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To Light the Darkness

Phase 4

The Dropships of Task Force Liberty rumble through the air above the Amazon village, their fighter escorts sweeping the skies overhead, as several of their number vertically set down with military precision in front of the village, their bay doors lowering to form the ramp down which their cargo step out on to a world nearing the edge of disaster and tragedy...as well as nearing the completion of a prophecy...

I watch in awe as the big metal ships fly through the air, eight of their number coming to a stop almost overhead, suspended on columns of bluish fire, everyone in awe of their mystery and awesome power, well, almost everyone...I see mom and dad talking and gesturing where they should land, they all heed their commands and land on the open field before the village, the might columns of fire burning the rotting bodies of the human attackers but the bodies are instantly turned into ash, the characteristic stink of burning flesh never emerging as I realized that the flaming columns were so hot that the carcasses had no chance to stink before they were turned into ash.

They land in such a way that their weapons protect every approach to the village, I watch as their front and sides open, I take a step back in surprise as two-legged metal behemoths and heavily armed and armored infantry march down the ramps to form an orderly battle formation, as soon as their formation is complete, the infantry leaders step out and salute as one at mom and dad. Even from where I'm standing, I could see that most if not all are furs and of the best kind, felines but once dad said, "At ease, guys..."

Without warning, all of them broke into massive grins and hugged each other...almost like family...they tap the sides of their helmets and spoke quietly, the troops and machines swiftly disperse and formed a defensive ring around my home as the first group of flying machines took to the skies and another group took their place, disgorging another group of walking behemoths and infantry who swiftly join their comrades at the defense line, the third and fourth groups disgorge a different kind of armored behemoth, this one giving a feeling of near-invisibility and unstoppable strength while the two legged one gave a feeling of infinite deadliness and godlike might, I look down and see mom and dad making their way up the tower where I'm stand, followed by three others, a burly male lion and two recognizable Rakshani females, Chakaria was too caught up with watching the new arrivals through father's electronic binoculars that she didn't notice their approach but yowls in surprise as one of the Rakshans grabs her in hug from behind, "So who's this little one, big sister?" 'Big sister!? These Rakshans are my aunts!?'

"That would be my granddaughter, Chakaria; the one on her right is my daughter, Leora."

I hear mom explain, and then I hear them ask the one critical question, "Who is Leora's sire?"

"Nathan is the sire."

"What?!"

Right on cue...

Leo and his mates turn as one from Shakira to look at me in surprise, "You're kidding!"

All I said in response was, "Look at their eyes..."

And they did, all three drop their jaws in surprise as they see the distinctive ice-blue with silver striations irises that distinctively marks my family line. Leo pulls out his medical tricorder and its integral scanner, sweeping a thin blue arc of light over our bodies, both Leora and Chakaria hissing in surprise to it but staying as still as they can as Leo swept his tricorder over them and me, he taps a sequence of commands, the tricorder analyzing and comparing my DNA with theirs, a beep came from the unit within seconds, Leo taps a control and the tricorder emits a small hologram that we could all easily; Leo shakes his head in wonderment, "It's confirmed...they're definitely shared half and one-quarter of Nathan's DNA. Nathan, when the hell did you get Shakira pregnant!?"

I sigh, "Roughly 300 years ago..."

"Huh?"

I jerk a thumb at my lifemate, "I'll let her explain...and once is enough for me." And with that, I monitored the ground forces deployment through my datapad while a part of me listened in anyway...

"Ok, settle down and get comfy because I'm only going to explain this once..."

And with that, I finally let my family and friends learn just how I had ended up here on Eden (sounds corny but that's how the locals call the planet)...

Three hundred and four years ago...

"Shakira, are you sure you want to go through with this?" A reverse snow leopard chakat in a white lab coat that bears the insignia of the Cryonics Experimentation and Exploration Group asks me.

I turn to look at hir in the eye, "Yes, I am, Whitespots...ever since Nathan and his team never returned from their mission and presumed lost in space, I don't think I've ever been able to live again...everything around me keeps reminding me of Nathan; I've never realized until now just how deeply Nathan has become part of my life...we grew up together as children, teased each other during puberty..." I broke down crying over the loss of my beloved mate-to-be, my hand rubbing my belly where our cub is slowly growing into maturity...I never expected for Nathan to actually fertilize my womb during my heat, our vow made spuriously; now for the first time in my life, I had finally realized that we were meant to be together...only to discover I had lost him forever, I feel Whitespots gently rub my back, working to soothe my anguish...and I also feel a mild 'push' from hir.

I let hir soothe me back to normal or as close to normal as I'll ever be again. Shi looks at me in the eye, "Are you sure about that? I mean, come on, there are lots of other cute Rakshani males out there." Shi said, typical of hir species' zest for life.

I shock my head, "None of them are close to my heart as Nathan is...and do you know the old human saying about finding your soul mate?"

Shi gasps out loud, I grimace, "Yeah, I thought you'd know that old adage...and yes, that's how I feel about Nathan..."

"You're serious, aren't you?"

"As a heart attack...right now, I'm feeling that I lost an entire half of my heart and soul."

"Ouch...that's some serious emotional trauma."

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get this experiment over with so I can find some quiet time alone..." And with that, shi types in a sequence of buttons on the control console and opens the cyro-tube's door hatch which doubles as an observation window, I strip off my overalls and end up wearing snugly a sports bra and a pair of tight jogging shorts, I then step in and wiggled a bit to get comfy on the self-molding back rest, I give Whitespots a thumbs-up and then leaned back as the hatch is lowered back and seals itself tightly against its frame, I could feel the slight pressure differential as well as the light swirl of the cryogenic gasses flow slowly into the tube, I see Whitespots gesturing with hir right hand in a countdown...three...two...one...WHOOSH! And with that, as the cold gases fill the tube, I black out...

