Chapter 12 - The group help a new crewmate settle in.

John led the girls down the corridor to the room adjacent to the Firing Range. He pressed the button opening the door and ushered them into the Armoury.

This vast room was originally used to store weapons and armour for the cruiser’s compliment of three hundred marines. With no need to store that much gear any more, row after row of empty weapon racks and armour lockers filled the room, looking forlorn and abandoned. Sparks looked around, wondering why he would bring her to such an enormous empty room.

“We have no use for an Armoury this size, so I’d like to convert it for you to use as your workshop,” John suggested, watching to see the redheads reaction.

Sparks looked bewildered for a moment. “This room is absolutely huge!” she said, stunned. “I can have all this area of the ship for myself?”

“You can start small if you like and then expand the workshop whenever you need more space,” John suggested. “When we get to the Olympus shipyard, we can go shopping. Just pick whatever equipment you need, and I’ll have it fitted in here for you.”

Sparks eyes shone with excitement, and she wrapped him in a big hug. “This is the best present ever!” she exclaimed.

John and Alyssa laughed, pleased that the teenager was so happy.

“What are you going to work on first?” Alyssa asked her petite friend.

Sparks looked deep in thought for a moment. “Hmm, I’ve got some ideas. Do you mind if I keep it a secret and surprise you later?” she asked excitedly.

“No, we trust you. Have fun!” John replied, smiling.

Sparks squealed with glee, and did a little dance, making John and Alyssa laugh at her antics.

“Ready to have a look at the rest?” John asked the ecstatic young woman.

“Lead on!” the redhead grinned, walking over to him and Alyssa.

John led them out of the armoury and showed her the pharmacy and medical bay. Sparks was fascinated by the state of the art medical equipment and he let her explore a little. Alyssa looked a bit twitchy, so John moved up to her side and put his hand on her shoulder.

“Are you ok? You look a little uncomfortable,” he asked, concerned.

“Something about this room creeps me out,” Alyssa replied awkwardly.

John nodded his agreement “I’ve never felt comfortable around medical facilities either,” he admitted.

“It’s something else,” Alyssa said looking distant, “like the room echoes with pain.” She shook her head abruptly as if to clear her mind.

“Come on Sparks, lots more to see,” John said, worried about the young blonde woman.

Alyssa laid a reassuring hand on his arm. “Don’t worry, I’m fine,” she said quietly, and smiled up at him warmly.

Still, John ushered out the two girls, and led them on to the gym. Sparks was another non-swimmer, so she was less than enthusiastic about getting too close to the pool.

“I’ll teach you both to swim, you’ll love it I promise!” John said confidently.

Alyssa remembered how enjoyable the Jacuzzi was, once she had overcome her initial fears about the large volume of water. She realised she would no doubt feel the same about the swimming pool eventually.

“Maybe we could start tomorrow?” she asked John bravely.

“Sure, that would be great!” John said, pleased that his young lover was warming up to the idea.

Sparks looked a bit dubious. “Hmm maybe,” she said cautiously. Like Alyssa, she had grown up on a dusty asteroid, and had never seen such an enormous amount of water before. The pool looked terrifyingly deep to her inexperienced eyes, and the thought of being plunged in there scared her more than a little.

“There’s no rush,” John said soothingly. “Just let me know when you feel ready.”

John let the girls leave first, before following after them. “That’s it for Deck Seven, how about we go down to the bottom deck, and I’ll show you the Docking Bay and Cargo Bay?” he suggested amiably.

“Let’s go, Mr tour guide!” Sparks said, grinning.

They took the elevator down to the lowest level of the Invictus, and John led them through the heavy set of double doors into the Docking Bay. It was a huge area, currently completely unused, except for the anti-grav sled that they had been given at Olympus shipyard.

“I need to look into acquiring a dropship,” John said, thinking out loud as he and the girls walked into the cavernous area. “We might need to go somewhere that’s too big for the Invictus to dock.”

“I still can’t believe you actually own all this yourself,” Sparks marvelled.

“Yes, John owns everything on board,” Alyssa smiled mischievously, as she recalled the conversation she had eavesdropped on earlier through her link with John’s mind.

