Three Square Meals Ch. 119

Oliver stared out the window as dusk approached, watching the sun's rays cast long shadows from the city skyscrapers. Yes, he might have abused his position a time or twenty... but that was the right of the ruling class, a perk for those who were superior to the unwashed masses. Blake turning everything upside down and persecuting the Admiralty for simply following long-established precedents was an appalling betrayal. The Lion was a military man... Blake knew the score... but his hypocrisy seemed to know no bounds. The sight of Blake parading around like some paragon of virtue and playing the white knight for the public made Oliver sick to the stomach.

He brooded for the rest of the journey and, lost in his thoughts, he only realised he'd arrived at the riverfront park when his hovercar drifted to a halt. He climbed out of his sedan and it locked automatically behind him as he walked away, following the path through perfectly manicured lawns to the promenade. The sun was starting to set, the sky lit up in crimson and orange, ending another day of perfect weather on Terra. Weather control satellites kept the temperature balmy practically all year round, but the pleasant warmth from the setting sun did little to cheer Oliver's foul mood.

Strolling along the river's edge, antique iron lamps started switching on, illuminating both sides of the river and giving it an almost magical feel. Couples would be out soon, enjoying the romantic ambience, so he quickened his pace, having no intention of being around a bunch of lovestruck fools. Oliver grimaced as he remembered bringing his wife here thirty years ago when they started dating... he'd been so naive back then, full of noble ideals and bright-eyed about the future. The reality of command in the Terran Federation navy had soon given him a hard dose of reality.

He almost missed the sign, he was so distracted with reminiscing about the past, but Oliver spotted it in time and followed the path into the park. Sheltered from the wind by hedgerows, were dozens of gaming tables, where grey-haired old men played chess against each other and the occasional young upstart. Casting his eye over the spectators, Oliver saw the men he was meeting before they spotted him. One was an older, heavy-set man with beady eyes, the second had darker skin and a face set in a perpetual scowl.

Oliver wasn't sure exactly what had prompted both of their resignations... but he could hazard a guess. Admiral Benedito Almada had built up a murky reputation after a decade in the Admiralty and there were hushed rumours that he liked his women the wrong side of legal. Admiral Arjun Khatri had been appointed to run the Internal Security Division shortly before they'd all been forced to resign. Fleet Admiral Buckingham would have only assigned him that position if he could count on him to handle the... unpleasant side... of running a galactic empire.

He caught their eye as he approached the pair, then glanced off to the right. They nodded and walked ahead of him, crossing one of the lawns to wooden picnic tables that were deserted at this late hour. The older of the two was jittery, Almada glancing left and right as they sat down, searching for any sign of surveillance.

"Calm down, Almada," Oliver said, taking a seat on the bench opposite. "We're just three old men out for a chat... no one will look twice this way if you stop drawing attention to us."

"Meeting out in the open like this is too risky, Petran," Benedito Almada grumbled, shifting his bulk on the bench and furtively checking the paths for security personnel. "I don't like it."

The younger man beside him shook his head. "You know it has to be this way. We can't trust the Comms Network... internal security operatives will be monitoring all conversations for key phrases."

Almada took a deep breath and exhaled to calm himself, before locking eyes on Oliver. "So, have you made a decision?"

Narrowing his eyes, Oliver nodded. "Secondary targets as well. Everyone associated with Blake."

Benedito Almada squinted at him, then rubbed at his jowly chin. "Are you sure? This will stir up one hell of a shitstorm."

"I want that bastard to pay. Besides, I've got nothing to stick around on Terra for," Oliver muttered, clenching his fists. "I've already started liquidating assets... I can disappear easily enough."

Almada and Khatri shared a glance, then the dark-skinned man grimaced. "I can't leave... I've got family commitments... and I'd only been an admiral for four years; I didn't have enough time to build up a decent... retirement package."

"I was the only one of us forced out of High Command, so I'm the most likely to be a suspect," Oliver said, looking at each man in turn. "There's no digital records linking us to our people, right?" When they shook their heads, he gave them a grim smile. "Then they've got no chance of uncovering your involvement."

Almada clapped the darker-skinned man on the shoulder. "When they start their investigation, they'll find the mastermind behind it all. She's got means and motive."

