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Diary-

Their ship was getting hammered by volleys of weapons fire from the two other vessels they had engaged. All those remaining in the ship were running to get into the last few escape modules. Three where holding on to each other as the heavy artillery strikes violently shook their vessel while doing their best to stay upright. Chief Engineer Gallard, Second Medical Technician Hourren, and Trigg came across Captain Cortve with eight other Officers making their way to the nineteenth module bay.

One of the Male Officers part of Cortve's entourage shoved Trigg out of the way to make room for the rest as they piled into the escape module.

“You wait here, filth. If there is any room left, we may need it; so don't get any unrealistic expectations." the six foot plus black and grey Vulpine told him.

He said nothing to protest, this was Trigg's lot in life. He was not one of them, just a pelt less tool small enough to effectively exact precision prepares to the ship.

The last of the crew had filled the module leaving one remaining seat; Sijia motioned for him to join. Trigg hesitated; then entered taking position in the empty place by the hatch. Sijia watched him pull his worn satchel off and set it down in the trap box next to the seat. Trigg configured the harness before settling in.

The hatch shut, all of them waited in cringing anticipation of the sudden burst of acceleration; then to being more frighten of the alarm that sounded.

The hatch would not fully seal and lock to allow for the escape vehicle to launch. Trigg undid his restraints; then hurried to see the display read out next to the hatch to figure out the problem. Their ship took another hit from the enemy vessels putting him on his hands and knees.

Sijia looked at him as he stood up again. Before she could undue her restraints to help aid him with his bleeding injuries, he turned around, opened the hatch; then exited the craft intent on solving the problem. Both of Trigg's palms and knees were dripping blood from being tore open by the grated deck.

“Get us out of here now you miserable…" Captain Cortve shouted as another volley struck their ship.

One of the other Officers watched the panel screen of the other escape vehicles deploying. The numbers on the display were reducing by amount value as each left the Midgard.

“The others are leaving, do not fail us you hairless pile of compost." the grey Vulpine named Bilner yelled.

Sijia watched as he ripped the access panel from the outer bay wall and start pulling hot lead wires and optical lines. She witnessed him get shocked repeatedly with the blood from his hands creating a viable circuit to his body.

“Stand down Medic, let him do his job." the Captain told her as Sijia was undoing her restraints to give Trigg assistance.

A few seconds after the exterior panel illuminated again, the hatch slammed shut, and sealed. Trigg was on the other side of the locked barrier.

“Trigg, get in here." she said through her headset.

“I apologize Mistress, this cannot be undone. This is were we part ways… Be well." he said before running in the opposite direction back into the dark corridors of their heavily damaged ship.

The escape pod disengaged abruptly; after the inertia faded, all of them looked through the oblong shaped view port back at the ship they ejected from. Sijia kept looking at the dark shutter that sealed Trigg off from escape wondering if he might still find a way to get off ship before being killed.

Knowing time was short, he made his way towards the bridge dodging falling supports, and plumes of plasma fire discharging from breached conduits. Trigg was unnerved seeing the bridge almost inoperable, save for the helm stations. Some of the other station panels were smoking with the overloading power feeds burning from beneath.

He took the helm that was still giving fluid readouts without disruption; then started to relay commands to the remaining weapons to return fire at the enemy vessels to create cover for those who were escaping from the Midgard. The computer would not allow him access to the central systems.

“This is an override, I am the last crew member on board."

“Your authorization is limited; access denied." the omnid-irectional voice sounded.

“I am acting Captain of this vessel, all others are off ship; Comply!" Trigg shouted starting to get a nasty headache from the fumes of the burning consoles.

“Negative, your rank is insufficient to apply commands."

“If you do not, Captain Corvte will parish; you will fail in your duties." Trigg told the computer.

“Negative, your attempt at subterfuge will not be tolerated."

“Alright, alternative method then." he told the voice.

“Do not attempt to override again; you are bound by Loursteh law and will executed."

“I am already dead. If you do not comply, I will manually override the control lockouts and proceed without your consent. For the last time; the crew are in danger, I am the last standing crew member giving you a direct order to return fire."

“Negative. You are sighted for treas…"

Trigg had already pulled a narrow retractable cord from his belt pouch and plugged into the helm console; then activated his override program. Chief Engineer Gallard knew about Trigg's override device, sometimes he had to use it to bypass restrictions while repairing sensitive systems. If Captain Cortve ever found out that Trigg could essentially take control of the Midgard, it would have meant his execution.

He manually set a course to put the ship right in the path of the two other enemy vessels now starting to pick off the escape modules.

“Bring all weapons to bare on the enemy ships; target their drive section, and continue to fire until they are excommunicated." Trigg spoke aloud.

“Command accepted; warning, drive systems are critical."

“How long will it take to put the drive system on standby?"

“Targeting; firing first volley. Cannot go into standby, substantial damage towards core, engineering is devoid of life due to radiation maintaining lethal levels."

“How much drive output can be generated to achieved momentum before complete failure?"

“Twenty-eight percent; however, staying at seventeen percent with aft maneuvering thrusters will allow sufficient momentum to meet preset itinerary before absolute failure."

“Proceed with seventeen percent." Trigg said as the second volley was fired.

"Captain, our ship is firing back at the enemy." Bilner announced.

“What?" Corvte said bringing up the aft camera feed.

Sijia did the same on her console watching the exchange of heavy artillery between the three ships.

“Good boy." she said to herself.

The next hit from one of the attacking vessels caused a hull breach four sections aft of the bridge entrance. Trigg could feel the atmosphere start escaping until the emergency bulkheads shut, sealing the bridge off.

“Life support has failed; thirteen minutes before hypoxia."

“Understood. Keep me informed of countdown by the minute please."

“Affirmative, fifth volley is almost ready to fire." the omni-directional voice stated. Trigg turned around to locate the Emergency Breathing Apparatus container. To his disappointment; it was empty.

Only one enemy vessel had turned to intercept leaving the escape modules alone to destroy the Loursteh ship targeting their drive sections. The other looked like it had sustained critical damage as it changed course to flee.

Sijia tapped into the data feed being collated by the ship's flight recorder to get a better understanding of everything happening before seeing the bridge get struck along with the drive section from the returning fire of the enemy vessel not in retreat. The video cut leaving only the telemetry readout.

The rest of the atmosphere started to rush out of the bridge as the emergency bulkheads and shutters sealed the remaining area off. Smoke from the burning equipment had become significantly less as did the breathable air.

“Enemy vessel closing with weapons ready to fire." the omni-directional voice informed him.

“Take us to maximum output, fire everything at escaping vessel. Set intercept course and prepare to ram closing ship." Trigg gasped out struggling to breathe.

Every release of breath brought up blood from the acrid vapor that Trigg inhaled as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

“Confirmed." the omni-directional voice replied. “No viable atmosphere remaining; hypoxia is imminent. Toxicity is at lethal levels."

Trigg fought the tunnel vision as best he could before the impact happen.

The building content of noxious fumes and smoke caused him to vomit while clinging to the helm console. His lungs and throat felt like they were on fire. The last sensation felt before the numbness took over was being weightless as he was thrown from the forceful collision.

Sijia and the rest watched as the fleeing vessel broke into pieces from the last volley fire from their ship; then the intentional collision between Midgard into the remaining Human vessel.

They all heard her gasp as she realized Trigg had just committed suicide to ensure their survival.

The collision between the two ship was odd. The Lourshteh ship pushed the other away before its drive system's core reached critical mass, followed by a brilliant flash that blinded them for a moment as the escape vehicles bucked from the shock wave.

Communications started to open up between the remaining seventy units slowly. All of them had worries that another enemy ship might be entering the area, being that both peoples sent distress calls.

The only words spoken were by the pilot and Cortve on making maneuvers while keeping a permanent eye on all of the sensors for any unwelcome surprises.

Other than when she was spoken to during maneuvering operations, Sijia did not offer any interaction with the others feeling the loss of Trigg.

It took hours for them to see the first ship sent to their aid; relief filled them all knowing that they would be picked up first due to the Captain being on board.

She made sure everyone was too busy congratulating themselves to pay attention as she removed Trigg's satchel from the trap box. After that, Sijia made a hasty exit into the docking bay.

