Chapter 87 - Opening doors on New Eden...

John sprawled on the bed, his chest heaving as he panted to get his breath back. He gazed wide-eyed at the stars through the clear-crystal dome, admiring the beautiful sweep of bright starlight that shone down on the trio in the Observatory. The Invictus was in high orbit around New Eden in the Procyon system, located right in the heart of the Core Worlds, so the stars and constellations were reassuringly familiar.

“Oh fuck!” Alyssa squealed, drawing his attention to her.

He glanced across at the blonde, loving the look of bliss on her flushed face as she climaxed on Jade’s long, probing tongue. The Nymph had joined them at the tail-end of their frenzied coupling, just as John was pumping the quivering teen full of cum. When he’d toppled over onto the huge bed, thoroughly spent, Jade had immediately taken his place, eagerly getting to work on slurping up his spunk.

Alyssa was currently lying face down, her ass up in the air, propped up by her cum-packed belly as she moaned in ecstasy. The teenager’s bronzed skin was covered in a glistening sheen of perspiration, reminding him of those memorable times she’d oiled up her nubile body for some of their naughtier sessions in the playroom. He watched Alyssa climax again for the seventh, or was it eighth time? Actually, he’d lost count of how many times she’d cried out that she was cumming – he’d been too busy pinning her down and roughly fucking her senseless. It had become a time-honoured tradition between the two of them to finish their XO catch-up meetings that way and he’d always considered himself a traditional guy.

“You look gorgeous,” he said as he rolled onto his side, brushing the mane of golden hair from her eyes.

She was too exhausted to speak at that moment, desperately panting for breath, but she gave him a loving look with her piercing cerulean eyes. Although her body was still trying to recover from their exertions, her mind was just as active as ever, albeit a little shell-shocked at that particular point in time. That was fucking amazing! You haven’t ridden me like that in months!

Now you’re making me feel like I’ve been neglecting you, he replied with a smile, gently stroking her long locks.

Alyssa shook her head between heavy breaths. You’ve been very tender with me and the girls recently. I love it when you’re like that, but it’s really exhilarating to see you blow off some steam!

Jade paused in her efforts, withdrawing her prehensile tongue from the gasping blonde. “Would you like me to feed Tashana when we return to your room, Master?” she asked, sounding as eager to please as usual.

He’d gifted the Nymph with enough self-awareness and independence to no longer need to refer to him by that title, but Jade still liked to do so when they were intimate together. Now when she called him “Master”, the inflection in her voice had changed, throbbing with love and not just her heartfelt respect and adulation.

Moving down the bed a little, John saw that she’d started to inflate her dark-green breasts with the cum she’d sucked out of Alyssa. He reached out to place his hand on the Nymph’s lean abdomen, smiling at her indulgently as he caressed her svelte figure. “This one’s for you, Jade. I want to feed you tonight.”

She looked surprised and elated, her tummy starting to swell as she diverted his load into her stomach. Jade began to purr with contentment as he stroked her growing belly, her cat-like eyes gazing at him adoringly before she nestled between Alyssa’s pert cheeks and went to work once again. Bands of bright viridian light began to spread out around her body, following those sensual curves as they pulsed outwards from her stomach.

John followed after one of those pulses with his fingers, gliding over Jade’s soft green skin as he traced its path with his fingertips. Her purring got louder and deeper, which he could only assume meant that she approved of his gentle touch.

Alyssa confirmed that for him a moment later. She loves being stroked by you, don’t stop.

You mentioned a few days ago that you thought I should focus on Jade again, John thought to Alyssa as he caressed the exotic Lenarran. Is it because she still glows like this when I feed her?

Yeah, that’s right... Alyssa replied distractedly, sighing with pleasure. According to Rachel, those pulses of light mean you’re making Jade stronger. I was curious how powerful she could get if you keep feeding her like this...

Recalling the Nymph’s astonishing transformations into a wide variety of massive dinosaurs, John had to admit he was fairly curious himself. Sure, we could do that, but in all honesty, I’d prefer it if we rethink these marathon feeding sessions. There’s so much going on at the moment, it gets a bit awkward focusing on just one girl for that length of time. Poor Tashana keeps having to share with the rest of the crew and I end up feeling guilty for short-changing her.