Khatri checked the paths again, then asked in a hushed voice, "Are you sure she can get my men onto Olympus?"

The big man shifted his weight again and nodded. "The orders have already been given. With all the construction work involved in the shipyard expansion, the garrison is being doubled in size. Nobody will look twice at the troop movements until it's too late."

Khatri smirked and shook his head in admiration. "I can't believe you convinced her to join us..."

"Jealousy, ambition, revenge... all powerful motivators," Almada said with a sly smile. "You just need to find someone's weakness and with a little bit of encouragement, you'll be surprised what people will do..."

"Will expanding operations to include secondary targets cause a lot of complications?" Oliver asked, his expression turning cold.

Khatri shook his head, looking confident. "Once we've breached Olympus security, they'll be exposed and vulnerable. As for Jericho, that should pose no problems at all."

Almada licked his lips and murmured, "Considering how many of those delicious little sluts Blake has working for him... I expected there to be a lot more targets."

Oliver grimaced and shook his head. "Only Voss and Fernandez have official records. The rest might as well be ghosts... We know first names from their TFNN interviews... but that's it."

"What about the cute Asian one?" Almada asked, rubbing his fingers against his mouth. "I seem to remember her having a surname... Honami wasn't it?"

"It's a fake name," Oliver said with certainty. "There's no one registered in T-Fed records that could possibly be her."

"As long as we get Devereux, that's all I care about," Khatri said with a vicious gleam in his eyes. "That stupid bitch created the 'Lion of the Federation'... it's all her fault we got fucked over."

"Agreed," Almada said with a sinister leer.

Petran would have loved to get some real payback against Blake, but after seeing him in action during the Battle of Terra, he knew that would be impossible. Still, the man had a weakness... he'd even tried to scare the Admiralty off from making moves against his friends and associates. If Oliver couldn't strike directly at the Lion, he could make those Blake cared about suffer instead, like the scheming bitch who had promoted him all the way up into the Admiralty.

"Agreed..."

***

John groaned as he awoke, his head pounding. He moved to rub his temple, but found that one arm was pinned under a thick mane of dark auburn hair and the other trapped under a toned limb, his hand cupping a very large breast, the firm flesh soft and smooth as it filled his palm.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Dana said brightly, freeing his right arm and sitting up so that she could look at him. She raised an eyebrow and grinned. "You look like something the cat dragged in... or Jade carried in to be more precise."

"Not so loud..." John protested, rubbing at his eyes. He tried to ignore his throbbing headache and shifted on the unpleasantly wet pillow. "Err... why is my pillow soaked?" He blinked against the soft light in the unfamiliar bedroom. "And where are we?"

She giggled and shook her head in amusement. "You really don't remember what happened last night?"

He tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. Carefully lying back down, he covered his face with Dana's pillow. "Did I die? Am I in hell?"

"Hey! Waking up with me should be heaven!" Dana protested, hitting him with his pillow, the blow landing on his chest with a chilly squelch.

"I'm sorry!" he pleaded, waving a hand at her. "Please stop! I love you..."

The blows ceased and Dana lay down on the bed to peek under the pillow he was hiding under. "Okay, but only because you asked nicely!"

"How are you so bright-eyed and bushy tailed this morning?" he grumbled, pulling the pillow down again.

"I asked Rachel to heal me last night," Dana explained cheerfully. "Going from hammered to stone-cold sober in a few seconds was super freaky, but I wanted topping up before we went to bed. Don't you even remember that?"

John concentrated, trying to make sense of his befuddled thoughts. "I remember... Jade dancing?"

She laughed and nodded. "Last night was awesome! You really let your hair down. You and Jade started dirty dancing on the coffee table, it was a riot!"

He groaned in a mixture of shame and embarrassment.

"I suppose you don't remember streaking from the Officers' Lounge to the Lagoon either?" the redhead asked with a smirk. "What about skinny dipping with Helene and the Nymphs? Or doing jello shots from Calara's tummy?"

"Oh God..." John moaned, shaking his head.

Dana traced her fingertips over his chest and said softly, "Then I got Rachel to sober me up so I could give you a blowjob. You took turns kissing the girls until you gave me a nice big load, then Jade carried you back to my room... and here we are."

