***

--- Cescaphe Ballroom, Philadelphia, United States ---

Date: June 6th, 2026

The day has finally come. While this moment came far quicker than she expected, she is still happy that she was getting married. While the situation is not to her liking, she decided to put on what is best.

"You look lovely, Mom," Selina said, admiring her about-to-be-new mother.

Sarah's wedding dress is all white, shoulder-less, with decorative flower patterns on the drapes alongside. white long sleeve gloves and a bride crown. "I know, right. I'm shocked that I was able to get this so quickly," she exclaims.

For propaganda purposes, it should help push an expansion of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Interspecies Marriage Act. The White House wants to film the wedding and use it to help keep support for the war high - so show a human element to it so people do not lose investment. So, the government is willing to pay for it.

On the surface, this sounds like the government doing something nice for everything the Rangers has done, especially Sharpe. However, Sarah understands the true motives behind all this. The United States has conquered much new territory with native residents - about forty percent of the non-human. Showing your population that these new residents are Americanized helps with the war a moral calling. Also, this helps Americanize the new residents.

Sarah knows the other nations are beginning their process of nationalizing natives. An agreement with the US in terms of granting dual or multiple citizenships to the natives. Besides automatically having US citizenship, Myuute was given Czech citizenship during her trip there(1), and Aleisold, the Warrior Bunny, will have British citizenship. Based on other reports, other nations have recruited other natives. It is only a matter of time the countries within NATO begin dividing up territory if they have not started already.

"Should you poof up your breasts?" Selina asks. "To look more attractive?"

Hearing that, Sarah glares at Selina. "You spend way too much time with Rory and Alicia. But, maybe a little wouldn't hurt. It is a special day, after all."

Selina giggled. "How do I look? I look cute, don't I?" She then spins around.

Giggling, Sarah finds Selina's flower girl dress cute.

After putting the finishing touches, Sarah puts on her Christian cross necklace over herself. "Let me fix that bow of yours."

As Sarah fixes Selina's bow, Selina looks up. "Will I ever get married, mom?"

"Oh Selina, you will one day, but don't feel the pressure," Sarah said. "Just wait until you fall in love, sweetheart."

“The real problem is those she falls in love with must pass through Sharpe first!” Rory teases.

Sarah shakes her head, seeing Sharpe as the protective dad he is. She then looks into the mirror to see how she looks. For the wedding, she is wearing a shoulder-less white wedding dress. "Today is the day."

"How in Hardy's pit do you people walk in these?" Delilah asked, trying to walk in with high heels. "If I knew I had to wear this I would have said no.”

“Human fashion is sometimes really annoying. Why can’t we just use our warrior sandals? It's more comfortable,” Tyuule complains as she also struggles to walk alongside Deliah as her maid-of-honor.

“It just makes you more beautiful,” Sarah said. “And consider yourself lucky. Hamilton and I have to deal with it for nine months, not five.”

Hamilton giggles. "I like it. It looks good on you. It makes you more gentle and more ladylike than usual, especially toward your husband, to be a proper wife."

Delilah laughs. “Very funny. I might not be gentle or ladylike like you, but at least Sarah and I, including Rory here, know how to discipline our men if they fall out of line and be strong mothers to my children. Unlike you, who are often too soft and sissy to stop Andrew wasting his money on gambling, and you act like a servant to him, not a wife. Your attitude makes you not a strong role model to your child." She sarcastically mocks Hamilton.

“Hey! I am not soft or sissy and Andrew does not treat me like servants, your kind didn’t even believe in marriage until a few weeks ago(2),” Hamilton spat backs. “I just like to serve him as a loyal wife should. But he has been nice and loyal.” She then plays with her thumbs. “I don’t like him gambling though. I saw so many noblemen gamble their wealth away with my time with Princess Pina. I just don’t want that to happen to Andrew.”

“Calm down ladies,” Myuute said. “I know Deliah is a little bit harsh, but I think you should listen to her about this Hamilton. You need to be stricter with Andrew since you cannot be his servant like with Pina. You are his wife, and a wife must always be there to correct a husband when they are being astray from the right paths. That is how a happy marriage is built from. Besides, you are going to be a mother just like them, you also should learn how to discipline your child.”