She’ll have a week with you pretty-much uninterrupted when we go on holiday, so don’t worry about that, Alyssa said to placate him. Besides, Tashana’s not exactly been complaining ... She’s been having a great time! Between being overjoyed to be reunited with Irillith, loving her new psychic powers, and relishing every minute she spends with you, she couldn’t be happier.

It’s been wonderful seeing her relaxing and settling in, John said, as his fingers brushed down Jade’s flank, watching viridian lines follow in their wake.

He could feel the active connection with the Nymph in his mind, the image of her glowing with a brilliant white light as she finished filling her stomach with his cum. She was in excellent health at that moment and had fully recovered from the desperate battle on Terra. It had shocked him to see how exhausted she’d been after that fight, with Jade narrowly escaping death at the hands of Mikaboshi’s assassins. The poor girl had survived being caught in an explosion, only to be set upon by a team of cyborg ninjas, who’d slashed her scores of times with their deadly swords.

John normally put no conscious thought into the way he nurtured Jade under his psychic care, generally having a vague idea about making her stronger. This time however, he focused specifically on trying to develop her resilience, not wanting to see her get so badly hurt ever again. The lazy pulses of light that flowed out from her stomach intensified in their luminescence, making her body glow with a verdant radiance in their wake.

Jade’s vertical irises expanded into black pools of wonder as she sat bolt upright. “Oh! That feels different!”

“I’m not hurting you, am I?” John asked with concern.

She shook her head, sounding excited as she replied, “No, quite the opposite! It feels divine!”

Alyssa had managed to shake off her post-climactic daze and she studied the glowing Nymph in fascination. “Can you tell what John’s doing to you?”

Jade slowly nodded, her emerald gaze never leaving John’s face for a moment. “Normally I can feel you helping me become more powerful, but this ... It’s like something was missing before and you’re filling that gap!”

“He’s good at that,” Alyssa replied with a sly smile.

John lay down beside the blonde, then beckoned to Jade. “Come and join us for a moment, honey. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

The Nymph moved obediently to lie between them, letting out a rapturous sigh as her two companions gently caressed her heavily rounded belly. Her eyelids got heavy as she started to look drowsy, just as she always did when her body was responding to John’s psychic enhancements.

“You can sleep in a few minutes, sexy. You’ll want to hear this,” Alyssa said, leaning over to kiss Jade’s luscious dark-green lips.

John raised himself up on one elbow so that he could study Jade’s beautiful face. “We were talking about all the girls and their families earlier, and we had an interesting chat about you.”

“You’re my family,” Jade said, giving them both a tender smile. “I love all of you very much.”

“We love you too,” Alyssa agreed, cuddling the Nymph.

John nodded, smiling affectionately at the happy girls. He brushed his fingers through Jade’s black hair, watching as the green highlights were illuminated in the soft starlight from the dome above. “We were thinking of your original family though; your Lenarran sisters. Would you like us to try and track down any that might have survived after all this time?”

Jade froze, looking at him in shock. “I thought they were all lost forever!” she gasped, sounding amazed. “You can really help me find them?!”

A hint of worry flashed across his face, reluctant as he was to give her any false hope. “I don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep, but I can promise you we’ll try our hardest to find any survivors. I was planning on asking the girls for their help tomorrow.”

“Oh, thank you so much, Master!” Jade exclaimed, hugging him tight and planting a flurry of kisses on his face. When she’d finished with John, she snaked her arm around Alyssa, pulling her in close and kissing her just as enthusiastically. “Thank you too, Mistress!”

John shared a smile with Alyssa, then turned back to the excited girl between them. “There’s no guarantees, but-”

Shaking her head, Jade replied, “If anyone can find them, it’s you, Master, I know it!” She looked practically giddy with excitement, her skin warming up to the touch.

The Nymph’s reaction puzzled him slightly. While he’d been expecting her to be very enthusiastic about the idea, she only normally heated up like this when she was aroused.

Alyssa glanced his way and rolled her eyes when he looked at her in confusion. Turning back to the overjoyed Nymph, she asked, “Jade, why does the idea of finding more Nymphs turn you on so much?”

