John stood by his chair at the head of the long Briefing Room table and waited for the girls to take their seats before sitting himself. "Alright then, ladies, bring me up to speed; what have you been up to for the last couple of days?"
"While you were balls-deep inside those sexy blue babes, enjoying your non-stop impregnathon you mean?" Dana asked, an innocent expression on her face.
He couldn't help flushing, the reddening of his cheeks enough to get all the girls laughing.
Raising his hands, he said, "I'm sure I deserve a bit of ribbing, but not right now, okay? I've fed Tsarra three times, so I'm due another visit with the astral monsters. We need to be sharp and alert for this, and the longer we put off sleeping the more tired we'll get. So let's have a quick catch-up, recap our plans, then go to bed..."
"For the first time, it's not exciting to hear you say that," Calara said, a worried frown on her olive-skinned face.
He reached to his left to clasp her hand, trying to reassure her with his firm hold. "Yeah, I know what you mean." Glancing around the group, he continued, "Okay then, anyone got anything new they want to update me on?"
"We've upgraded the Gauss Cannons," Calara said, her expression brightening.
"Really?" John asked in surprise. "To what?"
"Heavy Quantum Guns," Dana said with a satisfied grin. "They're like ten-metre-long versions of our rifles. Alyssa did the shaping yesterday and Faye had her boys install them today, while you were busy porking Nyrelle." She glanced at Faye, who tipped an imaginary hat, a broad grin on her face.
John rolled his eyes at the redhead, but couldn't help smiling. "How effective are the new guns?"
"Rapid firing with high armour penetration, but the quantum field wrapped around the slug gives them the ability to disrupt shielding. They're fucking hardcore!" Dana exclaimed, her eyes shining with pride.
Calara nodded, looking equally pleased. "The old Gauss Cannons were too restrictive in their usage, so the Heavy Quantum Guns will be a huge improvement. Previously we had to wait until we stripped a target's shields before we could bring those weapons to bear, but now we won't have to. I've been studying Dana's projections for their damage output and they should be extremely effective."
"Would you expect anything less?" the redhead asked airily.
John shook his head. "From you? Never."
Dana grinned at him, but her smile then faded into a rueful frown. "I'd love to upgrade the Heavy Cannons into Quantum Cannons, but it's a big job and we'll need some time in a drydock."
"Quantum Cannons?" John asked, his eyebrows climbing. "You mean we'll have six of those guns the Ashanath had on the Legacy?!"
"Ah... no, afraid not," Dana said, shaking her head. "That was a Quantum Flux Cannon which is pure Progenitor tech and something else entirely. The Quantum weapons we use are my own invention, based off the same kind of idea of wrapping up shells in an energy packet. My guns are very powerful, but not in the same league." She blushed and muttered, "Probably should have named them something different... sorry."
He shrugged and gave her a reassuring smile. "The Quantum weapons sound like they'll be a big upgrade, but they are still a temporary stepping stone, so it's not a big deal. You and I were going to work on unlocking more Progenitor tech from that wonderful mind of yours, remember?"
That turned Dana's frown upside down and she gave him a sparkling smile. "Oh yeah!"
Sakura raised a hand to get the distracted redhead's attention. "Did you upgrade the Punisher Gatling on the Valkyrie too?"
Dana shook her head. "Not yet, sorry. I've got something in mind, so once I've drawn up the schematics, it shouldn't take too long to put it together."
"Fantastic, thank you," the Asian girl said, nodding in gratitude. She glanced at John and continued, "I had a lovely time getting to know Valani, then I spent every available opportunity training with Luna." She shook her head in admiration. "Her skill with a blade was incredible. After you enhanced her physique to match mine, I had no chance against her... unless I cheated and used my powers."
"Was she a good instructor?" John asked, looking hopeful.
"Very. She taught me a lot," Sakura said, a lop-sided smile twitching her lips. "I don't think you'll stand a chance against me now, not until I share what I've learned with you."
"Bold words," John said, matching her smile. "I'll look forward to seeing what you can do..."
Sakura's brown eyes flashed with anticipation, then she turned to face Dana. "Luna absolutely loved the Paragon suit and the pistol you gave her."
"Another happy customer!" the redhead said with satisfaction, before giving John a cheeky grin. "Got to keep those hot little broodmares nice and safe... I reckon Luna's going be a handful!"
