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My New Life

Part 5: Preparations, Battles and Victories

"Captain Serah, welcome to the TCS Lexington."

As I step down the Leo's wing, I enter a world unlike anything I have ever encounter or seen, the sounds, smells and sights of a carrier preparing for war; I could sense a readiness permeating the very air of the carrier, as if the carrier itself is giddy to enter battle once again.

Nathan wordlessly points at bulkhead across the bay from us and there I saw the battle honors and awards the Lexington had earned over the centuries of dedicated service, she is the last of a long line of proud vessels to bear the hallowed name, her history stretching back through the ages, back when she sailed the blue seas of Earth rather than the blackness of space, a true lady in her own right, she bore her ancient and honorable scars well; I felt honored to be given the privilege to thread upon her corridors and to see her, once again, do battle with her enemies.

"Impressive isn't she?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, she is, I have to admit we never have ships with such an ancient and noble history of service." I reply.

"History states the Lexington as one of the first of the true aircraft carrier, paving the way for the carrier to be the queen of the seas."

I nod as I quietly relish the feeling of history permeating through her deck plates.

"Come on, let's get up the bridge, she's even more impressive up there." He said as he led the way to the nearest turbolift, as we, meaning Whitestar, Darkcloud, and me, followed behind him, as I follow him through the labyrinthine corridors of the ship, I couldn't help but speculatively eye some of the Kilrathi crew members as possible lovers, strangely though, Nathan seemed to be on my mind lately.

Why?

I don't know but there's something about him that draws me to him.

We reach a turbolift marked with the number 8 at the top of the doors, the doors open at their own volition then we entered as well, the doors instantly closed, then the lift is in motion but a slight jar at a junction surprises me, catching me off balance, causing me to lean heavily on Nathan, of course, this means that I accidentally press my large breasts into his face and his arms around me by reflex, the others of course act like nothing happened except grin at us, that is.

Nathan and I grin sheepishly at each other but we both are enjoying the close contact, then a low tone came from the control panel near the door, indicating that we're nearing the bridge deck, causing us to hastily break apart and straighten our uniforms.

Seconds later, the open to reveal the bridge but this bridge is unlike any I have seen before, large 14-foot tall, 7 inch thick transparent tritanium sections are all that stand between the void and the bridge's atmosphere, providing a panoramic view of space yet no one seemed to be worried about the seemingly vulnerable view ports; moving forward, the bridge is an example of organized chaos, newcomers are disoriented by it, old hands don't even notice it, then Nathan raised his voice, "All sections, report status and readiness."

Instantly every bridge station reports in...

"Helm, combat-ready."

"Navigation, combat-ready."

"Tactical, combat-ready."

"Weaps, combat-ready."

"Defense, combat-ready."

"Security, combat-ready."

"Sensors, combat-ready."

"Flight Ops, combat-ready."

"Engineering, combat-ready."

"Science, combat-ready."

"Communications, combat ready."

"Intel, combat-ready."

"CIC, combat-ready."

"Life Support, combat-ready."

"Lexington, all systems ready for battle, sir."

The last one to report is the Lexington's AI avatar, nicknamed Lex, who by Confed tradition, double checks everything and ensures all systems at full operational capacity.

"Roger that, confirm all stations ready. Helm, take us out of orbit at vector 25G6A9 and set intercept course at 8.5 light years from the Raksha system, all ships are to transit via slipstream."

"Aye, sir. Initiating orbital separation burn at vector 25G6A9; initiating slip drive power up sequence, inputting jump coordinates to the navcomp."

"Tactical, Weaps, Defense; prep all combat systems, I want us ready for instant action the second we exit slipstream."

"Aye, sir!" The simultaneous response of all three stations.

"Flight Ops, I want the flight deck prepped for magnum launch with "Hunting Pride" Squadron last in the chute."

"10-4, boss." The response of the Flight Ops officer surprised me, he addressed Nathan informally, looking over to him, I see a fire-scarred human in Confed battle armor but his demeanor told me that he is Confed veteran and it seems that amongst veterans especially Confed veterans, whether officer, noncom, or whatever rank you have, if you've crewed and fought together, the formalities of command still exist but not as rigidly observed.

A mild tremor shock the bridge as the Lexington's mighty engines rumble to life, I carefully observe the various crewmen manning the bridge stations, many of them still manned by Confed personnel, show no obvious sign of distress or worry but even veterans still feel fear every time they go into battle and I could see it also in Nathan, quietly leaning over, I ask him, "Scared, Nathan?"

