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To Light the Darkness

Phase 3

The trek to feline territory took me roughly four days to traverse, the road not exactly marked properly but it wasn't long before the territorial differences became apparent, from what I've read in Lushara's library; felines prefer their territories to remain as wild as possible so as to keep prey within their lands while wolves, on the other hand, prefer theirs to be as neat as possible with their prey animals properly domesticated, also the human enclaves are to be found in the mountains that divide both the continent and the respective territories of both species, the neutral foxes live freely in all the towns and cities of both sides, allowing them to develop a lucrative postal service that caters to the needs of both species.

The humans here turn out to be the descendants of survivors of a crash prison ship, all of them fur-haters, I've yet to find or discover the name of the ship nor the location of the crash site but it looks like that will have to wait another day and is relevant to my overall mission...

I quietly observe the feline outpost from the hill that overlooks it with my electro-binoculars, noting the movement and physical conditions of the troops and the state of their weapons, overall these are drafted soldiers, so unlike the professional ones in the wolf army, but they do have physical size and strength in their favor, which means that the wolves' combat flexibility and maneuverability counter-balances against the felines' strength and weight, makes sense why neither side has been able to beat the other for so long, they've been stuck in a technical stalemate for all this time.

I slide back down the hill, went around it and back on the main road, walking at an easy pace. The guards by the gate came to attention as they see me coming, pikes at the ready while the archers on the towers flanking them ready their bows; the tiger on the left raises his right arm and orders me to stop for inspection, I raise and twist my left wrist and show them Lushara's family crest, he grabs my hand and sniffs the crest closely, he snarls as he realizes that the tattoo is genuine, so gestures to the gate keepers who opens the door, allowing me to pass.

The tiger growls as I pass him by, "I'd be careful if I were you, human, that crest will not protect you in certain situations."

I look at him over my shoulder, "Thanks for warning; I'll keep that in mind." Then a huge paw fell on my shoulder, I look at it then followed it up to its owner, I found myself looking at a huge, muscular, battle-scarred lion, "I've heard about you, the traveling human warrior-for-hire, is it true that you can loose three arrows at once and hit three at once as well?"

"Yes, it's true."

"Then show me."

He points at the top of one tower where three targets stood, I shuck my pack and pull out my bow, nooking three arrows onto the string, I pull back and release quickly, all three arrows hit their targets, "Very good," he growls, "but how are you at fast moving targets?"

Four more targets appear, all of them moving, I draw one arrow and ready it, noting the random movement of the targets, I took off at a run and used a running climb on a wall to get some altitude, then kicked off from the wall in a spin, my reflexes allowing me to loose and hit with four arrows in sequence into their targets, I land on my feet, crouched and at the ready, the old lion smiles toothily and said, "Well, I see you're well trained, your master must have been strict about your training, wasn't he?"

I look up at him and we quietly exchange the nonverbal messages veterans are capable of, he nods, "Be on your way then...and watch your back."

As I left the outpost, I look back at him over my shoulder, "Count on it." I reply firmly as I walk off into the distance...

The next eight days to the feline capital was mostly uneventful, aside from the usual thieves, bandits and drunken troublemakers, I was careful not to consume too much of my money, I didn't want to look foolish in case Nesha're didn't hire me, I'd need enough for the trip back to Lushara.

Needless to say, I was impressed by the size and natural grandeur of the city; the design resembling that of Minas Tirith from Lord of the Ring, except this city has more overlapping fortifications and has more defensive depth plus an elite force of troops, judging from the uniforms, patrolling along its parapets, alert for any possible attackers, I note the distance from my concealed position to the parapets through my electro-binoculars, 1.2 klicks, easy enough with a large caliber sniper rifle, the area around the city, however, is flatter than a pancake, meaning any attacking army is going to get pin-cushioned with massive arrow salvoes and flattened with massed catapult fire; the only way to get into the city is to ram open the door, overwhelm the courtyard defenders and swarm up the tiers, but this only feasible with overwhelming numbers and superior troops and equipment, however, seeing it through the eyes of a modern 24th Century commander, a walled city like this would be child's play to overwhelm, penetrator shells will shatter the continuity of the walls while airburst rounds will freeze or cripple the movement of infantry and cavalry, the assault infantry squads will carry mostly medium and short range assault weaponry with two of their number carrying heavy weapons for support, armor will assist to secure intersections and important junctions, Battlemechs will stay outside to interdict both escapees and enemy reinforcements, and you get one flattened capital conquered in less than 12 hours from the moment of attack.

I shook myself back to reality as I spot a small convoy of carriages emerging from the forest to my left, then several shapes detach from the forest and converge on the carriages, my instincts tell me bandits, so I get up and quickly cast the Aero-speed spell, allowing me to traverse the distance in a hurry, I cancel the spell at 80 meters away, my swords already drawn from their sheaths, I roar out challengingly, causing several unengaged bandits to turn towards me, thus allowing the beleaguered guards to take advantage of their distraction, I join the fray and assist them on the left side as their defensive action begins to falter, I use a flying tackle on the bandits from the side to ease the pressure on the guards, I use my momentum to roll clear of the tangle of bodies while I sheath my blades and ready my bow, two arrows already nocked and ready to fire, two got up and turn to engage me but I stop them with an arrow each to the heart, I ready two more and released...both bolts nailing the two opportunistic archers hiding in the trees.

I let the guards clean up the rest while I secured the area, only when I got back did I notice the coat-of-arms on the sides of the carriages, I shook my head in disbelief, the coat-of-arms on the carriages belongs to the Tiger clan, the paw print and crossed swords marking their current leadership status, then a voluptuous tigress came down the steps, the way she carried herself, her confident strut and the way she held her sword hilt told me that this lady is no softie of the court, she came right to the point, "Human, I am Princess Nesha're of the Tiger clan, I wish to know what brings you here to the capital, most of your kind wouldn't even deign entering the claimed territories, let alone approach the central territories."

I bow respectfully at her, "Then you are the one I'm supposed to see, Princess." I reach into my vest and quickly pull out a sealed scroll, one end pointing at her, "From Princess Lushara with her regards, Princess Nesha're."

Then her eyes shone with realization, "You must Nathan, yes?"

I bow again, "Indeed, Princess. Princess Lushara was concerned about your problems with your previous bodyguards, which she felt that she should her most trusted one to you in the interim until you find one who is trust-worthy enough."

She looks at me closely, "Is there anything else?"

I shrug, "She did say that I'm on leave until further notice, whatever she means by that."

She suddenly grins broadly, "It means that you're now my new bodyguard!"

"Huh?" I look at her in shock.

"I'll explain later, right now it's getting late and my sisters are getting hungry, frankly so am I, so get inside and we can more privately."

I nod resignedly, "Yes, Princess."

And followed her into the carriage, which more like a broad cart rather a regular carriage but given that felines prefer to lounge on their sides rather than on their butts, it doesn't surprise me one bit but what does surprise me is, the second the door's shut, I'm on my back and more paws than I could count are all over me and feeling me up.

"Oh...he's a cute one, sister, are we keeping him?"

"Oh, yes. Lushara sent him to be my new bodyguard," I hear her break the scroll's seal, somewhere behind me, "...and it seems that this particular human is quite the opposite of his fellow humans..." A smile in her voice.

"In what way?" Quips another voice.

I answer that, "I'm a furry lover."

The silence in the carriage is overwhelming. My stomach sank to my feet as I said that, the back of my mind telling me: "Wrong answer, bub!"

As five buxom tigresses pounce instantly on top of me and start to, pardon the pun, man handle me; a deep throaty growl stops them cold, we look up at Nesha're and the look on her face is calm but her eyes are practically blazing with fire, quick as a wink, all five femmes went back to lounging lazily but I could sense their mental eyes keep an eye out for a opportunity to bed me, I'd have to admit, even for a human, other worldly-wise to the culture of other races, the looks they're giving me, would make any Rakshani male real tight in the pants...well, all but they're eldest sister anyway yet somehow I get the feeling she just bidding her time until we're both alone then she gets her paws on me.

The city's more impressive from the inside as I quietly watch from inside the carriage but the core architecture is military, core intersections creating a funneling effect that allows small groups of defenders to slow down larger enemy forces without being exposed yet the flow of both foot and wheeled traffic is surprisingly smooth, indicating a dedicated traffic system had been co-developed when the city was originally designed and built.

It wasn't long until we reached the palace-residence near top level; it's simply designed but very elegant, two large thoroughfares branching out into several public squares and markets openly divide this area into nine distinctive districts, the first eight are noticeably marked by banners belonging to the eight ruling clans while the ninth is a designated commercial 'free zone', we stop at the foot of the palace and got out of the carriage, I automatically taking the lead and swept the area before allowing the princesses off of their carriage, Nesha're had moved on ahead when my super-enhanced hearing picks up the 'twang' of an arrow being loosed on to its target, I instantly ran up the stairs and push Nesha're out of the way as I sweep my left-hand sword over and out, catching the blade edge on the arrow point, cutting it in half, my eyes follow the arrow's previous trajectory and I see an archer running over rooftops as he/she attempts to escape, I went into pursuit mode instantly, leaving the captain of the guards in charge as I go after the assassin, pausing only to remove my pack and pull out a whip from one of the pockets, I hurry out on to the thoroughfare, ignoring the locals' shocked outcry of a human in their midst, noting the direction of travel, I took off on an intercept vector, seeing several exposed horizontal poles, I deploy my whip and use it to swing me higher up until I reach the rooftops, the assassin's lead diminishing slowly, but it was a flagpole that allowed me to get to the assassin's side of the rooftops as I used my whip to swing me over there, the assassin tried to slow me down with several arrows but my swords deflect them away, I pull out two throwing stars and let them fly, both cutting the assassin in the thighs, causing him to fall, then followed up with four more stars to pin down his arms, he was trying to free himself when I reach him, then, to my surprise, 'he' is a 'she', the large firm breasts a give-away, she stops struggling as I put both sword points on her throat, ready to make the killing blow if need be.

I see her head droop in submission, sheathing both swords; I crouch down and pull off her mask and hood, revealing a unique looking feline, almost Rakshani but not quite, her fur is white and gray-based with brilliant silver and dark blue stripes, something about that color and the stripes reminds me of someone but couldn't put my finger on it, she looks up at me and asked, "What do you intend to do with me?"

I grab her arm and pull her up, "Well, for one thing, I have to turn you in for questioning and trial."

"But you already know that I won't break my vow of secrecy."

"Yeah, so I'm keeping you as my 'trophy', so to speak."

Her eyes widen in comprehension, and then harden into ice-blue w/silver slits, that also bothered me because I'm the only one in the galaxy with that kind of irises, "I won't break."

I smile at her, "Nor do I intend to break you, I'm a very patient kind of human and I will find out who sent you, one way or the other."

She looks at me challengingly, "What do you intend to do with me once you do find out?"

"Simple, I let you go."

That answer she wasn't expecting.