In that brief instance, Whitespots tap in a series of commands on to hir console, pre-deploying Shakira's cryo-tube into a long-range emergency escape pod fully kitted out with an emergency data-recorder, kept up-to-date regularly, survival gear, weapons, standard issue equipment and a long-range emergency transponder with a range of 20 parsecs. Shi turns to head to the main observation and control deck when the ship suddenly rocks and the overhead lights switch to red combat lighting, shi knew that when a starship rocks, the hull had already taken a direct hit, shi runs over to Shakira's escape pod and begins to rapidly tap in a series of commands, shi aligns its launch towards the nearest system with a habitable planet, turns off the emergency transponder, loads the tube into the pod and jumps in after it as the pod's hatch seals shut and fires away from the ship; shi looks out the only available viewport just in time to see hir ship explode brilliantly, hoping that hir pod's launch was masked by the ship's death throes as shi and hir friend arc away into uncharted territory, never knowing that this one incident would signal the beginning of the end of the Galactic Federation...

In the long two month drift toward the nearest system, Whitespots was forced to take a special pill that significantly slowed hir body's metabolic rate and causes hir to fall into a deep sleep state that would allow hir to stretch the pod's resources, strapping on a special medical bracelet that would allow the pod's rudimentary computer system to wake hir once the pod is within a day of a habitable planet, when hir preparations are finished, shi straps in, pats the cryo-tube for luck and triggers the bracelet, sending hir into oblivion...

Two months later, the pod rapidly accelerates through the system towards the nearest habitable planet, its speed gradually increasing due its passing near the gas giants in the length of its course, Whitespots is shortly awakened by hir bracelet but once shi looks out the viewport, shi realizes that their speed is outside the recommended safety limits, shi fires off the pod's retro-thrusters sequentially, managing to burn off enough of the excess speed that they won't crunch but still fast enough that the kinetic energy alone would be enough to kill hir but not Shakira as her pod is built to take much more punishment so shi makes a recording and stores it in the tube's memory cache as well as stuffing everything she'll need to survive the new world she'll be calling home for the next few years but shi had accidentally left the camera running thus making a complete record of hir last moments...a meteor the size of a baseball hits the pod on the side, its armor deflecting it but the strike rocks the pod and causes Whitespots to lose hir balance despite hir quadrupedal form and sharply hit hir head on the cryo-tube's side knocking hir unconscious, ironically making hir blissfully unaware of hir final moments; the pod is knock off course, forcing its rudimentary computer system to make a new landing zone without the benefit of sentient intelligence...

It plunges into the atmosphere, its heat shields absorbing the intense heat but its deadly speed remains largely unabated; once the pod enters the lower atmosphere, it automatically deploys its parachutes to slow its descent but the pod's speed tears the 'chutes to shreds as it continues to fall towards the planet's surface...

Seconds before impact, the cryo-tube is ejected from the doomed pod and deploys it's own 'chute, slowing the tube's descent significantly and safely, however a strong draft pushes the tube into a deep ravine where the chute is shredded against the rocks, dropping the tube into a steep sandy ravine but the tube's tough construction easily soaks up the impacts, eventually the tube bounces and drops into a cave, lying wedged against a pair of stalagmites with the hatch facing outward...there the tube lay undisturbed for 275 years until a pair of Amazon kittens happened upon the cave while playing with their crèche-mates in the nearby field under the protective watch of their mothers, older sisters and aunts.

Upon discovering the tube, both kittens begin to poke and prod the tube with their wooden toy swords, unknowingly activating the tube's reverse stasis systems, the cubs mewl in surprise as the strange metal object suddenly releases a white cloud colder than any winter they felt before; both kittens tore out of the cave calling for their mothers. The response is nearly instant as both mothers swiftly respond to the kitten's calls, once their mothers are close at hand, both kittens informing their mothers of their discovery, the adults turn to the slightly larger group of teens and leave them in charge of the youngsters while they investigate the object.

Drawing and readying their weapons, the Amazon warriors slowly enter the cave, ready for any attack but the frigid air within the cave was something they did not expect nor was the tall metal construct that quietly expelled a frigid white cloud from its sides...without warning, a part of the construct opens up with a loud whoosh of frigid vapor causing them to instantly duck behind the nearest stalagmite, ready to fight whatever came out of the construct; somewhat to their relief, a large powerful female tiger staggers out of the construct and promptly collapses on the floor of the cave, the Amazons hurriedly sheath their weapons and go to her side, they gently help her up by the shoulders, carrying her out of the cave and into the open field. They place her under the shade of nearby tree whose broad spread provide a comfortable shade against the intense noon-time sun, waiting for her to awaken.

Shakira soon awakens, finding herself in the paws of a unique and rare culture...

As my mind slowly stirs back into consciousness, my senses swiftly pick up the details around me, I can feel myself lying on my back on soft grass under the shade of a broad tree, I can hear the wind blowing over an open plain, I...detect the new scents and smells typical of a new planet and not a familiar scent or smell bar the lingering traces of cryo-gas amongst them.

I jolt into a sitting position, scaring the young cub into dropping the bowl of water she had meant to give me but it seems that, despite the time in the cryo-tube, my reflexes have not degraded as I easily catch the bowl in my paw without spilling a drop, I smile gently at her and drank the whole bowl in one swallow, absently noting the purity of the liquid.

The little cub stands next to me and raises her arms, meowing a question that require no translation; I easily pick her and snuggle her against my chest, both of us purring happily, then two tall felines enter my field of view, both growling and gesturing, I refrain from answering as I search through my memories of hearing a language similar to what they're using, I suddenly raise an eyebrow in surprise as I recognize their language as something similar of the common Rakshani tongue, even their gestures are similar to standard Rakshani sign language.

My ears suddenly detect the distinctive sound of heavy hooves as does my new friends who at this point lost all cohesion as what to do, I growl out a command and gesture at a nearby cave, they instantly respond as they delegate command to me, since I'm obviously the biggest and strongest.