Sparks blushed a little, but couldn’t deny that the beautiful blonde’s innuendo laden comment turned her on.

“You’re such a vixen,” John laughed at Alyssa affectionately.

“Come on ladies, I’ll show you the Cargo Bay next,” he said, guiding them back through one set of robust double doors, and then on to the Cargo Bay through an identical set.

The huge open space yawned open in front of them. The twenty tons of Tyrenium was carefully secured to the deck of the Cargo Bay in four sturdy crates, each one approximately five feet cubed.

“Why did you still buy the Tyrenium if you knew Seb was going to betray you?” Alyssa asked John curiously, as she looked at the crates.

“Well if we’d just cancelled the deal, who knows what he would have done. Coming back to the Invictus where Calara could support us with the defence grid seemed like the best tactical choice at the time,” John explained.

“Besides, we also picked up all this Tyrenium at a ridiculously cheap price, and as the transaction is legally binding, there’s nothing Seb can do about it now,” he grinned smugly.

Alyssa laughed at John’s cunning plan. “So, soon you’re going to be even more fabulously wealthy?” she asked in amusement.

“I think I’m going to need as much cash as I can get,” John grinned. “The last time we went shopping on Gravitus cost me a pretty penny!”

“Oh wow!” Alyssa said, her eyes lighting up. “Of course, another shopping trip for Calara and Sparks would be amazing!” she grinned excitedly.

“We never did get a chance to invite Rachel for dinner either,” she said, her eyebrow arched suggestively.

John laughed along with her. Sparks was quiet however, and her attention seemed to be elsewhere.

“Are you ok there Sparks?” John asked, curious as to what was keeping her so absorbed.

“Yeah, sure John,” Sparks said, distractedly, staring up at the ceiling.

“What are you looking at Sparks?” Alyssa asked inquisitively.

“My new workshop is overhead isn’t it?” the petite redhead asked.

John paused for a moment, thinking about the layout of the deck above them. “Yes, its directly above that area there,” he said, gesturing towards the side of the cargo bay.

“I was thinking maybe if we put in a loading lift, I could bring any big projects down from the workshop into here,” Sparks said tentatively.

“Sure,” John said, nodding appreciatively. “That’s a great idea. It will make equipping the workshop much easier too. I’ll put in the request for the modification to the Cargo bay as soon as we reach Olympus.”

Sparks grinned up at him excitedly. “You’re the best, thank you!”

Alyssa came up behind her small friend and encircled her in her arms. “She’s just the cutest isn’t she?” the beautiful blonde said affectionately. She let one of her arms slide lower, and gently stroked the redhead’s slim tummy before saying eagerly, “John, she needs filling up again.”

Sparks stared up at John with a hungry look in her eyes, and he felt himself get very hard, very quickly. He turned to face the doorway and gestured with his hand for the girls to proceed. He waited for them to go through and then followed them to the elevator.

They went up to the second deck, the sexual tension thick in the air. Sparks was getting very turned on as they walked casually back to John and Alyssa’s room, no-one saying anything, but everyone thinking the same thing. Alyssa guided Sparks to the bed, and then helped her undress, leaving the pale redhead to climb on to the bed and wait expectantly.

John stood by and let Alyssa undress him as he looked over his newest conquest. He was pleased to see that Sparks was already starting to look healthier. She had a bit of a pinkish tinge to her previously ghostly pale skin, and while she hadn’t been as painfully skinny as Alyssa had originally been, she still looked much healthier now and not quite so thin. He stepped out of his trousers as Alyssa finished undressing him, and he moved over to the bed, eager to join the willing teenager waiting for him.

John and Sparks lay together and began kissing, as Alyssa removed her clothes and joined them on the bed. The beautiful blonde cuddled up behind Sparks and ran her hand over her friends slim tummy from behind. She couldn’t wait to see her oldest friend swallowing down another big load from John and the thought of the pale redhead with her stomach stuffed full was turning her on immensely.

Alyssa leaned over and waited for her lover and friend to take a break from their kissing, before leaning in to kiss Sparks herself. Sparks’ eyes widened with surprise for a moment, before they became hooded with lust, and she began to kiss Alyssa back animatedly. Alyssa slid her tongue between her friend’s lips tentatively, not wanting to push the petite redhead too far, but Sparks moaned into her mouth and then encircled the luscious blonde girl’s tongue with her lips and began to suck on it gently. The girl’s stared into each other’s eyes as sparks licked the tip of Alyssa’s tongue suggestively.

