Chapter 360: The Wedding
Captain Blake put on his dress whites which was had been customized slightly. A gold aiguillette now adorned his uniform together with a pair of golden epaulets sat on his shoulders. He checked himself with the full length mirror before slipping on a ceremonial sword similarly sheathed in a golden coat.
Commander Ford similarly dressed but without the golden aiguillette gave a grin at as Blake exited his quarters. "Uniforms make a man look good!"
Blake rolled his eyes as he returned the salutes of the Marine guards. "Didn't think you be so chippy in the morning after all that bootleg moonshine you took..."
"Haha!" Ford laughed before he replied in a softer voice. "Well, I have Dr. Sharon's help in getting rid of my hangover."
Blake shook his head helpless, as he recounted the stag's night party they organized last night, which was more like an alcohol drinking competition with lots of BBQ and weirdly cheese fries... which he dimly recalled seemed to be ordered by a particular dragon...
While he had his stag's night party going on, the girls, on the other hand, had their hen's night. Which of all people was organized by Dr. Sharon and included all the female crew and their female friends which too included a dragon too...
Blake strolled into the Bridge and waved away the salutes of the duty crew and walked right up to the armored viewports. From his vantage point, he could see the entire city spread out before him, as the UNS Singapore's bridge remained the tallest structure in the city.
He could see the city walls spread out in a huge star with many points, while the inner city walls were a circle. Glasshouses glittered between the outer walls and the inner walls while residential and commercial buildings rosed up behind the inner walls.
The shape of the city was like a starry torch, with the UNS Singapore was the torch handle, anchoring the star city from one end. Blake felt a huge satisfying sense of achievement as he looked over the city, knowing that he was the one that molded it out.
Over their time crashed here, the UNS Singapore had undergone several renovations and refittings. Gone was the ugly mangled rear section of the ship. It was replaced by locally produced steel platings that were bolted over the sections of the ship after the damaged sections were cut away.
The slight tilt of the ship was also gone, as they had dug away the earth underneath the ship and rebalanced it, laying the ship flat instead of being slanted at a 12 degree angle. The bow of the ship that crashed into the side of a hill cliff was also leveled away, exposing the crushed and dented armor which was also removed and refurbished.
The City class ship no longer looked like what its original designers had made it look like after it was rebuilt. Gone was the aerodynamics of the ship, making it no longer look sleek and deadly. Instead, now, it looked more like a futuristic flat topped pyramid fortress, with sharp angles and slabs of white painted metal and concrete.
Now what remained of the UNS Singapore's original arsenal was just the forward facing dorsal dual 155mm rail guns and two 50mm point defense laser turrets, each facing each side, as the rest were stripped down to be stored away as spare parts. It was also useless to have all eight dorsal PD lasers running as they do not have the enough power to constantly fire those energy hogging weapons.
Even the Missile Vertical Launch System was removed and only four VLS remained in service to provide a defensive umbrella around the city. They barely had even a hundred missiles left for the tubes and even less after a third of their remaining guided missiles were decommissioned for their onboard computers and smart chips.
So in the end, Blake made a decision to mothball the extra weapons and use them for replacement parts that will be almost impossible to be replicated in this world till they managed to develop advanced technology and manufacturing capabilities.
And he had Engineering replace those removed weapons with ten locally made 20mm manned auto cannon turrets strategically installed onboard the dorsal top to supplement the lost of their firepower.
As for those weapons that were underneath the ship, they were dug out and used for R&D and also retro fitted and redesigned as fixed defenses on the city's walls after the success of the experimental rail cannon at the Defense of Sawtooth Mountain which saw the modded PD turrets with some success as low powered rail cannons.
The UNS Singapore was no longer a starfaring ship, capable of travel between the stars. Now, it has turned into a stronghold, acting as the headquarters of the new United Nations. Its holds and facilities were refurbished into barracks for troops and vehicles. Its carrier deck held three full squadrons of twelve fighters while its weapons formed a protective umbrella against all that dared approach it with evil intent.
"It's time," Ford said as he glanced at the clock. "Let's go welcome your bride!"
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Thousands had turned up for the wedding as three days of holidays were declared. They thronged the walkways and fields while the local Police and Marines kept order and the roads open.
Celebratory music of all kinds was played or blasted from radios while those lucky enough to stay in residences with a few of the wedding motorcade waved flags and threw flower petals from their balconies. The celebratory noise was incredible, even more, compared to Founding day.
Mages threw spells into the air, much to the delight of the crowd, especially the children. Colorful illusions spells of animals and creatures floated over the cheering crowd, while spells mimicking fireworks flared brightly against the sunny day.
Sherene was dressed in an ivory satin strapless A-line silhouette style wedding dress with the bodice embellished with lace appliques and diamonds. She sat with her back straight as she turned on her 'Princess Mode', waving at the cheering crowd.
The glossy black open topped half track decorated with long white ribbons and flowers rolled forward slowly while escorted by a procession of jeeps and motorcycles. Flower petals rained from the skies while more illusion magic followed the wedding motorcade closely.
