Chapter 80: Gathering more pieces of the puzzle

“I thought you weren’t mad at me?!” Dana protested, but she shifted nervously on her feet, knowing she was on very shaky ground.

“Just look at it!” John exclaimed waving his hand at the Valkyrie. “You couldn’t have been hit by more laser fire if you ran around diving into shots!”

Her eyes darted up at the dense patchwork of laser burns across every single piece of armour plating and Dana couldn’t help wincing. “I was trying to shoot down dropships! I didn’t want the Ashanath to get eaten,” she said defensively.

“I told you, no heroics!” he said, his voice angry now. “It looks like you were so focused on killing dropships, you didn’t even bother dodging incoming laser fire. Am I right?”

Dana started to deny it, but she stopped herself and mumbled, “Yeah, you’re right.”

His eyes narrowed as he pointed towards the savage rents in the Valkyrie’s head and said furiously, “And I bet you were so fixated on your shooting, you lost situational awareness ... let that dropship ram you?”

“Yes,” Dana squeaked, her eyes welling up with tears.

John paused in his diatribe as he saw her starting to cry, then took a deep breath to calm himself. He pulled her into his arms and said, “Honey, I’m upset because you were that close to being killed.” His voice softened as he continued, “I wanted to help the Ashanath, but never at the cost of your life. You can’t even imagine how broken I’d be if I lost you.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice muffled against his chest.

He held her tight, stroking her back as he said quietly, “Keep this to yourself, but I was really close to just calling off our intervention to save the Ashanath. I knew how dangerous it was going to be and I wasn’t planning to throw away any of your lives because of their lack of defensive preparations.” He grimaced as he added, “If saving them had meant sacrificing you, I’d have just walked away.”

“Really?” she asked, looking up at him with tear-rimmed eyes.

“You’re one in a billion. I’d be a fool to risk losing something so precious,” he said, squeezing her tight.

Dana brushed away her tears then grabbed him and planted a fierce kiss on his lips. John returned her kiss, but she appeared to have no plans of letting him go anytime soon, so he embraced her and enjoyed the passionate liplock with the overwhelmed young woman.

When they finally separated to take a breath, she looked at him shyly and murmured, “No one’s ever said anything like that to me before.”

“That’s because everybody else is stupid,” he said with a playful smile. John hesitated and corrected himself, “Not the girls obviously, but you know what I mean.”

Her eyes filled with love and she said, “I know what you mean.”

He gave her a brief kiss on the nose, making her giggle, then glanced up at the battered mech. “Alright, let’s do this. I’ve reviewed the battle footage with Calara, so I saw how you tore up those Drakkar cruisers. The Valkyrie did seem effective, but I’m sure we can make it better.” Returning his focus to the girl in his arms, he added, “What kind of upgrades can we make to this thing?”

She looked surprised and replied hesitantly, “Am I still going to be able to-”

John cut her off, knowing what she was about to ask and said firmly, “We can discuss that later. Let’s talk about ways we can improve the mech first - this was just a prototype after all.”

Dana nodded and said with an eager grin, “Actually, I came up with a list of ideas during the battle.”

“Great! What did you have in mind?” John asked, releasing her from his embrace.

Dana slipped away from him and walked around the Valkyrie’s massive foot, pointing up at the orbital insertion pack. “The first thing to do is sort out the engines,” she explained, frowning at the damage to the right thruster. “I originally designed the mech to be a super-powered ground support platform, so the engines were only really there to slow its descent from orbit. I think it’ll be a lot more useful if we design it primarily for space combat, because then it’ll still be capable of ground support anyway.”

“So just make it faster?” John asked, nodding as he looked up at the pack.

“Yes, exactly!” she agreed enthusiastically. “At least the same speed as the Raptor, which shouldn’t be that hard as the gunship is bigger and has more mass. We’ll just remove that drop pack and I’ll design something with a bit more poke.”

“Sounds like a good start. That way the Valkyrie and Raptor can support each other more effectively,” John said, rubbing his chin as he tried envisioning them in combat.

Dana placed her hand on the mech’s armoured foot, giving him a shifty look as she repositioned her hand away from the blast crater left by a laser cannon bolt. “The second thing is more hull reshaping.”