After reporting in, Sijia was directed to a small, isolated room waiting for her mandatory mission debriefing.

Four hours later, they called Sijia in. The debriefing was more like an interrogation. The same questions were being asked in five different ways to see if Sijia would somehow slip. She was smarter than that, but it eluded her to why they would be attacking her in this way over a failed mission. Then it dawned on Sijia, the Captain had been debriefed before any one, and probably threw a bunch of them under the Metro-Transport to cover his own ass. Namely; Trigg. He was a perfect patsy. Not only was he not one of them, he was dead. The debriefing cabinet kept pushing Sijia to implicate Trigg for the failure of their mission and the loss of the Midgard.

“All we need to know is if Trigg had sabotaged the ship to get rescued Second Medical Technician Hourren." the first cabinet member stated.

“No, there was no way it could have happened. The flight recorder data would have the evidence of outside communication if that were the case." Sijia argued. “He attacked his own kind to save the crew of our ship by taking command of the Midgard. No communication was sent to any one by him during the event."

“You mentioned in some of your reports that the Human named Trigg was being abused by other crew members." the second cabinet member said.

“Some of those spineless Males beat the shit out of him on a whim. And how would I know? Not only did I witness these acts of violence; I tended every one of those injuries when I took my station." she told them with resentment in her voice.

“Do you believe that because he was abused, it warranted his actions to become a traitor and commandeer the Midgard to escape?" the first cabinet member asked snidely.

“I know for a fact Trigg is not a traitor that assumed command."

“All right, tell us how you know the Human was not a traitor." the third cabinet member challenged.

“I know Trigg is not a traitor by the following actions; he sacrificed his life to rewire the escape vehicle to allow for the Captain and the rest of us to live. By what ever means, he got the ship to comply, and aid us in our escape further while parts of the crew were being picked off. It still remains that the two assailing vessels were destroyed by Trigg's command ability followed by his final actions." Sijia told them. “With the last fact being, he fought his own people to ensure our survival. Does that sound like a traitor to you?"

“Do not discuss this with anyone, we will contact you if there and any further questions."

Sijia left infuriated by them. If she ever had to deal with Corvte again, at the risk of receiving disciplinary action for breaking decorum with a superior Officer, Sijia was going to give him an iceberg sized piece of her mind about being a lying coward.

It was odd that none of the facility staff ever asked about her personal hard case or the worn satchel she carried. Even though she was around her own people, Sijia was not in the mood for any interaction, and treated the friendly on comers very curtly just to find isolation for the sake of personal peace. Nineteen hours later, she departed for her home after getting off the Trans-Atmospheric Transport from Orbital Platform Five.

To swim in the spring again filled her mind with the stabbing intrusions of the Inquisitors while doing her best to rest on the Metro-Transport.

By the time Sijia entered her home, it was very early in the morning. She could see a thin ribbon of blue light outlining the mountain tops as the darkest part of the night started to break.

Everything was where she left it, even the fine layer of dust that accumulated while she was gone for three years. The garden on the other hand, it was going to take a bit of work clearing the tangled growth in order to get it ready for planting again.

Detailing her home would be the new priority after she made some tea. As the water heated, she touched a dark blue cylinder on the day room table while pulling the protective cover off her couch to sit for a moment. Sijia scrolled through the holographic display for the periodicals pertaining to the war. This type of media was hard to get while in flight for being out that far other than trickle down from the command about the new offensives and attack strategies. Pretending to be interested in the broadcast, Sijia's eyes kept wandering to Trigg's satchel.

“Enough of this bullshit." she said aloud as she stood up to get the item her attention had been drawn to.

The periodical cast was just more pushing to kill Trigg's people for all of the attacks being delivered by them.

'How would the system populous feel if they knew that the Loursteh fleet was hitting twice as hard on all of the Human colonies outside our territories?' Sijia thought right as she picked up the satchel. 'Probably no different than they feel now…'

The kettle started to whistle. It sounded off triggering a welcomed feeling, a very missed one at that.

When in flight, the ship's atmospheric control system could suffer corrosion with a humidity change from a kettle pluming steam; then the build up of mold that would occur in the air scrubbing filters.

Most of the hot drinks provided in the mess hall would rise to temperature as soon at the seal was pealed back but not to the point of releasing a significant amount of moisture.

There was something about doing it like this; sounds, smells, and the fresh taste. She slung the satchel around her neck and shoulder while entering the kitchen to prepare the tea.

Sitting down again, Sijia set the cup on the table, pulled the satchel off, and opened it to see what Trigg had left behind. The first item was a well crafted figurine of an Arctic Vulpine Female dressed in a black and grey uniform; it was a bit dirty from all of the years of being handled, but cared for intently. The uniformed Female looked vaguely familiar. Upon closer inspection, Sijia saw an inscription on the bottom of its base.

'Remember how much I love you. You are the best thing that ever happen to me; my special Kit.'

“Odd… Trigg was a Kit?" Sijia said aloud cradling the figure in her hands trying to see through his eyes. “What the…"

'Admiral Targa Willene' was the name inscribed in metallic yellow at the back of the base.

“How did you know the Admiral, Trigg?" she asked as she dug back in to the satchel to find pens, and pencils; then a book.

It was a shoddy cover of randomly fusible materials and a string binding over sixty-three millimeters thick. Her first thought was it must have been a book he cherished and continued to preserve it.

Sijia carefully opened the book and saw something she was not expecting.

Perfectly hand written Loursteh text, and the details of the illustrations were well done, especially of Targa.

The first entry was around the first four months of service aboard the ship. It was five years six months before taking the three year tenure to replace the Second Medical Technician.

He was being rousted into fights, a lot of pranks that lead to injury, and a very personal thought, 'to be with her'.

What did 'Her' mean? Trigg was too young to have been with anybody at the time; it was a ridiculous thought since he was not one of them, still…

“Oh my…" Sijia said sitting back in the couch staring at the figurine in her hand of the Fleet legend, Admiral Willene. “Could it be that she raised Trigg?"

The inscription should have made it obvious, but it was still conjecture without solid evidence.

Rumors had circulated about the reason she faded out of history, Targa had fought nine full skirmishes as a Captain and became a hero to the people like many other Captains would be. After becoming an Admiral, she continued to actively coordinate strikes and sometimes command a heavy cruiser in battle.

Sijia put the figurine down while in thought about the time Admiral Willene's last command before withdrawing from the public eye.

Leafing through the diary further, she found other accounts of unnecessary abuse by the crew. Engineer Gallard and Captain Cortve seem to be the only constants as crew rotations continued up until the war accelerated. It was the time she had come on board as Second Medical Technician. Her arrival was also synonymous with crew rotations being halted, and all those who had survived were the last to man the Midgard before its final destruction.

Sijia pretty much knew the rest, save for the inner workings of how Trigg felt past the small amounts of dialog they shared.

She had been reading for a while and forgot about her tea, the only surprise about the cooled fluid was the realization of the time passed.

Setting Trigg's diary down and standing up to stretch out for a moment, Sijia noticed the morning light fully breaking over the mountain range as it illuminated the beautiful meadow right out her font door.

Knowing the refrigerator was empty of all the perishable items she would like to eat, Sijia opened up the dry store pantry to find something for breakfast while heating more water settling on a couple of instant Lentil and Barely Soup packets to take in something mild. After being in flight for so long, the dish she truly craved would make her sick after living with strict nutritional guide lines of the food they consumed.

Some flavors were bad, some not so bad, but they all seem to lack any spice. She heard it was an equalization medium to keep favoritism minimized and reduce conflict by only offering a more uniform system. And yet, Trigg never got to experience equality among the crew, save for three people.

To have to chew again was an odd experience, everything came on a portioned pouch you could squeeze.

Easy storage for the most part, and no need of a kitchen crew.

Sijia had been filled in later by the head Medical Technician that is more to do with oral hygiene. With sustenance that came out of a squeezable pouch there was not a need to chew, without chewing, nothing gets stuck in between teeth, and eliminates possible breakage thus negating the need for an Oral Surgery Technician aboard. It did not change the protocol for oral hygiene though. Some of the preservatives had acidity to them, and in order not to rot your teeth out, brushing and using a water irrigator was required.

