The Raptor docked with the Cruiser Damocles. They walked out to meet Jack and Mateo already waiting for them. Both Fernandez men grabbed a hug with Calara. "So, we're the same rank now, Callie. You've risen further and faster than I ever dared to dream," Jack said, unspeakably proud of his daughter.
"You seriously gave the fleet orders at the Second Battle of Terra?" Mateo asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, that was me," Calara nodded, acting nonchalant. "Where's Emily? I've wanted to properly meet your girlfriend."
Mateo's face fell. "We're having a fight. The stupidest thing. We were calling Eduardo and he cracked a joke about how Emily was less pretty than the last blonde I flirted with. It came out that I flirted with Alyssa during the reunion on Jericho and now she's all jealous and insecure."
"I can fix this," Alyssa reassured him. "John, Callie, you go talk with Jack. I'll play relationship doctor with Mateo."
Jack led John and Calara up to his Ready Room. He poured them all drinks and settled into one of the couches, John and Calara seated next to each other on their own. "So, what brings the Lions all the way to the Kirrix border?"
"We're headed into Kirrix space," John said plainly.
Jack almost did a spit-take. "What?! Why in the world would you do that?!"
"We have a plan, a way to deal with the Kirrix permanently. But we need to make contact with a Kirrix Hive Queen, and they only leave Kirrix space during an invasion. We're going in to either track down a Kirrix Dreadnought or find a Hive Queen on one of their planets," Calara explained to her father.
"... I hope you know what you're doing. I've seen the Invictus in action, but going up against the Kirrix alone…" Jack said hesitantly.
"We'll be careful," John promised.
"So, Callie, are you really psychic now?" Jack asked.
"I can actively see the potential outcomes of the current set of circumstances and how to alter them up to 15 minutes out. I've also passively started to get intuitions of what's coming in the next few seconds," Calara explained.
"I thought your dodging was getting better," John chuckled.
"Incredible. But how did it happen? Or is that above my pay grade?" Jack asked.
John and Calara exchanged a look. Calara took John's hand and squeezed. "Dad, what we said in the interview with Jehanna about genetically engineering ourselves was a lie. John gave us our powers organically. He's not Terran, he's a Progenitor, a race of psychics from beyond the Galactic League. Progenitors have a way of rewriting a woman's DNA. He's the reason I have this new body, how I'm so smart and good with tactics, how I'm prescient."
Jack blinked. "Why only women?" he asked suspiciously.
Calara took a deep breath. "John's powers are sexual in nature. A woman has to drink his semen to go through the Change. A side effect of the Change is bisexuality, polyamory, and imprinting on the first man we're with. John's crew, the Lionesses, are also his harem."
Jack choked on air. "What?!"
"Dad, John explained all this to me when he rescued me at Port Heracles. He offered to let me serve as just his Tactical Officer, having nothing more to do with him than a crewmember with their captain. I made the informed decision to go through the Change and become part of his family, knowing I'd be sharing him with quite a few other women. This is my choice, and I don't regret it," Calara explained in a calm, rational manner.
"Callie, how could you agree to this?! He's fucking, what, a dozen other women?!" Jack demanded.
"I'm fucking them too, for the record," Calara said, a note of defiance entering her voice. "And to be precise, it's 18 other women on his crew and 22 women in Maliri space, 18 of whom are pregnant with his babies."
"Don't forget Niskera," John added.
"Oh, right, and the Trankaran Queen too," Calara threw in.
Jack was turning an alarming shade of purple. "Get out!" he shouted. "I can't even look at you right now!"
Calara stood and led John out of the room. She stayed strong until they were in the elevator, and then she burst into tears, John pulling her into a hug. "Shush, it's ok. He'll calm down," he reassured his Latina lover.
"Did you see the way he looked at me? He's not going to want to even be at the wedding anymore!" Calara sobbed.
"We'll talk to him again on the way back from Arcadia, the shock will have worn off and he'll have really processed it. Plus he'll have talked to Maria, and she'll know just what to say to make him understand. It'll be okay, Callie," John promised.
They reached the deck for the Medical Bay and Calara wiped her eyes and cleaned her face. They walked to where Alyssa telepathically guided them, and found her in the middle of a pleasant chat with Emily and Mateo. Mateo had his arm around Emily's shoulder, so apparently they'd made up.