"C'mon, we have to get back to my charges." With a defeated sigh, she follows me over the rooftops and, once we got back to the palace-residence area, down to street level, where a certain pissed off tigress is waiting for me to return.

She grabs her would-be assassin by the front of her robes, "Is she the one?"

Her questions though, are directed at me.

"Yes, she is, and whoever sent her has some mighty deep coffers, assassins of her caliber are neither not exactly cheap nor readily available to just anyone."

They both look at me, curious and surprised, asking together, "How can you tell?"

I look down at the captured equipment, "Simple deduction really...look at her weapons, all of the finest make and well maintained too; the way she moves, confident, relaxed with the right amount of tenseness and ready to fight or fly at a moment's notice. Physically, she's strong and agile, at the peak of her conditioning, and still young, indicating a talented young lady. Did I leave anything out?"

They both look at me in surprise, never realizing that I've been carefully noting everything from the beginning, the girl answering, "No, not really." Her expression a study in shock.

Nesha're looks back at her then releases her, shifting her attention back to me, "What do you intend to do with her?"

I keep my face deadpanned, "For reasons known only to her and myself, I intend to keep her as my 'trophy', she will act as my backup and assistant until I see it fit to release her."

She looked surprised at that but, to my surprise and the girl's, acquiesces to my words, "You have my permission to do what you wish with her but are you sure that you know what you are doing?"

I smile enigmatically, "Yes, princess, I have other tricks and talents that I doubt that she can counter and I'm very experienced with her kind of fighter."

"Alright, I'll trust you on that but mark her in some way so that she doesn't forget that her life depends on staying in your good graces."

I look her over then nod as I make my decision, "A tattoo on the top of her left hand should do nicely." Nesha're smiles at me, "Lushara was right, you really do care about others, even your enemies but only when you believe it is appropriate."

"Yes, Princess." "You keep this up and I might allow you some special privileges. Now, in the meantime, your 'trophy' will remain confined to your quarters under guard until you reach them...and keep her weapons with you as well."

"Yes, Princess, where do you want me to go?"

"Stay behind me while I introduce you to father...and stash her weapons with the guards until later but keep yours close at hand."

"Yes, Princess."

My 'captive' growls lightly, not liking to being cooped up but Nesha're does have a point so the guards took her away to the dungeons, her head hooded, until my quarters can be arranged, in the meantime, I accompany Nesha're to the throne room.

The moment I stepped in, I almost lost my composure as the simplistic grandeur of the throne room nearly overwhelmed me, I look back and noted the design of the corridor, it forcibly funnels a large attacking force in only two or three attackers when approaching the throne room, allowing a small group of defenders to hold it until they're all dead or until reinforcements arrive, the royal guards, from what I can tell, are trained to be physically strong and have worked to develop an intense level of physical stamina, their armor is first-rate, their current tech level not mine but quite sufficient here, designed to give both maximum protection and deliver maximum damage with a mere punch with those claws built into their gauntlets, I also note that they're also well-equipped with two swords, two daggers, one spear or halberd, and longbows, all of the finest make.

As we move deeper into the throne room, I began to notice other subtle defenses and defenders but what really caught my attention was the crystalline metal reinforced wall, ready to snap shut in an emergency, I notice the slight amount of steam leaking out, indicating a steam-powered mechanism, very interesting especially since the whole location is designed to provide maximum protection to the current leader.

But I suddenly realized that the real threat came from within, the second I made eye-contact with the Nesha're's older brother, Prince Stormclaw; what I saw in his eyes was something I've seen in many a dictator before I had personally blown them away with a Plasma Assault Rifle at point-blank range.

I realized that I'll have to watch my back with the prince and be prepared for anything he might attempt and, odds are, Nesha're and father, High Lord Fellclaw, are on his target list; the two are conversing quietly while the prince is eyeing me with palpable disgust and hatred; it doesn't take a genius to recognize a specist type, must have some bad experiences with humans, probably the origin of those scars on his face.

The High Lord isn't entirely pleased that a human is guarding his daughter but since I have Lushara's endorsement, he'll let me stay on a trail basis, however, when Nesha're mentioned the attempted assassination and my subsequent save, pursuit and capture, I notice the prince suddenly looking rather uneasy and began to fidget in his seat, you doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out who my 'trophy's' employer is...and who the real threat is...

I'm invited to dinner so that the rest of the family can grill me but the High Lord is mostly interested by the internal political info I provided, he noted that the biggest threat to the fledging peace treaty are the parties with industries connected to the military, he asks me to send word to Lushara and warn her of possible discrediting efforts by her enemies but, in reality, this wasn't necessary, I had already advised her regarding on the possibilities; I had to agreed though but the letter will be encrypted using a cipher we had worked out before I left, having also left an auto-decryption unit with her before leaving. It will decrypt any message in the cipher I would have written the letter in, ensuring that I don't blow my cover.

I also write a dead drop message for Velasco telling her to inform the Alex Bell that I might need a ten-man squad of Federal Commandoes to back me up just in case things go sour, the squad being made up of the big-cat variety so they can blend in with the general feline population with a reserve squad in wolf territory composed of both wolves and foxes.

I drop off my message for Velasco enroute to the post office, nonchalantly tossing a disguised message carrier into the river where she'll later pick up downstream; the postal office is surprisingly well-maintained with plenty of couriers and messengers coming and going at a brisk pace but trans-territory post seem to be rather rare but not non-existent, enough so that I didn't have to wait long before it was my turn at the counter, at first, the fox wasn't too keen at serving a human but upon seeing Lushara's crest on my hand, swiftly erased his initial fear of me.

I paid extra for the message to be sent as soon as possible, with the intention of giving the prince a hissy fit when he discovers that the message for Lushara has already been sent off, allowing me to set up my listening devices and observation cameras all over the palace, thereby allowing me and Velasco to head off potential trouble before it blows up in our faces.

It turns out that part of my plan was the easiest to carry out as my Power Suit's stealth configuration, with blatant ease, allows me position my spy gear in all the best places without once being detected or scented.

It took me only an hour to liberally cover the whole palace with my spy gear from the cellars up to the topmost towers, plenty of time for me to catch up on my sleep and plan for the day ahead, the only thing that surprised me was my 'trophy' snuggling in front of me in the bed but nothing came of it as we both swiftly fell asleep.

The next morning found me snuggly pillowed against an ample set of breasts and gentle purring, then my bed partner woke up a few seconds later, she drew back slightly in surprise, then pulls me even closer, murmuring into my ear, "This is the most restful sleep I ever had in my life! You have a very special aura, an aura of quiet strength and security that affects everyone around you."

I whisper back, "I know."

She purrs and kisses me full on, I reciprocate then she breaks off and says, "You're not from around here, are you?"

I look at her questioningly, "What makes you say that?"

"You're no mere warrior; you're Colonel Nathan Dragos Night of the Galactic Federation Space Forces, better known as the legendary Battle Dragon."

Now this frightens me, "How the hell did you know that?"

My body tenses, readying itself for a fight. "I recognized you from a holo of you and my grandmother."

"A holo of me and your grandmother, who would that be?"

"I believe you know her by the call sign of 'Silver Archer.'"

"'Silver Archer?' Shakira ap Rajare na Shakira? I haven't heard that name and callsign in a very long time so you're full name would be...?"

"Chakaria ap Sever'nar na Silve'ris."

"I thought there was something familiar about you, your unusually thick tail, the white and gray base, the silver and dark blue stripes...you're part Rakshani!"

"That's right. Plus I've heard plenty of stories about you including some of your trysts together..."

"Oh, I see. She told you everything, didn't she?"

"More, actually, including the sire of my mother...grandfather..."

My jaw drops in complete surprise, "What?"

She repeats the word with a smile, "Grandfather."

"But that would mean..." "My mother is Leora ap Nathan na Night."

"By Rakshani tradition, whoever sires a child with a female but is not mated to the mother, the child is named accordingly to the sire's house..."

"That's right. Mother promised Grandma that when the opportunity arises, that we are able to make the trip to Raksha, we would officially create a new house with the name of Night."

"Holy shit!" I swear quietly but with a bit of awe as well, she hugs me tightly, "So why are you here, grandfather?"

"I came here to find the crystal of the Earth."

"You mean the brilliant green crystal with the earth symbol in the middle?"

"Yes."

She looks thoughtful, "You might have a problem with that..."

"Why?"

"Because only family members of the High Lord and the religious caste are allowed into the temple where it is kept, also the crystal itself is protected by three layers of magical shields, the first layer can be passed by the High Lord's family and the religious caste, the second by only the religious caste and the third is impervious to all."

I got up and begin to dress, "That won't be a problem for me, my dear, because I bear the key to unlock the crystal's full power."

Chakaria gets up in a hurry, "You found the sword?"

"Better than that, I'm wielding the sword."

"How?"

"My grandfather was the bearer before me, keeping the sword and its power secret, now mine to freely wield and use to fight against evil; I've already mastered three crystals, the Earth crystal will be number four but I can't wait too long either, you see...I'm dying in the worst way possible."

She looks down at me, horrified that she would see me pass away so soon after we met, "How are you dying?"

"Cellular degeneration from constantly using the dragon spirits, I need the Earth crystal in order to transform into my new body."

"But I thought C24 would render you superhuman."

"C24 is what has kept me from disintegrating into dust these past years but even that has a limit, now I'm edging that limit, that's why I'm here, the other spirits pointed the way for me so here I am."

She looks at me resolutely, "I promise to help in any way I can, grandfather, though I have to say I now understand why grandma was so attracted to you."

"Yeah well, but you understand that I can't mate with you, though I do find you attractive."

"I understand, grandfather. I don't mind. I'm hoping to find a full-blooded Rakshani male to be the father of my cubs. Do you know any, grandfather?"

I laugh heartily, "Any? I have a very long list up in this noggin of mine! At last count, I know roughly about 130 available Rakshani males."

She smiles broadly, "I don't suppose you could introduce me to some, could you?"

"You're old enough to introduce yourself."

"Don't forget that I'm not totally knowledgeable about Rakshani customs."

"If there is one thing I've learned over the years about the Rakshans is that they quite tolerant of new-comers to their culture especially sons and daughters born separated from their homeworld and ignorant of their true heritage...and besides, I can teach you how to be a true Rakshani, I didn't spend most of my life on Raksha for nothing."

She hugs and purrs happily against me, "Thank you, grandfather."

"C'mon, get dressed; we have a long day ahead of us."

"Will you let me get word to mother that I've found you?"

"Yes, but not now, everyone would get suspicious if all of a sudden I just begin giving you privileges."

"I understand, grandfather but when we have the chance, can we go to my village and see mom and grandmother?"

"Of course, kitten."

She blushes furiously, "Grandmother often calls me that..."

I smile, "It suits you, kitten."

She hugs me closer and purrs, "I'm really glad we found each other, grandfather."

I hug her back just as affectionately, "Me too, kitten, me too."

