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My New Life

Part 9, Prologue: The Final Stages of the Prophecy

It's been eight months since Tasha legally joined the Stellar Federation, and six months since becoming the 15th's Fleet CAG, under hir guidance, the starfighter rookies are put under a strenuous 'curriculum' to test how they operate under pressure, many pass with flying colors, the few who fail are transferred to handle shuttles and runabouts, which are still integral to our combat and non-combat operations.

Little did we know of that the last part of an ancient prophecy is about to unfold, a new chapter of the galaxy is about to be written, and the prophesied awakening of the last Alpha of an ancient family is about to take place...

Well, almost no one...

Down on Chakona, Goldfur clan residence...

I roll down and to the right as Tasha tries to tackle and pin me down, shi crashes into Midnight and Whitestar, ending up in a furry pile that's happily cuddling with each other.

I try to help hir up but shi pulls me down into the pile and wraps me in a hug where Midnight and Whitestar join in, we all knew that in seven weeks' time, for the very first time, most of the clan will be serving together in 15th Battle Group; Boyce (temporarily demoted to Captain), Rosepetal, M'lai and Midnight will be aboard the newly-commissioned FSS Sky Fire, a Northstar class starship, a brand new class based on the Prometheus class from Star Trek: Voyager but unlike its fictional counterpart, the Northstar class is kept under the tightest security until her AI, internal security, propulsion, shielding and weapons systems are online and operational, this ship is the equivalent of the old fast battleship type from WW2, she's armed with an overall loadout of 15 of the new Class 18 Heavy Phaser Arrays, 16 Mk.10 Quantum Torpedo launchers, 14 Heavy Torpedo tubes, 4 Tomahawk launch tubes, 10 Turbo Seismic Pulse Cannon double batteries, 16 Gatling LPC arrays, 24 Star Hawk Mk.6 SAM launchers, 46 DLC-II turrets w/ integral Pulse Phasers, 32 Tachyon turrets, 24 Flak Cannons, 26 Hunter Seeker Mk.2 AMM (anti-missile missile) octet launchers, 56 point defense phasers and 8 Pulse Nadion Cannons.

The ship itself separates into three distinct section, Saucer, Upper Engineering and Lower Engineering; once separated, all three section become independent ship in their own right, each capable of both combat and FTL (faster-than-light) travel, primarily at speeds of Warp 8+ with an overall speed of Warp 18+, they are inter-connected by a ultra-high speed tactical combat network that allows all three to fight together as a single entity plus each section will shield the other/s should they require time to recharge their shields or withdraw from the battlefield.

Boyce is quite eager to get aboard, to learn first hand how the Northstar's systems work, I had to smile at that, Boyce is an engineer at heart, a sentiment I could somewhat relate to...Midnight's Security workload will be easier since shi'll share that responsibility with the Sky Fire's AI, nicknamed Comet by the veteran crew members of the new ship, the only thing Midnight disapproves of is the sheer number of internal defense emplacements and turret mounts built into the corridors, intersections and doorways but shi did see the experience behind the reasons so let it slide; M'lai is quite pleased that she now has an AI that can monitor things for her while she's busy with something else; Forest will also join them on this cruise to supplement the Science section as the civilian head of the bio-science and exploration departments, whose assigned complement is still incomplete due to an assignment orders and transfer snafu.

Zhane and Kernos will return to Raksha shortly for the temporary shutdown of Star Base 3, which due is to be upgraded into a Bravo-class battle-station, and the commissioning of her new command, Sky Shield station, an Omega-II class battle-station with upgraded sensors, shields, armor and weapons. Goldie and Garrek will be serving aboard the TCS Sentinel, an Explorer-class starship of the ECS or Enhanced Combat and Sensory subclass, equipped with upgraded long-range sensor arrays, analysis computers and a self-correcting and updating database unit plus enhanced weapons, shields and armor, as a precursor to the exploration and science variants soon to be brought online within two months; the Sentinel and its other five sister ships are the 15th's long-range eyes and ears, with a sensor radius of 2.5 parsecs, each complemented with a sensory resolution ratio of 8.2 per square parsec, means that its going to take some serious ECM work just to bypass them, and as always, Tasha, Serah, Whitestar and I will be aboard the Lexington with Serah and I interviewing the new crew members to the Lexington.

Everyone is eager to be aboard their ships but I knew that everyone is better off fully relaxed before we give them their orientation, Darkcloud volunteered to handle hir fellow cubs about shipboard operations as well as the dos and don'ts, but off to the side, I notice Serah looking rather distant as if something is pre-occupying her mind, I got up and made my way up the yard to her, I sat down on the chair next to her, "Serah, what's wrong?" I ask concernedly.

She jolts back to reality, looking rather confused, "Huh? What?"

"I was asking what's wrong."

"I...just had a premonition through the Force..."

"About what?" My mind went into overdrive, knowing that Force premonitions are to be heeded with the utmost caution.

"I...I don't know...it was vague...but there was something tangible, something already firm within that premonition...and it was fur...a fur who's like you, yet not you...his fur is a white base with dark gray and silver stripes...and he's tall, much more taller than even Tasha...that's all I remember..."

I look down thoughtfully, "Hmm...for a premonition, this is rather unique; already there is something firm within it yet the rest is not, you'd better contact your grandmother and ask her about this."

She nods in agreement, "I will, dear, count on it." She gets up and enters the house, her face intent.

I remain in my seat, pondering her words when a strong male voice speaks to me out of nowhere, "It's almost time, you know, boss."

I look up and see Liger's translucent figure, I look around and see the other six animal spirits, all in relaxed poses and positions, and only Liger is standing. I look at his back, "What do you mean, Liger?"

"That premonition of Serah's is an indicator that the final prophecy regarding your soul brother, Sim'barak'shar, is at hand; we don't how soon but given Serah has been able to tell you, I'd say that within eight months time, you'll come to the crossroads of destiny, you will have to choose between what you want and what you believe in, a choice between a pathway to eternal damnation of the universe and a pathway to a lasting peace..."

"What?" I look at him, utterly shocked to the core, "What kind of choice is that?"

"You'll understand when the time is right, Nathan. For now, that's all we'll let you know."

Then they shimmer away as if they were never there; I often wonder why I had to put up with this but a voice in the back of my head simply says: It's because that is their role, to give advice whenever I need it because the days ahead will be filled with darkness.

I received a summons from Federation Council member Greg Golukavich the very next day, requesting that I see him personally in his Chakona vacation home...in the library; I pull my personal Cyclone from the garage and took off at full throttle, the navi-comp pointing the way.

It took me roughly forty minutes to reach my destination, coming to a stop at the opulent front of the manor, I suddenly get this cold clammy feeling that there is something very wrong here, like a miasma of evil has taken up permanent residence here, my instincts and the animal spirits agreeing with me on that assessment, I move up the stairs, entering the residence, the feeling of evil intensifying as I move deeper into the house until I find the library, here the feeling of evil is overwhelming but I keep my posture and facial expressions neutral, keeping my instinctual need to search and destroy this source of evil in check, the councilor sitting in an easy chair facing the fireplace, "You wanted to see me, Councilor?"

I ask quietly as I stood by the doorway, not bothering to move closer, "Yes, Commodore, I want you to put Raksha at the tail-end of your Battle Group's patrol sweep of the Federation."

"May I ask why?"

"No, you may not."

Then, for one brief second, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a succubus, then it was gone, however, Liger quickly super-imposed his sight over mine...and nearly lost my cool, as the room is crawling wall-to-wall with invisible creatures of darkness, all staying away from me as I quietly realized that I am surrounded by light, the animal spirits within my gauntlet not allowing any of them to get close.

It was then that I also realized that something evil is afoot, best not to trust this Councilor's words, "Any reason, sir? I will require sufficient justification before I can change our itinerary."

"I have received word from my intelligence network that the Human First rebels have made an alliance with an unknown military power outside the Federation..."

More than likely you're the one behind it, I thought to myself.

He continues, oblivious to my thoughts, "Their plan is for the rebels to distract Star Fleet all over the Federation while the outside force attacks from multiple vectors, excluding Raksha as the Rakshani will able to respond quickly to any hostile incursions in their territory..."

Which means that Vector Prime will be Raksha, I'll let you go for now, you traitorous dog but once I deal with your 'friends', I'll be back to hang you by the balls and gut you like a fish.

I cut him short, "Say no more, Councilor, I'll get right on it."

I make a hasty retreat, glad to have left the house, I quietly mutter a spell under my breath as I exit, casting a emblem of demonic entrapment and purification into the air in front of the house as a precaution against a demonic tail and eavesdropper, instinctively knowing that this spell will trap and destroy any demon within 80 yards all around it. I leave the grounds at full throttle, spiritual senses at full alert, just in case...

I got back to the homestead just in time to see Serah pacing on the front porch, looking rather agitated, I park the Cyclone and walk up to her, "What's wrong, hon?"

She looks at me rather worriedly, "Grandmother has ordered me home to discuss my vision, well, visions now..."

Now I am worried, "Another vision?"

"Yes, in this vision, I see a hand of great darkness clutching at the Federation but the emblem representing Raksha was torn out and burned...oh, my beloved, I'm scared for my people..."

I suddenly felt another presence give me a mental tap on the shoulder, "Here we go again..."

My soul brother, as I like to call my secondary personality, took over from there but I never could hear or sense his words or thoughts, but I could see his actions from back here; I quickly took control of Nathan's body, his true mind instantly letting go and passing it to me, that's what I like about Nathan, when he realizes that he's in over his head, he willingly lets me take over and handle it my way, "Don't worry, Serah, I won't let you or your people disappear and besides," I wrap her in a rather sensual hug, "I can't bear the thought of losing you so soon, not before we have some cubs together..."

