*The High Council just signed the treaty,* Edraele informed John as he was cooking dinner.
*Wonderful, transmit the schematics for Pulse Cannons, Beam Lasers, Nova Lances, and the supplementary Progenitor tech like flux heat capacitors and Zero-Point Regulators. Throw in Trankaran Engines and the Inertial Negation Device while you're at it, now that I think about it,* John replied.
*Done,* Edraele replied a few minutes later.
*How's the Council holding up?* John asked.
*They're pairing off, actually. Kali with Sarinia, Tsarra with Leena, Nyrelle with Valani, and all the Minor Matriarchs as well. I've bonded with all the Young Matriarchs too, and I'm working on building trust with the Minor Matriarchs,* Edraele told him.
*Wonderful! You're sure you won't be overwhelmed having that many voices in your head?* John asked in concern.
*I'm a very powerful Telepath, John, largely thanks to you. I'll adapt,* Edraele grinned.
*How's the renovation of Saelihn Immanthe going?* John asked.
*According to the schedule. I'm also making a proper Training Room on Genthalas for your personal use as well as a Throne Room. Any other requests?* Edraele prompted.
*Maybe find a way to make a Royal Quarters that'll fit the whole Council. I'd like you all to live together and bond like the family we're going to be,* John requested.
*We'll find the room. Good luck against Mikaboshi, though I doubt you'll need it,* Edraele told him before returning to her own dinner.
John finished cooking and carried the serving trays out to the table. It had been a gift from Edraele, made of the rare Lantaneak wood that only grew in the Maliri Kingdom. The girls were waiting at their seats. John filled his plate and sat down. "Cheers!" he wished before digging into his food, hungry after a day of training after the meeting with the High Council.
"I wonder what it's like to eat," Obi mused from the foot of the table.
"I can try to design gustatory sensors for your androids after I'm done with the new cleaning robots' frames," Dana offered. "Would you like a penis while I'm making yours?"
"It wouldn't get much use, don't bother. I'm fine being a eunuch," Obi shrugged.
"Make sure my vagina is extra sensitive!" Nia chuckled. "I'm quite curious to experience an orgasm!"
"Does this mean you've decided you want to be my lover?" John asked with a fond smile.
"Like you said, I may be synthetic but I'm still your Ward, part of your crew. I'd like to be a Lioness for you too, helping the mighty Lion slake his lust," Nia said in a flirting manner. "Hell, can I come on combat missions? With a Progenitor comms relay, I'll never be out of range of the Invictus, imagine the weapons Dana could cram into my frame!"
"I'd like to contribute to combat missions as well, actually," Obi spoke up.
"Like making two life-like androids wasn't enough work," Dana pretended to complain. "Sure thing, I'll have you both so deadly you could take out an entire Terran brigade!"
"Please, for the love of whatever God or gods exist, don't stick rocket launchers in Nia's breasts or in Obi's crotch. I'd never be able to take you seriously ever again," Alyssa said deadpan.
"Shoot, you know me too well," Dana chuckled.
They chatted over the meal, then went up to the Bridge. The trip from Ashana to Olympus only took 11 hours. It should have only taken 10, but they had to alter their path around trade routes to avoid hitting any ships with the hyperwake bow wave.
"I got a hail from Charles," Lirrash said when they were 10 minutes out.
"Hello, Charles, we'll be there in 10 minutes," John told his friend as he appeared on the vid-screen.
"I was just about to ask, the boys on the sensors have been freaking out all day about this glitch headed for Alpha Centauri from the Ashanath border. How the hell are you so fast?" Charles asked.
"We have a Progenitor Tachyon Drive, which is 6 times more powerful than a standard Terran military drive, and my navigator figured out how to make a hyperwake bow wave. I don't really understand how it works, but it doubles our speed," John explained.
"So the Invictus is 12 times faster than the Terran Federation Navy?" Charles asked in disbelief.
"When we show up at Olympus tonight when we were at Ashana this morning, will that be proof enough for you?" John asked rhetorically.