He answers back with a small smile, "Hell yeah, but I remind myself whom I'm fighting for, and it helps to calm the fear, and strangely enough, my other half seems to be always eager for battle but not out of blood lust but out of...I don't know...necessity or something like that."

Then I notice him rub his left forearm but I paid it no mind, an oversight on my part; then the crewfur at the helm reported, "Sir, we have broken out of geosync orbit and are now enroute to intercept point."

"Very well. All ships...engage cloak."

I lean forward eagerly as the entire 15th engage their cloaking devices, making them disappear from view but according to the holographic tacmap, all 51 ships are precisely where they are supposed to be, then Nathan turned to face me, "Captain Serah, have the Blood Kin and all available ships remain here at Raksha, I want a secure fall-back position in case we can't handle the Imperial fleet but they are to respond at a moment's notice in case I need them for a surgical strike at any point in the upcoming battle, is that understood?"

"Yes, Commodore, crystal clear."

"And appoint your XO as temporary group commander until you get back or until Command finds someone better."

"Aye, sir." I respond curtly, stood up and made my way to the Communications station where a fellow female Rakshani sat, I recognize her instantly, my cubhood friend, Safire ap Kasru'tau ap Sefire.

"Safire?" I ask incredulous.

She turns her head to me in surprise and grins broadly, "Serah."

We hugged briefly and I leaned down, our voices low, "What are you doing here on the Lexington?"

"Commodore Nathan recruited me straight after graduation from the Academy, said that he's impressed with my communications performance and asked if I wanted the communications posting aboard the Lexington. What about you?"

"You're looking at, possibly, the new XO and second-in-command."

"You?!" she asks incredulously.

"Me," I state matter-of-factly, "Nathan said I have potential and doesn't want that potential to languish in long boring patrols; also I think he's attracted to me."

"Oh, you can be sure of that, he's a certified xenophile."

"You bedded him?!"

"More like the other way around but a few times, yeah."

"Is he...?"

She only grinned back, "Better you experience it rather than let me tell you, but I'll tell you one thing though, if he'd been born a Rakshani, I'd ask him to be my mate on the spot." She purred.

I grin back, "That good, huh?"

"Uh-huh, oh, what did you want done?"

"I need to send a message to my XO on the Blood Kin telling him that he's temporarily commanding officer until I rejoin him and he's also temporary group commander until I get back plus that he's to immediately respond to any and all messages from the 15th and to keep the fleet here as a fall-back position."

"Got it, need your signature and authorization code though."

I sign my initials and typed in my code into the datapad she held out to me and gave her back the light pen, "There."

"Thank you."

She inserts the datapad into a reader slot and types in a command.

"Message composed, encoded and sent, Captain."

"Thank you, Lt., carry on." I say with a grin.

She grins back at me and nods.

"Message sent, Commodore."

"Very well, Captain. Helm, take us to slipstream."

"Aye, sir."

The wolf-morph responds as he stands up from his console, walks over to the control station set two paces in front and between of the Helm and Nav stations and straps in standing up then looks forward again as several armored sections slide down and lock into place darkening the entire bridge except for one area, where the helmsman is standing.

I stood next to Whitestar who handles the Tactical station and quietly leaned over to hir, "Whitestar, what's going on?"

"We're jumping into slipstream...oh, I forgot this is your first slipstream jump, then I suggest you hold on to something tight 'because a slip jump is never an easy ride."

Then a loud voice came over the intercoms, "All hands, ten seconds to slip jump, brace for slipstream transition."

Instantly hand holds pop up from recessed slots at easily reached locations, I grab hold of two with both paws and glanced over to Whitestar, shi is just standing there holding on to two handholds built right next to hir station. Then I realized that Nathan is standing behind the slip station. "Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...deploying slip anchors...all sublight engines to idle power...four...three...two...one...initiating slip jump!"

A vast portal of light opened its maw in front of us, seeming stretching out with questing tentacles to grab hold of our slip anchors and instantly pulled us into it. I feel myself almost stretching in several directions as we climb, dive, swerve, roll and all sorts of movement as we traveled the undulating energy rhythms of slipspace.

The next instant we once again reemerge from slipspace and into the normal universe, inside the heart of a nebula...

