Alyssa cheered. "Yes! Another bitch to play with!"
"Ignore her, she's wanted to recruit you since that first trip to Gravitus, she's very pleased with herself right now," John chuckled.
"Don't worry, I'm flattered," Rachel grinned. "So, how do you want to do this?"
"As a medical woman, I'm sure you want to know all there is to know about the Change. Let's go to the Medical Bay so you can take a baseline scan. You can get one every day and keep track of how your body transforms. Then I'll take you to our quarters so you can get your first dose. Fair warning, you'll pass out for 14 hours, we're not sure why," John answered.
"That sounds perfect, actually," Rachel nodded.
"Girls, it's your turn to cook dinner. I'm sure it'll be delicious," John told his crew. "Rachel, follow me."
John led Rachel to the grav-tubes, grabbing Kyth'vindathys on the way. "Why are you bringing your sword? Why do you even have a sword?" Rachel asked as they stepped out onto Deck 7.
"For the same reason you'll want to study the Change, I figure you'd be curious about the DNA of a Kintark Royal Guard. You can get a sample from this blood before I go to have it cleaned. And it's a very handy weapon as well as being a psychic focus thanks to the runes," John told his new Medical Officer.
"Why would certain shapes affect the use of psychic powers?" Rachel asked curiously.
"I have no idea why, they just do. You'd be better off asking Lirrash, she's Ashanath and was raised in a psychic culture," John shrugged. John led them into the Medical Bay. "Welcome to your new home."
"This is all mine?" Rachel grinned, looking at all the modern equipment. "Of course, in a perfect universe this room would never need to be used. But I'm glad I'll have some decent tools to patch you all up when you get hurt."
"I'll actually be giving you the psychic power to heal, so this room will get even less use than you expect," John said, laying his runeblade on a table.
"You're saying I'll be able to cure people using just my mind?" Rachel said doubtfully.
"Yes," John nodded.
"I'll believe it when it happens," Rachel shrugged. "Now, let's do what we came here to do." Rachel scraped some of the dried yellow blood off Kyth'vindathys into a specimen container. That done, she took a blood sample and did a full-body scan of herself. Seeing everything was saved on the console, she turned to John. "So, bedroom?"
John led Rachel to Deck 2 and took her to his quarters. "This is always the awkward part," John chuckled as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"This is hardly my first blowjob, and I KNOW it's not yours," Rachel teased.
"Wait until you see what I'm working with," John said before lowering his pants to the ground.
"Whoa!" Rachel gaped. "How does that even fit?!"
"My precum is a muscle relaxant, and part of the Change is to make you more elastic so you can take me," John told her.
"Well then… here's to our future together," Rachel grinned. She took the head into her mouth. Her eyes went glassy as his mind touched hers, and she began to blow him with reflexive movements. John blew after a few minutes of stimulation, filling Rachel's stomach until she looked 9 months pregnant. He withdrew and tucked himself back in. He added Rachel to the network, feeling his reserves expand as she joined. He laid her on the bed and undressed her before tucking her in. He left her to rest for the 14 hours.
John walked into the Lounge, wonderful aromas of cooking food wafting out of the Kitchen. "Something smells good!" he called.
"We'll be ready in just a minute!" Alyssa called.
John fetched a bottle of wine he thought would pair well with the food, and poured them all glasses. The girls came out with plates of steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli. John kissed them all and held out their chairs for them. He sat down at the head of the table. He held up a glass. "To our victory over the Kintark!"
The girls clinked glasses and dug into the meal. "I'd seriously have agreed to the Change just to become an omnivore. Meat is delicious!" Lirrash said, savoring a bite of her sirloin.
"Especially John's meat," Calara joked, getting them all to laugh.
"Happy to feed you, in all senses of the word," John grinned as he sipped his wine.
"So, Alyssa tells me you got me a gift?" Dana asked leadingly.
"Yep, one Kintark dropship. You should be able to reverse-engineer the heatsinks," John nodded.
"I'll do that tomorrow," Dana agreed.
They finished eating, John cleaning up after them all. "Cooks don't clean," he said with a smile. They returned to the Bridge, settling into their stations. They chatted until the reinforcements arrived. Lirrash accepted a hail. "This is Commodore Sasaki on the Battleship Artemis, please identify Assault Cruiser," said a pretty middle-aged Asian woman.