Sijia made sure Trigg had the proper oral tools even though she was told not to worry about anything with him, which lead into her getting into trouble on a few occasions for attending him after getting picked on.

The arguments that erupted from this got fierce when Sijia informed the Captain that while Trigg was serving on this vessel, his medical needs would be as important as any other crew member. Cortve threatened to throw both of them out of an airlock.

“Sure, you do that sir; when you don't have a means to fix the ship without tearing half of it apart, or have your Second Medical Technician in the heat of battle… You can rest assured that you made the right decision."

Cortve knew she had him on that notion and still placed a disciplinary action on her record. If you were to look it up, the context is vague enough to be overlooked. Sijia returned Corvte's gesture in kine by filing reports on the abusive treatment of Trigg.

Sijia smiled to herself as she slowly chewed her meal, while continuing to read Trigg's diary.

She started to get into part where Engineer Gallard was the first to treat him with worth; not at first though, it was not until he realized Trigg could get into places he couldn't and make repairs that would have require docking. Trigg was only five foot three inches tall, the rest stood at five foot ten and six foot four. He could get into the smaller facets they could not.

After Trigg proved his merit in technological know how with a mastery skill, Gallard stopped being hard on him. His treatment of Trigg had gotten better, and gave him rewards for his hard work. Extra rations of food and water. When Trigg had become of age, he also got treated to the occasional shots of smuggled liquor. No more than two, that was the deal; if he ever got caught intoxicated short of a prescription from the Infirmary, it could mean being executed. Reporting in late for a shift would result in a red ass beat down. Not that it didn't happen anyway, but Trigg kept his secrets well protected regardless of the consequences.

Shorty after that time, Sijia had come on board to fill in the slot of Second Medical Technician.

The first time she stapled his wounds, even she did not like him. After witnessing a couple of skirmishes with Bilner and Jegeky; Sijia came to the realization that Trigg did not seek the fights. He still did his best to hold his own; which at times resulted in a harder beat down. Had she not seen it for herself, the dislike would have stuck. Sijia was the only Female Officer that did not treat him like he was disposable. The other Female Officers on board did not physically abuse Trigg, but they had their own ways of tormenting him. It might have been why he wasn't keen on really speaking.

Sijia would try to talk to him when no one was looking to get Trigg to open up. She had to coax in conversation with him to find out what he went through before she came on board. She knew he did not lie outright; Trigg always minimized the situations when she asked questions about how the current injure ensued while stapling him up.

It was obvious he was doing his best to dodge trouble when asked 'How'.

It frustrated Sijia at first, but upon awakening to a different reality; to report would be death because he was not of their people. There would have never be an inquiry.

Then a familiar account unfurled as she continued to read. Trigg dragged Gallard out of a hot area in the core room while most of the Engineering crew fled because of the radiation leak. After two days in decontamination, he was granted a four day leave in the infirmary to deal with the radiation exposure. The passage read that he saw her for the first time; obviously Trigg had interacted Sijia before, but to really 'See Her' was of a different magnitude.

She really did not know how to take what he wrote.

“It must have been the radiation he was subjected to combined with he anesthetic." Sijia said reading on knowing that explanation was of her own creation.

The war was always at their heals; some strategies worked, and most did not. The casualties were frequent in their fleet, and the amount of bodies on both sides were like a constant flow of parts on an assembly line conveyor belt during these sorties.

Sajia took a slow, deep breath reflecting on memories of the worst runs they had been though; which led to a lot of yawning from being exhausted.

After catching herself nodding off a couple of times, she sleepily wander into her bedroom.

She awoke from the dream that entailed running fast through the corridors of the Midgard to reach the last escape vehicle while doing her best to pull Trigg in.

“Sorry Mistress, this is where we part ways." he said with a smile knowing what laid ahead.

“Don't do this for us, please stay."

“You know I cannot Mistress, if I could… It would be for her." Trigg said with a sadden smile. “She is all that mattered; I just wanted to be a good Kit, I want my Mother to be proud."

“How much more could she be of you?" she said in the dream and out loud.

“I won't know until I can nuzzle her mane again, to breath in her scent, to have those auburn eyes smile…"

Sajia realized she had crawled into bed with the dust cover shoved half way on the floor, still in her clothes.

The thought of Targa holding him entered her mind eye with a vivid image of her nursing Trigg. It made sense; because of Sijia's deductive reasoning for detail due to her medical prowess, she started to extrapolate the components in all the common knowledge known about the Admiral.

Targa had multiple miscarriages while the thick of the war had ensued. A tyrannical attitude increased in all of the battles she got to fully command; then on a bad day, another Captain had shined through.

The part Sijia did not know, and had to assume was; the Admiral found a Human infant and was able to sustain its life. When favoritism left Admiral Willene in the hind sight for a moment in the public eye; she would have been able to hide Trigg for some years before being found out; then having him taken away.

When Targa found Trigg, he was crying loudly next to his dying Mother who was trying to defend against the white Vulpine Female only to protect her infant before the life faded from her eyes.

Sijia had no information to know the last of these facts, nor was it even in the diary. These were things she was going have to face. This is where comfort would not be, just the harsh, and peculiar reality of their war.

Admiral Willene took a long leave of absence after that battle. At first, the ranks had thought she had been severely wounded; so rumors started to circulate about her being disfigured until she made a public appearance at an amphitheater to listen to her favorite melodic group dressed casually.

It took everything she had to sit through the show with all of the attention drawn to her. That was the last time she was seen in public other than attending strategy meetings.

The light casted the afternoon hours as Sijia heated more water for food and drink. All she could think about was Trigg's life with Targa.

'Why Targa would have had Trigg around. The Admiral was very outspoken against the Pelt less, and rallied to slaughter every last one in our territories to send a message to the rest.' she asked herself in thought while eating.

After finishing her meal, she went into her bathroom and brushed her teeth. Sijia kept looking at herself in the mirror thinking of how Trigg might have seen her. That passage in his Diary was still causing a bit of emotional turbulence.

All Sijia saw was her medium length burgundy hair, autumn leaf red and ivory white face. Her thick ivory mane starting below the neck, shoulder width that was flowing part of the way out of shirt's embroidered collar above her breasts. Sijia turned the water on in the sink and splashed her face enough to soak, then dried it to a fluff while staring at her own reddish auburn eyes thinking, 'You really see me?'

Shaking her head and smiling as the reflection smiled back, she groomed for a few moments and trimmed a bit of coarse hairs from the insides of her thick black tipped ears.

After making a double potency tea, Sijia decided to pull out her portable computer. The display flashed to life and was ready for her first command.

“Private search, use VPN Ricochet. Stream drama 'Loveless City' as cover."

“Settings confirmed." the tiny mono-toned voice spoke from the portable unit.

“Open search; Targa Willene, Captain, Admiral, all threads attached including sensitive and sealed documents." Sijia told the computer.

“Collating all available files with threads attached, now." it replied.

Knowing it was going to take a few hours for the computer to finish its task, she took the notion to clean her house and wash all the dust ridden covers. Sijia would still check to see the progress of the file search with anticipation of what she may chance on.

After vacuuming the upholstered furnishings; then all the edges around each room, she ran a damp dust mop across the high polish stone floors. All that was left was finishing the laundry, folding it, and putting it away. Satisfied with the couple of hours of work, she made a noodle soup from the dry store selection; still had to take it slow with semi-solid food. The portable computer chimed with the sound of completion.

Sijia was eager to see the results, but had been disappointed for a moment. It seemed the rumors where true; all information had been stricken from the record. Save for one file that looked like an advertisement.

Her VPN had done its job, hiding the package in the obvious.

Sijia transferred the file to a tablet; then deleted the file from computer, had it overwrite all the free space on the data storage.

She sat down to eat while reading the file.

Most of it was a battle manifest with honors and awards. It covered Admiral Willene's career up to the last battle she was in. There was a few side reports of the Admiral's strange behavior. The next ten pages were psychiatric reports showing growing concern that she was on the verge of collapse after her Mate ended their union. Admiral Willene was kept on duty, but showed continued signs of disinterest in strategy meetings. Then came the final battle report.

Targa had taken it upon herself to make entrance to an enemy ship and engage in person to person combat with the remaining enemy crew.

