Three Square Meals Ch. 076

*Wake up sleepyhead, it's time for lunch,* Alyssa whispered, her soft telepathic voice meandering through John's mind like a lover's caress as she roused him from his slumber.

John felt a warm curvy body next to him and when he opened his eyes, he found himself lying next to Irillith's luscious azure figure. With a start, he suddenly remembered that this wasn't his alluring cyber-security expert he had his arms around, but her twin sister instead! He allowed himself a broad smile of satisfaction, as he remembered how happy Tashana had been after receiving his Gift.

"You did a really nice job," Alyssa murmured, brushing her hand over Tashana's cheek as she listened to his thoughts. "You'd never be able to tell what she's been through - she looks so beautiful now."

"I'm just glad you managed to get through to her. It felt great being able to help heal everything," he replied, as he sat up. His nose twitched at the enticing aroma that pervaded the room and he cast an inquisitive glance at the plate by her side. His stomach rumbled at the sight of the thick steak sandwich and he asked speculatively, "Is that for me?"

"Yes, you need to keep your strength up," she replied, her expression caring. Handing over the plate with his lunch and a big glass of chilled water, she continued, "We've got a few minutes until she wakes up, so I thought I'd bring you up to speed."

*With what?* John asked telepathically as he took a big bite of the sandwich. He groaned at the delicious taste, and added, *God, that's amazing. One of Calara's?*

"Yeah, she loves playing the doting little fiancée. She's firmly of the belief that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach," Alyssa replied with an affectionate smile. Her lips turned up into a wicked grin as she added, "but it's not your own tummy you really enjoy filling, is it?"

She reached out to stroke the rounded curve of Tashana's cum-swollen belly with one hand, while moving the other in teasing circles over her own toned abdomen. John chose not to comment, but he had trouble taking his eyes off Alyssa's bronzed fingers as they moved in gentle circles over Tashana's flawless blue skin.

He winked at her and swallowed his second bite of the sandwich, before he asked, "So, what did you want to tell me about?"

"The girls were busy while we slept," Alyssa explained, sitting back and smiling as she watched him eat. "And I don't just mean making lunch."

"Really? What've they been up to?" he asked, before gulping down the glass of water.

"Jade landed the Invictus in the drydock and we've got a swarm of eager Maliri engineers working on the last few rooms. Dana and Rachel think they should be finished in a day or so," she explained, as she took the glass and slid off the bed to get him a refill.

After enjoying another big chomp of his sandwich, John replied affectionately, "They're good girls, it's great to see them taking the initiative. I can't wait to get the kitchen on Deck Two up and running again, not to mention the dining table. I've really missed all of us eating together."

Returning to the bed, Alyssa nodded, and said, "I've missed the Officers' Lounge. It hasn't been the same without it."

John glanced at the ship's chronometer and said, "We haven't got long, just a minute or two to go until she wakes up."

"Can I stay? Or do you want to talk to her alone?" she asked him, glancing down at Tashana.

"It's probably best if I talk to her on my own to start off with. She's bound to be a bit disorientated when she wakes up and I don't want to scare her," he replied as he thought how best to handle the situation.

"No problem. Just give me a call when you want to introduce me," she replied, then waited for him to finish his sandwich and the water before taking the plate and glass. Blowing him a kiss goodbye, she glided out of the room with a provocative strut, the heels on her strappy shoes clicking loudly with every step.

John watched her leave, very much enjoying her teasing display, before turning his attention back to Tashana. Sure enough, she started to stir exactly four hours after she'd swallowed her second load. She stretched languidly and took a big lungful of air, which made a wistful smile appear on her lovely blue face.

"Hello again," John said, looking down at her from where he sat beside the drowsy girl.

Tashana started at the sound of his voice, her violet eyes flashing open and staring right at him. "You're a Progenitor!" she exclaimed, her mouth dropping open in wonder. A look of fear flashed across her face, which was quickly replaced by one of intense curiosity. She looked at him in fascination as she added, "You helped me..."

John nodded and smiled at her as he said in a kind, soothing tone, "You got into trouble going on a dig in the Unclaimed Wastes so Irillith asked me to come and rescue you."