“To make it immune to laser fire?” John asked wryly. “Yeah, I can’t imagine how you came up with that idea.”

“Not just to protect it against laser cannons, but to be able to shrug off Beam Lasers too,” Dana elaborated with a self-conscious smile. “They seem much more common in the big fights we’ve been involved in, what with all the heavier ship classifications on both sides of these massive battles.”

“I agree in principle, but it’s a big machine,” John said, sizing it up warily. “Alyssa really struggled with octo-shaping the swords for me and Sakura. I don’t think she’s anywhere near strong enough yet to replate the entire Valkyrie in fully reflective armour.”

“Is it really that hard?” Dana asked him curiously. “Alyssa normally makes it look so easy.”

“The Invictus is only plated in quad-shaped armour, and this mech has penta-shaped Alyssium. Believe me, it gets a LOT harder as you go up each classification,” John explained, grimacing at the memory. “I can’t even imagine how hard it would be to octo-plate anything; I’m amazed she can even try it.”

“Which shows how much of a badass Athena is,” Dana said thoughtfully. She smiled at him and added, “Maybe you should find a way to start porking her? You’re fantastic in the sack and we really want to stay on her good side.”

John laughed and rolled his eyes, but his laughter died out and he said emphatically, “Now that things have calmed down a bit, we have to try and come up with some ideas on how to save her. She’s been there for us countless times, never asking for anything in return. I’ve got to help her from being absorbed and destroyed.”

Dana nodded and said, “It’s way outside my area of expertise but I’ll wrack my brain for ideas. I might be able to come up with something useful.”

“Good girl, thank you,” John said, smiling at her appreciatively. He glanced up at the mech and added, “Anything else you had planned for the Valkyrie?”

“Yeah, a couple of other things,” Dana replied with a nod. “One of them is only minor, but the arm vibrates when firing the Punisher Gatling.”

“Is that because it’s using a hand-held weapon rather than having the gun built directly into its arm?” he asked, stepping back a few paces to look at the gigantic weapon.

She walked over to join him, then followed his curious gaze towards the mech’s weapon. “I suspect so. I could either remove the forearm and incorporate the cannon as a replacement, or I could improve the vibration dampening, check the mountings and balancers that kind of thing.”

“Do you gain anything by having a second hand?” he pondered, staring at the enormous metallic fists.

“It gives us more utility. We could use the Valkyrie to help with refits,” she replied thoughtfully. “Also, if it ever has to grapple anything big, having the second fist would be more useful than a gun arm if the target is too close to shoot at, or if it runs out of ammo. Actually, that reminds me, I was thinking I could incorporate some kind of energy blades into its arms, or maybe give it a big crystal Alyssium sword. What do you reckon?”

“For chopping your way free from docking claws? Yeah I can see how that could be useful,” John said, giving her a knowing look.

“That would be one way of using them, yes,” Dana said with a guilty grin.

“Anything else?” John asked, studying the enormous metal titan.

She pointed to its shoulders, saying, “Just one other minor item. The pauldrons on the Valkyrie are big enough to fit a couple of Pulse Cannon turrets.”

“Ah right, to shoot down incoming missiles?” John asked, recalling their earlier conversation by the Raptor.

“Yes, exactly! They’d be a huge help against strike craft too, like fighters that kind of thing,” Dana clarified.

“Sounds like a quick and really useful upgrade,” John agreed as he started walking towards the steps leading up to the maintenance gantry. He turned and beckoned her to follow. “Come on, I want to take a closer look at the damage to the cockpit.”

Dana followed after him, dragging her feet reluctantly as she knew exactly how he was going to react when he saw inside the Valkyrie’s head. When they reached the top of the maintenance gantry, he didn’t disappoint.

“Fuck me!” John swore, going pale as he peered inside the gaping hole in the mech’s cockpit.

The Pilot’s chair had been ripped from its base and tipped over on its side, barely anchored to the floor by the cabling that was now exposed. There was a deep gouge through the side of the chair and that trough in the metal was covered in dark-red blood. He turned around and just pulled Dana into a hug, not saying anything for a couple of minutes as he held her.

As much as Dana knew she should be feeling remorseful, John’s strong arms wrapped around her felt lovely and she rested her chin on his shoulder, a happy smile on her face. When he started to pull away, she quickly did her best to look chagrined as she turned to look at him.