The last few pages were the manifests of the criminal charges that ended her career from military service.

Harboring the Enemy-

Consorting with the Enemy-

Intentionally Withholding Information-

Lying under the Officer's Oath-

Under Minding Fleet Protocol-

Dereliction of Duty-

Sijia shook her head as she read through the last bit of the charges against the Admiral.

Targa had been completely stripped of her rank, honors, rewards, publicly humiliated, and deemed mentally unfit.

“And a nice big thank you for all of your sacrifice, and service; now scamper away and hide." Sijia said mockingly aloud with a mental image of the final judgement of the proceedings.

Towards the bottom of the page was a side note of the last known address for Targa. Sijia wrote it down before deleting the file from her tablet.

A couple of days had gone by as Sijia unwound. She had been enjoying warm spring water in the morning hours before running her favorite trail.

Her home was clean again, and food was becoming easier to consume. Still, there was no easy rest with the thoughts of Trigg and Admiral Willene.

A message came through from Fleet Command about her next ship assignment. Sijia had only five days to prepare and be on base to report as First Medical Technician. At first, a swelling of joy and pride filled her for finally getting a big promotion. Then something else set in with those feelings losing their luster.

The thought of going back out after what happened the last time made her feel a bit ill; more so with feeling like she had unfinished business.

Sijia made up her mind to find the Admiral and return what was left of Trigg to her before being deployed.

Waking up early to catch the first transport to the main transit hub, Sijia had the energy of feeling exhilarated. She was about to meet a living legend. The news she was going to deliver wasn't pleasant, but Sijia planned on speaking highly of Trigg and his valor under fire; then telling the Admiral that regardless of what happened, she still believed in her greatness. It sounded like it might be enough to buffer the blow of telling her that Trigg had passed away.

Once off the transport from her home prefect, she looked at the transfer station map to figure out where to go to get on the next transport to the prefect the Admiral was last known to reside.

The next leg of the journey was a chore once she exited the transport station.

Sijia was doing her best to find a local compact transport to take her to the building of the address she had, and kept getting refused. Then she found one that would do it, but for triple the fee. Come to find out, the place she wanted to go had a very bad reputation, and not many drivers would go there; especially in the evening hours. Sijia made a deal with the driver for the fee he petitioned. If she called for a ride back; he had to fulfill the obligation of her request. The deal was made under the guise of the fee remaining triple.

When they pulled into the residential complex, Sijia could see why the driver wanted the extra pay.

The place looked like a trash refuse with broken glass and the debris scattered about. There were a few compact transports that looked as if they had been thoroughly stripped of everything that might have value; some of those being of the same model the driver and she were in now.

The buildings looked stained with dirt and yellow moss from not being maintained; the only places the build up had not taken was where the graffiti had been painted.

Sijia checked her firearm before opening the transport door.

Upon exiting the vehicle, she took her time to survey the area before shutting the door. Sijia check the address numbers twice to be sure the rundown building was the right one.

She quietly walked through the threshold hearing the driver leave quickly. While looking for a floor map, Sijia found more random graffiti on the interior walls with propaganda posters torn or with burned edges, and holes where peoples faces once were. The place smelled musty and the lighting was dim. Pieces of stone tile were chipped out of the floor exposing the concrete underneath.

Every door she walked passed was constructed of reinforce composite. Understandably so; the crime rate in areas like this were rumored to be staggering at times.

Just thinking about it, Sijia had to wonder whether or not they were any better than Triggs people, being that they were often referred to as uncivilized trespassers. Coming to a stairwell, she found a floor map. Targa's last known dwelling was two seventeen.

“Second floor, unit seventeen." she whispered to herself looking at all the broken furniture and trash on the landing and stairs.

After navigating the mess, the landing to the second floor looked a bit cleaner.

The lighting here was just as bad as the bottom. A hum and occasional crackle could be heard down one of the hall ways from a dying overhead light ballast. Every step brought the crunch of broken tile. Sijia saw more graffiti and turned her nose up in disgust until she looked closer. The patterns were all interwoven and continuous with the tear drop shaped leaves with unique spiraling detail.

Her journey was almost complete as she stared at the black door with two seventeen stamped on a tarnished brass plate being held my two mismatched screws. Sijia pressed the orange button barely glowing to see if anyone would answer. She started to hear voices echoing down a few hallways; this was not the ideal situation.

“Did you hear that?" a Male voice echoed.

“No, but lets go see if it is our payday." another Male voice replied as the sounds of paced foot fall made it's way closer.

A choice would have to be made that could get her into a serious amount of trouble staying at the door. If Sijia fled; there would not be another chance because of being returned to active duty. Right as she was going to press the button again, the door opened as a figure in a dark blue robe stood before her with everything visible, except above the collar line was obscured in a dark shadow from the upper edge, and corner of the door blocking the already dim light from the overhead lamp in the hall.

“May I come in?" Sijia asked.

“Sure, why not?" the tall Female's voice sneered.

She followed the tall Female into the unit, after that, the door was shut and securely barred just as the crunching foot steps, and Male voices passed by on their search.

The apartment was only lit in the front room, but very low. Past the two closets on the left, the inlet for the kitchen was on the right. As they both entered the day room, Sijia noticed two other doors to the left. One was the apartment's bathroom; then the other being the bedroom. The scent was of dried flowers and liquor.

“I apologize for the intrusion, but I was wondering if we could talk about something of personal importance?"

“Your type always wants something." her voice sneered again.

Sijia watched the Female sat down in thick reclinable chair, then sip from a tumbler with an amber fluid in it, while noticing a two liter black glass bottle in the chair's side pocket.

“Go ahead, sit; I would like to be rude, but it doesn't get me anywhere with your superiors."

Sijia sat on the small couch and set her case on the black wood table in front of her.

“I am not here on official business, Admiral. I am here.."

“To finally finish me."

“No, I am here.."

“Well my dear, I hope you didn't volunteer for this assignment." the white Vulpine Female said pulling a pistol out and aiming at her. “Doing that would make it a bit personal."

“I am here at great risk to my career. If you would shut up for three minutes and listen, I'll be on my way… Or shoot me after I tell you!" Sijia told her.

“Uppity little thing aren't you?"

“After what I witnessed, you would do yourself a favor to really pay attention, Admiral."

“No one calls me that anymore. Why would you?" Targa asked with the pistol still pointed at her.

“Because someone I served with would request it of me to show respect to for the sacrifices you made, and I still believe in your greatness." Sijia said reaching for her case to open it.

“You got a weapon in there?" Targa asked leaning up from her chair getting a better bead on Sijia's head.

“No, my weapon is right here Ma'am." She replied as her service pistol ejected out from the left sleeve of her coat aimed right back at chest level towards Targa.

“Oh, well that's a comfort."

“Right…" Sijia said pressing the release with her right hands index finger; then setting the pistol on the table in front of Targa. “Now; if you don't mind, I am going to open my case to return something very precious to you."

Targa exhaled in discontent sigh as she picked up Sijia's pistol and set it on the lamp table next to her drink. Then she watched as Sijia opened the lid and turned it towards her.

“No… No, tell me this isn't… I gave that to my Kit." she said with a sorrow filled expression. “My only child, Trigg…"

“I am so sorry Admiral." Sijia said handing Targa's miniature likeness to her.

“They never told me what they did with him." Targa said looking at the figurine. “All they did was strip me of everything and take the one true joy I had."

“I also have Trigg's other personal effects which includes a diary." Sijia said.

“How did you find me?"

“A bit of research and paying a transport driver triple the fee for bringing me here this time of night." Sijia answered.

“Why? Is this to torture an old Female?"

“No, this is because of how much he loved you. Look, I didn't know anything about Trigg when we served on the Midgard together short of his name; that he was not one of us, and that he did repairs to the ship that the rest of the Engineering crew couldn't get to."

“Was he treated well?" Targa asked.

“No, not by everyone; only a few of us." Sijia replied

Targa noticed the look of guilt in her eyes, the one that said she should have done more.

“Here." Targa said setting another tumbler down and uncorked the black bottle. “It will help."