The second we step into the cave, the strong odor of cryogenic gases told me that my tube is nearby, I gesture for everyone to hide in the cave as I pull out and open the hatch that contains the tube's survival kit, once open I'm pleasantly surprised at the extra equipment stored within but didn't allow myself to dwell why as I hear strong loud voices coming from the cave entrance, I pull out a rotary pulse plasma rifle with gravity-pulse blaster attachment, slap on a 60 rd. energy clip into the receiver, set it to burst-fire mode, pull on a pre-arranged combat vest and belt, strapped on the sensor equipped combat helmet and roared powerfully, causing the voices to retreat in surprise; I grin, few females back home could roar as powerfully as I could, as I swiftly and coolly move up to the entrance and took cover behind a row of thick stalagmites, I gesture for two warriors to move up to my position, they move quietly but too loosely spread out to be able to effectively support the other, I growl out quietly in my native language to call out to our attackers and ask their intensions.

One calls out and swiftly receives a reply; she translates for me, saying, "They want us to surrender and prepare to be enslaved..." My harsh snarl cut her short, "They'll get to do that when hell freezes over!" And with that, I move to a crouched position and fire a three-round burst of plasma fire out of the cave, the brilliant silver-blue bolts of energy illuminating part of the cave before burning through flesh, judging from the sounds, I'd say that I'd hit one or two of the horses and killed one of the raiders; the two warriors look at my weapon in awe just as I heard the raiders howling a charge, both warriors look out in fear as they approach but I calmly flick a switch, engaging full auto fire, and blitz the entrance with a barrage of plasma fire, killing a dozen raiders instantly, leaving eight survivors to continue their attack, I simply smile and pull the secondary trigger, using the gravity-pulse blaster, a non-lethal weapon that uses an arc of cancelled gravity to knock an opponent away or to the ground depending on the angle of fire, to shove them out of the cave, I charge after them with little more than a combat knife, the eight remaining raiders obviously thought me foolish for going at them with a knife, judging from their grins but unfortunately for them, Nathan had thoroughly trained me in the arts of ninjitsu, taekwando and kung-fu so with only my knife and paws, I swiftly and easily beat my opponents within minutes, leaving them either dead or bleeding to death on the ground, only then did I realize that I have an audience watching in awe at my fighting prowess, only then did I notice that there are no males amongst the young cubs, leading me to suspect that I might have gotten involved with an Amazonian culture, I look down to determine the species of my opponents and recognized their heritage immediately: wolves...

I turn to my new companions and begin to question them why the wolves were pursuing them, the answers I get shocks me but doesn't frighten me; they are survivors of a travel caravan enroute to Amazon territory roughly five days' travel from the nearest trade city, they have been seen and reacquainting with their kith and kin who have stayed with the old ways and had not joined with the Amazons, their caravan had been passing through the great plains two days away from their home village when they were attacked by mounted wolf raiders, many warriors were either captured or killed, the captives being sold into sexual slavery since an Amazon female often fetched an extremely large sum in the slave markets, a fate worst than death, according to the eldest of the adults, they had managed to escape attention as the wagon carrying the youngsters had been placed near the front to allow them a chance to escape if they were attacked from behind.

They had ditched the wagon and proceeded to make their escape on foot back to the safety of their village but the mounted raiders had cut off the only safe route so they were forced to take the long road around the mountains in order to reach safety, however they had pursued them only casually, I shake my head at that then came to a decision, I will have to escort them to safety and maybe settle down with them in the Amazon territories and told them such, everyone's quite happy about that and are quite enthusiastic having me to help protect them.

I had searched the bodies for anything we can use after which I went back to the cave and gathered the survival gear, I also found the recording of Whitespots' final moments as well as the coordinates of the impact site, I make a heartfelt prayer of thanks to the deities that Whitespots' final resting place is deep in the wilderness where no one will be able to disturb, at least not without the right vehicles and equipment, I swiftly arrange my supplies, weapons and equipment into the backpack as well as removing the data recorder and storing it in my pack's limited transporter buffer, on my way out of the cave, I plant and detonate a demolition charge near the entrance in order to seal the cave, as I watch the cave collapse in on itself, I felt myself saying goodbye to the past, never realizing I merely had to wait twenty plus years before my love came back to me, I look at the group I'm now responsible for and saw that even without my constant supervision, they had recovered the remaining horses and armed themselves with what little usable weapons the wolves have, most of them being little more than rusting junk in the first place.

I took the rear horse by the reins, leaving the youngsters to take a weight of their paws as I and other older females guide them back home. I kept my rotary pulse rifle at the ready just in case as I took the trailing end of our little group, keeping watch on our 'six' for any more raiders but, I was utter appreciative that Whitespots had managed to stuff the portable sensor disk into what little remaining space the survival kit had left, my datapad showed all clear for eight klicks all around us, I pass the reins to one of the older furs and moved up to the front while keeping a close eye on the screen, I ask Melistra, the eldest of the Amazon warriors, just how far we are to safety, her answer of 'one more day' doesn't please me but since this was the fastest route we could take without being detected, I had to bow to her experience.

I bring up my pad and tapped a command, ordering the sensor disk to intensify its scanning along its forward and side arcs with minimal power to the rear, the first sweep alone freezes me in my tracks as my screen is filled with a virtual warren of underground tunnels practically meters beneath my feet, I turn to Melistra and ask her about this forest while at the same time, pointing my rotary pulse rifle under her chin.

She confesses that this forest is usually infested with feral males, which the Amazons track and trap to use them for breeding but as long as we do not disturb the males' territorial signs and not stray from the path, I growl dangerously as I reach into my pack and ready my two matched kinetic-pulse blasters and a pair of stun grenades, I spin my two KP blasters on their energy synegizers axis, building their charge to full power and set them to 'knock-away', I slide them into my thigh holsters and set the stun grenades to three seconds, hanging them on my belt by the spoon, ready to pull the pin and arm the things in a heartbeat!