Her eyes widen in utter surprise, "You mean..."

"Yes, I do."

"But I thought..."

"There's something you should know, Nathan and I have a very unique soul bond, not only do our personalities mirror the other but also, we both share the same feelings for you, Whitestar, Darkcloud and Tasha, and I would happily add you all into my family..."

She's still protesting weakly, "But..."

"It's a little too late to say 'no', you know..." I say quietly as I kiss her fully, she returns it eagerly, her heart telling to shut up and pucker up, she realized that she wasn't being true to herself, that she only loved Nathan but now everything's changed, she finally realized that she loves both of them but she also knew that sooner or later, the Soul Release spell will activate and unleash the Natorash'kar soul residing within Nathan's own soul but they both share similar personalities, chances are something else will happen, what that will be is something she'll have to see for herself...

Her thoughts trail off into the erotic as their kiss lengthened into minutes but before she could do anything else, a loud voice came from inside the homestead, "Hey, Dad, I need some help here with the holo-projector!"

Darkcloud...

"I'll be there in a minute, kiddo; I just have to wrap something up with Serah."

"Ok! But hurry up; the other squirts are getting restless!"

"Hey!"

"I'm no squirt!"

"Yeah!" Came the voices of the other cubs, then sounds of typical arguing cubs having a free-for-all tussle.

I call up one of my special reserves, a water balloon, and lobbed it into the living room where it popped over the cubs and drenched them with ice-cold water; nothing else was affected except for the rug that is...

Oops...

Goldie came charging out of the kitchen with a look that could kill, "Nathan, could you at least used something else aside from a water balloon to..."

Splash!

A water balloon explodes on hir paws.

I grin and duck out as shi roars out, "THIS means war!"

I shout back, "Catch me if you can!"

Then, with a grin, I scoot around the house and ready a hose to cool down Goldie as shi charges from around the corner but this time Goldie manages to pull a one up on me and catches me from behind with a chakat-sized water cannon complete with electrical pump and a high-capacity tank on hir lower back, shi blasts me from behind, knocking off balance and into the pool, then shi instantly sheds the cannon and hir top and jumps in, not allowing me to regain my wits, shi pins me to the side of the pool and proceeds to tickle me, and I'm extremely ticklish...pretty soon, shi has me weak and helpless in hir paws, then shi purrs and hugs me into hir ample breasts, "Well, finally, I manage to get a one-up on you."

"Yep...I sure as hell didn't see that water cannon coming, ditto the tickle-me-while-trapped-in-the-pool part."

Shi giggles, "That was spur-of-the-moment."

"Great."

"So what's eating you? You're radiating enough negative emotions to put a damper on even the most cheerful chakat."

"Gather the rest of the family and meet me in Sub 2, I got something to do first."

And with that, we got out of the pool and split up, I waited until Goldie had gathered everyone and lead them inside, then I call upon my abilities and rapidly cast a seal of purification and banishment with a range of over 3 km, to ensure no evil entity comes close enough to warn Golukavich that I'm wise to him and his plans and that I have no intention of leaving Raksha unguarded but intend to trap and annihilate the attacking force then come and drag his ass into court for treason.

But to make sure I catch the bastard with his hand in the cookie jar, I'll make the appropriate changes superficially but most of the 15th will instead follow its original patrol route but one section will follow the Councilor's suggested route to fool his spies, and when the invasion fleet arrives, that section will instantly break from the patrol route and rendezvous with the rest of the fleet which in turn will be laying low to ambush and intercept the enemy fleet but what I still need is intelligence about the numbers and type of the invasion fleet, everything else is just a diversion but I will recommend to Fleet HQ to station at least a fleet to the diversionary sites while the Rakshan military gears up for an invasion, its fleet on high alert and ready for action.

I head inside and took the hidden turbolift down to Sub 2, an underground firing range where, those of us with weapons training, we stay current and up-to-date for our weapons requirements, I step out and cleared my throat, glad that the entire clan is gathered together, "I know you're all wondering why I asked Goldie to gather everyone here so suddenly, now I'll explain: 'I just found out that we have a traitor in the leadership echelon of the Federation Council.'"

Boyce, Rosepetal, Zhane, Midnight, Whitestar, Serah and Tasha look at me in shock, "What?" They shout out together, "Who?"

My answer stuns them, "Councilor Greg Golukavich."

Boyce is shocked, "This is bad, very bad news."

He looks at me and asks, "What did he ask you to do?"

I frown deeply, "He's ordered me to alter the 15th's deep space patrol/reinforcement route, leaving Raksha on the tail end...thus leaving it vulnerable to an invasion force."

Zhane snarls, "Surely you don't intend to do just that!"

"I have every intension to do so, at least paradoxically..."

Everyone looks at me questioningly, I explain, "What I mean is that Task Force 15.4 which is comprised of the Sky Fire and other Stellar Federation-designed ships will follow Golukavich's desired route but only on the first leg, once that's done, they'll respond to an 'emergency signal' and rendevous with the rest of the 15th, which will be lying in wait outside the Raksha system to flank the invasion force. I'll also be recommending to Star Fleet HQ to assemble six rapid reaction fleets to cover the other suspected invasion routes but should they prove to be nothing more than lures to stretch our resources, they have full discretion to reinforce our forces there as well as leaving a strong rearguard just in case."

Zhane and Serah grin at me, "Now that is very sneaky." They say in unison.

Then Goldie speaks up, "But how did you know or suspect Golukavich?"

"The way he said it and dark presence of evil around him, I had just returned from his house and there's an overwhelming feeling of darkness and evil there, it's no wonder why no one lives in that area, I think the area has somehow been tainted by evil and I, for one, am not going back there until Golukavich is captured, convicted, executed and his corpse purified and destroyed."

Goldie winces at my words, "Isn't that a little harsh?"

"Goldie, there is only one way to deal with traitors and that's death."

Zhane, Serah and Tasha nod in agreement. "So it's settled then?"

Everyone nods in agreement but I add a word of caution, "I suggest that you don't tell anyone about this or we'll be in deep trouble."

Unknown to everyone, except Serah, I had added a Force suggestion behind my words, ensuring that everyone bar Serah will keep this meeting to themselves, Serah stays behind as the rest of the clan heads back up the turbolift, we hug each other and sigh softly, I ask her, "So are you still going back to Raksha?"

"Yes, I have to, my beloved; I shudder in fear just thinking of leaving you when your time of emergence is so close to being fulfilled."

I growl softly, "Don't worry about that...the Force is telling me that my emergence will occur right in front of you...and with some company familiar to me too."

She looks at me curiously, "Who?"

"No idea just yet but the presences I felt were very familiar but it's going to be a while before I can recognize them...and take one of the Lex's Slip drive-equipped runabouts, that's get you home a lot faster than the commercial liners and you can use it for free since you're the XO."

She sighs at that, quietly whispering, "You're too good to me, my beloved."

I whisper back, "What kind of mate would I be if I wasn't?" And we kiss passionately, basking in each other's love and affection.

Serah and I exit the turbolift hand-in-paw as we make our way out the back door as a Cheetah-class runabout lands in the backyard landing pad, I carry her bags into the runabout as she preps the runabout for flight, we kiss one last time before I walk out of the ship and stood in front of gesturing in the time-honored motions of a VTOL launch, she seals the hatch and sits in the pilot's chair, she gestures back and engages her anti-grav drives, once she reaches a safe altitude where no one will be affected by the main drives, she kicks them to high gear and boosts out of the atmosphere at maximum speed, I didn't have to wait long until a small Slipstream portal suddenly opened in the evening sky, then closed just as suddenly; all of a sudden, my gut felt like caving in, I drop to one knee, then Whitestar's instantly by my side, shi holds me close as I shake and spasm, then as suddenly as it happened, it stops; Whitestar nuzzles me worriedly, "Nathan, you've never had an attack like that before, I recently received your medical report and you're in perfect health."

I look at hir just as worriedly, "I know, all of a sudden, my gut felt very hollow, like something's been torn out; I fear something evil has happened somewhere."

"What does your heart tell you?"

"My heart tells me...that a world and its people have been sacrificed to some great evil."

At around this point, the Krastarians (a warlike reptilian species hell-bent on galactic domination and exploitation, whose way of life is based on strength, wealth and sexual prowess with an average male stands at 6'4" in height without the tail, 15'2" in length with tail, while the average female is roughly 5'10" and 13'9" respectively, one thing that marks out their species is that they're notoriously cheap bastards when it comes to spending their resources for weapons of war except when spending for jewels and precious metals) had just used their Death Star analog on a pacifist planet in the Verites system, however, due to shoddy construction and substandard materials, its superlaser explodes and took part of the upper hemisphere with it, not only that, its defenses have been knocked offline by the explosion and several of its launch bays crippled; also cracks have already begun to develop in its poorly constructed armor, dangerous weaknesses in an already weak armor.

The massive power surge that hit the energy grid when the superlaser exploded had damaged all the primary power links and connections from within, meaning that any sudden increase in energy usage will burn them out at a critical moment, not only that, the massive hyperdrives need to propel the station to faster-than-light have also been damaged by the power surge and ready to fail if pushed too hard but the Krastarians were too worried about replacing the destroyed superlaser to notice the damaged armor and components, however due to the exotic nature of the superlaser's components whose base materials are found only on a few planets in the galaxy.

