John and his Angels sat at the breakfast table, enjoying some Eggs Benedict. Not to toot his own horn, but John had gotten the Hollandaise perfect.
*So Commodore, what's on the agenda for today?* Alyssa checked after patting her mouth with a napkin. She'd actually been a bit of a messy eater before the Change, but John's good influence had subtly molded her into a well-behaved lady. Except when John wanted her to be 'messy' of course.
*Well, first I need to check in with Charles after that rather public promotion at the ceremony last night,* John sighed, his mind tackling the issue. *I don't know what angle Devereux was working, precisely, but she was talking and hyping us up to the crowd as if I were still active-duty. And as an Admiral, she could have reinstated me with a simple keystroke if she were so inclined. I need to see if getting Commodore clearance came with being pulled out of retirement without warning.*
*That would be a ballache. We can't exactly keep flying hither and yon on a whim if we suddenly have to start, y'know, taking orders from High Command,* Jonah frowned in annoyance.
*Well, worse comes to worst, I can retire all over again. I'll even give up the deal where I kept my clearance and all the other perks if I have to. I value our freedom more than those privileges,* John decided.
*I agree, though we'd have to fast-track you getting a military-grade weapons license all over again. Otherwise, we legally wouldn't be allowed to even turn on the Invictus' guns during a fight,* Calara pointed out.
*Here's a thought: we know Lynton is the rival Progenitor's Thrall thanks to Charles. Suppose we made Devereux an Angel. She seems to be a fan, if perhaps not with the purest intentions. And having an in with High Command would be very advantageous,* Lirrash mused after a sip of orange juice.
*After how things went when we tried to recruit Charles, I'm wary,* John told his Ashanath Angel upfront. *For all we know, she's a xenophobic lesbian who'd be mortally offended at the very idea of drinking alien cum, even with the whole perk package of the Change.*
*Let's keep Devereux in our back pocket, though not to put too fine a point on it, she certainly could use a psychic makeover,* Dana thought, not unkindly but they all agreed that the Admiral who had honored them wasn't exactly a beauty queen. *In more productive news, all the new equipment Jonah and I bought yesterday was fully installed before the ceremony last night, and we finished our analysis of the Kintark dropship. Now it's just taking space in the Cargo Bay, see if you can sell it or donate it back to the T-Fed.*
*Anything worth copying and putting your own spin on besides the heatsinks?* John checked with his Chief Engineer.
*Not really,* the redhead shrugged. *Pound for pound, every other system besides the plasma weaponry was comparable in quality to standard Terran tech. The plasma manipulation itself, that's a side project for me now. Not worth replacing all the guns with Kintark versions, but the way they've learned to play with that state of matter is a thing of beauty. I can think of 3 different commercial applications off the top of my head we could patent and/or sell to the T-Fed or private sector for lucrative sums. And the heatsinks have more use than just letting us feed more juice into each Laser. With a little tweaking, I can work them into each Phalanx suit and give us thermal camouflage, invisible to infrared.*
*Nothing less than I've come to expect from my Grand Engineering Overlord,* John thought with pride.
*I was drunk when I said that, let it go already!* Dana blushed nearly as dark as her hair.
*Speaking of the heatsinks, we overnighted a full run with every Mass Fabricator. We can do the swap-out with every Laser today or any time that's convenient,* Zanthus added. *And stop teasing my Overlord, John, that's my job as Head Minion.*
*I hate you all,* Dana grumbled.
Rachel chuckled lightly. She wasn't eating any breakfast food, having gotten a full serving of spunk from John's quad first thing that morning. *Let's get back on track. A call to the Vice Admiral to ascertain what's what is first priority for John. Dana, how long will the heatsink replacement take? And Alyssa, how far is it from here to Oceanus? Our reservation will be ready tomorrow afternoon and we might as well maximize the length of our stay.*
Alyssa did the Astro-Nav calculus purely in her head. The wonders of a brain post-Change. *If we leave Olympus between dinner and bedtime, we'll arrive at Oceanus right on time if not a little early,* the Matriarch replied a couple seconds later.
*And if we press-gang the Marines and my team into helping, then all of us working together could manage the refit in under 5 hours,* Dana added.
*Then all of you get started on that while I go call Charles after we finish eating,* John decided. *Anything else?*
*Let me check in with Lauren before we leave, I got a good feeling about her intentions after our lunch date yesterday,* Alyssa chimed in.
*And precisely which role will she fulfill on the crew if she does join instead of just agreeing to the network?* John posed to his Matriarch.
*Besides open mouth, tight ass, and fertile womb, you mean?* Alyssa teased before getting a solemn expression. *I figure we can play to her strengths. She's worked in sales her whole life, her rent money sometimes came down to convincing clients at the Emporium to pay that little extra. She's very persuasive. And on paper, we're independent traders. The way I see it, she's a perfect chance to experiment with gifting some kind of mind control. We'll call her our Negotiator and she'll use her psychic influence to make everyone she talks to see things our way.*
John hummed in thought as he processed the blonde's thoughts. *That actually sounds like a good idea. If I can give Rachel Healing, no reason I shouldn't be able to give anyone a power similar to the obedience compulsion built into the Connection. Probably uses the same runes, not that I know which ones yet. All this, of course, assuming Lauren is willing to pull up stakes and run away with us.*
*Fingers crossed,* Jade thought, wishing with all her heart that Lauren would see the light and agree to become her Master's mate.