"Unbelievable. Docking Bay 13 will be ready for you, I'll tell Flight Command not to bother hailing you," Charles chuckled before ending the call.
They pulled into the system. Jade kept them at port speed, not wanting to show off their Progenitor Engines. They went to Docking Bay 13 on Olympus, settling down with nary a tremor. John accepted a data chip from Dana and took Alyssa out the airlock. Charles was waiting for them personally, and he was looking at the Invictus in shock. "The fuck have you done to my ship?" he demanded.
"Your ship? Last I checked, I bought her from you fair and square," John grinned. "We had to cut her in half and add the extension. Hurt to watch, but now we can fit a lot more guns."
"Those aren't Mass Drivers, are they?" Charles asked, eyeing the two barrels sticking out the bow of the Invictus.
"I may have had my hacker copy the schematics for all the ballistics when she slaved the Thor's Hammer. But you didn't hear that from me," John said with a finger to his lips.
"Now I can believe that you single-handedly saved the Ashanath from a Drakkar invasion, the Invictus is stronger than a Dreadnought," Charles shook his head. He turned and led them to his office, nodding to Lieutenant Victor Adams as they passed. They took their seats at Charles' desk.
"Congratulations on your promotion, Admiral," John said, noting the new rank insignia on Charles' uniform.
"When I confirmed with Fleet Admiral Buckingham that you would be handing over the tech to me today, Lynette took that as an opportunity to suggest my promotion. He signed off on it, I'm part of High Command now," Charles nodded, proud of his accomplishment that most Terran Federation Navy men dreamed of.
"If I have my way, Lynette will still outrank you," John told Charles, after Alyssa confirmed with Irillith that there were no bugs in Charles' office.
"The only way she could outrank me is if…" Charles trailed off. "No way. How?"
"Either a vote of no confidence to get him tossed out of office, revealing his criminal history to have him arrested, or there's a chance he'll suffer a terrible accident during the war with the Kintark. I'm still debating," John shrugged.
"Remind me never to piss you off, John," Charles said, overwhelmed at the thought his future wife could end up leader of the Terran Federation.
John pulled out the data chip. "Ashanath Tachyon Drives and Power Cores, Trankaran Engines, and a bunch of supplementary tech from the Progenitors, everything that isn't a weapon and that you can build with the materials available to you. Your job is to make sure the fleet is refitted as soon as possible. I'll pay a visit to the Brimorians to swipe their shields in a couple weeks too."
Charles loaded the data chip into his console and sent the schematics straight to Engineering on Olympus. He reviewed them on his console. "Solid-Phase Shield Matrix? What's that?"
"Makes shields solid, in a nutshell. Physically repels debris, including dropships. Also keeps them in, so you'll have to deactivate it on Carriers when launching Fighters and Bombers," John explained.
"That's a game-changer. We could just ram the Kintark with those installed," Charles mused. "Frictionless super lube? I can only imagine what would happen if the private sector got a hand on that."
"Would make sex almost no fun at all," Alyssa chuckled.
Lynette walked in the room. "Charles, you should have told me they arrived!" she scolded, even as she got a hug from John and Alysssa.
"Sorry, dear, slipped my mind," Charles apologized.
"While I'm thinking about it, want a lift to Terra tomorrow? Will be a lot faster than taking a transport," John offered.
"I'd love that, actually, and the company will be much more entertaining. I can't wait to meet your Maliri crew members and see them for myself," Lynette grinned. "While I've got you, just to confirm, I'll need to make 10 special-issue medals for your crew?"
"Nia and Obi can't attend, but I'd like to give them their own, make it 12," John told his Ward.
"Who are Nia and Obi?" Charles asked.
"My AIs," John said blandly.
"Oh, right, forgot about that," Charles nodded. "You're sure they won't go batshit like Nexus?"
"Maybe if the Terran Federation had tried to do their own research into AI instead of just trying to piggyback off the Nexus server, you wouldn't have such a bleak outlook on synthetic lifeforms," Alyssa said with a roll of her eyes. "Mael'nerak was quite possibly the best programmer who ever lived. His creations are stable and sane."