“She is right. You really need to treat your husband differently than with me,” Pina add-on.

“Ignore Pina,” Rory said. “She knows nothing about men. Her flirting skills are below zero.”

“Be careful about correcting,” Sarah said. “Men don’t like to be controlled. This is what my mother told me about Hamilton, while men act like they don’t want to listen, what we say has a big influence on their egos. As I tell Selina what we need to do is make sure our men stay on the good side of masculinity, like now blowing all your money away over a game.”

Seeing Myuute take control of the situation surprises Sarah, seeing how Myuute crowd control training coming into effect. Seeing Deliah and Tyuule struggle, she and Yao walk over and help them.

“You look beautiful with your pregnant belly,” Sarah states.

“Thank you, Sarah. Bailey states that I am much more attractive than usual after my bump starts showing. In the few months, you and Hamilton are gonna be as sexy and glowing as me with your babies growing bigger,” Delilah states as she puts her pregnant belly on Sarah's belly and touches it.

“So, we just walk down the carpet and persist. Hamilton asked. “Do we have to show our union in the consummation chamber?”

It took a moment for Sarah to register that question. As she pictures the idea, she shakes her head. “No.” There is no way any of them would strip in public for some backward custom. Especially that this is going to be viewed by the public on Earth.

As Hamilton looks at Pina, Pina shrugs her shoulders in confusion. “I have no idea Hamilton.”

Seeing their confusion Sarah realizes about their different customs. She wonders what is going on in Hamilton's head. “What is a wedding like in Sadera?”

“For the nobility, there is this temple called the Temple of Evlia, where all the related family nobles meet. Both fathers come together and give their blessing to the union. Then there are the romantic oaths, and the husband takes his new wife to the consummation chamber of the temple. For five days the newlyweds stay there and are served by people like me. This is meant to solidify their new union and to to have the wife conceive a child,” Hamilton explained in detail.

Customs like that were typical in ancient times. Sarah remembers reading about some of them like the French had this consummation in front of their family after a wedding. “Five days alone, being waited on, I wouldn’t mind that. At least it is not public.”

Sarah also noticed how Hamilton explained the story. She excluded herself because her upbringing is from the servant class. If it were not for the Rose Knights joining NATO, Hamilton probably would have never fallen in love or be allowed to marry a man. She would have stayed limited to that one role for life.

“Five days? That seems like a long time,” Delilah said. “It still blows me away how much fluff you Humans put in things.”

Hamilton glares. “At least you get to stay with Bailey. Andrew is leaving tomorrow. I always wondered what it would be like to have the five-day ritual even though I thought I never would get a chance because of my station. When Noblies don't do the ritual, it usually is a sign that the marriage is doomed.”

Sarah hugs Hamilton. “It is ok, Hamilton. We call it a honeymoon. I am missing out too, five days of just love and sex sounds great, but that is war. But, we can wait together.”

“I wish I could do some fighting with Bailey as our honeymoon,” Delilah complains.

Frost walks in and addresses the four brides, telling them that they are about to begin.

They all move up and see the main chamber. Most of the attendees are the president herself, some high-ranking officials, especially from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs; military officials and personnel from Vanguard 7, 5, and 2, as well as Countess Myui herself. Surprisingly, Soredin and some of her council members from the Coven also attend. Some on both ends of the chamber are camera crews from the State Department and the Office of Public Liaison.

The Office of Public Liaison laid out a script on how this wedding would go. First Hamilton, then Myuute, Delilah is after, and Sarah is the last. Hamilton is meant to start the event safely because she is a Human and because she is innocent. Then the two beast races now that the future viewers warmed up to the wedding. The final shows two respectable American soldiers.

A Public Liaison official walks in and directs Hamilton to begin. Hamilton walks while holding her bauque while wearing a hybrid wedding dress and classic noble robbing to head to the aisle. Grey appears in his Rose-Order of Knight armor – he leads Hamilton down the aisle. Upfront is Pina, who is her maid-of-honor and Beefeater, Bozes, Panache Suissesse as her bridesmaids standing in hybrid dresses and nobility robbing. One of Sarah’s female students leads the way, tossing out flowers.

