Subject: FRONTIER: Transporter Room

SD 70625

Houston activated the transporter and watched as the flight control  
officer materialized on the pad. 
 
She stepped down and said, "Lt. Ishara reporting for duty, sir." The  
Vulcan was already clad in the Frontier uniform. 
 
"Welcome to the Frontier, Lieutenant." replied Joanna. "I am  
Lieutenant Commander Houston, Chief Operations Officer." 
 
The Vulcan seemed to notice Joanna's unemotional tone. Yet it was  
difficult to reconcile that with the image of a human which stood  
before her. She decided it could wait until later, when she was  
settled in. 
 
"The launch is scheduled for the beginning of next Alpha Shift, is it  
not?" asked Ishara. 
 
"It is. All senior officers will be present on the bridge at that  
time." 
 
"Thank you, Commander." 
 
"You are welcome." replied Houston. She had meant to ask why the  
lieutenant had been so late, but it did not seem appropriate at this  
time. She proceeded to the bridge while Ishara headed presumably to  
her quarters. 
 

Meanwhile... 
Ramsays' quarters 
 
Will finished the magnificent meal which Caroline had concocted, and  
declared, "That was wonderful. Anything more you'd care to do  
tonight?" 
 
She was finishing up now as well, and replied through forkfuls, "Hang 
on a minute." She disposed of the plates, turned to face him. Softly  
she asked, "Can you waltz?" A knowing smile touched her lips. 
 
"Well, it's been so long..." he started, then saw the look in her  
eyes and hastily added, "But I'm sure I'll warm up quickly." 
 
"Computer, music please." 
 
[Insufficient parameters. Please specify.] 
 
It was a far cry from the Regent and Anna. "Dammit, waltz music."  
After listening to several tunes and asking for another, they finally  
found one which seemed perfect. 
 
They spent an hour dancing to the slow and smooth music. It felt just  
like old times... 
 

The next morning 
 
Will Ramsay awoke blearily to the sound of the comm panel chime. 
 
[Captain, ten minutes to end of Gamma shift. You said all senior  
officers-] started Houston. 
 
"Thank you, Commander, I'm well aware of that." He woke Caroline and  
hurriedly got into his uniform before setting off for the bridge,  
trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes. 
 

Bridge 
 
Houston turned to face the Captain as he walked in. "Sir, we have  
been cleared for departure." 
 
Will noted there was at last someone at the flight control panel with  
more than one pip. He'd question her later on her lateness. Right  
now, he was concerned with getting the ship out of the dock so they  
could get on with their mission. He sat down comfortably in the  
command seat and starting the proceedings. 
 
"Retract docking clamp. Clear all moorings." He watched as these  
vital tasks were performed in precision and efficiency. 
 
"Maneuvering thrusters." He felt the sudden but dampened 
acceleration and the view shifted as the ship turned gradually to 
face the doors. 
 
"All ahead." The sideward motion ceased; the doors were directly in  
the centre of the viewer. 
 
The doors parted to reveal the star-studded darkness outside. The  
Frontier slid gracefully out of Starbase Epsilon and into the realm  
that was space, sparsely populated with the odd star and maybe  
planets, and a smattering of hydrogen. 
 
"Increase to one-quarter impulse power." Another barely-noticed  
acceleration. 
 
"Departure angle." The viewer switched to the rear view, Starbase  
Epsilon falling behind rapidly. 
 
"Set a course for The Kizinti border, Lieutenant. Warp Six." 
 
A burst of light as the ship breaks Warp 1. Stars on the screen  
elongate into the familiar warp-speed starfield. 
 
"Stop us just outside the border. Lieutenant Commander Houston, 
estimated time to arrival." 
 
"At current speed; one day, five hours, thirty-seven minutes and  
twelve-point-five seconds." was the reply. 
 
He was a little unnerved by her accuracy; he *had* only asked for an  
estimated time. "Briefing room everybody." he announced. "Let's find  
out what exactly we've to do." 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
 
[Captain] William Ramsay, CO FRONTIER 
 
Sam M. Edwards
 
<nrpg> 
Ooooh. A 13-week cliff-hanger. Nasty. It's been fun folks, see you  
after the hols.