by M E Wise
I don’t waste too much time thinking on it. I follow more than anything. I enjoy my time alone and wait for Dae to become frustrated or too exhausted to research the many things that keep her away, then I soak up those moments. We even have holo night at the movies! Ben found something close to what he called popcorn. Dae squealed when he gave her some for the first time. I don’t find it sustaining. Ben also found fruit that he has distilled into an alcoholic beverage akin to wine and beer as described by Dae. Our first partaking left us over saturated and after many hours of unrelenting dizziness and spirited behavior we all passed out. Something of a vindication I couldn’t help but relish in!
So here I arrive almost a year to our first meeting while I was incarcerated, and I am mulling over a ring. I acquired it among many Ben had stowed away. He insisted the value was of ridiculous compare; a year’s salary on Earth. I didn’t dig too deep into the heist he might have come to possess such an item in. He didn’t press me for what I intended to do with the ring but insisted we had another night of drinking in store.
Among all of the things I wish to happen effortlessly, this proposal or offer is one. I dress well in the kimono suit I had been given a year ago on return to Mor’h. I check my look in the mirror and pull my hair that has grown long into a topknot. Dae had mentioned the look suited me. I apply a musk she also said soothed her; conveniently given to me on that random birthday. A concoction of her and Dalia’s lab work no doubt.
I felt increasingly anxious. Something so simple didn’t seem need for such a response. Nothing was going to change! We would merely have titles to announce to everyone what they already knew. Dae and I were one. Still though my pulse climbed and I was very thankful I had not worn my vacuum suit. The health alerts would most likely be chiming away!
The elevator arrived and moved too quickly. I stepped free without the right things to say and I almost turned to leave again when I saw Dae across the library. Her hair was disheveled. The jumpsuit she found on the Aries was old and worn. Dalia waited at the bottom of a ladder we had fashioned from found wood in the area. I made the thing after much thought while Dae spouted how much I needed something called a hobby. I stood still too long thinking on this and now I am noticed. Dalia and Wan Sah were frozen in their motions. When the Lo’Mor’h did this it would seem like a state of suspended animation. Dae noticed and came down the ladder. “What the devil is going on!” She barked.
Ben was already to one end of the library for backup as he said. I could see him and Squiggy trying to look busy. Dae noticed all of this strange activity and turned eventually to face me. I held the ring up to meet her gaze as she fainted hard to the floor! So much for the speech I had prepared.
Dae woke to myself and her Ladies hovering over her. I was incredibly concerned. This was a first for someone not me. “Dae!” I said happily as she became more aware. “Yes!” She screamed out loud. “Absolutely yes!” She cried. She hugged my neck so hard I choked a little. I helped her to her feet and she nearly drug me back to the floor. “Yes Sir Reign. Yes!” She covered my face in kisses. She snatched the ring from my hand and spun away. “Look ladies! Look and be jealous!” She taunted. Dalia and Wan Sah looked confused.
“When?” She continued firing rapid verbiage. “Any time?” I said bewildered. “You didn’t plan it without me?” She gasped. “Planned?” I questioned. “There’s more I know but I am not certain what you mean.”
“I said yes; now you get to say yes to many more things!” She winked. “Ladies we need to get to work on bigger things!” Dalia and Wan Sah follow her to the elevator. “I’ll be at the old domicile for a few days! Love you!” She blew a kiss as the doors whisked her away.
“What the hell just happened?” I asked loudly. Ben went into hysterics! “You’re getting hitched bro!”
Dae looked breathtaking at the end of the path. She wore a traditional, simple but elegant white gown. Her long red hair was curled, luminescent flowers and ribbon made a crown. I too had a crown of vine fashioned by Dalia inspired from old holo recordings of Mor’h tradition. Dae was very specific about having a dual world element under the dual moons; Vo’Luma and To’Lumo. My new rigid tunic was black silk with flowing sleeves. Bioluminescent bulbs were trained carefully along the path to the alter of the Garden of Night. Ben was my best man and still wore the bachelor party in his sunken eyes. Oddly enough he had been here before in this garden in spirit and now reborn. Our lives had come full circle.