They finished eating, cleaned up, then all went to their rooms to change into clothes appropriate for a day of cracking open maintenance panels and changing ship parts. John finished changing before Jonah or Alyssa. He went to the console built into the wall of his quarters and pulled up Charles' comm code, figuring he'd do the call sooner rather than later.
Vice Admiral Charles Harris appeared on the vid-screen. "Morning, John. What do you need?" his old CO asked, looking very tired as seemed to be the new normal recently.
"I don't only call you when I need something, Charles," John said a tad stiffly. "But since you asked, I want to know what the deal is after Devereux promoted me on camera last night. I thought I was just getting a clearance bump and staying officially retired. Was there a miscommunication somewhere or something?"
"I've been trying to work that out myself, actually," Charles sighed. "Lynette rather threw the cat among the pigeons with that little stunt. I'm reviewing all the paperwork that went into your clearance upgrade to see if I missed something. Until I find some hidden clause or the good Admiral reveals what the hell she was thinking, assume that you're still just a 'consultant' as per usual."
"Fair enough," John nodded, ordering his thoughts. He was about to bring up the Kintark dropship when he heard the closet door open behind him. Charles' jaw dropped on the screen.
*Do I want to turn around and see whatever you did?* John sent to Alyssa, definitely the more likely candidate than Jonah for Charles looking like he'd just found religion.
"John, I need your opinion. Should I wear the red bikini or the white on our first day at Oceanus?" Alyssa asked him out loud. "Oh, hi Charles, didn't see you there!"
John looked over his shoulder, and appreciated the view of a delightfully nude Alyssa. She was holding up two hangers in either hand, letting the two differently colored skimpy bikinis hang in the air next to her luscious curves.
"I'd go with the white," he said casually. *Why the free show?* he asked with Telepathy.
*Free sampler of what he'd be getting if he caves and agrees to join the crew. Plus, he'll be so distracted you can name your price for the dropship. And I really did want to know which color you wanted me wearing,* Alyssa replied, not repentant in the slightest. "Thank you, John!" she beamed with her physical voice, before turning and offering an equally stunning view of her from the back as she returned to the closet.
John turned back to Charles, who seemed to have temporarily lost executive functioning. "Anyway, Charles, I nabbed a Kintark dropship during the Port Medea attack and I need to get rid of it. Any interest in buying it for R&D to play with?" John asked.
"Right, sure," Charles said in a daze.
"20 mil sound okay?" John asked, doubling the price he'd originally been planning to pitch.
"Right, sure," Charles repeated, clearly not really listening.
"I'll just leave it in the Docking Bay, then, you can transfer the credits anytime," John added.
"Right, sure."
"Goodbye, Charles."
"Right, sure."
*You broke him,* John chuckled as he ended the call.
*Does that mean I get a reward or a spanking, though?* Alyssa countered, coming out the closet along with Jonah, already changed into work clothes.
*Undecided, I'll let you know tonight,* John thought. *Now, time to do some work.*
John, Jonah, and Alyssa all met up with the other Angels and the Ashanath crew and exited the airlock. John accessed the automated maintenance gantries in the Docking Bay and led everyone up to the topdeck of the Invictus. Dana coached everyone through the process of removing the original Terran heatsink from a Laser and replacing it with the new Kintark example. Then everyone grabbed a few from the crates they'd lugged up with them and got to work. By the time they were all sweaty and had finished the job, John had trouble deciding whether the Beam Lasers or the Lasers on the underside had been more annoying to do. The former had needed over 20 replacements for each of the 6 Beams, but gravity had been a factor that made things complicated with the Gatling Lasers and Laser Cannons not on the topdeck. The fact none of them were willing to risk doing psionics on camera meant they had to do it all the mundane way, too.
*I'm too tired to cook,* Jonah groaned. *Also, I could murder a tall boy right now,* he added after taking the last gulp from his canteen of water.
John made plans. *Shower up, then there's a decent gastropub in the dining complex on Olympus. We can enjoy someone else's food and drink for lunch while we recover from this little chore.*
2 hours later, they returned to the Invictus in a decidedly less grouchy, slightly tipsier mood.
*That was some real nice beer. And who knew a bar could pull off decent tapas?* Calara chuckled, feeling ebullient after sampling a pint each from 4 different microbrews over the course of the meal.
They went to the Lounge to just relax on the couches for a bit. Rachel got 'dessert' from John, now that they had privacy. Around 1500, Alyssa remembered to check in on Lauren.
"Hi, Alyssa," the other blonde replied once she answered the call. Alyssa noted that she appeared to be in her apartment.
"Hey, Lauren! So, enjoying your day off?" Alyssa asked in a friendly manner.
"Actually, I've been a bit busy today," Lauren said, a nervous grin on her face.
"Oh, why's that?" Alyssa asked, curious.
"Oh, God, I did this all out of order. I definitely should have checked with you guys first. But I made my decision. I've spent the day sending in my resignation and breaking the lease on my place. I'm now unemployed and homeless, but I was hoping I had a new job and place to live lined up with you guys?" Lauren said in a nervous rush.
Alyssa felt a smile curl her lips. *I knew I'd gotten to her yesterday!* she crowed to the chorus. "Head to the nearest starport, we'll pick you up right away!"