They plan to use a combination of greed and dark magic, already one of the leaders of the Stellar Federation had succumbed to his own greed and has arranged for the 15th Battle Group, the Stellar Federation's most powerful combat formation, to be on the other side of Federation space when they invade Raksha from a secret hyperspace route, enslaving the tall felinoids for slave labor and stripping the planet bare for resources, believing that their (cheaply built and bought) battle suits will give them a superior edge; they also knew that the Rakshani will put up a very serious fight and will never give up but should the 15th Battle Group appear before they have secured the planet, they will have to call upon their magic users and destroy the system but as they weave their web of evil, deceit and darkness, so does their pre-ordained fate...to complete the final part of an ancient prophecy that foretold of the return of the ancient Natorash'kar.

However, Krastarians had no way of knowing the new defenses and upgrades that the 15th, with permission from the Rakshani government and built with the utmost secrecy; 12 cloaked defense clusters orbiting the planet, 18 long-range surface-to-space antiship batteries with another eight more on each of Raksha's three moons, all with interlocking zones of fire, the newly commissioned Sky Shield of the Omega-II class battlestation and the newly-installed planetary defense shield array; 10 ships remain permanently assigned to Raksha as its orbital guard, their crews regularly rotated with the frontline ships ensuring that when trouble comes, they will be able to respond effectively: the captured Imperial VicStar Deuce Guardian, upgraded with Confed shield and weapons tech, two Escort Carriers of the new Bengal-III class, the TCS Silver Tiger and TCS White Tigress, three Stellar Fire class Cruisers and four Night Fang class Destroyers.

However, they haven't settled on a invasion date so inadvertently allowing the Federation to better prepare its forces and for Serah and her family to prepare for the completion of the ancient prophecy but unknown to our heroes, hidden parts of the prophecy are already at work, readying and quietly moving into place allies very familiar to the emergent Natorash'kar Alpha, three very powerful allies and their machines.

At the moment though, the stage is being set and prepared; the players unknowingly preparing for their parts; the main actors instinctually preparing themselves for the play's ultimate climax, as the fate of an entire galaxy rests with the choices the chosen one will make...

During the eight weeks that follows, Boyce, Rosepetal, M'lai, Midnight, Forestwalker and the new crew of the Sky Fire undergo intense and extensive familiarization of her systems and the layout of the ship as does Goldfur and Garreck aboard the Sentinel, Darkcloud helped out with teaching the other cubs the dos and don'ts on board a starship while Tasha, Serah, Whitestar and I got to know the new pilots and ship crews as they are processed through the Lexington before they are beamed or transferred to their assigned squadrons and ships, taking extra care of not spooking the plebs too much since this is their first active duty cruise, we share and trade stories and tales with fellow veterans and seasoned hands as they are quickly processed through to their ships and squadrons, it is during this time that most, if not all, the 15th's ships have just finished going through an equipment upgrade cycle so every crewmember of every ship of the 15th have finished their leave early to get acquainted with the new systems.

Serah came into my ready room six weeks in as I was reviewing the test and technical analysis results of the QALC from the Nagasaki weapons testing facility on Cha'turna, "Nathan, grandmother has summoned me back home again, she says it's very urgent."

I smile lightly, "Sure, go ahead, we still got two weeks before we head out anyway, anything else?"

She frowns slightly, "Yes, there is...roughly eight days ago, a civilian cruise liner inbound to Raksha, detected and retrieved a drifting cryo-stasis pod, origin and source unknown, it contained a single occupant, unidentifiable species but definitely humanoid feline alien and definitely female; she's close to eight feet tall with a 10 foot tail, fur pattern is reverse white tiger with a thin silver strip from the top of her head to the tip of her tail, she's also suffering from long-term amnesia and severe muscle degradation due to her long hibernation, all she remembers are these words: 'Call to me, my brother, I long to hear you roar, lead our family once again; the darkness approaches once again, call us and with our seven blades, we will let the universe remember that our line will not fall so as long as a single flicker of light remains.' She has been left on Sky Shield Station's Sickbay for further observation and treatment, its crew has given her the name of Silver Star, she seems to have accepted it for the time being and that's all there is..."

I frown, thinking deeply, "Hmmm..., if that's the case, I think I better come with you and have a look at her, I can wait for you while you and grandmother take care of what needs to be done and besides, I need a change of scenery."

She nods in agreement, "Sounds good, I'll get on the comm and ask grandmother about this idea; Tasha and Whitestar can always take care of the small stuff and transmit to you the more important items while you're at the estate."

"Sounds like a winner, let's check if they approve of the idea."

She nods happily at my suggestion, "That sounds fine; I have one more interview to go before I'm free for the rest of the day so see you later at our quarters, dear."

I rub my cheek against hers affectionately, "Alright, dear. Have fun. Serah needs me down on the hanger deck anyway to check out the new shipment of '-wings' from Amazonia, says that the Wemic rep has claimed zero defects on the whole lot."

She looks at my computer screen and quickly browses through the report, "Hmm...this is a first, from what I've heard, Amazonia only exports pharmaceutical products, and never military hardware."

"According to the data the rep gave us, it's an experimental venture by the indigenous warbeasts to supplement the income from their pharmaceutical exports but they're rather touchy who their first customer would be until someone brought up the idea that the 15th should be their first customer, just as well, their timing couldn't be better, many of our older '-wings' are due for replacement anyway, we could use this batch as the acid test for this new source of fightercraft and if they check out, they just might become one of our '15th-approved contractors', as the euphemism goes..."

"Well, you, Tasha and the boys have fun; this last interview promises to be a dozy! Chee-ya!" Serah laughs out as she leaves, my nose just barely detecting the faint scent of her heat.

I sigh heavily, tossed the datapad onto my cluttered desk, went to the closet, pulled out and on my flight suit and Hazard armor, took my helmet from its rack by the door and made my way down to the hanger deck, my instincts clamoring to get into space and just fly.

A minute later, two brand new X-wings are catapulted into space...

I glance out the viewport of my office one deck above the portside-flank catapults as two brand-new X-wings, still unmarked with any squadron insignias, no doubt Nathan and Tasha going out to put the new equipment through their paces, are catapulted out into space with the familiar ship-resonating 'thump', I turn back to face my desk and computer screen as I carefully go over the data regarding the Lexington's new Chief Medical Officer, or CMO for short, but since most of the data I need are sealed behind personal privacy protocols, leaving me with no viable information on how to evaluate her or figure out why she has so many frequent personal problems, so I had left a hand-written memo on her desk for her to report to my office for a face-to-face interview two weeks prior to launch but I couldn't help wonder where I have seen or heard this situation before.

I was browsing through her evaluations and qualifications, which are quite impressive to say the least, when the door chime went 'chirr-beep'. "Enter!" I yell out.

The door slid quietly open to reveal a Caitian female, the doctor I had been expecting...only not quite what I had preconceived.

There was nothing unusual about the dark brown fur that covered her evenly as far as could be seen, and her long, glossy light blonde hair and tail-tuft were attractive but quite normal.

Then I instantly realized why this situation felt awfully familiar, I just had another Caitian with the same nymphomaniacal tendencies as M'lai tossed on my lap!

But I have to admit, even comparing her to M'lai would do her a disservice, she towers by Caitian standard at 6'8" but decently sized by Rakshani standards; I moved my right paw to my muzzle, covering my mouth and struggling not to burst out laughing as I had some trouble telling just who had the bigger bust size, hers or M'lai's, the uniform definitely straining to keep her very well endowed chest contained. She waits patiently as I thoroughly look her over, obviously used to the reactions of everyone around her, she swiftly moves to the desk and salutes crisply, "Sir, Commander M'lira Mef'fareth reporting as order!"

I surprise her by revealing my smile and sat down, gesturing for her to do the same, "Sit down, Commander, there's a few things we need to talk about."

She sits down directly across me, the Uni-chair instantly adjusting for her form and species, "If I may, Captain, I think I can save us both a lot of time and explain a few things about my... unusual nature."

I smile broadly as I look at her straight in the eye, "That's not necessary, Commander, I think I already know this particular story, you see I know a Caitian with a similar background and shipboard problems as you."

She looks at me in surprise, "You do?"

"Do you know or recognize the name: M'lai Saarath?"

"No, sir, it doesn't ring a bell, why?"

I grin massively, "Because she's like you in every way, only roughly four inches shorter and maybe a bust size or two smaller but like you in everyway possible."

She gives me a very interested look, "So you know her?"

"Know her? I'm, in a way, part of her extended family."

She looks at me puzzled, "Part of her extended family?"

"Does the name: Admiral Boyce Kline Jr., ring any bells?"

Her eyes widen in partial comprehension, "You're part of his extended chakat family?"

"Bingo! One of my co-mates is a cousin of Forestwalker who, in turn, is Boyce's thirdwife and co-mate to M'lai, Boyce's fifthwife."

She sighs, "At least she's part of a family capable of addressing her needs but I don't think I'll be that lucky..."

"Don't be so sure, the choice of males here in the 15th is quite diverse plus we have plenty of chakats and skunktaurs who would be happy to help but I do suggest that you take some self form of self-discipline."

"Yes, sir. Several of my previous councilors have suggested that I take up martial arts to further enhance my self-control."

I nod in agreement, "In that case, I'll assign you to classes with our head Tactical Officer, normally this would be the role of our Chief of Security but Lieutenant Commander Blizzard was critically injured during a Humans First riot on Terra while on leave with hir mate, also in critical condition; Commander Whitestar has volunteered to take over hir classes while all matters pertaining to Security are divided between hir, Brigadier-General Tasha and myself until shi recovers; shi holds classes daily in Holo-deck 2A after first shift, I expect regular attendance until or unless recommended otherwise. I also expect you to do everything within your abilities to ensure that your problems do not interfere with your duties, I need you to inform the medical staff of your condition just in case."