“He was getting roughed up before I served with him. I started disobeying orders when it came to keeping Trigg in good health." she explained watching Targa pour the whiskey for her. “Chief Engineer Gallard, Tactical Officer Second Class Pitcpherd, and myself were the ones who cared for him."

“I see." Targa said as Sijia took a pull off her drink. “How long did it take for you to realize Trigg's worth?"

“For myself, it was after I witnessed the abuse by some of the other crew; like I said, I went against orders to give him the medical care that all ship personnel had a right to. For the others, I think they grew to respect him for his hard work."

“He was always a good Kit." Targa said taking a pull, looking as though she was dealing with a head ache.

“I have no real justification, or right to ask this, other than my own curiosity of his whole story. How did you come to care for Trigg?" Sijia asked.

Targa swallowed the rest of her drink and set the tumbler down for a refill.

“It was the very last battle I was in, it was also the two weeks after I gave birth to a stillborn Kit. I kept it secret, and wore my infantry armor to hide my wounded belly from the cesarean I had to have. We had come across a transport ship bringing supplies to one of the colonies. It had just been caught in the skirmish with three other Human combat vessels. It had no business being there, but we fired on it as if it were another enemy." she explained before taking a pull. “I had intended to board that vessel myself and fight them face to face hoping that I would leave a gouge in our history with my legacy."

“I can only imagine how hard it was to deal with the loss of your Kit." Sijia empathized as best she could while finishing her drink.

“Imagine three consecutive miscarriages, the stillborn, add your Mate leaving you because you can't bear offspring to keep the family surname going; then the pressure of being the rising star of the fleet. I was going into that ship to meet my end."

“I apologize Admiral, I shouldn't have pried."

“No, you came here seeking answers, and I don't get company short of the neighbor whom I pay to get my provisions, or being pestered by your superiors." Targa said taking a sip.

“You were saying that you were going to meet your end by going to that ship personally, but something obviously changed." she said as Targa motioned to refill Sijia's tumbler while setting the figurine down next to the lamp.

“What I found was very profound and sad. I had killed eight of the Males and two Females, none of them could offer any challenge. I heard whimpering cries in a storage room not but four meters away from a corner I had just turned left. When entering to investigate, I saw a Female severely injured with a broken piece of metal protruding from her chest trying to pull the pin out of a grenade. She could not get enough of a grip with the blood all over her hands. Frustrated and scared, she dropped it before rolling over to protect something." Targa explained as her voice started to tremble. “It was the first time I heard Trigg cry."

Sijia said nothing as Targa took along pull from her drink.

“I told the female that I was there to help, I would get her help. My mind raced, I had made a mistake. I told her this was all a mistake, but before I could do anything the blood loss cause her to parish. I carefully picked the ugly pelt less infant up to see what it was. A little Male; just like the one I lost. My mind was trying to make sense of the emotions that were starting to make my judgement lapse. I took him; at that moment I walked away from the war, and did not even realize it until later."

“How did you manage to hide Trigg?" Sijia asked.

“I had made a covert communique to my most loyal people on the ship. I told them that I needed their assistance with a capsule upon my return. My saving grace was that the battle had been won by another Captain in the fleet and everyone not in the know had their attention drawn to the victory." Targa told her. "After my debriefing, I left for home in haste. I wanted to be left alone with my prize."

“Your prize?" Sijia asked.

“Yes. You don't have children yet, so to understand my description might elude you."

“How did you keep him alive?"

“Surprisingly enough, Trigg suckled from my nipples like any Kit born of our people would have." Targa told her. “I do miss those days; you see, he loved laying on my bare chest while sleeping. It must have been a wonderful sensation to his pelt less body to rest on me with his little head immersed in my mane between my breasts. After a few days, I fell in love with that ugly, pink, pelt less Male. So I gave him the name of my stillborn Kit."

“Do you have any visual files of him?" Sijia asked feeling a heavy twinge of melancholy for Targa.

“No, just what my memories hold. As I said before, they stripped me of everything… Except for a menial pension and this prison."

Sijia looked down, the great Targa Willene deserved better than this.

'Was it so much of a scandal that they couldn't just leave her alone to be happy?' Sijia thought.

“Why didn't they just leave you alone? I mean, discharge you from service, but why everything else after what you sacrificed on so many personal levels?"

“Because I am the last of a list of people who were in know the truth, and they thought that Trigg might be what would make me divulge what I knew because of our bond with each other. Having him in my life as my own, and knowing it was by my hand that his birth Mother died. It would be a very unstable situation that might build into an intricate fairytale of conspiracy to aid the people we were at war with. In essence, I might tell the populous that it was we who started it, and with my following, it would most likely cause an uprising that could have very well overturn the bastards in power." Targa said before finishing her drink.

“Did we start the war?"

“What do you think?" Targa asked.

“I really hope we didn't, but now I am not so sure." Sijia said finishing her drink. “What was Trigg like when he was starting to walk?"

“Odd; I came back here." Targa said softly before laughing a little. “Now I understand!"

“Admiral, are you feeling all right?" Sijia asked with a concerned expression. “Oh yes… That's right, our conversation. Clumsy, but he always wanted to follow me. Actually, he held on to my tail to stay upright."

Sijia remembered being told about doing the same thing learning to walk.

“Trigg must have been so curious about things."

“Incredibly curious, and incredibly smart." Targa said. “I used to sing while feeding him every night we laid together before sleeping. A year after being weened, he started to form words. Trigg would do his best to sing with me.

By the time he was four, you could have full conversations; then a year later he was starting to read and write."

“Would you have?" Sijia asked as she smiled feeling a heavy buzz thinking a very young of Trigg.

“Would I have… What?"

“I apologize, It's none of my business; I was wondering after you said they thought you were going to be their undoing, if that was what you had intended, or you really wanted to left alone."

“Left alone… To be a Mother, fuck the rest of them."

“I apologize Admiral, I meant no disrespect."

“Please don't take it that way; just wanted to emphasize being left alone. I didn't really care about their bullshit, it will catch up with them in the end. Looking back on it now, I should have divulged what I knew; then maybe I could have kept him, but I made my choice."

“I see. Makes me feel as though I need to weigh consequences more carefully." Sijia said. “I wish Trigg would have before he rewired the escape module."

“We all should, but most of the time we don't, and that is all right. Sometimes you end up doing extraordinary things; then you end up paying for it." Targa said before taking a pull and looking down. "How did Trigg meet his end?"

“He saved almost the entire crew. We had attacked what we thought was one vessel; it was two, and because we came in on their top side, the other ship underneath was hidden from the instruments until it was too late. Trigg did his job as always until the Captain issued the order to abandon ship. He grouped up with Gallard and I, who happen to come across Captain Cortve, with a few others.

Our escape module malfunctioned on the release systems because the hatch wouldn't seal from the beating we were taking. He got up and volunteered to solve the problem. I… He uhm.. Fixed the release, and…" Sijia choke out before taking a long pull to the point of finishing her drink. “The hatch shut and sealed. Trigg was… Trapped.. There was nothing I could do."

Targa watched Sijia start shuddering doing her best to control her urge to weep.

“So your Captain opted out of his final duty. How spineless." Targa growled a bit. “Here have another round, take your time. I would like to hear what you experienced."

“I wasn't exactly surprised the Captain didn't stay on the ship; even Trigg knew it was a gross dereliction of his duty, but he did his job to fix the hatch. Some of the modules had started to come under fire. While we waited to be hit next, the Midgard miraculously started an assault run to give us cover. I looked into the FRS to see if I could get the feed from the bridge, it was dodgy at best, but Trigg was commanding our ship. I witnessed a heavy strike four sections aft of the bridge; then the bridge got struck causing the video feed to cut. I could still get the ship telemetry as the fighting continued. It read that the aft breach was the initial caused for substantial loss of life support. The direct strike to the bridge sealed the last pocket of atmosphere; that being relative. There wasn't enough oxygen to breath, and the toxicity of the burning hardware was killing Trigg." Sijia took another pull, then continued. “The enemy ship trying to escape the firefight started to break up into pieces after being hit just forward of its drive section. At this point there was only so much time left while he suffer hypoxia mixed with toxic inhalation. The telemetry feed showed a jump in engine core output and was forty-five seconds from critical mass. The last thing any of us saw was the Midgard ramming the remaining enemy vessel. It didn't stop there; it was shoving the other one away before the engine core containment finally failed"

Targa sat deeper in her chair looking around with an overwhelming flood of emotions thinking about Trigg's act of selflessness against insurmountable odds for a crew, save for three; that hated his very existence. She took a couple of short pulls, then coughed a little.