"Commander John Blake on the Invictus," John said. "I'll leave Port Medea and this Carrier in your capable hands."
"Thank you for your actions, Commander. We'd have lost the system without you." Sasaki saluted him and ended the hail. Alyssa flew them to the nav-buoy and activated their Tachyon Drive. They took off for Alpha Centauri.
The crew went down to the Lounge and got drinks. They talked until late, then went to the bedroom. They got in around Rachel and went to sleep, John shielding himself. The Astral dream was the usual hell, but John endured. He woke up, checked on everyone, then fell into actual slumber.
They woke up around 0830 and went to have breakfast. They all returned to their quarters to wait, John bringing a glass of water. Rachel began to stir, and John helped her sit up. "Thirsty," she moaned, opening her gray eyes.
"I know. Here," John offered the drink.
Rachel drank the water quickly. She blinked. "How odd. I'm not wearing glasses yet I've never seen so clear."
"I healed everything wrong with you with the first dose. Sorry about your tattoos," John said, gesturing at the ink-stained sheets.
Rachel looked down at the stains. "Oh. Well, I won't miss them. They were part of my rebellious phase."
"Axel, right?" John said.
Rachel looked up at him. "How could you know that?"
"This might be hard to believe," John said.
"I've already accepted the Change, how much worse could this be?" Rachel asked.
"I'm from the future," John stated.
"... Okay. Prove it," Rachel responded.
"Focus on your heart," John said gently.
Rachel turned her focus inward and gasped. "What… what is this feeling?"
"That's how I feel about you. It's part of our connection. I already love you, Rachel Voss, because I remember my first life where you joined my crew and we ended up falling for each other," John explained.
"How did you come back?" Rachel asked, accepting the truth. No way that kind of adoration could be faked.
"Psychic powers," John shrugged. "I lost too many loved ones, so I came back to rewrite history."
"What an interesting man I've pledged my life to," Rachel mused.
"Anyway, let's shower and get your scan. Then time for you to get breakfast," John said.
Rachel enjoyed showering with the crew, admiring all the lovely female flesh on display along with John's muscular physique. They dried off and John led Rachel down to the Medical Bay. Rachel got another blood sample and did a scan. "Am I going to be knocked out again?" Rachel asked.
"The second time you only sleep for 4 hours. After that, you stay conscious the whole time," John told her.
John took Rachel back to his quarters and fed her the second dose. He tucked her into the bed, the sheets already changed by the cleaning robots. John checked with Alyssa *Where is everyone?*
*Lirrash is putting in her hours in the Firing Range, Dana's in the Docking Bay having fun with the Kintark tech, and the rest of us are in the Gym. Jade's practicing flying as a bird, I'm juggling a couple tons, and Calara's doing her kata waiting for you to come down,* Alyssa replied faithfully.
*Got it, be right there.* John went to get in his suit of armor and grabbed his practice sword.
They trained, breaking for lunch and getting back to it afterwards. Alyssa paused her psychic weightlifting and went to get Rachel when she woke up. She led the still gravid doctor into the Gym. "Can you swim?" Alyssa asked.
"Yes, quite well," Rachel nodded, her eyes on John and Calara clashing swords.
"Mind giving me a lesson? I want to be able to enjoy Oceanus when we go there in a few days," Alyssa requested.
"We're going to Oceanus?" Rachel asked in surprise.
"Yeah, the crew needs a vacation. It's been nonstop action since we formed," Alyssa shrugged.
"Well, swimming in a pool is different from swimming in the ocean, but I'll be happy to coach you," Rachel said. "Just hope this doesn't get in the way," she added, rubbing her bump.
Alyssa and Rachel bonded as the latter taught the blonde how to swim. Jade, shaped like a giant hawk, landed near the edge and shifted back to her catgirl form after about an hour. "Mind if I join you?" the green-skinned Nymph grinned.
"The more the merrier!" Alyssa declared.
They kept swimming, taking a break in the shallow end after a hard couple hours of swimming. Rachel was looking at John and Calara. "How are they still going at it? It's been 3 hours!"
"They're both world-class athletes, and they take training very seriously," Alyssa told the brunette. "It literally could be life-or-death one day."
"Why? Are we going into war?" Rachel asked, confused.