I add quietly to myself, 'It's a good thing that the medical staff on this cruise is either female or herm or otherwise things could get messy.'

She responds happily, "Yes, sir," and turns to leave, then I add, "And Commander...try to get a uniform that fits less... snugly..."

But she doesn't see my grin as I had already turned my chair to face the viewport when I said that as I finally realize how Rosepetal felt when she was interviewing M'lai...I also began to speculate how she and Nathan will respond to each other...

As Serah pondered on this, two X-wings approach the Lexington on a landing vector...

End of 1st Shift...by this point, both Nathan and Tasha have already returned to the Lexington and back to their usual duties...

I lay sprawled out on my backs, purring softly, as I waited for my students to arrive for their martial arts class under the shade of a massive oak tree in the middle of a broad green meadow.

I sigh happily at this opportunity though it came at the expense of Blizzard and hir chakat mate, my tail swaying lazily as the minutes pass, then I hear the holodeck doors open, I was rolling onto my feet when an orange blur tackles me off of them, I look up and saw a face I thought I'd never see in a long time, yelling out, "Blazer!"

A gorgeous 6' fiery red and orange chakat with a bust size to rival mine, shi gives me the usual six-limb hug, and then I notice something else as shi held me longer than normal, hir hard maleness erotically rubbing against my wet femininity!

We both purr as we caress other, then shi looks up at me, and ask, "Well?"

"Well, what?" "Are you going to be my denmate or not?"

I sigh, "Blazer, did you receive any news while out on the frontier?"

Shi smiles, "Yeah, I heard plenty! About the arrival of Task Force Chrono-Storm, its timely rescue of the civilian convoy with style, its integration into Star Fleet and being renamed 15th Battle Group, its service to the Federation, how it kicked Imperial butt out of Raksha, stuff like that but more personal ones weren't included...so, when did you just got posted here?"

I sigh heavily, "No, dear heart, I have never been reassigned away from the 15th ever since I became lifemated roughly three years ago..."

Shi pouts playfully, "You found another one besides me? No fair! And who's your lifemate? Anyone I know?"

I grin at hir, "You won't believe me if I told you who my lifemate is..."

Shi grins back defiantly, "Try me!"

My higher-than-average emphatic sense picks up my lifemate distinctively on his way here, "Ok, don't say I didn't warn you because he coming to visit me before class starts...he should be coming in right...about...now..."

And the door slid into the wall to admit my lifemate, Commodore Nathan, Blazer is instantly on hir feet and saluting, "Good morning, sir!"

"Good morning, Lieutenant Blazer." He returns the salute casually and proceeds to kiss me full on, leaving Blazer completely slack-jawed in sheer surprise, "Morning, hon, your first class, eh?"

I purr lightly, "Yep. By the way, dear, I want you to meet a very good friend of mine...Blazer, this is my lifemate, Nathan; Nathan, this is Chakat Blazer, child of Milana Pathfinder and Chakat Crystal, shi's asked me to be hir denmate."

Nathan looks at me curiously, "Have you accepted or were you waiting for me to give my own evaluation and approval?"

I smile, "Actually, it's a little bit of both since I am accepting hir proposal and I'm just letting you know, dear."

"You know how I feel, love."

I purr affectionately, "Tell Tasha that I'll be consummating with my new mate tonight, will you, hon?"

Nathan grins broadly, "No problem. By the way, Serah and I are going to Raksha for a few days, her grandmother needs her back home and there's an enigma on Sky Shield Station that needs investigating, I'm leaving you two in charge of the 15th until we come back, I left sealed orders for you both in our cabin just in case the invasion catches me and Serah on Raksha."

I grin broadly, "Have fun, love."

As I give him a lick-kiss on the cheek, he returns it with an equally affectionate kiss on my lips; Blazer, in the meantime, just stands there completely stunned when my ears pick up the almost inaudible hiss of the holodeck doors slide open to admit another student, I break our kiss to get a look at the new arrival...and promptly dropped my jaw in surprise at the gorgeous and absolutely stacked Caitian female wearing a light bodysuit that allowed for plenty of flexibility and adequate protection but left little to the imagination of what it sheathed.

My emphatic sense also picks up Nathan's and Blazer's surprise and appreciation of her endowments, I look back at Nathan and said, "You better scoot, love, class is about to start; you have better things to do..."

Than gold-bricking here in the holodeck, hypnotized by this lovely Caitian and her assets. I add quietly to myself with a grin, knowing all of my mates' personal preferences and tastes, especially Nathan's.

I nudge him towards the door for emphasis, he nods in acknowledgement, "Sure, dear. I need to pack some clothes and gear for the trip anyway, see you in a few days."

He gives me a quick peck on my nose pad and is out the door swiftly; snapping out of hir shock, Blazer looks at me, blurting out, "Commodore Nathan is your lifemate?!"

I grin back, "Yup! And he's a handful in the bedroom!"

Shi grins broadly at me, "A Chakat at heart?"

"In a sense but he's more like a fine blend of Rakshani, Chakat and human characteristics..."

"Neat, any adopted cubs yet?"

"One, hir name's Darkcloud."

Shi looks at me in surprise, "Darkcloud? As in the orphaned...?"

"Yes, hir...however, Nathan had already adopted for about a year before we officially became lifemates."

Shi nods sagely, "So he adopted hir right after the incident, eh?"

I shrug nonchalantly, "As the old saying goes, 'Orphans stick with orphans.'"

Shi cocks hir head at me, puzzled at my words, "Huh?"

I smile at hir reassuringly, "We'll talk later, I promise but for now, it's class time!"

My last two students came thus formally starting the class...

I watch the interactions of the two chakats and Commodore Nathan, thankful that it didn't last longer than it did, it was starting to arouse me, watching their intimate interactions, once he left the two chakats exchanged a few words, then Commander Whitestar became quite serious as the last two members of the class came in, I soon found out why shi was the substitute combat instructor as shi showed us a variety of disabling and crippling hand-to-hand techniques, which shi explained was taught to hir by Commodore Nathan himself and all are combat tested, all the while getting to know us personally; I have difficulty concentrating as it is due to Commander Whitestar's distinctive rut scent and Lt. Blazer's equally distinctive heat scent, another problem is that I haven't found a potential partner for the night and I can feel my self control already starting to slip, I yowl out in surprise as I once again land on my rump, just as a resonating double 'thump' echoed through the room, indicating another launch from the flight deck, though I still couldn't tell whether it was from the upper or lower flank launch tubes.

"M'lira, what's the matter? Blazer and the others have already mastered the shoulder throw and pinning techniques so why can't you?"

I look at hir sadly, "I can't talk about it."

"Can't or..."

Shi never completes hir sentence as hir eyes glow with sudden comprehension, it was then that I realized that this is the co-mate Captain Serah was talking about, it was also then that I realized that a good part of the upper command echelon are mated to each other!

I recall seeing Captain Serah's file is linked also to the Fleet CAG, Brigadier General Tasha, Commander Whitestar and Commodore Nathan, now it all made sense why, I also realize that shi's the cousin Captain Serah mention and I realized that Captain Serah had done this deliberately, subtly guiding me so I could find friends and lovers who have experience with my condition and would happily help me deal with my problems, I made a mental note to thank her later on, then Whitestar spoke again, "Would you like to spend the night with me and Blazer, M'lira?"

"Species isn't a problem for you chakats, is it, Whitestar?" I smile happily at hir.

Shi cups my chin gently and said, "Call me Star, M'lira and no, species is not a problem; you need help and chakats will happily help those in need, especially a friend."

Shi affirms that by lick-kissing me on the cheek.

"Thank you." I say happily, "But I do have a question though."

"Shoot."

"What will Commodore Nathan say?"

"If you haven't notice, M'lira, all of my co-mates and myself are quite busty so I doubt you'll raise any of Nathan's eyebrows but I assure you, he can be quite appreciative since he does have a breast fetish, heh, heh."

I just had to giggle at that, and then a thought occurs to me, "Have any of you tried for cubs yet?"

"Plenty of times, and I mean all three of us, and had fun doing it too but no luck so far, though Nathan and I do have an adopted daughter, hir name is Chakat Darkcloud."

I look at hir in surprise, "You mean to say that the pre-adolescent chakat I saw down on the hanger deck working with the techs on one of the fighters is your adopted daughter?!"

To my shock, I see hir nod in affirmation, "If you're wondering why, it's because Nathan adopted hir roughly a year before we officially became mates and shi was raised here, aboard the Lexington; Nathan raised hir on his own, teaching hir everything he believes shi will need later in life, including hand-to-hand combat techniques, weapons training and multi-environmental survival."

"Weapons training?"

"Nathan discovered that Darkcloud has an aggression streak rarely found in chakats, I'm suspecting that Nathan made the choice of hiding hir genetic heritage, using combat training to aid hir in better containing hir aggressiveness..."

I became puzzled at this, "Chakats with a heightened aggression factor?"

"I found a datafile in Nathan's personal datapad, it turned out that Star Fleet had secretly created a military-variant chakat for the New Mordor situation about a century ago to hunt down Sauron; known as Chakamils, they are chakats with enhanced aggression, strength, stamina and reflexes and since chakats were derived from warbeasts, this wasn't much of a stretch but since the Three Firms scandal broke out before the Chakamils were set to deploy, so if it was discovered that the military was back to creating warbeasts and chakat derived ones, no less. You can imagine the even bigger scandal if anyone found out about it but it seems Confed computer intrusion and extraction protocols are far more powerful than they appear, and according to the time stamp on the file, it was discovered during Chrono-Storm's initial recon of the Federation."