We follow the path while I stayed behind to guard our backs, I could feel the unseen eyes watching us from the shadows, suddenly I couldn't help but engage in a little teasing as I shift parts of my webbing to the side and lift my tunic over my breasts and massage them openly as they were being squeezed by my pack straps anyway. Now I'm quite proud of my 50E endowments as I thoroughly massage them to restore blood circulation; given that my size, height and body mass is roughly larger by 10-to-15% than that of the biggest Rakshani male, they're larger rather than exact for one of my build. I lean against a nearby tree that stands a bit off the main path and continue massaging my breasts; surprisingly I'm starting to get aroused by my own massage, it seems that my increased libido has not abated, even with a 275 year long break, from my pregnancy.

Suddenly a large white-and-black striped paw lands on my stomach and begins to rub in a circular yet sensual pattern; I follow the arm back to its owner, my eyebrows rising in pleased surprise as I make eye contact with a big, burly, blue-eyed White Bengal tiger-morph, roughly as big or slightly bigger than me, smiling broadly at me, his bare body advertising his need and intent. I grin broadly and pull him close for some badly needed mating, kissing him strongly; he returns the favor just as eagerly and helps me remove my equipment and clothes, I occurred to me too late, as a large group descended on my charges who are of breeding age and begin to seduce and mate with them, that the submission of the largest female to the group's Alpha male triggers a spat of group mating, surprisingly the young ones are moved away and cared for while the teens are gentle introduced into the new world of mating as the older Amazons really get in to the action, taking on several males at once but the Alpha male and I are left to ourselves, however, before I could pay any more attention to other details, I succumb to the big male's skill...

I wake up with a start, finding myself lying in a large hut, covered in furs and snuggled against the Alpha, I nuzzle him on the cheek and snuggle closer, planning to get more sleep but before even a minute could pass, my ears pick up the sounds of battle, I got off the big male and swiftly pull on my clothes and equipment, I belatedly notice that the male's doing the same thing, we turn to face each other and ready our weapons, the whine of my rotary pulse rifle a counterpoint of his drawn sword, we share a knowing smile, I knew that he would make excellent breeding material just as he knew that I was already pregnant by someone before him; and with that, we flip aside the entrance flap and fought our attackers...during the battle, I see the Amazon warriors fighting along side their male counterparts, this led me to suspect that both groups have a mutual mating agreement about who raises who but I cast that out of my mind as I dodge a slash meant to decapitate me and fire a three round burst at point blank range, I direct my fire at enemy concentrations while using the gravity-pulse blaster to shove any opponent away from me, in short order, we beat our attackers and send them packing but at a cost, many warriors are wounded so with the aid of the healers, we tend to their wounds since I'm also trained to be a medic.

My Amazon companions are surprised at my healing/medical skills with some playfully asking if there isn't anything I couldn't do, I laugh and explain that where I come from, every warrior is taught a broad set of basic skills for use in case of emergencies and are allowed to master more than one skill.

I return to the Alpha's hut to gather the rest of my equipment but found the Alpha lying there and nursing his wounds, I swiftly attend to them while encouraging him to rest, I also note the large number of scars this big male has but it was quite clear that, for a male this big, he's agile enough to keep most of his wounds shallow enough to minimize impairing his muscles. I pull out a laser sealer from the medkit and begin to sweep the high-speed repeating beam over his wounds, accelerating healing and minimizing scarring, all the while rubbing his sheath and manhood to keep him calm, though it wasn't long before he climaxed with a powerful roar either, by then I've finished healing his wounds anyway. He grins broadly at me but holds himself back as we both knew our allotted time is over and my group needs to return to more friendly faces, though I think he could see that I didn't really belong anywhere just yet. He surprises me by speaking, "You do not have to go with them, you know..."

I look up from my pack, smiling broadly, "Why not?"

He moves forward and locks me in a firm yet gentle embrace, "You are different from the Amazon females; your scent hints of foods and drinks unknown to this place; your stance tells me that your people, male and female, are raised as warriors, equal in standing; your eyes tells me you are in mourning for someone you lost, perhaps...your cub's sire?"

He smiles at me, "Am I correct?"

I turn around and refuse to face him but I guess he realized just how deeply I'm hurting, because of his next words, "I understand now, he was more than just a breeding partner, was he?"

I answer softly, "No."

"He was the one you loved the most...no, you will need time for your wounds to heal...I will wait patiently for your answer...should your wounds heal." (Of course, at the time, I didn't know or expect Nathan to drop back into my life again.)

And with that, he gives me a quick lick-kiss on the back of my head and makes to leave the hut but I remember something Nathan once told me when I playfully asked him if and when he catches me with another male, the answer wasn't quite what I had expected, "I don't mind sharing, especially if he loves you as much as I love you...", I grab the Alpha's arm, turn him around and pull him into a passionate kiss.

He hesitates after a moment in surprise but returns it with equal fervor, he opens his mouth to ask but I hold a finger to keep him from asking as I knew what he wanted to ask, "He once told me that he doesn't mind sharing as long as I am loved..."

He grins broadly and asks, "Will I see you again when you come into season?"

"Yes," I purr deeply, effectively sealing the unspoken agreement of him being my breeding male.

A thought passed through my mind, "Too big for most females?"

All I got was a sheepish grin.

I took that as a definite yes which meant that very few females on this planet were capable of taking in that monster he had between his legs...except for me, heh.

My group leaves the small village with little fanfare though the Alpha had two scouts go with us in order to speed up our return to the Amazon cities; as usual I stayed near the rear of the group keeping our backs clean, the trip didn't prove to be too long as we spend only two nights under the stars before reaching the capital city, I thank the scouts as they left and was moving up front to confer with the eldest member of our little group when my ears pick up the sounds of approaching cavalry, I instantly arm my RPB and took aim at the approaching horses but my power scope showed feline riders rather than wolves so I allowed myself to relax but remained weary of the new arrival, I let the others handle the greeting protocols while I kept watch, I notice the leader of the cavalry eyeing me speculatively, though normally I don't swing in that particular direction, I figure I'll have to adjust to this pre-dominantly lesbian sexual environment or at least have fun while I'm stuck on this planet anyway, heh.

