Best wife

The senior staff had all spent the night apart - a rarity, but one that did occasionally happen when they all had individual preparations for the next day and didn’t want to trip over each other in the morning. For Dustin, that preparation consisted entirely of changing into his suit and making his way nervously to the bridge. It was silly to be nervous he knew - hell, he’d already technically been married or the equivalent as many as four or five times depending on whether you counted Jaisyl and Trea’k or not, but, despite that, he was still nervous.

What would he do if Sammie had second thoughts? Besides from of course letting her know that it was okay… and then going and sitting in his ready room with whatever booze the pilot and Rye had left in the ships stores. Dustin shook his head to dismiss such maudlin thoughts as he turned the corner. Sammie would be there, and so would everyone else, and it would be fine.

The gentle hum of the engines warming up reassured him. Unless they were departing on their wedding voyage, there’d be no reason to power the main thrusters while in dock. Stepping onto the bridge, he paused to take in the scene.

His lovers and Sammie’s family had been busy. The command deck of his ship was still functionally the same - but now bouquets of flowers lined the small space in front of the pilot’s console. Devin was stood by them, chatting with Rye who’d taken Sammie’s usual chair to start them off on this specific flight. More flowers lined the walls, along with streamers and decorations giving the entire place a suitably festive atmosphere.

Smiling, Dustin walked over to his seat and sat down. “Are we all ready?”

At a chorus of agreement, he gestured to Rye. “Take us out of dock then please. I assume my fiancé has pre-set the course we’re taking?”

At that point, Meli appeared at by his side. Dustin glanced around worriedly for a moment, but calmed when he saw Izzy and Terri stood with Trea’k and the infants. “Relax, husband. After you and Sammie asked if I would fill in for your family in the ceremony, I made arrangements for the boys to be looked after while we are all busy. “ The Velca smiled at him. “And yes, Sammie has plotted the course - a short trip in the direction of the star so you’ll have it above you on the vidscreen during the ceremony.”

The engine note shifted as Rye pulled them out of dock, the stars wheeling as they pivoted and the autopilot engaged. Scrambling out of her seat, the Rabyth gave the assembled group a thumbs up. “Dusty, if you and ya best man… well, best woman I guess, would like to come over here? I’ll go let the bride and her maids know we’re ready.”

Dustin’s nerves were even more tightly wound somehow. How was this bit of the waiting the most stressful part of the whole affair? It wasn’t like he’d not basically been through it before with the woman currently stood at his side! Doing his best to not look like he was going to fall apart at any moment, he stood fixed to his spot, watching the door and waiting. Then, it opened.

Sammie did not usually go in for beauty - she had her natural looks and her personality do all the heavy lifting in making her incredibly attractive. Today, however, she’d gone all in. Dustin was dimly aware of Meli sharing his intake of breath at the figure making her way at a stately pace across the bridge, her gown held at the rear by Eve and Rye while two of Devin’s crew - Sammie’s cousins if Dustin remembered correctly - tossed petals ahead of them.

The dress itself was a deep burgundy - Dustin had expected white, but had to admit that it suited the dark-skinned woman immensely… and also he knew full well how much of a joke either of them wearing virginal white at their wedding would have been, given their relationship and relationship with a significant number of the guests. Jaisyl’s handiwork was on full display, a series of starships and stars interwoven in such a way as to appear and disappear in folds of fabric as the bride walked, her dress forming a living canvas of stellar travel.

Sammie had also done her makeup. Again, an abnormality for her - but the result was her eyes seemed to fill Dustin’s vision as he stumbled his way through the ceremony. The woman’s smile was radiant as he said his vows, and she held his hands to say hers. Finally, Meli handed him the ring - not just any band, and not the traditional gold. Multiple of the women present had worked on it in the days since the engagement, taking the thruster coupling from a starfighter that Sammie had flown in the aftermath of the battle for Sol and turning it into a piece of art.

The pilot’s eyes sparkled as she spotted where they’d left some of the original markings on it, before dragging him into a kiss that stole his breath away the moment Devin reached “you may kiss the bride.” Pulling back, Dustin smiled down at her, his own ring sitting above his pairing tattoo with Rye; Velca didn’t go in for physical jewellery to mark marital status, so Sammie’s was the first band to adorn his hands.

In the aftermath of the ceremony, the senior staff handed over the bridge to their most experienced juniors and all descended on the viewing gallery. In a rare bit of selfishness, Dustin had put the entire area off-limits to anyone not in the wedding party or guest list, which had allowed Naera and Leora to prepare in advance. As soon as they all arrived, lids were taken off steaming trays, plates of sandwiches and bowls of fruit and salad were uncovered, and the chatter of the reception rapidly grew muffled by the sound of people eating food and clinking glasses.

Dustin was only half aware of what was going on. Again, after his marriage to Meli he’d expected to be used to this kind of thing - but no. Sammie occupied a significant portion of his vision at all times, even when he was making small talk with Izzy or dancing with Eve, the latter leaning in to whisper a comment about keeping her sister satisfied that would have probably made a man without a ten-strong harem blush, but did very little to Dustin asides from getting his foot stood on when he calmly told her he would make sure of it. Presumably the foot-stomping was because he didn’t react, he mused later on.

At one point, he was stood by the windows, Sammie and Meli flanking him and staring out into space. As they did so, the pilot leaned in to hug the Velca and smiled. “Y’kno, Meli, I’m really grateful for you stepping up to support Dusty today. With us getting married so far away from the rest of his friends, I wasn’t sure what we’d do. I mean, we could have asked Izzy, but that would have been kinda like what happened for your wedding, right?”

The Velca smiled, then said something that for a moment made both Dustin and his new bride freeze - before all three of them burst into laughter. “Of course it’s alright, Sammie. Besides, it meant I got to be best wife for the day.”

It was delivered so deadpan (Meli shifting into her natural Velcan accent rather than the emotive speech she’d learned to emulate over the time she’d spent with Dustin), and with such precision that it utterly destroyed any tension or nerves Dustin and his new wife had left. The various party-goers paused to stare as Sammie leaned against her husband, wheezing with laughter. “You… and so straight edged… oh gods….”

Panting, Sammie straightened up, then winked at Dustin. “Don’t move - you’re between me and my parents, and I owe Meli for that one.” Before he could process her words the pilot turned so quickly her braids almost hit him in the face, and pulled Meli into an intense kiss that left the Velca almost as dazed as Dustin had been moments before.

With his suit trousers now rather uncomfortably tight and his wives both looking a little flushed, Dustin decided it was getting close to the point where he and his new bride should take some alone time. Wending their way through the party, they said their goodbyes - with Sammie talking briefly with Rye in a whisper before leaving, somewhat to Dustin’s bemusement.

The ship seemed quiet as they made their way back to the ready room and then through it to Dustin’s private quarters. Sammie had been quite clear on that - she wanted a basic bunk for their wedding night; it’d taken a lot of persuading on his part to even get her to agree to the slightly more luxurious private room rather than her own berth down with the main crew quarters. As the door closed behind them, the pilot turned and smiled mischievously. “Well, husband. Shall we?”