“You mean to tell me that he took your broken ship and did what Your Captain refused to do?"

“Yes." Sijia replied.

Targa laughed, not because there was any real humor in it, because of the cowardice that left Trigg trapped to finish the mission.

“Did my Son leave any final words?"

The look on Sijia's face was haunting as she replayed that moment in her mind.

“I apologize Mistress, this cannot be undone. This is were we part ways… Be well." she repeated. “Then he ran headlong into the flickering red highlighted darkness before our module deployed."

“He must have thought highly of you to leave those final words." Targa said.

“If he did, he never showed it; well… Maybe I was being blind." Sijia said sipping her drink.

“I raised him to be reserved, so that would be my fault. But I know that he must have thought something that wasn't bitter, or he would have said nothing."

“He said a lot of that; I mean not in his last words, but he would not really talk. I don't blame Trigg though, I saw some of the fights first hand, and I being the one who tended to his medical needs afterward."

“I am willing to bet he favored you, after all you might have been his only positive Female interaction besides me." Targa said jestfully with a slight slur.

“I think he was just being tolerant under the circumstances." Sijia said modestly.

“But what if he wasn't? What if Trigg saw you differently?" Targa poked.

“I… What? No. Why would he look at me that way?" Sijia said thinking back to that particular entry in his diary.

“Look at who raised him. To Trigg, any Female of our people would be attractive." Targa said. “Remember, regardless of how he looked to you; Trigg did not see himself as anything else other than one of us. He learned that later, but his attractions remained because it was normal for him."

“You think your Son was attracted to me?"

“If I was a fence post, and I raised him as a fence post; I get the distinct feeling he would seek out another fence post because that is what he knows. Only Trigg knows how he felt, we are Loursteh, and he would seek out a Loursteh Female."

Sijia thought about it. Would Trigg seek what he knows, or would he find a Female of his people more enticing?

“I think he would prefer a Female of his kind." Sijia said still unsure with the notion of he being attracted to her.

“No, I don't think so." Targa said before taking a pull. “Females of his kind would never feel right because they are not pelted. With his tactile acuity, Trigg would most definitely seek out a Loursteh that would have him as a Mate."

“All because of how you felt against his skin while he nursed." Sijia said with the stare of deep thought.

She listened to Targa's voice like a narrative for a moment while doing her best to imagine Trigg with a Loursteh Female; then children.

“Very much so, more than a child of our own people. Comfort and trust, that is what he would have sought, and possibly gained in a perfect world." Targa said. “Grand children would have been nice."

'A perfect world.' Sijia thought doing her best to envision Trigg holding a newborn Loursteh hybrid child in his arms as friends and Family came to see the new addition.

“It's too bad that world couldn't exist with circumstances the way they are. I'm sure he would have brought joy to everyone in his life."

“Yes, and it is unfortunate that it was us who started this mess." Targa told her. “Well my dear, you still have time to make a substantial change if you are brave enough to face the same odds he did."

Sijia thought about it for a moment as she sipped her drink.

“Are you suggesting a dereliction of duty or ramming the vessel of my next assignment into something?"

“What I am saying is, making a choice that is hard to understand is going to take every ounce of your courage." Targa told her. “If it could bring Trigg back, would you make that choice?"

“I don't get your meaning, Admiral." Sijia said taking another pull of her drink.

Targa chuckled a bit before pouring herself another.

“What if I told you that the Humans are on the brink of extinction because of us." she said. “What if their was a way to start from the beginning and stop this conflict?"

“I would say that you are mad. There is no stopping any of this now."

“If you were given a chance to stop it before it began; would you do it? And before you make another comment of it being impossible, I just want you to answer the question."

Sijia thought about it for several moments then answered.

“If it ended all of this before it began; yes, yes I would take the chance for the sake for all those who died needlessly, and to bring Trigg back to you."

“Good, I am ready to do it again." Targa told her.

“I am at a loss; you're going to take the chance?" Sijia asked her.

“Yes, and so are you. Our people have been working on Faster than Light Travel for a very long time and have never gotten it to work, but we found a particular side effect to the attempts. It opened doors to possible outcomes, which one of them is where none of the conflict ever happen. Understand, these are not parallel worlds we are accessing. This is our reality flow." Targa explained. “The thing about time is it isn't a straight line, it is like a badly wound ball of yarn with multiple points of intersection with past crossing future and vise versa. The FTL experiments have given us the ability to access the intersections to create a way back."

“How do you know all of this? I mean, that is only theoretical."

“It was until a few months ago. You see, even though I have been shamed in the public eye, I still have loyal people who keep me informed of things." Targa said. “I got snuck into the facility handling the experiments, and let me emphasize this, it is our best chance not to wear the stain of genocide on our pelts."

“Why did you ask me about bringing Trigg back?" Sijia asked feeling pretty drunk.

“Because I needed to know if he really meant something to you. I figure that is obvious due to the reason why you are here to begin with, but I needed to know that you would take the jump to bring him back." Targa said.

“If Trigg did come back, and all of this changed, he would have never been your Kit." Sijia told her.

“To the contrary, Trigg still ends up being mine. Circumstances changed with that ship; a rescue mission gone bad, but he is still mine. Certain things are a fixed point in our lives." Targa explained.

“How could you possibly know that?" Sijia asked.

“I made three jumps, and it didn't work because something is missing. What I came back with each time was an expanded knowledge of certain things."

“Then why do I need to make the jump if Trigg is still yours?" Sijia asked.

“Because, it won't work without you. That is one of the things I learned on the last one."

“Why?"

“Two of us have to make the journey, and you are the key. I have seen the possible outcome, and all I will say is that it will be very beautiful… Sijia. Don't look down at the edge; just take the jump if you really want to change all of this. If we don't, and the Humans completely expire, our people will be shrouded in darkness for a very long time." Targa told her with a very serious expression.

“To see you again…." Sijia said softly. “What do we do to make it happen?"

“Easy, be at this address in two days at this time." Targa said writing it down on a small piece of paper. “I will see you there. Tonight though, you should help me finish this bottle, and rest until morning; it gets a bit out of hand at these hours."

“Of course Admiral."

The rest of the night they talked about Trigg and some of the things he went through, but when Sijia showed her the photos of him, it made her angry to the point of sobbing seeing the slow decay of her beloved Kit with new scars on his face in every picture mark by date consecutively. The only photo that made her smile was the one that had Chief Engineer Gallard, Tactical Officer Second Class Pitcpherd, and Second Medical Technician Hourren with Trigg standing proud with the only friends he had.

Both of them eventually passed out.

Her journey home the following morning was rough. As soon as Sijia got through the door of her house, she made a dash to the bathroom. She vomited quite a bit from drinking the way she did the night before.

“Should have known better being that it was already hard enough to eat solid food." she told herself before dry heaving.

While sleeping the hangover off, a message was sent by the Fleet Command for her to respond and confirm her new orders. She had three days to report to a Trans-Atmospheric Transport base to be assigned a new ship as First Medical Technician.

Sijia, while sleeping; kept having dreams of Trigg. None of them made sense, but they stuck in her psyche because of the desire to bring him back for the sake of Targa, and for herself to be at peace with what happen.

She kept looking at the photo of them together repeatedly while laying in bed with a throbbing head ache, it pulled at her heart. This was one of the few times Trigg did not look humble, but genuinely proud with the people that became his extended Family.

“What would it been like if you had been the Captain of our ship?" she asked him. “I could have followed you anywhere."

Hearing her own words, she came to a realization; hard to swallow as it was, with Targa's voice echoing in her head about Trigg loving her. In truth, suppressed as it may have been; Sijia did share those feelings for the beat down Human she cared for. Not as a Mate, but as her friend even though she could now admit that he was attracted to her, and possibly very much in love.

Their world was the worst for an expression like that because of he being different. Playing the memories back with the interactions Trigg had with other Female personnel, Sijia was the only one he ever called “Mistress".