Up front, Andrew is standing there in his dress military uniform with Frost as his best man. Behind him are Yang, Sharpe, and Randy. As part of military tradition, Alicia, Jerry, Scott is on the right side of the aisle, and Balalaika, Jalin, Nikolasha, Ginebra on the other side. They pull out their swords and hold them up.

Grey and Hamilton walk through the sword ceremony, and Hamilton walks up to the podium. The persist begins giving his speech and makes both her and Andrew make their vows as husband and wife. After each of them saying their acceptance of each other in their life, Hamilton Uno Ror is declared Hamilton Uno Steele. Once done, he tells Andrew to kiss the bride.

The Public Liaison official enters and points to Myuute to get ready. Another American man appears, dressed in the Army dress uniform. Colonel Brian Steward, head of the Alnus Hill Military Police. Eight Alnus Military Police hold out swords as they pass through.

Upfront is the Czech Republic soldier, First Sergeant Miloslav Suchanek, standing there in his Czech Military dress uniform with his friend as his best man and Beluutie as Myuute’s maid-of-honor. Behind him are many Alnus Military Police, other Czech soldiers, and other friends from Alnus.

After the church priest gives his speech, the couple makes their marriage vow. He declares Myuute Luna Sires to Myuute Luna Suchanek. When given the order by the priests Myuute and Miloslav kiss, and everyone celebrates.

Sarah cannot help but cry. While she knows Myuute through Rory, she does not know Miloslav. However, she heard what happened to him and how they ended up as a couple(3) and understands how important this is for him and his people. Everyone knows he was brainwashed by the enemy and broke through it because of love.

With this war, it is easy to expect the major players to be in the headlines and making history. The US, UK, France, Italy, and Japan will determine the outcome of the war and will be remembered in the history books. However, this moment belongs to a small landlocked country in central Europe. European history will remember the first marriage interspecies marriage will belong to the Czech Republic of Eastern Europe.

The next is Delilah. Eight Rangers from Vanguard-5 hold up their swords as Delilah walks through the aisle. In front of them is one of the little bunnies tossing out flowers. Tyuule, her maid-of-honor, and other bunnies like Mamina and Grinne are up there with Sharpe, Bailey, and Yang. Bailey is standing there waiting for his wife and his twins' mother to embrace him with Adam as his best man.

As Bailey and Deliah make their vows together to be with each other for the rest of their life. The priest declares them, husband and wife, as they kiss passionately while at the same time touching the bumping belly of Deliah that carries their twins.

Then the moment finally came. The Public Liaison official directs Sarah and Selina where to stand. Colonel John Yang walks up in his dress uniform.

“Are you sure you don’t want to call this off?” Yang sarcastically asked. “Once you say I do, you’re stuck with them.”

“I think I can handle it, sir,” Sarah replied. “If he pisses me off, I can give him wrong directions into an enemy camp, then all my problems would be solved. Besides, I think it is more torture if I make him live and pay for this baby. Not to mention, I also have with me the loli Grim Reaper that will always keep him in check all the time.”

Yang chuckles. “Hey, that child and Rory are my insurance that Jackson will never retire from the Army.”

Sarah found the joke humorous, making her giggle. The joke is that the father would rather be in combat rather than changing diapers. “Let’s do this.”

Sarah watches Selina moves down the aisle, spreading flowers. Yang takes Sarah's arm, and they walk down the aisle. Along the aisle are Rangers and Knights from all his commands.

Up ahead, she sees the Girls in beautiful dresses in a row. Tuka and Yao stand there, in elvish clothing. Lelei in a cute blue dress and Rory, Sarah’s maid of honor and godmother of their child, in an exotic gothic black dress. In front of them is Lieutenant Colonel Jackson Sharpe standing at the podium with Randy as his best man. He is in his dress uniform, all his medals, and ribbons. Sarah finds him very handsome.

“You look beautiful,” Sharpe said.

“Why, thank you,” Sarah replied. Her eye picks up a flash from a camera from the government crew – annoyed by their presence.