"Right, Mael'nerak, the guy who made Adam and Eve because he was bored," Charles said, rubbing his temples.
John frowned, remembering a detail from his first life. "Migraine?"
"Yeah, they're getting more common and headache medication doesn't help," Charles groaned.
"Alyssa, call Rachel. I want her to give Charles a check up," John ordered.
"That's really not necessary," Charles protested.
"False. You're my friend, your health is important to me. Just let my psychic doctor give you the once-over," John countered.
"Speaking of psychics, are you ready to bond, Lynette?" Alyssa asked.
"I know you thanks to your daily update, but do you trust me enough to let me in?" Lynette asked, ignoring how Charles looked confused.
"John respects you, that's good enough for me," Alyssa grinned.
"Then I let you in, Alyssa," Lynette nodded, making eye contact.
Alyssa's eyes began to glow white. She and Lynette went still. "John, what's your girlfriend doing to my fiance?" Charles asked worriedly.
John sighed. "Progenitors form psychic networks. Alyssa is my Matriarch, my second-in-command, she maintains my network. A Matriarch can send one-way telepathic messages to her Wards, and can bond with a Ward to make it a two-way connection once they trust each other enough. Alyssa and Lynette are bonding. Once they're done, they'll be able to communicate even if Alyssa were at the opposite end of the galaxy instantaneously."
"When did Lynette become your… Ward?" Charles asked.
"On the trip from Terra to Olympus after the Nexus incident. The process of becoming my Ward takes 14 hours, that's why she was unconscious when we arrived," John explained. He debated what to say next, but he couldn't hide this from Charles without feeling guilty. "Charles, there's something you should know. For whatever reason, a woman has to drink my semen to become my Ward."
Charles blinked before looking heartbroken. "You and Lynette?"
"We never had sex, not even oral sex. I came into a container and she drank it. That's all. I've never touched her and I never will," John swore.
"Oh," Charles said, frowning. "Well, I guess I can live with that."
"There's more," John continued. "Becoming my Ward has some side effects. Lynette is bisexual and polyamorous now. Don't be surprised if she wants to start building you a harem."
Charles turned red. "W-what?!"
"Admiral Lina Van Der Broeck thinks your mustache is cute, from what I hear," John said leadingly.
"I'm not even going to think about that right now," Charles shook his head. "So, my fiance drank your jizz, becoming your Ward. And now Alyssa, your Matriarch, is bonding with her so they can telepathically reach each other anywhere in the universe. Got it." Charles blinked. "Wait… if all your Wards are bisexual and polyamorous, then does that mean… your whole crew?!"
"A Lion sleeps with every Lioness in the pride," John shrugged. "Alyssa is in charge of recruitment, and she's been an excellent judge of character so far."
Rachel walked in, and her eyes glowed as she looked at Charles. "John, stop teasing him. His blood pressure is through the roof." She laid a hand on Charles, and the Admiral gasped as a cooling rush of relief seemed to flow into his every cell, removing every ache and pain. When Rachel stopped touching him, he felt 30 years younger.
"What did you do?" Charles asked in awe.
"Restored you to peak fitness. Your insides match a 20-year-old in the prime of health. Your testosterone levels are also back up, you should find your sex life and athletic performance improving dramatically," Rachel shrugged, as if she hadn't just performed a miracle of healing.
"Thank… thank you, Rachel," Charles gasped.
"John, while I'm here, can I visit the Medical Bay?" Rachel asked. "I'd hate to waste an opportunity to help out or practice my powers."
"If you want, honey," John said, giving her a kiss.
"Victor, please lead Rachel Voss to the Medical Bay. Don't be surprised if you think you're dreaming when you see her work," Charles said through the intercom.
"Yes sir," came the confused reply.
Rachel left with Victor, and John and Charles chatted until Alyssa and Lynette finished bonding.
