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My New Life

Part 8: Trouble by the Homestead, Love Renewed, Promises Fulfilled

Somewhere in the Kilrathi sector, near Furrderation space, a shadowy figure raised its head, looking up from the desk to the messenger who brought the datapad before it then back down on to the glowing datapad. "Are you sure that this information has been confirmed?" Its voice, strongly feminine yet spoken with steely strength.

The messenger bowed deeper, "Yes, mistress, it has been confirmed by two other independent sources within the Furrderation."

"Very well, you may leave...and lock the door behind you."

"Yes, mistress."

The messenger responds to the command quickly, soon the room is filled once again with silence; the figure turns to face the broad window behind the desk, holding the datapad on its lap, a clawed finger gently stroking a picture, quietly saying, "Soon, my beloved, soon..."

Meanwhile in the Orion Sector, 7000 light-years from Chakona...

"Crap!" I roar out as I back flip my Battloid with a blast of thrusters as four beam flash by and instantly took aim at my attacker, both arm-mounted mag-las cannons firing simultaneously, followed up with a pair of gauss slugs from the Gauss Rifles underneath, all four weapons rapidly recharging with power drawn from both their dedicated micro-reactor and my fighter's own reactors.

I look on as my beams strike at my target's shields, collapsing them, the follow-up shots hitting its exposed reactor core, causing it to detonate in brilliant reds, oranges and yellows, then dissipating into the void; looking around through the Battloid's cameras, I gauge the flow of the battle, this ambush by the Orion pirates has cost me three Defiants crippled and an Intrepid severely damaged but still functional, the Orion ambush force had used a captured Interdictor-class cruiser which forced the warp-using ships to prematurely exit warp, unfortunately only a small group of ships emerged from warp: six Defiants, four Excalibers, three Intrepid VIIs, the Asgard and the Knight, both of the Galaxy II class, and me in Star Warrior equipped with the Thunder battle pack and the warp FTL pod.

Upon reverting to sublight speeds, I was quick enough to perceive the trap, ejecting the FTL pod, I charge the enemy ships, mechamorphing into Battloid configuration and deploying the heavy cannons from their position on the backpack, both heavy weapons pods locking into place under the arm pauldrons, the handles grasped by the Battloid's hands, the heavy Mace reflex launchers adjusting to my unit's orientation and two rotary tachyon cannons locking into place on the shoulders.

A quick conference with my captains confirm my suspicions, the Interdictor is preventing us from going to warp until we disable or destroy it or its grav-well generators but the Interdictor itself is a prize worth capturing but since I'm short on heavy hitters, I'll have to let it go for now, however, due to the concentration of enemy ships around it, none of mine can get in close enough to pummel it except from underneath which is my current position, normally a starfighter has to get close in order to bypass the shields and destroy the grav-well generators but most starfighters don't have the combat enhancement pods I had constructed, with the Thunder pack, I can combine my two arm pods together to form a single heavy weapon to form what the eggheads call a Quantum Acceletron Laser Cannon, the problem is that there wasn't enough time to test it prior the mission that brought us here, but now I finally get to see what this bad boy can really do...and boy, I wasn't disappointed!

The damn thing had major kick, literally! I found myself accelerating backwards at roughly 800 kps with a massive beam arcing out to the target, spearing the Interdictor through and through, its shields popped like a bubble and its armor melted through like it was just paper; the Interdictor instantly explodes, destroying several nearby ships in the process, then the beam divides itself and hits the others, destroying them just as instantly as the Interdictor.

My jaw drops in complete surprise, I have never seen an energy beam do that before, at least not on its own without external forces to make it do so; I look down at the weapons board and called up the QALC's technical data, it says that the QALC uses an experimental quantum energy weapon system that creates a devastating beam of energy capable of shattering shields and penetrating armor like a hot knife through butter but I never got to the part where the tech data tells me why the beam suddenly divided itself like that, at that moment, my comm panel chirps, I look up and see the Asgard looming over me and with my warp FTL pod in the grip of its tractor beam, deciding to handle the matter of the QALC later, I mechamorph my Battloid back to Fighter mode and activate the grappler clamps, deploying the magnetic guide wires which seek out the attachment points of the pod and guide it into place on the ventral section of my fighter.

I key my comm, "Asgard, Orion, initiate hyper-tow operations for our crippled ships and take them back to Gamma Base for repairs, and then catch up with the rest of us at RV Foxtrot. Hudson Bay, Corregidor, and Star Sword, go with them; the rest of you form on me and prep for warp jump at warp 20, we need to catch up with the rest of the 15th."

A communal "Roger" came from everyone and, in 5 minutes, the system was as empty as when we arrived...

During the jump, I pondered on the feasibility of using the QALC but decided against using it until we get back to 15th's weapons testing facility on Cha'turna, however, my thoughts drifted back to the QALC's tech data, calling it up again I browse through it until I reach the section regarding its output, it reminded that the QALC had never been tested thus had no technical data regard why it acted the way it did.

One theory did pop up in my mind though, I shoot the beam right between all four grav-well generators, straight through its reactor and engineering section, is it possible that the collapsing gravity well had a splitting effect on the QALC's beam and consequently is attracted to any nearby gravity sources or is this going to be normal every time I fire this bad boy?

20 minutes later...

We drop out of warp relatively above the 15th's position, I lead the ships down into the fray, pumping out mag-las bolts, gauss slugs and phaser beams with pin-point precision as fast as I could pump the trigger while carefully hoarding my missiles unless I need them to finish a target or until I need them to soften up a target for the coup-de-grace, any moron attempting to hit me from behind will have to contend with my two rear-facing rotary tachyon cannons and get a face full of tachyon beams.

I order the fleet to get as close as possible of the pirate base, spearheaded by the Sovereigns, while ordering in the bombers to an over-and-under pincer attack on the pirate base with fighters in support, the two squadrons of Dragons attacking the base head on using flick-fire techniques to approach the base and destroy its launch bays while the Super Battleships provide long range support fire from its main batteries as well as protecting our backdoor just in case, experience has made me a firm believer of 'keeping all options open'.

We secure the space around the system's only M-class planet and began our ground operations, pummeling the pirate's main ground-side base, to keep their heads down and to destroy bunkers and emplacements, with an orbital bombardment by the Super Battleships and Sovereigns, troop carriers and heavy vehicle carriers move down to the surface while utilizing the bombardment as cover with fighters flying escort, transporter assault groups beam down ahead of them to sabotage vehicle pools, fuel and ammo depots, surface-to-space batteries, anything of military value.

It turns out that the Orion pirate were utterly dependent on their space station to protect them as there were little vehicular opposition and non-existent ground-based defenses, all they had was some barracks, a rudimentary hanger and runway for transports and several large but cramped slave pens, what few ground defenders were there are quickly cut down and the slaves released and treated for injuries and diseases prior to being tranportered up to the three DSEMRVs allocated for them.

