Three Square Meals

After Alyssa's alert had chimed that let them all know that they had just entered Grey space, they left the debriefing room and all assembled on the bridge, taking their usual places. Alyssa darted up to the executive officer's station and brought up the sector map with the territorial line between the Terran Federation and the Ashanath Collective clearly marked.

The Invictus had only crossed over the territorial line for a few minutes when Alyssa noticed an incoming long distance hail.

"It's an Ashanath patrol." she said, looking at the transmitters details. "How did they know we were in their territory so quickly?" she wondered curiously.

"The Greys have embedded sensors in asteroids all throughout these border systems." John explained. "Not much gets into their territory without them knowing about it."

He turned to Alyssa. "Put them up on the vid-feed please honey." he asked the beautiful blonde.

Alyssa nodded energetically, eager to see one of the Ashanath for the first time. She pushed a couple of buttons and then a holo-image of their caller filled the screen.

The Ashanath leader was a thin, grey skinned humanoid with an oversized bulbous head. The alien had huge, unblinking black eyes that stared out from the screen unemotionally. It turned its head slightly to the side as it pressed a button off screen, which clearly revealed that the creature had no visible ears.

"This is Leader Linnaeus." the alien's whispery voice said as it echoed around the bridge. It was all the more strange, because the creature's tiny mouth had not moved when it spoke.

"Please identify yourself and state your business in Ashanath Territory." the alien requested politely.

"This is John Blake on the Invictus." John replied in a friendly tone of voice. "I'm here to trade and I'm looking to purchase an upgraded FTL drive and a new power core."

"The Invictus has been identified as a Terran assault cruiser. That is a military vessel is it not JohnBlake?" the Ashanath patrol leader asked in its eerie whisper of a voice.

"Yes, but I'm a civilian. A trader." John replied. "You should have previous records of me trading with the Ashanath Collective in a freighter called the Fool's Gold. I've recently purchased this ship and I'm here to upgrade its systems and don't want any trouble." he said reassuringly.

"You may proceed to Ashana, JohnBlake." the Grey leader confirmed after a momentary pause. "Please do not deviate from this flight path."

The Grey leader nodded to an off-screen compatriot and a couple of seconds later a flashing light on Alyssa's console indicated the digital transfer of the new flight path to their ship. She accepted the new course and a path in orange was clearly displayed on the sector map, showing their route to the Grey's homeworld.

"Thank you Leader Linnaeus." John said magnanimously. "We'll follow your instructions."

The Ashanath leader ended the call abruptly, not bothering with any more pleasantries.

"What did I say?" John said with a frown. "Creepy..." he said with a shudder.

"His mouth never moved when he was speaking!" Dana said with surprise.

"I don't think he blinked once either!" Calara noted.

"Ah he wasn't so bad." Alyssa said with a smile. "It was a 'he', right John?" she asked curiously.

"Actually I have no idea, I've never been able to tell the male and female Greys apart." he admitted. "You'll see when we meet them in person, they all look very much alike."

"How was he able to talk to us without his mouth moving John?" Dana asked, finding the whole species fascinating.

"The Ashanath are psychic. They managed to make machines that are able to read their thought commands, which is how his speech was transmitted to us. It's different when you speak to them in person, they use translation devices." John said, remembering his last trip to Grey territory.

"How long until we reach Ashana?" he asked Alyssa.

"23 hours." Alyssa stated, reading the projections that their Nav-computer had made from the course that they'd been supplied.

"Are you still not going to tell us anything about their homeworld?" Dana asked him, desperate to know more about the strange aliens.

"We're nearly there now." John said with some amusement. "You can wait just one more day to find out!"

"Ugh! That's going to take forever!" Dana groaned with frustration.

"I'm sure we can come up with something to keep you distracted for a day." John laughed. "You haven't been to the pool yet, do you want to come for a swim?"

"I'll pass." Dana said firmly. "Besides, I have plenty of work that will keep me occupied. I have more of those equipping frames to assemble and I need to modify more of the armour for them, as well as upgrade more of the rifles."

"Do you want a hand?" Alyssa volunteered. "It will be like being back at your old workshop." she said with an affectionate smile at her friend.

Dana grinned at her happily and they stood up to leave the bridge.