"Oh my," Lynette sighed, blinking dry eyes. "You are the best and wisest woman whom I have ever known, Alyssa Marant."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Lynette Marie Harris nee Devereux," Alyssa said back, though she undoubtedly preened at the praise.
"Lynette, why didn't you mention you had drunk John's semen to join his special club of women?" Charles asked his fiance.
"Think about what you just said, Charles. Are you really surprised I didn't want to tell the man I love that I drank another man's seed? It was before we even got together, how is that relevant?" Lynette responded.
"Good point well made, as per usual," Charles chuckled. He got up and gave her a kiss. "I don't care. I still love you."
"Love you too, even when you're being a stupid man," Lynette grinned before kissing him back.
"And what's this about you wanting to build me a harem?" Charles asked with a raised brow.
Lynette's smile turned decidedly filthy. "Let's just say, if you ever want to fuck another woman, chances are I will too and will be totally on board with helping you seduce her. Polygamy isn't illegal anymore, you can have as many wives as you can keep up with."
"I'll keep that in mind," Charles said. John tried very hard not to notice the tent his friend was pitching.
The 4 of them talked until Rachel came back from the Medical Bay, Victor looking at her like she was an angel descended from Heaven. "For perhaps the first time in history, the Olympus Medical Bay is now empty of patients," Rachel announced, though she was visibly tired.
"Even the long-term ward?" Charles asked in shock. "You can cure cancer?"
"I can cure everything except death… at least, I haven't tried yet," Rachel mused.
"Let's not attempt necromancy just yet, beautiful," John chuckled. "Anyway, we'll head back to the Invictus. I got business on Gravitus tomorrow, Lynette, but it should only take a couple hours. Shall we head for Terra around noon?"
"Sure thing," Lynette agreed. "I'd love to try your cooking, Alyssa raves about it."
"You're French, right? Bouillabaisse and Beef Bourguignon it is," John nodded, planning tomorrow's lunch.
John led Alyssa and Rachel back to the Invictus and they went straight to their quarters. John rewarded Rachel for her hard work with a full belly.
The next morning, John and the crew took the Raptor down to Gravitus after breakfast. They landed at the spaceport and took a hover-limo to a certain apartment building. Lauren was waiting to greet them. She invited them into her small one-bedroom apartment. "It's not much but it's rent controlled, it's a steal," Lauren explained.
"Keith is very successful, you could move in with him," Alyssa suggested.
"I'm still on the fence about spending the rest of my life with him. I mean, he's cute and makes me laugh, but one man for the rest of my life?" Lauren said with pursed lips.
"Well, one man and however many women you convince him to have a threesome or foursome or nineteensome with," Dana said with a naughty grin.
Lauren blushed to the roots of her hair.
They chatted for an hour, until there was a knock on the door. "Lauren, it's me! What's this surprise you've got for me?" came a male voice full of lustful hope. Clearly Keith had gotten the wrong idea.
Lauren opened the door and gave a brunette man of medium height and stature a kiss. "I'd like you to meet some of my friends," she told her boyfriend.
Keith noticed the other man in the apartment. His jaw dropped. "No way… Rear Admiral Blake?!"
"Hello, Keith. I understand you're dating my friend Lauren," John grinned, feeling like an overprotective father meeting his daughter's suitor. He only wished he had a shotgun to really pull it off.
"Babe, you couldn't give me a little warning? I'm dressed in sweats!" Keith hissed at his girlfriend.
"Would it be less overwhelming if you were wearing a suit, be honest sweetie," Lauren grinned unrepentant.
Alyssa nodded, her eyes losing their brief glow. *He's head over heels. They'll be very happy together,* she told John.
*Still up to her whether to commit,* John reminded his Matriarch. "We were at Olympus and figured we'd check in."
"Oh, I am such a huge fan, sir! My brother was at Regulus, you saved his life!" Keith gushed.
"Just doing my job, Keith," John shrugged.
