Distant Shores - Marco Palmieri [35]
It seemed the windmill project had been a good idea in more ways than one.
“Computer, add wind from the northwest at ten knots,” B’Elanna called. Kes stood with the engineer beneath their windmill. They had finally completed the pumping mechanism and removed the wire that had kept the wheel from turning until they were ready. The resulting breeze was enough to ruffle their hair and rustle the long grass, but it was the shiny blades of the windmill that held their attention.
The fan tail attached at the back of the wheel did its job and turned the wheel a third of the way around until it was facing into the wind. Then the wheel began to rotate. Soon the blades were only a blur. They squinted at the gears, far above their heads, until the sucker rod began to move up and down, slowly at first, then at a steady, clicking tempo. In about a minute, the ground gave forth a soft sigh and water trickled, then spurted, out the curved pipe they had connected to the pump. The two women grinned at each other.
B’Elanna jogged over and stuck her hand under the flow, then turned and splashed Kes with it.
“Hey!” she cried. It was surprisingly chilly. She joined B’Elanna at the area of ground where water was quickly pooling. B’Elanna jumped into the puddle, splattering both of their clothes with mud.
“Come on,” B’Elanna said. “Celebrate!” She kicked water from the puddle onto Kes’s shoes. Kes bent down to the pipe and cupped her hands under the water. Then, she turned and threw the water into B’Elanna’s face.
B’Elanna shook her dripping hair and then, with a wicked grin, kicked the backs of Kes’s knees and swept her legs out from under her so that she fell on her bottom into the puddle. Kes’s eyes widened in shock, but then she laughed. B’Elanna sat down beside her, picking the driest spot in the grass she could find.
“Well, Kes, we did it,” she said.
“Yes, we did.”
“How does it feel?”
Kes swirled a finger in the pool of water surrounding her. “Cold,” she joked. Then she got up and moved to a dryer patch of ground. “It feels wonderful. Thank you.” She wanted to elaborate, but couldn’t find the words. The physical labor had helped soothe her aggressive feelings or, rather, channel them into a productive path. One that Tieran surely would have scoffed at. Yet the task had included enough cerebral elements that she could excel at it, rather than fail. And then, of course, it had helped her to solve a ship’s problem that had nothing at all to do with healing or vegetables or psychic powers. Who knew what other hidden talents she might find? Who knew where they would take her? Forward, certainly, rather than backward or sideways. After all, a third of her life had already been lived.
Not seeming concerned that Kes didn’t share her thoughts, B’Elanna ordered the computer to add a round wooden vat under their faucet, and the water pattered noisily into it. “I’m almost sorry we’re finished,” she said, then stretched her arms backward and cupped the back of her neck with her hands.
“Surely there’s something more we can do here,” Kes said.
B’Elanna looked up at the mill. “We could paint the tower,” she suggested. “What color do you think?”
“How about a bright, sunny yellow?”
“Yellow it is,” her friend agreed.
For the moment, though, they just enjoyed the water and the sky and the breeze. They would continue their work, but there was no hurry.
Talent Night
Jeffrey Lang
This tale is set shortly before the third-season episode “Coda.”
Jeffrey Lang
Jeffrey Lang is the author of the novels Star Trek: Voyager: String Theory, Book 1-Cohesion and Star Trek: The Next Generation-Immortal Coil, as well as the coauthor (with David Weddle) of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine-Section 31: Abyss and (with J. G. Hertzler) the two-part Star Trek: Deep Space Nine-The Left Hand of Destiny. He also wrote the short stories “Dead Man’s Hand” for The Lives of Dax anthology, “Foundlings” for the Prophecy and Change anthology, “The Wake” for Star Trek Special published by Wildstorm Comics,