We head down for breakfast, it turns out that most of the family are rather heavy sleepers, with the exception of Nesha're and two of her younger sisters, them we see playing in the garden from the passage way windows, happily tussling and wrestling on the dew-moist grass but what caught me off guard was that they weren't wearing a stitch of clothing and just stood there gawking, a distinctive bulge growing in my pants.

Chakaria saves me by gently tugging me away from the windows and guides me down to the dining hall where we are both served with smoked bacon, eggs, toast, grilled tomatoes and mashed potatoes, along with plentiful water, milk and juice.

We both ate quickly so we both will be ready for the day ahead, half-an-hour later; the rest of the family came down for breakfast, wearing only their fur or a light robe, the prince freely baring himself for all to see, an equally naked teenaged cheetah fem by his side, Nesha're with her two siblings coming in 30 seconds later, looking rather ruffled and damp but no one notices, my guess is that this a everyday occurrence and everyone is accustomed to it, Chakaria and I waited until everyone finished eating before we escorted Nesha're to her room, Chakaria went with her into the bathroom where she kept an eye on her where I can't go while I stayed outside, thoroughly checking the room's nooks and crannies for possible traps and hidden trip-weapons but finding nothing except some discarded erotic underclothes that I hastily and blushingly toss into the laundry basket by the bathroom door but what surprises me is the small armory next to the bed; opening it, I find myself looking at a compact arsenal, more suitable to an experienced male warrior, then I notice the scars and wear of use, I realize with a smile that this princess has gone to war, disguised as a male, probably before her body had reached full maturity, it'd be almost impossible to hide those gorgeously full breasts of hers.

Closing it, I walk to the nearby desk and note the papers and knick-knacks strewn all over its surface, I pick a rolled-up piece of paper, revealing a small sketch of my charge and belatedly realize that it's a nude sketch of her, blushing lightly as I admire the intricate detailing, I notice a signature on the lower-left corner, bearing Lushara's signature; I smile broadly as I quietly said, "Great job, mraa-t'hi..."

"You like what you see, Nathan?"

I jump in surprise as I was too engrossed with the nude sketch to pay attention to my surroundings, looking behind me; I see Nesha're, wearing only a bathrobe, grinning broadly while Chakaria is looking hard-pressed from laughing out loud.

Without warning, Nesha're drops her robe on the floor, sits on the bed and adopts a seductive pose, showing off her best features, I swallow visibly as I carefully admire Nesha're and compare her against the sketch, realizing that Lushara's sketch was missing one very important item, it didn't effectively show Nesha're's depth of character and said as much.

She smiled broadly at my frankness and, without warning, pulls me into a hug, purring gently, as well as beginning to gently feel me up, "You're not like most humans, Nathan, I feel I can trust you with my innermost secrets and you will not divulge them voluntarily; pls. be honest, what do you feel about my family?"

I look up at her, still feeling very aroused, "Your older brother is trouble."

She nods softly and says, "I agree, my brother is not what he used to be..."

"You think he's involved in something?"

"Yes, something evil but with no evidence to prove or even support my suspicions so all I could do is to maintain a vigil until my brother reveals his hand."

"A good move but have you considered the possibility that your brother knows that you're keeping an eye on him?"

She looks back abashed, "No, I haven't."

I nod at Chakaria, "Chakaria there was sent to kill you by your brother."

She looks at me then at Chakaria, "So my brother Stormclaw sent you?!"

"Yes, princess but since Nathan there bested and captured me, I am bound by tribal law to serve him until he sees it fit to release me or if he is killed."

She releases a sigh of relief as she realizes that as long as I am alive, she will be in no danger. I blush beet red as I belatedly realized where my head is pillowed against but Nesha're looks like that she isn't letting me go anytime soon as I feel her paws squeeze my butt while she also presses my groin against hers as we lie together on the bed.

Then I suddenly begin to feel drowsy as I just begin to notice the kaleidoscope of colors outside as I also realize that, somehow without me noticing, Nesha're has stripped me of my clothes and my boner is pressing against her now-wet slit; she begins to purr, causing me to relax, there's something about a feline's purr that relaxes me as I drift off into slumber, my arms around Nesha're's back and Chakaria snuggling next to us, equally naked.

I woke up again an instant later and found myself still snuggled in Nesha're's arms, then I look around and behind and saw my body, still spooned against Nesha're on the bed below...

"What the hell?" I shout out in surprise.

I feel a rough tongue lick the back of my neck, flinching in surprise as it felt rather odd, then I turn around to get a look at my licker and I'm shocked to see that its Nesha're, who is purring with approval and wearing nothing but her fur, "Well, hello there, handsome, I've never seen you before...care to join me?"

"Where are we?"

"Don't you know?" She looks at me curiously.

"No, I don't."

Then Lushara abruptly appears up next to us, "Hi, Nesha're! Hi, Nathan!"

Nesha're looks at her, puzzled, "What do you mean by that, girl?" She grins back, seeing my grin and wink, "Just ask that big hunk of kitty you're wrapped around with."

Nesha're looks at me and ask, "Nathan? Is...is that you?"

I merely arch an eyebrow and smile. She squeals and holds me tight, "Wow! This looks real good on you, is this what you truly look like inside?"

I shrug then looked around, "Maybe. Where are we anyway?"

Nesha're answers me, "Our priests believe that this a spiritual nirvana of sorts, a halfway point between the Light and the Dark, if you look up, all you see is light, down you see darkness; we consider this realm a place where you find your soul mate, it's said that if you find yourself sharing the same space with someone, you are fated to be together as mates."

I grin slightly, "But there are three of us in here..."

She smiles broadly, "That means that Lushara and I are meant to be yours!"

"But why do I get the feeling that I'm to have more than two mates?"

She purrs deeply, "We'll know when the time comes but not before...for now, all I want do is mate with you..."

"Will that affect our physical bodies in any way?"

She begins to lick one side of my neck as Lushara does the same on the other side, answering my question in a sensual whisper, "Actually, when you do find your soulmates, especially when they're sharing the same physical space as you, more often than not, they will copy every single position both lovers use while we're mating here..."

My jaw drops in realization, "But that means..."

Lushara grins widely, "You'll be claiming her virginity tonight...just like you claimed mine!"

I gasp in surprise as Nesha're's paws begins to rub against my furry, chiseled chest and abs, shocked as it felt like real fur, my body instinctively responding as I wrap my arms around her, caressing her body all the while, then kiss her full on, muzzle to muzzle; we continue on this vein for a while, Lushara playing with herself as she watched us play, without warning, Nesha're growls deeply and pushes me on my back, playfully rubbing her wet womanhood against my fully aroused manhood, I realize that she intends to mount me not the other way around, not that I mind since I actually prefer this position anyway.

Most males from dominance-based societies dislike this mating position for the ridiculous concept of mental and physical dominance over the weaker mate but I'm more interested in giving pleasure to my lover or mate, the pleasure I get in return is just her reciprocating to what I'm giving her, mind-blowing orgasm after orgasm; I learned a lot about pleasuring females over the years but the sexual advise the dragons gave me were well worth their weight in platinum as the lovers I had over the years enjoyed every moment we shared over the years, the best one was when I mated, and inadvertently got pregnant, with Shakira ap Rajare na Shakira and then I also remember a promise we both made to each other; should she become pregnant with my cub, we will officially and formally declare ourselves as mates...and it looks like that I'll have to keep that promise after all, and given how long overdue I really am to settling down, finding a mate or two and having little ones of my own, has left me realizing that I had unintentionally neglected my own legacy for the future but fate seemed to have intervened by allowing Shakira to become pregnant with my cub to ensure that I do have a continuing legacy...and now that I found out that I have a granddaughter, well, that changes everything...

24 interesting hours later...

I feel myself snap back into reality, the real world not the nirvana sub-dimension, and feeling every ache and pain from that 24 hour mating marathon I just came from, then I realize that I still buried inside Nesha're and she's still asleep, purring happily; normally I'd be more than happy to remain in this position but I didn't want to draw any attention upon myself or Nesha're, at least not until we could find a way of showing our affections for each other without raising any suspicions, I couldn't let her risk her social status and position just yet.

I reach up and gently stroked her cheek ruff, rousing her, she shifts her head to rub against my hand, enjoying the way how I woke her up, "Nesha're, I have to go."

She frowns sadly as she holds me closer, "Must you? I do so love waking up with you in me..."

I gently smile at her, "I have to, love. We mustn't raise any suspicions about our newly found love for each other."

She gives me an odd look, "Uh, what about Chakaria?" as she jerks a thumb at my still-sleeping granddaughter, "she'll keep my...our little secret."

"Are you sure?"

"Quite sure."

"Alright, I trust you but stay safe, my beloved."

She licks me affectionately as we reluctantly uncouple, then like a couple of kids, we run into the bathroom and helped clean each other, removing all possible trace of our intimacy, although that didn't stop us from being intimate while in the bath.

We finish a half-hour later, though we found out a few minutes later that we didn't have to hurry, a quick exploration around the palace had us realizing that we were the first to rise from that trance-like slumber; realizing that it was noon, we went to the kitchens and looked for something to eat, I prepared and cooked our lunch expertly, impressing Nesha're, we enjoy our meal together, relishing in the opportunity just to be close to each other...

Without warning, I found myself on the floor, holding my head as a rush of images floods through my consciousness, the dragon spirits coming to my help by arranging the images in a way I could understand, as soon as it did, I realize how underestimated a threat Prince Storm truly is. I see him submissively mating to a Dark Dragon, my heart jumping as I realize that the young cheetah fem that was with him yesterday is merely a disguise, he has plead fealty to the Dark Dragon clan in exchange for power and wealth, the dragon spirits identifying her as Solestre, a high ranking dark dragoness they have encountered and fought before, her MO is to seduce young virile males born into high ranking families or clans by shape-shifting into extremely desirous forms and subtly corrupt them until they are her slaves, in both mind and body, irrevocably enthralled beyond any hope of saving.

However she is not above seducing older males either if there aren't any young studs near enough to the top for her to seduce; once at the top of the food chain, she pits nation against nation, clan against clan so that her clan may conquer them easily but she has never proven to be a serious threat due to her lack of offensive magic and fighting ability, something tells me though that she's here for the same reason I am, to attain the power of the Earth crystal and corrupt it for nefarious purposes but only if she gets to it first, over my dead body she will...

I snap back to reality and found my head resting on Nesha're's breasts as she held me close, supporting me as I recover from my vision attack, her purrs further helping in calming my racing heart and breathing, I knew instantly that I could not tell her what I saw for fear of blowing my cover but I had to give her a plausible story that'll sate her worry and curiosity so I swiftly concocted one, "I'm alright love, it's just one of my occasionally super-headaches that pop every once in a while; it's nothing to worry about..."

She looks at me worriedly then licks my cheek affectionately, "Alright, beloved, I'll hold you to that but I want you to see the healers if this happens again, alright?"

I smile back at her, "I promise..."