Keith was introduced to every Lioness. He seemed to be on cloud 9 at getting to meet his favorite celebrities. Despite their dazzling beauty, he never seemed to ogle any of the Lionesses, not even Alyssa and he had a thing for blondes. A fact Lauren seemed to notice. When John and the girls had to leave to return to Olympus, they heard a body being pressed up against the door after it closed. Keith audibly moaned. "Meeting his heroes AND a blowjob. Great day for Keith," Jade chuckled.
They returned to the Raptor and flew up to the Invictus. Lynette was waiting in Docking Bay 13, she walked in the open Primary Hangar doors to join them. She eyed the Valkyrie with impressed eyes. "That's a terrifying piece of hardware."
"She's my baby, even though Sakura is her pilot," Dana said, looking on her creation with pride.
They took the grav-tubes up to the Bridge and Jade got them to the nav-buoy. Alyssa activated their Tachyon Drive. "We're too close to make a bow wave, we'll be there in an hour."
"When can I convince you to give the Terran Federation Maliri Lasers, King Baen'thelas?" Lynette asked.
"When you're Fleet Admiral and I can count on you not to do something stupid like try to conquer the Galactic League like Buckingham would," John replied easily.
"Understood," Lynette nodded. "You still want me to go undercover into his inner circle?"
"If he manages to survive the Second Battle of Terra, you'll be ideally placed to topple him," John nodded.
"He'll really recall the Kirrix border fleet? There's no way they'd even reach Terra in time to help against the invasion!" Lynette said in indignation.
"He's the product of a eugenics project at Tartarus, actually. The resulting children were prodigies, but prone to mental instability. The stress of thinking I was going to depose him and then the Kintark invasion must have been too much for him and he cracked," John mused.
"I'm actually a product of the program too, it's a real mystery how the fuck I ended up on Karron," Dana spoke up.
"I'll take a look for any clues when we storm Tartarus," Irillith promised.
They went down to the Lounge and John made a French lunch with some assistance from his girls. Lynette said his cooking was worthy of a Michelin 3-star restaurant. They finished the tasty meal and returned to the Bridge. They arrived at Sol and Jade brought them into a geosynchronous orbit over Unity City, the Terran capital. "Nia will ferry you down to the Citadel. The award ceremony is tomorrow night, right?" John asked.
"Yep. Head down to Victory Square at 1800. You deserve everything I'm going to reward you, John," Lynette said with a hug before going to the grav-tubes.
"So, what are we going to do with our free day and a half?" Calara asked.
"Some recruiting," Alyssa grinned.
"Jehanna?" John asked, already guessing who his XO had in mind.
"Of course," Alyssa grinned. She was already pulling up the comm interface on her XO Chair. The vid-screen came alive with the face of one of TFNN's lead anchors. It lit up when she realized who was calling her.
"John! It's so good to hear from you! I was on Terra when the AI attacked! You saved my life!" Jehanna said in a rush.
"I'm a sucker for a damsel in distress," John said flirtingly. "Tell me, are you free this evening?"
"I have a blind date, but I can cancel," Jehanna said, apparently deeming John more important.
"Would you like to have dinner on the Invictus? I'd like to make you an offer," John asked.
"A look inside the Lion's ship?! Hell yes! Would it be inappropriate if I bring a holo-camera?" Jehanna beamed.
"If you want to turn this into another interview, I won't say no. But what I'm offering you needs to stay off the record," John grinned.
"Let me just run this by Avery, my editor-in-chief! I could even get paid for this if I swing it right! What time do you want to pick me up?" Jehanna asked.
"I'll meet you on the landing pad of the TFNN building at 1900, sound good?" John proposed.
"I'll be there!" Jehanna nodded before ending the call.
John spent the next 5 hours training with his Lionesses. He ordered Dana and Jade to practice their psychic powers, since they almost never joined in during training, too busy with their projects. John had hopes that Dana could enchant the armor plates of the entire Invictus one day, and Jade's Electrokinesis could be weaponized just as surely as her shapeshifting. At 1800, he went to take a shower. Like all Progenitors, he was hairless from the eyebrows down unless he willed himself to grow a beard. He dressed in his favorite charcoal suit and went to the Raptor while his girls got busy in the Kitchen.