After landing on the Lex, taking a quick shower and changing into my fleet uniform, I head up to my ready room to review the after-action reports, once I got there I begin to dig into it but my mind keeps drifting off course as I also ponder about the QALC and its capabilities but shove it to the back of my mind as I work well into the evening compiling and reviewing my report back to Star Fleet HQ, of course, Serah and Whitestar came by, dragged me out of there and down to the cafeteria which was serving a delectable salmon and steak dinner course, neither allowed me to hurriedly consume dinner, forcing me to relax and enjoy dinner.

It would take the 15th two months to fully pacify and secure the Orion sector before it was considered safe enough for colonization and another three weeks of patrol and boring escort duty before we rotated back home to Chakona as the 3rd Fleet took over for us, many in the 15th are looking forward to getting back with their mates and families but, unknown to the rest of us, we would have to face one more hurdle before we could rest; for me though, this last hurdle would give the chance to renew and complete a promise I made so very long ago...

The figure paced back and forth impatiently at the foot of the council table, it had taken four long months before the fleet is deemed large enough for the invasion of the Chakas'tra system but the figure is embroiled in a losing argument...

"But our intelligence regarding the location of the base of operations of the Stellar Federation's 15th Battle Group is not yet confirmed, my lord, our fleet could be jumping right into their midst and be blasted to oblivion, it may catch them off guard but the sentient artificial intelligences that are the core of their ships will not be so slow. Also our intelligence regarding their current position is incomplete and highly inaccurate given their much more advanced FTL systems; our fleet is seasoned but not sufficiently experienced enough against hardened combat veterans which form the core of the 15th." The figure growls out, trying to be as persuasive...

But a masculine voice comes from the figure sitting on the high throne, "Daughter, your concerns are valid but I believe that our fleet will emerge triumphant despite what you say about the 15th's abilities. We will show to all that the Kilrathi are superior in both blood and breeding to the inferior whelps of this Stellar Federation."

The throne room is filled with the roar of a dozen throats but the figure in their midst frowns sharply, her ears flattened against her skull in anger, "Then I request that I join the fleet as an observer and advisor to its commander, my lord."

The gathered lords look her in surprise and disdain but the emperor speaks, "Very well, daughter. As you have request so it be done but make haste, fleet leaves in three hours. Now, leave me."

The figure bows out of the throne room, struggling to keep her emotions in check, allowing a small smile of triumph to cross her features as she caresses a small medallion around her neck.

She makes her way to her room which was quite austere considering her social status and military rank but this wasn't, in any way, important to her as she hurriedly packed away mostly essentials and some finery but the most important items to her are carefully packed into a carry-on bag: a matched pair of Confed force lances, custom adopted for her large paws, a pair of well-used ser'vec'nar blades, a pair of combat gauntlets edged with blade-breaking hooks, and a well-maintained flight suit marked with symbols and unit patches.

She hurries to the shuttle bay, carrying her bags herself.

Once there, she loads her bags into the cargo area of her personal fighter, climbs into the cockpit and takes off to rendezvous with the fleet.

She homes in on the flagship, the super carrier Tarvakh, alongside her on this mission is her sister, the Craxtha, despite having argued against using the super carriers on the grounds that the 15th is more than likely to be equipped with weapons that can destroy them but her worries are dismissed as irrelevant, 'Fine,' she thought, 'Let the 15th destroy them like the overpriced toys that they are, then we'll see who looks like the fool.'

She lands on the uppermost forward launch bay, drinking in the sights and smells of a carrier being readied for combat, stopping over at the flight operations center to ensure the maintenance and arming of her fighter as well as being among the first fighters off the deck, she makes her way up to the bridge and formally greet the captain, after that she made her way to the quarters set for her, being the only Kilrathi female in the male-dominated military.

Upon reaching her quarters, she thoroughly inspects every nook and cranny for hidden cameras and microphones, odds were that she was given this specific room so they could see her nude form and enjoy it...sorry, boys but this is one female that gives herself to no one except those she deems worthy...as she sets up a short range EMP bomb and sets it to five seconds, leaving the room for a few moments, she feels the tingle of an EMP detonation and re-enters her room.

She didn't have to wait long before the jump alarm begins to sound, strapping herself to a jump seat which also doubles a chair to the desk, she closes her sapphire blue eyes and fortifies herself for the jump shock, wishing that she was aboard a Confed ship instead with their ultra-quiet, shock-free jump systems.

The Kilrathi fleet jumps away towards Chakona, unknowing that the entire 15th Battle Group is already enroute home, its destiny set in stone and the once separated fates of two lovers will once again be made as one...forever...

I stretch lightly as the 15th exits slipstream over Chakona's northern pole, providing a bit of a light show for the tourists but also announcing the arrival of the 15th to their mates and families, feeling rather giddy with anticipation, I stood up as we drift over the planet's nightside, the Lexington maneuvering to dock with Knight Hammer station when the mood is shattered by an alarm, I turn to the chakat manning the sensor station, yelling out, "What the hell?"

Shi calmly scrutinizes the data the sensors are providing; shi looks at me in shock, "Sir, long-range hyper-pulse sensors detect over thirty eminent jump reversions, translight class."

"Any signatures?" Shi quickly consults hir tables, "Yes, sir. Two of the signatures match that of the Kilrathi Hakaga-class super carriers while the rest are a mixture of the Fralthi-II class, Fraltha-II class, Ralatha-III class, and Ralari-IV class!"

I roar out instantly, "Abort docking maneuvers! All hands, man battle station! Prepare to engage inbound Kilrathi ships! This is not a surprise drill, boys, this is for real!"

Lex's holo-avatar pops up, "All personnel are manning their battle stations as order, sir, including our own Kilrathi troops."

"Thanks, Lex, inform Chief Gunderson not to remove the Thunder pack from Star Warrior, just reload her stores and add four Photon Torpedoes to her wing racks, I'm going out to see how well the QALC will work against the Hakaga-class' enhanced shields and armor."

"You got it." She responds and then shuts down her holo-image.

I head into my ready room and change into a fresh flight suit, attach my Hazard armor and usual weapons over it and took my Robotech helmet of the storage rack, I exit back onto the bridge and heading for the turbolift when Darkcloud contacts me, "Dad?" hir voice coming in through my ear-bead.

I lift my wrist comm level with my mouth and answer, "What is it, kiddo?"

Hir answer was something I never expected, "Your Kilrathi medallion is blinking real fast...now it's starting to steady out."

"What?"

At that point, I already had made half-a-step onto the turbolift and hir answer caused me to reflexively complete the step without following through, effectively causing me to trip into the turbolift.

The doors had already closed, saving me from embarrassment but my pulse is already racing as I pull myself up just as the turbolift begins it descent down to the hanger deck.

