Chapter 61

Finally lunch was served; fresh fish filets and we would have lion stew tonight courtesy of Olnafot. After lunch I played with Angel, Grenna, and Bertron and read them a new story about Goldie Locks and the Three Bears. They thought it was very funny about the bears. They fell asleep before I got to where the bears come home.

I asked Fred if he had any more news about the Trwennkleihjof’s arrival. With nothing else to do I went into the practice cave, shot a few rounds with some of the men, and then held a Tai Chi class. There were several women in this class along with their men. We worked on the routines for about an hour and then I set up my small vice and started drilling holes in teeth and claws. I had Olnafot come into the garage with me and I showed him how to drill his as well. Then while Olnafot was busy with drilling his teeth and claws, I found Bernita and asked for about 25 thin rawhide thongs about 20 to 24 inches long. I thought I would coat them with a saddle wax made from beeswax, carnauba wax, tallow, and neat’s-foot oil. This was an all natural coating that keeps leather supple and protects it from water, other oils, and weather. It strengthens leather as well. I would rub this wax on the thongs and then buff them up. Then I would thread them through the drilled holes and tie them off in a necklace knot. I was able to get several long thongs from Bernita. These were the pieces that were cut out so she could have very long pieces for our bosals and lariats.

I came back to the garage and started waxing the thongs. I had a small piece of cheesecloth and rubbed the wax into the cheesecloth and then started running the thong through the cheesecloth. I would drag it over the cloth as I pressed in with my thumb and fingers. This pushed the pasty wax into the fibers of the rawhide. After about 5 wipes through the wax, I took a clean cloth and wiped it down 5 more times. I then laid it out to dry for a while. After I had waxed all 25 thongs, I wiped them down another 5 times each. By now the thongs were very supple and shiny. I threaded a couple through the saber tooth curved fangs and then tied a necklace knot. [Google: tying a leather necklace knot and you can see one] Then I could slide the knots back and forth to adjust it to size. I showed Olnafot how to tie one for his lady and he tied the next one for her and kept the one I tied for him.

We worked for about 2 hours and it was nearing supper time when we quit. After supper while all the loved ones were on TV, Olnafot publicly proposed to Judinar and gave her the lion teeth necklace. Her necklace had four teeth and his had four claws. She wept and clung to him for the rest of the evening. I said that I would have Lamanr marry them tonight if they would like. They both declined and said maybe tomorrow night. We all had a big laugh and then it was time for bed.

For the next two days things were pretty much the same. Olnafot and Judinar, decided to marry the next night and everyone wished them well. We assigned Olnafot and Judinar to a new room and had moved all their belongings into the new room before the ceremony. Lamanr married them and the ceremony was very nice. The next day in the afternoon I heard from Fred that the Trwennkleihjof arrived and the captain, a reptilian by the name of Snart, wanted to see me. I asked if he could come here, but they agreed to meeting on the Alertitian ship.

Capt. Snart was scaly, 6’-4” at least and had no tail, but a somewhat reptilian face very much like Jeriba the Drac in “Enemy Mine” played by Lou Gossett Jr. His hands were similar to Jeriba’s but had four fingers. They were very manipulative and didn’t really require a thumb as we do. I was given a quick translation upgrade so I could talk to Captain Snart. When we first met, he said, “So this is the crazy human who thinks he can move a gas giant. He looks even crazier than his theories. I am Captain Snart, and you are the human Bob, right?”

“Yes I am and it is great honor for me to meet the great and powerful Captain Snart. I have heard great things about you and your species. If half of what I have heard is true then I think I could not have a better partner in this project.”

He looked at me because I spoke in his language. “This human may not be so crazy after all. Now we have hauled a black hole all this way, so shall we try it out and really see how crazy this human is?”

I was transported to his ship along with Roger and Calvin. Then we found the gas giant and transported the black hole in front of the planet from our point of view as it was about 780 million miles out from the binaries. We figured that from 750 to 800 million miles would be a good place for it to orbit. We placed the black hole there to see if it would draw the planet back or not. We waited for several minutes that soon turned into an hour and then we noticed a definite slowing of the planet. Its speed had slowed by 10 percent. Within 4 hours the speed had decreased by 85 percent. Snart looked at me and said, “I guess you were not so crazy after all. It looks like it will work. We need to move it out a little further from the binaries and then place the black hole perpendicular to its present orbit. We need to widen the orbit so it does not fall back toward the suns. Human Bob, you are a very remarkable man, are you sure you are not a Trwennkleihjof in disguise?”