She nuzzles my cheek then slides down to my neck and nips me playfully there, I respond by slipping my hands under her loose tunic and caressing her full breasts, paying extra attention to her nipples which I knew to be quite sensitive when aroused and a weakness of hers, as I felt rather than heard her subvocal purrs and rumbles; then her ears perk up, a warning to the both of us, as we hastily separate and repositioned our food and utensils across from each other and pretending to be paying attention to our food and talking to each other lightly but to both our relief, it turned out only to be Chakaria, though wearing only a light robe that barely covered her muscular yet fullsome body.

I made a mental note to find out who was her sire/father but even when diluted, her Rakshani heritage is blatantly obvious to those who have traveled the galaxy, her most distinctive feature are the dark blue and silver strips that mark her fur and the ice-blue w/silver irises that she inherited from me through her mother, she sniffs the air, licking her chops, "I hope you two have room for one more hungry fur."

I produce one more plate from under the table in answer, "I suspected that you might wake up after us so I prepared an extra serving just in case."

She grabs a seat next to Nesha're and we tuck in, enjoying the meal, then Chakaria looks at me and sends a wordless query at me, I sat there chewing thoughtfully when an idea passes through my mind, "You know, girls, since every one is still enjoying themselves in the 'nirvana world' and not aware of the real world, why do we go out on a short ride and then we come back and have dinner, my treat."

They nod in agreement and after cleaning up the remains of our lunch and putting the kitchen back in order, we went to the stables and saddle our horses, oddly enough, the 'horses' here look exactly alike to the horses on Earth and even more disturbing, the horse I'm saddling looks exactly like Lightning Bolt, the Mustang stallion I had tamed on my uncle's horse ranch so many years ago, in fact, this horse looks precisely like Lightning Bolt and the way he looks at me is also characteristic of my beloved stallion.

I tentatively scratch a part of this stallion's neck where I knew Lightning Bolt like being scratched, and the stallion responds in exactly the same way, and then I knew...that this is Lightning Bolt, I quietly whisper to his ear, "Ready to rumble, partner?"

He stomps and tosses his mane in his characteristic way that clinched it for me, I strap on the saddle tightly but left the reins nice and loose just the way he likes it, then Nesha're calls me from her horse, "Nathan, why are you saddling that stallion, he's a wild one."

I grin at her, "Don't worry, princess, I have the feeling that we'll get along just fine", and indeed, to her surprise, I easily mount the saddle and, without having the need to do or say anything, the two of us move out of the stables at a fast trot with little trouble, my enhanced hearing easily picking up her soft words of disbelief, "Only a day at work and he easily tames the stallion everyone thought was untamable, it's almost as if they knew each other before but that's impossible..."

Chakaria cuts in, "I don't know about you, princess, but I get the feeling that we'll be seeing more of that within the foreseeable future, I think he has a talent of easily doing the impossible like it was commonplace challenges."

"I think your right about that...and he's so talented, I wish I could find a male with his talents so I could enjoy him pampering me with love and affection."

"Oh, I don't know, princess, but I think you two were a lot closer to each other before I came into the kitchen for lunch. I can smell him on you, barely, but it's there."

I almost turn Lightning Bolt around but then I hear her say, "But I won't tell anyone, princess, it seems to me that you've been lonely lately, before you met Nathan, and now you've found someone you believe is worthy of your love, I think you two deserve each other."

"But what about you, Chakaria, do you have feelings about him?"

"Nathan and I established an understanding two nights ago and though we do find each other attractive; he is not interested in starting a relationship with me..."

"So you're telling me that I'm free to 'pursue' Nathan without interference from you."

"Yup."

I hear her sigh in relief, "Thank you, Chakaria. Come on, we better hurry out and catch up with Nathan before he gets lost in the wilderness."

I swiftly reach out and tap Lightning Bolt on the neck in a specific way; he breaks into a gallop all the way to the gate and stops next to it, the two of us acting nonchalantly as if we were waiting for the girls to catch up.

The girls swiftly catch up with us by the main gate which was left sealed for the duration of the "dream-sleep" ceremony of this planet and its people, looking at the sealed gates then at each other, Chakaria and I share a look and nodded, we dismount and hand the reins over to Nesha're and proceed to open the gates, she was quick to realize what we had in mind and lead the horses out on to the open road, we seal the gates behind her and then rappelled ourselves down the battlements, we rig a quick release knot to allow us back into the city, I also plant an AP smart mine and four burrowing auto-turrets where the rope was located so as to discourage any would-be sneak attackers who would try and use the rope to enter the city.

We meet up Nesha're at the front of the main gate and gaily took off into the plain, laughing at our temporary freedom to truly be honest with each other. None of us noticed the malevolent figure looking down at us from a window overlooking the city and the surrounding forests and plain.

We made it back to the city gates as the sky begins to darken into dusk, Chakaria and I swiftly scale the wall, after disarming and retrieving the AP mine and turrets, and open the gates, allowing Nesha're to enter as she led the horses in; we were sealing the gates again when a feminine voice stops us cold, "Well, well, princess, feeling rebellious today, aren't we?"

We turn around and see the young cheetah femme who is Storm's lover, Solestre herself, her proximity was close enough that a quick Aerospeed spell will get me close enough to use Andragos.

But we were saved from a messy argument, as Nesha're's father came around the corner, "It's quite alright, young one; Nesha're had already asked me should she emerge from the 'dream-world' early, that she and any one else who is awake go out riding with her," then he sees me handling Lightning Bolt with ease, "Well, Nathan, I see that Lushara was quite right about you, you don't waste any time getting settled in and you have a way with impossibility as well."

I grin sheepishly, "It's a habit ingrained into me by my master."

"A pity that he wishes to remain anonymous but I won't force you to break your vow of silence. Anyway, consider that stallion yours, none of the other trainers could even mount him for a few moments without being tossed off his back, though we will need him sooner or later for siring purposes."

I nod wordlessly but I was laughing heartily inside, back home on Earth before passing away, Lightning Bolt was the horniest of the stallions and the most successful sire of the whole ranch, more than half the colts born at any given time are usually his offspring, chances are that he'll be just as successful here.

All of a sudden, my enhanced hearing picks up the very recognizable cocking of automatic projectile weapons, my mind cataloguing the sounds belonging to the M60E4, M249 SAW, M4 Colt Commando, M8 and M29, having familiarized myself with the unique cocking sounds of each weapon, then, on the edge of even my own enhanced hearing, the distinctive 'ka-chunk' of a big weapon definitely of the .50 caliber, either the M2 heavy machine gun or the M82 series of sniper rifles, the sounds almost entirely covered by the rest; I rapidly sweep the area with my senses and spot two scrawny wolves emerging from a side alley just as a motley mix of wolves and felines emerge from other narrow streets and alleys, I jolt Lightning Bolt into action by tapping his sides with my heels, we charge at the closest pair, my stars out and flying at them before they can bring their weapons to bear, I jump off him as we pass and land in a crouch, Lightning Bolt running off to charge in from the flanks should I need help, I pick up one of the M4s, pleased that this one has an attached grenade launcher and integral scope matrix, swiftly salvaging one of the combat webbings and stuffing as much ammo as I can, I cock and lock the weapon with practiced ease and then screw in the silencer attachment, then a roar of anger has me charging out of the alley, weapon at ready, I see Chakaria, Nesha're, and her father trapped behind a stone wall, the bullets fired at them slowly but surely wearing down their only defense, now its my turn, I neutralize most of the roof snipers first with single shots into the head, followed up by two grenade launches from my grenade launcher at the clustered MG gunners, taking them out swiftly, the rest finally respond to my attack but my training already had me behind cover and I quickly picked off my opponents one by one with cold ruthless precision, only engaging in hand-to-hand when three of my opponents ran out off ammo, apparently only taught how to use their weapons but not how to maintain or reload them, I dispatch them quickly with my combat knives and then picked up the dropped M29 launcher and reload it, I took aim at the central group of attackers and fired all eight 25mm HEAP rounds with lethal precision, the rounds penetrating and exploding from within the target's chest or abdomen with messy results, I reach the girls' location, still under fire but not as severely, and carrying several weapons with me to arm them, Chakaria unexpectedly pulls me into a tight hug, sobbing lightly, "Oh, Nathan, we thought you were killed!"

I gently comforted, "Nah, I merely took the offensive first and made use of their weapons, though I had a hard time recalling what my mentor taught me about these weapons, it's been a while since I last trained with these..."

I show them how to use, reload and aim them, Chakaria picking it up the fastest; apparently Shakira has been giving her some advanced weapons training, to confirm this, I roll a spare force lance to her without drawing attention to it, closely watching her actions, her ears prick up as she recognizes the weapon and swiftly tucks it into her clothes, her eyebrow arched in question and I wordlessly nod back in confirmation, she grins broadly, raises her M60 and begins firing back at our attackers with short accurate bursts of 7.62 rounds.

High Lord Fellclaw didn't take long either in figuring out his weapon, a M82A4 .50 caliber sniper rifle with 4x scope, in fact, he takes to it like a duck to water as he pumps out shot after shot with incredible accuracy for a first timer to firearms.

Nesha're also takes to her new weapons like a duck, a M8 with an infrared linear targeting scope and laser sight and a M29 with 2x power scope, as she alternates between the grenade launcher and the assault rifle, pouring accurate mixed fire into the enemy's position.

I use the M4/M203 combination weapon with an integral scope matrix; true, the weapon was primitive by Federation standards but grandpa was insistent that I learn the nuances of ballistic weaponry which, later in my career, proved to be a life-saver, when I was accidentally transported into a wrong section of a Borg cube when my Hazard Force team was counter-boarding it, armed with only ballistic weapons by mistake in the form of a pistol, shotgun, assault rifle with grenade launcher and a support machine gun, or translated as one MP7 PDW, one 12-gauge auto shotgun, one G36K with grenade launcher and one M249 SAW; remembering that Borg shields can't adopt to bullets as they have no energy signature to adopt to, I wreaked as much havoc as I could, by sheer coincidence, I ended up near a core distribution node so I planted as much explosive around it as I could and left the whole ensemble on a timer, you can guess what happened next...need less to say, I survived that adventure with only a few bruises and cuts.

The four of us swiftly beat our foes and emerge from cover none the worst for wear, Chakaria and I went around and gathered together as much viable weapons and ammunition as we could carry, destroying the rest so as to deny them to the enemy, Lightning Bolt trotted up and gave me a look, I grin and distributed my load of weapons and ammo into his saddlebags and carried only what I needed, namely the M4 and the M29 plus their respective ammunition, evenly distributed all over my webbing.

The four of us hurry back up to the higher levels, the horses in trail but I lagged behind as a rearguard just in case, we reach the sanctuary of the stables and crashed on two convenient piles of hay, Chakaria and I on one pile, Nesha're and her father on the other, we rested for a few minutes just lying there without a word passed between us until Lord Fellclaw spoke up, quietly admiring the M82 in his paws, "I must say that this is quite a powerful weapon but I have never seen its like before, I wonder if this is wolf-manufactured?"