"Dad? Are you there?" Darkcloud's voice knocks me out of my stunned stupor.

"Yeah, I'm here, hon...meet at the hanger deck by Star Warrior and bring the medallion with you."

"You got it, dad!"

The turbolift comes to a stop and opens on to the hanger deck, I see Chief Gunderson and my pilots from Hunting Pride squadron as well Darkcloud waiting for me next to Star Warrior, I jog across the hanger, dodging and weaving through the various fighters and bombers being shifted to the launch deck ahead.

Darkcloud steps forward and gives me Tasha's medallion, thumbing the hidden activation switch, activating the tracking program as it searched within its one light-year range...and came up with a lock-on to its sister and showed a distance counter, I compare it to the direction of travel of the inbound Kilrathi fleet and it matches perfectly.

I give my orders and my pilots, mostly Kilrathi whom I trusted with my life, quickly climbed aboard their Valkyrie fighters.

I hang the medallion around my neck, my heart soaring in hope that this time, Tasha and I would be together again...for the rest of our days; I run up the boarding ladder, jumping into Star Warrior's cockpit and begin the power-up procedures, the Valkyrie's systems rapidly energizing along with the two auxiliary fusion reactors as they fed power to the drives, weapons, shields, life support, targeting, damage control and other systems that make up the VF19X.

The launch cradle moves up and out onto the stream of fighters and bombers as the 15th's starfighter squadrons assemble in space, ready to meet the enemy head-on, my squadron is the last to launch due to our fighters being equipped with Bussard Intakes allowing for unlimited combat radius, the Longbow and Broadsword bombers along with their escorts, lie waiting behind the main fighter screen, ready to make their attack run once the enemy fighters are pre-occupied with us; I lay out our battle plan, "All squadrons, listen up. This is the plan: engage enemy fighters as per SOP but Hunting Pride 1st Flight will stay with me and the bombers; we'll be leading the strike, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Flights will stay with the rest of the fighter screen as you keep the enemy fighters and bomber off our carriers, the Super Battleships will micro-jump to a position where they can deny the enemy any escape vector."

The comm panel came alive with arguments against my orders, I drop the bombshell, "Tasha's on her way here."

Silence reigned as my surprised pilots gather their thoughts, enough for one to ask, "How do you know that, boss?"

"The medallion Tasha gave me is also a tracking transceiver unit with a one light-year range, and its detected its counterpart in the same direction as the inbound enemy fleet; my intention is to lure Tasha out, by challenging her or vice-versa, into open space where the two of us can fight each other without anyone raising anyone's suspicions, once we're alone, we'll fight each other realistically but not before I use the QALC against the Hakagas, that's where 1st Flight comes in, you'll have to keep the enemy fighters off me including Tasha until I fire, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Good, aside from that, use your own discretions when making your attacks. Return with your shields, my warriors, I take no delight in losing any of you."

"Victory, honor and glory!" Their united cry answered for me.

"Good luck and good hunting, my warriors. Take your positions, enemy ETA in 20 seconds."

I took a position relatively above my squadrons as I double-check my weapon stores, and finalizing my plan of action as the 15th's capships slip behind Chakona just as Gateway Station enters the nightside while as Knight Hammer Station exits into the daylight side of the planet, its heavy weapons platforms and shield generators on-line and ready for action.

My mental countdown hit zero as the Kilrathi fleet emerges from translight jump in battle formation, as I had expected, I switch to a broadband channel and shout out, "NOW!"

In a flash of light, the Kilrathi fleet finds itself in serious trouble as the four Super Battleships micro-jump behind them and block off any possible escape, just as the rest of the 15th emerge from behind the planet and surrounds them.

I switch frequencies to known Kilrathi bandwidths, snarling out in their native tongue, still fluent after all these years, "Attention, Kilrathi fleet, this is Commodore Nathaniel Lao, call sign 'Simba', 15th Battle Group commander, state your intentions here or be destroyed, your appearance here is tantamount to a hostile act and may considered as an act of war, choose wisely or you will never return to your dens, alive."

Princess Tasha hrai Ishta, formerly hrai Kiranka, stood up from her command chair as the planet Chakona came into view...as well as the assembled and battle-ready 15th Battle Group, the sensor globe also show four recognizable Super Battleships blocking their only possible escape route, the rest of the 15th surrounding the fleet in all directions, their fighters already launched and in strike position on their flanks, her long experience tells that this is very bad, then the communications technician growls about an incoming transmission on their frequencies, not surprising given the 15th's long experience but the voice coming from the speakers was something she thought would never hear again in her lifetime, "Attention, Kilrathi fleet, this is Commodore Nathaniel Lao, call sign 'Simba', 15th Battle Group commander, state your intentions here or be destroyed, your appearance here is tantamount to a hostile act and may considered as an act of war, choose wisely or you will never return to your dens, alive." And in fluent Kilrathi, to boot.

She turns toward the fleet's overall commander, "Kalahn (Terran equivalent of Commodore), we must launch our fighters and fight our way out of here, its obvious that the 15th Battle Group have somehow been alerted during our transit, my suspicions are that we were detected by long-range hyper-pulse sensor arrays."

He turns to her angrily, "Fight our way out? As in retreat? Never! We will destroy the Stellar Federation's vaunted 15th and lay waste to its home base!"

"Are you blind?! We are facing the entire 15th Battle Group! And, unless you did not notice, there's an Omega-II class space station behind their position, equipped with long-range batteries and launchers, they were developed specifically to withstand massive assaults and we do not have the necessary numbers to defeat it, especially not if there are capital ships in the vicinity!"

"Kilrathi fleet, you have not responded to our hails thusly we will consider your arrival as a hostile act and we will respond accordingly."

"You better answer him, Kalahn."

He grabs the mic and growls out a long triade about inferiority, poor breeding, the usual degrading comments, only to be met with silence then laughter, to his shock, several voices in the channel are recognizably Kilrathi, then Nathan responds, "Is that the best verbal barb you can throw at me? I've heard more inventive ones back where I came from."

The Kalahn roars in anger and rashly makes his orders, "Command all ships to launch their fighters, target their flagship and space station, order our best pilots to hunt down their best pilots and target our space-to-ground torpedoes at their cities."

"That won't work!"

"What?"

"Bah, you're hopeless. I'm launching as well, at least, I won't go down looking like a fool when the 15th destroys the fleet."

She runs out of the bridge and onto the lift that will take her down to the hangers, pleased that her patience has paid off, her body tingling in anticipation, eager to finally touch her husband-to-be physically and not in her dreams but also feeling apprehensive about the other changes her body had undergone when she emerged into this dimension.

Her fighter is where she had left it, fully fueled and armed, she quickly but thoroughly performs her preflight checklist of her fighter, also quietly checking her detachable cargo bay and ejection pod, thankful that no one had disobeyed her command of not touching her fighter unless directly supervised except for fueling and arming.