Suddenly a feminine voice cuts in, "Actually, Whitestar, Nathan deliberately left that datapad for you to find but he had to do it in such a way that neither of you violates Star Fleet secrecy protocols."

Shi looks over hir shoulder and sees the reclining form of the Lex, the carrier's AI avatar, "Darkcloud is 1/8 Chakamil but even then, hir aggressiveness is noticeable even to people not familiar with chakats, Nathan believes that shi is descended from one of the few Chakamils to have escaped termination, who that Chakamil is yet to discovered, shi's hidden hir true identity well, whoever shi is. Nathan had me retrace Darkcloud's family tree to see if anything comes up, no such luck, this Chakamil thoroughly covered hir tracks, leading us to suspect that shi was also trained in ELINT and counter-ELINT."

"Is that the reason why Darkcloud is proficient in combat?" I hear Whitestar ask.

"Indeed, Nathan had recognized hir Chakamil roots two months after hir adaptation when shi go into a scuffle with one of the Kilrathi crewmembers, both badly clawed each other but no serious injury, though it left an impression with the Kilrathi..."

I couldn't help but ask, "What kind of impression?"

"'If you're the offspring of Nathan, adopted or sired, rest assured that they will be all warriors in heart, body and mind.'"

"How old are you, Lex?"

I see her close her holographic eyes for a few moments, "I've been reincarnated for twelve times already, my history began back on Earth when I was sailing her blue oceans so many years ago; I'm roughly 200-400 years old."

"Thank you, Lex." Whitestar helps me stand up, "Well, let's go, Blazer'll be waiting for us and by tomorrow, I'll have a revised curriculum for you."

I lick-kiss hir on the cheek, "I hope you two are ready to make love to a nymphomaniac."

"Oh, we'll make do if it comes to that, don't worry."

And unknown to M'lira, this simple acceptance will lead down the path of happiness and harmony for many years to come; her destiny slowly but surely entwining itself into the Natorash'kar tapestry...

Meanwhile, on the Krastarian side of the equation, their military forces lazily ramps up to full invasion strength, their vaunted 780-ship armada slowly gathering around their homeworld for its mission to invade and occupy Raksha, then twelve massive ships swing around from behind one of the planet's moons and insert themselves into high geo-polar orbit, the fleet swiftly forms around them and without incident; they break orbit, setting course for their primary jump-off point...and for their primary resupply outpost for this invasion for they knew that this mission will take them far beyond their borders and deep into unknown and hostile territory, this invasion will also have depleted their reserves to counter against any possible invasion by their enemies, especially the Furrderation, who would love to take back the ten systems they had stolen from them, leaving behind enough forces to hold their borders, they knew that their fate will be decided by the swiftness of their invasion; they also knew that the absence of the Federation's 15th Battle Group will be critical to the invasion's success as their superiorly designed warships and battle-hardened crews can or could significantly tilt the battle in their favor in spite of their inferior numbers and there is also the local defenders and defenses to content with but thanks to a greedy Federation Councilor, they have sufficiently accurate intelligence of the defenses in place around Raksha, unknown to them however, this intelligence has been completely nullified by the secret construction and upgrading of Raksha's defenses...

At the very same time, secret parts of the prophecy have come into play, as the Alpha's two siblings are quietly inserted into positions on and over Raksha where their combat prowess and abilities are best suited for; Sefira'sh'nar, whose fighting style is both acrobatic and ambidextrous, positioned herself on Sky Shield Station, her lightsaber stored within its transdimensional pocket, posing as an amnesiatic survivor just freshly defrosted from stasis while Kestor'rak'tar, whose fighting style favored both offense and defense, positioned himself as part of a Rakshani infantry regiment, since his part of his genetic heritage is Rakshani in origin, thus allowing him to blend in easily, his lightsaber hidden amongst his equipment just in case of trouble that only a fully trained Natorash'kar can handle...

Roughly three hours after leaving the Chakona system, a slipstream portal opens over Raksha...

As I emerge over Raksha on my Cheetah-class runabout via a convenient slipstream jump point, I swiftly enter a military orbital lane that leads down to the surface, then my sensors detect Nathan's re-emergence back into real-space as he exits the same slipstream jump point I had just vacated, the dorsal FTL pod of Star Warrior still aglow with residual energy; he waggles his wings at me and then wings over to head for Sky Shield Station, as I enter begin the reentry sequence, out of the corner of my eye, I spot the near indistinguishable shimmer of a cloaking field shielding one of the twelve defense "clusters", each consisting of eight pulse phasers platforms, four phaser platforms, six Mk.10 micro-torpedo launcher platforms, four long range Quantum Torpedo launcher platforms and one cloaking field projector with integral advanced multi-spectral sensors, providing the planet with tireless vigilance and protection.

I circle the family estate several times before landing, seeing if there were some changes while I was gone, serving as the 15th's XO, and there were, a lot; 10 Gauss Rifle turrets, eight Extended Range Large Laser turrets with overlapping fields of fire, 12 Long Range Missile launchers, six Extended Range Particle Projection Cannon turrets, 12 Clan Ultra Medium Autocannon turrets, eight Large Laser turrets and 18 Short Range Missile launchers plus six long range Long Tom artillery turrets, further supplementing them are 12 HAWK SAM batteries, eight Stinger SAM batteries and 18 high-speed quad laser cannon turrets; I also recognize the Ms900 Heavy shield generator and the corresponding projection array, the walls around the estate are noticeably reinforced with starship Tritanium alloy armor, it's also been redesigned to allow for swifter flow for troops and for swifter deployment of heavy weapons.

I land in Bay 7 where Mother and Grandmother are waiting for me, I shut down the runabout and exit it, we exchange hugs and lick-kisses, then Grandmother looks up and quietly asks, "Nathan came along?"

I nod, "Yes, granma, the girl on Sky Shield Station has piqued his curiosity and decided to come along."

"Good, good. Then the sister will be meeting her elder brother very soon." She broadly smiles as she said that.

"Sister?" I look at her in surprise, "You mean...she is...?"

"Oh, yes. I'm quite sure of that but why she is here, I do not know...and I have also sensed another powerful Force presence but on the planet this time, I believe that the younger brother is also here on Raksha, this suggests that they are here to support their older brother upon his emergence but I think that they are also here to protect Raksha from her enemies..."

"But mother, I thought you said that only the Alpha survived..." She shrugs nonchalantly, "It appears that I was wrong about that but no matter, our family was entrusted to hide and protect the ancient tome of the Natorash'kar and we will continue to do so until the Alpha emerges."

"So the final proving ground will be here on Raksha then, granma?"

"Indeed, many of our race remembers the Natorash'kar as great warriors and lovers but our family alone were entrusted with the truth of the role of the Natorash'kar family in the galaxy...they were its guardian, its teacher and its judge. They were the pinnacle of learning, having mastered both the physical sciences and supernatural plane. The machines and technologies they developed were matchless wonders but such successes caused jealousy to ferment but few races had the power to challenge them in open combat so they used treachery and deceit to defeat them, thus began the 'Long Night', soon that dark time will end and the guiding light of civilization will be rekindled."

I shudder slightly, "Grandmother, there is something I need to tell you, the Alpha, through Nathan, told me that even when he does emerge, Nathan's spirit will not disappear, instead their souls will merge to form a new one, a combination of human and Natorash'kar; their souls are so much alike yet so different from each other as well that they complement each other's strengths; both souls are like a matched pair of blades..."

Grandmother finishes for me, "Either blade is powerful but when used together, they become nigh unstoppable. The prophecy never foretold of anything like this..."

I ponder on that for a moment, "Maybe that's because the prophecy in itself is open to circumstances, not even the greatest seers can foretell the future with 100% accuracy, I doubt even the Natorash'kar seers could have foreseen the Alpha's soul finding a near-exact match to itself when it searched the dimensions for a suitable host for him to hide in."

Mother cuts in, "I guess we'll just have to go with the flow and see what happens, adopting as circumstances dictates."

Then the topic shifted to the planet's defense, I ask, "Mom, what's the status of our defenses?"

Knowing that as Dad's deputy, Mom would have full access to everything regarding Raksha's defenses, "Our surface-to-space anti-ship batteries are fully operational, thanks to the advise of your mate and his veteran crews, and manned at all times with a rotational shift of crews; Sky Shield Station has reported no problems and will be ready to react on a moment's notice; the planetary shield generator is kept primed and ready for instant deployment, it's kept under constant guard and maintenance against sabotage; the militia is on stand-by alert, ready for action as well as three regular infantry divisions, four armored divisions and two Battlemech regiments, our best ones, they were the quickest to adopt to Confed Battlemech neuro-helmet technology, other regiments are still having trouble due to the different balancing requirements; twenty-five fighter squadrons are on stand-by, ready to reinforce the fleet; and we have just about completed the underground civil defense bunkers, built to Confed specs, should we need to hide our civilian population from attack."

"How are my twin siblings? I heard that they both enlisted."

Mom nods in confirmation, "They did; in fact, they've joined search and rescue crews."

I had to shudder at that, the casualty rates for SAR crews were known to be atrociously high, "Mom! Don't they know that the casualty rate for SAR crews are even higher than that of pilots?!"

Mom grins back at me, "They're...what was that old term the humans use...ah, Sandies, not an actual SAR crew."

I look back at her sheepishly, "Oh, I see. Sorry for flying off the handle, mom."

She gives me a reassuring hug, "You were only thinking about their safety, dear, like an older sister should."

