on the view screen.

“Hello Commander! I’ve heard a lot about you.” The reporter said with a warm smile.

Calara, Sparks and Alyssa had finished cleaning up the officers’ lounge quickly, working well as a team to get it spotless in short order. They served themselves some coffee and sat on the comfortable sofa’s in the lounge. It was a nice novelty for them to have a bit of girl time without John around, or one of them dashing off for an important errand, or training, or any of the things that had kept them constantly busy these last few weeks. They just sat and chatted comfortably, enjoying each other’s company and being able to spend some time really getting to know one another.

Calara was still in an introspective mood after her conversation with John.

“I don’t normally get on this well with girls.” she admitted self consciously.

“Really? Why’s that?” Sparks said.

“I was always considered to be a ‘pretty’ girl and some women get jealous I guess. I also grew up around three brothers, so I suppose I just got used to male company.” Calara admitted honestly.

“It’s strange. I just went to see our passengers and I think I freaked them out a bit.” Sparks said.

“Freaked them out? What do you mean?” Alyssa asked curiously.

“Well now I look like this.” Sparks said, waving her hand at her face “It started making people uncomfortable.” she said.

“When I was horribly scarred, people would ignore me because it made them uncomfortable to look at me. Now I’m the other end of the spectrum and I have the same reaction.” she said wistfully.

“I spent most of my life wishing I looked beautiful. Now I do, but people act practically the same way. It’s kind of ironic I guess” the redhead said sadly.

“Well we have each other.” Alyssa said, smiling at them both warmly.

“That’s true!” Sparks said, smiling at her friends affectionately.

“Growing up with three brothers, I always wondered what it would be like to have some sisters.” Calara confessed.

“Now I guess I know.” she said, looking at the two of them fondly.

Sparks and Alyssa’s eyes welled up with tears. For a couple of orphans, who had wished for family their entire lives, Calara couldn’t have said anything kinder.

“You’re the best!” Alyssa said, coming over to hug the brunette tightly, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I love you so much ... sister!” Sparks said with a sob, as she moved over to hug Calara tightly too.

Calara sighed happily, loving the incredible, rock solid bond that had grown between the three of them. She knew that people developed strong friendships when fighting as comrades and the three of them had certainly done a lot of that in the last few weeks!

When the tears had dried up, the girls separated, Alyssa and Sparks blushing a bit at the strength of their reaction to Calara’s heartfelt words.

“I wonder how we’ll get on with Jade?” Sparks asked curiously.

“She seems really nice.” Alyssa said, remembering the innocent warm smile the alien had given her back on the Kirrix dropship.

“I don’t think it’s in her nature to be deceptive, jealous, vindictive or anything like that. She’s just naturally friendly and open.” The beautiful blonde explained.

“I wonder how old she actually is?” Calara asked curiously.

“We could ask her I guess, but I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know.” Alyssa said, recalling her conversation with the green hued girl down on the bottom deck earlier on.

“How long do you think she’ll be asleep for?” Calara wondered.

“Well the first time any of us had dinner with John,” Alyssa said, causing the other two girls to smile in amusement. “we slept for 14 hours”.

“She isn’t human though.” Sparks said. “Perhaps her body will react faster or slower?” she said logically.

“Well we’ll just keep an eye on her and make sure she’s comfortable.” Calara said compassionately and the other girls nodded agreeably.

John strode back into the officers’ lounge looking pleased with himself. The girls looked up at him and smiled affectionately.

“How did the chat with Charles go?” Alyssa asked him.

“Oh great thanks. He seems pretty keen to buy our cargo!” John grinned. “I think the trip to Olympus should be fun!”

“I’m more looking forward to going shopping with the girls on Gravitus.” Alyssa confessed.

“I wonder how Rachel’s getting on?” She asked John with an arched eyebrow.

“Who’s Rachel?” Calara asked curiously.

“A lovely girl we met at the boutique I bought my clothes from.” Alyssa explained. “She could probably retire after the commission she made that day!” she said, grinning up at John.

“That’s why I need to sell this ore, to fund your shopping trips.” John smiled at her fondly.