Starcutter - 23. Chapter 23

Gabe just stared as tear came to his eyes. Ryle took a step, those wings spread, and he flapped once to cover the distance to him. The lad could hardly believe it. His mate, his most cherished friend in the galaxies, had just flapped wings to come to him. His hand shook as he reached out to touch them, to make sure this was not some dream, and one extended to allow him to feel the surface. Each feather was separate, felt much like a feather made out of metal should and would. The calamus was sturdy but pliable, the downy barbs and afterfeather seemed to be real feathers, and the barbs and barbules all felt real. When Gabe touched them, Ryle's reaction was almost erotic. He gasped and bit back a moan. “You...can feel that?”

“Yeah. Horatio did it. Said it would be almost as real as the ones I was born with. I can't compare it, but they feel real enough to me. Do...do they look good? He said they had to be a bit bigger, but they...they look okay, right?” Ryle seemed so worried Gabe would be upset.

“Oh Ryle they look amazing. I can't wait to see you flying around the ship. Hell, I would love to see you flying around the Mediterranean coast. Oh my god.” Gabe was crying, and he pulled Ryle in for a hug.

“No too tight. The surgical site is still a bit tender.” When Gabe set him down, Kyla and Sten came rushing over, the female chirring and tweeting excitedly. “Yes, Ky, I'm here.” Ryle was laughing and not a dry eye in the place could be found. Even the stoic Captain and dour Admiral were not ashamed to shed tears. Today was a day for happiness. “I still need flying lessons, so Gabe and I are staying here for a few months. Right, Captain?”

“You are correct. Deacon has kindly extended the offer of lodgings while you get your wings fine tuned.”

Gabe just looked around. He had never in his life been happier than right now. “So how many of you knew Ryle was getting this done? And was the illness even real?”

Ryle turned a bit red. “The Captain and Deacon arranged it all. Meg and David found out on our visit there when I found out what was going on. I was actually sick for about an hour, Doc having given me a shot to give me the symptoms of the illness, then the medication you fed me kept me sedated, which Horatio said I had to be out for at least a day for the procedure, the longer the better.”

Gabe sobbed and laughed. “So I did play a part in this other than to worry?” Ryle nodded. “This is the best day ever. It really is. I just can't wait to see you fly.”

“That is what matters to you most? My happiness?” Gabe nodded so vehemently that there was no doubt in anyone's mind these two were in love. “Then Gabriel Nathaniel, son of Franz Gabriel, of the family Baker, will you consent to marry me. Right here, right now, in front of all of our loved ones?” Meg handed Ryle the box. Inside was a ring made of machine grade carbon titanium, and inlay into the ring, in gold, were the words “You are the wing, I am the talon, we are one.”

“Are you...oh god yes. Yes.” Ryle leaped into his arms. Gabe had very wrong. Now this was the happiest he had ever been. “Can...can I have ten minutes to prepare something other than 'I love you forever?'” Ryle nodded. “Father, will you marry us?” Ryle nodded his approval.

“I would be honored, Son. David,” the Captain said, “would you walk our son down the aisle.”

David felt a surge of emotion. Now he understood why the Captain had asked him here, had paid for the trip. “Sarebbe il mio onore, il capitano. It would be my honor, Captain.” Gabe made his way to the back with David as people settled in for a third wedding. Ryle stood there with Ryle, unwilling to leave his side right now.

As soon as Gabe and David walked down the aisle, the “Bridal Chorus” from Wagner's “Lohengrin” began to play. To most Terrans it was simply Here Comes the Bride. Gabe chuckled, but he didn't care about the music. He had eyes for Ryle only. The rest of the room had little meaning. When they got to the front, David placed a kiss on Gabe's forehead and took his place next to Sten as a groom's man. Meg and Kyla stood opposite with Ryle.

The music dimmed as the Captain began to speak. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to unite the family Baker and the family Oora'shu in matrimony.” Ryle loked at the Captain in shock. When had he learned Ryle's Family name? When had he practiced? “The sons of these families have asked that you be here, in this holy place, to witness and give blessings to their mating. Like the Father said earlier, Humans and Cana believe in love eternal, and I can say I have never seen a love as strong as the one the one shared between these two men.