I breathe a sigh of relief, Sandies are air crews dedicated to provide covering fire for the SAR crews, fighters with long loiter time, heavy firepower, armor and shields to give the SAR crews enough time to extract the downed pilots and crews; SAR support pilots, or known by their informal name of Sandies, themselves carry heavier weapons than most pilots, Advanced Compression Rifles, Assault Rifles, force lances and silenced MP10 SMGs with shield penetration rounds being the norm but for the older veteran pilots, nothing is too big when you're shot down deep in enemy territory, there was one story amongst Confed pilots that there was once a pilot shot down in enemy territory, his seat turned out enough weapons for a small armory: one scope-equipped G36X assault rifle with attached grenade launcher, double force lance and a mixed load of twelve hand grenades; using them to hold off an elite squad of Kilrathi Imperial soldiers until a SAR team picked up his rescue beacon and swooped in for the pick up.

They are also a well-respected and -appreciated group of pilots because of their sheer dedication to their fellow pilots and their stubborn refusal to leave anyone behind, has, in a way, made them the guardian angels of downed pilots everywhere. "Mom, which squadron were they assigned in?"

"The 241st SAR squadron."

I had to whistle at that revelation, the 241st had a well-deserved reputation for incredible rescues and near impossible extractions plus they're the only squadron to include a capital ship with long range transporters and orbital bombardment weapons in their TO&E, the ship being an extensively modified Sirius-class system patrol light cruiser; I knew my sibs are in good hands, I grin broadly as I remember that the founder of the 241st is a semi-retired pilot from the 15th, a good friend of Nathan and has plenty of combat experience himself, so he would know how to handle first timers on the battlefield; I breathe a quick prayer of thanks to the deities for the my mate's and the 15th's extensive combat experience and broad spectrum of expertise, they've been able to find and counter vulnerabilities in both ours and Star Fleet's tactical and strategic combat stratagems plus the sheer genetic compatibility of the Kilrathi members of the 15th to both Rakshani and Caitians females thus increasing the chances of male births and there have been reports of Kilrathi-Rakshani hybrid cubs on the loose on several ships, all having reddish-brown fur, that color rarely occurring with full Rakshani cubs, the only downside, if you could call it that for a warrior race, is that the cubs are somewhat more aggressive and stronger than cubs of the same age, meaning that when the youngsters grown up, chances are that they'll be much more effective warriors just like their fathers.

I sigh quietly to myself as I envision raising Natorash'kar cubs, thankful of my own Force-sensitivity, but I couldn't help but wonder how Tasha, Whitestar and later mates will be able to cope with Force-sensitive cubs plus how will Darkcloud cope with Force-sensitive siblings.

Mom stops me as two soldiers move past us on a brisk pace, pushing a large hover-trolley loaded down with heavy weapons for the walls; she leads us to the north wing of the mansion which is strictly family only, she leads us up to the third floor conference room where Father and his advisory staff are working, the long table filled halfway up its length in datacards, printouts and holoplates and piled up roughly to a foot in depth.

I growl-purr a greeting and got a hug from him as he got up, he went straight to the point, "Nathan came with you?"

I nod, "He's at Sky Shield to look in on its new patient and to confirm a few things with Zhane."

"Will he be down here in time for dinner?"

"Probably but you know Nathan..."

Father nods and holds me close, "Are you having any doubts about him?"

"Just the children part but I won't have to wait long to have any with the emergence so close now."

"You'll make a great mother one day, dear, have no doubts about that..."

"I've been wondering how my co-mates will be able to cope with Force-sensitive children..."

"We are family, dear; we'll help when we can."

"Thanks, dad." I snuggle against him in thanks.

All of a sudden, my wristcom beeped, "Serah, Nathan. I got a situation up here..."

Weapons fire is audible in the background.

"Nathan, what's...?"

"...going on up there?" Serah's voice came through my wristcom.

I flinch reflexively as several energy bolts impact and chip the planter I'm taking cover behind, I select the M60 from my personal arsenal, loaded with shield penetration rounds, having swapped it over my Mk.1 Compression Rifle, edge around the planter on my stomach and let loose, I was also glad the area where I was aiming at was plain hull plating, had the SP rounds hit the transparent aluminum windows, I could have caused a major decompression in the station, the near deafening roar of my -60 drowning out most nearby sounds as I spray 7.62mm rounds at the enemy.

I grumble under my breath at always being at the center of any engagement, my mind automatically reviewing the sequence of events leading to this 'situation'; I was on my way up to the infirmary and had stopped over the customs area in the station's annex-A to check on a few things when I happened to notice several tall reptilians gathered together in a tight group, my instincts began ringing alarm bells in my head, I quietly link into the Sky Shield comm network and gave my commands, ordering a quiet redirection of the incoming civilian traffic while the civilians already in the customs area are quietly diverted into safe areas, leaving the reptilians in the open.

A quick check on the Furrderation-Stellar Federation database identify them as Krastarians, a warlike species known by the Furrderation to utilize cheap substandard weapons technology, used in massive numbers to overwhelm the enemy; proving my suspicions that they are an advance party, probably to act as saboteurs and as a distraction to the main invasion force, as soon as the last civilian is safely away, I called out in a loud voice, "Krastarians, we know why you are here, surrender and you will not be harmed; resist and you will be destroyed, your bodies will be burned and scattered to the solar winds, never to be found by your kith or kin."

It was at that point, the Krastarians threw off their cloaks, pulling weapons out from hidden pockets and open fire; I'll give them one thing though, they're fast moving buggers, surprising even the Rakshani troopers but once hot energy went flying, everyone flattened instantly and returned their fire.

What the database didn't say was the Krastarian scales have surprising resilience against energy weapons, I realize this the second my Compression Rifle's energy bolt merely glance off my target's scales but is knocked off balance by the kinetic energy transfer; suspecting that they're terribly vulnerable to projectile weaponry, I swap out my weapon for my M60, thus leading to my current situation...

What I saw confirmed my suspicions as the heavy 7.62 shield penetration rounds easily penetrate their scales, tearing out large chunks of flesh with them, the Rakshani troopers quickly pick up what I was doing and had also beamed in assault rifles and submachine guns, all Rakshani-sized variants of the M4 and P90 weapons with two M249 variants for added firepower, as I provide heavy suppressive fire on the Krastarians but several troopers also beam in several shotguns for close quarter fighting.

I see them trying to make a break back into their ship and couldn't allow that, I swap the M60 for the M8 assault rifle and roared out, "All units; close it up! Keep up the pressure! Don't allow them to escape! Charge!"

I match words with action as I leap over the low wall of the atrium and drop on to the ground floor, the M8 chattering hot metal at the enemy as several troopers follow my lead, assault weapons delivering suppressive fire as they charge, I see two Krastarians turning to slow us down but I never gave them the chance as I reflexively swap to the M29 25mm rifle grenade launcher and fire two 'dumb' rounds at them, a moment later, the chests of both Krastarians explode as the grenade rounds explode upon contact, followed up by six rounds into the holes in their chest to ensure that they never get up again, as we pursue their companions, my mind automatically tallying the Krastarian dead to eight out of twenty would-be saboteurs killed with the remaining twelve wounded or intact, since I had charged first, I round the corner first before the rest of my troops just in time to see the remaining twelve gathered in a circle chanting in their language, I suddenly feel that mental tap on the shoulder just as I realize that they are chanting a spell of some kind, a situation that only my soul brother can handle, I make the hand-off reflexively and watch from the sidelines; Nathan makes the hand-off out of reflex as he realizes that the Krastarians are chanting up a spell, I recognize it as the Krastarian spell of destruction, I'm guessing that they're really here as combination-kamikaze and first strike attack but the feelings I'm receiving tells that they intent to capture the station intact and that spell is shaped to affect the personnel only...

Not on my watch, you amateurs!

With just a flicker off thought, I swiftly form a neutralizing spell that will consume them rather than the station's crew, I reach out through the Force to check if there were any other Krastarians we may not have intercepted in time and encounter the very familiar Force signature-presences of my younger sister and brother but held back from actively connecting to them until the time of emergence, well, soul fusion in our case, given how Nathan and I work together as a bonded team and, in a way, as brothers, I guess the saying is true: 'Sometimes your truest brother is found in a stranger.' I cast my spell and instantly realize my mistake, my magical skills having significantly degraded due to the lack of magical opponents with past enemies until now, meaning that I'm going have to get back into proper magical condition, which also means that I have to contact both my siblings to help me get back into shape, all within several weeks prior the invasion, I swiftly call on the animal spirits for help just as the Krastarian spell is canceled by my spell but with the unexpected side-effect of a massive shockwave, it won't penetrate the hull but it will kill nearby personnel, just as the troops round the corner, I shove them back to safety with a Force-assisted telekinetic push as I summon Phoenix in shield form just as the blast wave struck, Phoenix instantly flares out in her fiery bird form, blocking the blast, containing it to within the corridor, the Krastarians had foolishly chosen a dead-end corridor, a technical error during construction and had been left uncorrected due to an oversight by the construction supervisor, given that the base's original design had to be enlarged to accommodate large numbers of Rakshani and their families plus support personnel and pilots for its fighter complement meant that this Omega-II station is roughly 40% bigger than the rest of its sister stations, an oversight like this is relatively minor during peacetime but could develop into a weakness during combat, especially if it disrupts the flow of personnel from one point to another but in this case, it became a blessing-in-disguise as it allowed me to contain the blast from hurting anybody else as Liger shields the rest of my body in armor form just as the blast blew around Phoenix, its force significantly dissipated into nothing more than a blast of hot air. What I never saw was that two troopers had managed to see a clear enough reflection of me...using Liger and Phoenix in a way that only a certain legendary family could...