"How about you two ladies, can I interest you in joining me for a swim?" John asked Calara and Jade.

"Sure, that sounds like fun." the brunette said with a smile. "I haven't got around to trying out the pool yet."

"This one would love to come swimming with you master!" the green skinned girl beamed at him excitedly.

"Ok, let's go then!" John said enthusiastically.

The swimmers joined up with the engineers and they headed down to the lower decks as a group, chatting animatedly. They parted company as they neared the gym, leaving Alyssa and Dana to head into the engineering bay. Dana walked purposefully over to the podium in the centre of the engineering bay and pressed a number of buttons on one of the consoles. Alyssa followed after her, climbing the illuminated steps up to the podium and looking over her friend's shoulder as she worked.

"What are you up to?" she asked curiously.

"Just setting off another run with the mass fabricators." Dana explained. "Once they have forged all the pieces from the schematics I've supplied them, I can assemble the pieces for the next set of equipping frames."

Alyssa nodded and just watched her friend work. A few moments later two of the intricate machines at the far side of the engineering bay powered up, casting an orange glow over that corner of the vast room. The quiet throbbing of the rotating power couplings contrasted with the sharp intermittent squeals of metal being shaped.

Dana pulled her long thick auburn hair back into a pony tail and then glided down the steps to her workbench. She pressed a button on the dimly glowing panel and the workbench lit up, levitating platforms rising on silent anti-grav trays, providing her a multi levelled workspace. Alyssa walked over to one of the nearby weapon crates, lifted the lid and then handed over a stock XR75 to her friend so that she could begin her work.

"Thanks Alyssa!" Dana said with a grin.

"No problem Sparks!" The beautiful blonde said with a fond smile.

Dana wrinkled her nose affectionately at the girl she had known for several years and then turned back to the workbench, to begin methodically disassembling the rifle.

Alyssa leaned against the weapons container and sighed happily as she watched her friend work. The scene provoked strong memories of good times they had spent together when they were back on Karron, chatting excitedly over their plans to leave the mining asteroid.

"We finally did it." Alyssa said wistfully.

"What's that?" Dana said distractedly, her attention on the assault rifle as she separated the outer shell of the barrel to expose the interior components.

"We spent all those years talking about escaping from Karron and now look where we are!" Alyssa said with a big grin on her face.

Dana paused and turned to look at her friend. "To be honest, I'm still trying to adjust to everything that's happened over the last few weeks." she said, shaking her head in amazement.

The redhead turned to look around the engineering bay. "I have all these toys to play with, equipment that I'd only dreamed about before!" she said in disbelief.

"I've gained a bunch of sisters and an amazing man." she grinned happily. "It's like I've been given a loving family and it's filled a part of me that I didn't realise how much I needed."

"Ahh! That's so sweet!" Alyssa said, feeling touched by the heartfelt sentiments and she hopped off the weapons crate to give her friend a warm hug.

Dana held her friend tightly against her and sighed happily. They hugged each other for a while before finally stepping apart.

"I must admit though, I do wonder about a few things." Dana admitted tentatively.

"Like what?" Alyssa replied curiously.

"Well it's obvious that we've changed physically and as Calara pointed out, we're smarter now too, but it all begs the question. Why?"

"What do you mean?" Alyssa said, intrigued.

"Well don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my life here!" Dana said vehemently. "But why have we all gone through this metamorphosis?"

"You look pretty damn hot!" Alyssa said, running her eyes over her friend appreciatively. "And I don't think it's vain to admit I love my makeover too." She said with a grin.

"Yeah that's true of course..." Dana said, touching her hand to the side of her face in a familiar self conscious movement, feeling perfect unblemished skin under her fingertips, rather than the hideous burn scars that had disfigured her previously.

"And I'd have to be the most ungrateful bitch in the galaxy to complain about everything that's happened to me. However I can't help but wondering why?" the redhead said with a perplexed expression on her face.

"You look gorgeous! You're so sexy, I'm having trouble keeping my hands off you right now." Alyssa admitted with a grin. "It makes sense that John's cum would make us physically attractive for him. Well as much as any of this makes any sense!" The beautiful blonde smiled wryly.