“You want to suck on something bigger, don’t you baby?” Alyssa crooned to the petite redhead.

Sparks nodded, feeling incredibly turned on.

“John, why don’t you see if you can help her out?” Alyssa purred.

John had been watching the teenagers kiss each other for the first time, and found it extremely arousing. Seeing the redhead sucking insistently on Alyssa’s tongue, had his already hard cock feeling like it was made out of steel. When Alyssa invited him to join them, he couldn’t wait to replace the blonde’s tongue with his hefty prick, and he knelt by Sparks’ side presenting her with his swollen head.

The redhead opened her mouth invitingly, her tongue licking both her lips reflexively to make sure they would slide smoothly down his length. John felt her soft wet mouth move forward, slowly enveloping his mushroom head, and he was amazed that she could open up to take him so comfortably. She suckled on his cock, not going any deeper, and just keeping his throbbing helm in her mouth. He could feel her tongue lapping away at the slit at the end of his prick, and his quad helpfully provided the eager young girl with a tasty appetiser. He watched her eyes grow dazed, and her eyelids slowly close, as her body was affected by his pheromones. She moved on autopilot, kneeling submissively in front of him, and begin taking him deeper.

Alyssa watched the action unfold before her, and found it very exciting when Sparks knelt in front of John and began to service him. When she saw the teen’s eyes began to grow dazed, she moved behind her friend and then slipped underneath her, spreading her pale legs slightly to give Alyssa more room to work. She nuzzled up against her friend’s pussy, and began to explore her body with her mouth.

Sparks felt a familiar drowsy haze start to overcome her as she eagerly swallowed John’s deliciously sweet pre-cum. This time she wavered on the edge of consciousness, fighting the urge to stay in control. She felt something soft and wet tenderly lapping away at her pussy, and the exciting new sensation roused her from the effects of John’s potent pheromones. She suddenly became sharply aware, that her mouth and throat were stretched wide open to accommodate John’s massive cock. Her lips were sucking mindlessly at his root, and she found her nose brushing against his stomach. She fought down the instant rising tide of panic at the thought of choking, finding that she was actually quite comfortable, and not in any danger of suffocating.

She pushed at John’s hips gently, urging him to pull out, and he carefully withdrew every long inch of his shaft from her throat. She leaned back, and was face to face with the throbbing monster that had been buried down her gullet. It throbbed, angry to no longer be wrapped in tight teenager, so she kissed the tip in apology.

“Hello,” John said, looking down with a concerned look on his face. “Are you ok?”

Sparks nodded shyly and smiled back up at him. “It was just a bit of a surprise to come around and find myself impaled on this monster,” the red head said, kissing his annoyed cock to show there were no hard feelings.

“Oh!” the petite teenager gasped out, as Alyssa reminded her of her presence underneath her as she began to lap at her clit with her silky-soft wet tongue.

Sparks looked down between her thighs, and saw the exquisitely beautiful teen looking up at her with smiling eyes, as she continued her tender ministrations. Alyssa was too good at what she was doing for Sparks to have any reservations about the Sapphic pleasure she was receiving. She squirmed over her friend’s face, thrusting her hips gently as her pussy sought Alyssa’s expert tongue. She felt her friend’s hands move up to cup her tight little buttocks as though pulling her in closer and then Alyssa really went to work.

Sparks groaned as her body rode waves of pleasure she had never experienced before. She leaned forward hungrily, and took John’s bulbous head in her mouth, eager to feel him widening her throat once again. She pulled him towards her insistently as she pushed forward, and soon she was nuzzling in his groin, her nose brushing his stomach and her chin touching the tops of his balls.

She looked down at the taut sack beneath her, the quad full up again and ready to be emptied. She began to swallow eagerly, the constricting grasp of her throat massaging him skilfully and conveying her need. She felt John hold her head gently in his hands, and then he began to thrust back and forth slightly, using the tight grip of her body to stroke his length. She sensed the change in him and realised that he was just focused on building towards his climax now, that he was enjoying her greatly, and would soon reward her for her efforts.