“Alright, you big faker,” he said, smiling at her in amusement. “You can drop the act, I can tell you’re too happy at the moment to pretend to be contrite.”

“That’s your fault, not mine,” she said with an impish grin.

John glanced back at the cockpit and jerked a thumb in its direction. “Is there any way we can stop this happening again? Maybe stick the cockpit in the chest, something like that?”

Dana wrinkled her nose with distaste and replied, “In its chest? That’d look really weird and would fuck up the emergency ejection system. Besides, the Power Core and ammunition hopper for the Punisher Gatling are built into the chest, there’s no room for the cockpit in there.”

“Alright, it was just a suggestion,” John said with a smile.

“I actually do have something else in mind for the cockpit!” Dana said enthusiastically. “One of the problems I found, was that the controls just weren’t responsive enough. I thought we could remove the chair and replace it with some kind of anti-grav field that responds to the Pilot’s actions. It would make fighting in the mech much more natural, as the Valkyrie would essentially just mimic the movements of the person controlling it.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea,” John agreed, looking thoughtful. “Exactly how responsive could you make it?”

She smiled at him and replied, “With a few upgrades to the joints, very quick indeed. You could make it do cartwheels if you wanted.”

He laughed at the thought of the thirty-metre-tall mech performing acrobatics.

“Hey, guys!” Sakura called up to them from the deck of the Launch Bay. “I’ve brought breakfast!”

John leaned over the safety railing and exclaimed, “You’re a life saver! We’ll be right down.”

John and Dana were both feeling famished and they raced down the steps from the gantry taking them two at a time. Sakura watched them both in amusement, then handed over a couple of breakfast baps, fully loaded with sausage, fried eggs, and rashers of bacon. She also had bottles of water, quickly handing them over too.

“Oh God, this is heaven,” John said after swallowing the first bite. “It’s still hot from the oven!”

“I didn’t want it getting cold, so I ran all the way here,” Sakura explained, before taking a bite from her own. Once she’d swallowed she added, “Jade’s a great cook!”

“Thanks for the express delivery,” John said with a grin. “I take it when you said you ran, you enhanced your speed too? Are you fully recharged this morning?”

She nodded to both questions before replying, “I feel fine today, in fact I’m full of energy and raring to go. I’m planning to work off some off that energy in the Training Dojo later, so you’re welcome to join me if you’d like to have a duel?”

“I’d love that, thanks,” John said with a smile.

The three of them ate together, sitting on the Valkyrie’s foot and making light chit-chat as they finished their breakfast. As soon as they were done, Sakura rose to her feet and gave them both a wave goodbye. Before she could leave, Dana suddenly wrapped her in a huge hug, taking the Asian girl by surprise.

“Rachel told me how you saved her life,” Dana murmured in her ear. “I really liked you before that and now I think you’re fucking awesome! Thank you so much.”

Sakura smiled at John over the redhead’s shoulder, gratefully returning the hug. She turned her head to kiss Dana’s cheek and said, “You guys saved my life, so it felt wonderful to be able to protect Rachel in return. You stay safe though, okay? I’ll feel even happier if you never end up needing my help like that!”

Dana nodded and smiled at her in gratitude. With that, Sakura waved them goodbye again and accelerated away, sprinting with her enhanced speed to rush from the Launch Bay in a blur.

“She’s really growing on me,” Dana said, smiling at John once Sakura had left. “I must admit it felt a bit weird having her join the crew to start with, especially after how much Shinatobe fucked us over, but that’s way in the past now.”

“Yeah, I’m very fond of her too,” John said, a little half-smile forming on his face. “I know I wanted her to go her own way and have a fresh start, but I’m really glad she talked me round. I must admit, it’s great having someone that shares my interest in swordsmanship, but more than that, she’s very bright and great company too. Relaxing to be around - you know what I mean?”

Dana gave him a sly grin and said, “It sounds like you’re falling for her.”

He laughed self-consciously and admitted, “Yeah, I guess I am.” He smiled at her and added, “That makes eight women now though, that’s not too unreasonable, is it?”

She grinned at him and replied, “For someone with your stamina, we need all the help we can get!”