John got up and went to peer over Alyssa's shoulder. "Lauren, are you sure about this? You know all the strings attached to being part of my crew," John asked, worried the young woman was acting impulsively.
Lauren hit him with a look. "John, I never expected to amount to much. I kinda resigned myself to having an ordinary childhood, living an ordinary life, and dying an ordinary death. I wasn't happy about it, but I accepted it. Then you and all the others swept into my life and made it extraordinary. I won't deny a little part of me is scared about those 'strings'. But it feels like a good kind of scared. If the choice comes down to being a shopgirl or being an Angel, I know which one I'd prefer… if you'll have me."
John saw that Lauren's mind was made up. He got a pleased grin. "I'll pick you up myself. See you soon, Lauren."
Lauren beamed and then hung up on them.
*Another Lioness joins the pride, then,* Alyssa thought smugly.
*I thought it was an Angel to the chorus,* Jade chimed in jokingly.
*Or was it wife to the harem?* Calara joined in.
*Member of the independent trader's crew, remember?* Dana added on.
*Semantics,* John rolled his eyes. *All different ways of saying the same thing. Now let's go get our new recruit, shall we?*
A quick trip in the Raptor down to Gravitus, and within an hour Lauren was moved into her own room on Deck 2. She seemed a bit overawed at being aboard a military ship, even decommissioned. John personally took her on a tour of the Invictus, culminating in the Lounge where he sat her down on the couches while the crew cooked dinner.
"You okay?" John asked, holding Lauren's hand but being no more familiar than that.
"Still adjusting to the thought that I'm about to literally be in bed with the alien sex god," Lauren chuckled. "And I thought being the quarterback's girl back in school would be the highlight of my love life."
"You don't have to join us that way unless you want to, Lauren. You can still go through the Change and all that entails without necessarily signing up for my harem," John assured her.
"I know, Alyssa was very informative yesterday," Lauren chuckled. "I mean, I'm not bi, but supposedly you can change that, so there's all that fun stuff with Alyssa and the other girls to look forward to. But I've been crushing on you and Jonah almost since that first visit to the Arms Emporium. There's a bit more baggage to being with either of you than I ever expected, true, but it still feels worth it to be with you. And the thought of being sandwiched between you two hunks is rather exciting, I have to say."
"Don't forget Zanthus, and we'll in all likelihood recruit more male Angels at some point," John told her, deciding to tease the new girl.
Lauren gave a blushing giggle. Then she set her shoulders, slid down to the floor, and looked up at John from between his legs. "I'm ready," she said, looking him straight in the eye.
John reached for his zip. He tucked the comatose, cum-swollen body of Lauren into the bed in his quarters about 10 minutes later. He made the Connection, savoring the feel of another Angel in his network.
*Already moving on to the next girl? Should I be insulted?* Rachel needled with good humor once they were all seated at the dining table.
*These things happen when they happen. Though maybe we should slow down a bit in terms of recruitment,* John suggested.
*Veto,* Jonah replied immediately.
*Seconded,* Alyssa followed right after.
*It's in our best interest to keep expanding the network, and name any real cons or disadvantages to expanding the harem,* Lirrash posed to John.
*Maybe because I already have a headache trying to think up enough baby names?* John joked. *Really, though, I don't mind getting new lovers. Just feels indecent somehow that this is our life.*
*Well, there is the whole issue of a galaxy full of hostile empires under the Devourer's thrall to balance out the sexual decadence of Progenitor life,* Calara pointed out wryly.
*Well, when you put it that way,* John grinned ruefully.
They finished the meal, John recharging with some glasses of water and deciding that Rachel deserved a proper 'introduction' to the crew. Most of the Angels went eagerly to the bedroom, Alyssa and Jonah going up to the Bridge to get them underway to Oceanus. Jonah had pulled them out of their Docking Bay and had the Invictus for the Nav-Beacon when the comms interface alerted him to a call from an unknown number. Curious, Jonah put it through. A lean middle-aged man appeared on the vid-screen, dressed in business formal. "This is Jonah Bennings on the Invictus. May I ask why you're calling?" the XO said politely.
"Hello, my name is Peter Koeman. I was hoping to speak to Commander John Blake," the man said with an easy, practiced grin.
"Regarding?" Jonah checked.
"I'd really rather discuss it with him directly. Suffice to say I owe him a debt of gratitude I hope to repay," Koeman replied.
Jonah debated calling John up to the Bridge, but a quick check of the chorus let the Patriarch know the Progenitor was having far too much fun watching the growing orgy to merit the distraction. "I'm afraid John's already retired for the evening. I'll make sure he gets the message and calls you back at earliest convenience, though."
Oddly, there was a flash of fear in Koeman's eyes, but it was gone so fast Jonah wondered if he'd imagined it. "Very well then. I'll be waiting most eagerly to speak with him." With that, Koeman hung up.
*Wonder what that was about,* Alyssa hummed in thought as Jonah finished getting them out of Alpha Centauri's gravity well. She activated the Tachyon Drive, sending them into her plotted course through the Terran Core Worlds to Oceanus.
Jonah rechecked the comm code Koeman had used. An idea popped into his head. *Huh, he lives out in the Outer Rim. Maybe he's close with one of the slaves we rescued from the pirates and Kirrix.*
*Oh, that's nice that he wants to pay John back. But you just know he'll refuse politely and say he was just 'doing the right thing',* Alyssa giggled.