The priest looks to Sharpe. “Lieutenant Colonel Jackson Sharpe, do you take Captain Sarah Rose to be your wedded wife, to live together in marriage? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, to honor and keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her, for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

The priest then looks to Sarah. “Do you, Captain Sarah Rose, take Lieutenant Colonel Jackson Sharpe to be your husband, to cherish in friendship and love today, tomorrow and for as long as the two of you live, to trust and honor him, to love him faithfully, through the best and the worst, whatever may come, and if you should ever doubt, to remember your love for each other and the reason why you came together with him this day?”

“I do.”

“Captain Sarah Rose, you are now Captain Sarah Sharpe,” the priest said. “I pronounce you two husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

A moment later, Sharpe wraps his arm around Sarah and pulls her in, giving her a deep and long kiss as everyone cheers.

All the newly wed couples and their friends and family with the president then take a group picture together to commemorate the event.

Sarah, Myuute, Hamilton, and Deliah then announce the tossing of the bouquets at single ladies of the wedding. Sarah’s bouquet is caught by Mentiv, who flies to gain the upper hand from other ladies; Delilah’s bouquet is caught by Persia; Myuute’s bouquet is caught by Meia, and Hamilton’s bouquet is caught by Bozes. As Persia, Mentiv, and Bozes have the bouquet in their hands, they look at their lovers, Scott, Frost, and Charles, lovingly, knowing that someday they will walk down the aisle toward their future husbands.

--- Banquet Hall, Cescaphe Ballroom ---

As Sharpe and Sarah walk toward the banquet table, an old man in a military dress uniform walk up. She sees a chest full of medals and ribbons, a General rank with the SOCOM identification tag. That is when she realizes who he is, General Holland.

“Hello Lieutenant Colonel and Captain Sharpe, congratulations on the wedding,” Holland said.

Sharpe quickly snapped to attention, followed by Sarah. She can feel the tension coming from Sharpe, scaring her a little. Not because she fears Holland but because of his reputation. The scare on his left cheek, the dead cold grey eyes telling thousands of war stories at once. Just like Major Harper, Holland had a role in Sharpe’s career path.

“Thank you, sir,” Sharpe said.

Being addressed as Captain Sharpe caught her off guard. It is what she wanted to hear - just not used to it.

“Remember what I have taught you, son?” Holland asked.

“Self-control, always expect, always be prepared, and one in the head and two in the chest, sir,” Sharpe states.

Holland nods, standing there like a brick. “Good son. Always remember that. I am glad you finally learned serving the flag is more than a textbook history lesson but has a personal state and value. Now, you can become a true warrior.” He then looks directly at Sarah. “So, you are the one I was in communication with.”

For a moment Sarah had no idea what he was talking about. Then she remembers when Sharpe was first transferred to Vanguard-7 that he was a wreck. She did her own private investigation to figure out why and discovered a chain of emails from his old Delta and Green Berets buddies. She talked to a few of them and that was how she realized Sharpe was a different man than what he was showing at the time. She was reassuring them that she walks, watches over, and protects him.

“I was emailing you?” Sarah states, shocked. “I, I am sorry sir. I was just-.”

“Calm down Captain,” Holland said. “If I didn’t want that conversation to happen then it never would have happened. That was a bloody mess and there was a lot of politics involved. We do not abandon our own so I was thrilled to find someone I can rely on.”

Holland then looks at Sharpe. “This one is a keeper, son. In more ways than one. Don’t screw it up.” He then walks away.

“What did the General mean by that saying?” Sarah asked.

“It is simple, while everything he said has a military application it is also related to me being a father and husband,” Sharpe answered. “Having self-control, not letting my anger take control. Always expect, meaning don’t let surprises appear. As a man, I need to be prepared about future challenges to my unit or in this case my family.”

“What about the last part?” Sarah asked. “That was odd.”

“One in the head, two in the chest doesn't always mean with bullets,” Sharpe explains. “Think smart but you need heart and will. All plans come from the mind however you need heart and will to carry out the mission. The same applies to marriage I suppose.”