Over the next few months, I learn and adapt to the Amazon's way of life but I never forget about my beloved lifemate or the Galactic Federation but it didn't take long for me to establish a powerful reputation as a war leader, warrior and eventually, mother when I gave birth to my daughter Leora and raised her to be a powerful warrior-hunter by blending Amazon and GF fighting techniques but I mostly trained her from what her father had taught me...

While mom is recalling the past and her achievements then, I quietly recall my own life, before father came and knocked everything out of balance.

I was born some 38 years ago in the middle of a hunt when a rare and elusive Leogar ambushed my mother's hunting party, injuring six and killing two with only my heavily pregnant mother being the only one uninjured, she used a strange weapon that she called a force lance to best the massive predator by driving it's bladed tip deep into its heart, receiving a shallow claw swipe to her muzzle.

Once she had beaten it, she went into labor and gave birth to me then and there, upon the carcass of the great predator, giving me the name Leora, in memory of the great beast.

I still remember the times when mom used to snuggle me to bed with the great cat's skin as my blanket and its fearsome head over the hearth in the living room. I grew strong, swift and tall; I was taller and bustier than the girls my age were, mom had explained to me my true heritage...that I'm Rakshani and that our people are a race of proud warriors with a well-deserved reputation for battle.

She had also hinted on my father's identity and species then but I was too caught up with delusions of grandeur about making a name for myself that would make father proud with grand adventures and quests; I look at father now and see only humility and hard-won wisdom, he doesn't have as many scars as I expected but given his training and broad battlefield experience, I shouldn't be surprised that he didn't have many scars.

I watch and observe his movements, it was unmenacing and relaxed, I shake my head at that; how could anyone relax in the middle of a war is beyond me! I watch as my daughter and her grandfather bond with each other as he refines her moves and techniques, all the while under the interested eyes of a lot of male soldiers but none dare approach, I'm guessing that they don't want to get on father's bad side; I realize just how formidable father's reputation must be to such inexperienced soldiers but I soon realize that the older ones didn't want to lose their friendship with father by courting his granddaughter...

Both mom and I were jolted out of our recollections by a loud humming sound as a large wedge-shaped aircraft but what mom and dad call a Whirlpool-class airspeeder, a fast light combat transport designed to move nine people including the pilot for point to point in a short amount of time, I notice that there are a multitude of small dents on its underbelly and judging from its direction of travel, I'd say that it came from the feline capital but the arrival of another Whirlpool coming in the direction of the wolf capital surprised me even more...and judging from the facial expressions of my parents, this bode ill for us...

The unexpected arrival of both Velasco's and Hunt's Whirlpools trigger major alarm bells in the back of my head, I order a general warning alarm via the command frequency as both Hunt and Velasco help their passengers out of the speeders but I was far more interested with only one person from Hunt's party, my beloved Lushara; she easily spots me, being the only human amongst a massive army made up mostly of furs, her companions are stunned at the sight of a fully deployed advanced military force, ready to go to war.

I watch as Shakira approaches Lushara and greet her warmly and affectionately, pleased that our little family is now complete though I could tell that the circumstances that led to this did not please her at all.

She draws Lushara away from the other wolves and guides her towards us but when they are two-thirds of the way here, a series of thumps could be heard coming from the SPGs as my helmet receives a report from one of the outposts, "Colonel, this is Outpost 7, we have hostile forces inbound at map reference Delta 8; we've called for artillery support and request immediate Battlemech and infantry reinforcement. Enemy force composition are as followed: estimated 10 formations of light infantry and archers, eight formations of armored infantry, six formations of...OH, FRAK!"

A series of loud thumps can be heard over the comm channel, I call back urgently, "Outpost 7! Outpost 7, respond! What's your status?"

A faint crackle can be heard when the outpost comes back online, "Sorry for the scare, boss but we're under heavy catapult and cannon fire and had some near-misses...there are six formations of heavy cav, four formations of light cav, and three formations of siege weapons, composed of both feline and wolf forces; we're bugging out back to the forest for cover, will call in once reestablished, Outpost 7, out!"

I switch back to the command frequency and roar into the net as well as out loud, "BATTLE STATIONS!"

I see Shakira guide Lushara to the mobile command center as I also see my daughter and granddaughter run up its steps and into the darkened interior, I too run up the steps but walk at a brisk pace to the center of the room, the gathered leaders of both the wolf and feline nations surprised that a human is the leader of this mighty army, both Hunt and Velasco step out from amongst them, saluting me crisply and make their reports...as I had expected the young prince has launched his coup but had not expected that his coup had been expected and had found the throne room empty, his father and family having already been evacuated to safety and discover the same thing has happened in the wolf capital.

He has probably discovered by now that he doesn't face a mere human leader in this battle but the legendary Battle Dragon himself along with an army from the equally legendary Galactic Federation Armed Forces, an army lavishly equipped with the best weapons and equipment, trained to be the very best in the galaxy.

I pace around the central holo-map as I coordinate the movement of my forces to meet the oncoming enemy, my armor and regular infantry moving to hit the flanks as my Battlemechs and power-armor infantry move to hold the centerline, I call up a battlefield camera view from one of the overhead UAVs and UCAVs, giving me an excellent view of the developing battle, something in the scene several miles away trigger my instinctive alarm so I call in a 10 sec TOT artillery strike across the entire front, my artillery coordinator responding swiftly to my orders but something told me to get to the front so I head out of the MCC, stopping at the foot of the stairs and turning to Shakira, who had followed me out, "Love, you have command, I'm heading to the front...something feels wrong..."

She nods and plants a lick-kiss on my cheek, "Go then, my lifemate...and take this with you; it brought me a lot of luck." She loops a smudged green crystal around my neck but as soon she finishes the loop, the crystal suddenly glows with power, I knew then the irony...my lifemate was the earth crystal's temporary protector!