“Mmph!” Sparks groaned around him as she came hard.

Alyssa’s relentless tongue combined with the exciting feelings of submission had driven Sparks wild and she writhed as she experienced the most intense climax of her young life. She moaned helplessly around John’s cock, buried as it was deep inside her throat.

John shouted out his release, as he pulled the redhead forward so that her lips were wrapped snugly around the base of his shaft. Sparks could feel each burst of cum as it blasted down his cock, her body so tightly wrapped around him that she could sense each trembling jerk of his shaft. She began to feel contentedly full as his blasts of cum splashed into the pit of her stomach, and she moaned as he pumped more and more down her throat.

She was kneeling beneath her man and providing a welcoming home for his spunk. That thought made her eyes roll back as she came hard again, aided helpfully by Alyssa’s tireless tongue on her pussy. The redhead could feel her young tummy stretching out to accommodate all of John’s cum, and it felt amazing to experience it fully conscious for the first time. There was no pain, just a feeling of incredible fullness.

Eventually John’s quad was drained dry and Sparks regretfully felt him began to pull back from her throat and out of her mouth. She kissed his cock farewell as it left her mouth, knowing he would be back again in a few more hours to keep her topped up. The redhead tried to look down at her blonde friend, but her sperm packed belly was too big and blocked her view.

John collapsed on the bed and Sparks moved her pussy gingerly away from Alyssa’s face and carefully manoeuvred her massively engorged body so that she could lie next to her man. “Her man” she thought to herself, yes, she really did feel like she belonged with him now.

Alyssa snuggled in behind her and began to stroke Sparks’ spunk swollen belly with a gentle, protective hand.

“You did really well,” the beautiful blonde whispered encouragingly in her ear. “You must have turned him on a lot, he really filled you up!” she added happily.

“Thank you for letting me share him,” Sparks said sincerely, looking up at her friend.

“You’re welcum,” Alyssa replied, smiling at her mischievously.

John turned to look at them both and smiled affectionately. “Thanks Sparks, you were amazing,” he said as he sighed contentedly, reaching down to join Alyssa’s hand in caressing the redhead’s heavily rounded tummy.

“I loved it,” The redhead replied honestly, as she lay between Alyssa and John, enjoying their tender touch. She felt safe and loved for what seemed like the first time in her life, and her heart welled up in gratitude to Alyssa for including her in this amazing life. The three of them dozed together for a while, just relishing their close physical proximity to each other.

Eventually John stretched and got up to use the bathroom. When he returned, he saw that Sparks was asleep, and Alyssa was curled up protectively around her.

“I think I’ll go and see Calara, see how she’s doing,” John said to Alyssa.

The beautiful blonde looked up at him and nodded happily. “I’ll stay here and take care of Sparks. When her tummy has gone down a bit, we’ll meet you up on the command deck and we can continue the tour of the ship.”

John thought it was a great plan and he leaned over to kiss Alyssa lovingly before he left. She rubbed his nose with an Eskimo kiss when he pulled back from her lips, and smiled up at him affectionately. He waved goodbye to her, and headed down the corridor to take the elevator.

The door swished quietly open when he reached the command deck, and he strode out on to the bridge. Calara was sitting at her tactical station, focused intently on a holographic representation of the sector they were travelling through, that floated an inch or so above her console.

“Hey Calara, everything ok up here?” he asked the young woman, as he walked down to meet her at her station.

“Hey John! It’s good to see you,” she said, smiling up at him when he arrived at her side.

John leaned down to kiss her and she returned it ardently. “There, that’s a better hello,” he said as he finally pulled away, leaving Calara to sigh happily.

“So Lieutenant, what are you occupying yourself with at the moment?” he asked her playfully.

“Well, Commander...” The gorgeous Latina replied, grinning up at him. “I’m currently studying the long range scans.”

“Have you found anything interesting so far?” John asked, genuinely curious.

“Yes, actually I have,” Calara replied, hitting a few buttons on her console. The sector map suddenly reappeared in a much larger hologram in the centre of the bridge.