As the blast dissipated, Liger and Phoenix shimmer away, leaving no trace that they were ever there, I had just turned around to check on my troopers when I suddenly felt a solid punch square on my back, as the report of pistol going off behind my back reached me, causing me to fall on my front, two troopers had seen what happened and sprayed my attacker with their entire clips as I feel a part of my back grown numb, the shouts of 'Medic! Get at medic up here! The Commodore's been shot!' slowly fading as I slip into unconsciousness...

I jerk my head upwards in surprise as I suddenly became conscious, my back suddenly hurting in payment for my haste, just as two strong paws push me back down on my front as I realize that I'm lying on my stomach, a dull ache on back telling me what had happened, I got shot in the back!

Talk about having your first operational mistake in a long time in front of the troops! I grumble lightly as I knew that it's going to be a long time before I live down this infamy as I hear chuckles from nearby, looking over my shoulder, I see several Rakshani troopers getting treated for light combat related injuries, I flush lightly as I realize that I'm the only one to be injured enough to require more extensive medical aid, as I lie flat quietly grumbling on my misfortune and not being able to see anything more than a bare bulkhead, I hear the Sickbay doors swish open and the sounds of paws coming to attention, I knew at once that Serah and Zhane had just walked in to check on me as two pairs of familiar paws stroke my back and rear, taking care to avoid my injury.

I look over my shoulder and see Serah and Zhane's smiles as they massage my back muscles, helping ease the tension still stuck there, I sigh in relief as the tension melts away then Serah whispers in my ear, "You certainly paid for your first operational mistake in a long time, hon."

I grumble lightly, knowing that she knew that I wasn't really that depressed, "I can't believe that I turned my back on the enemy before I was sure they are neutralized."

I receive a lick on the back of my neck, "Don't feel bad, dear, even veterans make mistakes every now and then."

"I'd prefer never but I guess I had that one coming after a long time of no mistakes." I sigh quietly.

What I didn't know was Serah's Force senses are telling her that I'm already emotionally rebounding from being shot in the back and getting hospitalized.

I roll over and got up from the bed, Serah gently supporting my back as Sky Shield's CMO, wearing a skirt-style uniform, walks up to the foot of my bunk, "How are you feeling, Commodore?"

I see her holding a datapad in her massive paws; no doubt it's accessed to my medical records.

I shrug lightly, "Not too badly, doc, but it hurts like hell." She smiles lightly, "You're very lucky, your Hazard armor took the brunt of the shot, depleting most of its kinetic energy, since it was a 15mm pistol round, there was still enough energy to penetrate flesh but not bone, at least not completely. The rib in itself was broken but it broke cleanly, allowing us to easily repair the damage, the round had punctured your lung, however, the damage was relatively minor, thankfully enough, so you should be back on duty in a few days, in the meantime, you are off duty until I deem your back fully healed; your mate and XO insisted that you spend your off duty hours on the planet, you will come back and see me regularly so I can keep an eye on the condition of your wound...and absolutely no late night physical activity until you're fully healed!" She added that last part with a teeth-baring grin.

I give her a look, causing her to giggle, "I need you to sign some paperwork in my office before I can release you, Commodore..."

I nod and follow her, there she locks the door and sits on the desk, lifting her skirt up to her waist, letting me see her dripping slit, "Serah had to bribe me in order to release you into her care..."

She grins broadly as I finish for her, "Let me guess...you get a quickie for my release?"

Her grin become a meat-eating smile as she removes her top, freeing a pair of voluptuous breasts, I sigh inwardly, wondering if Rakshani females were always this...busty since I have yet to encounter one that's not so fullsome but I let her have her way anyway...and besides, I'd be crazy not to! Not if I want to get clawed anyway...

Zhane leads me to the nearby transporter room while Serah goes downs a another corridor to take the turbolift down to the hanger deck and bring my fighter down to the family estate, Zhane gives me a quick lick-kiss in goodbye and I step on the transporter pad and nod to the tech-in-charge, I hear the familiar high-pitched hum and warble of the transporter energizing to disassemble my molecules and beam them down to the planet, instantly I feel the familiar sense of being torn into little pieces and, just as instantly, the equally familiar sense of being put back together again plus the usual sense of disorientation that is the norm with Confed transporters.

Due to the fact that Confed-designed transporters are capable of utilizing the same amount of energy to 'beam' down a human with more massive species, thanks to an abundant self-regenerating crystal called the bio-harmonic quantum resonance matrix which is capable of both deconstructing and reconstructing anything and any and all species that pass through its fields, the only side effect to this process is that it leaves the processee in a state of physical disorientation, several chakat and skunktaur scientists have been working on nullifying this problem but compared to current Federation-designed transporter unit, ours is much more simpler, more robust, more reliable, more efficient and surprisingly quite capable of long-term multi-pattern storage with no noticeable mental or physical degradation with minimal energy requirements, a mere 500 watts to be exact; the only downside to the Confed system is that the crystal is incapable of replicating which was why we still have dehydrated and preserved foods plus a fully staffed galley until we joined the Federation, hence Federation transporter and replicator systems are now used alongside with Confed transporters to counter-balance their strengths and weaknesses but nothing can ever replace the traditional galley as they were left alone.

I stumble off the transporter pad in my mate's family estate and into my brother-in-law's arms, as I shock my head to clear it, I hear him chuckle, "Still not used to that, after all this time?"

I look up at him, "You can never get used to that, kiddo. No one ever could..."

"Is that why Confed doctrine requires sending combat robots first before living personnel?"

"Yep."

"Makes sense..."

He sets me on my feet as my head finds its bearings again, I follow him out and onto the estate grounds, I stop for a few minutes to soak in the sunlight and the fresh air, and took off in a run to catch up with him, he leads me through the estate and to the north wing of the mansion, we enter a large conference room whose table is half-filled with reports, datapads, etc.

I see my father-in-law sitting in the other end, he looks up and breaks out into a grin, he gets up, walks up to me and gives me a hand-shake and a bear-hug as he said, "Well, Nathan, looks like you got an incident to live down..." He finishes with a grin.

I groan quietly, "Do you have to bring that up, dad?"

His grin grew even bigger, "Now what kind of father-in-law would I be if I don't embarrass my son-in-law every once in a while...and besides, you and the family rarely come to visit!"

"Sorry," I answer sheepishly, "but you know as 15th CO, I have a lot of things to do to keep my ships in top condition plus I'm always drawn to strategy meetings and panels, most of HQ refuse to let me disappear long enough to call it a vacation because they fear that...well, you know what I mean..."

He nods sympathetically, "Yes, I do...and believe me, I'd wished plenty of times that I could just grab the whole lot of you and have you stay here on Raksha on a more permanent basis rather than on Chakona but since it was a joint decision, I had to bow that..."

"Yeah, I understand."

"By the way, what really happened up there anyway that got you shot in the back?"

So I told him the sequence of events that led to my injury exempting the little tryst in the doctor's office, then we hear the distinctive low-pitched rumbling of my fighter as it makes its final approach just as the nearby clock ran local noon, we made our way to the dining hall, I look out the windows overlooking the landing field as Serah makes a three-point touch down on the tarmac, though a touch too rough for my taste.

She taxis the fighter to its hanger where several Rakshani and human techs swarm all over it, doing the standard post-flight inspection and check-up as well as rolling up the boarding ladder to allow her to get out of the fighter, Serah climbs down as the techs unload the external ordnance racks for storage but I didn't pack much only my usual load of 12 Hornet-class HS missiles and four Photon Torpedoes plus the Lightning Storm CAP, though that stays put.

We continue to eat until Serah came into the dining hall, looking a bit miffed, "You started lunch without me!" We broke out laughing heartily as I remove the cover of her food and gesture for her to sit next to me, she sheds her flight suit as she walks over, revealing a skimpy bikini that covered all the naughty bits but showed off everything else, my mother-in-law looks at it speculatively, grinning evilly at it then at her mate who was a bit too stunned to notice her look as he's slack-jawed at his daughter's voluptuous figure, I'm not so badly affected as I've seen that suit several times before, I just sat at my place admiring my mate's ample assets while grinning like a love-struck idiot which, of course, how my lovely feline mate likes to be appreciated, the only ones in my family with immunity to her charms are Whitestar and Tasha which leaves me only partially resistant to her predatory charms, at least she only applies that at home and never on duty, I think...

She sits down beside me and tucks in but not before lightly bopping my on the head to snap me out of my hypnotized state, her tail wrapping itself around my waist and resting the tip on the bulge in my pants, a very pointed signal that we'll be busy later tonight once we settle in.

It didn't take long for us to finish lunch, we went to the estate's lush gardens to enjoy the company of our mates and lovers; Serah and I sneak off into the hedge maze where we both worked our way to the center and things got hot and steamy once we got there; after an hour of love making, Serah got us out of the maze using her Force abilities by scooping me up into her arms and, using two Force-assisted jumps, got us out of there in no time.

We stealthily made our way to our room, where we took a quick shower to wash off the strong scent of our love-making, snuggling on the bed after drying.

It wasn't long either before our snuggling turned into napping, our bodies instinctively preparing for the night ahead. Later that evening though, Serah guides me to the garden again but this time to talk, "Nathan, I need to tell you something..."

I suddenly felt that mental tap on the shoulder again and reflexively stepped back, this time though, my soul brother lets me listen in...

"What is it, my love?"

"Simba, I don't know how much longer I can hold back from telling Nathan everything I know about the crossroads he's about to reach!"