Sarah giggles. “I agree.” She cannot believe she was talking to Sharpe superior all this time. Having no idea Holland was keeping an eye on Sharpe through her.

Now, all she wants is to take her new husband to their condo and have him rip her clothes off before the Rondel mission. Just one night alone. However, the last thing Holland said is now bothering her.

“Jackson,” Sarah said. “What did Holland mean by this one is a keeper? Was he saying there were others?” She then gives a flirtish but serious look, teasing him.

Sharpe takes a long drink, seeing everyone staring at him. “His fucking sense of humor.”

As Holland leaves, the couple gets to the banquet table where all the other couples and their friends are there to have a fine wedding dinner celebrating their union.

---

"Let toast for the reunion of the couples that through many challenges, hardship and even differences from their place of origins in the universe; social status, ideology, and even races come together to cherish each other for the rest of their life and grow a family," President Emily makes a toast as everyone raises their glasses of red wine to make a toast, except for Sarah, Delilah, and Hamilton with the glass of juice due to their pregnancy.

Potts then looks to Sharpe. To Sharpe’s left is Selina and to the right is Lelei, holding onto his dress uniform or arm as they struggle with their cute high heels. “And I am glad you are not the jealous type of Captain Sharpe.”

Everyone chuckles at the joke.

"So Deliah and Bailey, have you thought of the name of your twins yet?', Myui asks.

"Of course, we will name our twins Donna and Dorra.", Bailey states as he touches Deliah's belly.

"What about you, Hamilton and Andrew?" Bailey asks.

"We still do not know the baby's gender yet? So, we still not think about that yet," Andrew states

"Well, I think if it is a boy is, we can call him Andrew the Second, and if is a girl, we can call her Pina," Hamilton states.

Hearing that Andrew facepalms. "Hamilton… I said don’t name your baby after me. You need to think something more unique and special to your child.”

"Just wait until we know the gender and decide," Pina states .

“Yes Princess,” Hamilton said.

"I think naming a child after the father, mother or someone special is lovely since it gives the child the scene of purpose to follow the footsteps of their parents. I already think of the name for my baby! If it is a boy, it is gonna be Jackson Sharpe Jr., and if it is a girl, it should be Rory Sharpe!" Rory cheerfully states

"Not gonna happen, Rory! I have one crazy older sister, and I don't want another one", Selina spat backs

Sarah shakes her head. “You are the godmother, Rory. Jackson and I will pick the name. Besides, I don’t think her can handle two Jackson Sharpes.”

"She is right,” Sharpe states, siding with Sarah. “One, Rory already gives me enough headache already. Two, Rory would make my head explode.".

"I also want the child to be unique as an individual, so he or she should be named differently. Having two Sharpe’s is too boring and having two Rory’s is too crazy. You need to take into consideration the physical and mental health, the colonel must put off with you until now. Besides, we are the child’s aunties, so we all have the stakes in naming the child", Lelei wittily add-on, and both Tuka and Yao nod.

"I hate all of you!" Rory childishly sulks as she drinks her wine.

“What about you Myuute and Miloslav? When are you two gonna think about having kids," Mentiv asked.

"Well, we are thinking about it. Maybe in the next few months, I will think of laying my egg. However, right now, we are thinking of finding a place to raise a family first," Myuute states.

"Since there are going to be tons of real estate projects going on soon on Alnus and other NATO-controlled territories, I hope I can get an apartment or a nice house for us to stay due to the low price it gonna be," Miloslav states.

"Speaking of the devil, me and Deliah and you too, Andrew and Hamilton. We all should be looking for a place for our growing families," Bailey states.

"I can give estates for you two couples in Italica if you like. You did serve me well all this year, Deliah and Hamilton, you did try hard to fight to defend my city from the bandits," Myui generously offers

'Thank you so much, Countess. My husband and I thank you for your generousness," Delilah smiles. “I have not forgotten my time in Italica. Your father allowed me to stay there, free from becoming a slave. I have not forgotten.”

“Thank you,” Myui said.

"We are too," Hamilton states.

“Everyone let's enjoy ourselves tonight because tomorrow, we're going to be really busy,” Sharpe orders. Sarah taps him to stop his commanding tone.