Soft chimes and reed music filled the air. I looked to S’lei who objected to the wedding unless she could be part! She now towered over me at the alter as a minister of sorts to make everything official Dae said. The strange markings seen at the Cresche were hand painted on the alter here. Vibrant colors made two roots, one stem with slight growth and three rays above again to three orbs. I puzzled over it briefly. The garden was dotted with familiar Lo’Mor’h; Squiggy and the newer additions to our group were here. Q’ua Z was unassuming toward the back. Random pockets of Mor’h grouped together making the crowd less dense than the reception a year ago. Hermes took a front position and began streaming a recording of “Here Comes the Bride.” The music was comically warped somehow. The unit cycled for a better version quickly.
Dae began to approach with a short veil and long train being carried by none other than her Ladies; Dalia and Wan Sah. Everything was perfect, new and old. Dae arrived at the alter as our eyes never separated. She smiled and we joined hands. S’lei out stretched her arms and everyone came to a very noticeable stillness. “Here are the vestiges of our past, soon to be the bastions of our future.” She looked down at the two of us. “Mor’h have spent many seasons tending the gardens these two now make home. We now welcome them as one in their new home!” She announced and covered our hands with hers. She then laced my left hand and Dae’s right hand together. Our bioluminescent crowns glowed slightly like halos in the night. “Your words.” S’lei moved back for our vows.
“I traveled across a galaxy for this!” I began. “Dae, you found me in dark places and lit my way. Healed my wounds and gave me peace when I was lost in struggle.” I take her hand to place the ring. “Will you be my light through all seasons?” She nods and smiles wildly. “Yes!” I slide the ring onto her hand.
“I followed across a galaxy for this!” She joked. Light laughter joined ours. “Reign…” she paused nervously, “we shine brightest as one light. Let us make a path together. A new beginning for all seasons.” She wasn’t finished. “Now! Let’s celebrate!” We kissed firmly and held on tighter than normal. “We now pronounce Reign and Dae betrothed!” Said S’lei awkwardly. “Man and wife!” whispered Dae loudly. “Man and wife!” S’lei corrected.
Drums began pounding a procession. I had not known this before but an entire sect of the Mor’h was devoted to song. Dae made sure to find whatever remained of that in the archival Garden of Life. She even found a Tah’l; Ab’Ba who conducted such events and through careful diplomacy got her to fulfill the role. We made our way up the path and onto a tram heavily adorned in flowers and left the ceremony behind to be enjoyed by the guests. The tram floated carelessly along a brightly lit path to our old home.
I carried Dae over the threshold as I had seen in old holos. The old abode was decorated as heavily as the Garden of Night and the path here. Lit candles and lanterns replaced the sterile lights of old. A gentle breeze blew in the open balcony from the great river outside. We stripped nude in a game of dance and chase. Dae made for the bedroom as I caught her and we fell to the lavish bed so greatly missed. “I love you, wife!” I said kissing her. “I love you, husband.” She said with beaming eyes. Our union was rightly consummated again and again. The music trailed long until daylight as we settled for rest by morning. The dawn of our new life together was upon us.
Our vacuum suits were a far cry less comfortable than the gowns we had worn over the last few days on our honeymoon. O
ur bell craft was making dock with an array station on De Braga-the dark watcher, Mor’h Primes smallest moon. If anywhere in this galaxy we can find some solace together it would be here. The lonely tiny moon with the shortest light cycles of any body in this quadrant was a remote outpost indeed. Dae asked me where I thought we should be and I didn’t hesitate to say here. This station had solar shielding to protect us on our extended stay. There were special accommodations made in advance; a wedding gift from S’lei. A newly partitioned bed and bath waited in a larger area in the station. Plenty of fruit, drink and bath fragrances were stored throughout. “A five star stay among the stars!” joyously sounded Dae.