I stretch out my left arm and call out Andragos, the gauntlet on my left forearm glowing brightly to become the ancient sword of legend, my lifemate gaping in awe as I reverse the sword with its point down, the smudged crystal transforming into a gold-edged green crystal, the crystal of the Earth; I close my eyes, lock the crystal into place and let the magic run its course, I feel myself being lifted into the air, the ancient magic within the four crystal changing and renewing my body...and unlocking a hidden part of my memories, revealing the reason why the sword was passed down to me...I am the last scion of an ancient and royal bloodline of dragons, hidden away in human form until I have recovered four of the five crystals...I find myself looking face-to-muzzle with my true form...and find myself extremely impressed, a powerfully built 30-foot tall(without the tail) silver scaled with golden claws and belly scales, the head is topped by fearsome-looking black and navy blue crests, arranged like a frill but without any skin attached to them, with the same ice-blue eyes with silver striations, giving the creature/me a dramatically dangerous look without even trying to. My true form lifts a forepaw towards me, palm outward...I instinctively reach out in response and touch our palms together...

I open my eyes to find nothing has changed outwardly though I feel extremely refreshed, then I mentally hit myself as I remember my grandfather's words: "Nathan, if you find yourself in a situation where technology, strength and guile cannot win, speak these ancient words: "Ancient wisdom...ancient strength...ancient blood...ancient light, hear my roar, awaken once again that which sleeps within me, awaken my true form, awaken the spirit of (the Dragon King)!"

I realize now this is the incantation necessary to release the magic sealing my true body within my human body but I sensed that I won't need my true form until later, I back to lifemate and gently pat her in the cheek to snap her back to reality, she looks down at me, eyes narrowing in, and asks, "Where and how did you get that sword, love?"

"My grandfather left it for me in will when he passed away...and I've practiced and used it these past few centuries."

She smiles down at me, "Then you know what to do...my beloved Dragon King..."

"You know?" I ask her incredulously.

"Every single detail about your true family line, the records of your family were entrusted to the Amazons for safe-keeping just before the lone survivor of the massacre disappeared from the face of this planet, I know now that he left to start the family over...he left for Earth..."

I stood there thunderstruck at the revelation, it finally made sense to me, where my family's origins were, I've now come full circle, back to where everything began, I've instinctively returned home to reclaim the throne which by blood belongs to me, though I wonder whether all this bloodshed was worth it, dragon instincts flaring strongly about revenge paid in blood but as I push through the mental haze, I remember grandpa saying something about a truer form of revenge without the bloodshed. I look into her eyes and see only love and admiration; she cups my chin and says quietly, "You know what to do, love..."

With that, I run over to my waiting Cyclone-VII and roared off, heading straight for the battlefield, my instincts flaring strongly that I will be needed there. Sure enough, just as I crest over the hill overlooking the field, I hear the thump of large wings and the roar of dragons...

While simultaneously hearing the distinctive whistling sound of a TOT artillery barrage I order...

I rev the throttle and pop a wheelie, heading for the field HQ, coming to a stop at the feet of a nearby Jagermech blitzing away with its quartet of ultra autocannons at targets of opportunity but directing most of its fire at the enemy dragons overhead but closer observation reveals that there seems to be two groups of dragons fighting each other, one group marked out with silver or whitish dye or paint and the other marked out with black or grayish dye/paint.

It became very obvious real quick at which group of dragons are fighting for which side as the white marked dragons swiftly pick up badly injured allied troops and deposit them amongst the medical crews behind the main line, acting as medevac teams writ large; the Federal line having been bent in places but still holding strong even if several sections are caught up in hand-to-hand fighting as two full battalions of Battlemechs and tanks, with two more of each in reserve, keep both the enemy dragons, heavy hitters and cavalry from overrunning the main line of resistance while keeping the MLR from being flanked or swarmed, despite their superior numbers.

AA units keep the airspace above the field stations clear of enemy dragons while allowing friendly dragons a safe enough location to rest and healing as medical teams swarm all over the injured dragons while their fellows roar and claw at each other, with the occasionally exchange of fire and ice breath.

Essentially a smaller version of the MCC back at our LZ, the FMCC coordinates the movement and combat ops of the field units assigned to it and I link-up with its C3 (Command, Control & Communication) system and declare my intentions, receiving an affirmative signal from the combat coordinator, I engage my power suit, deploying the 'Ranger' system, and made my way to the MLR, taking care to stay in cover; as I reach the center line, I see a foxhole get hit by a lucky barrage of enemy mortar fire, I signal for a medevac and sprint over to check on them, a quick but thorough inspection tell me that their armor took the brunt of the mortar barrage but retained enough power to wound and injure, I look up in time to see a charge developing in front of the foxhole.

Seeing that the support weapons positioned here are beyond repair, I switch to 'Thunder Tank' and stood up as a medevac team drops in via dragon express to pull the troopers out of the battle.

As soon as they're clear, I let loose with the arm-mounted quad gatling laser cannons and shoulder-mounted pulse plasma cannons, carefully sweeping left and right, blitzing my AOR (area of responsibility) with a storm of hot light and plasma, any dragon foolish enough to try and hit my position received a firestorm for their troubles but it wasn't long either before the young prince deduced my location, moved match my position and roar out a challenge at me; I order a reserve fire-support team and an anti-aircraft team to take over my position, at this point in the battle, most of the enemy forces have withdrawn to the safety of the tree-line, both sides still exchanging the occasionally sniper shot or three as well as short burst of support and heavy weapons fire though my troops are better sited and equipped for such a sustained battle.

I shift to 'Captain' but left my hands empty, ready to call upon Andragos at a moment's notice, and walked out on to no-man's land, my armor reflecting the afternoon light in a dramatic fashion, the young prince Stormclaw arrives just as dramatically, on the back of a black and red dragon, who I recognize as Solestre in her true form.

The young prince steps away from her and draws his sword, my dragon senses engaging instinctively upon seeing an unnatural shimmer around the blade but neither of them notices my awareness of that particular detail as my armor's visor shields my now-dragon eyes, I flex my hands in readiness; suddenly Solestre moves into position behind Stormclaw, her posture indicating that she intends to attack as well but it seems one of the friendly dragons noticed as well and lands behind me, ready to act as my second.