“Speaking of which, I would like to summarize our plans again with the Rondel mission, especially with you Colonel, Lelei, Princess Pina, and Selina,” Potts states.

“Don’t forget about me Madame President,” a voice echoes near Sharpe and Sarah from a woman who suddenly appears with another woman, who is a gypsy behind Sharpe and Sarah without anyone noticing, which startled everyone.

Potts takes an uncomfortable breath. “And of course, you too Soredin. I did not forget our agreement.”

“Holy Emroy! How did you get here without me noticing? I can even notice if a sniper is sniping at me from the far distance but in your case, I cannot,” Rory asks.

“Me too. I cannot even hear your footsteps or smell your stench,” Deliah states.

“Centuries and decades of hiding make us Earth mages very adept in the art of stealth,” Soredin proudly states.

“Who is this?” Tuka points at the gypsy woman with Soredin.

“The wedding gifts from the Coven to the couples today. This is Mrs. Esmeralda Cloran, our expert in the art of clairvoyance,” Soredin states.

“Oh, so is she gonna give us some fortune prediction?”, Andrew exciting states

“Yes, but first, we need to take care of the Rondel planning first,” Soredin states as she and Esmeralda take a seat near Sharpe and Sarah.

President Potts politely orders everyone that is not authorized to be in this conversation away, to have a serious conversation.

Once alone, the President then summarizes the entire plan for the Rondel operation. There are two primary objectives for this mission: sway the Rondel Magic Council while securing the backing of influential mages like Sage Cato and Mimoza to vote for seceding from the League and join NATO and contacting the Edras rebel leader to prepare for the planning of the future liberation of Edras Kingdom. There are also three secondary objectives: dismantling the Adventurers Guild HQ; eliminating Oprichnina elements in the city and taking down any Imperial Loyalist mages in the Rondel Magic Council and outside the councils if necessary. Besides Lelei and Pina, Soredin will also play an important role in persuading the Council to join NATO by being NATO’s mage representatives to establish the common ground between them as a whole.

“Are you sure you can protect Lelei and the rest of our group during the mission, Mrs. Soredin,” Sarah asks.

“Of course, I can, I have a trust to build and Lelei is my protege. I will be damned if anything happens to her in the end”, Soredin assures Sarah. She then looks at Lelei in her cute dress. “So Lelei, how is your arcane training going? I expect you to do well with all my recent lessons from the email I sent you for my upcoming mission.”

“Yes teacher,” Lelei replied. “It has been hard adopting but Frayen has been helping me. I think I can easily handle myself even against modern enemies with guns.”

“No, you are not,” Soredin loudly states.

“Why not? She did very well against gun-wielding enemies before and not to mention many threats in Uros,” Rory points out.

“Oh really!” Soredin states. The chair Lelei is sitting on breaks down causing Lelei to fall butt-first on the ground. This causes Sharpe and Rory to try to get her up.

Soredin crosses her arms, shaking her head. “You might be able to handle some enemy armed with guns but your encounter with the Chinese MSS agents back in the day still(1) pale in comparison to the combat situations in modern warfare plus the fact that the majority of combat situations you have been through so far are against primitive enemies. You need to learn a lot more before you even think of properly going against enemies in modern warfare. Your current magic is only primarily effective against the League backward enemies but against any kinds of modern armies, you are mostly dead meat.”

“Soredin is right Girls,” Sharpe said. “Because you created advanced spells it is never enough. Always remember, the enemy has a vote too. You are only as good as yesterday and someone somewhere will figure out a counter to your spells. A major war and quick covert operations are vastly different, and you caught them off guard.”

“How did you break my chair? I didn’t even see you moving your hands”, Lelei asks as she gets up.

Soredin then points at her feet.

“You can cast spells with your feet?” Lelei shockingly asks as she tries to sit in a new chair.

“We can cast spells at any part of our bodies. You see Lelei, ever since the advancement in technology, especially weaponry, as well as military tactics, our magic also needs to adapt to the trend to stand a chance against the ever-growing hostile elements with more and more advanced guns and means to dispatch their enemies. As a result, our magic must be improved to be as effective and swift as firearms and any other advanced armaments along with modern tactics,” Esmerelda lectures.