"Exactly," Jade said solemnly. "You know John is a Progenitor. The other Progenitors in the galaxy all rule empires of women they've enslaved. Their psychic power is godly, and their fleets are highly advanced. John intends to fight the Progenitor War, going out and killing every other Progenitor so the Galactic League will be safe. He won in his first life, but too many of us died. Now he's doing it all over again, hoping to protect all of us."
"If he had it in him, he'd find us the deepest, darkest hole in the galaxy and hide there and leave everyone else to burn," Alyssa sighed. "But he can't just abandon billions to die or be enslaved. He's far too noble for his own good."
Rachel blew out a breath. "Well then, guess it's my job to keep everyone healthy."
"You'll do great," Alyssa assured her, kissing her cheek.
They swam until John and Calara stopped sparring. "Another shower, then dinner," John announced.
Dana and Lirrash joined them in the shower, Rachel feeding from John consciously for the first time. They went to the Lounge and John went into the Kitchen to cook, taking Jade as an assistant. "So tell us more about yourself," Alyssa encouraged.
Rachel absently rubbed her belly. "Well, I'm an only child. My father is Henry Voss, the trillionaire. I was raised to be his perfect little debutante daughter. When I was 15, I cracked and had some fun. Seduced the headmaster of my boarding school, then there was Axel and his biker gang. Finally, he sat me down and threatened to disown me if I didn't clean up my act. I enlisted the next day and got emancipated."
"Have you talked to him since you left home?" Calara asked.
"Not once in over 2 years," Rachel sighed.
"Why medicine?" Dana asked.
"I liked the intellectual challenge, and I wanted to help people. Give something back to the universe, you know?" Rachel grinned.
"May I ask about your mother?" Lirrash spoke up.
Rachel's face fell. "I don't like talking about it."
Alyssa tilted her head. "John says we avenged her in his first life. We can easily do it this time around."
Rachel's head snapped up. "What? He knows what happened to her?"
"The kidnappers, the New Eden Serpents, used all the ransom money to start a Mercenary Company, the Armored Cobras. They're based out of Beta Draconis," Alyssa relayed.
"When can we make them pay?" Rachel asked, an old pain in her words.
"After Oceanus, we're visiting the Maliri Regency. Once we leave Maliri space, we can go to New Eden and do the investigation to get the evidence we need. Then we'll wipe out the Armored Cobras," Alyssa said confidently.
"Thank you," Rachel said, tearing up.
"We're your family now, we'd do anything for you," Alyssa grinned lovingly.
Once Rachel was over her moment, she made small talk with the girls until John and Jade came out with plates of Mexican food. They ate heartily with the obvious exception of Rachel, and after cleaning up they went to the Bridge. They were less than an hour from Alpha Centauri, and passed the time with conversation.
They arrived at Olympus, landing in their allocated Docking Bay. "Who wants to come?" John asked.
"I'd like to meet your friend," Lirrash volunteered.
"And I'm your XO, you don't go anywhere without me," Alyssa grinned.
John nodded and led his 2 Wards down to Deck 9 and out the airlock. Charles' adjutant was waiting for them. "Follow me, sir," he nodded.
"You know, this is our third time meeting and I still don't know your name," John said conversationally.
"Oh, I'm Lieutenant Victor Adams, sir," Victor said.
The 4 of them went through Olympus Shipyard to Charles' office. Victor went to the intercom. "John Blake to see you, sir."
Charles came out of his office with a big grin on his face. "John! The man of the hour! Come in, I got that drink ready for you!"
John, Alyssa, and Lirrash entered the office, which had been expanded. Still had a killer view, too. John accepted a glass of whiskey from Charles and handed over a data chip. "My AAR. Figured I'd give it in person."
"This should be an interesting read," Charles said, loading it into his console. His eyes went to Lirrash. "Who's this?"
"I am Lirrash, John's Comms Officer," Lirrash introduced herself.
"We picked her up while we were visiting the Ashanath," John said.
"Begging your pardon, but you're not like any Gray I've ever seen," Charles told Lirrash.
"I'm a hybrid," Lirrash lied easily.
"Ah." Charles went to read John's report. "Corporal Gibbons?" he asked after a minute.
"He led his men well, I figured I'd give him a commendation, for whatever it's worth," John shrugged.
"You killed a Kintark Royal Guard with a sword? Why do you even have a sword?" Charles wondered.
"It's surprisingly useful," John said blandly, knowing Kyth'vindathys was deadlier than his Railgun.