She clambers up the boarding ladder, slips into her customized cockpit and seal it as a tech moves the ladder out of the way, a tractor pulls her into the launch slot as several tech ready her fighter for launch, looking up, she sees the battle already being joined, she knew that they won't last long against the more experienced squadrons, then a bright flash came from the starboard side, then a report over the comm net that two of the escorting heavy cruisers and ten other ships has been destroyed by bomber torpedoes and capital ship fire, she calls up the sensor data and her computer recognizes the signatures of the Longbow and Broadsword heavy bomber class and the Y-wing light bomber as well as fighter and capship classes she has fought before but several new signatures stood out of the mass of signals as a dozen friendly signals are instantly destroyed by the new units.

She launches and gathers several pilots to her side and broadcasts on an open channel, a one-on-one duel between her and their best pilot to the death, with the victor to decide the fate of the planet, a challenge that only her husband-to-be would respond to, and respond he does but not before destroying both Hakagas with a new weapon that easily pierced the shields and armor of the Hakagas and cored them end-to-end...she knew her husband-to-be has probably reached a level of experience and skill that surpasses hers but one things for sure, his aim is still as accurate as she remembers; and odd are, so is his skill in selective targeting...

My heart races as Tasha's voice comes over an open channel, as I hoped she would, but I chose not to respond until I neutralize the Hakaga super carriers, selecting the weapon, my Battloid swings the right weapons pod and links it to the left, the handle sliding forward and down to become a support handle for the weapon, the two weapons within sliding aside as the main components of the QALC link up and form the weapon, becoming a bulged wedge-shaped cannon with a protruding tapered cone on the firing end, targeting arrays pop up and instantly begin providing targeting data to my holographic HUD, unlike the older HUD systems of the older Valkyrie-types which were based of the HOTAS system, the next gen HUD of the VF19X is more of a 3D variant meaning that you, quite literally, are in the HUD itself, allowing for faster reactions and evasions and this is a fighter developed after the HK War thus giving me an advantage over Tasha that I never had before, and odds are, she'll still be using her old Sword Fang VI fighter, an improved version of her late father's fighter but now outclassed by the more advanced VF19X.

I easily spot her fighter but took aim instead on the Hakaga behind and pulled the trigger while firing thrusters at the same time, the beam repeats the same thing as it does with every one of its victims, for lack of a better word, as it cores through the Hakaga easily, even when set at medium power, I grin broadly and fire again, destroying the sister ship. I split it back into its two parts and mechamorph back to Fighter mode; I boost the signal of my transponder and announced my location, signaling my readiness to face Tasha.

Her sensors detect the boosted signal of Nathan's transponder and fired her afterburners, eager to engage him. She quickly figures out the source of the signal, a new fighter class she's never seen before like the three other fighters around it but distinctly equipped and marked, the combined dragon and lion sigils behind the Confed Star a total giveaway as to who the pilot is.

It separates from its fellows and signals with its running lights, she signals back and orders her pilots not to follow, the duel is to be private, only her and the other champion, with no witnesses.

Her tail twitches in its slot, apprehensive and eager to test her mettle against a superior machine, she and Nathan exchange taunts and goads, all coded messages of longing and affection to each other.

Once they both reach open space far above the action, did they begin their duel, at the same time, the three other Valkyrie pilots mechamorph their fighters into Battloids and attack the other enemy fighters without warning; they are slaughtered, unable to fight back against the superior machines and pilots, as anticipated by their commander, their comm channels and sensors jammed by pods attached to all three machines...

I barrel roll and back flip simultaneously as Tasha fires her tachyon cannons, all of them missing cleanly, I retaliate by rolling up right and initiate a Shelton slide to her left flank, firing my two nose-mounted phasers.

Both beams cleanly slicing off most of her left wing, losing a significant amount of her ability to roll, she tries to compensate by pitching and yawing but all that does is expose her right wing to my guns, which I also clip, in that exact moment, a small cargo pod is ejected, she fires her afterburners to try and get away, allowing me to retrieve the pod, after a quick scan of course, and store it into my own cargo bay.

As I did so, she is able to turn around and salvoes her missiles at me, I quickly mechamorph to Battloid and use my head-mounted pulse phasers and shoulder rotary tachyon cannons to intercept them, oops, I barely react just in time, as she tries to ram me, my pulse phasers is able to bring down her forward shields; she ejects that same moment, I flip over her fighter and catch her pod in my Battloid's massive hand, simultaneously I blast her fighter to pieces, my shields easily taking the blast wave, I also catch the one of her sliced wings and carry it with me, back to the rest of the fleet, hiding Tasha's pod behind me, out of sight of any visual scanners and sensors, and declare her defeat by showing off her clipped wing and what remains of her fighter, minus the flight recorder and data recorder units, both which I destroyed.

I order the Kilrathi out of the system on what remains of their fleet and warn that the next time they try this, they will not return to their dens alive.

I grin behind my helmet as the beatened Kilrathi recover their fighters and pilots and jump out of the system, shadowed by the cloaked Eagle's Vision and three escorting Excalibers, also cloaked.

I sigh happily as the last of the Kilrathi ships exit the system, then turned around, Tasha's pod already released, scooped up her pod and head back to the Lexington, I mechamorph into Guardian and land near the back of the hanger, I carefully lower her pod on to the deck, once its down safely, I lower her cargo pod and the Guardian's nose, jumping out, I pop the seal and help my beloved out of the cramped pod only to end up in a crushing hug, cushioned by her well-padded chest, I snuggle in deeper, relishing the feel of her fur and her almost-musky scent, her purr of happiness vibrates through me, our actions answering our unspoken questions, separated too long both now eager to make up for lost time.

We look at each other and saw a familiar gleam in her eyes; I grin broadly and growl out, "Kal'shat Ne'nakvar!" In other words, trial of entry.

A tradition amongst certain masters is the trial of entry, essentially a reacquaintance test for returning students who wish to test themselves against their masters to see how far they've improved since they graduated and this is one tradition that Tasha and I relish.

The Kilrathi crew members immediately clear a 10 meter circle for us as Tasha and I strip down to our underwear, her sports bra more filled out now than I last remember too, but leaving our blades still belted on, this part of the hanger is always clean so we didn't have to worry about oil spots or whatnot to spoil our moves and Lex establishes a safety force field since our trial is going to get rough, real rough; we bow to each other in ritual fashion, in a heartbeat, begin the trial, Tasha shows a dozen new moves she's learned here in this reality as do I but not as many, the fighters here in the Stellar Federation not really up to my caliber or level of fighting not even the big Rakshani who couldn't best me in blade-to-blade combat, although hand-to-hand is a different matter, we clash blades repeatedly as I note that most of the critical skills are now ingrained in her but movement is still sloppy, still over-extending in some places but not as severely as before, the cuts and bruises on my thigh, chest and arm a testament to that, and then I feel a familiar sensation kick in, I give in to it and, with a swift movement of my body and blades, I knock her blades away and lock mine on her neck, her blades landing with a clang in the metal deck...