“I studied these systems on our way to Karron from Olympus, and I noticed we were picking up a lot of wrecks on the long range scans,” she explained animatedly. “I studied the incident reports for each of those wrecks and most of them occurred between Port Heracles and Karron, and were logged as pirate attacks.”

“Sounds like pirates must have been operating there for a while,” John said, looking thoughtful.

“The Corvette Griffon had been sent out to patrol the area and see if we could find the source of the attacks, but we only investigated a couple of wrecks before we were ambushed...” Calara paused a moment, looking sombre. “You know what happened next,” she added sadly, looking up at him.

“Yes, we rescued you. One of the best things I’ve done in my life,” John said sincerely.

Calara rose from her chair, and John enfolded her in his arms protectively. They stood for a long while and he held her reassuringly as she leaned against him, stroking her lustrous brown hair comfortingly.

“I’m sorry,” the lovely brunette apologised, as she wiped a few rogue tears from her eyes, feeling embarrassed.

“You have nothing to apologise for, honey. Let’s talk about something less painful instead,” he suggested caringly.

“No, I’m ok,” Calara insisted. “Besides, this is important. I think I might have found where the pirate attacks are coming from.”

John released her from his embrace, and the beautiful Latina walked back to her console and hit a few more buttons. “If you look here, here, and here,” she said, circling the areas that had been attacked on her map in a bright green, “the pirates seem to be hitting three main shipping lanes.”

“I’ve been studying the dates and times of each attack, and compared the ships’ logs from the victims and it looks like the pirates are operating several fleets, and are using this system as a base,” Calara said, and then pressed a couple more buttons so that the system map moved to focus on a star called Chendar.

“This is excellent work Lieutenant!” John said genuinely impressed, as he fell naturally back into military parlance with the girl.

“Thank you, Sir!” Calara said, proud to have pleased her commanding officer.

John studied the system map closely, noting that there were two Gas giants, several smaller planetoids, and an asteroid belt orbiting Chendar. He noticed amongst the installations listed in the system, that one of the Gas giants was host to an abandoned Gas mining facility. This wasn’t uncommon, as mining bases were commonly stripped and deserted when the resources they were mining were fully tapped out.

“If I was a pirate, that abandoned facility would make a hell of a good base,” John mused.

Calara looked up at him with newfound respect. “Very impressive Commander! I came to the same conclusion, but it’s taken me a few days to put it all together.”

“Perhaps I missed my vocation as a pirate?” he asked, as he smiled at her graciously.

“Or found it as a Pirate hunter,” she replied firmly.

John nodded his agreement. This had been a surprising conversation in a few different ways, but mainly he was concerned that Calara seemed to be obsessed with the pirate attacks that had had such a dramatic impact on her life. It was perfectly understandable for her to react this way, but she seemed so happy and content when she was with him over the last few weeks, that he had hoped she had managed to put it all behind her. Clearly she had not, but perhaps some payback might help her, he wondered.

“I think it might be time to stamp out these cockroaches once and for all. What do you say Lieutenant? Time for some summary justice?” he asked her grimly.

“Yes Commander...” Calara said. “Well past time.”

They stood for a moment studying the map, and thinking about all the implications finding this base might have.

The elevator swished open quietly and as if on cue, Alyssa and Sparks entered the bridge.

“Wow! You two look very heroic!” Alyssa grinned playfully. “I feel like there should be dramatic music playing in the background. What did we miss?”

“Calara found the pirate base. I think we should take a little detour and see if we can do something about it,” he said ominously.

“I’ll lay in a new course immediately!” Alyssa stated, as she bounded up the illuminated steps to the Executive Officer’s chair. Her hands glided over her console and she began to adjust their current course to divert towards the Chendar System.

“We’ll be there in just over three days, John,” she stated, as the hologram in the centre of the bridge showed her new course plotted in green with an ETA of three days five hours.

“Nice work, Alyssa,” John said simply, before turning back to Calara.

“I promised Sparks I’d finish her tour of the ship, do you want to come along too?” he asked, concerned about leaving the troubled Latina for too much time on her own.

“No, I’m ok here, I want to prepare for our assault,” Calara said, with a steely look of determination in her eyes.

