Octavia winced as she regarded herself in the mirror, the polished surface providing an unflattering view of herself. Even after all that time she still felt naked without her armor, and the dress she wore did little to soothe the sensation. She reached up and readjusted the flower tucked behind her ear, moving the petals forward until they covered the exposed port of her neurolink.

“Oh come on, not going to show me off?” Vita asked with a laugh.

“You know the locals give us funny looks when they can see it - they’re going to be staring at us enough as it is, I don’t want to give them any more reason to look at us,” Octavia defended indignantly.

“Yeah, yeah. I think you’re just making excuses,” Vita teased playfully.

“Yep, you caught me. Just looking for any reason to take more time, obviously nothing else,” Octavia replied with a roll of her eyes. She was about to say more, but the sound of the door behind her opening drew her attention.

“Octavia, come on! Everyone’s waiting!” Enya exclaimed as she poked her head between the door and the frame, peering inside with an irritated expression, “What’s the holdup?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Octavia dismissed, turning around to face the huntress, “How do I look?”

“Like the Cradle herself, now let’s go!” Enya urged, making a circular gesture with her hand impatiently.

Octavia laughed shortly and shook her head. She took one last glance at the mirror to adjust the clothing she wore, then when she was satisfied she strode across the room and gripped the door handle. Pulling it open nearly sent Enya off balance, though she stumbled and quickly recovered with an unintelligible sound of distress.

“That’s what you get for rushing me,” Octavia teased with a smirk.

Enya’s response was to stick out her tongue and blow a raspberry childishly at her friend. Without another word, the two of them strode out of the cabin into the village, the warmth of the jungle embracing them like old friends.

The village had expanded greatly in the past year since Operation Underdog. The core of the village was still comprised of junglewood cabins and thick hide tents, but even from the center of the village Octavia could see the metal Omni prefabs tucked here and there amongst the foliage. Stone houses of various designs had been constructed between them, and the dirt paths had been replaced in favor of cobblestone footpaths. Remnants of Federation and Omni technology could be seen hidden amongst the tribal village, and in the distance she could see the towers of the village’s landing pad rising out above the canopy like great monoliths of steel.

The center of the village had been set up with beautiful bouquets of flowers and mulberry banners dancing in the wind, but none quite as much as the wooden gazebo in the exact center of the village. Every single railing and support structure had been carefully wrapped in banners and fine lace with beautiful flowers carefully tucked into the design. The entire roof had been covered in a fine multicolor tapestry with tassels of silver hanging over the edges of the roof.

Hundreds of people were gathered around in the central pavilion - Octavia recognized most of them. Seraphim, humans, amaranthian-clarus, ryjax, alari, even a pair of xaxar standing near the edges of the crowd. And of course, the tribe’s initial inhabitants, the unmodified amaranthians themselves. Everyone was talking animatedly to one another, enjoying the festivities and taking the opportunity to catch up with one another.

“I’m glad to see everyone getting along like this,” Octavia mused as she followed Enya towards the gazebo, her eyes trailing over the congregation with a curious expression.

“Well of course! None of this would have happened without you, Cradle Speaker,” Enya remarked, shooting Octavia a grin over her shoulder.

“I wish you wouldn’t call me that,” Octavia remarked with a roll of her eyes.

“Sorry, sorry! But you know I can’t help it! The storytellers almost exclusively talk about you these days,” Enya replied playfully, skipping forward on the balls of her paws a few steps before she spun around mid-pace to face Octavia as she walked backwards, “It’s your own fault, you know! If you weren’t such a cool hero, you wouldn’t have so many stories about you!”

“Stop, you’re going to make me blush,” Octavia dismissed, laughing shortly, “I’m embarrassed enough as it is.”

“Not my problem!” Enya replied with an ear-to-ear grin, “You’ll just have to suck it up a bit longer before you can run away from the public eye!”

Octavia couldn’t contain her laugh as they passed into the enormous gazebo, coming to a stop within the wooden structure. The furniture that was normally inside the building had been removed, leaving it entirely open save for a single lectern offset slightly from the center of the room. A familiar friend was standing behind the lectern, her hands gripping the edges gently as she waited for Octavia’s arrival.

“I was beginning to worry you were going to abandon the ceremony,” Star Wind teased, her voice taking on a playful tone as she greeted Octavia.

“And miss all this? Eh, maybe,” Octavia remarked, the grin refusing to leave her face.

“I would never let you live it down,” Star Wind remarked, one of her lenses closing and opening rapidly in a robotic wink.

“I would expect nothing less,” Octavia replied in amusement.

“I’m going to go take my spot!” Enya declared with a toothy grin, “Good luck, Octavia!”

“Thanks, Enya,” Octavia bid with a smile, nodding towards her respectfully. Enya returned the nod before bounding off, leaving the two alone in the gazebo for the moment.

“Everything’s really coming together, isn’t it?” Octavia mused quietly as she peered out of the building, gazing around at the mixed races interacting with one another without so much as an ounce of hostility.

