Starship Armstrong - Season 3

Part 12 - The Statue Of Dr. Kang (XI)

Dr. Kang's workshop was abuzz with activity.

Kang was hardly a master blacksmith, this admission being as close to humility as he got. So he was pleased with the quality of the axe-heads he had been able to produce. Perhaps he was a master blacksmith after all.

Dr. Kang would have preferred to make swords, they had so much more symbolic weight, but axes could pull double duty by felling trees so he made that concession to practicality. Thanks to the new axes he now had a supply of decent wood. So he had moved on to building curved wooden shields.

While he was busy with that, Dr. Kang's helpers were making wooden clubs on his succession of obsolete lathes. The ear-splitting noise of all this activity was proof that it was finally a proper workshop.

Dr. Kang had managed to stockpile a decent number of weapons in a short amount of time. A good number of axes, but mostly clubs. Of course, he probably could have almost doubled the number of axes if McAfree hadn't abandoned him.

He should have handled her more deftly, he realized that now. He left her to her own devices for too long, that was a proven method of courting disaster. Now he was deprived of the only assistant who he didn't have to waste time explaining basic concepts to through an intermediary. This was an inconvenience he would not soon forgive.

McAfree's betrayal notwithstanding things were progressing well enough. Once the nomadic tribes had been subdued he would have enough surplus labor to begin building up to the next plateau of development. Things would get easier from there.

The sound of nearby shouts was drowned out by the noise of the workshop, but the clamor attracted the attention of Kang's workers and they began to drift away. Irritated and unable to communicate with them without Keely he went over to the crowd to see what all the commotion was about.

Now much more savvy to the concept, the villagers had spotted the Vostok in the sky as it began the long descent from the upper atmosphere. They all crowded around the landing point the shuttle used the last time it arrived in the village, waiting. They were so close that if the shuttle had used a propulsion system besides AG they likely would have been burned alive by it.

Dr. Kang became aware of the presence of Keely and the other one as they walked up beside him to wait for the shuttle.. Kang was pretty sure he had heard McAfree say his name was Ziggy but that was hardly relevant information. In an act of great generosity he gave Keely a nod of acknowledgement. She didn't return it. Obviously she was mad about something. Also not relevant information.

With a distinctive hum that could be plainly heard now that the work at the shop had ceased, the shuttle landed in the center of town, carefully inside the circle of waiting locals.

The door opened and the Lieutenant Commander got out. If she was here to try and take him back to the ship by force she was about to learn how foolish it was to seriously cross him. Then, to his great surprise, the Captain stepped out behind her. Interesting.

"Captain," said Dr. Kang, smiling and moving through the crowd to approach her. They parted to let him through.

"Welcome to my village."

Keely visibly bristled at his use of 'my'.

"Care to explain to me what's going on here, Doctor?" the Captain asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Kang. "I'm bootstrapping the village back to civilization."

"Is there any particular reason why?" asked the Captain.

"Well," said Dr. Kang, his voice full of false modesty, "I am the chosen one."

Mitzner made a 'this is what I've been dealing with' motion with one arm.

"You can't possibly believe that," said the Captain.

"Let's just say they're the first civilization I've encountered that really gets me."

"Are you planning on living out the rest of your life here?" Littlecrow asked. "Because We're not going to wait for you forever."

"I'm not going to take forever," said Dr. Kang, "and you won't leave without me."

Keely watched the conversation intently. It was obvious this "Captain" person was of a higher social rank than Dr. Kang. This could be exactly the stroke of luck she was looking for but she still needed more information.

"I will leave without you, if I have to," said the Captain. "I'll report your location back to the Foundation and you can catch a ride when the uplift team arrives in a decade or two."

Dr. Kang shrugged.

"It's a good enough bluff, but I'm still not buying it," said Dr. Kang. "I'm irreplaceable."

"We have McAfree," said the Captain. "She's Foundation now."

That actually stung a little. What a malicious thing to say.

"If you honestly believe that, you're welcome to her," replied Kang. "I would almost abandon my work here for the opportunity to watch the Science Department under Wagner with McAfree as his subordinate."

The Captain sighed.

"You don't see this as a waste of your talents, Doctor?"

"Most things are," said Dr. Kang. "At least here I get the recognition I deserve. I'm a god to these people."

"Actually-" Keely began to chime in.

"Religions take time to properly develop," Kang interrupted her, "just you wait."

"Would you like to introduce me to your companion?" asked the Captain.

She looked at Keely while she spoke.

"This is Keely," said Dr. Kang, with a lazy motion towards her, "as you can see she speaks Martian, to an extent."

"Pleased to meet you, Keely," said the Captain. "I'm Captain Alexandria Littlecrow."

"You're Dr. Kang's superior," said Keely, matter-of-factly.

Kang snorted.

"That's correct," said the Captain, "I'm Captain of the Huxley Foundation Starship Armstrong, which is the vessel we used to travel to your planet."

Keely summoned all her courage.

"Would you- would you like to have a look around the village? See some of the good work Dr. Kang is doing for us?"

Littlecrow looked over at Kang, then back to Keely.

"I think I'd like that, Keely," said Littlecrow.

"Fine," said Dr. Kang with a wave, "if I need anything translated I'll just use Ziggy."

"My name is Yig," said Yig.

"How wonderful for you," said Dr. Kang. "Tell the others the show is over. They're needed at the workshop."