*That sounds like John,* Jonah nodded with fondness. *Now, how about we join the bacchanal going on downstairs?*
*Race you!* Alyssa said brightly, dashing for the grav-tubes.
A goodly while later, John formed the psychic invisibility cloak that Dana had modified, the redhead double-checking he'd gotten all the runes right, and then they all went to sleep in a cuddle pile.
Barely 2 hours later, most of the crew were jerked awake by a piercingly loud alarm.
"BWOOP! BWOOP! BWOOP!"
*Interdiction in the Core Worlds? What the actual fuck?!* Jonah thought, even as he turned on Psychic Alacrity and rushed to get dressed and up to the Bridge.
*What do we do? John's still stuck in the Astral Dream!* Jade wondered, feeling a bit lost at a dangerous situation without her master there to tell her what to do.
*We make him proud for when he wakes up, that's what!* Alyssa projected, leading the charge after the blurring Jonah as everyone got out of bed and went to get to the Command Deck.
The majority of the crew reached their stations and surveyed the Tactical Map, absorbing details with their enhanced minds as fast as possible. Jonah had already taken pilot's control and was dodging the Laser fire from the ship that had Interdicted them.
*That looks like a T-Fed naval ship, but that's not a configuration I recognize,* Calara supplied, even as she activated the guns. The enemy ship was odd, somehow. Cruiser-class in size, but the layout was off. She didn't have time to figure out why in the heat of combat, but the Latina just knew that this wasn't a normal ship design.
*I'm trying to hail them, but I keep getting rejected almost as fast as I can make the call. They don't seem interested in talking, whoever they are,* Lirrash informed them all.
The Interdiction alarm had been turned off by Jonah, but a different one soon rang out through the Bridge.
*That's the cyber alarm! They're hacking us!* Dana thought in surprise. She checked how her upgraded firewalls were faring and blinked before starting to type furiously. *Holy shit, they're good! I'm playing all the defense I can but they already got pretty deep into our systems!*
*Calara, light the bastards up!* Jonah barked, swiveling the Invictus around so their Beams were facing the attacking ship.
Calara pulled the triggers, and had to blink spots out of her vision as the hologram seared her retinas. The bright orange Beams to fire from the Invictus were over twice as bright as the last time she'd fired them.
*Silver lining, we're getting a field test on the Kintark heatsinks. Muting glare,* Dana thought distractedly, most of her attention on trying to stop the Invictus from getting slaved. There was something eerie about how fast whatever hacker was on the other side was meeting her counters. They were keeping up with her, and she was literally typing different code with each hand. That should be impossible for a baseline Terran or most any other sapient species.
Jonah and Calara got into the groove, working in sync to maximize the Invictus' output as they dodged and fired back at the odd Cruiser. Dana wasn't the only one to notice how the enemy seemed to have unnaturally fast reaction times that rivaled or even surpassed their own. But they were still John's Angels and they broke the enemy Shields before Calara fired the Mass Drivers. The hyperwarp shells impacted, blowing a huge hole in the side of the enemy ship and also taking out the Fire Control Tower.
*They're toothless,* Calara thought with satisfaction.
*Which might explain why they're RAMMING US!* Alyssa thought with wide eyes as she processed the incredible sight of the Cruiser jumping to speed as if they'd disabled the Engine safeties and was on collision course for the Invictus.
*Seriously, what the fuck is going on here?!* Zanthus thought, clutching the back of Dana's seat as he observed the whole episode. Jonah pulled a desperate move and just managed to slip past the enemy Cruiser, though the whole ship shuddered as the two superstructures scraped against each other for a few seconds. Calara kept her cool and fired every Laser they had towards the enemy Engines. Even with her aim, it was more luck than skill that she clipped a fuel line. Supercooled liquid helium leaked into space as the attacking ship lost momentum as they bled fuel.
*They're hailing us! This ought to be–* Lirrash thought before a screeching sound went off from the intercom. A beat later, the enemy ship inexplicably went up in a Power Core explosion. With their Shields in the single digits, the Invictus barely weathered the storm unscathed.
The crew all just sat in shock as a calm stillness settled after the frenetic episode they'd just endured.
*What just happened? Seriously, anyone got an answer to that?* Rachel posed to them all.
Dana's heart was in her mouth. She'd had a thought to explain all the strangeness of the enemy ship's behavior and skill. A quick analysis of the enemy's last transmission before the sudden self-destruct confirmed her guess. *That screech was binary. Translation: accursed Terrans, death to you all.*
*Oh, motherfuckering idiots! All the shit going down in the League right now and R&D chooses NOW to restart AI research?!* Jonah all but snarled.
*That's exactly why they did it, probably,* Calara thought bleakly. *Whether it was an order from the Progenitor to Lynton or some other member of High Command thought it was smart, the losses in the Kintark conflict are unsustainable. The idea of an AI to remotely-pilot ships and prevent casualties would sound appealing given the circumstances.*
*Literally every single attempt to reverse-engineer Nexus goes to shit, though! And look what just happened! Maybe it wasn't a specific attack on John and the crew, but an AI-controlled ship still just Interdicted and attacked a friendly vessel in Terran space! Surely that's a big fucking clue that they should stop what they're doing!* Alyssa thought, more than a little freaked out at how close they'd all just come to dying.