I feel myself shoved forward as we exit slipstream, as I hold myself up, feeling rather sick and disoriented, I blearily notice that Nathan had remained standing through the entire jump, clearly a long time veteran of such stomach lurching jumps, mirrored by most of the other Confed crew members but not by the Federation crew members, some looking rather sick and dizzy, others were showing signs of disorientation.

I look over at Whitestar and shi seems fairly chirpy but the slight, almost unnoticeable sway of hir quadrupedal form told me that shi is still adopting to slipstream travel; Nathan's powerful command voice cut through the haze with the sharpness of lightsaber, "All stations, report!"

"Sensors, all clear, sir, no enemy contacts; all ships have transited through safely."

"Intel, level two message from the EV: 'Update on Imperial fleet: last transmission warning to all friendly forces, ship type and numbers as follows: Imperial-class Star Destroyer Mk. 2, four in number; Victory-class Star Destroyer Mk. 2, also four; Interdictor-class Star Destroyer, only one detected; Carrack-class cruisers, seven, correction, five remaining; Nebulon-B class frigates, six in number. Medium to high possibility of this group being merely the vanguard. Message ends.'"

"Sounds like the EV went right to work, anything else with that message?"

"Yes, sir, the graviton energy frequency and the trigger signal for the EV's improvised GP mines."

"Excellent, transfer the data to Sensors and Tactical, and make sure to have the data transmitted to the rest of the fleet and to Raksha Command. Communications, prepare a message to the Eagle's Vision: 'Kirha, I need you to scan and recon along the Imperial fleet's course, can't have another fleet pop up when we're out of position and...be careful, brother.'"

"Message being composed now, sir...message ready...encoding and encrypted...sending now."

The bridge's lights flickered as the message is sent out via hyperburst signal, a communications system that has all of the Federation's best communications expert and techs utterly stumped but it provided the 15th with jamming-proof and interception-proof long- and short-range communications as well as several very unique encryption and encoding techniques based on a combination of human and Kilrathi algorithms that forced enemy code breakers to think in two languages at once, certified to make decryption a very long and painful process.

"Sir!"

"What is it, Sensors?"

"I just detected the graviton energy frequency from the GP mines, sir. ETA to trigger range: 14 minutes and 30 seconds."

"Warn me when they reach the 3 minute mark; Tactical, prep the trigger signal and transmit at the 30 second mark; Defense, bring our shields online at the1.45 minute mark; Weaps, arm all batteries and turrets at 2 minutes; Comm, have all ships arm their special weapons, I want this engagement done fast and furious."

The bridge instantly broke into a hive of activity as the various stations worked rapidly to ensure full combat readiness.

I feel Nathan's gaze on me, I turn my head and looked at him, he nudged his head toward his ready room, making his way there, and I followed just a few paces behind, as I came in, Nathan bluntly asked me, "Well, what do you think?"

"This is a crew I would love to have, Nathan. Battle-tested with the right dash of inexperienced rookies to keep things interesting."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

He said as he reflexively rubs his left forearm, I begin to wonder about that, "Nathan, I was just wondering, why are you rubbing your left forearm?"

"Huh? Oh, my gauntlet itches whenever battle is about to be joined and since it fused to me, I can't take it off to scratch."

"Can I see it?"

"Sure, why not."

He removes the gauntlet that holds his armor's control pad and peels back his uniform sleeve, "There you go."

At first glance, I thought that the gauntlet was forcibly burned into his arm, and then when he twisted his arm to reveal the upper part, I thought I was hallucinating, for I instantly recognized what the gauntlet really is, the ancient gauntlet of the Natorash'kar, my mind whirled with the implications, if this is the real gauntlet, then Nathan is the soul brother of the Natorash'kar Alpha who, according to prophecy, is to emerge at the crossroads of the fate and future of the galaxy.

I knew that I had to get this information back to my family at once but since the group is on high alert, non-essential non-military communications are strictly prohibited, as he pull his sleeve back into place, I couldn't restrain myself, I had to check where he attained the gauntlet, "Nathan, where did you get this anyway?"

"I really have no idea, I was 17 at the time when I first found myself with the gauntlet; it was during an archeological expedition near the frontline, on a dead planet called Exidia-Theta 5a, I was part of that expedition due to an unexplained shortage of course credits, preventing me from graduating college. We were roughly eight days into the expedition, when the Kilrathi came; we had unintentionally stumbled into a hidden staging and intelligence gathering point, those of us who were Academy applicants knew that we had to warn the military of this but what we hadn't counted on was that several other members of our group had Mandarin leanings, thus allowing the Kilrathi to easily capture us but I was captured later as I was deep underground, exploring the catacombs, during that exploration, I had the strangest sense of déjà vu about the place, that feeling eventually led me into a chamber where I found the gauntlet floating in midair with no visible means of levitation.