“How long can we stay?” She asked stepping through the airlock. “As long as we want I suppose.” I said making my way to her side. “These stations are rarely needed for anything since all of the systems are automated.”
“Are we being watched?” She said with a scowl. “No!” I laughed. “I made certain we had full privacy.” She pounced on me with a huge kiss.
“However,” I said as she scorned me with a glance, “we have complete communications and access to the holos and arrays if we grow bored.” She lightly opened her vacuum suit. “Bored Sir Reign?” She questioned with a sultry stare. “That’s not what I meant.” I said coming to kiss her. “I know silly! I’m onto a bath.” She wandered around the array. “Oh my god! That bath is huge!” She bellowed. I continued moving in some luggage and supply crates. Dae had brought some of her usual distractions; holo pads, her Earth tablet and some old books found in Ben’s wares. I brought the key matrix in case I had a moment to view the Sol System.
I heard water flowing and steam was filling the space ahead. I walked over to find Dae completely submerged to her neck in a mound of bubbles and petals. “I am euphoric!” She sighed. I linked with a nearby control panel and lowered the tint on the shielded glass. There was Mor’h hanging delicately in the distance. “It’s beautiful.” Said Dae. “Join me?” she invited. “I absolutely will.” My vacuum suit fell to the floor in a heap and I splashed into the completely oversized tub. “I wonder what everyone at home is doing?” She asked softly. I accessed the panel in the link and switched scenes. The Cresche came into clear view.
“Looks like all is well there.” I said staring at Dae. Watching her soak and savoring the moment.
“Nice trick Mr. Mister.” She chortled. “I was thinking about home-home.” She looked distant. “It’s not every day a girl marries her prince and her mother doesn’t get to see it.” She again seemed lost in her bubbles. “I haven’t said anything but Ben and I have talked about being homesick.” I wrestled the water to face her. “I know! I know. With all the hostility and how dangerous it is we can’t just pop in and say hello. I just wished I had a moment to say bye. Or say anything.” She said somberly.
“Where is she?” I asked methodically. “Umm Earth!” Dae laughed. “Be more specific.”
I left the tub and slipped to my backside on the floor with a loud squeak! Dae burst out laughing. “I totally hope they are watching!” She sounded off. I gathered myself and my pride. The cold station floor caused lofty steps. I found a large robe and donned it. I reached into my bag and retrieved the key matrix. “Think of where she is.” I pointed to my head. “It’s like that! We’re married and now you’re going to take over my mind!” She mused. I squinted my eyes. “Ok, ok.” She closed her eyes.
I linked slowly and could feel her mind playfully waiting. She was humming a song in the room. She kept toying with the connection, making strange flavors a focus; thinking of randomness. “I’m not Lo’Mor’h! Please focus on your mother.” She giggles and gets quiet. I get images of her mother, always there, always supportive. I see her on a porch on a shore side home. The culture; Irish. Dae is now heavily vested in the sharing.
The matrix fits neatly in the panel port. I include the panel in the link and now I am navigating a sharing I am not familiar with. At first the images on the solar glass are dim and then they focus large and bright. “Oh my! They second as screens!” Dae chimed. “All of them at once if I want.” I state hushing her. “Concentrate!” I feel her excitement. First the Sol System stutters into view. An array outside Pluto’s Belt most likely. Then I shift focus toward the planetoids. I bounce from array to array. “I’m sorry! This is new.” I apologize.
And then I find satellite links around Earth. The array is networking me and it is very difficult to maintain. The vision on screen buzzes and is scrambled. I link the array to the monitor in a room on Earth. Ireland to be specific. I can now relent and let the array do the rest. I try to back off cleanly but I spoiled some of the sharing with my own thoughts and visions. I don’t know what they were but Dae makes no notice. “What is this Reign?” As she moves forward into the tub to see more clearly. “Is this…” She pauses as a woman comes to investigate the monitor. “Mom!” Dae shrieks!