I had to answer that, "I'm afraid that you are wrong about that, my lord. These weapons are not wolf-made but are of human manufacture."

He looks at me sharply, "How would you know that?"

His eyes burning with suspicion, telling me that my deception is at an end.

I grin broadly, "I must admit, Lord Fellclaw, no one has ever seen through my deceptions before, except for Lushara, she unraveled me through the small clues I had unintentionally left for her. But before I divulge my true identity, I just need to make sure that no one can hear, by any means..."

My eyes suddenly glow with power as I silently intone an air spell, known as the Sphere of Privacy, it creates an area of air where the air acts normally to allow for communication but it does not allow any sound to go beyond its borders; surprisingly enough, it's also effective on modern directional microphones and listening devices.

Lord Fellclaw and Nesha're look at me in surprise and amazement at my magical aptitude, then he spoke up, "Nathan, was that an air spell?"

"Yes, my lord. It was, now we can talk freely without anyone listening except for those within the spell zone. Now you wanted to know the truth about me, correct?"

He nods in affirmation, "Indeed, begin with your true name and identity."

I smile humorlessly, "Very well...My name is Colonel Nathan Dragos Night of the Galactic Federation Space Forces."

He frowns, "You are a warrior of the mythical Galactic Federation? But the legends states that it was destroyed from within 300 years ago."

"That's quite true; however, in the past year, my battle group and I have already begun to rebuild the Federation from its ashes and many of our old friends and allies have return to the fold once again so that now a new Galactic Federation stands in place of the old."

"But for you to do that with utter confidence, you must be..."

His voice trails off as he realizes just how old I really am.

Nesha're carries on for her father, "Nathan, if you are indeed more than 300 years old, how come you don't look like you've aged that much?"

"The reason why is because 300 years ago, my battle group and I were experimenting with an untested device that was supposed to allow time travel as well as interdimensional travel for small groups of ships, however, something went wrong and it tossed us 300 years into the future, adding roughly another two years to rebuild the core worlds of the Federation."

"So this device threw all of you into the future?"

"Which currently counts as your present? Yes."

"Are you born from royalty?"

"No, I'm afraid that such class definitions have been abolished upon the advent of democracy." She looks at me curiously, "Democracy?"

"Essentially, a democracy is a form of government where the power of the leader comes from the people, not from family power or privilege; it is the people who chooses the leaders who in turn will lead them into either prosperity or catastrophe but no matter what happens, no one can fully destroy a government whose power comes from its people."

"So does that mean that education is provided to everyone who wishes to learn and that everyone is free to make their own destiny?"

"Yes. But sometimes generations have and share the same passions between them, just like mine."

"Interesting...and what do you mean by that?"

"My grandfather served in the military for most of his life while my father served in the political arena, against his wishes and with my grandfather's blessing, I joined the military like he did and had far more interesting adventures than he did." I finish with a chuckle.

"So what is your educational attainment?" Lord Fellclaw asked me quietly.

"Master's degree in Aeronautical Engineering and Design, Bachelor's Degree in Quantum Mechanics and Physics, Bachelor's Degree in History and Archeology, and Bachelor's Degree in Historical Technological Development." I answer with a grin.

"Sounds impressive, but is it off any use?"

Chakaria cuts in, "What it means, my lord, is that my grandfather's studies have made him a master in designing and constructing flying machines and a journeyman in history and how to uncover the secrets of a dead culture."

He smiles, "Ah, I see, your education is indeed...," his voice trails off as his mind registers the word 'grandfather', "What do you mean 'my grandfather', young lady?"

We both laugh heartily, confusing both Nesha're and her father, "I can't believe you two haven't noticed that we share something in common." I say cryptically.

Nesha're's father became confused all the more but Nesha're became thoughtful and looked at us more closely, only then did she realize what I meant, we both share the same eye colors!

"Are you two really...?"

Chakaria nods happily.

"So chances are...?"

Chakaria grins massively as does Nesha're.

"Do you think I should tell...?"

Her eyes glance at her father.

I nod quietly as he asks, "Should tell me what?"

She fidgets for a moment, "Father, I found my life partner last night at the start of the 'dream-world'..."

He smiles at her, "Oh, congratulations, my dear. Do you know where he is?"

She become very sheepish, "He's right in front of you, father."

Chakaria held up a paw to forestall any possible outburst from him, "Before you say anything, my lord, there is something that you should know."

He growls deeply, "And that would be what?"

"Grandfather is already known to us."

"What? How is that possible?" He snarls out.

We know him by his legend, we know him as the legendary Battle Dragon..."

Both of them are stunned, "What?!"

I look at my granddaughter, "You want to explain it or me?"

"I think its best that you handle this one, granpa; after all, it is your personal history and we can consider this as catching up with each other."

I turn to face my audience, "My call sign, and the name by which I'm known for, was made by my classmates in my Academy days prior the start of my career when they discovered that my middle name was Dragos or Dragon in Spanish or Latin, the battle part of my call sign comes from my machine-like style of fighting, emotionless and ruthless, none of us realizing just how prophetic that would be; once out of the Academy and in active duty, I found myself in critical locations in every war front, at the right place at the right time. Eventually my legend grew from there, growing from one history-altering win after another, until my call sign became known through out the Federation and beyond, even here it seems."

Nesha're directs a question at Chakaria, "So what did the children look like as hybrids?"

She shrugs, "I don't know, granpa here has more experience about that than me since I don't have his level of education."

I continue, "More often that not, the children of mixed matings tend to be the species of the mother, with a few exceptions on occasion."

Nesha're smiles, "Then the cubs growing in me will be felines like me."

"Yeah, except that they'll have inherited my...," my voice trails off as I register the words 'cubs growing in me', "you're pregnant?!"

Lord Fellclaw turns to face his daughter, "When did you come into season?"

"The very night of the dream-world, father, I forgot that I often go into season during that time but I never found a life partner and always had to paw off, when Nathan came though, a fur-loving human with a fetish for busty females, which me and my sisters have filled out so unexpectedly and...," her eyes suddenly shone with realization, "what are the chances that Lushara is also pregnant?"

My words of 'Ho, boy...' had both Nesha're and Chakaria laughing heartily, Chakaria laughing out, "Granpa, are you making up for lost time?"

I laugh back just as heartily, "Sure looks like it, doesn't it?"

Lord Fellclaw is quiet the whole time, as he ponders on the shocking information he had just received, then he looks at me and asks, "Nathan, something has been troubling me, if you are indeed the legendary Battle Dragon, why aren't you...well, old?"

I snicker lightly and said, "Let me explain, there are two reasons why I have not aged so heavily over the centuries; the first reason, devices that allows a person to time travel create a bubble that protects everyone within that bubble from the ravages of traveling forward or backwards in time thus leaving them the same age as the time they left; and secondly, I'm superhuman, I don't age as fast as most humans, and not easily killed, even if my granddaughter here had managed to hit me in the heart or gut, I would be back on my feet and back in pursuit within seconds, I can heal even the most grievous of wounds within hours but it will leave me rather weak until I regain my strength half a day later."

Everyone is quiet at this revelation, Chakaria being the first to break the silence, "Are you serious, grandpa?"

I grin at her, "Absolutely! I've been stabbed, crushed, shot, cut, sliced, impaled, anything you can imagine, I've experienced first hand and believe me, it's no fun at all even if it does give you the element of surprise later on...and no, it is not inherited by the children, my superhuman abilities were afflicted upon me, not born within my blood."

Chakaria frowns at that, "Afflicted?"

"Mars Research Facility 35." Her ears perk up in surprise, telling me that Shakira had thoroughly acquainted her with my history including the formerly classified ones with special emphasis on MRF-35 and my subsequent enhancement from that particular adventure...

Lord Fellclaw decides to let the subject drop for the time being, his curiosity sated for the time being but Chakaria looks like that she's still full of questions as Nesha're walks by my side, hand in paw, happy that her father has accepted me as her life partner, however, we still had to continue the charade of us not being involved though now I have greater incentive to find the Earth crystal and stop Solestre before she does any more damage to this world, as we pass by a Bengal Tiger couple, the male makes a surreptitious hand movement, a hand signal that only a Federal Commando would know, I signal back just as surreptitiously and a very slight nod, he makes a casual flip of his hand as if to shoo away an annoying insect but instead, what he really does is flip a small data-strip at me which I catch in my hand without anyone the wiser.

I grin inwardly as we arrive back at the palace and made our way up to our rooms, Chakaria and Nesha're going together to Nesha're's room to bathe each other, a hidden emergency comlink in Chakaria's clothes while I head up to mine for a quick bath...and to find out what my commandoes have found out; as I simmer in the tub, I call up the information from the data-strip, what I saw disturbed me.

It seems that the young prince had been very busy, secretly recruiting a small army to help him take over his father's throne but it seems that the recruiting process had been done poorly, allowing several of my FC troopers to infiltrate and gather intelligence on enemy strength, disposition and function; according to Captain Icefloe, a burly snow leopard morph protégé of mine, reports that the 'rebels' (what else would you call them?) have been informed that the prince's 'hostile take-over' is set roughly four local months from now and they have attained some pretty advanced firepower from somewhere but confirms that the weapons are indeed human in origin.

I create a message to be sent to the Alex Bell requesting the presence of four Valley Forge-IV class cruisers, armed with Hyper Velocity Gun orbital bombardment weapons, with escorts and one Bengal-VI class Escort Carrier with escorts for support, the commanding officers will be 'chopped to my command', standing by to receive my orders, all to arrive within three local months' time; the ground forces are to be equipped with the standard gear with increased allocation of heavy support weapons and close range weaponry plus increased loadout of close range and long range area-effect weapons for the Battlemechs.

Then my ear-bead receiver picks up the gentle tap-tap of Chakaria's claw tapping on her transmitter, signaling all-clear, no problem.

I sigh happily as I didn't need to teach my granddaughter too much as it appears that her grandmother has taught her all the necessary lessons and signals for both modern and low-tech armies, however I do keep my pistols close at hand just in case.

Twenty minutes later, I climb out, dry up and got dressed, my power suit underneath my clothes as always, I walk to Nesha're's room and enter...only to find my granddaughter and Nesha're passionately eating each other out in a 69 position.

I half-frown half-grin at the both of them, apparently they're so engrossed at making the other submit that they didn't notice me.

I lock the door behind me and sit on chair next to it, thoroughly enjoying the show...though it didn't take long until someone had to call it quits; in this case, Chakaria did me proud as Nesha're roared powerfully as she climaxes from Chakaria's skillful tongue just before she climaxes herself, I fondly recall how Shakira and I used to do the same thing several times during our love-making, 'course, I paid her back by having greater stamina, heh, heh.

They both pant tiredly for several minutes when both girls mewl in surprise and embarrassment as their sex-fogged brains finally register my presence in the room as I said, "You know, you two should remember to lock the door first before engaging in sex-play..."