There was a flash of white light and everything became black. When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a small cell on a Kilrathi ship, eventually we were interrogated one after another but when my turn came, something just clicked at the back of my mind, almost as if I found a missing part of my psyche.

I then found myself separated from my body, talking to a miniature Liger Zero with the traditional white and black armor with silver and gray trim on the edges and it spoke to me in a deep voice, 'I am here to aid you, Soul Bearer. Command me as you will.'

I ask him, 'Who and what are you?'

'I am the ancient spirit of the liger, you have been chosen to bear me and my brothers to be used for good; any abuse of our powers will have consequences, understand?'

'Crystal clear.'

'Good, for the time being, I will be the only spirit available to you; over time, you will find my brothers as your destiny unfolds.'

'So how can I start using you powers?'

'Right now, if you wish; in ten seconds, the Kilrathi will be strapping you down for interrogation, what kind of combat armor system do you want to you?'

I weigh my options and made my choice, 'Energy Liger combined with the Jager armor.'

'You got it!'

Then one brief flash, my situation changed from captive to active combatant as I easily broke free of my captors and blasted my way out and rescuing the others but not before stopping at the communication center and broadcasting a warning to all Confed forces, I help everyone else to safety, moving at high speed to baffle the enemy.

I hit-and-run long enough for a Confed task force to arrive and investigate, during the attack, I slip away and reverted back to normal, hiding in such a way that when the Marines made SAR/SAD sweep, they found me, wounded and unconscious."

Another thought enters my mind, 'Nathan has said that during the most dangerous stages of his missions and during competitions, both lethal and not, there always seem a secondary personality that took over, one that far superior fighting skills and abilities, to get him through the trail and emerge triumphant. What if this 'secondary personality' is the soul of the Alpha coming to the aid of his soul brother, ensuring his survival with the survival of the other?'

This would indicate a soul bonding of a different kind, one that indicates that both souls will become one, no longer separate but fused together into something new, human and Kilrathi, one yet two, a bonding that none had ever seen.

Both different yet act as one that willing works with the other in total harmony, creating a being of incredible skills and power.

I open my mouth to speak but I never got the chance as Nathan raised his left hand in a stopping gesture and shock his head, his normally black eyes suddenly crystal blue, then his mouth opened to speak and out came a deep, strong and definitely masculine voice that sent shivers of pleasure up and down my spine, "No, Serah, you are not to divulge my existence to my soul brother until the time is right to do so; I want Nathan to voluntarily make to the choice of his...our destiny but it seems that he has already come to fully accept me as his soul brother."

"Very well sire but what about Whitestar and Darkcloud?"

"Everything will be revealed in due time but for now, silence is golden," then his expression turns playful, "or do I have to mount you to keep you silent?"

I giggle, "No need but I do have one question though."

"Oh? What would that be?"

"What does Nathan feel about me?"

"Ah, I'm afraid you'll have to find out for yourself, heh, heh."

Then his head sags and rose again, revealing Nathan's black eyes once again. "Oh, did I just doze off all of a sudden?"

I purr as I sit down next to him, "Yes, you did, Nathan." Enjoying the look of innocence on his face.

"How long was I out?"

"Oh, about 5 minutes, roughly."

"Hmm, never had these sudden blackouts before...never mind, I never felt so fresh before, like a weight been taken off my back."

"Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

"Never mind, forget it."

"What? If it's something personal, I won't hold it against you. Come on, spit it out."

"All right," I took a deep breath to fortify myself and took the plunge, "Nathan, what are your feelings about...me?"

I look away in embarrassment, then I feel his hand on my chin, turning me back to face him; to my surprise, he is kneeling on the floor, smiling gently, "I don't know just yet," he answers, "but ever since I met you, I couldn't shake this feeling of...rightness that you are destined to be my mate but..."

"But what?" My heart is thumping in anticipation.

"I want to test the waters first; I want to really know you as a person, as a potential partner, both personally and professionally. That is...if that's fine with you."

"Nathan...if that's how you really feel about me, all you have to do is ask but I appreciated your honesty though, and I'm glad you have the courage to tell me how you feel."

"So am I."