Mateo instantly noticed that his sister had been crying. "What happened?" he demanded.
"I told Dad something he wasn't ready to hear," Calara sighed. "We have to leave. Take care of yourself, big bro."
Mateo hugged Calara, clearly wondering what had happened between her and their father. John led Alyssa and Calara back to the Raptor and they returned to the Invictus. They went up to the Bridge, where the Lionesses all offered Calara comfort. Calara shook her head after the last hug. "Enough with my pity party. Have we tracked down a Kirrix Dreadnought?"
"There's one at the edge of our sensors," Nia spoke up.
Alyssa looked at the sector map. "We'll reach its system around 1700." Jade got them to the edge of the system and then Alyssa plotted their course and sent them into hyperwarp.
"Let's conserve our energy, we'll be going up against the combined might of all 100 Hive Queens," John recommended.
They stayed on the Bridge until 1630, then went to the Command Bridge, getting into their armor and grabbing their weapons. "Irillith? You ready for this?" John asked.
"Think like a Kirrix," she nodded, readying herself for some mental shifting in order to hack the Kirrix systems.
They pulled into the system, and Jade took them on approach for the Kirrix fleet in that system. It was the Dreadnought, a couple Carriers, and a dozen Hive ships. To the Kirrix's own surprise, their Dreadnought began to fire on their own ships.
"The Hive Queen is trying to take back control. I'm not sure how long I can hold it," Irillth grit her teeth.
"Here's some energy," Alyssa said, channeling power from the other girls into Irillith.
Irillith's eyes glowed violet. "Ooh, that makes things easier!"
Jade and Calara worked together as the perfect team, taking out the other Kirrix ships in a shockingly short amount of time. John stood. "To the Raptor!"
The gunship launched from the Invictus, going in to land in a docking bay that Irillith opened. Nia took out all the Kirrix in the docking bay with the Raptor's weapons, and they landed. "We've active scanned the ship. Here's the route to the Nest Chamber," Obi said, uploading the map to their HUDs.
"Call us exterminators," Tashana said gruffly, twirling her Tachyon Pistols.
"Isn't that from an action movie about the Kirrix?" Jehanna asked.
"Well, it's not cool if you point it out," Tashana whined.
They went out the loading ramp and put on their game faces. They fought their way to the Nest Chamber, killing every drone or Overseer that crossed their path. They reached the Nest Chamber, where the Hive Queen and the Nest Guardians were waiting. The Nest Guardians were a vibrant shade of red and shielded with sickly yellow hexagons. The Hive Queen was on the upper level of the room and roared a challenge at the invaders.
John drew Kyth'vindathys, Alyssa grabbed her Eldritch Focus, Jade turned into a dragon, and the rest of the girls switched their weapons to shoot Runic Destroyers. John, Alyssa, and Jade flew up to the Hive Queen, while the rest of the Lionesses (plus Obi) shot at the Nest Guardians.
Jade swiped lightning-charged claws and breathed lightning breath at the Hive Queen's shields. Alyssa fired telekinetic lances as fast as a gatling gun on full automatic. John hit with Kyth'vindathys with his super strength, the runes flaring as he stole energy with every hit. The Hive Queen fought back viciously, but even the combined might of 100 Hive Queens couldn't match a fully powered Progenitor and his enhanced crew. They broke through the Hive Queen's shields, and John leapt up. With one sure slice, he cut her in half.
The top half of the Hive Queen collapsed to the floor. *Wait! I beg you! I'm just trying to protect my children!* she projected at them.
*Shut the fuck up,* John fired back, Spirit-Walking and breaking into the Hive Queen's mind alongside Alyssa. They found the thread of power linking the Hive Queen back to the Palace of Dream and followed it. They appeared in a grand throne room colored the same ochre as Kirrix ships. The 99 other Hive Queens screeched at seeing the invaders. Alyssa, working fast as she could, enrobed the entire sub-plane in her power, a solid sphere of white hexagons blocking escape. John used psychic growth to become a giant. *ENOUGH!* he roared.
The Hive Queens quivered, aware they were trapped and that John could squish them like ants. *Progenitor!* one hissed in recognition.