John returned her grin then slipped his arm around her, stroking her back. “I think we’re pretty much done with the review of the Valkyrie. Do you fancy relaxing with me in the Observatory for a while? There’s a few of things I wanted to chat to you about.”

“If that’s another way of saying, ‘fancy a fuck, baby?’ then sure!” Dana replied, nodding eagerly.

John laughed as he jumped off the mech’s foot, then held out his arms for her and helped her down. She grinned at him and they walked out of the Launch Bay hand-in-hand. The fore grav-tube was just to the right of the doors, so they stepped into the glowing blue field and floated upwards past deck after deck until they reached Deck Three.

Dana jogged ahead to hit the button that opened the door at the end of the short corridor, revealing the oval-shaped observatory as the door slid aside. She kicked off her boots, then bounded onto the huge, pillow strewn bed in the centre of the room, tugging her top off as she did so. John was a little more restrained, removing his boots before walking over to join her. Dana had already pulled off her trousers, leaving her wearing a beautiful set of lacy white underwear as he reached her side.

“Very nice,” he said appreciatively, admiring the way the bra cupped her full breasts as though offering them up for his enjoyment.

“I picked it up from Rachel’s store on Gravitus,” Dana explained, reaching behind herself to unclasp it. “We spend so much time naked in bed, I haven’t really had a chance to wear it for you yet.”

He laughed, then ran his fingers over her succulent cleavage, following the mouth-watering curves. “Leave it on. You look ravishing and I really do want to talk to you first. We both know we’ll be too distracted once I’m inside you.” He let his hand slide lower so that the back of his fingers gently brushed over her svelte lower belly and said, “We were rudely interrupted last time, because I got far too turned on at the thought of getting you pregnant. I promise I’ll show more restraint this time, but I really want to finish what we started.”

Dana let out a low moan and protested, “I was already really fucking horny! How am I supposed to concentrate on talking to you now?!”

John smiled at her and sat down on the oval bed, guiding her down with him. “You’ll manage, I’ve got every confidence in you,” he said, laying her back and resting his hand on her slender stomach.

She sucked in her breath, watching with a smouldering look in her sky-blue eyes as his gentle fingers traced a circle around her navel. Finally looking up at him, she said, “Alright, what do you want to talk about? The sooner we get this over with, then we can really have some fun!”

He studied her face for a moment, enjoying her eagerness, so he hesitated before he spoke, reluctant to bring down her happy mood.

Dana could see him pause and asked with concern, “What’s up, John? You look like you swallowed a turd.”

Deciding to just come straight out with it, he replied, “I’m sorry, honey, but I’m not sure you’re the best choice of pilot for the Valkyrie.”

Her face fell and she looked forlorn. “I’m really sorry I screwed up. If you let me try again, I promise I’ll be more careful next time!”

Shaking his head, he replied, “Don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault, it’s mine.”

“What?” Dana asked in confusion. “How could it be your fault?”

John sat up a little and placed his fingers on her temple, then traced them down her body, across her sternum, then lower over her ribs to rest on her abdomen again. “When I enhanced all of you girls, you each received the same amazing bodies, but you also gained specialised gifts beyond that.” He smiled at her as he added, “It can’t be news to you that you’re incredibly smart and a truly amazing engineer.”

She blushed at his praise and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess there’s no point in being modest. I am awesome with tech.”

“Exactly,” he agreed. He stroked the side of her head again as though he were handling a precious jewel and continued, “That single-minded dedication to your work has literally transformed our lives. Every technical innovation we have has been down to you and I’m not exaggerating when I say that all our victories were only possible due to that hard work. You’re like the unsung heroine behind everything: Saving Terra, the wins against Nexus, the Kintark, the Drakkar, I won’t list them all, but you know what you’ve accomplished.”

Dana was quiet for a moment as she digested that, remembering all the battles they’d been in. Then she beamed at him, saying breathlessly, “I hadn’t really thought of it like that before. That’s really fucking cool!”

“Too right, you are,” he agreed with a smile. He looked into her eyes and said sombrely, “Unfortunately, that single-minded focus that makes you so amazing with tech, is making you vulnerable in battle. I’ve nearly lost you twice now for the same reason. The first time was against Kindralax and then yesterday against the Drakkar; both times due to target fixation. Once is a mistake, twice is a pattern, three times...”