"Maybe this will give you a little incentive..."

"Wha...?" He never got to finish as I draw him into a very passionate kiss, something I never thought that I would give to someone outside of my own species but only now did I begin to realize what I have been missing in the larger universe; I was scared to learn new things as my father suggested time and again because I had no one whom I can intimately trust to guide or, at least, hold my paw through those new experiences but ever since losing a male I had set my eye on to a rival, I became somewhat introverted and withdrawn but since meeting Nathan, who lost his parents during the Human-Kilrathi War, I saw and sensed within him a steely strength rarely seen, a strength of character that I found desirable in a mate but a cynical part of me reminded me that he is incapable of children with me, now though that part has been swept away.

Nathan had the same feelings for me as I had for him and asked for my permission to court me with full acknowledgement that if I reject his offer, there will be no repercussions but with this first kiss between me and him, I wordlessly told him that I sincerely hope that we do become mates.

Then I vaguely realize that I had been unconsciously stroking his groin with my tail and a serious bulge had developed in his uniform pants, and judging from what I could feel, a broad grin growing on my lips, Nathan has the manhood capable of pleasing just about any female in the galaxy; girth wise, it probably will be just right to give intense pleasure to both partners.

Then Nathan spoke up, a slight groan escaping his lips, "Serah, if you keep that up, I'm gonna cream in my pants."

Another groan, this time louder.

I work him up all the way to the edge then stop, allowing him to recuperate; I admit I was enjoying myself as I kept Nathan trapped in my arms as I repeatedly bring him to the edge of release and stop just before he loses control, then, unexpectedly, Whitestar came into the ready room via the other entrance, which leads to the Captain's secondary quarters.

I grin broadly and defiantly, as I outmass hir by a generous margin, and judging from hir look, shi is pissed.

Nathan spoke up after regaining control of his breathing, "Hi, dear. Did something come up?"

Shi pads in, still frowning, "You mean besides you? You took Serah in here to talk and then I come in to see you two playing around...and you didn't wait for me to join you!"

I'm slack jawed with surprise as Nathan and Serah break out laughing hysterically, then I join them on the floor as I remembered that chakats like to play around like Nathan and I but in larger groups of threes or fours due to their dual gender.

I had to regain control of my breathing before I could speak, "Whitestar, you knew that Nathan is attracted to me?"

Shi taps hir head with a finger, "Empathetic, remember? I sensed Nathan's attraction to you ever since the two of you met each other but I didn't need to nudge him to ask you out, he seems to have this deliciously appropriate sense of timing when it comes to making life-changing decisions and has the courage to do what needs to be done."

Shi finishes hir statement by grabbing Nathan by the ankles with hir hand-paws and pulls him underneath hir and kiss him, which he reciprocates with equal fervor.

Then a small furry head popped out from around the same entrance, grinned and bounced out, I recognize hir as Darkcloud, Nathan and Whitestar's adopted chakat daughter, and from what I heard from my nieces and nephews, shi's quite the wrestler and runner but the battle armor suggest to me that Nathan has been training his daughter for combat or at least self-defense.

"Hello there, Darkcloud."

"Hello, Ms. Serah."

"Hey, squirt."

"Hi, dad. Hi, mom."

"What up, squirt?"

"Dad, we're at T minus 5 minutes; you all better be getting back to the bridge."

The three of us looked at the chronometer set into the bulkhead, and then Nathan spoke, "You're right, we better head back or somebody's going to suspect something."

Then Nathan gets on his feet by arching his back and whips his body upward, instantly straight and upright once again, then he walks over to me and extends his hand to help me up, which I grab hold, he leans back and pulls me up, Whitestar had no trouble getting up due to hir quadrupedal form, shi simply rolled onto hir belly, got up on all fours and straightened hir uniform as easily as one, two, three.

Nathan led us out back to the bridge and again assumes the command chair, calling out, "Sensors, anything?"

"Negative, bossman, all I have been some stellar activity but nothing important."

A thought occurs to me, "Sensors, what kind of stellar activity?"

"Mostly proto-star and pre-ignition stage activities mostly but there are signs that some of them are almost ready to ignite...wait a sec, stellar ignition warning!"

Nathan roared out into the intership channel, "ALL SHIPS, SHIELDS UP FORWARD!"

Instantly the entire 15th deployed all their shielding energy forward as we witnessed the birth of a star.