"Well, you and your crew did something amazing, John. You made High Command very happy," Charles said after he finished reading. "As you're technically a civilian, we're rewarding you a 200 million credit bounty for the Kintark Carrier. And you're also getting an unofficial promotion. You're still retired, but anyone who looks up your record will see your new clearance. Congratulations, Commodore."
John raised a brow. "Bumping me up two ranks? Something's off here."
Charles sighed. "If we lost Port Medea, we would have had to declare war on the Kintark Empire. Your actions will keep this conflict a controlled border skirmish for a while yet."
"If you say so," John said, knowing war was unavoidable.
"Anyway, we want you to do another news piece. Approval ratings for High Command went up a whole 3% after the last one! And stick around, there's talk of an award ceremony for you and your crew," Charles told John.
John finished his whiskey and reached out to shake Charles' hand. "Alright. Be seeing you, Charles."
John, Alyssa, and Lirrash went back to the Invictus. They went up to the Lounge, where the rest of the crew was waiting. "Commodore Blake reporting for duty," John grinned.
"My dad will have to salute you now!" Calara laughed.
They settled down and talked until Rachel's belly went down. John fed her a nightcap and then they all went to bed.
The next morning, bright and early, the crew went to the Docking Bay. "Well, it's not as bad as I remember," John allowed. "At least you didn't lose an engine."
"I did my best, John," Jade said, wincing as she looked at all the plasma damage to the Alyssium armor.
"Well, let's get this fixed so you girls can go shopping," John said, rolling up his eldritch sleeves. He went around the Raptor, repairing each armor plate and adding a couple shapings while he was at it. When the Raptor was glad in pristine octa-shaped Alyssium, John gave each of them a kiss and waved them goodbye as they left for Gravitus.
Alone on the Invictus for the first time, John went to his Ready Room. He pulled up the digital brochure of Oceanus he'd requested and pressed the button to call a service rep. An impeccably dressed and made-up blonde appeared on the vid-screen of his console. "This is Felicity, how may I assist you today?"
"Hi, Felicity. My name is John Blake. I'd like to reserve an island for 2 weeks," John said with a grin.
"Thank you for choosing Oceanus!" Felicity said with a pearly smile. "Here's a selection of our available resorts." John browsed through the list before picking the one he liked. "Excellent. And if you'd be so kind as to transfer the balance?" John authorized 345,500 credits to be transferred out of his account. "Everything will be ready within 24 hours. We hope you enjoy your vacation!"
"Thanks, Felicity," John nodded before ending the call. He called Charles next. "Charles, good morning. What's the word on this award ceremony?"
"Would 2000 tonight work for you?" Charles asked.
"Perfect, we'll be there. How formal is this going to be?"
"Full dress uniform, John."
"Got it," John nodded and ended the call. He pulled up Jehanna Elani from his list of contacts and called the reporter.
"Jehanna Elani, TFNN," answered the dusky skinned journalist.
"Hi, Jehanna, it's John Blake. I understand I'm meant to give you another interview," John said, smiling charmingly at his future wife.
"Oh, hi John! Yes, please, the last one was so well received! When are you free?" Jehanna asked excitedly.
"I've got the whole afternoon but the girls and I are going to an award ceremony for our actions in Iota Leonis tonight," John replied.
"The girls?" Jehanna asked.
"My crew," John clarified.
"We'd gotten reports of what happened but I hadn't heard anything about this ceremony. Could I attend, and bring a film crew? We could make a real feature of it!" Jehanna all but begged.
"Fine with me, but I'd check with Vice Admiral Charles Harris just to be safe," John told her.
"See you there!" Jehanna grinned before ending the call.
That done, John called up Eito Yamamoto. The line rang for 10 minutes before the ornery swordmaster picked up. "What? Who is this, why are you calling?" he barked.
"Mr. Yamamoto, my name is John Blake. I'm a fellow swordsman. I'd appreciate the opportunity to spar with you," John said succinctly.
"I haven't heard of you in the kendo community," Yamamoto said dismissively.
"I don't fight for sport, I fight for real," John explained.
Yamamoto got an interested look in his eye. "Have you killed with a blade before?"
"Yes," John nodded.
Yamamoto considered it. "I'll spar with you. Prepare your equipment." The Japanese man ended the call there. A minute later, John got an email with nothing but a list of training and simulation equipment. John ordered all of it to be shipped to Oceanus.