“Is a habit,” she finished quietly, eyes going wide.

He sighed as he continued, “We might be able to train you out of it, but I’m not sure I want to take that chance, especially with something as dangerous as the Valkyrie. At least when we’re fighting on the ground, I can be there to protect you. I can’t do anything to keep you safe out in space.”

She let out a heavy sigh and said, “Alright, I see your point. Who were you thinking of instead?”

“Sakura,” John replied, watching Dana’s face for her reaction. “She’s not had any combat piloting experience, but I know she was into hoverbikes in a big way. I’m sure she’ll pick it up very quickly.”

“She should find it fairly easy to learn; piloting the mech isn’t that difficult,” Dana reluctantly agreed.

He nodded, continuing, “If you can greatly improve the control sensitivity and the mech’s responsiveness, I think we could be looking at something pretty special. Sakura’s also had far more combat experience than any of us, me included.”

Dana frowned at that. “Hang on a minute, I thought you were a marine for ten years?”

John smiled at her and explained, “Most of that time was spent waiting around on ships. Training, giving orders, overseeing logistics as I climbed through the ranks, that kind of thing. Sakura spent almost two solid years in non-stop combat. It was spread out over seven decades because of the cryostasis, but that’s not the point. Her combat instincts are extremely refined and I’m sure that’ll translate just as well into ship battles.”

She chuckled and said, “Alright, I don’t feel so bad now. I can’t really compete with that, can I?”

“That’s the spirit,” he said with a smile. “You’re also in a much better position to help during ship combat as the Invictus’ engineer, with handling repairs, using the tractor beam, rerouting power, that kind of thing. Sakura hasn’t got much to do unless we get boarded and let’s face it, with me and Alyssa around, anyone boarding has got no chance.”

Nodding decisively now, Dana said, “That makes a lot of sense actually. I agree, I think she’ll make an excellent pilot.”

“Thanks for being so understanding,” John said gratefully. “I meant what I said earlier, I wasn’t just buttering you up. I consider you the lynchpin to the entire team.”

She blushed and stroked his face as she said, “You’re very sweet. Thanks for trying so hard not to hurt my feelings.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, leaning down to give her a kiss.

“Time to get naked yet?” she asked eagerly, biting her lower lip with anticipation.

He laughed and replied, “Nearly, I just wanted to talk to you about one other thing.”

“My new psychic abilities?” she asked, somehow managing to get even more excited. “I still can’t believe I was able to just make the mech’s fist and the gun’s handle magnetic! That was totally crazy!”

John nodded in confirmation, giving her a broad grin. “Yeah, your ability is quite different from anything the other girls can do.” He hesitated for a moment, then continued cautiously, “I’d like to be able to tell you the specifics, but I’m afraid I’m not entirely sure what they are.”

“But you rewrote my genetic code! You must know what you did?” she marvelled, gazing up at him with a look of wonder on her beautiful face.

“It doesn’t work like that. Or at least, Athena doesn’t think I’m ready for that precise level of control. When I enhanced your third helix I just had a vague idea, I was clutching at straws for a way to try and help you.”

Dana stroked his arm affectionately and asked, “What were you thinking about at the time?”

John looked away, his eyes unfocused as he tried to remember his exact thoughts. “I was trying to give you a way of grabbing the mech’s gun; altering the metal to make it more magnetic was the only thing I could think of.” He gave her an apologetic smile and added, “You might need to do some experimenting and find out more precisely what you can do.”

“I can’t wait to find out!” she gasped gleefully. “Shit! This is even more fun than if you’d just told me straight out - it’s like the gift that keeps on giving!”

“No regrets then about joining the psychic club?” he joked, but his face was pensive as he gazed down at her, worried about the extent to which he’d enhanced her nubile body.

She saw the tension in his face and quickly sat up, moving to straddle his lap. She cupped his face with both hands and planted a gentle kiss on his lips, a warm smile appearing on her face. He started to speak, but she kissed him again to silence him.