She nodded soberly until she glanced down and was suddenly aware that he was as totally nude as she was. Tashana blushed furiously and scrambled to cover her pert chest with one hand, her hairless pussy with the other. "We're both naked!" she gasped, scandalised.

Her hand brushed her rounded tummy and she stared at it with eyes as big as saucers.

He smiled at her patiently and his voice was soothing as he explained, "Just think back to this morning. You were injured but I healed you. Do you remember?"

Distracted from her curvy predicament by the reassuring sound of his deep voice, she glanced up at him, then slowly relaxed as she replied, "I left myself a message, standing in front of the mirrors." Tilting her head to one side, she intoned, "Your name's John. You're a good Progenitor, who's trying to save the Maliri from an evil Progenitor. You know about my research into Mael'nerak and you asked for my help. Some very bad things happened to me but you healed them when I swallowed your..."

Her eyes flicked to his in shock then stared at her bloated abdomen. She cradled her swollen belly with both hands, remembering with a start exactly what was blowing her up like a balloon. He saw her tongue dart out and wet her lips, a smile appearing on her full lips.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, studying her wistfully smiling face.

She sat up, moving a little awkwardly with the extra weight in her tummy, and kneeling beside him, she replied, "I really loved what we did earlier." She blushed a deep blue at her own brazenness, as she added, "Would you like to do that again?"

John studied her for a moment and his tone was gentle as he replied, "You and Irillith react differently to my cum than any other Maliri I've been with. You've still got a full tummy, so it should be easier for you to ignore any cravings, but once your body finishes absorbing your breakfast, it's going to be much harder for you to concentrate. I want you to try to focus and not think about any distractions until we've had a chat."

Tashana listened attentively and he could see her visibly relax, before she asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

He reached out to take her hand and smiled at her as he replied, "This is your last chance to change your mind about joining us. If I feed you again, you'll be psychically connected to me through Alyssa or Edraele, which will essentially mean you'll be spending the rest of your life with me."

She studied his face intently for a while, before a shy smile lifted her lips and she replied, "You're very handsome. I don't think I'd mind that at all."

He returned her smile and said, "And you're very beautiful, but I want you to make a fully-informed decision before you join me." Stroking her hand, he added, "There's some additional things that you need to know before you make that choice."

Tashana glanced down at his hand caressing hers, then placed her other hand atop his and smiled at him as she asked, "What do you mean?"

*You might as well come back in, honey,* John said to Alyssa, reaching out to her with his mind. *I think I'll need your help explaining everything.*

Alyssa glided into the room a few seconds later, and when she saw his look of surprise, she replied, *I was waiting in Calara's room.*

Tashana glanced her way, then looked self-conscious at being naked in front of her.

"There's no need to be embarrassed," Alyssa said, her voice soft and soothing. "You're absolutely gorgeous! You should be very proud of such a beautiful body."

The Maliri girl smiled bashfully, then sat up a bit straighter.

John smiled at Tashana and said, "You've met Alyssa before. Do you remember her?"

"You were there... I mean, I met you last night when the three of us spoke," Tashana replied, her voice tentative at first then with more conviction.

"That's right," Alyssa said, as she kicked off her high heels, then climbed on the bed within arm's reach of both of them. She had a warm smile on her face as she added, "Your mother and I are John's Matriarchs, but as you haven't been assigned to Edraele yet, I strongly suspect that I'll be looking after you if you join us."

"Do all Progenitors have more than one Matriarch?" Tashana asked, her face lighting up with curiosity. "Mael'nerak only had one, before he was forced to abandon her."

"We don't think so," John said, sounding uncertain. "Alyssa was my Matriarch first but Edraele became my second by accident."

She nodded and said, "I remember you explaining that last night. It was how Edraele's mind was erased and you rebuilt her a new personality." After pausing for a moment, she frowned before continuing, "You did something similar with me, is that correct?"

"That's right," John replied, watching her carefully. "Can you remember what happened to you?"

Closing her angular eyes, Tashana's voice was quiet as she replied, "It feels hazy... I remember an argument with Irillith in the palace, but I'm not sure what happened after that. The next thing I remember is speaking to both of you last night."