*Correct,* John nodded. *I'm going to make this very simple for you. You will never enter Galactic League space again. Fail to comply, and I will hunt you to extinction.*
*You are cruel and ignorant, Progenitor!* snarled one Hive Queen. *Because of the Shroud, if we don't incubate our children in sentient hosts, they come out mad, unattached to the network! You condemn us to death either way!*
*I don't care,* John said coldly. *This is your only chance. You can find a way around the Shroud or move out from under it entirely. But if you ever kidnap and rape a sentient host ever again, I will find you. And I will kill you all, and all your children too.*
The Hive Queens conferred among themselves. Finally, with great reluctance, one Hive Queen said *Very well, Progenitor. We shall never enter Galactic League territory again.*
*Let the Queen you fought me through serve as a warning of what I can do,* John said before he and Alyssa retreated back to the mind of the Hive Queen they just fought. John had Alyssa, Edraele, and Jade feed him all the energy they could, and then he overloaded the Hive Queen's mind. Eldritch power seared out her brain and reached down through her network to kill every Kirrix attached to her.
Exhausted, John returned to his body. He turned and saw that his Lionesses were all unharmed, surrounded by the corpses of Nest Guardians they had slain. "Well, I call this a win. Let's go get dinner, I'm famished," John said shakily.
Jade returned to her Nymph form and supported John. "You really strained yourself today, Master. Lean on me for a while."
John allowed Jade to half-carry him back to the Raptor, and they returned to the Invictus. They got out of armor and stored away their weapons. He went to the Lounge and was told to sit and relax while the girls cooked. Jade massaged his shoulders, and Alyssa knelt at his feet. "I never properly thanked you for letting me meet my parents," she grinned before pulling him out and taking him to the root.
John fed Alyssa a full load, almost falling asleep in post-orgasmic bliss. He managed to stay awake. He noticed Alyssa was focusing, her eyes glowing. "What…" John paused as he saw Alyssa's ears change form to match his. "You're making yourself a Kyth'faren," he realized.
"And you'll be my Kyth'faren prince," Alyssa beamed.
John was overwhelmed.
The girls brought out dinner, and they all ate. John could barely keep his eyes open, and after the last bite was told to go rest. John complied, getting naked and crawling into their bed. He wrapped his arms around Kelli and Perl and went into a healing sleep.
John woke from his sub-plane to Kelli and Perl stirring. He eased out of bed without waking any of the other girls, still feeling tired which really spoke to how much energy he'd used between Karron and the Kirrix. He got two glasses of water and telekinetically lifted Kelli and Perl out of the bed. His sleeping Lionesses moved to fill in the warm spot.
John blinked and focused on his two newest Wards. He really must have invested a lot of energy into them, because both seemed to be through the Change in just one dose, a half dose each at that. Perl looked like Alyssa's sister, golden haired and with bronzed skin. Kelli's complexion was a similar tanned perfection, and her chocolate locks tumbled to her lower back. John handed both their water.
Kelli and Perl drank their glasses, then dropped them when they got a good look at each other. "Holy fuck!" they said in unison.
"Please keep it down, the girls had a very long day," John said, feeling like he could go back to sleep himself.
"What did you do?" Kelli hissed at a whisper, cupping her own breasts in wonder.
"Put you through the Change, like I said I would," John answered.
"We're fucking hot!" Perl said, admiring herself and Kelli.
"So, would you both like a second dose? You'll pass out for 4 hours," John informed them.
Kelli and Perl both got on their knees. His precum sent them into the trance again, and he fed both of them after a few minutes of alternating between them. He tucked them back into the bed and then climbed in himself. He slipped back to sleep easily.
4 hours later, he was awakened by two cries of shock. "Relax, Kelli, Perl," he groaned. Well, he felt mildly more rested than he had the last time he woke up. He'd be taking it easy today though.
"What's wrong with my stomach?" Kelli asked in a panic.
"Nothing. John just cums a lot, that's all," Alyssa said soothingly.
"You're telling me this is all his jizz?" Perl asked, poking her tummy cautiously.
"You feel full, don't you? Doesn't it feel amazing?" Dana grinned.
"Yeah," Kelli and Perl both said, on the same wavelength.
"I was very lucky, I lived off of John's cum for a whole month when we first got together. You'll have to share with the rest of us," Alyssa told them.
They all got dressed and went to get breakfast. "So, who are all these goddesses?" Kelli asked, sitting down on one of the couches.
"You know me, Alyssa Marant. I'm John's Executive Officer and Navigator. I'm also his Matriarch, one of the women who helps maintain his psychic network. I look out for all the girls on the crew," Alyssa told the two Karron girls.