Rachel elbowed her lover and said, "He asked you to be good!"
"I can't help it!" Dana protested, giving John a plaintive look. "The Young Matriarchs were just adorable and watching you knock them up was so fucking sexy! Since then, I can barely think about anything else!"
Alyssa placed her hand on John's shoulder, her expression sombre. "As your XO, I think I should inform you that our Chief Engineer seems to be losing her mind. Only a good fucking can save her now."
"Yeah!" Dana exclaimed, looking thrilled. "You need to load us up before we kick some ass anyway. You can do me, then I'll feed the girls!"
John pretended to be mulling over the idea for a moment, then nodded. "It sounds like we have our last-minute battle prep covered." He winked at Dana, then looked around the table and continued, "Alright, anything else?"
"I finished reviewing my research notes," Tashana said quietly.
He could guess at the results by her downcast expression. "Nothing on the Astral monsters then?"
"Afraid not. I scoured everything we took from Valada's server and double-checked all the photographic evidence I gathered at the site, but there were no references of any kind. I did find pictures of those murals I discovered that showed Thralls carrying Reaper Cannons. It was like seeing stylised portraits of Irillith in action, which I must admit was more than a little unsettling." The twins shared a glance and a brief smile, before focusing on John once again.
John rubbed his chin and reasoned, "If it was some kind of Thrall recruitment centre like you guessed, it's unlikely they'd openly portray those monsters. They probably wouldn't want to scare off any new recruits."
Tashana shook her head. "Actually, that's not strictly true. With their genetic programming, the ancient Maliri would have probably been so excited at the chance to be with Mael'nerak, they would have been largely oblivious to their surroundings."
"Only as long as he was present," Rachel reminded her. "Otherwise Mael'nerak's Matriarch and Thralls would be relying on the effects of their white-haired appearance to lure in new recruits."
Irillith frowned and glanced at her sister. "From what we've seen of Valada, I just can't imagine her behaving that way..."
"She was enthralled by Mael'nerak and in the early days he wasn't the reformed character he eventually became," Rachel gently reminded them. "From everything I've seen of Valada, I'd be inclined to agree with you; she did seem to be a kind, caring woman. However, speculation about her early behaviour before Mael'nerak had his epiphany is pure conjecture at this point."
"It's a shame the Thrall site was so badly damaged," Tashana said, with a wistful sigh. "A significant portion of the facility had already collapsed due to seismic activity."
"Well it's still the best source of information we've found on Mael'nerak so far; perhaps we should just visit it again when we return to Maliri Space?" John suggested, looking around the room. "If there is anything left there to find, between all of us I'm sure we can dig it out."
"That's an excellent idea!" Tashana said, beaming at him. "With your strength, Alyssa's telekinesis, the maintenance bots and everyone else, we'll be able to fully excavate the entire facility in no time!"
Alyssa squeezed John's hand and gave him a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry, I know how much you hate having to return to Maliri Space... The locals are so demanding!"
He laughed and raised both hands in the air, gesturing for the girls to proceed. "Alright, everyone get it out of their system."
John chuckled as the girls did exactly that, giggling at each other's ribald jokes. He shared a smile with Alyssa and she leaned in to kiss him.
When she pulled away, she said softly, "We're all just excited, that's all. When we were watching you with the Maliri, everyone here was imagining it was themselves in bed with you."
He tensed, a flash of guilt crossing his face.
"You have nothing to feel guilty about," she said quickly, stroking his head. "You made five lovely girls blissfully happy and you did it for all the right reasons. None of us harbours the slightest resentment or jealousy towards the Young Matriarchs, far from it. Besides, we weren't being totally selfless. They were as good as their word and showed us what it would be like getting pregnant by you in several different positions... it gave us lots of intriguing ideas for the future."
"But, I thought..." he muttered in astonishment.
"That they all asked you to breed them in different ways by happy coincidence?" she asked, stroking his head affectionately. "We all got together and discussed it while you were re-bonding with Edraele. It was something they wanted to do for us, in exchange for borrowing 'our' man."
"Nyrelle also volunteered to play at being the 'Thrall' for you," Rachel confided, giving him a knowing smile. "It only took me a few minutes to realise she was already far too excited to remember any intricate role-play suggestions. In the end I realised you'd both have far more fun if I simply encouraged her to let go of all her inhibitions..."
