Star Trek-Outwardly Mobile

The Children of Ateb
by
Jay P Hailey


We sat in my office and looked out the window at the world below.

"You have a choice to make," I said to Commander Nojineok.

He nodded, staring out the window.

We'd been in orbit around the class M world for two weeks. All scans and investigation showed the place to be habitable and as friendly as any class M world. The Atebians were already calling it New Arrae.

"It reminds me of Arrae Prime before man evolved there." Nojineok said, quietly.

I sighed. "Eden. Mind the snakes."

Nojineok looked at me quizzically. He didn't get the reference.

"Old story." I said.

"Will you try to talk us out of settling there?" Nojineok asked.

I took a deep breath. "I won't stop anyone from doing what you want to do. But, yes. I'd prefer it if you stayed here with us."

Nojineok looked at me appraisingly. "We're centuries behind you people."

I waved that off "Your people have been catching up very quickly. Besides, you know as well as I do there is a world of difference between a cadet with a full technical education and an experienced space hand that needs to catch up on the latest tricks."

"Think of it though." He said. "Fresh Air. Fresh Water. Fresh Food."

I nodded. There had been some hunting and gathering going on at the main landing site. I'd attended the parties where I could.

"There were times when I thought I'd never breathe another breath of air that hadn't been recycled to death. " He continued.

"All I can offer you is this ship, and a long trip to my home world." I said.

"More danger." Nojineok said. "More narrow escapes and fear and the question - will I live to set foot on another planet?"

"Let's not romanticize it." I said. "Life on a new world isn't going to be easy. Poisonous creatures, predators. Maybe strange new diseases."

"Meezelnuks, Whizzles and Franduks, oh, my." He said.

I blinked and guessed these were monsters on his world. "Yeah. Something like that."

"I need to think about it."

I sighed. "I can give you one more week, and then we push on."

Nojineok looked at me. "You want us to stay?"

I shrugged "You increase my chances of survival, Nojineok. I'd have to be an idiot to turn your and your people down."

He smiled. "I think I like you, too. Captain Hailey."

-*-

I was looking at a cargo pod from Asteroid Station Ateb. None of the Atebians' "Noble Flier" multi-purpose shuttlecraft were there. I hadn't let them aboard.

They were clever things, tubes with engine pods out board fore and aft, they had a middle, belly section that was a replaceable pod. They had search and rescue pods, scientific pods, cargo pods and deep space working pods.

But they ran on nuclear fission engines. The fuel for these was dangerously toxic if released. So we beamed and tractored pods into the Discovery's main bay. But the Noble Fliers stayed behind on what was left of Asteroid Base Ateb.

They'd be short of supplies, short on people. They had maybe 125 individuals.

But we'd rescued them from Asteroid Base Ateb. We hadn't kidnapped them, impressed them or drafted them. If they wanted off on the first place that could support life, then that was their prerogative.

Lieutenant Spaat was still trying to identify their homeworld from our astronomical charts and theirs. But space was very large and both sets of maps were incomplete.

I didn't think 125 people with improvised tools made from scrapping out a space station would survive on a new world.

But they were another 125 engineers, technicians, doctors and scientists for the Discovery's crew. For the past several weeks things had been getting better on the ship simply because we knew that soon we weren't going to be under manned and under the gunb the keep the ship intact.

"Captain Hailey?" A voice interrupted my thoughts.

It was Nalatrac, the chief pilot of Asteroid base Ateb. He was the picture of "the Right Stuff". He belonged on an astronaut recruiting poster. He spoke standard with an accent but without a universal translator.

"What can I help you with, Nalatrac?" I asked.

He looked embarrassed. "I, ummm. I wanted to know if. Ahhhh."

"Go ahead."

"Well, if you could use another pilot?" he spit it out.

"You mean if the rest of your people go down to the planet, you want to stay on the Discovery?" I asked him.

He looked troubled and embarrassed. "Well. These people are my family. We've had each other's backs since Breakaway. You know what I mean?"

I nodded and said "Uh huh" in what I hoped was an encouraging tone of voice

"You tell me there's hundreds of planet with humans on 'em. We're not the sole survivors any more and that changes things." He said. "I'm a Space Explorer, not a farmer. If it's necessary to survive, I'll give anything a shot. If I have a choice. well." He shuffled his feet. "This ship represents all I ever wanted, you know? To explore space."

I touched his shoulder "I won't make anyone leave who doesn't want to. But you need to discuss this with Commander Nojineok. I don't want him getting blind sided by this."

Nalatrac looked at the deck. Could you talk to him for me?"

"Noooooo." I shook my head. "I am not getting in the middle there. Talk to him. Tell him why. Make him understand."

Nalatrac looked at me dubiously for a moment but in the end said "Yeah. You're right. We're friends. I should tell him myself."

 

-end-

Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this story for me.

This story posted by permission of the author. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Jay P. Hailey

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