Chapter 81

When I awoke I looked at my watch, 2:00 pm, I think. I got out of bed, used the toilet, and finished dressing. I called for some lunch and soon another young Killjops Yeoman brought me my food. After placing it on the table she stepped back and seated me. I was about to start eating when I got a big hug and kiss from the side. “We all thank you Bob, for saving my world, and all of her people; and for making Melody so happy. Because she did not have the sign of the virgin, she would not be able to marry among our people. That is why she gave herself to you, and then you treated her like a queen. All of us Killjops will never forget the savior of our people and of the woman who became the wife of a god.” She then ran to the door and was gone. I think it was one of Melody’s bridesmaids, but then I couldn’t be too sure and wouldn’t be until the wedding. That was weird, of course no weirder than this whole mission has been.

Snart came next to talk to me, “Bob, what vows would you like for me to read? I can use anything you want, something from my people, something from yours or from Killjops vows.”

“Snart, I think I would like to write my own, if you don’t mind. However, I would like a copy of your vows and the ones used on Killjops. I may be able to use parts of each one. Once I have something written out you can translate it into something you can read.”

“Bob, I have not been lazy while we have been moving the planet Neptron. I have also been learning English just like your people on Stevens. Fred has been sending Sylvia the learning discs that you are showing your people. Carmaletta, Tresean, and I as well as several of the crew have been learning it too. If you keep it simple, I can read it in English. You do know that Melody is one of the crew who has been learning the language. She and all her people here have taken to it, as it is very close to their language. They have been assisting us in learning it.”

“Snart that is fantastic, a single language to speak is what I wanted for my people. But I just have to ask you a personal question. Is Snart your real first name, most of the people I have met of your kind have more normal, to me anyway, names, but Snart is just odd.”

“Bob, Snart is really a kind of nickname for me. My real name was Mortimer Sylvester Pfloran. You can see that is just too much to put up with. As a child I was teased mercilessly, and when I joined the military, it was even worse, so I transferred to the black ops section and I had a new group to lead. It was the Special Naval Air Reconnaissance Team, hence I became known as Snart. It seemed a better name than Mortimer so I had it officially changed. I know Snart Pfloran is not much better, but I like it. Now this is our secret, even Carmaletta does not know my old name. This must remain between only us, ok Bob?”

“Snart, on my life I swear to you that I shall never reveal this secret of yours. Besides, I have a very strange middle name of Laverne. Spelled the way it is, it is supposed to be a girl’s name, a boy is supposed to be spelled La Verne, but that is what my mother named me, after a great aunt of hers. I never understood, but I have hidden that name behind a middle initial all my life. When asked my name, I said Robert L. Stevens. When asked what the L stood for, I just said it is the letter L. I explained that my parents argued over Lawrence and Leroy and since neither could agree, my grandmother said to ‘just make it L period, and then each of you can have it mean what you want.’ People accepted it and that is how I wanted it to be.

“I never could understand parents who named their children such horrid names. Parents should have remembered when they were a child and were either teased, or they teased someone else because of their name? I once knew a man named Snoad. We called him Snoad the toad. Once he became 18 years old, he petitioned the court to have his name changed to Bill. The last I heard he became a very successful man, a politician, and governor of a state, with aspirations to become president of our country. His parents named him Snoad because those were the initials of his grandparents; Stanley, Natalie, Oscar, Anna, and his father Donald. That is just cruel. So yes your secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you Bob, I too will keep your secret. I will get you copies of the two vows for you to make your own, although I think your bride would just prefer yours and hers to be combined.”

“Yes that might be true, but she is coming from a Trwennkleihjof ship and is being married by a Trwennkleihjof Captain of that ship. I think it fitting to add some of yours too.”

“Bob you are a very wise man; that is very insightful and quite correct. All of her kind that we picked up as crew when we last visited the planet Krypton, which is a part of the solar system of Killjops, have tried to adopt our language and way of life. Their people have a real adaptability to learn languages very quickly. Within a month of them coming on board, they knew and spoke our language perfectly, just like you do.”

“Yes Snart, but I had an advantage, your language was downloaded into my brain from Fred, and that is how I know your language. In fact, I now can speak, read and write, in six languages; English, Alertitian, Cro-Magnon, Neanderthal, Trwennkleihjof, and Killjops. There should be no problem combining the vows into one. Just have the comm. send them to my printer here. Thank you so much my friend, for everything you have done for me. And a big thank you for all your help in this last mission. I do not plan on any more however, with our reputations now we may get tapped for more of them. I have tried to let people know that you were a tremendous help, I was not specific about how, or what help you gave me, but I have made it clear that it was both of us, not just one of us. Until you release me from my bond about your powers, no one will ever hear from me your specific part in all this.”

“Bob, that is what I like about you, you know when and how to speak about private things and when not to speak, yet give misleading hints. Once I feel more confident in my powers I will release you from our bond. Maybe while I lounge around in my retirement, I can practice until I become more comfortable with my powers, if I can find a teacher to help me.”

“Snart, I will help in any way I can, or find someone you can trust to help you. I am sure that Trewegin will help as much as he can. His powers just turned on when he was about 200 years old and he was lost at first, then he found others who could help him train. It was about the time he left your group that the powers turned on. He ended up in a school run by Kilnary and has been a teacher there ever since. So there are others who can help. I am supposed to have one or more of the teachers at that school to assist me in learning all the powers I have, plus refine them so I don’t harm others like I did with my mental broadcast. When Kilnary’s group tried to take my mind a fourth time, I screamed back at them to leave me alone. Apparently I broadcast that message over about 60 parsecs in space. Hellslinth and other telepaths heard me scream so loudly, even Sybil and your pilot heard me, and they are shielded against such things. So I need training in how to use my powers too. Maybe we can train together.”

“You mean we would have to go physically to their school? I thought we could do this anywhere.”

“But of course we can do it anywhere. We just attend mentally and they teach us as we have time. We can speak of this later, right now I have wedding plans to make, and so do you. How many people do you think will show up for this wedding from your crew?”

“Bob, I suspect that over half of the crew will show up, as we need about 52 people, plus the 4 Hellslinth we have, to keep the ship running smoothly in orbit; but there will be some who do not care for such things, and stay here on the ship. Did you need a more accurate count?”