As the shockwave swept by, the shields of every ship flare up visibly for a moment but quickly recharged back to full strength as they are reset to restore over-all shielding, just in time as it turned out, the Imperial fleet came out of hyperspace, right into our sights!

The entire 15th waste little time as every ship opens fired with every weapon they have, closely followed by missiles and torpedoes, everything impacting within seconds of each other.

The Imperial fleet, caught completely off-guard, flounders with indecision and pays for it as result, perishing as they are unable to return fire, their weapons out-ranged by the 15th's own heavy weapons, their shields already crippled by the first salvo.

However, one of the escort carriers was able to turn away and launch its TIE squadrons before succumbing to its wounds, composed mostly of TIE Interceptors and Scimitar assault bombers, six squadrons of the former and three of the later, engaging them are the Lexington's, Tiger's Claw II's and Terra's Shield's own squadrons, from what I can understand of the 15th's Fleet Ops Manual, ensure local space superiority with as many fighters as the CO deems necessary and that meant an overwhelming force of 18 squadrons of various types and classes which meant that the Imperial fighters had no chance of surviving this battle and what remains of the enemy fleet is nothing more than junk and debris, then the rest of the fleet cloaks once again as did the Lexington.

I look at Nathan and see him looking rather worried, leaning over I ask, "Nathan, what's wrong?"

"Something's not right..."

Just as he finished twenty more ships exit hyperspace on the same vector but this time more alert and dispersed, trouble is, amongst them is a Super Star Destroyer, flanked by four Impstar Deuces and escorted by a host of other smaller ships, as they pass in front of us, Nathan gives out his battle orders, "All Defiants, move astern of SSD and prep for mine-bombing; Excalibers and Daggers, move to coordinates A289 by B327 by C365 and prep your special weapons; Panthers, move to attack from right flank; Sovereigns and Battleships, take the left flank; all remaining ships are to block their escape..."

"Cloaked warp jump detected!" The human at the sensor station called out.

"Identify!"

"IFF codes identify it as...it's the Eagle's Vision, sir!"

"Verification?"

"Verified, sir."

"Great. Comm, link us up."

"Laser comm-link established, sir."

A holo projector comes to life, showing the EV's bridge and Kirha, "Nathan, my brother, I see you've been busy as usual."

Nathan responds with a laugh, "You know what the master once said, brother: 'When an enemy intends to strike when you are not ready for war, return the strike all the harder and with great vengeance...and with interest.'"

Nathan and Kirha finished the last part together and laughed, Kirha added, "That old codger certainly did have a way with words especially with your much broader and flexible human vocabulary."

I sigh lightly, Nathan and Kirha, despite their long combat experiences, often act like cubs play fighting with one another but given the similarities of their upbringing, both being the only child before their parents perished and they both trained together under the same weapons master, a close brotherly bond is inevitable, then I broke out into a slight grin, however the benefits were that they both think alike and can anticipate each other.

"The GPGA operational yet?"

"Somewhat," Kirha's merry expression turned somber, "the GPGA only has a limited range of 200,000 klicks and that's if everything is working right; 120,000 klicks at any other given time."

"Rats, I was hoping..."

"Yes, I know, though you could have tried to capture that Interdictor."

"We couldn't take the risk and that Interdictor is in the middle of the enemy vanguard, it would be suicide to try."

"I suppose..."

"Never mind, what's done is done. I'm relaying to you the main fleet's possible exit vector, once they reach the area of space where..."

"Say no more, brother, I know what to do."

"Take care...and may your blood and blade stay strong and sharp..."

Kirha finishes with a casual salute, "and may honor, victory and fallen foes lie at your feet and herald your strength. I'll see you on the other side, brother. Kirha out."

His image winks out and is replaced again by the tactical map, a bright green triangular bezel indicating the position of the Eagle's Vision as well as the rest of the fleet, then something occurred to me, "What did Nathan mean by 'mine-bombing'?"

Before I could ask, Safire reports, "Sir, Eagle's Vision reports in position to engage GPGA on your command."

"Very well, Lt. Tell them to stand by. And transmit to the rest of the fleet: 'Exterminatus' At 20 seconds into the engagement, signal the EV to engage her GPGA."

"Aye, sir."

