Wedding of Tariun Sakaros and Breek Zagrev

The wedding of Tariun Sakaros and Breek Zagrev in 145 ABY was the first royal wedding in the Golden Empire. It saw the union of half-, half- Tariun Sakaros, Phoenix Prince of the Empire and brother of Queen Rin Sakaros, and Human Breek Zagrev, Praetor of the Order of Keltrayu and Legate of the Armada. It was conducted on Breek's homeworld of Sanduluc and presided over the by Consul of Sanduluc himself.

As the first such event in the history of the Empire, and given Tariun's key position in government, the wedding presented the Royal government with numerous security and logistical challenges. It also provided an opportunity to create precedents for ceremony and formality which would be echoed in later weddings.

Couple
His Imperial Highness Tariun Sakaros was a and formerly both Prefect of the Order of Keltrayu and Prime Legate of the Glorious Armada. Having been with his sister Rin since the foundation of the Empire, he was a major player in its development and an Empire-wide hero for his role in such conflicts as the Great Liberation and the Vagaari War. He was already a widower, having been married to the Human Sith Lord Lorelai Whitesun until her death in 86 ABY, although this was known only to Rin and Breek.

Breek Zagrev was a war orphan from Sanduluc who had been recruited to the Order of Keltrayu by Tariun himself. Trained as a Centurion, by the time of her wedding she was also a hero, famous for her successful command of the Battle of Shest Minor. Many young girls considered her a role model, and she was also viewed as a symbol of anything being possible, having risen from a homeless street orphan to a distinguished war hero and royalty.

As a gift for his marriage, Rin gave her brother the title "Lord Sakaros", restoring the right to the style "Lord" which he had lost when he was removed from his position as Prefect. Upon their marriage, Breek became Her Highness Princess Breek Zagrev, the Lady Sakaros.

Location
Numerous locations were proposed for the wedding of the two Empire heroes, ranging from a private ceremony on Queen's Garden to a formal military affair aboard the Sith Star to an elaborate multi-day event on Mezlagob, Keliso, or Dolomir. Eventually, Rin, Tariun, and Breek agreed to make it a state event, and to hold the wedding on Breek's homeworld of Sanduluc.

The people of Sanduluc took to the decision with gusto, and a massive public works project was declared. Splitting the cost between the local and Royal governments, Sanduluc constructed an elaborate pavilion the size of a cathedral for the wedding itself, as well as a banquet hall just as large to accommodate the parties afterward. The street leading from one to the other was entirely repaved and repainted.

Guest list
As the wedding was a state ceremony, every Consul and Tribune was invited. The invitations came out from the Queen, and as such attendance was compulsory for those invited. Every Centurion of the Order of Keltrayu was also invited. Married Centurions were allowed to bring their spouses; it is known that Wyro Zaffrod attended the wedding. A very small number of Novices were also invited as personal guests of the bride and groom, including Vos'elkee'tash.

Various dignitaries were invited as well. Though already invited as Centurions, both Prime Legate Sorrik and Prefect Eskol Kaartinen attended, as did the rest of the Grand Council of the Golden Empire. Several military officers were invited, including Torin Saedrin, Salome Hrek, Tarse Medrego, and Rensi Shal-Shatir, as well as the High Commands of the branches of the Armada and the Director of Royal Intelligence. The Colonels and seniormost NCOs of all seventeen Massassi Cohorts were invited as guests.

Nagarian Sakaros was invited in secret, being the brother of the Queen and the groom. He came along with his mother Reiko Kaytana, her wife Six Tanake, and his adopted brother Kylar; Alluria, Jarek, and Octavia Solios; and Odala and Veli Kass`l and their daughter Azalyn. They were assigned a detachment of Royal Guards led by Te`net Organi.

Rin's niece Rayne Turgachia also attended the wedding, as she was in the Empire anyway. Rin's old friends Jadian Star and her husband Tekk were also invited.

Bridal party
Tariun Sakaros chose his comrade-in-arms Sorrik as his best man, and had Kieran Sapphire as a second supporter. Breek selected her best friend and fellow Centurion, Jira Zaffrod, as her Matron of Honor, with Kylaea Porén as her second attendant. Zyked Novice Seeg-Til, son of the famous Rajj-Yo, was selected to be ringbearer for the couple, as neither had any young blood relations.

Wedding attire
Breek, Jira, Kylaea, Sorrik, and Kieran all wore the dress uniform of Royal Centurions. Sorrik wore the gold stole of the Prime Legate, while Breek and Tariun both wore diagonal stoles in honor of their former service as Legates. As Phoenix Prince, Tariun wore a custom white uniform trimmed with gold, as well as his silver-and-gold circlet with its large center diamond.

All Centurions present in the wedding party, on duty, or as guests carried their s, as did Tariun and Rin.

As Queen at a state occasion, Rin wore gold head to toe.

Wedding service
The bride was preceded down the aisle by a formal guard of Royal Army soldiers, Royal Navy spacemen, Royal Starfighter Corps pilots, and Centurions of the Order of Keltrayu. The orchestra serving played each of the service branches' songs in turn. In honor of the couple's influence on all servicebeings and at their request, the honor guard was a mix of enlisted personnel and officers.

