Ularean's image faded away, the Senior Councillor closing the call abruptly and leaving John and Calara exchanging frowns.
"Any idea what Ularean was referring to with his 'preparations'?" John asked, a pensive expression on his face. "He was doing that same slow blinking mannerism as Talari - I'd love to know what that means."
The Latina shook her head, turning to gaze at her listings of the Ashanath's fleet assets. "I hope they've got something significant planned because they're going to need all the help they can get. I'm just praying they've got orbital platforms or some kind of defensive structures." She met John's gaze and her expression was bleak. "Despite all the delaying tactics with the gravity wells and the minefield, the Drakkar will still get there just before we do."
He reached out to massage her shoulder and said firmly, "You've done an incredible job so far and at least you've given them a chance. That stunt with the minefield wiped out nearly half the Drakkar fleet!"
She looked at him with her big brown eyes, deep concern in those soulful orbs. "We might have evened out the numbers on both sides, but the Ashanath ships are severely outclassed compared to the Drakkar in sheer firepower and resilience. Any Drakkar vessels plated in their Steel/Onyxium armour will be practically invulnerable to Ashanath laser fire and the Ashanath favour Beam Lasers exclusively! I've been running battle simulations for the last ten hours..." her voice faltered and he could plainly see the worry in her tired eyes.
"That bad?" he asked, meeting her troubled gaze.
She nodded and stayed silent, before leaning into him for a hug and letting out a heavy sigh. "I'm not sure we'll be able to save them, John."
John rested his chin on her head, wrapping his arms around her in a comforting embrace. Staring out of the long window behind her, he watched the flashing stars go by, and not for the first time, he wondered if he was making a terrible mistake getting the girls involved in this fight. As much as he wanted to save the Ashanath, there was only so much he was willing to risk.
The door swished open behind them and Alyssa glided into the room, sashaying over to them and placing her slender hands on both their shoulders. She gave them both a radiant smile and turning to Calara, she said kindly, "You're just tired, gorgeous. You've been working too hard and you need perking up."
John raised an eyebrow when he realised what she was implying. "We'll be arriving at Ashana in about thirty minutes; we haven't got time for that!" he protested.
"Thirty-six minutes," she corrected him, winking as she continued, "which is plenty of time!"
Shaking his head, John replied, "I need to work on battle plans with Calara and brief the team for combat! Don't be ridiculous!"
Alyssa's eyes narrowed and her tone turned deadly serious. "I'm not. The girls aren't a regular crew and filling them up does them wonders. It's the equivalent of giving all of us a full night's rest before the eve of battle. What Commander wouldn't want his crew bright and alert before heated combat?"
John faltered as he met her probing blue eyes, surprised by her uncharacteristically blunt and serious tone. Studying the blonde for a moment, he could see the worry behind that unflinching gaze, with Alyssa well aware of both his and Calara's concerns about the upcoming battle.
When she continued her tone was firm as she reasoned, "Besides, if you preload us before combat you'll set up an active psychic connection and can heal us mid-battle. You want to keep the girls safe don't you?"
Unable to counter her logic, he blinked in surprise before looking at her quizzically. "So how are we going to do this?"
She grinned at him, now that he'd come around and replied, "I've got a surprise waiting for you in your Ready Room! You haven't got much time though, so hurry!"
John released Calara from his arms, then gave each of the girls a quick peck on the cheek before darting out the door. Faye watched him with big eyes as he jogged across the Bridge to the Ready Room door, her wings frozen stiff as she tracked his every movement. He gave her a self-conscious wave, but she didn't respond, staring intently at him instead.
Not having time to question her strange behaviour, he strolled into his Ready Room and had covered a half-dozen paces when he stared up at the lights in surprise. They hadn't activated automatically when he entered the room, leaving the room shrouded in faint starlight.
A sensual female voice spoke to him from the darkness. "It's okay, they aren't broken."
Recognising Jade's sultry tones, he glanced around the shadowy room and finally spotted her standing by his high-backed leather chair. "Jade? What's going on?" he asked, walking over to join her.
She moved the chair out from behind the desk, briefly kissing him before purring, "Take off your clothes, Master, and please take a seat. You'll enjoy this."
Wondering what she could possibly have in mind, John shrugged inwardly and decided to just go with it, quickly stripping as the Nymph had requested. The girls obviously had something elaborate planned and he was forced to admit that Alyssa was right - he felt tense and anxious as his quad had already refilled. It was at least six hours since he'd been enthusiastically drained dry by the Nymph and the trio of Terran teenagers in the Launch Bay.
When he was naked, he sat down in the chair and felt Jade's cool hand on his shoulder as she whispered, "Now, we'll just make it a little darker and we can begin."
Someone activated the armour plating over the windows to his Ready Room and as the panels slid down, he was plunged into complete blackness. He blinked for a moment, his senses trying to adjust to being deprived of sight and his sharp hearing picking up the soft throb of music as it gradually increased in volume. There were no vocals, only a sensual, rhythmic beat that sent a shiver down his spine. Just as his eyes had started to adjust to the darkness, there was a bright flare of purple light in front of him.