“We’ve spoken about this before; how you enhance girls like I used to upgrade guns for the Diablos.” She smiled as she leaned back and waved her hand over her lithe, athletic figure and continued, “Your normal handiwork is really fucking impressive, but that just made me look like a hot Maliri girl and there’s millions of them.” Her voice dropped a few octaves as she added intently, “My normal work was good too, but my favourite was the custom work I did. I used to put a little bit of my soul into each of those custom jobs - they were like a labour of love for me. Now you’ve made me like Alyssa, the special custom job that you devoted months to working on. So no, I’ve got absolutely no regrets whatsoever!”

John felt greatly relieved and replied, “Thanks, Sparks, I’m really glad you see it that way.” He smiled as he added, “I appreciate the metaphor, although I’d really rather not think of you girls as weapons. I am glad you realise how special you are to me though, it’s important you know that.”

“Why don’t you show me how special I am?” she asked him coyly, unclasping her bra and releasing her spectacular breasts. There was no sag whatsoever as she removed the lingerie, her perfect tits sitting high and pert on her chest.

They just stared into each other’s eyes as they removed the rest of their clothing, until Dana lay back, drawing him with her. They maintained that intense eye contact as she spread her legs for him and he pushed his way inside her, her luscious young body yielding to his penetration. Her eyelids fluttered as he sank all the way up to his balls, her pliant flesh moulding around his shaft and squeezing him in encouragement as he fully impaled her.

“Am I yours?” she murmured, arms and legs wrapping around him like a limpet.

Cradling her head in his hands, he nodded, saying, “You’re my special custom job that I’ve grown so attached to, I’m never going to let go. I’ve put too much of my soul into you.”

“Oh, John...” she whispered breathlessly, eyes welling up as she gave him a loving kiss.

They were quiet as they moved together, staring into each other’s eyes as he held her protectively. He’d never felt this level of connection to her before, it felt so much deeper and far more intense than normal. She felt it too, the golden coronas around her pupils flaring wide with her arousal. Dana was the first to climax, and the second, then the third, so she was practically sobbing with ecstasy when he finally held her still and drove all the way into her womb as he flooded her with cum.

She held onto him as long as she could, until her rapidly growing tummy made her relax her grip, letting him lean back and give her more room to expand. Dana didn’t take her eyes from his as he filled her though, interlacing her slender fingers with his broader ones as he pumped her full of his sperm. The temptation for John to bring this act to its logical conclusion and have her carry his baby in her swollen belly was just as intense as it had been with Rachel. Dana could tell and the doe-eyed look of yearning didn’t make it any easier for him to resist.

Finally, he was done, his quad drained dry and she drew up her right leg then rolled to the side, so that he could spoon with her without having to pull out. He gladly did so, wrapped his arms around her and placed a possessive hand on the heavy weight now rounding out her waist.

“It’s never been like that before,” Dana said quietly, placing her hand atop his. “You made me feel so special. Thank you.”

He drew back her hair and placed a loving kiss on her cheek, using that simple gesture to silently convey his strength of feeling for her. She sighed with contentment, then snuggled into his arms, relaxed and deliriously happy.

Edraele groaned in agony as she finally awoke, cringing from the throbbing headache that made her feel every rhythmic pulse in her brain. This was worse than any hangover she’d ever experienced, more akin to the splitting migraines that her tumour used to trigger.

“Are you alright, Edraele?” someone asked, sounding deeply concerned but very far away.

“Painkillers, in my drawer,” she mumbled desperately, her hands moving up to massage her temples.

She was vaguely aware that there were warm bodies nestled against her flanks, one of them shifting away and leaving her feeling suddenly vulnerable and exposed. When they returned a few moments later, she put her arm around that female form, hugging her fiercely as she held herself tense, still, and rigid to avoid jostling her pounding head. A short moment later, gentle hands moved hers away from her head and she felt the cool metal of the dispenser against her temple. The familiar waves of pain-relief swept through her body, soothing away the thumping in her brain and finally letting her relax.

“Thank you so much...” she said gratefully, still not daring to open her eyes.

“Shh, let us take care of you,” someone murmured and Edraele felt movement on the bed as her companions shifted around her.

Caring hands lifted her gently, before settling her back into someone’s warm embrace, a firm pair of breasts providing her a lovely pillow. Dexterous fingers began to massage her head, while many more sets of hands began to stroke her body, soothing away any remaining tension. She sighed with relief, her eyes fluttering open to find herself surrounded by Almari, Ilyana, and the Young Matriarchs, who all looked on with worried faces.