"I don't think I've ever been that drunk before," he admitted with a rueful sigh. "Could you get me some painkillers please?"

She smiled and gently pulled away the pillow, making him grimace and cover his eyes with his arm. "You really are suffering this morning... the hangover must have halved your IQ. Why don't you just heal yourself?"

He looked at her open-mouthed in surprise, then blushed with embarrassment and shut his eyes. After a brief moment of concentration, he felt waves of healing energy sweep through his body, the pounding headache receding as he soothed away the pain. Alyssa, Jade, and Edraele all provided him gentle streams of psychic power to replenish his reserves, making him feel refreshed and alert once again.

*Letting your Progenitor suffer like that... you should all be ashamed of yourselves,* he playfully scolded the three women. *No matriarch gold stars for any of you.*

*Are we due a spanking, Master?!* Jade asked, no mistaking the excitement in her voice.

Alyssa laughed, then her voice lowered an octave, *Now that is a wonderful idea...*

*I could ask Luna to administer my punishment?* Edraele offered in a seductive purr. *Of course, we can wait until you return to Genthalas, then you can watch...*

Seeing the distracted look on his face and the half-smile tugging at his lips, Dana raised an eyebrow. "Saying hello to the matriarchs? I bet they're being naughty..."

He opened his eyes and nodded. "How did you guess?"

She gently encircled his thickening shaft with her slender fingers. "Because someone else started to wake up too..."

"That feels good," John said, nodding his approval. "But let me get a drink of water first, I'm parched."

Dana reached over to the bedside table and handed him a chilled bottle. "I thought you might need this when you woke up."

He accepted it with a grateful smile, then chugged the drink back, quenching his dry throat. "Damn, I needed that..." he said with a sigh of relief.

"What else do you need, John?" she asked in a hushed voice, staring at him intently.

He handed her the pillow. "You, on your knees by the side of the bed."

She bit her lip and nodded enthusiastically, sliding off the bed and sinking to the floor in front of him. With his hangover cured, John was just as eager and raring to go. He sat on the side of the bed and moved his legs apart so that Dana could move closer.

"I want a nice sensual blowjob," he said, brushing a stray lock of red hair from her beautiful face. "With lots of eye contact from a very special girl."

Dana was trembling with excitement as she reached for him, licking her full lips to make them moist and ready. She moved with accomplished familiarity, sliding his cock down her throat until her lips were pressed against his groin. After that she eased back a little so that she could gaze up into his eyes, the look on her face one of total devotion.

"So obedient," he murmured approvingly, brushing his fingers through her hair. "So submissive, so loving... I couldn't ask for a finer sex slave."

She moaned wantonly, her fingers delving between her parted thighs to stroke her soaked clit. Dana began to bob slowly up and down his length, caressing him with her tongue and applying gentle suction.

"I know I should probably feel bad for enjoying this so much," he said, losing himself in her sky-blue eyes. "But owning you really turns me on..."

Dana let out a muffled squeak and she struggled to meet his lust-filled gaze as she climaxed. The combination of his words and attitude were driving her wild.

"Such a good girl," he praised her, cupping her head in his hands.

Holding her in place, he thrust at her deliciously soft lips, revelling in the feeling of her throat vibrating around him with her every moan.

"I'm getting close," John warned her, tremendously turned on by the way she was responding to him. "Don't spill a drop now... I really want to see that tummy swell..."

Dana's brow furrowed in concentration as she sucked eagerly, desperate for her breakfast. John tried to hold out for as long as he could, but it was impossible... the redhead looked incredibly sexy with her focus entirely on making his climax as strong as possible. With a cry of release, he began pumping his cum down her throat, his quad clenching rhythmically with each powerful spurt. The intensity never abated and the seconds ticked by as they stared into each other's eyes, his massive load filling her stomach until she was cradling her rounded belly with both hands.

When he'd finished, he sighed with contentment, then helped Dana to her feet. Kissing her spunk-filled stomach, he looked up at her and smiled. "Now that was a great way to start the day."

She studied him in fascination, gently brushing her fingers through his hair. "I thought you were just blowing off steam last night... but you're the same today. You seem so much happier."

