Ktak was wondering what Ames was doing lately that he seemed to have hardly any time for her, when Stella pinged her for a chat. They grabed some coffes from the mess and headed to hydroponics garden to drink coffe and have that chat.
Stella was not beating around the bush. "Did you know you were First Generation?" she asked.
To a Tamare that was... kind of rude question. But this was Stella.
Ktak nodded.
"Our brood mother told us. We were to be her last offspring before withering and she wanted us to be special. She even told us how she got the sample. Apparently it was a gift from the donor who she had befriended."
Stella was intrigued. So she was not an offspring of some extremely wealthy brood, but... as close to a love child a Tamare can be from an affair a millenia ago.
She noted it for further investigation and told her about what she had found out about the consort rank.
"As First Generation you are entitled to have a consort. It is still on the books." she told Ktak. "There hasn't been one for more than three millenia and there has never been a human consort as none of the First Generation human hybrids ever met a pure blood human, but the option is there."
"So... this thing in the movies, with a ring and a priest - a marriage - is needed?" Ktak asked.
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"Yes." Stella confirmed. "And then you need to take him to Tamare homeworld, present him to your brood kin and register him as your consort. And he is your plus one to anything you go for life."
"The marriage bit can be tricky," Stella explained. "Not all priests are open to marry a man to a roughly human shaped blue giant, no offence, dear. And well... he needs to ask you first."
"One of those custom things again, like with a date?" Ktak wondered.
"Exactly the same... But it is not unheard of for the girl to ask..." Stella confirmed.
Then she also filled her in about the investigator and the urgency.
"Would there be a priest on the station, willing to do it? Could you find out?" Ktak asked Stella, wondering how was she going to explain all this to Ames.
"Sure", Stella confimed just as Ktak's communicator beeped.
She looked at it and got up. "Ames wants to seeme at the watchtower for some reason. Maybe I will find out what has kept him so busy of late."
She left. Stella was staring into nothingness... She did know a priest, or a denomination of faith to be more accurate on that station that would have no scruples marrying them, but there was a catch...
When Ktak exited the elevator to the abndoned obsevation dome it was dark. Even the usually visible emergency lighting had been covered up. She was confused for a moment, but then a light came on shining on a big pillow in the middle of the room. Ames's voice from the darkness asked her to sit on it. She was quite confused what Ames was up to but as his antics had usually turned out to be quite pleasant, she complied. When she was sitting a second light came on revealing a kneeling Ames holding something both metallic and shiny. She gasped when she realized what was going on.
"Will you marry me?" he asked.
"Of course!" she said, kissing him.
After a bit off cuddle and ring admiring she told Ames about what Stella had told her about the consort rank. Apparently, their only and best bet of staying together was in fact eloping.