It meant his submission was hers, and hers alone. A small way of saying 'My adherence is only for you.'

Sijia liked it when he called her that, but the meaning had just started to resonate with her now. Her thoughts wandered further while imagining them away from the conflict; under a different circumstance in life, and knowing each other. To be open to his affection without social criticism. The emotional turbulence arose again, but the idea seem far more pleasant than before.

She decided to write a letter of resignation as a final punch to the face towards the Fleet Command before making the journey to reset everything as Targa had laid out.

“This is my Resignation to the Fleet Command for the Position of First Medical Officer, and any other Military post for the sake of our people.

The first reason why I submit this is on the behalf of Trigg Willene, Kit of Admiral Targa Willene. Trigg Willene was treat poorly during my watch as Second Medical Technician of the Midgard by all who staffed this vessel except for the following people; Chief Engineer Gallard, Tactical Officer Second Class Pitcpherd, and myself. This unbecoming of the Officers in our fleet under any circumstance. Trigg Willene performed his duties with more courage and distinctiveness than Captain Corvte. By manning the Midgard to its end; he protected those of us who were not his own people.

Secondly; the mistreatment of Admiral Targa Willene for loving Trigg as her own Kit, which had been the catalyst of our salvation. By her actions, which she was stripped of rank and scrutinized to the point of social damage; we of the remaining Midgard crew were saved by Admiral Willene's sacrifice, and love for her adopted Son.

Thirdly; I now know the truth. It was us who started the war with the Human people. I will no longer participate in, condone this bloodshed, or the genocide of a people who have been defending themselves.

This Tender of Resignation is not negotiable. Do as you must to serve your own means, for it will not matter.

Signed- Sijia Hourenn-

She exited the compact transport at the address on the small piece of paper. It looked like another run down apartment building like the one Admiral Willene was living in. Sijia entered the building ready to deploy her pistol at any sign of trouble.

Looking around, all she saw was a dusty and desolate corridor that led to the other entrance on the opposite side of the building.

“This is some kind of joke at my expense." Sijia said thinking of how much time there would be to get home and cancel the delivery of the resignation she was sending before coming here.

Two fully armored Guards came out of nowhere and grabbed her.

“Get your hands off of me." Sijia exclaimed trying to fight them.

“You need to stop fighting and come with us, the Admiral is waiting to see you."

Still tense as they escorted her through a hidden access behind a wall, Sijia kept looking around to get a grasp of where she was being taken. After five minutes navigating the winding corridors, and stairwells, they allowed her to walk ahead of them free of physical contact.

They entered a room with what appeared to be light blue stainless steel walls with a couple of control consoles, two desk size machines, and two tubes one hundred centimeters in diameters. Targa was there smiling.

“You are brave Sijia Hourenn, I am glad you are here."

“I expected to see something more extravagant." Sijia told her still looking around the room.

“Of course, the Fictional Science stories almost always write of massive machines to make it possible. Not always the truth, in fact the FTL Drive would have been no bigger than two standard office desks, hence both of those modules there."

The two of them shared a little laughter at the thought.

“Are you both ready?" one of the Technicians asked.

“Yes, let's go forth and make a difference." Targa said stripping her clothing off. “Please follow suit, then get into that tube." one of the Technicians told her.

Sijia was binding up in apprehension trying to understand what they were about to do.

“Clothes off Daughter, time to meet destiny."

She complied and undressed.

“Admiral, may I ask one more question?"

“Yes, last one." she told Sijia.

“Am I going to remember all of this when everything resets?"

“Both of us will. It's our burden, but because of our knowledge, this will never happen again. With that being said; you will have a rare appreciation for the gift you are about to receive." Targa said getting into her tube.

Sijia did not understand, but entered the tube she was provided.

The interior was a highly polish mirror finish. After hearing the hatch shut, Sijia was almost convinced that they had trapped her for custody to face trial as a dissident.

When the machine started, Sijia could hear what sounded like voices everywhere. Her pelt started to stand up on end from the field energy beginning to fill the tube. Within minutes the voices came together in a droning mantra like chant that was becoming overwhelming. The sensation of floating filled her body. Even though her eyes were closed, Sijia could still see different patterns of shape morphing from geometrical to fluid. Suddenly, it felt like she was being thrusted though something like a tunnel.

Her mind's eye watched as they traveled forward through the intersecting networks of their reality as though a Metro-Transport hub Lineman was switching the monorail tracks with every flash of color when crossing the barriers. It felt like she was going insane as she started to traverse the nexus points creating the loop through the future, then the past to another point in the future, then the past again. It kept going on like this with random intervals moving her through to the final destination. Sijia was seeing things she could not being to explain. The information was filling her mind at such an accelerated a rate, it was becoming a mental overload. She started laughing uncontrollably as it felt like losing her mental faculties until there was nothing left, but a strange bliss.

“Haaaaaaaa… Ah, ah, ah, what, where is… I, what the hell!" Sijia exclaimed gripping the sheets and blankets of a big bed.

The room was saturated by the morning light. After looking around, she realized it was her bedroom.

“It was all a dream." she said still feeling strange.

“It always is, Love." Trigg said entering with a glass of apple juice.

Sijia almost couldn't look at him. She remembered the last moment they shared before he ran back into the bowls of hell to save them.

“I'm so sorry I couldn't open the door." she said starting telling him as a few tear rolled down her pelted face.

“Take a deep breath Sijia, It's all right. Our Physician said dreams of a disturbing nature would become more frequent during the later part your pregnancy."

She was looking at him, his face was smooth. No signs of abuse, no scars; young, fresh, and healthy. Trigg's blond hair was short and well kept.

“I don't know, I mean if that was what we were told."

“Here, have some juice." he said with a loving smile.

After a few sips, Sijia was wondering where Targa was.

“Where's your Mother?" she asked looking deep into his jade green eyes.

“Sleeping in our Kit's nursery." Trigg said. “I thought I heard her get up though."

“All right, I just wanted to… To make sure the bathroom was available." she said sitting up.

Sijia felt different. Her body felt loaded down as she spread her legs to accommodate her protruding belly making a few sounds of discomfort.

“After you use the bathroom, I'll make breakfast; then rub your feet." Trigg told her.

“You would do that for me?"

“That dream must have gotten to you; it's all right. Yes, it has been our morning ritual for the last four months." he said sliding into bed to lay next to her while gently rubbing her belly. “It's the least I can do to make you feel better."

Sijia finished the apple juice and handed the glass to Trigg. He set it down on the night stand; then continued rubbed her big pelted belly under the soft cotton gown she wore while laying down again with him.

The memories of him on the Midgard filled her mind while feeling his affections.

“Kit, were still you making breakfast this morning?" Targa asked with a big yawn dressed in a familiar dark blue robe standing in the door way.

“Yes Mother, I wanted to give Sijia her morning affections before getting started." Trigg said sitting up and gently guiding her soft, whisker laden muzzle to his lips; then giving a firm her kiss. “Well my Mistress, duty calls."

She watched as he got up and put his right arm around Targa's waist to walk her out of the room into the kitchen as the tip of his Mother's big, fluffy white tail disappeared around the corner. Looking down at her belly, she was in awe in knowing that the birth was going to be soon. She could feel their Kit moving around, it was a lot to take with the sensation being new.

Getting up, Sijia felt an urge to urinate that was more fierce than any other time she could remember. Coming out of the bathroom, she slowly walked into the day room. Sijia saw Targa sipping tea while Trigg prepared breakfast.

“Good morning Daughter." she said with a smile getting up to offer Sijia a chair.

“Good morning Adm… Mother."

“Would you like some tea?" Targa asked.

“I uh, I feel a bit more apple juice would be fine."

Targa filled a tall glass with the cloudy brownish fluid smiling.

“Here." she said setting the glass down for her.

“Thank you." Sijia said hoping that Targa was going to give her confirmation of some type that this wasn't a dream.

Trigg served breakfast for the two beloved Females of his life. Eggs, meat, fermented cabbage, barley and split pea mixture like a mush hot cereal.

Sijia found herself devouring the meal and asking for seconds.

Trigg was happy to feed her what she wanted. Besides the fact she was eating for two; his beautiful Mate needed to be ready to deliver, and that was going to take energy.