'What crossroads?'

"I understand, which is why I've removed the barrier between our consciousnesses so that Nathan no longer remains in the dark about the crossroads he will be facing."

"You did what?"

"I've decided that it's high time that Nathan has some idea about what he is going to face, the choices he will have to make and the consequences of his choices."

'What the hell is going here?'

"Hmm...it looks like, Nathan's finally ready...Ter'nas Sero I'fikisnera Tef'orem Sef'naris!"

And with that, an ethereal version of my true form separates from my host body, allowing Nathan to finally see the true face of his soul brother, which judging from his reaction, told me that he's both scared and quite impressed at what he sees, obviously and apparently not expecting an eight foot tall feline to be his soul brother.

"Holy shit! You're a big one!"

"Family trademark I'm afraid...both the guys and the gals grow roughly to the same height...with some exceptions, of course."

Nathan arches an eyebrow questioningly, I grin broadly at his perceptiveness, "Yes, I'm one of them."

"It figures."

We both chuckle lightly and then we both got back to business, Nathan asks, "So what's this all about anyway?"

I answer back with an air of heaviness, "It's like this, brother; the upcoming battle with the Krastarians is my time of emergence, a point in time where certain elements of the galaxy are aligned just right for 36 hours, creating a null-plane zone where a spirit can re-enter the mortal world at will but only within that 36 hours; there's a problem attached to it though..."

"What kind of a problem?" Nathan asks apprehensively.

"The resultant emergence destroys the host soul and recreates the body to match the emerging soul..."

"What!?"

"But it won't be like for us..."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"There have been cases where both souls fuse together to become one soul except that the emerging soul becomes the host and the host becomes the residing soul but cases like that are extremely rare, however... the two of us count as one of those rare cases."

Nathan looks at me thoughtfully, "Then I can guess that the situation will be called: 'The fusion of the souls.'"

I nod, "Close enough, though 'Soul Fusion' is the proper term...essentially, our souls comes together to form a new one; our skills, our talents, our personality fuse together to an individual as unique as you and me but sharing our combined characteristics, skills and talents as well as our love and affection for our loved ones."

Nathan looks down thoughtfully, "I need to think about this..."

"Take your time, brother but remember that time is against us on this, you will have to make your decision soon." I said as I fade back into Nathan...

I snap back into reality, my mind becoming crystal-clear as soon as Simba merged back into me, I look at Serah but before I could speak, she nods in affirmation...my facial and body language must have given it away, I thought to myself.

"How long did you knew, love?"

I had to ask anyway.

"I knew ever since you showed me your gauntlet...and when you unconsciously used the power of the animal spirits to aid you in saving the lives of innocents." She answered, crying lightly.

I pull her into a hug, comforting my mate, "I assume you were under orders not to reveal Simba's existence to me?"

"Yes..." Her answer was almost a whisper.

I tighten my hug, "I understand, love; I'm not holding that against you. Frankly, I'm surprise that you've kept this secret for so long without telling anyone."

She makes a faint giggle at that as she looks me directly in the eye, "Nathan, you're absolutely dense or you're absolutely the craziest fool in the galaxy; don't you understand what Simba is asking you?"

"I understand clearly what he's asking of me...and to be honest, I feel that there is no other choice but to go through with the Soul Fusion; I promised myself that there's nothing that I will not do if it means ensuring the safety and security of my loved one even at the cost of my life...and if you ask me, this looks like win-win situation, though losing my identity is a big minus, on the other side of the coin, I gain powers, abilities and skills plus an extremely long life span to make good on that promise of mine without getting killed. Don't forget that I have made hard decisions before and this counts as one but my gut feeling tells me that this would be one decision that I will never regret...and besides, we can finally have those cubs we've been trying for..."

She looks at me in shock, "Simba told you!?"

I nod, "Yes, he told me...and he also told me that we're also compatible with chakats and Kilrathi too."

She looks at me seriously, "You do know what that means..."

"I'll be rebuilding the clan through our family..."

She smiles broadly and turns the hug into a heart-felt bear-hug complete with a passionate kiss.

We snuggle for a while, enjoying each other's company, then we reluctantly break our hug as we hear voices heading our way, we hurry along the garden wall and Force jump all the way up to our room's balcony.

It was then that I belatedly realized that I had just used a Force ability as did Serah, the two of us instantly stopping in our tracks in surprise, I made a mental query and received a surprising answer, "Nathan, I've decided to let you have access up to 50% of my powers and abilities as well as full access to the animal spirits and their powers plus I'll be getting back into fighting trim through you."

I look at Serah in shock, "Simba just gave me full access to half his powers and abilities with full access to the animal spirits as well as getting back into fighting trim through me."

She gasps, "This is unprecedented...I've never heard the residing soul giving access of their powers and abilities to the host before."

I sit down on a nearby footstool and begin to ponder, "I think the reason for this is because both the resident and the host rarely found anything in common but Simba and I share similarities in many places that sooner or later, we would bond together; we both hate the loss of innocent life but are swift to punish the guilty with sword and fire; we fight to protect and defend rather than to conquer; we choose to serve rather to be served...I guess that's why Simba ended up with me in the first place..."

Serah sighs heavily, "Then I guess it's time for you build your lightsabers..." She walks over to a wall and triggers a hidden switch, revealing a large case; she pulls it out and opens it, revealing its contents to me...my jaw drops in surprise in recognize the contents of the case...lightsaber components and crystals!

I feel another mental tap on the head and I feel my hands being guided to my force lances and instantly understood what Simba wanted me to do...Serah went to bed early, I stayed up late into the night, integrating a pair of lightsabers into my force lances, creating a flexible yet powerful combination of long range and short range weapons.

I had just finish integrating the weapons together two local hours past midnight when my newly-awakened Force sense gave me a heads-up call, I instantly and reflexively create a Force shield behind me, I sense the shield stopping something in its tracks and leapt into action, my dual lightsaber-force lance combination igniting for the first time, I sense Serah and her parents reacting through the Force, I follow my assailant in hot pursuit, reflexively using my new powers and abilities in seamless combination, easily vaulting over the high walls without even using the grappling hook attachment.

Just as I clear the top of the walls, the Force gives me a sudden warning and I ignite the combined weapons for the first time, the argent blades springing to brilliant life, they form an 'X' in front of my chest, catching the rounds meant to kill me, disintegrating them on impact. I twist in mid-air, shutting down the left hand blade and fire it at my attacker, the two bright yellow-red plasma bolts reaching out and hitting my opponent dead center on the chest, a loud snarling hiss of pain, I belatedly realize that a concentrated bolt of plasma could hurt Krastarian but only in the level of concentration a force lance can fire plus the fact that my opponent is a Krastarian reminded me that I may have overlooked the drop pod factor in my plans; I land in a defensive crouch with my right hand saber humming in front of my face and my left hand at the ready and pointed out at the prone form of my opponent...just then, I sense Serah and her mother drop down behind me, lightsabers at the ready, not taking my eyes off my opponent, I ask, "What kept you so long?"

"Traffic was murder." Serah answered glibly .

I switch off my lightsaber and arm its force lance component while keeping both force lances aimed; just in time too as two squads of infantry regulars charge up from the nearest entry-way, suddenly I sense a presence, a very familiar presence, using the pretense of personally inspecting the prisoner, I send a Force pulse at a certain trooper, who looks up and catches my covert wink, he grins and winks back, knowing that no one would have seen that swift exchange.

I sense a distinctive pattern of two long Force pulses followed by two short ones, ending in a complex long-short-long-long-short pulse pattern; I answer with a mixed pattern of six long and eight short pulses that ended with rippling pulse pattern. We traded subtle nods and went our separate ways, my brother going with his squad while I follow Serah back into the estate.

Late the next morning...

Serah and I wake up with groan at the rising sun, shining into our bedroom through the open balcony. I stretch every which way my body can reach only to feel two muscular arms wrap around my back and push me against Serah's ample chest, the gentle purring and a sudden Force insight plus the strong yet pleasantly musky smell waffling across my nose...wait a minute!

How the world could I smell a Rakshani female in heat!?

'That's my doing, Nathan," I hear Simba rumble amusedly in my head, 'It's high time that we start rebuilding our family...and finally have the children we both wanted to raise and love...'

'The metamorphosis has already begun?' I ask.

'It already start a month ago, beginning with your senses and reproductive organs, shortly followed by a full scale detoxification purge of your entire body, all which ended last night.'

I swear I could hear a snicker in his words...

'Anyway, have fun buddy; I know you will too...'

'You set me up, didn't you!?'

'Ciao!'

And I found myself already buried deep within my mate's warm folds, I just realized that Simba had been distracting me just enough to take over long enough for me to mount Serah, I grumble about being sneaky but lost my train of thought as the pleasure begins to overwhelm me...

It was late in the afternoon when we both emerged from the bedroom, looking like a tornado had decided to settle on top of us for a time or two, and positively stinking of sweat and sex but neither of us cared as we slowly made our way down the hall to the communal showers where we both helped to clean each other while playing at the same time, of course, with the racket we were both making, everyone in the mansion would know what we've been doing for the past few hours.

I don't know what came over me but despite having undergone a eight hour straight, non-stop love-making marathon, I felt very refreshed; we made our way down to the dining hall, my Force sense is telling me something but I couldn't concentrate on what it was since Serah is constantly distracting me with her touching and groping plus her strong heat scent to add to my distraction.

We make it to the dining hall but found dad waiting for us there with a frown on his muzzle, "Nathan, Serah, you're both wanted back at Chakona, there's trouble brewing..."

So it begins...

To Be Continued...