"Gramps, how did you that!? Sneaking in, I mean..."

I grin, "That was easy, you two were so wrapped up with each other that neither of you noticed that I came in!"

Nesha're smiles demurely at me, "Enjoyed the show, didn't you?" I point down at the tent in my pants, "What do you think? Now I suggest that you two go and get cleaned up, we have something to discuss..."

I got up and left them to clean while I went to the kitchens for a small platter of snacks and several goblets of water for our little meeting but I told the cooks to take their time since I wasn't in a hurry, I had just brought the lot back up to her room as the girls came out of the bathroom, smelling like aloe and lilac.

I set the lot on a low table in the balcony overlooking the garden and leaned against the railing, facing the room as the girls sit on the only two available chairs, "Alright, girls, let's get down to business."

Chakaria cocks her head in curiosity, "Is something amiss, grandfather?"

I nod, "Damn straight there's something wrong, I just got word from one of my commandoes that young Prince Storm has been busily gathering a small army behind his father's back...and it looks like that someone's been supplying him with late 20th Century human weapons, obsolete by current Federation standards but quite advanced compared to the current level of weapons here...Chakaria, did you ever see grandma wield any advanced weapons before?"

She draws out her force lance and flips it in the air, "By advanced weapons, you mean something like my force lance, grandfather?"

"Yep."

She closes her eyes and cocks her head in concentration, "As a matter of fact, I think I do...grandma has a locked cabinet in her room, I've seen her take out what looks like an Advanced Compression Rifle and a force lance but I'm not completely sure..."

I settle deeply in thought as the girls munch on the snacks, then I look up at Nesha're, "Nesha're, I'm going to ask your father to allow you, me and Chakaria to go on a trip to the Amazon village under the pretense that you are personally investigating the recent attacks since they have some of the best fighters but are mercenaries at heart, fighting for only the highest bidder without a care for the how and why."

I personally wonder why Shakira had joined up with them, probably out of necessity especially if you're pregnant with a beloved's cub, I sigh inwardly, wondering how the hell did I managed to get her pregnant in the first place, humans were supposed to be incompatible with aliens and morphs but ever since discovering that I have a granddaughter, I began to wonder if C24 itself had also modified my genetic structure to allow me full compatibility with mammalian females, if that's the case, then that would also mean if Leo had been playing around as it is his usual habit, chances are that he's probably sired several cubs as well, lucky for me, Shakira had been the only female that I had mated with during her heat and it was mostly spur-of-the-moment but I do remember her promise just before she left for her new assignment, "Nathan, if I do become pregnant with your cub, promise me that we'll declare ourselves mates when we get together again..." I promise, my love.

When I made that promise, I thought that the chances of me getting her pregnant was next to nil, never realizing that I had just seeded her womb with my future legacy and now, found myself with two more mates to add to the family, both probably and already pregnant with my children...inexplicably, I found myself smiling broadly as well as feeling very eager, almost giddy in fact.

I realize now that I wasn't meant for a human mate; my personality, my heart and my soul are best suited to females outside my species, especially the feline kind.

"But granpa, the village is at least a month away from here on foot, three weeks on horseback." Chakaria protested.

I smile, "I know, we're going to spend that in training."

Her ears prick up in realization, "You're going to training me on the way?"

"As I said before, you have talent but it's time that I sharpen those talents of yours into proper shape..." She squeals happily as I turn to look at Nesha're, "And that includes you too, my dear; your basic skills are fine but it's your advanced skills that needs to be worked on...and if you're worried about your brother making a move while we're away, don't be, I'll be leaving a message with one of my captains to keep an eye on your father, even evacuating him from the capital if necessary."

Nesha're sighs, "I keep forgetting just how experienced you are, your youthful features hide so much of your experience and abilities that no-one can take you seriously...and you use that to your advantage, your enemies often underestimating your full potential..."

"Right, even Shakira does that sometimes, though she consider those times once too many."

Chakaria cuts in, "Granma underestimating you...why would she do that?"

"Let's just say that she tried, several times I might add, to dominate me in bed but the cuff and ties she used weren't strong enough to hold me down for even a few seconds, instead I played along and lulled her into a false sense of dominance and then, wham, I tie her up before she knows what hit and I yiff her insensible through most of the evening non-stop...which was probably how I sired your mother in the first place."

Chakaria and Nesha're grin broadly and said together, "How often did you two yiff?"

I smile lightly, "As often as we could but since we often got assigned to separate locations so it wasn't as too often as we both would have liked."

"Do you think my father will go for this trip?"

"He will, I just have to say it in such a way that he'll have no choice but to approve." I finish with a grin.

Nesha're giggles, "Just how long have you figured a way to manipulate politicians?"

I kept grinning, "Long enough to fool them to let me get the things I need and what I want." "When are you going to ask him?"

"Later at dinner. I want to lull your brother into a false sense of security so my soldiers can infiltrate his inner circle thus discovering how far the rot has spread, allowing me to figure a way how to remove it."

"You really were a bane of tyrants back then, weren't you?"

"A very serious bane. By the way, Chakaria, where is this village of yours located anyway?"

Chakaria pulls out a map and points to a spot, as I reflexively say, "Oh, crud."

"What's the matter, granpa?"

"I made my landing in the forest just six kilometers northeast of your village."

"You don't think...?"

"I'm hoping no one went anywhere near my fighter, because if they did, I had left my fighter's point defense micro-phasers to kill anything that it doesn't recognize as Federation-related but if any of your scouts had gotten word to your grandmother, chances are that she'll know how to bypass the defenses and shut my fighter down."

"Because she's a pure Rakshani!"

"Right and Rakshani are not native to this world so..."

I left the rest unsaid as they realize what I meant.

"What do you think granma will do to it?"

"Given her excellent memory, she'll definitely recognize my fighter's markings and hopefully, have the fighter stored near the village but out of sight of everyone else with strict commands that no one is to be allowed near it except for herself, the only thing that I really worry about is that she might tinker with the controls and accidentally arm the combat augmentation pods' self destruct system which has a blast radius of 10 kilometers."

"Then we better get going soon."

I flip open a section of metal on my right gauntlet, revealing a digital watch set to this planet's rotational cycle, "We might as well head down, girls; it's almost dinnertime."

We head down to the dining room, as we enter the spacious chambers, Lord Fellclaw rumbled, "Nathan, Chakaria, I've made a slight change in the rules, from now on, you both will sit next to or across from my daughter, you're recent actions has confirmed that you both are trustworthy, also you both may see me directly for matters regarding her safety."

We reply together, "As you wish, High Lord."

As expected, Prince Storm protested, "But father, this is unprecedented, an uncivilized monk...human sitting next to my sister..."

Luckily, I had already sat down, otherwise everyone would have seen me clench my right hand into a fist angrily, Nesha're saw the gesture though and rubbed my left leg soothingly under the table, I swiftly relax my fist as dinner is served; at first, the hall is somberly quiet but pretty soon the place slowly livens up, Nesha're's sisters helping by doing 'girl talk' with their older sister and Chakaria; roughly half-way through, the three of us exchange glances and subtle nods.

I look over at the High Lord, "High Lord, with your permission, Princess Nesha're wishes to go to the village of the Amazons to inquire about who ordered the attack on her person; she has ordered that Chakaria and I accompany throughout the whole trip."

He looks at me then at Nesha're, as he ponders on a decision, all the while, I quietly glance at Stormclaw, who is quietly simmering in anger at the sudden change of rules, his lover/mistress snuggling on his lap, as I feel the dragon spirits itching to just charge through the table and filet her to nothing but bloody chunks but without knowing the enemy's timetable, I couldn't risk attacking her.

A few minutes pass until Lord Fellclaw came to a decision, "Nathan, you have my approval to accompany my daughter on her inquires but are you sure that you don't need any more warriors to accompany you?"

"Princess Nesha're believes that a small party will allow for swifter travel as well as draw less notice from anyone."

"Hmm...that makes sense, I suppose that you intend to leave as soon as possible?"

"Indeed, my lord, our intention is to leave quietly early tomorrow morning by the west gate."

He picked up by double meaning instantly, "By all means...I will have the guards informed of your departure."

"Thank you, my lord." As soon as dinner's finished, we made our leave and scrammed out of the hall in a hurry, barely keeping our laughter in check; the moment we enter Nesha're's room, we burst out laughing heartily as we fall on the bed, holding on to each other.

"That was impressive, granpa!" Chakaria blurts out, still laughing.

"I told I know how to manipulate politicians!" I answer back with a laugh.

Nesha're looks at me thoughtfully, "Nathan, I noticed that you placed extra emphasis on west, why did you do that?"

"It was a signal to your father that our real exit is at the east gate; my plan is to knock your brother off balance to allow us time to leave the city without trouble following on our heels."

"That's prudent planning...what weapons do we bring?" "One primary weapon and one secondary weapon plus one side-arm as well as two bladed weapons; force lances count as side-arms though." Chakaria goes to the cabinet and pulls out the 5.56mm M249 SAW as her primary and the 5.7mm P90 SMG as her secondary while Nesha're pulls out the same M29 she used before as her primary, a SPAS12 assault shotgun as her secondary and a .45-cal Mk.23 as her side-arm.

I quietly indicate that I'm going to use my more advanced weapons for the trip but for appearance's sake, I open an old box and pull out a .30-cal BAR, a .45-cal M1A1 Thompson with 30 rd. clips and a 4.7mm MP7; I surreptitiously flip a holo-strip over the balcony where it fell into the shallow fish pond below, knowing that Velasco will retrieve it later in the evening since I had made a secret hand-gesture at her for a dead-drop pick-up, our pre-arranged retrieval point being any nearby sources of water since holo-strips are water-proofed and shock-proofed to begin with.

I step back into the room, lock the door and then trigger the deployment of my Power Suit; the girls watch interestedly as I activate the default configuration, code-named "Captain", the armor materializing on me, the various components swiftly clicking and linking into place as do the weapons and sensors necessary for the battlefield, Chakaria whistles appreciatively as she admires my armor with her eyes and explores it with her paws, "What kind of armor is this, granpa?"

"It's called 'Electro-Quantum Trimantium', a very rare metal found only in the heart of gas giants, very difficult to find and damn near impossible to mine due to the massive tidal and gravitic forces gas giants create." "So how were you...?" "Sheer dumb luck, Jupiter was being pummeled by a massive meteor shower when one chuck of rock and ice survived re-entry, went through the core and exited out the other side, carrying with it enough EQT to experiment with and create two of these battlesuits, the only ones in existence to be constructed of this particular type of metal."

"Who has the other one?"

"The only other survivor of MRF-35, Doc Leo Sheffield; he used to be human prior the temporal jump but now he's a true lion-morph, big one too."

"How big is he?"

"Roughly seven feet tall and about this wide at the shoulders," as I put my arms out to show how wide.

She murrs appreciatively, "Wow! Is he available?"