Alyssa reached out to stroke the Maliri girl's arm and said, "You were actually in the Unclaimed Wastes for thirteen years. A lot of very bad things happened to you, until we saved you and John healed all your injuries."

John nodded and said, "You wanted to forget all of it and start afresh, so I wiped out those memories for you. I've altered Irillith and Edraele's minds too, but they believe you went to the Trankaran Republic for years on an archaeological dig, before moving on to the Unclaimed Wastes and finally getting in trouble there. They asked me to rescue you and here you are."

Looking confused, Tashana replied, "Why would I go to the Unclaimed Wastes? Mael'nerak wouldn't have left anything there; he obliterated all the habitable planets in that part of the galaxy."

John and Alyssa glanced at each other in surprise and John replied, "He did?!"

Tashana nodded eagerly and replied, "Have either of you heard of the Achonin?" When both of them shook their heads, she continued, "All the evidence I uncovered from Thrall sites was fascinating! There used to be a thriving, technically advanced civilisation in that region of space called the Achonin. They spanned scores of worlds, until Mael'nerak arrived with his Thralls and went to war with them. He destroyed world after world with a massive, planet-destroying superweapon and killed billions of their people."

"We found you in an ancient refinery that's now called Underworld," John explained. "Was that an Achonin facility?"

"What did it look like?" She asked, leaning forward and listening with interest.

"Tan-coloured, eight sides, pretty huge. It seemed to be some kind of orbital fuel refinery," he clarified for her.

She nodded, and replied sagely, "That definitely sounds like an Achonin facility. Mael'nerak might have left a few Achonin survivors on outposts like that, but without any habitable worlds or viable numbers to rebuild their civilisation, they were doomed to extinction."

"How long ago did this happen?" John asked, intrigued by her story.

"Nearly seventy-two thousand years ago!" She exclaimed, violet eyes wide with wonder.

Alyssa arched an eyebrow and asked, "How can you be so sure?"

"I found a real treasure-trove of artefacts and data on Epsilon Aquarii IV! When Mael'nerak was forced to flee the Maliri, his Matriarch built a secret repository of information about him. She hid it there to keep it safe, just in case another Progenitor should try to take control of the Maliri again," she explained, a broad grin on her face.

"If it was hidden, how did you find it?" John asked the excited young woman.

"I only found it by fluke! The Palace on Valaden has been rebuilt a number of times over the millennia and I was exploring the deep catacombs beneath the foundations when I found a vault. There were documents there hinting at the location of a secret Thrall base!" she clarified for him. Tashana smiled proudly as she continued, "The clues were vague, but I managed to follow them and stumbled on the base. It was long-buried and partially destroyed by then, but that's where I found a projection device! Valada had used it to record personal logs and I gave it to Irillith to finally prove that I was right about Mael'nerak."

John was about to ask another question but he hesitated, then said reluctantly, "I'd love to hear about everything you've found out - it all sounds amazing - but we'd better save that conversation for later. We should probably focus on talking to you about joining us first, before you get too distracted."

Tashana blushed and said, "Sorry, I got a bit carried away. It was just so nice to have someone take me seriously for once!"

"No need to apologise; you're talking to the converted," John said, smiling at her indulgently. "Everyone aboard the ship will be dying to hear about everything you've found out."

"Irillith too?" Tashana asked, hardly able to believe it.

John nodded and replied, "She's not the same girl you remember. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."

Tashana played nervously with a long white lock of hair, her expression tempered with caution, as if she didn't want to risk seeing her hopes dashed.

"We're getting sidetracked again," Alyssa said with a smile. She stroked Tashana's shoulder and continued, "Let's just talk about the reality of joining the crew."

"Okay," Tashana readily agreed, watching her with breathless anticipation.

Raising a hand, Alyssa ticked off fingers as she listed each point, and started by saying, "Firstly, immortality. If you continue to swallow John's cum, you'll live forever."

Tashana's angular eyes grew huge as she gaped at the blonde in utter astonishment and blurted out, "You can't be serious!"

"Rachel figured it out, from studying changes to our DNA," Alyssa explained patiently. "When a girl swallows enough Progenitor cum it resets her to a predefined template, undoing the effects of aging."