I smile and purr happily as Nathan bests me once again, as he has done to me countless times during my training, as it should be, the husband showing his strength and dominance over his mate.

We grin at each other and end the duel and trial with a heartfelt kiss, the taste of his skin, flesh, saliva and love a torrent of cool rain after the long drought, my tail instinctively twitches, betraying my emotional state, we break for air and look into each other's eyes, missing the love we shared and somewhat took for granted until we were separated; I step back two paces and salute formally while saying, "Commodore, I request political asylum into the Stellar Federation."

He responds just as formally, "Kal Shintar, as commander of the 15th Battle Group, I grant your request temporarily until confirmed by the Federation Council and Star Fleet. In the meantime, feel free to roam the Lexington at your own discretion." He finishes with an equally formal salute.

The hanger deck explodes with cheers and applause as the many veteran pilots and crew happily receive me back into the fold, and in Nathan's case, back into his life and love.

I bring Tasha to my quarters where she later met my mates Whitestar and Serah, who was quite surprised to meet a fur a head taller than her not to mention stronger and more experienced in combat, and my adopted daughter, Darkcloud; she wasn't quite surprised that I had taken mates outside my species but a cub that I called my own was a bit disconcerting for her, her surprise intensified when I reveal that both Whitestar and Darkcloud are herms; for me, on the other hand, she looked like she was feeling up Serah with her eyes, last I remembered, Tasha wasn't into girls too but now something in her behavior is starting to stand out, although I couldn't figure out what but when she asked me where the master bedroom was so that we could talk about something, I take her there and watch her thoroughly sniff the bed, totally disoriented by her actions, I finally understand when she stands up by the bed and disrobes in front of me, thus revealing why her behavior has been so odd since having her back with me...

My mind wrestles with indecision as we make our way to his quarters where his mates are waiting, I finally decide to be honest with Nathan after meeting his mates and daughter, whom I knew wouldn't be fooled by my purely female mannerisms as my scent would have given me away, the crew on the hanger deck didn't detect my scent because of the smells of the hanger deck and the concentrated scents of both humans and other species mixing together but here in the privacy of Nathan's quarters, there is no such masking effect, so I stood up and ask him to come with me into the master bedroom and talk, his body language tells me that he's puzzled and a bit alarmed but mostly worried about me but complies with my request, he leads me there and locks the door behind him, "All right, Tasha, what's the problem?" He states, going right to the point.

I sit on the bed and pick up the scents of passionate love-making on it, then sigh sadly and said, "Nathan, you've felt the reverse aging effect one-way inter-dimensional travel has on the body, right?"

"Yes," He answers hesitantly, not liking where this conversation is leading.

"It seems to have an additional effect on my body," I say as I undress, not really making eye contact, "it has affected my gender," my voice quivering in fear, "I'm no longer the female you once knew but I'm now a hermaphrodite..."

As the last bits of my clothing falls to the floor; my eyes finally shed their long held-back torrent of tears as I brace for my love's rejection, to my surprise, I feel his hand on my chin and guides it so I could face him, you can imagine my surprise when all I saw in his eyes are love and acceptance plus a gentle reprimand, "Tasha, how many time must I remind you of my promise: 'I will always love you for who you are, not for what you are.' Though I must say that this new gender of yours seem to be more suited for your personality than the old one would ever be...not to mention I also caught you making eyes at Serah back there..."

I blush lightly, was I that obvious?

"But don't worry, I think Serah wouldn't mind if you've been briefed about her species, you'll know what I mean, there's one little problem though..."

I look at him curiously, "And what will that be?"

He walks to the door, unlocks it and pokes his head out, "A bunch of eavesdroppers."

I lean out as well and see all three furs sprawled out on the living room floor and grinning broadly, I smile lightly and, with a little nudge of encouragement from Nathan, step out of the bedroom and into the arms of both my new family and destiny...

I gently caress Tasha's bare furry back, along her, hir spine just the way shi likes it whenever shi felt frustrated or scared, the soft purrs emanating from hir throat.

The two of us settle down on the couches and cushions in the living room as the girls snuggle up to us, Serah with Tasha, Whitestar with me; Darkcloud just sat in between us, looking amused, then shi quips, "Hey dad, are you going to introduce Aunt Tasha to the rest of the clan?"

Tasha, who's quietly nuzzling Serah around the neck and caressing her chest and belly, looks up without stopping hir affections with an arched eyebrow, I grin back and said, "Nothing to worry about, love; Darkcloud's suggesting that I introduce you to my extended chakat family once we get you settled down dirtside on Chakona."

Hir eyebrow arched even further, "Your extended family, eh? Related to Whitestar over there, right?"

I nod then groan lightly as Whitestar gently nibbled along my neck, "Yeah, and all more than happy to accept you into the family, love."

"I'm sure, dear. Now why don't we discuss that later and enjoy each other's company for now, because I'm quite hungry for White Bengal Tiger pudding." Shi finishes with a growl-purr as shi caresses then mounts Serah right there and then, both felines purring in pleasure and nuzzling each other affectionately, enticing Whitestar and I to do the same, Darkcloud played smart and scooted out the door, hir tail waving cheekily; and since it would take at least a day or two for the entire fleet to disembark down to the planet's surface, we would use the time to the utmost.

Two days later, we took one of the Leos down to the surface, enroute to Goldfur's place; I had settled Tasha's political asylum early as I had called in several favors to get things done in a hurry and Tasha's temporary residency and asylum papers will be delivered to Goldie's place in a few days.

Tasha and Serah seem to have hit it off but it looks like Whitestar's next on Tasha's target list, not that I'm worried, it just that Tasha never bonded with anyone in this reality and is making up for lost time, nonetheless, as we promised to each other, we would marry in one month's time by Chakona's oceans in a simple ceremony presided over by a Kilrathi priestess, to be witnessed by friends and family as the two of us finally fulfill our vow to wed after the war's end, now long overdue.

Tasha proved to be quite a hit with the rest of the family as they happily accept hir for who shi is, especially the young cubs of the family, who seem to pay more attention to Tasha's tail whenever shi twitches its tip like a metronome, in fact they would move their heads in time with it!

Goldie and the others are quite happy how Tasha interacted with them, though Garreck looked like he could use a little less attention from Tasha, shi had told me shi had several fantasies involving foxes and finding one close by, looked like shi kept hirself in check, otherwise Garreck would find himself dragged off and yiffed senseless.

