Reunification Day

“Is it a party?” Portia asked.
“I don’t know how Kate knew I was coming,” Bea said, striding confidently off the ship.
The scanner indicated two settlements. Turkish thought is prudent to land near the larger settlement. The scanner also picked up on many interesting things about the planet, the unusual radiation and the large beasts that Portia had only ever seen as bones in a museum: dinosaurs. The planet seemed to be populated with ancient Earth dinosaurs. Where at Kate Clovelly led her colony?
It did seem like their arrival interrupted a celebration.
A tent was pitched in a green field. There was a band and girls running around in elaborate dress. Certainly some kind of party.
An angry looking woman in a white dress was walking very fast towards them.
“What do you think you are doing!” she shouted in an angry voice, hands motioning wildly, and bouquet being shaken in a threatening manner.
Portia held up her hands in a peaceful manner, and also to protect herself from the bouquet. “We come in peace,” she managed to get out.
“Peace, man,” Fred repeated, “like far out, chill, man, take a chill pill. Frankie says relax.” Fred was not quiet out of his annoying stage just yet.
A crowd was approaching. Good, someone to protect Portia from the crazy woman in the wedding dress.
“Do you know how long it took to get that man to think about marriage without hyperventilating?” Another whack with the bouquet.
“I’m sorry,” Portia said.
“I’m sorry,” Fred repeated. “I repent, father I have sinned, forgive me. To err is human, to forgive divine.”
Turkish positioned himself between Portia and the mad bride. “Listen, I’m terrible sorry for ruining for your special day, but we just flew thirty five lights years to get here.”
A young looking man in a suite joined the woman in the white dress and was trying desperately to prevent the bride from battering Portia. He appeared to be a groom. “Come on, Larissa,” he said, “I think we should find out who these people are before you murder them.”
“I’ll murder you!” Larissa said, turning her wrath to the groom. “Keep me waiting for twenty years.” She whacked him with the bouquet. “Why should a man buy the cow, we have all the time in the world, and all these lame excuses for a coward. You’re nothing but a coward, Jack Crosby!” More whacking with the bouquet.
“Jack jack jack jack jack,” Fred warbled happily.
“Fred?”
“Jack my main man, how long has it been. Sight for sore eyes. Good to see ya, wouldn’t want to be ya.”
“Fred!”
The groom forgot the bride and scoped up Fred the robot in a bone crushing embrace. Fred didn’t seem to mind but continued to coo “Jack jack jack.”
The bride wailed. “Now I’m never going to be married!”
The crowd finally arrived. A woman, youthful with long blonde hair led the crowd. “Who are you people?”
“Kate?” Bea asked. “That’s incredible, you’re so young.”
The woman, Kate, studied Bea’s face before speaking. “Beatrice?”
Bea held out her hand, as if testing the air. Kate also extended her hand, their fingers touching.
The sisters embraced for the first time in fifty years.
“How did you get here?”
“You’re so young and shiny!”
“I thought I’d never see you again!”
“I couldn’t stand the idea of you being lost.”
“How did you get here?”
“We stole a ship.”
“You stole a ship?”
“My granddaughter has absolutely no moral values and does whatever her granny says, so she stole a ship.”
“How long have you been traveling?”
“About a month.”
“A month, that’s incredible!”
“Not if you steal a faster than light ship.”
“They have faster than light, now.”
“Of, they have lots of things now, but no fountain of youth. What’s your secret?”
“It’s the radiation on the planet. Seems we stumbled into an ancient alien zoo with a radiation emitting device that keeps the inhabitants young.”
“So that explains the dinosaurs.”
“All herbivores. Very peaceful creatures, really.”
Portia smiled amiably at the reunion of the Clovelly sisters. She scanned the crowd and recognized Ofelia Clovelly.
“You’re Ofelia,” she said, extending a handshake.
“Yes, and you are?”
“Portia, Bea’s granddaughter.”
Ofelia suddenly scooped Portia up into an embrace and said loudly, “I also wanted a cousin!”
“I think, technically, I’m a niece.”
“Even better. Welcome, niece.”
Ofelia tapped Kate on the shoulder. “Um, Mom. If we don’t get back to the wedding, Larissa is going to start chopping off heads.”
Kate smoothed down the front of her shirt. “Right. A wedding, a reunion, and great day altogether.” She surveyed the crew standing behind Bea and Portia. “Exactly how large an army did you bring?”
“Five, for stealing ships and other emergencies, it good to have some men around.”
“How did you manage to find us?”
“We just followed the directions on your obelisk.”
“It’s still there?”
“Sure. The Crosby colony was sure in a pickle wondering what happened to you.”
Kate exchanged a very serious look with Ofelia. “Well,” Kate said, all business. “We’ve a lot of time to make up for.”