I suddenly receive a mental voice in my head, he, as the mental voice was definitely masculine, rumbles softly, "So you're the legendary Battle Dragon, eh?"

I answer vocally as I intend to use my true heritage as a surprise for later, "I am."

"Then this might be of use to you..."

He drops four pieces of armor on the ground next to me; I pick them up and suddenly hear a powerful roar in my head, I instantly recognize it but ask, "What are they?"

"These are four pieces of the five pieces of an ancient armor of the ancient Dragon Kings but in the hands of an experienced and skilled warrior like you should be able to get some use out of them."

I smile hopefully but inwardly I'm grinning massively, as I lock the armor into place, the areas where I attach those changes as the ancient armor integrates with the new technology and the new alloy.

My second doesn't notice but I carefully control the integration as the 'Captain' armor-form is over-written by the new form: 'Murasame Primus', one of my ancestors having forged the remnants of a Murasame Liger into special battle armor and its blade reforged and reshaped into Andragos, the metal further strengthened by fusing it with the spirits of the ancient Elemental Dragons.

I step up next to my second's forepaw and deploy the armor's claws, my body relaxed and ready to fight at a moment's notice. I jerk my neck left and right to loosen my muscles as Stormclaw and I meet at the center while our seconds circle each other, hissing and snarling ferociously.

We stood there, watching each other, waiting for the other to make the first move but as always, youth are impatient as Stormclaw charges at me, sword high with the intent of making a killing blow for his first move...

Right...

...About...

Now!

I back-flip high, catching the blade with the claws of my armor's right foot and deliver a kick on the nose with my left boot heel, causing my young opponent to stagger back in pain and surprise. I follow through with my back-flip and land with my claws crossed in a defensive pose, seeing my opponent still reeling, I charge forward to take advantage of my opponent's weakness but Solestre uses her tail to block my attack, I vault over her tail...only to block and parry away a slash meant for my neck in the nick of time! I blade lock his sword with my left-hand claws and return the favor by upper-cutting Stormclaw on the jaw with my armored right fist and the claws on that hand retracted; I simultaneously perform a foot sweep and knock him on his ass.

By now, everyone could plainly see that I seriously outclass Stormclaw in every aspect, as does Solestre...as I expected, she decides to cheat.

She rears up on her hind legs and makes a complex gesture with her fore-talons as well as roaring out...

I was hoping she would do that...

Never realizing that I wanted for her to call the Dark Dragon clan leader...

With a thunderous crash, the clan leader of the Dark Dragons teleports in from his secret perch, roaring powerfully...

Only he...is a she...

...

Ok...this is new...

To my surprise, the clan leader is a black and blue-grey dragoness, the large number of scars on her scales told that me that this is a dragoness who worked or conned her way to the top, and probably did her own wetwork too as the repaired damage to her armor suggests.

Finally...a leader who doesn't mind getting her talons dirty!

Solestre removes Stormclaw from the field despite his loud protests as my second moves back in fear, leading me to suspect that this dragoness is a formidable combatant.

A real challenge then...

Though that didn't stop me from giving her a good once over, my draconic instincts itching give her voluptuous body a solid ravaging, especially those beach-ball size tits of hers, though judging from the way her scars are concentrated, I'd say that she's been ravaged before.

I mentally raise my armor's visor and allow her to my eyes...

Her own eyes widen in shock as she realizes just who she is truly facing...

The voice of my second enters my mind, Battle Dragon, you cannot win against her! She is the clan leader of the Dark Dragons!

I sense that the time is right to reveal my true heritage...

I answer back with a distinctive draconic tone, surprising my second: That fight was just a warm-up; this is the real battle...

And to reinforce that recognition, I draw my left arm back, moving my right and grasping empty air like I'm grasping a sword hilt, only to me did it feel solid; with a brilliant flare point, I draw Andragos from its inter-dimensional pocket, much like drawing a sword from its scabbard albeit an inter-dimensional one, swing the blade out until my right arm is fully extended to the side, the legendary blade shining in the light of system's primary.

As every dragon stood or hover in shock, I take the final step of merging my past with my present as well as taking the first step into an uncertain yet bright future...

"Ancient wisdom...ancient strength...ancient blood...ancient light, hear my roar, awaken once again that which sleeps within me, awaken my true form, awaken the spirit of the Dragon King!"

I lift Andragos high into the air as the four Elemental Dragons appear in their ethereal forms and form a four-pointed star above me; I sense my troops, looking on with cub-like wonder, never having seen true magic in action. The four dragons raise a paw each, from which a beam of light corresponding to their colors and elements comes forth; they converge on a point directly above me, coalescing into a white ball of energy that blasts a broad beam of power straight down at me, striking Andragos first as the blade channels the energy into me and uses that energy to unlock the magic that keeps within my old human form and release my true dragon form...

I never saw how I transformed personally but after reviewing eye-witness accounts and the compiled after-action holo-data, was I able to get a fair idea how I transformed...

I release the sword as it hung in the air, spinning slowly and majestically as it slowly and thoroughly unravel the ancient magic that allows me to look human.

My physical height and mass are the first to be changed as my body gains both muscular bulk and height...

My face stretching outward to accommodate my new muzzle as well as my new draconic sense...

My hair recedes into my skull as my bloodline's distinctive horn pattern begins to emerge...

Soft pink skin is slowly replaced by hard strong silver scales...

My neck stretches and lengthens as strong muscle and bone fill in the gaps of my transformation...

My long muscular tail emerges from the base of my spine, the long sinuous appendage swiftly growing to its full length, tipped with a fearsome bone-blade and lined with a fairly even row of spikes along the spine...

My broad wings emerge from behind my shoulder blades, my muscle and skeletal structure rearranging to accommodate the new wing muscles and bone attachments...

Through all of this, I kept growing and growing until I reached a height of 38 feet without my tail, 82 feet long with my tail...

My arms and legs change alongside my body, gaining both mass and length to be able to handle the multi-ton weight of my new form...