"Is it just as simple as that though?" Dana said, with a troubled frown. "Neither you nor I were bisexual before, but now we readily jump into bed with each other." she said, as she fought down growing feelings of arousal.

"You think our personalities might have been changed too?" Alyssa asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Well I never had any experience with men before, but I love it when John takes charge." Dana said shyly. "I never for one minute would have guessed that I was submissive, but I nearly came just seeing him spank you and Calara the other day." she said, blushing cutely.

Alyssa bit her lip, growing increasingly turned on. She shook her head to try and clear her mind of the increasingly lustful thoughts.

"Should we speak to John about it?" she asked curiously. "I don't think he has any answers either, but we did agree to keep everything open between us."

"There's no time like the present!" Dana said with a smile and they headed out of the engineering bay.

John and Calara were in the pool, laughing happily as Jade surged through the water showing off for them. They had all started off swimming lengths, but when Jade had grown her aquamarine coloured fins and began to swim under and around them, Calara had stopped to watch her in wonder. The green skinned alien girl had cavorted around in the pool, leaping out and doing flips for her appreciative audience, who cheered and applauded her aquatic acrobatics. Dana and Alyssa walked into the gym just as the Nymph left the water, curving gracefully through the air before disappearing under the waves with a splash.

"Wow! How did she do that?" Dana said in awe.

"Oh hey you two!" John said with a grin, happy that they had decided to brave the pool area. "Come in and join us, we'll look after you!" he said encouragingly.

Dana and Alyssa glanced at each other and then smiled nervously as they began to disrobe.

"Wait!" Dana gasped with shock as she looked at Alyssa with wide eyes. "This is what I was talking about!" she blurted out, as her overwhelming desire to please John overcame her fear of the water.

"Come in the water and tell me about it." John said with a warm grin, completely oblivious to their recent epiphany.

Alyssa glanced at her friend in surprise, as her normal fear of the water began to recede. They walked over to the shallow edge of the pool and John, Calara and Dana waded through the water to join them.

"You've grown fins!" Dana said in amazement as she noticed the delicate aquamarine fins that had sprouted from Jade's dark green arms.

Jade nodded at her friend excitedly. "They just grew one day when John and I were having fun in the pool." she said, beaming a wide smile.

The Nymph held out her arms so that Dana and Alyssa could reach out to touch the fins curiously.

"She's an absolutely incredible swimmer." John said appreciatively. "Jade can grow gills too and stay under the water for a very long time." he said glancing at the nymph with a twinkle in his eye as he remembered their time in the hot-tub.

"This one knows that you cannot swim." Jade said to the girls from Karron. "Would you like me to show you what it feels like?" she suggested gently.

Alyssa looked at John a little apprehensively, but he smiled at her happily. "Go on honey. You can trust Jade, she's part fish!" he laughed.

Jade laughed gaily and then glided over to Alyssa, leading her slowly out into slightly deeper water.

"Hold on to my shoulders and rest on my back." Jade said softly. "This one promises that you will come to no harm."

Alyssa took a deep breath and then did as the nymph requested, clinging on to her friend's dark green shoulders, feeling the cool skin underneath her hands. Jade ducked slightly lower in the water and then began to swim effortlessly in gentle circles around the pool. After overcoming a moment's fear, the blonde girl laughed with delight as she glided through the water. Jade completed a couple more laps and then swam over to the shallows where everyone else waited.

"Thanks Jade, that was wonderful!" Alyssa said with a beaming smile.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it Alyssa!" The nymph grinned at her friend happily.

She turned towards Dana and offered her a ride too. This was the first time the redhead had been in water anywhere near this deep before and she declined politely, preferring to cling to John instead.

"So what did you want to tell me?" John asked the redhead teenager who was gripping his arm tightly.

"Could we move out of the pool and then chat?" Dana said, looking at the water nervously.

"Ok how about the hot-tub instead?" John suggested.

Considering it the lesser of two evils, Dana nodded her agreement and the group left the pool, heading towards the back area of the gym which housed the roomy hot-tub. John activated the bubbles and then climbed in, followed immediately afterwards by Jade and Calara who giggled excitedly. Alyssa and Dana were more reluctant, but they took John's offered hand and stepped into the warm bubbly water to sit on either side of him. John put his arm around each of them and they cuddled in to him.