She beamed at John and explained, “When we finally settle down, you promised to keep me pregnant for decades, but I was worried it wouldn’t be enough to rebuild the Nymph race.” Her emerald eyes gleamed as she added in a hushed voice, “But if we can find more of my sisters to help...”

“Hold on a second!” John said, shaking his head in protest. “I’m not looking to rescue them for that! I just want to save them from captivity!”

Jade sighed with delight. “I know, Master. That’s what makes you so wonderful.”

He gave her a self-conscious smile. “Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. I think it’s time to go to bed, but we’ll ask the girls for their help first thing tomorrow morning.”

Rising from the bed, he offered both girls a hand. They shared a brief hug, before Alyssa pulled away to collect the clothing they’d hastily discarded earlier. As they walked towards the door, Faye appeared in a bright flash of purple.

“Hello! I wondered if I could talk to you about something important?” she asked, looking at John with a curious expression on her face.

Alyssa hit the button to open the door into the Lagoon and she smiled when she saw there was a cleaning bot waiting outside. Dropping the pile of clothes into the laundry hopper on its back, she held out her hand for Jade. “I’ll take our lovely Nymph to bed. We’ll see you in a minute.”

“Thank you,” Jade said quietly, planting a soft kiss on his cheek before gliding out of the room hand-in-hand with Alyssa. They chattered together excitedly until the door closed again, leaving John alone in the Observatory with the purple-hued sprite.

John glanced at the agitated AI and noted with a playful smile, “You’re timing was excellent, Faye. Were you watching us?”

She blushed prettily, her cheeks darkening as she did so. “I always keep an eye on you, just in case you need me for anything,” she confessed, looking up at him with wide luminous eyes.

“Good to know,” he said with a chuckle, knowing full well the scenes of debauchery she must witness on a daily basis. “I hope you don’t find everything too ... unsettling.”

Quickly shaking her head Faye replied, “No not at all! It’s all very instructive- err, I mean, interesting!”

John arched an eyebrow at that, then sat down on the bed and patted a space in front of him. “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“The cyborg assassin we have locked in the Brig,” Faye replied, her normally cheerful voice turning sombre. “I’ve been keeping him alive, using the maintenance bots to give him food and water, but being limbless for a couple of days is starting to affect his grip on sanity. What do you want done with him?”

“Oh, I’d forgotten about him,” John replied, startled by the abrupt shift in tone. He frowned as he mulled it over for a while. “I had planned on handing him over the Terran Federation judiciary, but after everything he’s seen, I’m not sure that’s wise.”

“Shall I just dispose of him then?” Faye asked, tilting her head to one side as she gazed at him.

John grimaced at the thought of just executing their prisoner, years of military training having taught him to adhere to Galactic Council law and treat captives with compassion.

Don’t shed a tear for that piece of shit, Alyssa said vehemently. I’ve seen inside his mind. The man was a murderous psychopath even before he voluntarily turned himself into a cyborg. In fact, that’s probably why Mikaboshi chose him. He assassinated over two-hundred people before Faye abruptly ended his career.

John hesitated for a second, then nodded to the purple sprite. “Alyssa told me he’s murdered hundreds, so the courts would have executed him anyway. I don’t want to risk him revealing what he knows about you or Alyssa during any interrogations though, so it’s better if we handle this ourselves. He probably doesn’t deserve the consideration, but make it quick and painless.”

“He won’t feel a thing,” Faye agreed, her expression non-judgemental. She frowned as she added, “I’m sorry to bring that up last thing before you go to bed.”

“Don’t worry, it was important you reminded me,” he replied, rubbing at his eyes. “We’ve had so much going on recently I forgot all about him.”

Faye inched closer and held out a slender hand, her fingers gliding over his. “I know. If there’s ever anything I can do to help make things easier, just let me know, okay?”

“You’re already doing loads as it is,” John replied, giving her a grateful smile. “I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’m not sure what we’d do without you.”

Her wings fluttered in response to his praise and she looked like she was about to say something, but caught herself at the last moment. “It’s nearly two in the morning, you should get some rest. Don’t let me keep you from your bed.”

John slowly rose to his feet, as Faye sprang lightly to hers. “You’re right, I’m feeling pretty haggard and I’m supposed to be meeting Rachel’s dad tomorrow.”