“Thanks to your efforts, it is,” Star Wind agreed with a nod, “You have been instrumental in the development of this haven, Octavia. You should be proud of your accomplishments.”

“I am,” Octavia replied with a small smile, “But none of this would have happened without you. Thank you for saving them all,” she bid, turning her attention towards Star Wind with a grateful expression.

“If my lady the Alpha Link cannot be here to bring her Truth, then I must be the one to act in her stead,” Star Wind replied pleasantly, “It is my holy duty, after all.”

“She would be proud of you,” Octavia declared with a smile, “You brought the Truth to all these people.”

“Our work is never done,” Star Wind replied with a small shrug, “When you have returned from your hiatus, we have new leads on Curator complexes within the system. I would be grateful to have you by my side in our search for a way back home.”

“Then you’ll have me,” Octavia promised, “But first, it’s vacation time for me.”

“Not quite yet,” Star Wind remarked knowingly, “First is today.”

“Today,” Octavia agreed with a nod. One of her ears twitched as the sound of instruments playing drew her attention to the side, “Laws help me get through today.”

“You’ll do fine, Octavia,” Star Wind reassured with a quiet, digital laugh, “Just smile and try not to pass out.”

“Easier said than done,” Octavia remarked, a chuckle escaping her as she peered out of the gazebo.

The chatter surrounding her began to quiet as the instruments swelled, the strings echoing through the thick jungle like magical spirits calling out to her. The hauntingly beautiful music drew every set of ears, every pair of eyes, turned every head. At the end of the long cobblestone path that Octavia had walked towards the gazebo, the amaranthian band stood on either side of the path as they played their siren song.

Then she saw it.

Octavia’s heart swelled, taking up her entire chest as her perception narrowed.

Her world narrowed, the hundreds of people around her disappearing from view.

She could feel every single person individually with the sense the Cradle had bestowed upon her, but none of them mattered. There was only one individual that she could sense that mattered.

Octavia’s breath caught as Mack stepped into view at the end of the path, a wide grin on her face as she confidently strode out onto the cobblestone path with her arms held out at waist height.

In her hands was Octavia’s amarkai.

The sight was enough to make Octavia’s eyes water and her throat swell up. Her heart hammered in her chest so loud she was afraid that everyone could hear it over the sounds of the haunting strings playing at the edge of the pavilion. Her stomach twisted into a knot and her lungs constricted, but still her eyes stayed locked firmly on Mack’s approaching form.

She was gorgeous.

The music swelled louder and louder as Mack approached the gazebo, but it was nothing but a dull side note in Octavia’s mind. Her entire world had focused down onto Mack’s perfect form, and the sword prominently held out in both of her hands.

The music crescendoed on Octavia’s deaf ears as Mack took her first step into the gazebo, forced to duck slightly into the building that wasn’t meant for a seven-foot tall machine. She stretched back out once she entered the room, looking down at Octavia with her piercing lavender eyes and a wicked grin. No words were said as she crossed the room to stand in front of the lectern across from Octavia.

Octavia automatically turned to face Mack with tears flowing freely down her face already, her own grin taking up most of her face as she peered up at the amaranthoid across from her. In all her life she had never expected that this would be where destiny would take her. It was perfect.

“Hey, babe,” Mack whispered as she faced Octavia, the amarkai held at waist height in front of her, “Ready for another adventure?”

A choked laugh escaped Octavia as she peered up at Mack for a moment longer before her gaze fell down to the amarkai held within her hands. Reaching up to wipe a tear away from her cheeks, Octavia turned her gaze back up to the amaranthoid and nodded uneasily.

“With you? Absolutely,” Octavia cooed, her voice cracking slightly under the tension in her throat as she forced herself to not sob like a baby in front of the hundreds of people surrounding the gazebo.

Mack’s grin widened in response, her eyes brightening and ears perking up excitedly. Octavia even noticed that her tail had begun to wag behind her, betraying Mack’s excitement even more than the heart she already wore on her sleeve. Octavia swooned on her paws, a sensation of lightheadedness hitting her as she gazed up at her lover with no less awe and admiration than the first time she had laid eyes on her.

She wasn’t sure what Star Wind was saying to the congregation - she knew the concept, but the actual words being spoken fell upon deaf ears. The rest of the world around her meant little. There was only her and Mack left.

The speech was an excuse to stare up at Mack’s perfect face, the perfect opportunity to gaze at the beautiful abstract pattern of bright colors painted onto her chest, a chance to admire her mechanical perfection. It was all so much, it was all so perfect. Octavia couldn’t even begin to describe the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her - all that mattered was that she was so in love with the amaranthoid in front of her that her chest ached.

She was shaken from her thoughts by the sudden realization that Star Wind had gone silent.

Mack reached forward, offering the crystal blade across the distance between them.

A joyous sob escaped Octavia.

Octavia reached forward and lifted the sword with both hands.

“I love you.”