"Last I saw, he was working up the courage to ask a certain pair of Rakshani sisters to be his mates plus the fact that at this point in time, the Fertility festival should be beginning on Raksha...and that's where I left him."

I could see the disappointment in her eyes so I gently stoke her cheek-ruff, knowing how much felines love that, she presses her cheek against my hand, purring happily; later that night, Chakaria sleeps happily on my bed while I sleep with Nesha're on hers, we just cuddle close to each other, enjoying our closeness and love for each other.

Early the next morning, we meet at the main hall, our weapons and supplies tucked away in our backpacks, I had already carefully distributed my monetary funds into various hidden pockets and sleeves, the girls had changed their city clothes for something more hard wearing, I pull out the map and double-check the route we will take to reach our destination, having taken care to mark the obvious routes but mentally projected our actual route which cuts the trip down to just under three weeks, more or less just in time for Shakira's heat, providing my calculations are on target, hopefully we get there early enough for the two of us to get 're-acquainted' before getting down to the more serious 'discussions'.

As I had hinted to Nesha're's father, he meets us by the east gate with his elite bodyguard and two squads of regular troops, Chakaria and I look around warily as Nesha're talks to her father, I push my senses to the max, half-grateful half-wary of the morning fog, I begin to suspect why the city was designed as it is, the fog would roll in over the city cloaking it from attack but on the same coin, it would also cloak the approach of an enemy, this would be offset by the density of the defenses and its garrison of troops; I keep my bio-scanner active as the HUD projects an overlay that shows me the exact position of every fur inside its 40 meter range, color-coded to indicate position.

Suddenly, that strange sixth sense of mine begins to tingle; I instantly lift my BAR to my shoulder, pulled the cocking lever, set it to semi and into firing position, Chakaria arms her SAW and repositions to support me, Nesha're and her father sees us arm our weapons and draw theirs as well, at the same time, Lord Fellclaw gestures for us to exit the city as quickly as possible, as I pass him on a fast trot, he says, "Nathan, make sure you keep her safe."

I look up at him, replying, "Count on it."

We head out of the city at a fast pace, weapons at the ready until we reach the seclusion of the forests, I took lead as Chakaria slips to the rear, acting as our rear-guard, we travel swiftly as the day wore on, as evening fell we made camp in secluded clearings within the forest, the perimeter kept secure by planted sensor pods as we ate and slept; throughout the entire journey, this was our routine, using both advanced topological sensors and basic pathfinding skills, I had cut the trip down to just under three weeks, also during that time, I train both my mate and granddaughter most of my hard-won skills and hand-to-hand fighting styles as well as making love to Nesha're while my granddaughter watched us, learning and picking up a few mating tricks for her future mate to enjoy; I also teach them the rudimentary skills required in the use of automatic projectile weapons plus basic first aid and triage, Chakaria, I saw, seemed to instinctively know how to handle her support weapon, SMG and force lance, though she needed extra coaching with that weapon; Nesha're needed a few lessons in aiming and precision shooting with her weapons but by the second week, she's shooting them like a pro, all in all, I'm very proud of their accomplishments.

We slowly walk up the last hill between us and the village, all of us giddy with anticipation, then a scream in the distance surprised us, drawing our weapons and flipping our cloaks behind us, we charge up the hill, weapons at the ready; what we saw as we crest the hill horrified us as we see the village being besieged on all sides by humans, the sounds of automatic weapons evident.

Without even thinking, as the familiar red haze of rage comes upon me, I drop my pack and weapons as I deploy my Power Suit and activate it into 'Thunder Tank' configuration; this configuration has the most weapons, armor and firepower but often consumes the power in its original power cells like a hungry shark on a fat seal but now with the micro-fusion reactor in the small of my back replacing them, I now have unlimited combat radius; I deploy the four arm-mounted gatling lasers cannons, the two shoulder-mounted pulsed plasma cannons and two hip-mounted large laser cannons; the suit's armor is sharply angled and faceted, allowing for an effective combination of physical anti-ballistic and anti-energy protection, further supplemented by a heavy deflector shield, also faceted for increased protection; two small but powerful anti-gravity pads at the bottom of my armor's boots allow me to skim the battlefield, my propulsion is powered by four micro-ion drives with integral thrust vectoring fields, further augmented with sixteen fast-reaction thrusters positioned at strategic points all over the armor.

I deploy two heavy weapons for the girls from my armory, both of the long range Clan Ultra Autocannon class with replicator packs, with some very exact instructions, "I don't have enough time to teach you the complete nuances of using heavy weapons but here's a hint: short, accurate bursts and don't hold down on the trigger too long or you'll overheat the weapon."

And with that, I charge right into the fray, firing my weapons at a mixture of long sprays and short bursts, jumping and back-flipping and spinning using well-timed and controlled bursts from both my drives and thrusters, as I once more dance the dance of death, combining an offensive charge with defensive evasion, using my enemy's numerical superiority against them in conjunction with my superhuman senses, I continue on this vein for what seems like hours but only 15 minutes according to the suit's chronometer; suddenly I hear the distinctive high-pitch pulsing whine of a Federal Mk.8 Plasma Compression Rifle and a heavy pair of paws landing on the ground, I instantly shutdown the AG pads and the rear shield and slowly walked backwards until I feel a paw pat my right shoulder pauldron, I shutdown the arm-mounted weapons, reset the shields, turned around, set my shoulder and hip weapons to fire behind me, raised my face shield, wrapped my arms around Shakira's neck and kiss her fully and passionately on the lips, she growl-purrs as she kisses back with equal vigor and passion, her weapon lying forgot on the ground as she wraps her arms around my armor, my shoulder and hip weapons on automatic 'target-and-fire' to keep the enemy occupied with we're busy kissing each other plus they also have to contend with Chakaria and Nesha're providing heavy weapons fire from the top of the hill overlooking the battlefield.

I look into her captivating emerald eyes, the same pair of eyes that caught my attention and kept them ever since attending the Academy on Raksha...I lost most of my coherent thoughts as our tongues wrestled for dominance, if there was one thing that never seems to change, even with time, is Shakira's dominance streak, a lot of Rakshani males found it tough on their egos to submit to a female, trouble was Shakira was the batch's top hand-to-hand fighter with me as the second best in the same category so in essence, any male that pisses her off gets his tail kicked...painfully but emotionally it was tearing her apart; but I digress, after that long kiss, her eyes shining with happiness, she asks, "Are you just going to stand there like an idiot or are you going to armor me up?"

I merely grin as I put my armored glove on her chest, briefly recalling her fit of inspiration about that system upgrade, and asked, "Which armor do you want?"

"Energy Liger Mk.2."

I nod, "You got it!" Instantly energy coalesced around her as my armor generates and extends the same energy field that allows my armor to materialize around me, the Energy Liger Mk.2 armor materializes around her; the distinctive black, white, red and orange armor, three heavy weapons pod, four long blades and the trademark 'horn', swiftly adjusting to her powerful form, within seconds, she's fully encased in the armor with the face section of the helmet raised, I hear her purr of happiness. "Oh, finally...I missed the feeling being wrapped in advanced battle armor..."

And with that, she picks me up and plants a big, sloppy kiss right on my lips, when we break for air, she tells me, "Take to the air, my mate; I'll take the ground, I'm positively aching for some advanced weapon action."

I nod in understanding, "Sure thing, love, just don't forget to call me to recharge your armor when you're running low!"

She turns me around and playfully slaps my rear, "Get going before I'm tempted to have my way with you right here and now!"

I grin and changed the armor's configuration into 'Battle Hawk'; a purely aerodynamic high-speed maneuvering armor design complete with a rocket backpack equipped with thrust-vectoring vanes and folding forward sweeping wings and leg-mounted drives; armed with two helmet-mounted pulse phasers, two forearm-mounted gatling micro-particle cannons, two pack-mounted Quantum Burst launchers, two hip-mounted Gauss Rifles and two SMLS (Selectable Missile Launcher System) mounted in the armor section that covers the top of the hand, loaded with a dozen types of missiles with 10 rounds apiece.

Without hesitation, I took to the skies full speed and looped to streak down in a strafing run with my arms forward, firing my helmet and forearm weapons, disrupting the enemy's formations and lowering their morale; Shakira and I fought as a team, like we used to do back in the old days, we decimate the enemy in short order, our superior weapons, tactics, skills and experience giving us a hideous edge. Within an hour, as we stand back-to-back, panting lightly, our weapons stinking of smoke and ozone, the laser-scarred, bullet-holed and flame-blackened battlefield a stark contrast to our still-pristine gold-silver-grey armor.

We finally relax and turn to face the other; she takes my left hand and places it on her chest as I raise my right fist to power down the armor, both armor configurations de-materializing back into its stored energy state, since we were closer to the hill rather than the village, we picked up the girls and the heavy weapons and leisurely walked to the village entrance; grandmother and granddaughter share a close hug for a few minutes and then turned her attention to Nesha're, "Princess Nesha're, what brings you to these parts?"

"Officially, I am here to conduct an investigation to determine who had put a price on my head; unofficially I'm here to meet my co-mate."

"Co-mate? How can you call me your co-mate unless..." Shakira's voice trails off as she turns to look at me, "You didn't...!"

I shrug helplessly, "Unfortunately, I did...as well as discovering too late that I am compatible with furs..."

The reply I got was completely unexpected, as she pulls me into a tight hug and kiss, breaking only once to whisper in my ear, "It's about time you added more mates and offspring into this family!"

All I could muster in response was a muffled, "What!" before she locks my mouth with hers in a very intimate kiss and hug, namely groping me in all the right places.

After what felt like an eternity and then some, we finally break for air as we both say together, "I love you and always will until the end of time."

It was our special vow, shared only between us; she lets me down and we all made our way to the village entrance where a big and very distinctively marked Rakshani female barred my way, her fangs bared challengingly and threateningly, "Mother, you can't let this human into the village!"

I needed only one look at her and then looked at Shakira with a questioning look, she nods at me in response to my silent query, she answers back quietly, "I have every right to allow him entry into the village for a variety of reasons, daughter; firstly, he is my lifemate and secondly and more importantly, he is your father."

That caught her off guard as also took several Amazons by surprise, "How can that be, mother? Surely you aren't serious that this pathetic human is my father!"

I had to parry that question from Shakira, "Because your mother and I conceived you three centuries ago! Because you and your children have inherited from me the same eye color that has made my family unique throughout history! Because you never believed or understood the legacy you are heir to!"

Many of the older furs, I sensed, saw this move as a way of defending my mate but the younger females saw this as an excuse to attack me, a mistake from the elders view point as I swiftly react and defend myself, as I swiftly unsheathe my two reversed-edged katanas and forced them to give me some breathing room, at the same time, Shakira, Chakaria and Nesha're step back to allow me plenty of fighting room; with one powerful reverse leap, I am once more back on the battlefield though this time I have to incapacitate not kill at least thirty riled Amazons, a challenge worth facing and accomplishing for someone of my distinguished years...