“Later today, you mean?” Faye replied with a cheerful smile.

He groaned and replied, “Don’t! You’re just reminding me how late it is!” He waved her goodbye as he walked towards the door. “I’ll leave the ship in your capable hands, Watch Commander.”

“Good night, John,” she replied softly, returning his wave and watching him stride away across the Bridge over the Lagoon.

Edraele awoke to the delicious aroma of cooked breakfast, her stomach rumbling as her eyes fluttered open.

“Good morning!” Nyrelle Aeberos greeted her cheerfully.

“Barely!” Valani Naestina added with some amusement, sounding in good spirits.

“What time is it?” Edraele asked, intending to sit up but changing her mind as she didn’t want to disturb the two warm bodies cuddled up against her. She glanced down and saw Almari and Ilyana flanking her and smiled at the pair, while wondering what had happened to Luna.

Soft fingers gently caressed her cheek and Luna murmured, “I’m right here, Edraele. I woke half an hour ago and would have let you rest for longer, but I didn’t think you’d want to sleep past noon. I gathered the Young Matriarchs for you.”

“You did the right thing, thank you Luna,” Edraele said, giving her lover a grateful smile. The two assassins beside her began to stir with all the conversation and they suddenly snapped awake as they’d been trained to do. Edraele calmed them with a mental caress and stroked their backs as she murmured, “It’s alright, my beautiful girls. You’re safe.”

“I wish you didn’t have to stay up so late,” Leena said, brushing her fingers along her Matriarch’s right arm. “We really miss you coming to bed with us.”

“It can’t be helped unfortunately,” Edraele replied, her stomach rumbling again at the tantalising smell of food. “I need to be awake to help John, if he requires my assistance.”

Ilyana and Almari released her and sat up, the blue-eyed assassin saying, “You should eat, Edraele.”

Edraele couldn’t help grinning as she propped herself up on the pillows. “You’re right, Almari. This looks and smells amazing!”

Valani slid some trays in front of the three women and said, “We’ve all eaten already, but I thought you might be hungry, so I made omelettes.”

Sure enough, the source of the delicious aroma turned out to be the mouth-watering Terran dish, complete with what Edraele identified as mushrooms and peppers. She picked up the knife and fork then took a bite, sighing happily as she swallowed. “This tastes delightful!” she exclaimed. “Where did you acquire all the ingredients?”

“Calara taught me the recipe a few weeks ago and I ordered everything I needed from Geniya,” Valani said with a proud smile. “Luna said you had some good news about John, so I thought you might enjoy a bit of Terran cuisine as a reminder of him. I imagine you’re missing him even more than we are!”

Edraele smiled affectionately at the considerate House Naestina Matriarch. “That was a lovely thought, thank you! You’re right, I have been really missing him, but I have the most wonderful news for all of you!”

“Before you tell us, I have some good news too!” Kali blurted out, blushing when everyone turned her way. “Sorry to interrupt, but I’ll forget if I get all excited thinking about John!”

“Go ahead, Kali,” Edraele said, gesturing for her to proceed, before taking another bite.

Kali leaned forward eagerly. “I’ve been speaking to my Fleet Commander this morning. Emalayne reports that the Kintark were only rotating out their fleets! All the original border forces have pulled back towards their homeworld, leaving only the recently arrived reserves to guard the border!”

“We’ve all discussed it with our own Fleet Commanders,” Leena added, putting her arm around Kali. “The consensus was, that a massive movement of fleet assets like this, might be indicative of an impending attack elsewhere. However, that seems unlikely, as the reserve fleets now on border patrol duty are the Kintark’s elite forces.”

“Whatever the reason, they don’t have enough forces there to pose a threat on their own. Our border is safe again!” Kali gushed, looking immensely relieved.

Edraele finished off her food, then picked up the glass of Natalla berry juice, drinking the mauve-coloured, thirst-quenching drink as she pondered the situation. “You’re right, it appears we aren’t in any immediate danger,” she finally said, smiling at Kali. “By the time those Kintark units return, we’ll have our own forces fully upgraded and back on the bor-” Her voice trailed off into silence and she frowned with concern.

“What is it, Edraele?” Luna asked, noting her Matriarch’s pensive expression.