“Sara Dae!” The woman looked completely surprised. “Are you in a tub?” She questioned in an Irish accent. “You’re alive in a tub!” She celebrated.
Dae ducked lower in the bubbles to hide her nudity. “She can hear me!” She cleverly deduced. I nodded to her and slumped down against the tub. “Who’s that man Dae?” Alerted Marta O’Shea. “Are you safe, baby? Where are you?” She asserted question after question. “Mom!” Dae cried. “I can’t believe I’m talking to you. Of course I’m safe. I’m in paradise right now!” Dae cried and laughed.
“We held a ceremony for you baby girl!” Her mother began to cry. “We thought you lost to us? They questioned us for days on end before we got chance to mourn you proper. They said horrible things. They, they…” Dae stops her in her take charge manner. “Mom I love you. I miss you so much. Don’t believe anything they tell you. Believe I’m alive and happy and I will do whatever I can to keep in touch. I love you so very much!”
“That man Dae; he looks like some alien angel!” Dae’s mother pointed aside a hand as if to hide her actions. “Mom this is Reign. My husband and he is unique.” Dae said softly. “Reign what?” She asked. “That’s a difficult answer.” Dae looked to me. “Reign Mor’h ma’am.” I answered politely.
“Rain More?” She scoffed. “Who ever heard such a name? Is he Native and English?” She chided.
“Mor’h is what he is…” Dae looked undeniably happy, “so much more.” She smiled.
The connection waned and became sporadic. “Mother I love you. I will message again.” She looked to me as I nodded. “Please keep this in your heart. Tell no one!” Her mother worked her head back and forth in the monitor view. “Anything you say baby girl! I love you! Please Mister keep my baby safe!” She cried. “With my life.” I professed. The link broke and static filled the screen. I shifted the view to Mor’h again. I felt weak and had pains in my head. “Come back to me.” Dae sobbed. “You are my soul Reign. I can’t tell you how much I love you right now. Thank you.” She trembled as I slid into the water. “Thank you!”
She kissed my forehead and slid to wrap herself around me. “Be still.” She said softly and we made love in a baptismal pool in the deep of space. Alone and together. If this could be forever I would never leave it.
I left Dae to lie in bed. We must have been laying there for hours. I had not slept from the pounding in my head but it will quit soon enough. I worked on a smaller holo screen. I read some congratulatory mail from Ben and viewed some video he made of the wedding ceremony. He uploaded video from the Hermes unit that blankly recorded sound and my back. Once Hermes managed to pan over the crowd. I noticed something peculiar. An unquestionably familiar Lo’Mor’h near Q’ua Z. I accessed the film with the roller knobs. I closed in at high resolution. Mor’h tech allowed for great control over holo video.
There he was; Kae’Lo! That racist and pompous Lo’Mor’h was in Q’ua Z’s company. I get the feeling I was not supposed to notice. They briefly stood side by side for no less than a minute and then Kae’Lo mechanically walked away. I had n
ever looked into his absence at the Cathedraline. The weeded Sori’ comment from his replacement had sent a tinge of suspicion crawling up my spine but under all of the events and discovery I never made inquisition. I have the feeling this is significant.
An urgent labeled message from S’lei was blinking in my queue. I opened the link and her holo began filming her shoulder, she quickly remedied the view. She was engaging as usual. Her rhythmic flow seemed to lull me into attention every time. “When the honey of your moon leaves you and your mate, there is a matter of state to discuss.” She tilted her head in a circular motion. “Our many praises bid your new season good cheer and much rest.” She closed the holo with an image. The primitive looking finger paint of two roots to one stem with three rays coming off new leaves were enveloped in a halo of sorts, like a sun in a child’s drawing.