I watch numb and detached as my friends attack the human who claims to be my father, I see him stand in the middle of the circle looking relaxed and utterly confident, I recall mom having that same look on her face, every time she spars...

You and your children have inherited from me the same eye color that has made my family unique throughout history...those very words scare me and he's right, you know, my mind tells me, who else could have give you such unique eye colors? Who else would know how long ago you were conceived before you were born? What if the stories your mother told you to lull you to sleep was really her way of telling you that your father was human?

I fall to my knees upon the ground, crying in confusion and fear.

"Is that the best you got, girls?"

I look up with eyes blurred with tears and see my father, holding his swords dagger-style, standing over the stunned and knocked out forms of my cubhood friends but what really surprised me was that none of them showed signs of a wound, I got up and stagger over to one of them and looked closer, all I found are long bruises on the stomach, chest or temple.

All of the strikes were delivered and placed with incredible accuracy and skill, a part of my mind told me, then I feel him gently place his hand on my shoulder, "I don't kill if I can help it, Leora, only if there is no other choice, will I kill another sentient being."

I look up at him, closely this time, and I realize everything my mother and father said was true; without thinking about it, I wrap my arms around my father's shoulders and cried out my sorrow and pain on his shoulder, "Father, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Two strong loving arms hold my head close as I hear say over my sobs, "It's all right Leora, I won't be leaving you or your mother any time soon and besides which, you'll have some new siblings to play with soon."

That bit of news shocked me out of my crying in a hurry!

"What? Who?"

He glances off to the left, I follow his gaze until I see Princess Nesha're talking quietly with mother, laughing and giggling occasionally, I look back at father in both shock and surprise, "She isn't!"

All I got in response was a proud smile and "She's not the only one carrying your new sibs."

"Who else could be pregnant with your cubs, father?"

He grins playfully, "She's also a princess and she's a very lovely wolfess."

I think swiftly, searching my memories until I came to a possible match, "Is it Princess Lushara?"

"Got it in one."

"You're kidding!"

"As the saying goes, 'Love is best multiplied not divided.'"

I sigh, "What did mom say about this?"

"All she said was, 'It's about time you added to this family!'"

"She really said that?"

"Yep! And she's quite eager to meet her new co-mates though we may have to go and get Lushara first for our little family to be complete."

"How are you going to do that? The wolf capital is two weeks' travel from here."

The answer I got didn't make sense to me, "No problem, I'll just use the transporter express!"

He pulls out a small black fat rectangular device from his belt and pushes a protrusion on the side of it, saying, "Nathan to Alex Bell. Alex Bell, respond."

I look at him as if he were insane, suddenly a voice came from the device, "This is Alex Bell, General, what can we do for you?"

"Have the transporters been calibrated to compensate for the planet's magnetic field?"

"That's an affirmative, boss; transporters are in the green and ready to deliver!"

He looks at mom and shouts, "Shakira, has any part of you gained or lost weight? And how do you like your coffee?"

She shouts back, "A double no on the first; cream and two spoons of rock sugar on the second, why?"

All he said was, "Transporter deliver!"

"Well, what are you waiting for then, an engraved invitation!?"

"Alex Bell, I need you to beam down to my coordinates, a BDU in Shakira's size plus a set of personal weapons plus two cups of Chipinge coffee with cream and two spoons of rock sugar with that, please."

"On their way now, boss."

And with that, a blue column of light appears next to father and disappears just as swiftly as it appeared, leaving in its place, a black box made of a strange material, within it was a folded set of clothes made of a strange material, weapons of a style and make I've never seen before but suspect that these are weapons that mom and dad grew up and fought with but the two cups are full of a off-white liquid that smells very pleasant to my nose, dad picks up the cups as mom reaches out and takes the larger cup from him, I watch her and dad eagerly lap and drink up, respectively, the contents of the cups.

Mom and dad purr and sigh happily as they finish their drink when, without warning, the horn of danger sounds out from the north gate, quick as a flash, mom grabs the clothes and weapons, disappears into a hut for a few minutes and emerges in her new clothes and festooned with both her new and old weapons, a long weapon of some kind hanging on a strap from her shoulder, dad was waiting for her and flips something at mom, she catches it, ears pricking up in surprise as she looks at it and then slips on her finger.

I belatedly recognize it as a mating ring, one that symbolizes a life-long bond between two mates, I sigh quietly as I realize the depth of their bond, even after 300 years of separation, they are still dedicated to each other.

I watch them move in perfect harmony, weapons at the ready, time not having weakened their skills.

We reach the village center just as a dark-furred, horned, and tentacled female feline carrying several male cubs in several of her tentacles, every one in the village, including me and mom, roared out her name in recognition, "Heritas!"

I see her pull out a male cub from a hut with one of her free tentacles, my hut and my cub!

"Mom, she's taking Thunder! She's taking my son!" I yell out reflexively, forgetting in my haste about my father, who abruptly yelled, "What!? Over my dead body, she will!"

And with that, a stubby weapon appears in his hand; he takes aim and fires, a bright blue beam of light coming from the front of the weapon and instantly cutting the tentacle in two, both ends burned severely, my son released from her grip; he could have been hurt from a fall that high but father is already waiting below, easily catching him in his arms.

That told me straight away that father has fighting experience against sex-demons as the tentacle he shot didn't grow back, in fact, it began to wither, and she shed the ruined appendage, she turns to attack father but he's already out of her reach and carefully soothing his grandson, he leaves him with mom, who suddenly gestures for everyone to back away from her, leaving father to stand alone, I began to wonder why when he says quietly, and coldly, "No one uses my family for their personal pleasures and gets away it!"

The demoness looks at him and scoffs haughtily, "Who's going to make me? You? I'll be draining your life-force before you can even blink!"

And with that, she attacks with a flurry of tentacles but before they could even reach halfway, a massive sword appears in father's back and is drawn from its scabbard with the swiftness of an eye-blink, he counter-attacks with swiftness and precision so fast was his counter-attack that no-one saw what manner of attack did he use nor could they react to it so it was with the demoness as father's attack had cut all her attacking tentacles with no resistance and with such ease that they continue on for a few moments before they visibly sever from the rest, the demoness screaming with pain but she swiftly regrows her tentacles and reaches out for father again.

He deftly avoids all her attacks, this time his sword ignites, becoming a fire-sword, I watch in awe as father goes on the attack with incredible swiftness, agility and pure focused will, beating the demoness with skill and style, I continue to watch, appreciating his swordsmanship, then the demoness suddenly transforms into a dragon but father matches her move by, to everyone's surprise, becoming an elemental dragon, whose blazing colors all but cried out that it's element is fire, the bane of demons; father wastes no time in attacking, taking advantage of the demoness' shock to his transformation, "Blazing Fury!"

He throws his fore-paws wide as dozens of long fiery blades appear around him and swiftly flew at the demoness, cutting the tentacles holding the children, as the children are cut free, winds swiftly gather and safely carry them back to their mothers, the color of father's fore-paw scales having changed into a light yellowish color; I finally realize that just how big a legacy I am heir to.

Father swiftly ends the battle by creating fiery chains tied to the ground, his sword materializing in his paws, and stabs her through the heart, and just as quickly he pulls the sword free and removes her head from neck; he then holds his left paw, palm out and talons spread, and roars out, "Infernium Purificas!"

The corpse bursts into brilliant white flames, burning into powdery white ash, he gestures and a small whirlwind gathers the ashes and scatters it into the air but away from the village. He crosses his arms and quietly says, "Power Down."

He returns to his human form and sheaths the sword behind his back, his face calm and composed, never showing whether he was pleased or angry, I realize that dad wasn't the kind to openly show his emotion in public except when his family is threatened, only then does anyone get a glimpse of how passionate he can truly get.

We all meet back later in the evening at mom's hut as the day wore on as we all pitched in help to everyone, catching occasional glimpses just how adept dad is dealing with people in distress and in need of someone who is willing to listen, I watch as father took over the kitchen and made our supper, the aromas and smells telling me that tonight we will have supper fit for royalty...and I wasn't disappointed; mom told me that father is a born master of the kitchen, instinctively knowing how to make good quality meat taste divinely.

As we gathered around the fireplace, mom and dad regaled us with stories of their adventures and exploits when all of a sudden, dad begins to sniff mom closely, playfully nibbling and rubbing along neck and shoulders, mom responds by purring and pressing against dad, it hit me that mom's coming into season and dad's fortuitous arrival is none too soon, it wasn't long before mom grabs dad by the front of his tunic and carries him into the bedroom, then the sound of tearing cloth leaks out of the room as well as the sounds of passionate foreplay and love-making.

I sigh enviously at their iron-clad relationship; most of my matings have been quick trysts to have children but for mom and dad, mating is the physical consummation of their love for each other and the children born out of those matings are the product of their love; Chakaria once told that she wants to have the same kind of relationship mom and dad have, I realize just how strong such relationships are, how happy you truly can be when your life partner loves you completely and without question.

It wasn't until late the next morning did mom and dad emerge from the bedroom, looking very disheveled but very pleased with themselves, in the meantime, Chakaria, Nesha're and I had gone out hunting and prepared them breakfast albeit a late one.

They both ate hungrily and made short work of it, cuddling right after their meal; then Chakaria spoke up, "Granpa, you said you were going to introduce Lushara to granma but how are you going to bring her here in such short notice?"

I answer with a broad grin, "I keep forgetting that all of you never grew up with the advanced technology that your grandmother and I grew up with...Alright, my original plan was to send her a message via express-fox but our swift leave of the city has forced me to revert to plan B, namely contacting her via long-range comlink and arrange a transporter relay to bring her here thus finally completing our little family for the first time in roughly three centuries."

Then Nesha're cuts in, "But in the meantime, time is of the essence, Nathan has discovered that my brother plans to usurp my father's title as High Lord and make war upon the wolves but there are signs that some of the Wolf Council have been aiding my brother from the start, I don't know where we can find enough men and weapons to match the combined armies in battle..."

I smile quietly, knowing Shakira would recognize its meaning, and sure enough...

"Nathan, I'd recognize that smile of yours anywhere, you have something up your sleeve don't you, you wily old cat?"

"Let's just say that it involves the clearing in front of the village, three combat regiments and an assault fleet."

"What's their combat designation?"

"506th Strike Regiment; 10th ACR; and 101st Star-borne Regiment."

Shakira winces slightly, "Ouch! That's some serious overkill you're calling in...not to mention the extra large overkill of bringing in an assault fleet with space-to-surface weapons, you also just hit max overkill by calling in three regiments of combat veterans to pound a handful of rebelling kitties and wuffies into the dirt!"

Just then we hear a deep rumble coming from outside, Shakira instantly pounces on me and roars, "You did not just turn the clearing into a staging area, did you?"

I roll her over and plant a kiss on her muzzle, "Last second planning I'm afraid..."

Shakira sighs, defeated, "Well, let's go meet the troops."

And with that, we would change the course of the planet's history forever...

To Be Continued...