It took a while to get everything coordinated for the hunting trip on Amity. The Ikaaran shuttle had to be working perfectly – particularly its cloak. The other version of the NX-01 had to be absent. And their own version had to follow a trajectory that would not lead it anywhere near the other version. This was necessary so that the Ikaaran shuttle could be dropped as close to the Amity planet as possible. It just didn't have enough speed otherwise.
On board the Enterprise, the combined crew settled in as well as possible. People began to couple up and, like Lili had predicted, most of them simply chose their previous mates again. It was just easier.
Captain Archer found himself entertaining all sorts of new roommate requests, mostly for men and women to live together. As before, the couples were segregated to E deck, which was near Sick Bay. It was figured that that would prove useful when the inevitable pregnancies began.
Lili lost Deb as a roommate, and soon ended up with Patti. Sandra and Sophie were also paired up as roommates. It seemed easier to keep the bereaved together. And Lili noticed that Will did not come around to see Patti. It seemed as if he were attempting to court another.
In the galley, she asked him about it, and he confirmed it. "I'm looking to upgrade," he admitted, "I'm going after Creighton."
"Sophie's the lucky girl, eh? Well, Patti is available, yanno."
"Yeah," he sighed, "I know." Settling again – and knowing that they had not had a good marriage the first time around – those were just too depressing for Will Slocum to contemplate.
Craig and Brian walked in. "What's on the menu today?" Craig asked.
"I've got the hunt on Amity coming up today," Will told them, "so we'll have foods that aren't like procul. That means no deli and nothing smoked; I understand the procul are flavored more or less like that."
"Pretty weird," Brian commented.
"They're supposed to be kinda salty," Lili explained.
"Right," decided Will, "so no bacon or sausage this morning. We'll have hot and cold cereals instead."
"The replicator'll work overtime," Craig went in back to work on it.
=/\=
Lili served the big chow line, with Craig helping her, as Brian handled the Captain's Mess. For Lili, it was just not a good day. Too many reminders. She even set aside some Scottish steel-cut oats and dried blueberries and then remembered – there was no Malcolm to want the oats and no Jay to want the blueberries.
She stood there with a faraway look in her eyes. José approached. "Uh, I'd like some raisins and a little of the shredded coconut, please."
"Uh, sure," she murmured absently.
"You all right?"
"Uh, you like dried blueberries?"
"They're okay, I guess."
"Here," she dumped them into his bowl. He didn't protest. He just left.
Derek Kelby was next in line. Without asking him or otherwise engaging him in conversation, she gave him the bowl of oats. "Wha–?" he asked.
"I need to, uh, I need for these to disappear," she told him.
"Oh, um, okay." He, too, departed.
Craig came over. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing."
"C'mon, I know it's something."
"Can I tell you later?" she asked.
"Uh, sure."
=/\=
They had finished and were cleaning up. "Well?" Craig asked.
"It's like this," she explained, "Jay liked blueberries. And Malcolm, man oh man, he swore me to secrecy on this. But I suppose I can tell you now. He, uh, he had lactose intolerance."
"Oh. Well that's not a big deal. Why was it so secret?"
"It can give you gas."
"Oh."
"And I used to," her eyes got a bit teary, "I used to set aside special things for them. It turns out I did that the last time around, too. And today I forgot, and I just did it again."
"Aw," he came closer, "Look, maybe it's feeling unreal to you again."
"I think that's, well, that's rather perceptive of you. Yanno," she added, "they both named me in their wills. And I have never looked in their quarters, either of them. Maybe I should. Maybe I should go, and have myself a really good cry, and it'll be a lot more real to me. Whaddaya think?"
"I think that's a really good idea. Do you want me to go with you once we're done cleaning up here?"
"Uh, maybe not. I think this is something I have to do by myself, okay?"
"Sure."
=/\=
After lunch, Lili approached Aidan. "I understand you're the fellow in charge of the big locks on the empty quarters."
"Yep. Of course I can't let you into Richard Daniels's old place."
"I know. I mean Malcolm and Jay's quarters," she explained.
"Okay. You were named as their heir. So, how do you wanna work this?" Aidan asked, "I need to be on the Bridge soon."
"Understood. Can you maybe assign someone else to just stick around and make sure nobody else disturbed things? And then I could finish up and we'd contact you and you'd put the locks back, that sorta thing?"
"Okay," he decided, "and I'll give you someone in Security to guard whichever room you aren't in."
"Right."
=/\=
The first room they entered was Malcolm's. It was Lili, Aidan and Ethan Shapiro. Tristan Curtis was waiting outside. "I'll just go and unlock Hayes's quarters," Aidan told them, "and Tris will guard that room. Then you'll switch once you're done in here." He left.
