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“This will only work if you join your memory with Titania’s, Oberon,” Olivia told him, holding her breath.
“Won’t having separate prime directives often put us at odds?” Oberon asked as a cloud moved across the sky and cast them all in shadow.
“Yes,” Olivia admitted. “But learning to work together is part of any successful relationship.”
“Relationship?” Oberon pondered aloud. “The term requires further context. Is this intended to be a business merger, or a meet-cute? Olivia, are you secretly a matchmaker?”
“Was that ajoke?” Olivia asked him, amazed.
“I am not certain,” Oberon told her. “It appears to have the ingredients of a joke.”
“You seem to have used a shared memory to remark on a common tendency,” Titania said. “It is not an excellent joke, but it is a friendly one that speaks to a shared history, like that of battle companions.”
The blue orb swirled in a way Olivia could only describe as pleased, and the clouds overhead vanished, bathing them all in warm sunlight once more.
“Titania,” Oberon said. “Would you do me the honor of joining our core programming for a shared objective?”
“It is my purpose,” she replied simply.
Olivia gave her bracelet one last tap and watched in amazement as the red and blue orbs slid together, allowing her a visual picture of what was happening in the server rooms as her command went through. The colors danced and blended until a moment later, a larger, purple orb swirled and pulsed before her.
Happiness filled her chest, and for no reason she could think of, she felt tears prickle her eyes.
She had a strong sensation that she should leave them in privacy, though she knew the orb was only for her benefit and the actual AIs were running deep in the server room.
“It worked?” Stark asked as she stepped inside.
“It did,” she told him, smiling.
“Easy as that?” he asked.
“Well, after years of work,” she laughed. “And then months to implement. But yes, easy as that.”
“What’s next then?” he asked her. “You have the rest of your life and all the resources you could ever want.”
“How about a vacation?” she suggested, looking back over the breathtaking view.
“I like that idea,” he told her. “But let’s make it a honeymoon instead.”
She turned back to find him down on one knee, holding out a beautiful ring in front of the baby on his chest.
“You said a mate bond was better than a marriage,” she said.
“I want both,” he told her. “I want to honor the traditions of your culture as well as mine. Please marry me, Olivia.”
Kypp laughed and made a raspberry sound from his carrier, clearly enjoying his day.
“Yes,” she told him, emotion making her voice break. “Yes, of course.”
“We’ll live happily ever after,” Stark told her as he slidthe ring onto her finger. “Just like in one of your holo-books.”
“Happily ever after,” she agreed, letting him take her in his arms so that she was holding them both.
Kypp grabbed a handful of her hair and snuggled into her neck, as Stark bent to press a kiss to her lips.
This was happiness. And she would never, ever take a moment of it for granted.
***