Edraele gave her a reassuring smile, then replied, “Nothing to worry about for the moment, I’m probably just being paranoid. I’ll discuss it with John, later.”

“What was your news about him?” Nyrelle asked, her dark-blue eyes sparkling in the light.

Edraele grinned at the nude women gathered around her. “We’re planning a rendezvous on the Terran border! Alyssa requested that all of you come along too!”

“Oh, wow!” Kali gasped, her face lighting up with joy. “How long until we meet with them?”

“Just over a week, but we haven’t ironed out all the details yet,” Edraele said, sharing the electrifying thrill of excitement that now buzzed in the room. “It’ll take us just over four days to reach the border, so we’ll need to depart fairly soon.”

Nyrelle bit her lower lip, her eyes flaring with lust as she murmured, “Do you think it’s time?”

Edraele pushed aside the floating tray, smiling appreciatively at Valani as she did so. “That omelette was delicious, thank you so much!”

Now that the way was clear, she beckoned Nyrelle towards her, a coy smile on her full lips. When the House Aeberos Matriarch obediently approached, Edraele placed her hands on the younger woman’s toned abdomen.

“John loves the idea of being with all of you,” she said gently, caressing the soft blue skin on Nyrelle’s lower-belly and drawing a lusty moan from the trembling girl. “He holds to Terran ideals of long courtships before embarking on parenthood, even though the idea of siring a baby with each of you excites him very much. We might have to gently encourage him to embrace the Maliri way...”

The Young Matriarchs giggled with excitement, hugging each other, eyes sparkling at the prospect of rebuilding their Houses with John. Edraele glanced at Luna, Ilyana, and Almari in turn, seeing the wistful smiles on their faces. Speaking to the trio via telepathy, she said kindly, It’ll be your turn soon, my beautiful, special girls. When it is, it will be glorious!

The sound of quiet conversation finally stirred John from his long sleep and the moment he opened his eyes, he was met with a shower of kisses. The happy purring identified the girl kissing him even before he was able to register the doting emerald eyes gazing down on him.

“Good morning, Jade,” he said with an affectionate smile.

The Nymph beamed at him in return, overjoyed to see he was awake. “We’ve been discussing ways to find my sisters!” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tight.

He laughed and returned her hug, before she finally released him. Sitting up, he saw that the girls were all sitting around him on the bed, watching him and Jade with some amusement.

“I hope you didn’t mind me telling everyone?” Alyssa asked, leaning in to kiss him in greeting. “You were out like a light, so it seemed like a good use of time while we waited for you to wake up.”

“No, I don’t mind at all,” John replied amiably, looking around at the girls and smiling at them. “Have you come up with any good ideas?”

“We’ve had a constructive discussion so far,” Calara said, looking thoughtful. “Tracking any surviving Lenarrans down will be very difficult, but not necessarily impossible.”

“I think we should definitely use Alyssa’s suggestion to offer a cash reward for leads,” Sakura said with certainty.

John glanced at the blonde sitting beside him. “Did you tell everyone about my reservations?”

Alyssa nodded, looking pleased. “We agree that any remaining Nymphs are probably in the hands of the rich and powerful, but Sakura pointed out something interesting.”

“Just because the Nymphs’ current owners might be incredibly wealthy, that doesn’t mean their servants are...” the Asian girl said, a knowing glint in her dark-brown eyes. “Many of Shinatobe’s assassinations were aided by information gathered by bribing security staff and the like.”

John looked at her with concern. “I thought I wiped all those implanted memories?”

She returned his look with one of profound gratitude. “You did! I can still remember a lot of what happened, as I’ve seen those implanted recordings being played back. They’re just normal memories now, not sharp and vivid like before.”

Alyssa made room for Sakura as she crossed the bed to give John a big hug.

“I’m so glad it worked,” John said, feeling tremendously relieved as he put his arms around her.

“I should have listened to you months ago,” Sakura replied, glancing up at him and blushing. “Last night was the first time in months that I’ve slept without any nightmares. I feel so much better this morning!”

“I can’t claim all the credit for that,” John said with a playful smile. “I believe Dana and Rachel went to considerable effort to tire you out...”