John grinned happily as he looked around the hot-tub. He was surrounded by four beautiful nude young women and currently had two of them in his arms. He brushed his hands against the luscious curvy flesh on the side of each girl's boobs, feeling their soft slippery skin under his fingers and hearing contented sighs from each young woman.

"So what did you want to talk about?" he said happily.

Alyssa sat up a bit and turned to face him. She looked pensive for a moment, as though unsure whether to say what was on her mind.

"You know you can tell me anything honey." John said reassuringly. "What's the matter?" he asked curiously.

"Dana and I were talking a few minutes ago and we realised something a bit disconcerting." Alyssa said cautiously.

"That sounds ominous." John said with a concerned expression on his face.

"It's nothing to worry about!" Alyssa said, immediately trying to calm his worries, before glancing at Dana with a frown.

"Let me Alyssa, I think it's even harder for you." The redhead said gently.

She paused for a moment and stopped to think how best to broach the subject.

"John, could you do a little experiment with me for a second." she asked tentatively.

"Sure, whatever you want." John agreed.

"Ok great!" Dana said with a smile. "Now close your eyes... That's good." she said as he followed her instructions.

"I want you to breathe deeply and do that concentration ritual you do, the one that clears your mind." she asked gently.

John took a deep breath and then let the air out, slowly. He repeated the exercise a couple of times until he felt completely centred and calm.

"Ok I'm ready." John replied in his Zen-like state.

"Excellent." Dana said encouragingly. "Now I don't want you to think of anyone specific, just think in generalities." she said mysteriously.

"Firstly, what would you say is your preferred height for a girl." she asked leadingly.

"Well I like it when I can lean down and kiss a girl, as the height difference makes me feel more masculine and protective. Not too short though, because its great being able to look into a girl's eyes when having sex." he said with a smile.

"You're 6'2" so I guess about 5'9" would fit that right?" Dana said, looking around at the other girls with a raised eyebrow.

"Sounds perfect! Just like you ladies." John said with a grin, causing the girls to smile happily.

Sparks frowned, then shook it off and continued.

"What about body types?" she asked curiously.

"Well I've been into personal fitness and training since joining the military, so I've always liked a girl who takes care of herself too. An athletic figure I suppose." John said, still closing his eyes. "I like a girl to be feminine though, so good sized breasts but nothing gigantic." he said with a laugh.

Dana looked around at the other girls to see their reaction as John described their figures exactly. Alyssa met her look and nodded, Calara watched the redhead with wide eyes and Jade sighed happily and gazed up at him with adoration in her eyes. Dana rolled her eyes at the nymph and smiled fondly.

"Ok good answers so far." Dana said warmly. "Thoughts on body hair?" she asked curiously.

"Well I like long hair on a girl's head." John said smiling. "But other than that, I'm not a fan. Get's in the way." John grinned, his eyes still closed. "So no body hair from the neck down!"

"What else?" he asked curiously.

"Ok let's move on to sexual preferences." the redhead said with a smile, as all the other girls in the hot-tub leaned forward eagerly.

"Girls who are straight or bi?" she asked.

"Definitely bi!" John grinned. "I love the female form and watching two beautiful women together is amazing!" he sighed happily.

"Dominant or submissive?" Dana continued.

"I like being a bit dominant, so I prefer submissive girls." John said honestly.

"Confident or shy in the bedroom?" the redhead asked.

"It's definitely more fun if the girl knows what she's doing." John said with certainty. "It's fun when a girl initiates sex and is really up for it."

"Ok bear with me, nearly done!" Dana said sweetly. "Let's talk about personality types. Describe what you love and loathe in a woman."

"I love it when a woman is fun and full of life." John began. "Being warm, friendly and caring are all attractive qualities" he continued thoughtfully. "Oh and I like intelligent women who are confident and capable." he finished.

He paused for a moment, thinking. "Hmm loathe..." he said, trying to think of things he really hated.

"Oh I hate catfighting and jealousy. When I worked at my grandparents restaurant, they had half a dozen waitresses who were always trying to get me involved in their petty spiteful games. I think they thought I was a prize being the owner's grandson, so they were always trying to seduce me." he said with an exasperated sigh.