Chapter 30 – 2402

"I'm sorry the children weren't more interested," Kater Alme said. They watched from the doorway as Becca Radford drove away in a four-man with Alme's husband and their six-year-old twins. "I thought they would be fascinated by your museum."

Shaw shrugged. "Most kids aren't interested for more than an hour or so. Unless they're blossoming engineering nerds, or they have to write a report for school. They only bring the campers out here when the weather's bad, just to give them something to do."

They went back inside and closed the door on the brisk morning air. It was mild, for mid-winter, but far from warm.

"Are you sure she doesn't mind that we didn't go along?"

"Becca? She knows I'm not much for horses."

"They frighten me," Alme admitted. "But Kadla is wild for them."

"And Burke?"

"He goes where his sister leads."

"Ahh."

"At least for now." Alme surveyed the quiet museum. "Well I think it's fascinating, anyhow." He gestured to the wingless FDC 10. "To think that your people actually flew across the ocean in that."

"And paid for the privilege."

They strolled to the plane and climbed the stairs to the cockpit. "Thank you for welcoming us," Alme said. "I know this is not the most convenient time for you. Are you feeling well?"

Shaw shrugged. "Physically I'm fine. Not remembering what I did yesterday is a little tougher."

"You seem to be managing very well."

"Becca manages very well." They paused at the top of the stairs. "I wake up in the morning, she tells me where I am and how I got here, and then usually I go off to fix something with Matt. Her brother. He runs the camp. If whatever we're fixing takes more than one day we take notes and vids so I can review them the next day, know where I left off. It works pretty well. But Becca's stuck here, waiting for me to wake up every day."

"She doesn't seem unhappy."

"No. But if she was, you'd never know."

"I heard she was working with organizing and cataloging the various testimonies from Frontier Day."

"Yes."

"Is there any reason she couldn't have breakfast with you and then travel to Starfleet Headquarters each day?"

Shaw frowned. "Not that I know of."

"It's not my place to speculate." Alme's stripes went a little deeper blue. "But … Ambassador Radford always seemed to me a very independent-minded person. If she remains here with you, it would seem to me that she does so because she wishes to."

"Maybe so. And maybe I've had this conversation with her a dozen times already. I don't know."

"That must be very frustrating."

"Little bit."

"But you are going to recover."

"So they tell me." Shaw pivoted the conversation away from himself. "How are things at HQ? They keeping you busy?"

"Oh, endlessly. There is so much work to be done. So many repairs. So many new security measures to implement."

"Now that the horse is out of the barn."

Alme cocked his head.

"Figure of speech. Never mind."

"Oh." Alme turned and laid his hands lightly on the clear barrier that protected the cockpit. "So many switches and knobs. How did they ever learn how to fly this thing?"

"Computer," Shaw called, "how many humanoid life forms are in the museum?"

"There are two humanoid life forms present at this time," the computer replied promptly.

"Secure the doors, please."

"All exits are secured."

"Watch this." Shaw brought out his camp key and unlocked the barrier. It slid to the right, exposing the cockpit.

His visitor's stripes went bright blue. "Ohhhh. Are we allowed?"

Shaw handed him a pair of gloves. "Put these on first. Then have a seat."

"There?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

Shaw laughed. "We're the grown-ups here. We're allowed to touch the controls. Just don't tell the kids."

Alme slid into the pilot's seat, put his gloves on, then dropped his hands to his lap for a moment. Shaw put on his own gloves and dropped into the co-pilot's seat. His right hand went immediately to the yolk; his left brushed the switches over his head. "I might have spent a lot of time here," he mused.

"I would." Alme's own hands began to roam over the controls, more hesitantly at first. "Can you imagine flying this thing?"

"I can." Shaw shifted in his seat. "Honestly, it's not that comfortable."

Alme laughed. "No."

"What ever happened to your ship? Should I ask?"

"The Swift II? I finished her. She flew beautifully. Six times. And then … I came to Earth. We incorporated some of her technology into refits of existing ships. But the ship herself? She rests in a hangar. Covered in tarps and abandoned."

"I'm sorry to hear that. She's a beautiful ship."

Alme's hand trailed over the old controls more confidently. "It would be nothing to make her functional again. Her cargo bay could easily be converted to staterooms. She would make a lovely yacht."

"She would."

"Do you need a yacht, Captain Shaw? I would be glad to give her to your care."

Shaw chuckled. "I'm not really a yacht kind of guy. I can't imagine what I would need one for. Don't you need a yacht? You've got kids now, you could take them on vacation anywhere."

"Starfleet will take us anywhere I want to go, and much more securely."

"I suppose so."

"It breaks my heart to see her gather dust. Well, someday someone will need her, perhaps."

"Perhaps."

"And I think Kadla–"

Shaw waited, watched his friend fiddle with long-dormant controls. Finally he said, "What's up with your kid, Kater?"

"Nothing. She's fine."

"Sure. And with all the repairs Starfleet has you overseeing, you decided to take off on a Tuesday to bring the family to Newfoundland."

"To see for myself that my dear friends were well."

"We are very glad to see you. But if there's something we can do, you need to tell us. We don't know your daughter well enough to guess."

Alme's stripes were deep blue, but he nodded. "You already have. You have horses."

"Horses."

"Since Frontier Day, Kadla has refused to use a transporter." His hands slid to the yolk and tightened on each upright.

"Were the kids … changed?"

"No. Blessedly, no. We were able to hide in a closet in our basement until the danger was over. I don't think they saw … much of anything. But they knew how afraid we were, of course. And Kadla learns everything. So. She wouldn't use a transporter. I told her that repairs had been made, that it was perfectly safe. She said that I had told her they were safe before."

"Kid's got a point."

"I know. We tried everything. Read all the reports to her. Transported ourselves and then let her run a full body scan. Explained, cajoled, let her meet with scientists, sent her to a counselor – nothing. And Burke refused as well, because she did.

"Then yesterday, out of the blue, she said that she'd use a transporter if she could ride a horse. We scrambled to make that happen. Thank you, thank you again for letting us come here. She was still so anxious, but … but it's a start."

"If she needs to come every day for a week, we can make it work," Shaw promised. "For a month. Whatever it takes."

"Thank you." Alme exhaled heavily. "Oh, I didn't realize until now … what a weight it was. To see her so afraid, and to be helpless …"

Shaw nodded. They were silent for a bit, admiring the cockpit's complex controls. Then he said, "You wanna see my favorite engine ever?"

"Yes. Yes, I would like to see that."