Puddlejumpers

The groom and the bride walked confidently up to the podium, smiling until they realized their pastor was a Great Dane. This college prank didn't go over that well. Had the pup spoken English, the flea distraction might have been overlooked. They gulped nervously and smiled twitchily at each other.

The crux of it was, they had to get married today. No one else knew that, but it was foremost on their minds. College students they were, yes, and they were solidly in the ranks of middle class homeowners + parents to be, but they also were - for now, this moment - secret mainstays of the Alliance and a threat was brewing beyond the atmosphere. Union today had to happen. Union tomorrow might be forestalled by Imperial Raiders. The dog, therefore, wasn't funny.

Jan and Dave decided to go along with things, up to the point that the dog decided to hump Dave's leg. It was at that point that they decided to take the show elsewhere. Perhaps Kessel wasn't so bad this time of year. Yet the trip from here to Kessel's major spaceport was sure to attract attention, and would likely wrinkle Jan's dress badly.

Too late!

Great Dane drool added a decorative splash to the plain and simple lines of her aluminum foil gown, and yellow lines flowed down Dan's blown-glass pants, collecting in a small - okay, not so small, puddle on the floor.

The station-wide siren went off. The dane looked up guiltily from some chewed up wiring near the status monitor and began to slink out the door. This gave Jan the inspiration. She whispered one word into Dave's ear. His lit eyes were all the answer she needed. The bouquet fell to the floor.