John was about to try to persuade her to come with them, but Alyssa interjected. “You two go ahead, I want to stay and discuss our tactics with Calara anyway,” she said, waving them away. Being permanently tuned into John’s mind meant that Alyssa had overheard his thoughts, and was aware of his concerns for their troubled young lover.

Picking up the look the beautiful blonde gave him, John felt reassured, as he knew Alyssa would take excellent care of Calara.

“Ready to go for another wander, Sparks?” he asked the redhead, who sensed that something else was going on, but wasn’t sure what.

She nodded agreeably and followed him into the elevator and the two of them headed downwards. John could see that Sparks was dying to ask about the conversation on the bridge, so he filled her in on how they had rescued Calara and the trauma that she had experienced at the hands of the pirates.

Sparks nodded her head shrewdly. “This whole assault on the pirates is purely for her benefit isn’t it?” she asked John pointedly.

“Yes,” he replied simply. “I don’t like pirates and something needs to be done about them, but with everything Calara has put together, we could just report back to Terran Federation Command. They would send out a fleet to mop up the whole pirate operation.”

“You think she needs the closure that a personal intervention will bring though, right?” Sparks persisted.

“Yes, I’m hoping it will help Calara put this behind her,” John said, narrowing his eyes as he glanced over at Sparks. “You are a smart one, aren’t you?”

The redhead smiled up at him, blushing slightly.

“It could be dangerous,” John warned her. “The Invictus is bound to be much more powerful than any individual ship they have, but they have multiple fleets, and we could end up being heavily outnumbered.”

He looked at her closely. “If you’re worried about safety, we don’t have to commit to this attack.”

Sparks shook her head vehemently. “No, I’m all for it. I’ve dealt with enough scum to know that some people just don’t deserve to live.”

She paused and studied his face closely, and said, “You’re a good man John. You really care about those girls, don’t you?”

“I love them both very much,” he answered honestly, “and I’m getting quite fond of you too!” he said, whisking her up in a hug.

Sparks laughed happily and wrapped her arms around him. “Look at me, I’m acting like some giddy schoolgirl!” she said, grinning in disbelief at him.

“A very naughty schoolgirl” John smiled at her, gently patting her still rounded tummy.

Sparks laughed aloud at that, her unscarred cheek blushing prettily.

“Come on,” John said. “If we keep talking like this, I’ll never be able to show you the rest of the ship!”

“Yes, going on our past experiences, you’d probably have to roll me back to our quarters,” Sparks grinned as John snorted with laughter.

They eventually managed to keep a lid on the banter enough so that he could continue their tour of the Invictus. He showed her around the dozens of rooms that housed all the vital machinery that kept the ship running; Life support, environmental systems, sensors, fuel control, he found all of them fairly dull, but for Sparks these were the highlight of the tour so far. She was fascinated by the automation of all the ships systems, and kept asking him detailed technical questions that were quite beyond him.

In the end he promised Sparks the Holo-reader that Vice Admiral Charles Harris had given them back at Olympus shipyard. It would helpfully provide detailed documentation on the ship’s functions, so it would be invaluable to her in learning about the Invictus. Sparks was literally jumping up and down with excitement at the thought of getting her hands on the Holo-reader.

The teenager was impressed by the ship’s magazine, and she seemed fascinated by the concept of the Mass Drivers, and the two hundred metre long magnetic rails that accelerated the enormous shells to Hyper-warp. Explaining how the weapons worked got John and Sparks talking about ways they could upgrade the main guns. She suggested two possible options, improving the power of the magnetic rails, and improving the explosive yield on the shells. It was an interesting conversation, and got John thinking about Alien species that might be able to assist with either.

Finally they entered the Engine Room and FTL Drive Room. Sparks wandered around these in awe, enraptured first by the enormous energy harnessed in the ship’s power core and then by the bewildering sophistication of the FTL drive system. John watched her as the petite redhead studied the controls for the power core intently. He could see that she was desperate to touch and investigate, but was managing to hold her curiosity in check through iron will power.

Eventually he managed to lure her away with promises of the Holo-reader and that she could spend all her free time studying it and any of the ships systems she liked. They headed back to the ship’s elevator and hit the button to go up to the command deck.