"I'm Calara Fernandez. I'm the Tactical Officer and, when we ally with other forces, Fleet Commander. I basically decide how we fire all our guns," Calara explained.
"Sparks, though I go by Dana now. I'm Grand Engineering Overlord, I build all the really cool shit around here," Dana declared.
"My name is Jade. I'm the Pilot and the Matriarch of John's Nymphs," Jade said with a smile.
"Lirrash, Comms Officer," Lirrash revealed.
"Rachel Voss, the doctor on the crew," Rachel grinned.
"Irillith Valaden, I'm John's hacker," Irillith told the ex-whores.
"Sakura Honami, Security Officer, which is a fancy way of saying I kill everyone who tries to kill us," Sakura said with a wolfish smile.
"Tashana Valaden, Irillith's SLIGHTLY younger sister. I was a pit fighter and smuggler before I joined the crew," Tashana stated.
"I am Helene. I am the Counselor, I make everyone feel better," Helene smiled brightly.
"Jehanna Elani," Jehanna waved. "I used to be a reporter for TFNN, then John rescued me from being kidnapped and I agreed to join."
"I am called Neysa," Neysa declared, focusing to say 'I' instead of using the third person.
"Leylira," Leylira grinned.
"Betrixa. I could teach you two a few things about how to please a man," Betrixa giggled.
"Marika, I hope you're both happy here," Marika beamed.
"This one is called Ailita," Ailita reported.
"I'm Nia, one of John's AIs. I mostly fly the Raptor and help out around the ship," Nia informed them.
"And last but not least, I am Obi. I'm John's other AI, and who he talks to when he gets tired of dealing with all these women," Obi chuckled.
"And John's sleeping with all of you?" Perl checked. "How does one man keep almost 20 women happy?"
"Jade can grow tentacles when he wants to have an orgy and fuck all of us. And most of us have paired off in twos or threes to keep each other fulfilled while he's busy adding a new girl or someone else needs him," Alyssa explained. "And we're less than half his total harem. He's also sleeping with the Maliri Queen, her 3 bodyguards, and the rest of the Council of Matriarchs that rule Maliri space."
"But when we CAN be with him, it's totally worth the wait," Dana said, smiling lovingly at the thought of John fucking her and Rachel together.
Kelli and Perl continued to ask questions, getting to know each of the Lionesses. John came out with everyone's breakfast, having been assisted by some of the cleaning robots. Everyone but Kelli and Perl ate the delicious food, though they were curious to try the food. John stated "Today's a rest day. Unless we get ambushed by the Kirrix, everyone does whatever they want."
"We'll arrive at Arcadia tomorrow," Alyssa reminded everyone, having gotten them into hyperwarp after dinner last night.
Once they finished breakfast, the cleaning robots came forward to clean up the dirty dishes. John surprised Alyssa by sweeping her into a bridal carry. "I'm going to go make love to my wonderful Kyth'faren princess, who started this whole crazy adventure with me. You're all welcome to watch."
The other girls eagerly followed as John took Alyssa to their quarters. They made love, and they discovered rune sex, when their psychic powers generated sentences of white runes that described their love for each other. Dana translated the runes for the rest of them and Helene channeled John and Alyssa's love for each other to the rest of them. They all burst into happy tears before sharing one record-worthy climax.
When they were all able to see straight again, John pulled out of Alyssa, who held her legs wide. "Everyone gets a share," she promised.
Everyone but Kelli and Perl got a small taste of the psychically charged cum. They all changed their underwear and went to lounge around the ship doing their leisure activities. A number of girls went to the Lagoon. John took Kelli and Perl on a tour of the Invictus. When they found the Lagoon, Kelli was frightened but Perl was fascinated. "Look at all this water!" the blonde marveled.
John had a thought. "How would you like Hydrokinesis?"
"What's that?" Perl asked.
"It's the psychic power over water. You'd be able to manipulate it with a thought. You'll be able to swim like a mermaid, you can use it to attack or make shields, and I think you might even be able to affect the blood inside someone to manipulate their body or just kill them. Interested?" John asked.
"Sure, that sounds like fun!" Perl grinned.
"What about me, what magic powers do I get?" Kelli asked.
"Which ones do you want?" John asked.
"I don't suppose mind control is on the list," Kelli chuckled.