Within seconds, the entire 15th went into action, even the SSD couldn't react fast enough due to the 15th much more powerful and faster sublight drives and their advantageous pre-positioning and cloaked movements, what TIE squadrons were able to launch are swatted by the cloaked Dragons and by fast moving light and medium fighter squadrons on fighter-interdiction missions, the heavies and bombers are staying farther out, providing long range fire support and SEAD (Suppression of Air Defenses) strikes with long range HARM missiles as well as prolific use of chaff and radar noise makers, providing a sensor-overloading plethora of targets, while the GPGA kept the Imperial main fleet from jumping out.

However, the Defiants were able to make only three mine-bombing runs before the SSD is able to get its shields online...

By the way mine-bombing is done by flying close to the hull of the enemy ship at max speed and releasing anti-matter mines directly on to the hull, causing severe damage while bypassing the enemy's shields...

But the escorts did not fare as well, that by the time the rest of the fleet surrounds the crippled but still fighting SSD, the rest of its fleet is nothing more than expanding clouds of gas and debris, then the two Nebula-class starships moved forward, I got up and walk up to the front of the bridge, eager to observe them in action.

One suddenly goes to warp and drops out of warp on the other side of the SSD then I notice the other has deployed some kind of array from its triangular upper module as did the other; both fired a multi-colored bolt of light that struck the SSD's shields, then the shields winked out, it was then that I realize the role of the Nebula-class starships, they're special support vessel, equipped with a large array of special weapons capable of disabling or disrupting enemy ships or enhance the combat capabilities of friendly vessels, the one I saw was a kind of shield disruptor weapon, rendering the SSD completely vulnerable to attack, then both ships turned on their X-axis and fired several golden chain-ball bolts at the Super-Battleships and Sovereigns.

To my utter surprise, as soon as the bolts struck what was four ships became eight, they surged forward and savagely attack the SSD repeatedly, the heavy fire being directed at weapons, shield systems, engines, communications and life support but apparently the SSD wasn't designed to take the abuse they were dishing out and eventually succumbs to its wounds and explodes, massive pieces of debris blasting out into space but 15th's ships are well-equipped with anti-collision systems so their phasers and turrets got busy blasting apart potentially dangerous pieces of debris.

Once again the silence of space dominates the starscape as well as the background sounds of a ship standing down from combat, strangely I began to feel calmer, more relaxed, as if the Lexington herself is also relaxing, pleased that it passed through another trial of combat with full honor.

I turn back and face Nathan, and said, "General, what are your orders?"

"All ships stand down from Red Alert status and secure the sector in tactical formation Alpha. Deploy sensor buoys and early-warning satellites as per SOP...and Captain; meet me in my quarters at 1800. That is all. You have the conn."

"Aye, sir. I have the conn."

Then Nathan makes his way to the turbolift and leaves the bridge in my paws, I sigh and take the Captain's chair and took command, by then I had figured out that the chain of command is predominantly informal especially among veteran crews but new crew members and command officers are kept at arm's length until they have proven themselves in combat, although Nathan held command during the entire engagement, he showed me how combat experience, ingenuity, training and a little bit of luck, as well as superior firepower, technology and leadership, can swing a potential defeat into a complete victory.

As I mused through the lessons I have learned, another part of my mind kept both ears open to bridge ops, surprisingly, the interstation cross-talk is very minimal but to a point, only with complex operations do the sentences become long and fast-paced, then Safire spoke up, "Captain, incoming transmission from the Enterprise."

"On screen." I say reflexively.

"Um...sir, we don't have a viewscreen here on the bridge but there is a holocomm system built into your seat." Safire's voice sounding like she is hard-pressed to contain a laugh from exploding out of her.

With the inside of my ears turning red from embarrassment, did I realized my error, I had forgotten that the most Confed bridges have viewports rather than an enclosed hull and a viewscreen as was standard with Star Fleet vessels, communications is routed through holo projectors built into the command chair and at easily viewed points of the bridge, allowing the bridge crew to aid their commanding officer with suggestions, ideas and anything out of the ordinary, I correct myself by saying, "Patch her through."

"Establishing link, Captain...link established."

"Go ahead, Enterprise."

"This is Captain Clancy, Lexington, requesting permission to break off from the fleet." His face is showing considerable distress.

"What's the problem, Captain?"

"It's...well...my wife, she's due to give birth in less than 24 hours on Chakona and I promised..."

"Captain, don't say anything else, get going...and my regards to your wife and newborn child."

"Thanks, Captain Serah."