*We're being hailed,* Lirrash alerted them. *The Battleship Loki… it's coming from in system.*
Jade had been watching the Tactical Map the whole time. *The Nexus ship Interdicted us and attacked us at the edge of Beta Persei. A small fleet has been inbound from some kind of base on the first orbital path since halfway through the fight.*
*Lirrash, put them through,* Jonah ordered, John's second-in-command and the ranking officer among them.
The vid-screen came alive to show an older gentleman with glasses in Terran Federation naval uniform. The rank insignia on his breast indicated he was a Vice Admiral like Charles. "This is Vice Admiral Von Brandt on the Battleship Loki. Please identify, Assault Cruiser."
"XO Jonah Bennings on the Invictus," Jonah said, more than a little pissed. "Come to clean up your pet AI's mess?"
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. My sincerest apologies that we could not intervene in that pirate attack just now," Von Brandt said flatly, not sounding apologetic in the slightest.
"Pirate attack," Jonah said, amazed at the officer's balls in trying to sell that crock.
"Yes, sadly a local gang managed to commandeer an experimental ship. How tragic that you were victims of their pillaging, but congratulations on surviving against them. With respect, though, I think it best if you proceed on your way. My crew and I will handle all salvage operations of the ship," Von Brandt said, not batting an eye at so blatantly lying to them.
*Jonah, he's a Vice Admiral. John's just a Commodore, and not even a proper one. Do as he says or we'll get be in deep shit,* Calara advised the Patriarch.
Jonah had to try very hard not to cuss out Von Brandt and suggest he do several anatomically improbable activities. "Very well, Vice Admiral," he grit out before having Lirrash end the hail. He sullenly piloted the Invictus out the gravity well, noting the Loki was already launching dropships to collect the surviving debris from the Nexus ship. Alyssa sent them into hyperwarp back on their route to Oceanus.
*Where is everyone?* John thought sleepily in the chorus, waking from his Astral Dream just after the nick of time.
*Johnny boy, you are not going to believe what just happened to us,* Jonah sighed.
They all returned to the master quarters, and John listened in mounting horror as the crew explained how they'd survived an attack by an AI-piloted Cruiser.
*I can't decide which would be worse, if this is another move by Lynton and thus the rival Progenitor or if R&D is really that stupid,* John finally sighed once he'd given everyone a hug and kiss to comfort both them and himself.
*If it's the latter, this might be enough to convince Von Brandt or whoever in High Command told him to restart the Nexus project to decide it's better off to stop. If the former, though, Lynton will order Von Brandt to continue as usual. Which means there's every chance that this iteration of Nexus will take over the base in Beta Persei and make a fleet like the first one did on Ganymede all those centuries ago,* Calara thought glumly.
*Can I just get this off my chest? We're all superhuman, but that thing was inhuman. I never felt so outclassed ever since finishing the Change,* Dana said, actually starting to tremble. *I didn't want to worry you guys, but we came this close to having our oxygen flushed and suffocating during the hack. If I wasn't me, smart even for an Angel, Nexus could have killed us with nothing but programming.*
John pulled Dana into his lap and held her tight. *I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you all and you had to do it alone. But I also could not be prouder of how you all handled yourselves. And harsh as this may sound, this might have been a necessary slice of humble pie. We're good, and set to get better, but we're not invincible. There's still enemies out there who can wipe us out. Our job is to get that number down to 0 as fast as we can manage.*
There was a moment of quiet as they all considered John's words.
*Now, I don't think I can go back to sleep, but you all probably should. I'll write up the AAR and check in with the crew on Deck 4, they must be pretty confused and worried. I love you all, my Angels,* John thought tenderly.
The crew all piled into the bed, trying to get comfortable. John projected comforting feelings as best he could into the chorus, then went to the grav-tubes. After briefing the Ashanath crew on what happened, John went up to his Ready Room. It felt a bit odd to write an AAR based on secondhand accounts instead of firsthand experience, but he did his best. When he was finished, John just sat in his chair for a while, thinking deep thoughts. Despite his own words, part of him had started taking it for granted that he and his Angels could come out of any fight on top. The double blow of this AI attack getting so down to the wire and the fact he hadn't been able to contribute rattled him.
Before John knew it, it was the morning. He went to cook a big breakfast and carried it all with Telekinesis on trays to their bedroom. *Figured you all deserved a lie-in and treat,* John explained once everyone had rubbed the sleep from their eyes. *Speaking of which, Jade, feel like nursing everyone this morning?*
Between John's very best culinary efforts and the soothing effects of a taste of his cum, his Angels were all smiles by the time they'd finished. Most of them decided to go down to the Gym or Firing Range to train, a fire lit under them to improve their skills. Dana decided to spend the day doubling down their cybersecurity to hell and back. Zanthus would lead the Engineers for the day. John stuck in their room, waiting patiently for Lauren to wake from her first dose.
The young blonde and newest recruit opened her eyes. She smiled when she saw John right there next to her in bed. "What are you doing, John?" she asked.
"Looking at you," he answered honestly.
"How do you make that sweet instead of creepy?" Lauren chuckled.
"It's a gift," John managed to grin.