John frowned. "Actually… it is. It uses the Dominion and Mind runes, which I'll explain later. Basically, you'll be able to 'push' your will onto others. The stronger you are and the weaker their defenses, the more you can influence them. Getting someone to do exactly what you want like a mindless zombie would take a lot of power, but you'll have nothing but time to get better as long as you stay on the crew."
"Then I want that!" Kelli asked excitedly.
"Well, I need to feed you both again to give you powers," John said suggestively.
They went to the Observatory, and John enjoyed the attention of two expert cocksuckers. He filled both girls up, imbuing the Water rune in Perl and the Dominion and Mind runes into Kelli. Both girls' eyes glowed.
They gathered in the Lounge for lunch, and John decided to spend the time until dinner bonding with the synthetic crew members. He Spirit-Walked to cyberspace and hung out with Nia, Obi, Alpha through Zeta, and Un through Douze. They had dinner and relaxed with drinks in the Lounge afterwards.
"So, John, what's the plan?" Jade asked. "What do we do tomorrow?"
"I'm not sure, it depends on if Larn'kelnar is there or not," John sighed. "If we beat him here, I can meet Rahn'hagon and Jessica. If he's already kidnapped my father, he knows we're coming, we didn't turn on our Stealth Field Emitter before approaching. In that case, I can only hope I can convince him to not engage in a ship-to-ship battle."
"He could have blasted you out of space in your first life, he captured you on purpose," Calara reasoned. "He wants you alive, and he didn't kill Rahn'hagon either. He seems to get off on having power over others, look what he did with the Galactic League."
"If he's there, hail him and stall for time. I'll give hacking his Dreadnought a try," Irillith proposed.
"Alright," John nodded.
They talked for a few hours, and then John led everyone to bed, feeding Kelli and Perl once more before bed.
They woke up with an air of anticipation. John cooked them all breakfast, and then they went to the Command Bridge. The crew except Helene, the new Nymphs, and Kelli and Perl got armored up and armed. They pulled into Arcadia. The Eden-class planet gleamed like a blue-and-green jewel.
"Jade? Can you see him?" John asked.
His Nymph Matriarch's eyes scanned every inch of the system map. "There's too much interference from the nebula. I'm sorry, John."
"Lirrash, launch a system-wide broadcast," John ordered.
Lirrash hit the relevant buttons on her console. John spoke clearly. "Larn'kelnar, this is John Blake. I want to talk."
Lirrash looped the message for 10 minutes, but they got no response.
John sighed. "Well, here's hoping we beat him. Everyone in the Raptor. Obi, keep all 11 of you ready to move the Invictus at a moment's notice."
"I will, John," his male AI nodded.
They loaded into the Raptor and went down to the wreck of Rahn'hagon's Dreadnought. They landed on the grassy plain near the Soulforged ship. They walked out the loading ramp.
John reached for Sound and Air runes and amplified his voice to be loud as thunder. "Rahn'hagon, Jessica Blake! This is John Blake, your son! Please come out!"
They waited, but there was no response. John sighed. "Okay, we search the ship. Alyssa, Lirrash, are you going to be okay?"
"We'll survive," Lirrash said, though she was wincing just from looking at the Dreadnought.
They went for the airlock, passing a number of lovingly maintained vegetable gardens. They entered the ship and split up, keeping in contact through Alyssa. "I hear a heartbeat," Nia informed John and Alyssa.
John spotted a figure cross a hallway and activated Psychic Alacrity. He caught up with the figure and found his mother. She was shaped like a Thrall, and her face was slightly more beautiful, but she looked just like the photos John had stared at as a child. John grabbed her, and she struggled. "Let me go!" she screamed.
"Jessica, calm down!" John told her firmly.
She froze. "How do you know my name?"
"I know all about you, Jessica. Where's Rahn'hagon?" John asked.
She burst into tears. "They came! The green women came and took my Rahn!"
John grimaced. That meant Larn'kelnar was definitely still there, probably waiting to ambush them. He contacted the Invictus on comms. "Obi, activate the Stealth Field Emitter and move to a random location. Then do your absolute best to be invisible."
"Done," Obi replied a few seconds later.
John retraced his steps and left his father's ship, walking out the airlock. They all gathered near the Raptor, Jessica still inconsolable at the reminder her master had been taken. Alyssa's eyes glowed white. "He was here yesterday. We just missed him."