John moved back on the bed so that she could lie down beside him. "I've been feeling guilty for months... it feels fantastic just letting that go." He gently rolled Dana onto her side, then spooned up behind her, wrapping her up in a protective embrace. "I just figured I'd stop second guessing myself and have some fun with you... and I did. I loved it."

"That was so awesome... I could really tell the difference," she said with a happy sigh, snuggling into his arms. She hesitated then looked at him over her shoulder. "Did you feel that too? When you were feeding me?"

"The connection?" he asked, kissing her shoulder. "I don't think I've ever felt closer to you..."

She nodded, giving him a loving smile.

John returned it, then lowered one of his hands to caress her rounded tummy. "You know how much I admire and respect you... how much I appreciate everything you do for me... for us?"

"I do..." she whispered, eyelashes fluttering as he stroked her sensitive skin.

"I thought long and hard about how to give you the best day possible, but then I realised... you've told me over and over what you want," he murmured in her ear. "So I'm going to give you exactly what you've been craving. We're not going to do anything else today, except stay in bed..."

"Like you and Alyssa on the Fool's Gold?" Dana asked breathlessly.

"Those were the early days of our relationship. Using her the way I'm planning to take advantage of your scrumptious body would have felt... disrespectful." John smiled and kissed her neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps on her skin. "I own you, Dana. You're mine to do with as I please... and I must admit, I'm curious to see just how many times I can feed you in 24 hours."

The redhead moaned wantonly, rendered speechless she was so aroused.

***

Alyssa smiled as she walked into the Primary Hangar, enjoying listening to John's banter with her oldest friend.

"I've seen that smile before," Rachel said, a knowing look in her eyes. "You're eavesdropping on John and Dana aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged," the blonde admitted. She shook her head in admiration. "He sure knows how to push that girl's buttons..."

"I think you could probably say the same for all of us," Rachel said with a coy smile.

"Very true," Alyssa conceded. She paused to look at the brunette and nodded her approval. "That's an excellent choice of training outfit, Miss Voss."

Rachel lifted her chin and pulled her shoulders back, which had an impressive effect on her cleavage. She was wearing a knee-length cream dress with a tailored jacket, matching high heels pushing her up another four inches. Her full lips quirked into a smile. "And that's quite the exquisite outfit you're wearing, Miss Marant."

"Oh, just something I threw together," Alyssa replied nonchalantly, placing a hand on her hip. She was wearing a blue midi-length satin dress, wispy fabric covering the slits that revealed tantalising glimpses of her bronzed skin. Raising an eyebrow, she continued, "As much as I'd love to discuss fashion with you all day, we better get started."

The brunette's happy expression faded and she frowned in frustration. "I've attempted to create a psychic shield, but I've had no success so far. What process do you use to summon them?"

"The first one I created was done by pure instinct," Alyssa explained, thinking back to the first protective barrier she had created. "John's guide attacked me and I had to create a shield or I would have been skewered by a telekinetic spear. Admittedly, I had Athena helping out at the time, or I would have ended up as a shish-kebab."

"I'm not sure John would approve of you attempting to recreate that scenario," Rachel noted with a wry smile. "He's banned us from threat-reactive training hasn't he?"

Alyssa sighed and nodded. "He has... and I really don't want to do anything to upset him, not when he's in such a great mood. It'll take longer teaching you the basics, but we haven't got much choice." She studied the brunette for a moment as she collected her thoughts. "Okay, I want you to close your eyes and focus on your breathing. When your mind's at peace and you feel a sense of focus, then-"

Rachel grimaced as she interrupted, "I appreciate that a certain amount of mysticism seems to be customary with psychic powers, but I hate all that 'finding your centre' rigmarole. Please could you just explain the precise steps involved in creating a psychic shield?"

The blonde laughed and shook her head in amusement. "Sorry, I forgot who I was dealing with. Alright, just give me a moment..."

Alyssa took a deep breath, then closed her eyes to concentrate. She made a gesture with her fingers and a glowing hexagonal shield appeared in an instant before her. Dismissing it with a frown, she tried again and this time it took a couple of seconds for the barrier of hexagons to appear. She waved away the barrier and created another, each time slowing down the process further. By the tenth time, Rachel was able to closely observe how the shield was constructed.