“Ok, but you don’t need to hurt her like that to get your point,” Sarah scolds Soredin.

“She is my protege. I can do whatever I want to train her to prepare for the future. Besides, you let your daughter undergo painful martial art training to strengthen herself, so it is a fair game!”, Soredin states as she slips her wine

“Only because Jackson allows it. Remember that,” Sarah states. She understands the need to be strict and extreme in training, that was her experience at Ranger School. That is why she allows Alicia and Shino to train Selina in self-defense. However, she has hard redlined and will not be shy about it. “I will allow it but never cross the line or I will send my husband after you.”

Soredin chuckles. She sees that she still needs to gain the trust of the Sharpe family, surprised by how loyal they are to Lelei. “Understood. Anyway, let's come to my wedding gift for you newly wed couples. Esmerelda.” She then waves over the other married couple, saying it is safe to come back.

Esmerelda then summons a swarm of tarot cards from her sleeves, which hover in the air in front of everyone.

“Oh right! Before I begin, I want you all to know that the clairvoyance ability is not absolute since no one can see exactly how the future is gonna be, whether it is magical or scientific. The clairvoyance we gypsies practiced as well as other clairvoyance abilities used by other mages from different regions on Earth can only see what the possible futures might be, and one action can lead to the butterfly effect that can completely change the outcome of the predictions, much like all the scientific predicting technique using math’s.

For this session, I will only predict near-future events, not far future events, since the further the future, the more mana I need to consume, and I only have the reserve to use it on all four couples. Also, after depleting my mana reserve to do the clairvoyance today, I cannot use this ability for four weeks due to long mana recovering for using this spell. Now I want the brides and the grooms of each couple to hold my hands so I can predict their fortune,” Esmeralda states as the couples starting with Hamilton and Andrews, start to hold her hands.

Every time Esmeralda casts her spells, her eyes glow with mana energy, and when she is done, a tarot card will fly at her, giving her certain fortunes of the people she is predicting.

“Oh right!” Esmerelda states. “For the cute couple, Andrew, and Hamilton, you have a good fortune that involves Steele and Hamilton to know the gender of their baby, I predict it will be a girl. For the couple Myuute and Miloslav, you too will likely have a child sooner or later.”

Esmerelda then looks up at the others. “However, for the other couples, I am afraid I sense an upcoming bad fortune.”

“Go figure,” Sharpe said. “This is fun and all but I don’t believe in this stuff. You control your destiny, it is not set in stone.” Sarah elbows him, warning him to be respectful.

“I am making predictions, not making absolutes,” Esmerelda said. “Delilah, being the first Terran-Bunny marriage, your kind will be tested and brings great strain on your relationship and your husband.”

“What is that even supposed to mean?” Bailey asked, not happy. Delilah grabs his arm to calm him down.

Esmerelda remains quiet, looking at Sharpe. “You will have to make a harsh decision regarding a loved one. Their life will be in your hand. How far will you go?”

“This is dumb,” Rory said. “We fight challenging opponents all the time.”

“Calm down,” Esmeralda said. “I told you before the prediction is not one hundred percent correct, and it might not even happen at all. As Sharpe said, personal decisions do have a factor. These tarot cards only show the fortune of the future, not the details of how the future might play out. The cards could make a moment time sound so big and important, and you might never even notice it”

“Even if I bring with me the crystal ball that can give me a glimpse into the future, the future I see in the crystal ball might not even be correct at all and I can only see small details of it without knowing the cause and effect of the prediction. I am a mage, not a god so I can be wrong with my predictions. If it were perfect, the mages would dominate Earth, not you.”

“Also, I made it clear that if mathematics cannot predict a clear future, then neither does my magic. Furthermore, mathematics always has a clearer percentage of correction in predicting future events even though it is quite small while clairvoyance magic fluctuates in the percentage of accuracy erratically. Therefore, the government and businesses rarely use magical forecasting services regularly due to uncertainty. However, some people will mostly prefer magic since it is less complicated.” Esmeralda added.