“Not so long ago, Gabriel was given little choice. He was told by a tyrant of a father that he would be owning an entertainment slave. He could have chosen among some of the loveliest in the station, yet he picked a small, ill-mannered, sickly, and underfed loudmouth.” Ryle blushed, but he had been all that. “That tyrant questioned the choice then, but not since. Gabriel, with love and patience, proved to this slave that he was worth more than anyone in his life previous. With that same love, he helped heal the wounds of the past so that Ryle Oora'shu now stands before us all in his declaration of love.

“For it was not only Gabriel who brings love. Ryle saw what many did not. Gabriel is not without darkness in his past, and it has left its mark within him. The son of Oora'shu saw past the joy and found a way to bring not only comfort but healing and happiness. So, out of pain blossomed a wonderful union of two hearts.” Gabe and Ryle stood there smiling, tears on their cheeks, wondering where this was coming from. When had he written this?

“These two hearts have beat as one since, and as one they would continue their lives together as mated husbands. Is there any who believe these two should not be wed? If so, speak now, and see me after the ceremony.” It got a small chuckle, but no one spoke. “Gabriel, I believe you have words to say to Ryle.”

“I love you forever.” Ryle laughed. “There is nothing else to say. I cannot begin to express what you mean to me, who you are to me, and why I have come to love you more than my own life. You will forever be my one right in a life of wrongs. I pledge to you, Ryle, my heart, my soul, and a life loving loving service.” Gabe knelt and bowed, prostrating himself in front of all. He offered as a slave would to a master.

Ryle was so shocked, so utterly flabbergasted, that he had no clue what to do. His strong man, his most beloved, was offering in public to serve him. Him! He stood there stunned, and it took a moment to realize that Gabe had not stood yet. What was he...Ryle reached down and tapped his head in agreement and approval.

Gabriel stood with such adoration on his face. “You have made me happier than ever, Ryle. My mate, my husband, my master.” Even the Captain was stunned to silence. Never had he expected his son to do this. He was too independent. Yet he was giving everything to this diminutive creature.

Ryle looked up into the purest love he had seen. “Gabriel, I...can't remember what I was going to say and I have been rehearsing it for weeks.” Gabe laughed and cupped his cheek lovingly. “You once told me you would never expect me to call you master, and yet you call me by that title. Gabe, you have owned me legally, and now you own me spiritually. You are my light, my heart, my song. To you...I offer this. To my master, forever more.”

A soft note came out of Ryle's mouth, and Gabe's heart thundered in his chest. He was singing for Gabe, singing to him. The melody was a gentle caress, a deft and subtle shifting that brought everyone in attendance into the heavens. Soaring above the clouds, held aloft, not by wind, but by the love these two shared. It was an all encompassing warmth, sonic emotion the defied nature and all of it came from one small bundle of joy. The trills on high, the sweeping depths of Ryle's melody made real all the fears of loving someone so completely and how it felt to conquer those fears.

It lasted only a short moment, a few minutes in reality, but to all there, it was a journey of amazing proportions. The moment of silence that followed was filled with the echoes of sound and emotion. Soft sniffs and sobs could be heard. “With that, I ask if you, Gabriel, take Ryle to be your husband.”

“I do.”

“And do you...”

“I do.”

“I take he's impatient to get to the kissing. Kyla, daughter of the Cana, do you accept this union? I am saddened I cannot include your family name and name kinship, but I acknowledge you, here and now, as important as any who join us here.”

Kyla cooed a soft tone, so amazed that this was all happening. “Honored Captain, I accept this union in the name of the Canari people.” Ryle took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

“And David Mongelli, do you, as family to Gabriel, accept this union?”

“Captain, I accept this union in the name of both Mongelli and Baker.” David's voice shook a bit. “I know that among us is the spirit of a woman. One so proud of her son and the man he has become with very little help of two men who never knew what to do with such a brilliant boy.” Gabe didn't even try to check the tears that were falling.

“Then, by the power given to me, I give to you all Gabriel and Ryle. You may kiss you mate.”

The cheer that went up could be heard two streets over, but they cared nothing as they came together. Gabe caught his husband in his arms, and their kiss stopped time. The other two couples married that day joined them with their own kisses, and as one family, they left the chapel hand in hand. Father, son, mother, daughter, sister, brother...one family now and forever. Waiting for them outside were three hover carriages bound for one of the lesser used domes of the station. It was for the elite only, costing more for one night than most made in five years. The couples stopped and stared.