John decided he could explain everything that had happened overnight when Lauren woke from her second dose. He talked with her a bit and got her to feed from him soon enough. Even a second orgasm for the morning wasn't enough to fully lift the somber mood that had settled in John's heart. Tucking in Lauren to sleep off her meal, John went up to his Ready Room again. He called Charles.
"What is it this time?" were the first words out of Charles' mouth. He seemed almost in pain as he glared at John through the vid-screen.
John held his patience by the skin of his teeth. "The Invictus was Interdicted at Beta Persei and attacked by what we suspect was an AI-piloted Cruiser. Submitting my AAR now." John uploaded the proper file.
Charles' face paled. "Please be joking," he breathed.
"I don't suppose you know a Vice Admiral Von Brandt? He showed up right after the attack and fed us some bull on the ship being commandeered by pirates," John said.
"He's a bigshot in R&D. Got assigned some huge, top-secret project a few months ago… by Admiral Lynton. Christ on a crutch," Charles sighed, looking almost ready to cry in sheer frustration. "That means what I think it means, doesn't it?"
"Probably," John said grimly. "It's smart, attacking from without and within simultaneously."
"They don't pay me enough to deal with this shit," Charles groaned, rubbing his temples.
"Is there anything you can do about Von Brandt?" John asked gently, realizing his old friend was on the brink.
"I could call the Fleet Admiral himself, but odds are he wouldn't take my call. As it is, I can harass all my friends in High Command and fellow Vice Admirals with this AAR and remind them how dangerous messing with AI is. But if Lynton is dead set on backing the project, that's that," Charles said, sounding oh so tired and nearly hopeless.
John was tempted to rethink his position to not expose himself and his crew to High Command and oust Lynton as a traitor. But much as it pained him to see Charles so stressed, his lovers' safety came first. Charles wasn't one. "Let me know how it goes. Bye, Charles," John said, ending the call there.
John occupied himself with joining his crew in training for a few hours. He had a great spar with Calara and a few good psychic duels with Alyssa and Lirrash. When Lauren woke up, John focused on getting to know her and making her feel welcome. He broke the news about the attack to her gently, and Lauren seemed more impressed that they'd fought off an AI than worried about the near-miss. John found such optimism oddly refreshing.
At 1900, just after a filling dinner, the crew went up to the Bridge in anticipation of their arrival at Oceanus. They pulled out of hyperwarp into the right system, Jonah guided them towards the oceanic resort planet on the fourth orbital path.
*Fuck, how'd they afford a decommissioned Battleship?* Dana thought, observing the ship that dwarfed their own in the private defense fleet guarding Oceanus.
*Most of super-rich will go to any lengths to protect their interests,* Rachel thought, an old pain echoing in her words.
Wanting to dig into that, but sensing his Medical Officer would just clam up, John focused on the Invictus. They accepted a hail from the defense fleet, confirming their reservation. A flightpath to the Tethys resort was helpfully provided. They'd just passed the defense fleet when they got another call. Felicity appeared on the vid-screen.
"Welcome to Oceanus, Mr. Blake! Tethys is fully prepared to receive you! Are there any questions you have for me before you begin your vacation?" the Oceanus employee asked with a broad grin.
"Hi, Felicity. I ordered some equipment shipped here. Did you all get it?" John asked, thinking of his upcoming lessons with Yamamoto. He'd contacted his new sword tutor earlier and set up an aggressive lesson plan over the next 2 weeks so John could get proficient with a blade as soon as feasible.
"Indeed, I even took the liberty of having it installed in one of the dojos in the resort. I hope that wasn't overstepping my bounds," Felicity answered, her New Eden accent eloquent and precise.
"That's perfect, actually. Well, that's all I wanted to know. Thank you for all your help in setting this up," John grinned at the pretty woman.
"We hope you enjoy your stay! And thank you again for choosing Oceanus, where dreams become reality!" Felicity gave the company tagline before ending the call.
*She was cute,* Alyssa thought leadingly.
*She was plastic, not sure how the Change would react to all those fillers and implants,* Jonah snorted.
*Purist,* John teased his Patriarch, though he tended to agree that women who had work done were actually less attractive, ironically.
They flew down through the atmosphere, entering a comms blackout. Supposedly it was to enforce the illusion that no troubles from the outside world could reach you on Oceanus. Jonah led them to their personal island, where it was already dark. There'd be a bit of jetlag as they adjusted from Terran Naval Time to the local day/night cycle. They landed in the private hangar attached to the island.
John stood. *Well, let's go see our new home for the next 2 weeks!*
They'd all packed duffle bags or small suitcases just to have some clothes on hand. There was no need for moving their whole wardrobes into the resort when everything would be within easy reach back on the Invictus anyway. They stopped to meet up with the Marines and Engineers, who of course would be joining them in having a relaxing vacation. With all 27 members of his crew behind him, John led everyone out the airlock.
Even inside the hangar, the smell of the sea permeated the air. They walked across the dull Titanium floor to the exit, and from there through a short path through an artfully maintained rainforest. They reached the end of the path and got their first proper look at the Tethys resort.
*Holy– this place is a palace!* Calara gaped as she looked at the expansive compound. The style was reminiscent of a Roman villa, with a few more modern touches that combined for a lovely effect.
