Star Trek-Outwardly Mobile

Pushing On
By
Jay P Hailey and Garry Stahl

 

I wandered into Anderban's Tasty Treats and sat down. I was tired, but it was a good sort of tired. The way I feel after working hard for all the right reasons.

Anderban put a small dish of vanilla ice cream in front of me. It was really tiny. A sample dish really. That was all I wanted. The Aneilog answer to ice cream was very rich. It didn't take much to push my ice cream button. That was enough.

**We start it up tomorrow.** Anderban said.

I nodded. "The hardest work will be the clean up. Everything's in place now."

Down the street the biggest building in Oz's Capital dominated the sky line, a dome about ten stories tall.

Next to it, smoke stacks from the old steam engines marked the fabrication complex where they were working on the most ambitious engineering project I'd ever seen - at least on a level I could under stand.

The Aneilogs were building a fusion reactor with hand tools and steam power. Actually they'd been able to put together some excellent mechanical engineering feats using steam power to drive machines.

They were survivors of the Kliges'chee. Gensilan cried when she saw the runs of old cities, and the shattered remains of modern infrastructure.

They were building back up as well as they could.

I shook my head. A fusion reactor built at a steam driven machine shop.

Above me somewhere the USS Discovery orbited - significantly lighter. Every piece of the Rengal we'd recovered, and a good deal of the Discovery's own supplies were now on Oz, adding leverage to the boot strap process.

For reasons I was not terribly clear on, they'd lost all the tools, but not the knowledge. They just had to rebuild star traveling technology from scratch.

I'd like to say it was my help that got them to the point of turning the reactor on several years ahead of schedule. It wasn't. We had tools and energy supplies that helped, sure. My Shuttlecraft from Podlak now powered the machine shop. Afterwards it would probably for the core of a new machine shop in another city, helping them build another fusion reactor.

"Why Oz?" I asked Anderban.

He grinned at me **Someone said it and it sounded good, so we ran with it.**

"But *Oz*?" I asked.

**Well it does three things for us.** Anderban counted off on his very human looking fingers. **One, it's whimsical. It's better than Conventry in the context of a place of exile. Two, although Baum's Original story is a cautionary tale about the dangers of self delusion, we like the idea of a city and world that we build to suit our own image of it, as in the Emerald City of the Movie. And Three -** he paused for effect. ** it almost got ice cream out of your nose.**

I grinned and chuckled. He was right. The main drag of the city was now named The Yellow Brick Road. "Alright. If that what works for you."

He gave me a grin that I recognized. Gensilan gave it to me every time she licked my nose in public and thought she was being cute.

I shook my head - back to business. "After the Fusion reactor is started up, we'll be moving on."

Anderban became serious and thought about it for a while. **You and your crew are welcome to stay here, Jay.**

I forced a smile onto my face. Already most of the Atebians, half of the Kurr and a handful of Starfleet people on the Discovery announced their intention to cash out on Oz. "There is something I must take care of Anderban."

**You have to go face the music for the Kliges'chee.** Anderban nodded. His thoughts were warm and supportive. I knew he didn't especially mind the genocide of the Kliges'chee.

My heart crunched a little in my chest. "Yeah."

**She loves you, you know.** Anderban said

My heart crunched a little more. "Gen? Yeah."

**You're holding back.** Anderban said.

I blinked at him.

**Some part of you would like nothing better than to throw off that uniform, help us build reactors and romp with Gensilan for the rest of your natural life. Gensilan would consider that heaven. But you won't let that part of yourself... well... out of the uniform.** Anderban said.

"I have to take responsibility for what I've done." I said.

**No one here thinks you did anything wrong.** Anderban said **And I wonder if you're not using that as an excuse to escape Gensilan.**

I pictured myself scruffy, with a Hawaiian shirt on, building things for the Aneilogs of Oz. With Gen hanging off me every chance she got.

Anderban was right, it sounded like heaven. I couldn't get past the feeling that something about it was not right. I was the snake. I didn't belong in the Garden of Eden.

I shook my head. "I... " I couldn't frame it.

Anderban nodded understandingly. **When you're done with your penance, we'll be here.**

I didn't even think the Ane had a concept for sin or penance.

**Sure we do. Firing starship weapons into a city, that's a sin. Causing the deaths of millions for the crime of not thinking right, that's a sin. Penance we don't need. You have it for us.** Anderban explained.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" I asked.

**Wouldn't miss it.**

-*-

The whole city turned out, it seemed. The oddest thing about the crowd was the silence. Usually a crowd makes noise. This crowd did too. About 40 different people in various places in the crowd sang the same song in the various harmonies. Three toned flutes having lunch with Strauss, Beethoven and Mozart. These people were scattered all through the crowd, many out of earshot of one another. But there wasn't that hum, the noise of a human crowd.

Occasionally other Aneilogs would pick up the tune, or pieces, or counter themes. It seemed to circulate through the crowd as they got bored. Children seemed to add a lot to it at random times, in a very modern jazz sort of way.

It was like there was this amazing symphony hanging invisible in the air over the crowd, and individuals would grab parts down and sing them as the urge took them.

It was beautiful, but it made the hair stand up on my neck. Something about it was creepy, and I couldn't tell what.