Finally, John called Lauren. She picked up after a minute. "John! It's good to hear from you!"
"Hi, Lauren. How've you been?" John asked his Ward.
"Pleasantly boring," Lauren chuckled. "Listen, John, Alyssa gives me a daily update on what you guys do. Your lives sound way too dangerous for me. I don't see myself joining your crew."
"That's ok," John said. "It's your choice."
"I knew you'd understand," Lauren sighed in relief. "Anyway, don't be a stranger, alright?"
"I won't. I wish you all the best, Lauren," John said sincerely before ending the call.
*Oh, darn. I was really hoping to go down on her,* Alyssa pouted mentally.
*Yes, because you're so deprived of options when it comes to licking pussy,* John teased.
John went to the Gym to train, focusing on his psychic powers. He practiced coating Kyth'vindathys in fire, lightning, and ice. He took a break for lunch and then swam in the pool for a couple hours. He got dried off in time to greet the girls when they returned in the Raptor. He kissed each of them as they passed, carrying numerous shopping bags in their arms. "Did you have fun?" he asked them all after kissing Rachel last.
"Yep!" Alyssa chirped. "Let's just pack these away and then Rachel's belly needs filling."
A few hours later, after dinner, John was in his closet looking at himself in the mirror. His old dress uniform still fit, he was pleased to see. He pinned his medals, 3 Novabursts and the Stellar Cluster, to his chest and then walked out. As he'd expected, the girls were waiting for him. Calara was in her own Terran Federation dress uniform, but Alyssa, Dana, Jade, and Lirrash were in snow-white uniforms that hugged their curves. Rachel was in a formal dress that matched her eyes.
"We'll stop traffic," John chuckled.
They walked out the airlock at 1930, meeting Lieutenant Adams. He stared for a second at the girls, but recovered himself and led them into Olympus. As John predicted, people stopped what they were doing to gawk at the crew. They reached the antechamber of the award room, Charles and Jehanna talking while the cameraman enjoyed the canapes. Jehanna looked up at their approach and went to physically drag her cameraman away from the food.
"Hello, John!" Jehanna said brightly. "It's good to meet you in person."
"You too, Jehanna," John said back.
"Would you mind terribly if we had a photo op? Your crew is so photogenic!" Jehanna asked.
"Sure," John agreed. Rachel went to talk to Charles while Jehanna posed John and the rest of the girls in a variety of poses. The cameraman took the shots, and John approved all of them when Jehanna showed them to him.
"Oh, this will be ratings gold!" Jehanna gushed. "Thank you, John!"
"It's no problem, Jehanna," John waved off. John walked up to Charles. "So, how's this going to go?"
"You walk on stage, Admiral Devereux will give a speech and hand you all the medals, and you walk off stage. Simple," Charles told him.
At 2000, the doors opened and the Terran Federation anthem began to play. John led the girls into the room, which was filled with Terran Federation personnel. He walked up onto the stage and went into an at-ease position, the girls lining up beside him in the order they joined. Admiral Lynette Devereux, a middle-aged woman with hazel eyes, took the lectern.
"We are gathered here tonight to honor a hero of the Terran Federation. Two days ago, a rogue Kintark warband attacked Port Medea, threatening the station and all our assets in the system. Commander John Blake and his brave crew came to the rescue, saving Port Medea from boarders and destroying a Kintark Cruiser before capturing a Kintark Carrier. The significance of his actions cannot be overstated, and it is my honor to promote him to Commodore rank."
John accepted the rank insignia from Lynette and returned to his place. "The Iota Leonis system is part of the Leo constellation, the mighty lion. In reward for their service, I wish to present the Lion Defender medal to each member of John Blake's crew." Lynette held up the medal for the cameras to see and then handed one to John and each of the girls. "Behold, the Lions of the Federation!" Lynette said grandly.
John and the girls walked out of the room to applause, the doors closing behind them. The girls broke out into chatter about the ceremony, while John approached Jehanna and her cameraman. "Ready for that interview?" John asked.
"Yes, Commodore," she said, apparently impressed with his new rank.
John gave the interview, praising his crew and assuring the public that they were more than just pretty faces. Then John and his Lionesses returned to the Invictus. John took great pleasure in peeling Rachel out of her dress and feeding her.
The next morning, Dana announced over breakfast "I had the Mass Fabricators make enough heatsinks to replace them all over the Invictus."