John grinned, recalling all the features of the resort from memory. *Only the best for my Angels. It's got everything. Private beach, a dock with our own yacht, indoor and outdoor pools, a personal spa, fully equipped gym, there's even a game room and an underground aquarium that looks out into the ocean. More than enough rooms for everyone, too, even though we really only need 3 what with our group relationships.*
*Any staff to worry about?* Primus asked, the Ashanath military Leader's first thought always of their personal security.
*All top-of-the-line robots. They'll do all the cooking and cleaning and other chores while we just focus on having fun!* John answered.
*Great, so we can be naked the whole vacation without flashing anyone is what I'm hearing,* Dana practically cackled.
*If that's what you want, honey,* John agreed easily.
The Progenitor and his network all entered the Tethys resort and began to explore. Rupert was the 'head' robot, and featured a sophisticated VI to carry convincing conversations and dialogue with them while coordinating the 'dumber' bots. John and his lovers all took the master suite, naturally, while the Engineers and Marines found their own spacious rooms suitable for them.
*I feel like I'll sell my soul into debt just touching some of this stuff,* Lauren admitted. She was practicing very hard with her newly gifted Telepathy, trying to get in the habit of addressing the chorus instead of using her physical voice.
Rachel reached out a comforting hand on the even newer Angel's shoulder. *For whatever worth this will have coming from a girl raised in a trillionaire's household, it's just stuff, Lauren. Whether it came from a luxury showroom or a garage sale, it all is meant to be used and enjoyed. So prop your feet on the furniture and try to forget how overpriced it is compared to what you're used to.*
*I imagine you had the opposite problem when you first left home,* Alyssa commented to Rachel.
*At first I was amazed how 'cheap' most everything was, and then appalled to learn how little the average worker gets paid given the amount of effort and time they put into their job,* Rachel nodded to the Matriarch. *When even my morning coffee started to feel like splurging, I almost caved and ran back to Daddy in defeat. But I stuck it out, and how lucky I did, for it led to my life with you all!*
*Funny how things work out,* John grinned. He'd found the gym and was investigating the dojo that seemed to have been turned into his training room. Zanthus was with him and speed-reading all the instruction manuals for the equipment that had been piled in the corner.
*This is a very interesting set-up, I'm surprised that I haven't heard of it before,* the Assistant Engineer commented. *In essence, you'll put on these wristbands, belt, and anklets, Yamamoto doing the same on his end. The hyper-pulse generator will set up a real-time connection between your equipment and his. Then you'll remotely control a droid on his end while he controls this one here. In other words, you two will be able to fight and train together even though you're in different systems. The holosuite is purely cosmetic, but will aid with immersion.*
*The fact all this gear cost over 300 thou probably explains why it's not more popular,* John thought dryly.
When they'd all familiarized themselves with the layout of the resort, John proposed they all go for a night swim to round out the day before bed. The group got in their swimsuits (those who decided not to just skinny-dip) and went down the marked path to their expansive, pristine beach. Alyssa and Dana stuck to the shallows, still learning how to swim after spending all their lives in an asteroid colony where even baths were a luxury. The rest of them either jumped into the waves laughing or frolicked on the beach.
Pleasantly tired, wet, and having had a lot of fun, they all eventually made it back to the resort to shower and then call it a night.
A New Breed
John packed his folded clothes into his duffle, noting the deep tan his skin had acquired. He'd already had a bronze complexion, but it had visibly darkened over the course of the vacation.
The last 13 days had been heavenly. John had spent a solid 6 hours each day in hard training with Yamamoto, but he still had time to play on the beach or have a vigorous lovemaking session or even just chill out with each of his Angels.
Even though the whole point of this trip was to relax, they'd still been highly productive. They couldn't seem to help themselves, John having a very strong work ethic and the Change probably passing it on to each of them subconsciously.
John had learned the hard way that Yamamoto was a strict taskmaster. The man with Japanese ancestry expected complete perfection and pointed out every single flaw critically when John tried to meet those impossible standards. John didn't dream apart from the Astral thing, but he swore that he'd heard "You are dead. Again," enough times that he'd probably hear it in his sleep if he were Terran. Though while it was extremely demoralizing to repeatedly have his murder simulated, John couldn't deny that Yamamoto's methods got results. John had gone from a rank amateur at swinging a sword to using advanced footwork and chaining his movements in elaborate kata that held Yamamoto off for over a minute at a time in only 2 weeks. His tutor never gave him credit for his progress, but there was a subtle respect growing with each session. John also wouldn't deny that he had developed a little crush on the man, but he figured his chances were even less than they'd been with Charles. Yamamoto didn't talk about himself, and everything about him screamed 'loner' and emotional unavailability. Still, John could admire the older man's six pack each time they spared shirtless in the simulation.
Alyssa had taken it upon herself to be Rachel and Lauren's coach in all things combat. In between fun-time activities, she put them through the ringer in the Firing Range and the Gym. Rachel couldn't exactly practice her Healing power, but Alyssa helped the doctor go through Soul Stretching and all the meditative exercises to work the energy system Lirrash had taught them. Lauren had it easier with psychic practice, working to make her Influence as she named it more effective. Given all her test subjects were already psychic and could actively resist her attempts at mind control, she had her work cut out for her. Even so, with a daily load from John to increase her reserves and plenty of practice, Lauren was able to make Jonah do a cartwheel when she caught him by surprise. They wouldn't know how much more effective she'd be against non-psychics until they left Oceanus and got into a scenario that needed her intervention, but best to be prepared.