“I took the liberty of arranging a honeymoon.” Deacon came up with a gentle smile. “Kyla, Sten, from now on, you answer to no man. You have been freed and given full rights as citizens of the Galactic Alliance. While I could not restore your family name, Kyla, I could do this for you.”

“But...what about you, Master Deacon? Who will be there for you?” Sten asked.

Kyla hugged Deacon and kissed his cheek. “We will, Sten. He is like a father to us both, and as such, he will have us. If he wills it.”

Station Master Deacon took a hand of each. “You will always have a place within my home. For now, of to see what life is like for those who do not have to call anyone their master.” There were so many hugs going around that few could count them. “Now shoo. If I am your father, then I expect that I should be a grandfather again within a year.” Kyla and Sten got onto their carriage and were off.

“Master Deacon,” said Ryle.

“You need not call me that, child.”

“It is your title, Station Master.”

“Call me Deacon. You are my daughter's nest mate.”

“Deacon,” he said, flushing a bit, “Why couldn't you give her the family name?”

“Ryle, I am not that influential. I don't have the clout that the Captain does.” Ryle was confused.

“Wait, so a starship Captain had more influence than a Station Master?” He looked between the powerful men around him.

“Truth be told, child, this Captain is a Station Master in his own right.” Gabe and Ryle looked at the Captain who was doing his best to look innocent. “The Starcutter is the main flagship of the sovereign planets in the Gideon Belt. Their only station is under the control of the Captain. Gabriel, what you tell me about the Gideon Belt?”

Gabe thought, and then he laughed. “Without permission to fly through the Gideon Belt, and use the only safe route through her dangerous asteroids, no one could pass from Terran Space and that of the sector which Canari resides.” Ryle just shook his head.

“Captain...is there no length you won't go to make sure you get your way?” The Cana just rolled his eyes when the Captain shook his head.

“Remember that. Will the carriage take us to one spot before the honeymoon? I have a gift to give to Gabriel.”

“Is it what you sent me those months ago?” Deacon asked.

“It is.” They got into their carriages and were off, the wedding guests waving goodbye and wishing them happiness

The journey led them to the mechanic bay. Gabe wondered if it was a new jet or something, as the last time they were here they got the jet Horatio designed just for them. They were waved through and pulled up to a vessel. The Captain led them up the ramp, and the pair saw a few officers who snapped to attention. “CAPTAIN ON DECK!” They stayed that way until they group passed by and then resumed duties. As they traversed the decks, every member of the crew was at attention as they passed. They were military precise but looked a bit more rough. Probably not expecting the Captain to stop by just yet.

On the bridge, there was a small surprise. “Captain on the bridge!” barked the First Mate.

Gabe and Ryle grinned. “Deogee?” Ryle went over to shake his hand as a hug was near impossible. “You're first mate?”

“Yes. This ship is designed to rehabilitate and facilitate the acclimatization of slaves into society. Captain, your chair awaits.” Deogee bowed at the waist.

Gabe waited for his father to take the chair. He was glad his father was doing something like this. It meant a lot to Gabe that he honored his own feelings about slavery enough to have an entire ship dedicated to ending it peacefully. Then he realized they were all looking at him. “Wait...I'm...”

“Captain Gabriel, your chair awaits.” The Captain saluted.

Gabe blinked a few times and squared his shoulders. He walked with his head high and sat in the chair of command. “Status report, Deogee.”

“Sir, the ship is one hundred percent ready for space, even after the beating given by the Starcutter. It shall be ready for departure after your honeymoon, sir. Current crew count is one hundred-thirty-nine, which is forty-four over the necessary amount to safely man this vessel. You have the option of several ventures to consider at your leisure.” The Yur handed him the shipping contracts available.

“Thank you. I will look over these while I may. Until then, pick your top five prospects. I expect to hear why you chose them, too, when I return. Until then, the bridge is yours, Deogee.” Gabe stood and clasped forearms. “Good to see you again.”

“The same, Captain. If I may ask, what will your mate's status shall be on this ship?”

Gabe grinned over at Meg. “Supply officer.” He took Ryle's hand and led him off the bridge of their new ship. They had a honeymoon to get to.

But that, dear audience, is the beginning of a whole new story...