"That's our day planned," John shrugged.
Dana took them out and showed them how to do the procedure. Then the crew spread out and began to replace the heatsinks for all the lasers. It wasn't back-breaking work but it was tedious. They worked through lunch, ending with the Beam Lasers on the top deck. John took a long sip from his canteen. "I can't wait until we get the maintenance bots."
"I'll work on them during the vacation," Dana promised.
They returned to the Invictus and took a long shower and then a soak in the bath. Relaxed and rejuvenated, they got dressed and John sent the girls to the Lounge to relax. John called Charles from his quarters. "Hey, Charles."
"Hey, John," Charles greeted.
"So, I've got a Kintark dropship I need to get rid of," John said leadingly.
"How much you want?" Charles asked.
"20 mil?" John proposed.
"Sure, R&D will love to get their hands on it," Charles agreed.
"Anyway, what's the deal with my status after the public promotion last night?" John asked.
"I'm not sure, Lynette rather threw the cat among the pigeons with that one," Charles grumbled. "Until I get an answer either way, same as usual: you're retired, but now you have a higher rank to get stuff done."
"I can live with that," John shrugged.
"I'm sure you can," Charles chuckled.
Alyssa came out of the closet in a red bikini, holding a white one in her hands. "John, which should I wear on our first day on the beach, the red or the white?"
"Definitely the red," John said, ignoring how Charles was choking. "Bye, Charles." John ended the call in the gaping man's face. "What was that for?"
"Just a little treat for your friend," Alyssa shrugged unrepentantly.
John sent Alyssa to the Bridge to get them on course for Oceanus, warning her that Peter Koeman might call. Then John went to the Lounge and joined the rest of his crew. Rachel got a late lunch from him and then they all began chatting, Alyssa joining them after 10 minutes. They talked until dinner, which John cooked with Lirrash's help. When they finished, they went to bed, exhausted from their day of work.
They were awoken at 0200 by the Interdiction alarm. "To the Bridge!" John ordered, all of them getting dressed as fast as they could before running to the grav-tubes. They went to their stations, John settling into his Command Chair. They'd been pulled into the Beta Persei system, and a Terran Federation Cruiser of unusual configuration was attacking them. Dana's automated response system had raised the shields and gotten them on an escape vector.
"Alyssa, Calara, do your thing," John ordered. When Calara fired the lasers, they were almost blinded. "Dim the display, Dana," John said, wincing. Their upgraded lasers hit a lot harder, and they broke the attacking Cruiser's shields in less than a minute. Calara aimed the Mass Drivers and hit the Power Core, sending the ship up in an explosion.
"Round 1 to us, Nexus," John sighed.
They were approached by the Battleship Loki and hailed by Vice Admiral Von Brandt. He fed them some bullshit story about pirates hijacking T-Fed ships and sent them on their way. Alyssa got them back on course for Oceanus and they all returned to bed.
In the morning, John submitted his After Action Report to Charles. He was hailed a few minutes later. "You were attacked by an AI ship?!" Charles demanded.
"When we hailed it, it responded in binary 'Accursed organics, death to you all,'" John said grimly. "Charles, who's this Von Brandt guy?"
"He's a Vice Admiral in R&D, runs a facility in Beta Persei. I'll do some digging," Charles promised.
"Good. Bye, Charles," John said before ending the call.
They spent the day training, John feeding energy into Rachel the whole while. In the evening, they arrived at Oceanus. They confirmed their reservation with the defensive fleet and approached the big blue planet. Lirrash accepted a call, Felicity appearing on the vid-screen. "Welcome to Oceanus, Mr. Blake! Your resort is ready."
"Thanks, Felicity. I ordered some simulation equipment and had it sent here, did you get it?" John asked.
"I took the liberty of having it installed, I hope that wasn't overstepping my bounds," Felicity said in her precise accent.
"Great, that's perfect," John grinned.
"We hope you enjoy your vacation," Felicity beamed before ending the call.
Alyssa landed them at their private island. John and the girls all grabbed their luggage and walked out the hangar and into the resort. It was the height of luxury, and yet wasn't too big or overdone. John left the girls to unpack and took a quick tour. He found the training room and nodded, seeing everything in place. He was surprised by Rupert, the robot butler, and ordered breakfast to be ready at 0700 the next morning.
John went to the bedroom and joined his Wards in getting into bed.