Jonah and Calara, being the most physically active of the Angels, had made full use of the gym and had many sparring sessions. Between Calara's Prescience and Jonah's ability to use Psychic Strength and Alacrity, their fights looked like something out of a martial arts holo. The deaged spacer could move so fast he blurred or punch through walls, and the Latina still managed to stay 2 steps ahead of him as well as fully utilizing her greater flexibility. The use of a 'winner tops' system kept them both motivated to give their best.
Dana, claiming working on 'her' ship was its own vacation, had gone nuts with Zanthus and the Engineers in rolling out better equipment. Borrowing John, Alyssa, or Lirrash to psychically shape the necessary Alyssium, Dana managed to roll out a Progenitor Tachyon Drive to replace their already top-tier Ashanath Tachyon Drive, new Punisher Railguns a good order of magnitude more powerful than the XR75 model, and Paragon Armor that outperformed the Phalanx suits in every way. On top of those projects, she improved all the supplementary systems like the Oxygen Filters, Water Purifier, and made the cleaning robots practically individual VIs with all the software upgrades. She could have managed to do even more, but her Minions insisted the Grand Engineering Overlord report to mealtimes and get enough sleep and all that nonsense.
Jade, who in a way was the whole reason they were at an ocean resort as opposed to any other vacation, had the time of her life cutting loose in the ocean. She also got a lot of practice with her Shapeshifting as she tried out all the new forms and shapes she spied while meeting the local marine wildlife. She took off after breakfast every morning to explore the seas around the island, and came back by dinner every evening with the biggest smile on her face.
Other than training and lounging and sex, there had been a few other memorable moments and experiences in the resort. Everyone had gathered in the home theater to watch the news feature on the award ceremony. It got a primetime slot, and John watched as Jehanna masterfully presented all the footage, gave insightful commentary, and otherwise maximized the impact of the 'Lions of the Federation' to the public. Lirrash, Zanthus, Rachel, and Lauren all reached the threshold of trust to bond with every other Angel in the harem and fully join the chorus. Maria, Calara's mother, called to check in and congratulate her little girl on getting a special-issue medal.
Perhaps the most memorable thing, though, was Rachel's presentation. Like Dana, she'd spent some time working rather than relaxing and had spent hours in the Medical Bay when not training or in leisurely pursuits. She'd taken DNA samples and scans from all of them and done in-depth analysis on their physiology and other medical data. On the evening before they were set to leave, she gathered them all in the Briefing Room on the Invictus.
"We're all genetically engineered lifeforms," is how the doctor had started the meeting. She broke down in simple terms how John's DNA showed signs of being built from the ground up, though she indicated there were at least two sets of 'fingerprints' on his genetic code. She couldn't say who they belonged to, but she did point out that where his Progenitor Y chromosome had met his mother's Terran X chromosome, a number of random mutations had happened. She hypothesized that John's bisexuality was a random fluke from the first Progenitor conceived with a female not from a Thrall race. She went on to show how all the rest of them also had two sets of fingerprints, though these were identifiable. One, she was dead certain, was John's own influence, how he'd Changed each of them with his powers on an unconscious level. The other set, which she couldn't help but note was more refined, was probably Mael'nerak's. Combined with publicly available gene data, Rachel had confirmed that both Terrans and Ashanath had been engineered by Mael'nerak. In regards to Jade, she added that the ancient Progenitor had put a lot more work into designing the Nymphs than his other creations. It was subtle but distinct. The brunette hypothesized Mael'nerak had gone the extra mile since the Nymphs had been created in wartime with the Achonin while Ashanath and Terrans had been peacetime efforts.
When she was done boring them with talk of alleles and phenotypes, Rachel dug into what she'd found when analyzing samples of John's precum, his semen, and in-depth scans of his whole reproductive and endocrine systems. John's precum indeed held a narcotic, which Rachel jokingly told them was more addictive than morphine, which heightened the sensitivity of almost every pleasure receptor as well as acting as muscle relaxant and a mild anesthetic. Between that and increased elasticity brought on by the Change, that's why they never felt any pain during sex with John's dangerously large equipment. She said it should be easy enough to synthesize and would make for an excellent gas grenade in pacifying large crowds.
The real prize, though, came at the end.
"I isolated the psychic enzyme that enables the Connection," Rachel had announced, pulling up a particular molecular model. "It's beautiful, really. Synthesis will prove much more complicated to manage than the precum narcotic. I'll have to work with Dana to literally invent the machine to make it possible. But once we manage that, we can start to mass-produce it. John prefers to recruit us with full bellies. Even using Jade's nursing trick, a single load can feed 20 tops by my estimation. But once the production plant is operational, we can start to stockpile the fluid. Just one sip from a vial and any of us can get an active Connection so John can heal us. More importantly, we'll be able to add Maliri by the thousands. John won't have to personally recruit every Maliri in the Regency, they can just get the one dose of the synthetic fluid and he can add them to the network remotely."
"A magic potion to turn anyone who drinks it into an Angel!" Alyssa had cheered.
Oddly enough, the name Potion had stuck in John's mind. The others could laugh, but that's what he decided they'd name the artificial enzyme.
Turning his mind away from memories of the past, however pleasurable or interesting, John zipped his duffle closed, gathered his lovers, and returned to the Invictus, eager to face the future.