"So that's how Valada lived so long!" Tashana gasped, amazed by this revelation. "I never understood how she managed to live with Mael'nerak for thousands of years!"

John interrupted and said, "Immortality isn't the same as invulnerability though. I can heal really severe injuries but if you get killed, I won't be able to save you. That's why I'll have to insist that you train rigorously so you can learn to keep yourself and the other girls safe. We lead a dangerous life and you'll definitely be involved in combat at some point."

"Okay, that sounds sensible," she said, nodding her agreement.

Ticking off another finger, Alyssa said, "Secondly, you'll never grow sick and you won't physically age another day. You'll stay just as stunningly beautiful as you are today, forever."

The Maliri girl stared at John in awe and said, "This feels like a dream. I can hardly believe you're real." She laughed then and added, "Which is ironic, as I spent the better part of twenty years trying to convince Irillith exactly that about Progenitors!"

"So we haven't scared you off then?" Alyssa asked, her eyes twinkling in amusement.

Tashana glanced at the blonde and smiled as she said, "Nothing you've said yet would make me think twice about joining."

John stroked her hand again, then said, "There's other things too, personality changes which I can't control, I'm afraid."

"What kind of changes do you mean?" she asked, looking more nervous now.

Alyssa gave her a reassuring smile and replied, "Nothing too major, you already seem like a lovely girl." She studied her for a second before she added, "How do you feel about other girls?"

Tashana relaxed and said, "Oh, I'm used to living amongst lots of women. All the Maliri men live on the border worlds, so the last Maliri man I saw was..." Her voice faded away, and a look of profound sadness crossed her face.

"Your father?" John asked, his tone sympathetic.

She nodded and her voice sounded anguished as she replied, "It feels like it happened only yesterday... I still miss him so much."

"It's okay, we know what happened," John said, opening his arms to her for a hug.

Tashana looked surprised at the unfamiliar gesture then gladly accepted, pressing her firm breasts against his chest as she hugged him fiercely. He held her for a few minutes like that, feeling her trembling in his arms. Alyssa moved closer and stroked her back, while they waited patiently for her to deal with her feelings of grief.

When she finally pulled away, she brushed the tears away from her eyes and looked embarrassed as she said, "I'm so sorry about that. I barely know you and I'm pouring my heart out to you!"

Alyssa's answering smile was tender and caring as she said, "If you choose to stay with us, you'll be able to turn to any of us for support. John and the girls are all good listeners so feel free to chat to any of us if you feel upset about anything."

Tashana laughed as she said, "I still haven't heard anything remotely negative yet."

"I think you misunderstood what Alyssa was asking you earlier. She asked how do you feel about girls?" John reminded her, watching her lovely young face.

She was about to reply in the same way, when her eyes went wide and she glanced at Alyssa in surprise.

Alyssa fingers were gentle as they traced an intricate pattern on Tashana's back and she smiled at her as she explained, "The crew consists of John, myself, and six other women. You've seen the videos so you know that we all swallow his cum, and that he's fucking all of us. Well, us girls all like to get together too. If you don't like girls already, that'll change if you keep filling your tummy with John's spunk."

John squeezed her fingers then said apologetically, "I can't do anything about it, I'm afraid. I was able to remove the need to obey from our psychic connection, so other than being openly bisexual, you'll still be yourself."

Tashana gave the Terran girl a shy smile, and said, "That doesn't sound too bad either."

Alyssa winked at her flirtatiously making Tashana blush a dark blue, before she said, "Well, that's about it. You won't get jealous of any of us, which makes everything lovely and friendly. I have a telepathic link with all the girls on the crew, so I'll be able to check to make sure you're alright."

"The other girls assure me she isn't too annoying," John said, sharing a smile with Tashana. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then added, "Other than that, I can't think of much else. We've told you about my imprisoned Progenitor-side, and that another Progenitor is stirring up trouble."

"There's one other thing," Alyssa replied, moving across the bed to kneel behind Tashana. She crawled forward and gently placed her hands on the Maliri girl's blue hips, before leaning in to place her warm hands on Tashana's rounded belly. Kissing the startled girl on the shoulder, she added, "How do you feel about children? When we've defeated this other Progenitor, John plans to give each of us a baby."