I beamed down near Anderban's, which was closed for the first time I could remember and I walked towards the containment building of the steam age fusion reactor.

I passed through the crowd. I could see Discovery crew people ahead of me, or materializing outside the entryway of the reactor.

The Aneilogs didn't say a word. No conversation at all.

Just this huge mass of silent people with a song occasionally flowing through them.

Man, it was creepy. But at the same time I had the feeling I was in a city full of people who genuinely liked me. The feeling you get when you see a good friend. It was weird but cool at the same time.

I smiled and kept walking. Hands reach out to brush me. Aneilogs, men and women stepped out for hugs, which I returned. These people were very physical. They had sex with each other and the people of the Discovery crew like it was shaking hands. For them in many ways it was.

Children walked with me. A very small toddler raised it hands to me in an almost universal "Pick me up" gesture and made a demanding three toned flute noise.

I picked him up for a bit. He grinned and fluted an arpeggio at me. I smiled

**Happy! Party time!** he thought at me. **Happy Starship people make for us the things that make lights and toys and stuff!**

I grinned at him "The lights go on alright."

I made to put him down, he gripped tighter and the flutes got angry **I'm going with you!**

I turned towards his mother. I didn't want the small one to get separated from his parents an lost in the crowd.

His mother grinned at me **If you like, go ahead. He's safe here. And we're telepaths. I won't loose him.** he reassurance carried the picture for me. No Aneilog would consider hurting the toddler. They were a very social people and being telepathic didn't have many secrets.

I nodded to her and kept going with the child in my arms. "What's your name?" I asked.

He thought a picture at me. It was a complex set of emotions and images all tied up into one picture. As nearly as I could translate it it came out to "The one who lives with and loves Mommy and Daddy, eats the good stuff and plays really hard, in this specific region." But any child's telepathic name would render out like that. You can tell them apart because their homes and impressions of the parents and additions places and sensory impressions is different for each one.

"Okay, Symbol." I said. As I said symbol I imagined his telepathic name back at him.

**Symbol-BAN.** he corrected. He heard me as well and heard what I was thinking.

I grinned. "Sorry Symbolban."

**S'alright.**

Most of the way towards the front of the crowd, still touching and hugging. Symbolban thought **Fun fun. Fireworks!**

I imagined the steam age reactor loosing containment and destroying itself. "I sure hope not!"

Symbolban sighed and thought with exaggerated patience **No, silly.** Then he showed me a mental picture. Aneilogs were setting up a fireworks display to set off when the reactor fired. You haven't lived until you've been patronized by a toddler, let me tell you.

I took a deep breath and went through the reactor in my mind., Did we have everything right?

Symbolban grabbed my head and looked deeply into my eyes where he quickly, sloppily but enthusiastically tore through my mental image of the reactor. About halfway through this process I stopped and looked at the boy with a sour expression.

**Yup. Looks good.** He said to me, completely clueless.

I kept looking at him.

**What?**

I thought of what he'd just done to my brain. "Let's not do that again, okay?"

He looked befuddled **Huh?**

"Stay out of my head unless I invite you." I said firmly.

He looked confused but nodded. **Ooookay.** Obviously I just wasn't getting it.

I made a mental note to add to my report that Aneilog children were slightly more dangerous but much more personable than Talosians.

We went in to the reactor. I carried Symbolban with me. Despite being somewhat annoying, I actually enjoyed having him in my space. Kids do that to me. His enthusiasm and direct joy were sort of catchy

-*-

Arloban was the Chief engineer of the project. He was old. His skin went from the usual obsidian black to midnight, almost royal blue in places. His mane was white through and through. His hands were still gnarled and leather like, despite Marcella Burlington treating him for arthritis.

He and his crew were some of the toughest engineers I'd ever seen.

**Ready.**

Brass valves were opened. Piping hissed and thrummed. As the noise picked up in tempo adjustments were made

** And in five... four... three... two... one.....**

Big blade switches were pulled.

The Containment building made a noise like the biggest drum ever. Then another. Then another.

I had a split second impression of the huge booming noises becoming insanely fast and then...

The reactor was vibrating and making a healthy sounding noise.

Arloban watched the gauges and the control panel from my old shuttle, which showed him the flow of electricity.

Then he jumped in the air and started pumping his fist. Every Aneilog in the place yelled and whooped.

Mishimi Miatsu nodded at me gravely. Kamaline gave me a big thumbs-up.

The Emerald city now had all the electricty she could use for the foreseeable future and then some.

**WE DID IT!!** Symbolban shrieked in my brain. He wasn't clear on exactly what or how, but he knew it was something to yell about.

"We sure did didn't we?" I said.

-*-

Gensilan didn't let me get away that easily.

I rolled over to face her in the bed in her new apartment in the Emerald City.

We'd made love with a sort of quiet desperation.

I looked at her. She was beautiful. She was wonderful. Why couldn't I say it? Why couldn't I feel it?

Gensilan rolled over and looked at me. Then she put a finger to my lips. **It's alright. You don't have to,**

I could feel the bittersweet pain that flowed through her heart. **I'll love for the both of us.**

I started crying again. She held me and cried too.

After a long time. I whispered. "I have to go." Meaning back to Earth.

**I know.** She said. She held me again.

I felt like a heel and I still do. But in the end I got up, put my clothes on and left.

-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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