"Did you also give her a mind shield?" John asked with a raised brow.
"I wanted you to meet your mother properly. She has her original personality back and Rahn'hagon can't order her around," Alyssa grinned.
Jessica wiped her eyes and looked up, her eyes now clear. "... Who are you people?"
John took off his helmet so she could see his face unimpeded. "I'm John Blake. I'm your son, and this is my crew."
Before Jessica could respond, Obi gasped. "Larn'kelnar came out of hiding! He's lowering into the atmosphere!"
John froze. He looked up, and sure enough the massive black ship was fast approaching them. John thought as fast as he could. "Jehanna, make Sakura invisible. Sakura, do your best to sneak attack him. Assuming he doesn't just blast us where we stand."
Jehanna's eyes glowed as their assassin vanished from the visible spectrum.
The Dreadnought came to hover above them. A number of troop transports, as well as an Ascendancy-class shuttle, launched from Larn'kelnar's ship. They landed across from the Raptor. "Irillith, Tashana, close your eyes. Only open them if a fight breaks out," John ordered.
His Maliri Wards obeyed.
Larn'kelnar walked out the shuttle, clad in Progenitor War Armor a lustreless black. His Larathyran Thralls poured out of the troop transports, forming ranks around him. "John Blake!" Larn'kelnar called, his voice booming. "I give you this one chance! Surrender yourself willingly, and I'll let your Thralls live!"
John let go of his Tachyon Rifle, letting it hang from its strap. He did his best to seem defeated and broken as he walked up to Larn'kelnar. He came to a halt just outside of striking range. "Now what?" John asked, just the right note of sullen hopelessness in his voice.
Larn'kelnar grinned cruelly. "Now you watch as your Thralls–" is as far as he got before howling in pain as two ninjato stabbed into the weak areas of his armpits, thrusting deep into his thoracic cavity. John drew Kyth'vindathys at psychic speed and took one step and one slice.
Larn'kelnar's head fell to the ground.
The green Thralls began to wail, many taking off their helmets and shooting themselves in the head. John activated psychic sight and tracked all their connections to a point inside the shuttle. He rushed in and found Ailanthia, her hair white, holding a pistol with a hesitant grip. He knocked it from her hands.
"You've already taken everything from me, John Blake! What more could you want?!" Ailanthia cried.
"To give you something back," John told her warmly. "Join me, the pain will stop."
Ailanthia gasped. "But… that's never been done before!"
"I'm not like other Progenitors," John said gently.
Ailanthia's hands went to her lower belly. "I'm pregnant with Larn'kelnar's heir. What will become of him?"
"I'll raise him as my own," John promised.
Ailanthia looked into his eyes. "Funny… I believe you."
John got out of his armor and pulled out his cock. "Quickly, before any more of your network suicide."
Ailanthia had thousands of years of experience at servicing Progenitor equipment. She took him to the root again and again until John blew and filled her belly. John added her to his network as a fourth Matriarch. And then he felt high as a kite as his personal Progenitor Connection reached out to the millions of Thralls in Ailanthia's network. He'd been stronger than Larn'kelnar with just 1000 Wards. As each Larathyran woman over 30 became his Ward, John felt his power grow to dizzying heights.
John finally came back to himself, realizing he was floating in a white nimbus of power. He lowered back to the ground. Ailanthia was looking up at him with wide eyes. "What just happened?"
"Your network has joined mine," John explained calmly. "And I altered my personal Progenitor Connection. None of you are forced to obey me, and if I die then you won't feel that overwhelming grief and pain. In exchange, I get a LOT more power from each woman."
"I see," Ailanthia said. She cupped her bulging belly. "You really won't abort my son?"
"I would never," John promised. "If I'm any kind of example, who your father was doesn't determine how you turn out. Now, how many of the crew on the Dreadnought are still alive?"
Ailanthia focused on her connections to her Wards. "37."
John winced at such a low number. "Tell them to gather in the Hangar. I'll take them to my ship, the Invictus."
John led Ailanthia out of the shuttle. She gulped when she saw Larn'kelnar's body but she held John's hand tight and looked away. John walked back towards the Raptor. "Everyone, this is Ailanthia, my new Matriarch of the Larathyrans."
Alyssa took off her helmet and went to give Ailanthia a hug. "Welcome to our family, Ailanthia."