My hands and feet stretch and broaden as my fingers thicken to accommodate my razor-sharp golden talons...

My skin being rapidly replaced by scales in a manner similar to deployable armor...

My knuckles, elbows and knees grow short bone spurs not only to protect those joints but to also be used in battle...

Inside of two minutes, my transformation is almost complete with my body at its fully height, length, wing span, size and mass as well as my full strength, power and stamina but several more details appear as a long line of bone ridges emerges along the length of my spine and all the way to my tail, stopping just before my tail armament...

The distinctive pattern of horns that indicate my lineage and my ear-ruffs fully emerge from my head as my ears recede into tiny holes on the sides of my massive head...

My blunt human teeth change in shape and structure to become the formidable dentition of an adult dragon...

My eyes, which were already in dragon form from the start of the duel, simply reposition themselves higher up to look down the length of my muzzle as well as restructuring how they perceive the world around them...

The final touch is my voice and all its associated components and structures as they lengthen and change to handle the deeper tones, pitches and frequencies of the language of my people...

Murasame Primus, during my transformation, had fully absorbed the advanced power suit and all of its technologies thus being essentially up-dated and upgraded in one massive leap, the Murasame Liger's already dense and powerful Zi Metal armor now made almost indestructible with the infusion of Electro-Quantum Trimantium which now also infused into Andragos which now has barely noticeable golden highlights while the magic around me also altered its structure and design to accommodate my new body...

And spelled disaster for anyone foolish enough to cross me...

The moment my transformation is completed, I rear back and let loose a massive of roar of triumph and dominance as all of the allied dragons land in a semi-circle in front of me, bow down low and roar out on a general mental channel, "Hail, Dragon King!" I gesture and all of the allied dragons take to the air, my powerful mental voice ordering them back to their previous duties as well as ordering not to interfere with my duel...

My opponent snarls at me but couldn't hide the light of arousal from her eyes fast enough, I grin knowingly; I knew the armor covered all my critical areas but it also showed my muscular body off to maximum effect. Over the centuries, my family's developed a reputation for being wild and insatiable between the sheets as well as being extremely potent with any female, both reptilian and mammalian...

Oh, brother...now it makes sense...my performance and success in the bedroom...

...Shakira probably laughed her tail off when she found out...

We circle each other as she draws her own sword from its own pocket but I could tell that she knew that my sword is better than hers in terms of both quality and magical power, though she refused to back down as it was her duty and responsibility to end my bloodline like her predecessor. This time though, she's going have to work for it...

We charge simultaneously, roaring as we do so, blades clashing loudly and sparking where our swords locked...

Duels between clan leaders are unlike most due to the added sexual aspect; the duel is not just a physical contest but also a test of breeding and mental strength as well so even when one of the duelists is disarmed, the fight isn't over until one dominated and screwed senseless...not to mention somewhat ritualistic...though there have been cases where one or both duelists have been killed...not this time though...

The physical part is where both combatants bring their entire repertoire of moves and magical arsenal to the fore; ritualistically knock off the armor section of the opponent until one or both are disarmed...then the real fun begins...

Our blades clash back and forth but my experience and training soon begins to tell as I swiftly knock away her chest and belly armor sections then as I spin to dodge a thrust, I toss Andragos up in an arc over her and grope her breasts and nipples, following through to catch Andragos and hold it parallel to the ground in front of me, ready to receive and block an attack...

I see her back away and shiver almost imperceptibly in pleasure as my bloodline had taken the art of seducing dragonesses to a whole new level, my grope having struck the pleasure centers of her breasts and nipples in precise pattern, certified to get a dragoness seriously soaked between the legs if worked on long enough...

She recovers and returns to the fray, my block easily catching her strike but I deliberately allow her to knock out my left and right arm armor sections while I knock away her neck sections...

I tighten my defense, forcing her to expend more energy and stamina than she ought, bidding my time, I wait until she makes a mistake and use it, knock away her hip armor, exposing her moist sex, the scent coming off her is ambrosia to a drake long deprived of dragoness pussy, this signaled me to disarm her and get on to the fun part...

I feint a thrust at her head, causing her to parry my attack but instead, I use the momentum to create a sword lock and twirl her sword out of her paw, releasing Andragos at the same time while mentally retracting my own chest, belly and groin sections, my 20 inches long 3 inches thick dragon cock already at attention; never allowing her to recover, I pounce and pin her arms, legs and tail to the ground as I mount her in one swift thrust, causing her to groan loudly and entwine her neck with mine as I slowly begin stroke her surprisingly tight tunnel.

I murr in pleased realization that this clan leader hadn't had a male between her legs in a long time, I release her arms and grab her ample breasts, kneading and massaging them together in a circular motion, making her wrap her arms around the base of my neck and whimper in pleasure. My instincts are clamoring to speed things up but I keep them in check as I torturously and slowly stroke her silken tunnel until...

She roars powerfully as a massive orgasm explodes within her like a nuclear bomb, her tunnel milking me for all its worth, leading me to explode inside her as I orgasm myself, shooting enough semen into her to seed four dragonesses, normally this would signal the end of the duel but there have been times that both combatants carried on this vein for another or two more but her eyes tell me that she wants to remain in this position for the next few hours or so, so I raise my right paw and snap my claws. I teleport us to a cavern I alone had discovered where no one can disturb us for the next few hours...

The first few rounds I let her dominated, letting her do all the work while I work on her breasts and clit to intensify her orgasms; then it was my turn, as I put her in positions that made it easy for me to support her weight but also ensured that each thrust went directly to her g-spot, making her moan out loud in utter pleasure, while maintaining contact with her breasts and clit with my paws and tail.

By the time the two of us are utterly spent, my internal chronometer told me that it was close to midnight plus both our stomach rumbled in hunger which hadn't notice until now...

I 'port us out of the cavern, exchange a lick or two in appreciation of the time we spent together and went our separate ways but forever bonded to each other...

But little did I know that our paths will cross again...in more way than one...

To be continued...