“She was insatiable,” Rachel interjected, giving Sakura a fond smile and making her blush even harder. “Having a tummy full of your cum gave her loads of energy!”

Dana grinned at the Asian girl. “When you’re being all dominant, you’re nearly as bossy as Alyssa on a combat mission!”

Sakura looked mortified to hear that, but John stroked her back soothingly. “I briefly saw the three of you together. Don’t worry, it was very exciting to see you enjoying yourself like that! Maybe you’ll let me watch the whole thing next time?”

Alyssa flashed her friend a quick glance. I guarantee you’ll love it! Play at being the lesbian dominatrix for him and I’ll explain why later...

Drawing herself up, Sakura arched an eyebrow and nodded, boldly meeting his fascinated gaze. “Tell me which naughty girls you’d like to see disciplined and I’m sure something could be arranged...”

John grinned at her and the rest of the girls, who were looking flushed with arousal. “I’ll definitely let you know.” Coughing to clear his throat, he continued, “We seem to have got a little sidetracked, but we better get back on topic. Did anyone have any new suggestions on ways to find the Nymphs?”

Faye eagerly raised her hand, her cupid-bow lips quivering in anticipation.

“You don’t have to hold up your hand, Faye,” he said with a fond smile. “Go ahead, what was your idea?”

“I thought I could go through the news archives for every mention of Nymphs or Lenarrans that I could find!” she began enthusiastically. “Then I could build up a database of their history and perhaps find some clues as to who might currently own any survivors!”

“That’s an excellent idea!” Calara agreed, grinning at the AI in her eagerness. “If you can gather that kind of data for me, it’ll be much easier to narrow down the search for any Lenarrans that might still be alive.”

John noticed Rachel grimace, a pensive expression briefly flickering across her face. “What is it, honey?” he asked, trying to catch her troubled grey eyes.

“I just thought of something, but you might not want to hear it ... I’m not sure I want to tell you either. I’m already worried you might think I’ve got questionable morals as it is,” Rachel replied, looking very reluctant to elaborate further.

“If you’ve thought of something, I definitely want to know what it is,” John replied, doing his best to sound encouraging. “I promise I’ll listen to your suggestion with an open mind.”

Rachel sighed, then glanced at Jade and said, “I know this sounds pretty ghoulish, but I don’t think we should restrict our search to the living. If we can locate the resting place for any Nymphs, then...”

“You can bring them back!” Jade blurted out, gaping at John in awe. “She’s right! You saved me, you could save all the Nymphs the same way!”

John looked at Rachel in shock. “Is that even possible after all these years?!”

“Nymphs have a radically different physique to a Terran. They wouldn’t decompose in the same way we would,” she replied quietly. “If we can exhume any Lenarrans, you might be able to bring them back to life, just as you did for Jade.”

The room went quiet as everyone pondered that astonishing thought for a moment.

“It’s alive!” Dana crowed with a maniacal cackle, elbowing Rachel playfully.

The brunette blushed bright red, shooting a nervous glance at John. “Don’t ... I’m sure he thinks I’m some kind of mad scientist as it is!”

John glanced down at Sakura and smiled at her as he said, “I think someone else urgently needs a hug.”

Sakura laughed and moved out the way as John beckoned Rachel over. The tawny-haired girl joined him, only relaxing when she was in his arms.

John’s tone was soothing as he said, “It might be an unconventional idea, but it’s an excellent one, just like everything else you come up with. You know I wouldn’t think anything bad about you, so why are you so self-conscious all of a sudden?”

She nuzzled into him and murmured, “This visit to my father ... It’s been preying on my mind. I’m just worried ... about everything.”

“You’ll have me, Alyssa, and Dana there to support you,” John said, brushing his fingers through her hair. “I’m sure it won’t be as bad as all that.”

“You don’t know what he’s like,” she said quietly. “He gets me so mad sometimes.”

John glanced at the ship’s chronometer to check the time. “We’re meeting him for lunch at twelve, right?”

She nodded, turning to look at the clock. “I didn’t realise how late it was. We better start getting ready fairly soon.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll be okay,” John said, giving her a reassuring smile.

Jade put her arm around the brunette and gave her a tender kiss on the cheek. “Thank you ... You’ve given me real hope we might be able to restore my lost sisters.”