“Look, I know the prediction might be bad for you, Sharpe, Sarah, Bailey, and Delilah but all of you have gone through a lot to define fate to become the people you are today! Men who boldly push the boundaries of life, life always throw more back at you. So, instead of worrying, why not go through the potential challenges together?” Soredin states.

“She's right. We have been through a lot without depending on fate so all of us can get through it together”, Sharpe encourages everyone, making them feel calm again.

“All right then! Let put all this aside and let enjoy our lovely dinners for tonight. The dinners will be special for tonight since it is gonna be prepared by a special chef tonight. There he is!” Potts orders.

“Hello everyone, dinners are served for our special guest tonight” a blond British chef brings in the special dishes for the banquet

“Whoa! Never expected him to be the one who made our dinners,” Scott amazes.

“The chef from the kitchen of hell himself,” Lelei excitingly states

As he put on the dishes on the table, Rory then looks at the dish and states.

“Oh, chef, where's my lamb sauce?” Rory loudly asks.

“Oh my, she is savvier than I thought,” the chef then hands Rory the sauce.

“I'm also your fan too! I never see someone so dedicated to cooking like you, despite your cursing,” Tuka states

“Thank you! Cooking is an art, so I need to be strict about it to give the best dishes to customers. It is an honor for me to personally serve the people from another world today including royalties and our magical denizen of Earth,” the chief proudly states.

***

--- Fort Minick ---

Date: June 7th, 2026

In front of Sharpe is Sarah, standing there. "Sucks I have to leave so soon."

"I knew this was coming; it comes with the job," Sarah replied. "Once the war is over, we can catch up on lost time."

Sharpe smirks. "There is a lot we can catch up on." He then slaps her on the butt.

"I am on duty, and that is sexual harassment," Sarah states, blushing.

Sharpe shrugs. "Not the first, won't be the last."

After getting a light slap from his new wife, Sharpe sees the giggling glow coming from her. "Well, wish us luck, Captain Sharpe."

Sarah enjoyed being called Captain Sharpe. "That is not going to get confusing, and you broke your own rule. Isn't luck one of your curse words?"

Chuckling from that, Sharpe does not like to rely on luck. If you are relying on luck, that means you did not do enough in advance. The ones who win battles because they went in knowing they already won and prepared for everything.

"We have to go, Colonel," Randy said as he passed by.

After shooting a glare at Randy, Sharpe looks at his new wife. He pulls her close and gives her a goodbye kiss on the cheek and the belly.

“Daddy needs to go now,” Sharpe whispers to his unborn child.

Sarah giggles. “Never thought to hear those words from you.”

Sharpe then looks on his convoy, four Joint Light Tactical Vehicles and one M1131 Fire Support Vehicle Stryker for temporary support. Because the mission is going deep behind enemy lines Colonel Kasen determined it would be good if the unit had one IFV for protection and the M1131 brings additional communications, targeting, and surveillance support.

When the 8th Alnus Division was reactivated, the 1st Stryker Brigade was formed to support the division operations. Colonel Jordan Harris, head of the Brigade assigned a Stryker to Vanguard-7 for this important operation.

"Rangers! Load up, and let's roll out!"

Everyone loads up into their vehicles. In front of Sharpe, he sees Selina standing there in her combat vest and books. He snaps his fingers. "Remember our rules, Selina. You always stay close to one of the Girls and Soredin, always wear protective gear and the rest. This isn't a vacation."

"I understand, sir." Selina salutes. She then gets in with Lelei.

Sharpe gets into his seat. In the driver's seat is Andrew, looking nervous. He can tell that Andrew is still shocked that he is married positively. "It is ok, son. You will get over the shock feeling."

"How do you know, sir?" Andrew asked.

"Because the Colonel is a pimp," Alicia said. Rory laughs in the back.

After glaring at the two women down, he gets comfortable and looks at his BFT(3). "I know this because if it doesn't go away, then this will be a long-ass mission. Now, next stop Valtris."

"And then Rondel!" Lelei exactly states.

“Yes Lelei, then Rondel,” Sharpe states.

The convoy then starts rolling on the road.