It didn't take long before Tasha is called before the Chakat Council for an interview for the approval of hir permanent citizenship ID, I went with Tasha as a witness on hir trial, there I ran into a couple of old friends who serve on the council but both had some trouble keeping their eyes off of Tasha who happened to be wearing an eye-catching top that showed a lot of cleavage and bared hir muscular midriff and knee-length leather shorts that hugged hir equally muscular legs, showing off hir best features and assets to the world, no longer needing to hide who shi is, even I was distracted by hir ensemble which I think is the main idea anyway.

But belted to hir sides are hir ser'vec'nar swords and force lances even in the safety of a peaceful world, hir instincts still compel hir to be prepared for treachery, as have I since I came wearing my battle dress uniform as required by the council since I granted hir asylum request while still in military uniform thus as hir guarantor, I have to be present for the hearing; Tasha is thoroughly but gently grilled by the council, reviewing hir records and history, most of it from the 15th's Intel files, all from our dimension and past, not that it was updated recently anyway.

Hir military record impresses them about what shi can do under fire but not what shi is capable of in peacetime, it was at this point that I intervened and explained how Kilrathi society works, how bloodshed and death is directly related to a person's social rank, its strict hierarchy and its unbending strictures to blood-rank, the role of the females in their society especially in the religious areas with extra emphasis to the Kilrathi war god, Sivar, Tasha being the only exception to the general rule since for some reason, shi had the heart and soul of a male within the body of a beautiful female, hir own father, the Crown Prince, couldn't keep hir locked in, since shi savagely attacks any male that approaches hir, he finally gave in to hir demands and gives his reluctant blessing, expecting hir to be a failure, instead not only does shi graduate, shi does so at the top of hir class, proving to be indomitable force of nature until shi ran into me, that is.

From there, Tasha and I elaborate how we met, got to know each other and fell in love as well as guiding the council in my journey within Kilrathi society and my subsequent understanding of its intricacies.

We recess for lunch and got invited to dine with the council, as usual, Tasha's requirements are radically different than everyone else's so I call up a serving of raw meat and fish and spice it there and then to Tasha's tastes, I merely had a steak and salad for lunch, Tasha had learned to use utensils early on so preventing hir from eating Kilrathi style, with hir bare paws; after lunch, the council finalize and wrap up their questioning, tied up some loose ends and asked us to wait outside, we wait for ten agonizing minutes before we are called back in to the chambers...moments later, we both tore out of there happier than we've ever been as Tasha proudly clutches hir new permanent residency ID to hir breast and blast out of there, figuratively and literally, as we boarded the Leo and head back to Goldie's place via sub-orbital hop, only at the top of our trajectory we came under attack by a trio of Humans First shuttlecraft, not exactly a good idea as Tasha piloted while I handled the weapons system; like me, Tasha has no problem dodging their attacks as they tend to telegraph it, I easily blast them apart with the Leo's phasers and particle cannons, we finish them off and boosted down into the atmosphere whilst maintaining our vigilance, I had called in the attack to Knight Hammer station and the station commander promised to investigate the attack; Whitestar and Serah are on hand to welcome us home, Whitestar grinning that Cheshire grin of hirs, "I take it everything went well?"

Tasha answers with a broad grin, "Better than that actually."

Shi brandishes hir new ID card with a flourish, grinning broadly and proudly, "I am now an official citizen of Chakona and the Stellar Federation, first thing tomorrow, I'm transmitting my application to the Star Fleet Academy for a full refresher course, and then get assigned to the 15th, under Nathan as always."

I retort, "Don't worry; I have the perfect post for you, love."

"And that'll be...?"

"Fleet CAG."

"Commander Air Group?!"

"Yep, no one in the 15th has the level of flight experience, aside from me, to handle a large group of fighters and bombers and whip them into shape; I would have asked some of the older Kilrathi and human officers but a lot of them preferred staying with their squadrons and you're the only that everyone would respect, both as my wife and as a battle-tested veteran."

Shi nods in agreement, "And not just that, both of us have more line experience than most others."

"Right, but in any case, Tasha still has to go through Star Fleet Academy before I can assign hir to the 15th as its CAG."

Shi rubbed hir paws together, "Those cubs won't know what hit them." Shi grins evilly.

We feasted well later that night in celebration, which turned into mini-cooking contest between me and Boyce as the clan gave us each an hour to prep a different kind of dinner, each according to our specialties; we agreed that it would be limited to the kitchen and the grill but what Boyce didn't know is that grandpa was a chef prior to his militia career and had taught me all the tricks of the trade, I'm also thankful for the chakat-sized kitchen which would allow me to get a lot of food done in a hurry, on the side, Boyce and I wagered that the loser does breakfast in the morning with the exception of Tasha's since Boyce has no experience with Kilrathi dietary needs.

Boy, it was a blast as I smoothly and cleanly smoke Boyce with classic food styles from the past including a positively sinful strawberry shortcake, you could say that I burned out the family's taste buds for the evening and that everyone will be needing a good night's sleep to get it back to full working order, even Boyce.

Tasha had fun too, trying foods that weren't raw and were spiced different but still couldn't overcome the need for raw meat and fish, we didn't begrudge hir for that, after all, we all had different needs and requirements.

Two weeks later...

Since giving the crews a four-month furlough, I made much use of that time getting the ships back to tip-top shape as well as restocking their supplies and armories, getting the ships ready for their next mission, the 15th's shipyards and its adjacent facilities are stationed in geo-sync orbit around Cha'turna with a million klick radius of restricted space around the whole facility, supply ships are escorted and scanned constantly for any possible 'extra' cargo, like HF saboteurs and hijackers, but we learnt the lesson from the first attempt so subsequently all personnel are secretly DNA-printed as well as palm/paw- and retinal-printed, also all Confed personnel are to wear their wrist comms at all times, whether on or off duty, on leave or any other activity, allowing the station's or ship's AI to monitor their position at all times.

Tasha, in the meantime, is at the Academy undergoing a refresher program designed to get hir up to speed with the rules and regs of Star Fleet and Star Corps as well as the 15th's, for exercise, shi uses the obstacle course but going at much more grueling pace, often teasing the rookies as shi passes them by, wearing nothing more than a sports bra, form-fitting shirt and running shorts, which is often since this has become habitual for hir before shi begins hir real workout with the ser'vec'nar blades, very few people in the Stellar Federation have any proficiency with blades of any form, meaning that in any situation, Tasha and I will be able to fall back upon a skill most people have difficulty countering especially when caught unawares.

I visited often, especially in the early mornings, where I join hir for hir run, and sparring with hir with blunt blades, the rookies would rest watching us after their run, often marveling at our skill and proficiency. Overall, Tasha's very happy with hir new way of life, living with a family who accepts hir for who shi is; we had also finalized our wedding plans during my frequent visits, we would be wed on the sands of Guardian Point, the 15th's unofficially claimed beach, in a week's time at sunset, it is a long stretch of prime beach real estate roughly 30 miles long by 2 miles broad, it also fronts some of the best stretch of ocean that also generates some excellent surf action for the surfing enthusiasts in the 15th with Mount Skypoint in the backdrop behind the beach, Whitestar and Serah agreed that it was the perfect place and security wasn't an issue there since we've installed several powerful security systems hidden beneath the sands of the beach, not to mention that we can get great wedding holos to save for the kids.

