The Saga of the Avian Known as Kooth

 I am Kooth, Birdman of the planet Zursk. I have the distinction of being the only one of our aviators to have kept to his fighter throughout the three space battles in the skies above our planet. The long-expected war of the Lyrans and Klingons in alliance against the Kzinti Tiger-Men finally began with a pair of probes by the Lyrans towards two Kzinti Battle Stations, followed by all-out assaults by both of the Coalition powers. As expected, the Klingons moved a substantial force under old Admiral Or'ok towards us. We know that they have long coveted our planet because its strategic location in the Neutral Zone between Kzinti and Klingon space will provide either power with a useful staging point for further attacks. Our ruling democratic council chose wisely in buying Kzinti defensive fighters, because this means that our munitions and supplies are compatible with the substantial detachment the Tiger-Men send to help us from their Marquis' Fleet further to anti-spinward near their border with the Federation. 

The combat is fierce, and I have the distinction of being part of a force that destroys the Klingons' flagship C8 Dreadnought, killing old Or'ok in the process. Eventually I return in my heavily damaged craft to the surface of Zursk, the rest of my squadron having been torn apart by our Klingon adversaries. Fortunately, however, only one of our pilots died, the rest ejecting safely. All of the pilots from the second squadron similarly survived, being swept up from their cockpit pods by the Kzinti just before their remaining ships leave and the Klingons arrive. Our comrade Sqiath is in fact our only fatality.

All of our military personnel line up to see the Kzinti depart. Their Commodore S'Muurus has just been promoted to Rear-Admiral in recognition of his achievements in our battles, and is quite charming for a Kzin. Of course, we are under no illusion as to how we would be treated if the Kzinti were our conquerors; they are infamous for denying any species within their territory the rights to space travel. This is unlike the Klingons, who honour strong enemies, allowing them to crew their navy, suitably watched by security personnel, of course. The Boneheads always need more staff, although of course such subjects are denied officer and command status, apart from exceptional cases on their F5J and D6J penal cruisers. The only people to whom this does not apply are the Vudar, who are technically Klingon allies rather than subjects.

S'Muurus makes a speech praising our valour in the three battles against the Klingons, and even goes so far as to admit that his orders from the Kzinti Marquis are to withdraw his ships now that our defences have been degraded. We know that many Kzinti fighters have been destroyed in combat, along with one of their Escort Frigates; another two of their Frigate-class vessels have been crippled. It is clear that any further losses will have to come from the Kzinti main force, and this is something S'Muurus cannot allow to happen. He does surprise us, though, by awarding our ground personnel the Kzinti War Medal Third Class, and our pilots (including myself) with the War Medal Second Class. 

S'Murrus says, "I apologise that I cannot offer you our highest accolade. The War Medal First Class is reserved for Kzinti personnel. I now take my leave, but I shall return." With that parting remark, he leaves on the last shuttle.