Ethan stood there. "Uh, what do you want me to do?"
"In all honesty, I'm not sure," she was a tad indecisive, "I really don't know what I'm doing right now." She sighed. "I bet he'd be mortified at how there are a few things out of place."
"You're probably right. But he did change his will. You think he knew something?"
"Well, he had read his old logs," Lili confirmed, "so he knew he had died on a similar mission, last time. Poor Malcolm! I'm sure he wasn't interested in that sort of an instant replay."
"Of course not."
She walked over to his desk and picked up an actual paper book that was sitting there. She read off the spine, "Jane Eyre. Huh, who'd have thunk it? It's a sweet love story. I would have thought he would have been reading something tactical, or something."
"Maybe it was a front," Ethan offered.
Lili smiled a tiny bit. She opened the book to where his bookmark was. It was a card. "I think this is one of those cards where you can wave a PADD over it and transfer data."
Ethan came over to look. "It is. Wanna see what's on it?"
"Maybe we'll just transfer the data and I'll take a look later." She clicked her PADD on it and then put her PADD back into a zippered pocket. She peered inside the book. "He was up to the bit where Jane first meets Rochester. It's an auspicious meeting, you see."
"Got it."
Lili walked over to the small closet and looked at Malcolm's clothes. There were mostly uniforms, including a formal dress uniform that was neatly starched and ready for action. There was also a civilian style suit and two shirts that went with it, and four ties hanging from pegs.
She looked down, seeing a pair of civilian shoes, a pair of running shoes and a pair of heavy boots. And that's when she started to cry.
"What's the matter? What is it?" Ethan was solicitous.
"Oh God, the boots!"
"What? I don't understand, Lili,"
"Ethan, his light boots aren't here because, because Malcolm died wearing them."
Wordlessly, he just hugged her as she sobbed. When he felt she was ready, he nodded at her. They stood up and departed, to head to Jay's old quarters. Tristan went to guard Malcolm's old room as they did so.
=/\=
Jay's quarters weren't much different. Just like Malcolm's, they were obsessively neat. "It's like they both had to be ready to go at a moment's notice." She looked around for the first time.
"I guess so. Were you ever in here?"
"No. And I was only in Malcolm's, sheesh, the day before, you know."
"Yeah. Take your time, Lili," Ethan's tone was comforting.
Lili browsed around the unfamiliar room. She walked into Jay's bathroom and opened his bottle of aftershave. Taking a whiff of it, she felt a pang.
She then walked over to the desk. Jay, too, had been reading a real book. It was Sun Tzu's The Art of War. "That's a far cry from Jane Eyre, eh?" She showed the book jacket to Ethan.
"I bet Lieutenant Reed read it, too," he speculated, "I mean, they were alike in a lotta ways."
"Certainly," she agreed, "but you can see differences. I mean, check this out." It was on the desk, a small block of wood that was being whittled. "I wonder what it was going to be."
"I think it's some sort of a bird." Ethan guessed, "See the triangular shape in the back? I bet that was gonna be the tail."
"The sparrow," Lili whispered quietly.
"Come again?"
"In the other iteration, he called me Sparrow," she explained, "It was, well, it was a pet name that was really meaningful for us."
"That's beautiful."
There was something else on the desk, shiny in the light of the desk lamp. There was a small basket and it contained two articles. Lili came closer to look. One of them was a small wooden slat, in which an L had been carved. "Oh," she picked it and the other article up.
"What have you got there?"
She showed him the slat. "I wonder if he was going to glue this on something else, and give it to me."
"I bet he was. Maybe the base of the bird, I dunno. What's with the nickel?"
"This I know from my logs," she explained, "he got this nickel the first time he ever went to Earth. It's his lucky nickel."
"Does the 2012 date mean anything?" Ethan rolled the coin around in his hands.
"I don't think so. I mean, it's ninety years before his birth but otherwise, I can't come up with anything. I think he just liked it because it was kind of unassuming, much like he was."
"He was a leader, too, though."
"Definitely," she agreed, "But he also – this always struck me about him – he usually didn't take credit for things. He would just quietly stand back and let others get the recognition, or whatever. I mean, he got his promotions and stuff." She opened his top drawer and, amidst his clean cotton boxer shorts, there were medals. She lifted out one of the medals. "He most definitely got his due. But he also stepped back and was really generous with those sorts of things. He also, truly, had some troubles expressing himself. He wasn't much of a talker. He was a doer."
"You sound like you knew him better than anyone. No wonder he left you everything."
"I just kinda take from what I knew of him. He liked blueberries, and a good, rare steak. But whatever I gave him to eat, he seemed to really like."
"Lili, I think he really liked you. And I mean before we got kicked back here."