“No Captain. I am just a human, but I guess from what I have been told all humans are somewhat unique in that we think differently from other species. We do not admit defeat very easily. We try and try to come up with solutions to very difficult problems. Sometimes we do fail, but we learn from our failures. Sometimes we win and things like this problem are brought to light and solved by working with others. I am honored that you would consider me a Trwennkleihjof in a human suit.”

Capt. Snart clapped me on the back that staggered me and said, “He even has a sense of humor like a Trwennkleihjof. We will be friends, Human Bob.”

“Thank you Captain Snart. I would be proud to call you friend.”

“We have much work to do, making the planet follow our path for orbit. You go home now to tell your people we are fixing the problem. We will meet again; maybe you invite me to your home.”

“Yes Captain, you are welcome in my home anytime. When this mess is cleaned up, please come to my home and we will have a meal together. You must tell me what you can and cannot eat so we can have a good meal for you.”

“I can eat the same as you can, I don’t like fish though. Red meat and fruit is fine, some roots are ok too. I like my meat very red, and fresh.”

“I am sure we can fix you something you will like. I will get with my cooks and get something fresh for you. Will many of your people come with you?”

“I think only two more. My mate and my son will come after this mess is over. OK?”

“Yes that will be fine. My 9 mates and 4 children will be very pleased.”

“You have 9 mates and 4 children? Now I know you are crazy for sure. No man can live with more than one mate. How can you stand the constant nagging about how you could be at home instead of out here going everywhere? I very much like what I do and I am very good at it. Why can she not understand that? You are one crazy human, Bob. But I like you. We will be down when we can. I will let you know when. Thank you for allowing me to help you with this problem. We also are learning a great deal from the Alertitians and you.”

We parted and I was transported back to the Alertitian ship and then sent home. I was too late for supper and had missed the family meeting. So I showered and crawled into bed. I was very tired and fell asleep almost instantly.

I awoke alone in bed. I glanced at the clock and it said 10:30. That couldn’t be right, had I slept right thru breakfast. How come no one had awakened me earlier? I got up showered again and dressed. As I got to the main cave I saw everyone was there watching the TV and no one was laughing. That’s strange. Then someone saw me and there was a roar of noise as everyone tried to say something at once. I saw Teague, held up my hands for silence, and said, “Please one at a time. Now Teague, I know you to be a rational man, please tell me what is going on. I wake up in the middle of the morning, no one is around, and then bedlam erupts as soon as you all saw me. I need an explanation, please?”

“Bob, your wives let you sleep as you came home last night rather late, I take it. Somewhere around 2:00. They were the one who let you sleep. They felt you needed your rest. Now as to the bedlam, well we have been seeing on the big screen what you have been up to since the bright time started. Fred, Doctor Phil, Roger, Calvin and Captain Snart have been showing us pictures of what you have been doing. We saw the probes being sent out and the pictures of what they saw, Roger and Calvin have been explaining as best they could what they found and how you gave them direction to finding even more data, I think is what they said, about what was happening. Then we saw what has caused the bright time. We haven’t understood an awful lot of what was said, but we saw the things that happened as a result of your help. Just before you came in we saw the big planet being moved away from the sun by your friend Captain Snart. This will make the bright time a thing of the past. Never again will we have to fear the bright time. Bob, this is a very great thing you have done for the people of this land. You have even made friends with other sky spirits and helped them understand things they did not know before. We thank you and hope you stay with us forever.”

The cave erupted with foot stomping and cheers. Before I could talk, Phil, Roger and Calvin came on the screen and added their thanks. Then the screen split and showed Snart and he said thank you too. Then the screen switched to a shot of this solar system. It showed the gas giant in an orbit outside of the debris cloud and someone had added the projected orbit after another two weeks of positioning using the black hole. Once the orbit was achieved, Captain Snart said he would be back every year for five years to ensure the orbit stayed stable. Snart then said, “Bob it will be a pleasure to come visit you every so often. Once the gas burns off in a couple weeks we can have that meal we spoke of. I hear that the sunsets are really fabulous as seen from your home. My mate Carmaletta and son Tresean look forward to meeting your family and friends, as do I. Thank you again crazy human, you have taught me much.”