I had talked to the priestess who will preside over our wedding and she had agreed to blend both human and Kilrathi traditions, quite fitting since Tasha and I are the first human-Kilrathi couple, but with some of the words modified to also accommodate Tasha's gender change, Tasha having allowed the 15th's medical officers to let the 15th crews know about hir new gender as a sign of that shi has accepted the physiological and mental changes within hir, surprisingly enough, everyone accepted this quite calmly with only a few skeptics seeing hir personally to confirm what shi has said; Goldie and the rest of the family are also invited to the ceremony wearing formal attire, with the hint that they also bring swimwear and casual clothes for later use but given that chakats don't mind showing off, I get the feeling that they're going to go topless on the beach once everyone lets their hair down.

Tasha, with Serah and Whitestar, went shopping for hir wedding dress when shi received hir leave for the wedding but made sure that I was busy with something to do so that I don't find out what they had bought, promising that I would find out during the wedding, spoilsports.

What they meant by kept busy is Goldie, Midnight and Zhane dragging me out of the house and into Amistad to get myself fitted for a new dress uniform, I tried to resist but Zhane cut my resistance short by tying me up like a calf in a rodeo and carried me out the door on her shoulder like I was a slab of meat, everyone else laughing heartily as Zhane carries me out the door while I squirm ineffectually.

They also brought my battletabs and medals to match it with the new dress uniform including my Confed Medal of Honor; I had also specified that my uniform have to have sufficient room for my Hazard armor and for fighting flexibility.

The tailor-fur nodded at my request and used a holographic overlay to fit both the girls' and my requirements, also taking into account my holsters and sword belt into the hologram.

We left the shop after an hour, my uniform pressed and bagged, then the girls' took me to a salon for a shampoo and haircut, its chakat owner easily recognizing me as I recognize hir, Lt. Com. Starfire, a very well endowed chakat with a fur pattern resembling solar flares at full peak, then it occurred to me that most of the furs that work here are more than likely hir kith and kin, shi introduces me and the girls to them, then asks why I was here, I explain why and surprised hir, shi happily accepts my invitation and works on my trim personally, it didn't take long for hir to finish but shi refused to accept payment for hir services, I tried to argue but shi shot me down pretty easily, citing that just being invited to my wedding is payment enough.

I acquiesce for now intending to quietly pay hir back later. We stop for a quick snack then head out for home, once we got there, Tasha, wearing a 'cat-that-just-ate-the-canary' smile, was on hand to greet us, shi hugs me close and whispers in my ear, "You're going to my wedding dress, love."

I look up with an arched eyebrow and plaintively whine, "Can I see it?"

Shi waggles a finger admonishingly, "Uh, uh. It's a surprise and I'm not one to spoil surprises."

I frown slightly, then sigh, indicating my surrender, "You win, love, I won't pester you about your dress but you can't blame me from trying."

Shi grabs my butt with hir claws out as a point, knowing that I won't deliberately cross hir.

We kiss for a while then went to the living couch and snuggle closely, reveling in each other's presence; it became a pile-up, as Whitestar and Serah joined in, which moved to the floor. We never worried for lack of rooms ever since Goldie, with my help, moved the clan to a large patch of land overlooking Point Nightwind, roughly half-an-hour's travel from Amistad, but we're not exactly isolated either since many of the 15th's crews have made their homes nearby as well which led the Chakat council to declare our little community as a new spot on the map as Guardian Village but we got some of the best bits of real estate and it now has a sprawling two-story ranch-style house with plenty of room on all sides for running and playing, a large outdoor pool with attached kiddie pool, two separate garages for storing our vehicles and tooled up with the best maintenance and repair tools money could buy, all picked out by Goldie and Garreck, a small but well equipped library that includes all my books I've brought with me from the Lexington, a games room with some classics like billiards and darts and more modern games, a greenhouse for Forest, a fully-equipped gym for those with the need to exercise and to top off the lot, a observation floor for stargazing and cuddling under the stars.

But like me, not everything is what it seems, because underneath the house is an emergency bunker and armory, deep enough to survive serious orbital bombardment and an emergency launch bay for the necessary getaways, equipped with two Gulf Stream-class heavy runabouts which are equipped with heavy fighter grade shielding, five phaser arrays and four particle cannon turrets; also within the walls and support pillars of the house are several caches of weapons and equipment just in case.

I woke up early to meet the coming dawn, feeling some pre-wedding jitters, then I feel a pair of muscular arms wrap around me, the gentle rumbling and the ample bust pressing against my neck telling who it is, I turn around and pillow my head against Serah's breasts as the rising sun warms my back, she purrs quietly, "Feeling a little nervous?"

"Yeah."

"You'll do fine, hon, of that I have no fear of, though I have to admit, I've never met a fur like Tasha before."

"Intimidating, isn't shi?"

"Very, I've never a species whose culture is based on bloodshed and is rigidly structured, not allowing anyone with potential to grow to do whatever they can achieve."

"Sad but true, which why Kilrathi females give birth in litters of four or more, so they can quickly bolster the ranks of the clans or hrai the cubs are born into, also you are born into your rank and status, you don't earn it by merit."

"So that means if you're a high-ranking Kilrathi male..."

"The cubs I sire will have the same rank as I." I finish for her.

"Harsh...very harsh way of life compared to the cultures that cherish peace and place by merit."

"True," Tasha's voice coming from behind us, "but it's a way of life that makes strong warriors, though blinded by inflexibility, save for Baron Jukaga of the Ki'ra clan, who understood humanity well enough to both admire and like; humanity's ability to think flexibly, even when they are out-numbered and out-classed, have baffled all of the clan leaders save Jukaga, most species the Kilrathi have encounter were easily conquered but humanity proved itself to be a worthy testing our steel against, instead of a hard-fought win, we found ourselves in a war of attrition where we were at a disadvantage, humanity had inventiveness, flexibility and superior resource management which tilted the war in their favor but the False Peace decimated that advantage and soon humanity was on the defensive, sector after sector falling to us but even when defeat is staring them in the face, humanity rallied to do what was once unthinkable, the destruction of the Kilrathi home world and also our spiritual center."

Serah adds, "But Operation Temblor..."

"Yes, the Temblor Bomb destroyed my home world but in essence, it was for the best, our exposure to humanity has allowed humanity's own darkness to seep into our culture..."

"What do...?"