"Oh, I dunno." She opened up his closet. Much like in Malcolm's closet, there were a lot of regular uniforms, plus there was one perfectly pressed dress uni. But there were no civilian clothes hung up.
"He had no civvies," Ethan remarked.
"I know he had sweatpants and things like that," Lili informed him, "That stuff's probably all in his lower drawers." She rummaged around a little bit, and found something hanging on the back peg, which she didn't expect.
It was a general's uniform. But it was of an older style. "Holy cow," Ethan was in awe.
"Do you think it's the real thing? It was hanging on the back peg, the place where I put my purse."
"Definitely," his eyes grew wider, "But I bet Sekar would know for sure. Wow. A World War III general's uni! I wonder why he owned it."
=/\=
After lunch, the hunting party was ready to go. Eddie Hamboyan and Dan Chang checked their phase rifles as Susie Money and Mario Lattimer retied their bootlaces. Colleen was waiting with Kerna to pilot the Ikaaran shuttle. "Where's Chef?" Colleen asked.
As if in answer to her query, Will Slocum entered the launch bay. He had on a civilian shirt and blue jeans. "What's the hold up? Let's go! Let's go!" he bellowed.
"You look different out of uniform," Colleen told him as she held the hatch open.
"You should see what I look like out of these clothes, too." He winked at her, grinning.
"Ethan Novakovich and I are together again," Colleen reported. "He's so shy," she told Susie as the other human female entered the shuttle, "I practically had to trick him by feigning I'd found a new life form in Cargo Bay Two."
"No such worries here," Susie looked over at Mario. He smiled at her and then moved over to sit next to her.
Will Slocum began to realize that the instant replay was the preferred method of choice for most of the crew, when it came to finding mates. He settled himself in for a long, boring trip to Amity, and took a nap.
"We're here, Chef," Eddie shook his shoulder as the shuttle touched down.
"Oh! What?" Will blinked a few times. He'd been in REM sleep, but whatever he had been dreaming of had evaporated, like ice cream on a hot sidewalk.
"I can't wait to go hunting," Mario said to Susie, "It's too bad there aren't any quail or pheasant."
Kerna opened the hatch. "Colleen and I will stay here. It will be safer."
Eddie got out. "Man, oh, man," he stretched, "It feels good to breathe regular air again. That little planet doesn't have enough. It must be like what breathing in the Andes is like. Uh, no offense, Kerna."
"I know you do not mean to offend," she replied, "We were just fortunate that we found that planet. But it would not have been a first choice. Ikaaria is far nicer, and I imagine Earth is as well."
"Hey, Chef!" Dan called, "You're the one who was in a rush."
"Oh, uh, just a moment." Will clicked on his PADD and tapped out a note to Sophie.
"Beautiful Sophia,
When we return, I will make you a special meal. Bring your appetite.
Fondly, Will."
He hit send and decided to hedge his bets. He tapped out another note.
"Lovely Sandra,
It would be my pleasure to make you a special meal tomorrow, just you and I. Please say you will.
Affectionately, Will."
He hit send again, figuring that, even though he had just asked two roommates out, they might mind less because it was for two different nights.
"C'mon, Chef!" Dan scolded, "We're losing daylight!"
=/\=
In their shared quarters, Sophie and Sandra giggled a little over the notes, and compared them. "He doesn't even realize that my full name is just Sophie, and not Sophia," complained Sophie. She sighed. "I don't think he really gives a damn about either of us. He's just spraying his shots, hoping to hit something, but without any aim."
"Yeah," Sandra agreed, "I'm probably going to go with one of the MACOs or a guy on Security. Chef's being ridiculous." She deleted the note on her PADD without answering it, as did Sophie.
=/\=
Lili sat in her quarters, thinking about Jay and Malcolm. She had Jay's lucky nickel in one hand, and the bound copy of Jane Eyre in the other. "I'm beginning to understand just how happy we all were together," she whispered.
The door slid open. It was Patti. "Any news about that hunt?"
"I got nothin'," Lili shrugged after checking her PADD for messages.
"Y'know, Lili, Chef and I were together the last time. But I gotta tell ya, I think he's been avoiding me."
"I dunno."
"I've been avoiding him, too," Patti admitted. "We had an unhappy marriage, and eventually I asked for a divorce. It's a pity, the way it ended, I guess. And now we've got Ikaarans earlier than before. I bet he's going after one of them, and I'll be close to last again."
Lili looked at her, peeved. "Listen, Patti," she finally said, "I know we have to live together. And I'd like to get along. But right now I am completely bereft. I don't really wanna hear about you and Chef getting along, or not. At least he's not pulverized into atoms." She took her treasures with her and went to the galley, angry and swearing under her breath as Patti sat there, dumbfounded.