"She'll be eating out of your hand," Nia complimented as she taxied them down to Terra. "As I understand it, reporters have a history of falling for flying superhumans."
"Ha ha ha," John rolled his eyes. They landed on the landing pad of the TFNN headquarters, a skyscraper in Unity City. John walked out the loading ramp to find Jehanna in a lovely pantsuit, wearing her best makeup, and a holo-camera hovering behind her shoulder. "Hello, Jehanna," John said, leaning in to kiss the Indian woman's cheek.
"Hello, Rear Admiral Blake," Jehanna blushed.
"I insist you call me John," he said, leading her into the gunship.
"This is a Raptor-class gunship, usually reserved for Special Forces, yes?" Jehanna asked.
"She started out as one. My Chief Engineer has given her quite a few upgrades since," John nodded. "For example, Ashanath anti-grav tubes to replace the elevator. Blue is up, red is down." He walked into the blue tube and walked out into the cockpit. Jehanna followed after him. "This is Nia, one of my Maliri AI. They don't go crazy like Terran AI," John said, well aware the holo-camera was recording everything and would be poured over by TFNN staff when Jehanna got back to work the next day.
"Hello, Terran Federation. Synthetics and organics CAN be friends!" Nia waved, her wings fluttering behind her back. For the occasion, she'd put on a clingy dress instead of staying naked.
"Nice to meet you, Nia," Jehanna said, recovering from her surprise quickly.
They flew up to the Invictus at Progenitor speeds. "That was faster than a Rapier-class Fighter!" Jehanna gasped.
"I repeat, my Chief Engineer gave her some upgrades. She reverse-engineered Trankaran Engines," John said, fibbing just a little. Dana probably could improve base Trankaran tech if she tried. They went down the red tube and out the loading ramp into the Primary Hangar.
"Oh, wow. What is THAT?" Jehanna asked, making sure to get a good shot of the Valkyrie.
"The Ultimate Weapons System Strike Valkyrie Ultra, or just the Valkyrie for short. She's our mech," John answered. "Follow me, the Kitchen is on Deck 2." They walked to the grav-tubes and went up to the Lounge. Jehanna swept the room, getting a good look for the camera. The table was already set and the crew were waiting. Alyssa had vacated her normal seat for Jehanna. The food was Indian. "We weren't sure what region your family was from, so I told the girls to improvise," John told Jehanna.
"That's so sweet! Thank you all very much!" Jehanna said with a pearly grin. John held out her chair for her, and then took his own chair.
"Before we start, everyone introduce yourselves and state your office," John ordered casually.
"Alyssa Marant, XO and Navigator."
"First Lieutenant Calara Fernandez, Tactical Officer."
"Dana, Grand Engineering Overlord. I mean, Chief Engineer," Dana said after Alyssa bumped her shoulder.
"Jade, Pilot."
"Lirrash, Comms Officer.
"Doctor Rachel Voss, Medical Officer."
"Irillith Valaden, Intelligence Officer."
"Sakura Honami, Security Officer."
"Tashana Valaden… Troubleshooter."
"Troubleshooter?" Jehanna asked to clarify.
"When there's trouble, she shoots it," John said humorously.
"Nia, Ship Assistant," Nia spoke up from the end of the table.
"Obi, Ship Assistant," Obi said, wearing a Maliri suit to sell the lie they were Maliri, not Progenitor AIs.
"And I'm Rear Admiral John Blake. Admiral Lynette Devereux named us the Lions of the Federation after we saved Port Medea. We've gotten a little popular for our other exploits since then," John grinned at the camera. "Now, let's dig in."
They bit into the Indian cuisine. Jehanna moaned. "My apologies, Mama, but this is better than your cooking!" Jehanna told the camera. She dipped some naan bread into her curry and ate with relish. "This is exactly how spicy I like it! How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess," John shrugged. He wasn't going to admit on camera he was from the future.