After breakfast, Sijia and Trigg sat down in the day room immersed in bright warm sunlight that streamed through the big windows.

After she got comfortable on the couch, Trigg pulled the foot stool over close to sit; then began to massage her swollen feet.

Sijia watched him smile as he provided the pleasurable relief. After twenty minutes, Trigg stood up and leaned over Sijia caressing her soft left cheek as he gave her a nice long kiss.

“I have to go run an errand and check in at the office; I should be back in an hour and half." Trigg told her. “When I do, we should go soak in the spring."

“I would like that very much." she replied with a smile. “Hurry home."

Fifteen minutes after Trigg departed, Sijia started crying.

“Dearest Daughter; are you feeling all right?" Targa asked.

“Was this what you were referring to when you said I was going to receive a gift?" she asked between sobs.

“Yes." Targa said.

“I don't deserve this. Not after what happened… Not after how he was treated"

“Sijia, you do deserve this. You are Trigg's happiness, and best of all, you are about to give birth to your first Kit." Targa said sitting down in front her. “There is no war, Humans are our companions in space exploration. By doing what we did, Trigg now has the life he deserves with a very loving Mate, and that is you."

“Why don't I remember anything other than the life before all of this?" Sijia asked drying her eyes.

“It takes a little while, but all of your memories will start to catch up. Every morning you will wake up with more familiarity. It will be rough at first, but it gets better." Targa explained. “I know you just came through by the way you are reacting."

“If I just got here; then how long has it been for you?" Sijia asked giving Targa a puzzled look.

“My teens; then from that point on, I worked very hard to make sure that events would unfold to the lives we have now."

“And you still remember everything from before?" Sijia asked.

“Yes, all of it." Targa replied.

“Have you told Trigg anything about it?"

“Heavens no, and neither should you. Besides, that knowledge is for us to use to keep this life safe. We can talk about it when in privacy if it helps, but please make no mention of it to anyone else."

“But why, I mean, isn't our duty to tell people of the possible future?" she asked Targa

“No, because they will want to know how we did it, and the build the machine. That could undermine all of this if someone else tampers like we just did. This was a one way journey. No one is to know anything for any reason."

“Yes, Admiral." Sijia said.

“And no more of that either. I might still have my rank, but you are my Daughter and you have no need to hold Decorum with me."

“Fair enough, Mother." Sijia said standing up to give Targa a hug.

Sijia was still confused about how she just came through, but Targa had managed to go back further. Targa told her it was about desire, and She desired to stop the massacre, while Sijia's brought her something unexpected, but beautiful as Targa had promised.

Later that afternoon, Trigg came home to be met by Sijia giving him a firm hug and passionate kiss. Her heart's draw to him became stronger with every passing moment.

They took a soak in the warm spring swimming with each other, enjoying the hot afternoon into evening. The three of them enjoyed the supper Targa had prepared as they talked about things of the current world. It got brought up at Trigg's office that there had been personal inquiries about being raised by a Lourshteh Woman, the fact he was expecting his first Kit, and if the matter of being raised by Targa was his reason for having Sijia as his Wife.

Always with these questions, but not from the Lourshteh. It was the Human people trying to satisfy that curiosity, and understand the dynamic of his choice.

Trigg replied to the effect of, “It might have been the biggest factor in having a relationship with Sijia, but I still think that we would have been Mates even if Admiral Targa Willene had not been my Mother. In the grand scheme of things, all that matters is, I love, and respect both peoples; feeling blessed that Targa opened her heart to me and gave me a life filled with unconditional love. My Kit will know the same from me as does my Mate, Sijia."

“Did you want me to massage your shoulders?" Trigg asked as he came into the bedroom dressed only in his pastel green silk bed trousers.

“I would rather save that for the morning." Sijia said looking at him with a slightly amorous smile.

Trigg slid under the covers and gently embraced her. Their kissing turned into gentle groping. A few minutes later, Trigg realized she didn't have any bottoms on.

“Make love with me." Sijia said moving his hands to her swelling, milk filled breasts.

“Are you sure, I mean, you are really close to the due date?"

“Three more weeks; besides, when was the last time we did?"

“A month and a half ago." Trigg answered.

“It will be a lot longer than that after our Kit is born. I am very aroused, and I really want you to satisfy me."

“All right, how do you want me, beautiful?" said with a loving smile.

She continued to grope and kiss knowing that only two positions would be adequate due to her protruding belly. After pulling his trousers off, she chose to dominate.

Trigg laid on his back as Sijia mounted him. She took her time achieving full penetration, for all intents and purpose; this was her first time because of not having the previous memories of this life yet. Sijia was still a virgin in the life before. Trigg grip her hips gently as she started to slowly thrust.

The way his penis filled her felt intense as she experienced the first of many orgasms. Sijia continued to ride her Mate moaning as he started to thrust back. Every orgasm intensified the ecstasy she felt, especially as Trigg pulled her top off and began to massaged her breasts while gently pushing and rubbing her erect nipples with his thumbs causing a bit of lactation. The stimulation was causing Sijia thrust with more force as she was trying to drive his penis in deeper. In the passionate heat of thrusting and moaning with intense pleasure; she had an incredibly big, fulfilling, and messy orgasm that caused Trigg to seed.

He could feel the firm rippling of her vaginal muscles gripping his penis with force that synced up with the rhythm of his ejaculating pulse as if she was coaxing him to expel every last drop. After another twenty minutes, Sijia slowly dismounted Trigg; then clung to his right side smiling as he ran his fingers through her hair while nuzzling Sijia's neck.

The afterglow between them felt incredible as it always did when they made love.

“Feel better?" Trigg asked.

“Oh yeah, but I think our Kit isn't very happy about it at the moment."

“It's all right, she will settle down in time. Your heart rate is up and she knows it."

“Trigg?"

“Yes love?"

“I am glad it was you." Sijia said meaning her first time.

“It was me because?" he asked.

“I am glad it is you that I am with, and that you are the Father of the Kit growing in my belly." she said shifting the explanation to honor what she and Targa discussed earlier.

“I am glad that you are the Mother of my Kit, Sijia. I love you my beautiful Mistress." Trigg told her.

“I love you with all my heart, Trigg Willene."

They both kissed each other deeply for a few moments then relaxed holding each other.

Around three a.m., Sijia woke to a soaked bed and contractions.

“Trigg, Trigg wake up." she said grunting a bit from another contraction.

“Hey, are you all right? Oh wow, did you have an accident?" he asked feeling the sheets and mattress.

“No silly." she grunted again. “My water broke."

Sijia gave birth to a healthy Female that looked almost exactly like her save for the slightly reddish blond hair. Her eyes were shaped more like her Father's, and were a lighter green with slit pupils. The only other physical trait of being a hybrid that stood out was her muzzle being a third shorter than Sijia's.

In combination with her eyes, it gave Orynko a very exotic appearance for a Vulpine Female, which got her a lot of attention as she matured into adulthood.

Before Orynko entered her teen years Sijia and Trigg brought her little Brother into the world, Hagen. Except for the shape of his eyes and the shorter muzzle, Hagen was identical in coloration to Sijia, including his hair, and eyes.

Orynko followed in Targa's footsteps and enlisted in the Joined Exploration Fleet. At that time two other Peoples (Canis and Felid) had unified with the Vulpine and Humans in peaceful relations, and Galactic exploration.

A push for FTL technology became big with the space fairing peoples, but Admiral Willene kept a tight lid on any research that came too close to the Technologies that helped bring Sijia and her through. Hagen; after finishing Base Education, started training in higher education for Diplomacy and Relations which led him to a relationship with Xenfi, a Canis Female that resembles a light brown Saluki with long black hair.

Years later, Orynko and Trigg worked on a propulsion project together that was not FTL, but is groundbreaking in spaceflight. Now, journeys that would normally take a year could be done in four months. Still an arduous task to travel on a vessel up to six years to visit a system a little over four light years away, it is far better that sending a generational vessel out for eighty to ninety years to reach the same destination as the Human people had done a very long time ago.

To this day, they have no idea what happen to that vessel, or its crew.

A Story For Another Time-

(Currently In The Works)