I quietly add, "Shi means that Baron Jukaga attempted to assassinate the ruling Emperor and the Crown Prince in one fell swoop but failed; assassination, in the Kilrathi mindset, was unthinkable for them, to kill a leader from the shadows instead of openly challenging in order to claim the fallen leader's sword and mantle by right of blood."

Serah is horrified, "You mean..." "Yes, in order to claim the throne, the challenger and the champion fight to the death, to the victor goes the spoils. To be honest, Operation Temblor was indeed a cleansing of the Kilrathi people, burning its core clean and bringing its people to a new state of being, so to speak."

"But now it seems that my destiny, and Tasha's, lies somewhere else, now we both have a chance to complete what we promised to each other."

The wedding goes as planned as all the 15th's command crews and their families as well as my own extended family attended it, the head priestess Hassa presiding this historic wedding, the bride and groom were kept separate in two tents, at precisely 1800, we both step out of our respective tents.

Boy, was I glad that I had my inseam measured loosely because Tasha's dress, in the broadest sense of the word, is giving me a bad case of raging hard-on; shi's wearing this, well, exotic two piece ensemble that's composed of a white lacy blouse with silver trimmings, a white short skirt that had a lacy extension attached to the waist plus a traditional veil for hir head, crowned with Chakona's finest flowers, shi's also wearing hir medallion just as I am.

We meet at the top of the T, where the path leads down the aisle, I offer hir my hand and shi takes it, a slight shiver passes from hir to my hand, indicating just how nervous shi's feeling, just as I am.

We walk down the aisle, followed by Kirha (best man/fur), Whitestar (maid/fur of honor) and Darkcloud (ringbearer); we opted to keep most of the ceremony simple as we wanted to maximize our time with the troops and our families, besides the dinner later is an all-night beach party, after a fashion, but without the excessive drinking, most of the troops were old and wise enough to know when enough was enough but some were still...somewhat immature, initiating a drinking contest that brought the participants crashing under the table, much to their mates' disgust, for some, and amusement, for others, as for my extended chakat family, they had a great time as they enjoyed the party and the subsequent swim thereafter.

The next morning found most of us sprawled out on mats and blankets, the cubs and youngsters having found it convenient to simply curl up and cuddle with each other in one furry pile; Tasha and I had quietly slipped away into a secluded cave where we slept and cuddled warmly that night and were deep enough that the morning sun didn't bother us until somewhat later, by then most of our guests have left for their respective homes, Whitestar and the rest of the clan having waited for us to join them for the drive home back to Guardian Village...

It wasn't long after the wedding that Tasha graduated from the Academy at the top of hir class, having left most of hir batchmates eating hir ion trial, of course, shi took a Star Fleet assignment and, as the head of hir class, got first pick where hir first tour would be, and doubly of course, shi chose the 15th as hir permanent station, knowing that shi didn't have to work hir way up again as shi had graduated retaining hir old/current rank of Colonel and knew that I had practically reserved the Fleet CAG slot for hir, both hir previous experience and reputation would serve hir in good stead with the veteran squadrons, and besides the last thing everyone wanted was to piss me off, now that we're married.

Tasha flashes me that special smile of hirs as I watch hir graduation, Admiral AutumnBreeze presiding, a chakat who works in Star Fleet rather than in the Star Corps, all I've known about hir is mostly established reputation but having met hir once, I knew that shi's an upcoming grandmother and also known for being a tough but fair commander.

As the head of hir class, Tasha gave a speech reminding hir batchmates of the trials and tests they will face in the course of their careers, encouraging them to be prepared for anything and everything, shi assures them that their legacy will live on should they fall in battle, that their heroism will inspire a new generation to serve as well, shi also reminds them that war will not be pretty nor glamorous, nor is it noble but just how necessary it is when it comes to protecting those they cared for, shi finishes by reciting a Kilrathi poem, then translates it to its Terranglo equivalent but I understood it just fine, the translation being somewhat more mellow.

Later, I kiss hir full in the mouth, complemented with a tight hug, Serah and Whitestar joining in a few seconds later; AutumnBreeze and another chakat walk up to us, shi introduces us to hir companion, "Commodore Nathan, this is my niece, Chakat Flurry, shi has asked me if a Fleet posting in the 15th is open and available."

"Can I see your grades, young lady?"

I reach out with an open hand, shi pulls out a small datapad and puts it on my hand, I call up hir grades and am quite impressed, 95% in Small Starship Piloting; 98% in Stellar Navigation; 90% in Sensor Interpretation; 92% in Small Arms; 94% in Large Starship Piloting; and 91% in Weapons, the only sore spot is the 80% in Warp Theory, not that was important to me, "Hmm...it seems to me that shi's quite suitable as either a starfighter pilot or bridge crew."

"Do you have any openings?" the youngster quips impatiently.

"Serah?"

"Hmm...as matter of fact, we do have several openings amongst the Super Battleships and Sovereigns...assistant gunner, tactical and navigation, specifically."

Flurry's eyes widen in surprise, "A position on a Super Battleship or Sovereign?" Shi half-shouts out.

"It depends on where you want to be, kid. I'd suggest that you carefully consider what class of ship you want to serve on, since that will affect your career down the line."

Hir eyes shone eagerly, "It's my dream to serve on either class but I never expected to be given the chance to be inducted directly to the 15th."

I pat hir shoulder, "Well, kid, you're going to have a lot of fun with us plus you'll also be calling Tasha here your superior, shi's get the Fleet CAG slot I've reserved for hir."

"Tasha too?"

Shi adds, "Better actually, I'm a born pilot and so is Nathan, we're both part of the same squadron, his personal squadron Hunting Pride; even with our Fleet responsibilities, during certain combat situations, we both will join our pilots in combat, our combined combat experience allowing us to fight and fly together.

And of the pilots in the 15th, only Nathan can match me in a dogfight."

"What do you mean, Serah?"

I interject, "Shi means that we both are pilots, first and foremost, Fleet, second, a very distant second."

"I heard that you have a chakat daughter, is that true?"

"Oh, yes, very true. You can find hir on the Lexington, most of the time after school, shi's on the hanger deck with the tech crews working on the fighters and bombers, also you'll find very knowledgeable on Confed rules and regs; if not there, try looking for hir in one of the holodecks or the armory, just be careful when going in unannounced, shi's probably set it to combat training mode."

Shi frowns, "Why in those places? I thought civilians weren't allowed on military areas."

"Well, when it applies to Darkcloud, the rules are quite bent."

"Huh?"

"You'll understand when you review the files regarding the attempted hijacking of Andromeda Ascendant."

Then Tasha cuts in, "C'mon, hon, let's go home, I got an itch that only you can scratch and I don't want to wait all day for you to do so."

And with that, shi grabs me by the back of my uniform and carries me to the PTV, both of us eager to fulfill what we had promised so long ago to each other...

To Be Continued...