Sherene felt that the hoomans' wedding culture was strange, yet wonderful at the same time. From her knowledge of wedding customs, her family had to prepare a dowry to the groom but Blake not only rejected it, he even said that everything that was his will also be hers which shocked her greatly.
Even the wedding dress was outrageously low cut! She couldn't have imagined wearing such a dress in the days of old. Yet now she normally wore causal clothing that revealed her legs and even shoulders during the hot summer days!
Soon the motorcade stopped before a long red carpet and with the help of Sherene's bridesmaids, she climbed out of the vehicle trailing behind a two meter long train which the bridesmaids helped to hold up.
Ex Lord General, now turned Marine Captain, Joseph offered his arm out to Sherene and the whole procession walked down the aisles covered with decorative arches covered in green ivy and flowers. On both sides of the aisles, benches filled with guests cheered and clapped loudly at their arrival.
The opened air wedding venue was set before the UNS Singapore turned super fortress on a large parade square, capable of filling thousands of guests. Sherene smiled as she saw Blake standing nervously at the end of the aisle where a simple cloth covered table and a pair of chairs stood.
An unfamiliar melody was being played by a small band on the side and the Master of Ceremony was announcing the arrival of the bride. Sherene barely noticed what was happening around her as her eyes and attention was only on the figure in white before her.
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Blake's eyes twinkled as he smiled gently back at the gorgeous looking elf that was going to become his lawful wife. He stretched his hand out and grasped her gloved hands and held on to her hands as he stood facing her with a deep smile. "Hi!"
"Hi!" Sherene replied shyly back.
"So what are you doing here?" Blake teased softly.
"I'm getting... married..." Sherene's face turned pink.
"Haha!" Blake laughed and turned his attention to a smiling Magister Thorn who was acting as the celebrant.
"Ahem," Magister Thorn cleared his throat and gave a small wink to the couple before he addressed the guests. "Can the guests please rise up for the ceremony?"
"Good, good!" Magister Thorn smiled and said. "Now, I have it on a good authority that everyone doesn't really want a long speech! So I will make it short and sweet!"
"Welcome family, friends and loved ones. We are gathered today to celebrate the union of Captain Richard Blake and Princess Sherene Goldrose. We are all here to support this commitment of love and to share their joy as they choose to spend their lives together."
"You are creating a new home where love, trust, and loyalty are the foundation. No matter what the future throws your way, rely on those foundations and you shall only see your bond grow stronger and your souls grow wiser.
Marriage is not easy, but from what I've seen in the two of you, I know your relationship will be an example to follow. You show care and compassion, you trust one another and most importantly, you are each other's best friend."
"Now, Captain Blake, do you take Princess Sherene to be your lawful wedded wife?" Magister Thorn asked in a solemn tone.
"I do," Blake said.
"And you, Princess, do you take Captain Blake to be your lawful wedded husband?" Magister Thorn turned to Sherene and asked.
"I do," Sherene replied.
"Very well!" Magister Thorn's face broke into a wide smile. "I now pronounce you husband and wife! May the Heavens protect you!"
"Oh... you may kiss the bride!" added Magister Thorn after he gave a sheepish laugh after a short pause.
Blake pulled Sherene into his embrace and kissed her lovingly before the wowing and cheering guests and fireworks, confetti and spells erupted over from everywhere as the nation celebrated the union of the Captain and Princess.
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"Sob sob!" Blue Thunder sniffed and blew his nose with a table cloth as he watched Sherene toss her banquet of flowers into the crowd of women. "Awww... this is such a lovely romance!"
Rastraz next to him rolled her dinner plate sized eyes into the sky at Blue Thunder's antics. "Stop being a pussy, you drama queen!"
"!!!" Blue Thunder turned his teary eyes at Rastraz. "Where did you learn such language!"
Rastraz gave a low growl which made Blue Thunder quickly sit up straight. "You want to find out?"
"Okay, no thank you!" Blue Thunder quickly replied. "Wait! I think I smell cheese fries! See ya!"
Rastraz shook her serpentine head in defeat as she watched Blue Thunder leaped off into the skies and headed towards the buffet area. "Tsk!"
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Fleet Master Dijon sighed regretfully as he clapped along with the rest of the guests and he headed towards the serving bar for the guests. He planned to drink himself blind for the rest of the day.
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Titanna watched the couple offering toasts to the guests and she turned to look at Mills standing next to her. She suddenly saw herself dressed in a white wedding gown standing at the aisle and the man before was Mills.
"Titanna?"
"Ahh?" Titanna blinked and the vision was gone and replaced by Mills's face. His worried expression touched her heart and she suddenly leaned forward and kissed him in the lips.
"Huh?" Mills was shocked at Titanna's sudden action. He touched his lips and Titanna quickly looked away, her face turning red at her bold act.
"Wow!" Someone sniggered beside him. "Someone is getting lucky today!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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