"Think nothing of it. Now get lost!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Looking out the portside bridge viewport, I watch as the Enterprise broke away from the fleet and went to warp, then I felt the eyes of the bridge crew upon me, looking around I receive nods and thumbs-up in approval to what I have done, especially from the veteran officers at the Weaps, Defense and Sensor stations, nodding back at them, I turn to Sefire at the Comm station and said, "Lt., get on the horn with Star Fleet HQ and Raksha Central Command, inform them of our victory here and that we'll be returning to Raksha soon as we ensure that there are no further inbound fleets and will be securing the surrounding area, also inform their respective Astro-Navigation sections as well as our own of the newly-ignited star in this nebula."

"Aye, sir."

"Tactical, disperse the fleet accordingly to SOP."

"Already done, sir."

I quietly sigh; Whitestar is quite efficient in hir posting as the Lex's chief Tactical Officer and as the 15th's tactical coordinator, complementing hir mate's hard-won strategic skills and compensating hir lack of combat experience by his hard-won knowledge and long experience of military campaigns and special operations.

I shiver slightly at the thought of cuddling with Nathan, as I fantasize his tough, strong, flexible body naked before me and making love to me, then another thought occurred to me since Whitestar is Nathan's lifemate, won't our love-making become a threesome? The very thought of being in a threesome sent strong shivers of pleasure up and down my spine and if the hints Safire gave me are any indication, that night is going to be something special especially since I'm still a virgin...heh, heh...

3 hours later...

As my shift finished, I hand command over to Lt. Com. William Eisen, a fire-scarred human of African-American descent as I hurried back to my temporary quarters to freshen up before going to Nathan's personal quarters.

Just as I came out of the shower, thoroughly enjoying the ready availability of hot water, my door beeped, indicating a visitor; wrapping the towel around my waist not caring if anyone else caught an eyeful of my breasts, my sex is reserved strictly for Nathan.

I shout out, "Come in!"

In came little Darkcloud, wearing a camo-pattern halter top and a Cheshire grin as shi saw me stand wearing nothing but a towel, then Whitestar appeared behind hir, hir eyes growing wide at my current state, purring with approval at what shi saw, shi exclaimed with a grin, "Wow! Girl, if that's all your wearing, you're going to knock Nathan's socks off! Not to mention giving every passing male a major heart attack!"

I chuckle at the implication, playfully cupping my breasts, "No, of course not, Whitestar...these assets of mine are strictly off limits and only one male can have full access to them...and besides I happened to have...accidentally...packed the purrfect dress for this particular evening. Give me a minute to get changed..."

I hurriedly went back to the bathroom and carefully scrutinized my weapon of choice, when I Nathan told me that he wanted me to be the 15th's new XO and second-in-command so when he gave me the order to join Whitestar on the Leo back to the Lexington, I went to my room and packed enough clothes and undergarments to get me by but as I finished packing my eyes fell on my new dress, a low-cut item made of silver-white Amazonian (the planet not the country) silk that's almost tantalizingly sheer in certain areas yet it's solid enough to be folded and packed without wrinkling or requiring specialized care; I knew Nathan's past will make him sensitive to what I'm wearing and my own needs so I really didn't have to bring much...until he came clean about his feelings for me, that was when my mind went to overdrive when I realized that I didn't have anything elegant to wear, then I remembered packing this slinky dress of mine and calmed down, mentally grinning at Nathan's reaction to this dress.

I opted not to wear anything since I highly doubt that I'll be wearing this dress for long, coming back out of the bathroom and posing at the door, Whitestar whistled in admiration and Darkcloud grinning broadly, "What do you think?"

I ask them, Whitestar gave me an evaluating look, "Serah, Nathan is going to turn into putty when he sees that number."

"Isn't that the idea?" I shot back with a giggle.

"You know what? Forget I said anything and go bag him."

"My thoughts exactly."

I walked out of my quarters, ready and eager to face what lies ahead, safe in the knowledge that whatever may happen, Nathan will be there by my side, ready to face any challenge that comes our way. I'll be there too by his side to guide and help him through the challenges he will have to face as he discovers his true heritage...Gods, have mercy on the agents of darkness when he fully emerges...

And I used to think that our family secret was all just a bunch of hot air and ridiculous fantasies but now...I'm begin to wonder if this is my destiny...to be there when history is made and to become part of a family whose legacy is greater than anyone could imagine...

I realize then that my heart has been keeping me back until the time came for me to find my soul mate, one who will give me all the attention and care that I'll ever need, and it has chosen Nathan to be that mate; I guess that the best things in life really do come to those who wait...

To be continued