Breek was escorted down the aisle by Eskol Kaartinen, Prefect of the Order of Keltrayu. The orchestra followed by playing "Flame Eternal" to herald the formal arrival of the Queen. The Consul of Sanduluc formally requested her consent (as Breek was a Centurion and Tariun a member of the Royal Family); Rin's formal approval was greeted with a call of Kava sei ta Rejialith by the bride and groom, then echoed by the crowd.

The Consul presided over the exchange of vows between the couple, which had been specially written for the ceremony. After Seeg-Til brought forward the rings, Breek placed Tariun's on his hand, then Tariun gave Breek hers; using the same Force technique used to assemble lightsabers at the molecular level, the two alchemically welded Breek's wedding ring to her engagement ring, forging the set into a single ring.

Following their first kiss as husband and wife, Tariun and Breek processed back down the aisle, accompanied by their attendants and honor guard.

Music
Music was provided by a group of musicians from throughout the Empire. Auditions were fiercely competitive, and the resulting orchestra was considered by the Samayus Palace of Opera Board of Directors as one of the finest ever assembled. In the 156-piece orchestra, over 100 different species were represented.

The coronation of Breek Zagrev
Following the ceremony, Breek, Tariun, and their attendants met Rin, her Royal Guards, and Nagarian and his party in a private room so the party from could congratulate Tariun before he was mobbed at the following celebrations. A heavily pregnant Odala Kass`l vomited on Tariun's gold boots, but he laughed it off and got black ones, saying he preferred the color anyway.

Rin instructed Breek to kneel and formally created her as a Princess of the Golden Empire, laying the silver circlet on her head and kissing her cheeks and forehead.

Parade
The Royal Family paraded to the wedding reception, recorded live for broadcast on the Royal HoloNet. The parade featured all three branches of military service of the Armada, as well as delegations from every member world of the Golden Empire. The Sanduluc Civil Order Brigade also participated in the parade.

Upon arrival at the reception site, the bride and groom were treated to a flypast by Redblade Squadron, led by their comrade Tamlok.

Receptions
A formal reception was held for the many official guests of the couple, consisting of several hours of each world's delegation having a few seconds to greet the couple. The dinner that followed was for a more exclusive group, though it still included every Centurion and most Consuls and Tribunes, as well as some of the couple's military guests.

A final party was held after the dinner, exclusive to the Order of Keltrayu and a few very select guests; the Tribune of Deshad was seen dancing and singing a Zyked drinking song with Rajj-Yo. This very select crowd was permitted in order to allow Nagarian Sakaros to mingle freely with the Centurions and his family.

Departure
Breek and Tariun departed on their honeymoon well into the early morning of the next day. They did not take Royal Guards, preferring to journey in private, especially since their destination was in the known galaxy. They were escorted from the surface to the jump point by ten full wings of Royal Starfighter Corps fighters. Upon exiting the gravity well of Sanduluc, they were greeted with a gun salute from the Sith Star, which fired all its thousands of turbolaser batteries simultaneously (on low power).

Security
The numerous security issues posed by the wedding required most of the six standard months between the announcement of the engagement and the wedding to be resolved to the satisfaction of the security staff. Tarzg Sav'lir, Head of the Royal Guard, was given final authority over the event, in conjunction with law enforcement on Sanduluc.

Security officers were present during the construction of the wedding sites and the repaving of the road, and scans were conducted of all building materials to ensure they did not contain explosives. Spy droids were deployed around the site weeks in advance, and an entire secure landing site was established for the Royal party, along with an underground tunnel linked to the wedding site. The Royal Army installed anti-repulsorcraft batteries in strategic locations for ten kilometers around the wedding pavilion and reception, and both buildings had s built into them.

Royal Intelligence agents were deployed throughout the crowd the day of the wedding to apprehend or eliminate potential assassins, and Rin Sakaros kept her personal assassin, the Zeyot Zahyr, at hand for most of the day. Snipers were positioned on rooftops around the location.

Several plots against the wedding and its participants were discovered leading up to the event. insurgents were caught on and, as well as a small team apprehended on Sanduluc itself. A few Fyaar dissidents were apprehended and released after the wedding. The Human Unity Front planned to assassinate Breek Zagrev for "muddying" her humanity by mating with a ; they were themselves assassinated by Zahyr.

Broadcast
The wedding was broadcast on the Royal HoloNet. Camera crews were allowed to film and live broadcast the wedding and the following parade; some shots of the reception were allowed, but were checked by two Centurions to ensure that Nagarian Sakaros and his family did not appear in any frames.

Public reaction
The Royal Wedding received one of the highest rates of viewing on every world in the Golden Empire since the Royal HoloNet was created. Tariun and Breek were both very popular among the people, and the wedding was celebrated publically on every world. Many observed local holidays or days off work in honor of the couple. Millions of parties occurred throughout the Empire, several sponsored by veterans groups. Aside from Sanduluc itself, Keliso and Harth Gool had notable celebrations.

While anti-monarchist protests existed on most member worlds, the only ones of note occurred in the least loyal of systems; several erupted in the former, as well as one on Waldragos.