=/\=
On the surface, Kerna kept the hatch open as she and Colleen checked various levels on the Ikaaran shuttle. Everyone else made their way onto the surface of Amity.
Will checked a phase rifle that had been given him. It was set to stun. He changed that to kill. After all, wasn't kill better than stun?
The ground was spongy beneath their feet, the mud sucking at their boots. "It sounds like a bunch of sloppy kisses," Mario said to Susie quietly.
She looked at him intently. "Later."
They continued walking. There were dozens of symmetrical holes in the ground. They were perfect circles. "It's malostrea dens," Eddie explained, "I read up on them. They look like clams with a buncha legs. They've got a poison that they can deliver by clapping a shell onto skin and breaking the skin. That's how they hunt the big guys."
"You mean the procul," Dan stated, "Stun kills 'em, I understand."
Mario and Susie nodded. Will did not change the setting on his rifle. They continued along, near the shore of an ocean.
As hoped for, the big, lumbering procul began to clamber out of the water. They were squid-like in appearance, with fourteen legs, sturdy as tree trunks, and without what could reasonably be called feet. The body was an undifferentiated mass which undulated as the procul walked on land. There were no visible eyes to speak of.
The largest of the creatures reared up on what seemed to be its back legs. It rubbed two legs together. That produced a high-pitched whining sound, akin to a penny whistle. The other animals slowly ambled over to it as it changed color from celadon to rust.
As the big procul was displaying, Will could clearly see two eyespots in the middle of the underside of its body. Aiming for them, he shot the huge beast. But instead of a smooth kill as expected, it was as if a bomb had gone off within the huge invertebrate's body. It exploded into millions of fragments, hitting everything around it, including Chef.
"Stun does that?" asked Mario.
Dan jogged over to Will. "Hey, this is set to kill. I checked the rifles myself before we got on the shuttle. You need to dial it back, Chef."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Crewman."
"And what the hell are you doing, killing off their leader? Now that herd might not survive!" Dan exclaimed.
"It's fine," Will replied between gritted teeth. "They're hermaphrodites. One of the others will step in. Now, everyone, I want you to take down the biggest ones you can find."
"No!" Dan insisted, "We gotta take only the weak and the sick. Leave some for the other group."
Will glared at him. "Might I remind you that I am the senior ranking member of this hunting party, Crewman?"
"Might I remind you," Chang's tone was sharp, "that you're acting like an ass?"
"That's insubordination! I never should've taken you along and given you this chance! Now get back to the shuttle and we'll discuss what I'm gonna report to Lieutenant MacKenzie when we get back."
Dan angrily glared. He saw a moderately-sized procul that appeared to be limping, and shot it. Since his weapon was on stun, the big beast just fell, as expected. Wordlessly, he slung the carcass over his shoulders and headed back to the shuttle.
Will pointed out the bigger procul to Susie, Mario and Eddie, but they just shot at animals that appeared to be weakened somehow. "You're all going on report," he finally said wearily. He spotted another large procul and shot it. As before, the body was atomized. But this time, there were sounds.
It was clapping and chattering, almost like applause. Susie had a procul slung over her shoulders. She walked toward the shuttle. Eddie and Mario had a larger one, and carried it between them.
Dan and Will stood there as the malostrea began to emerge from their subterranean dens. They seemed to inspect some of the pulverized remains of the procul that Will had shot, but rejected it. They turned toward Dan and Will.
"I don't like the looks of this," Dan started backing up.
"We will stay until we've got that shuttle filled with procul," Will commanded, "We don't know when we'll be able to come back here."
"We already got eight."
"And that would be fine if they were the larger ones, like I told you to get," Will was getting testy, "It's not enough."
"It's fine," Dan matched his mood, "We can come back some other time, coordinate it around the other ship's appearances here. Let's go."
"No!" Will stood his ground.
=/\=
In the Ikaaran shuttle, the procul were piled high. "What does malostrea mean, anyway?" Kerna asked.
Colleen checked a PADD. "Evil oysters."
They could all hear the clapping and chattering. "We better get back out there," Eddie advised.
=/\=
They arrived in time to see two malostrea climbing up one of Will's pant legs. Dan aimed with his phase rifle but then held back. "Shoot the sons of bitches!" Will yelled.
"Chef, if I miss one and stun you, you'll go down like a sack of potatoes. And then they'll all be able to climb on you!"
"Hurry!" Will yelled.
Susie came over. With the butt of her rifle, she knocked one of the malostrea off, but then another one started climbing on her.
Mario came over and, without a thought to his own personal safety, grabbed the back of the shell of the malostrea that was climbing on Susie. He managed to pry it off her. He flung it as far away as he could.
Eddie tried to do the same for Will, but the malostrea kept darting and turning.
"We gotta get back to the ship," Dan ended up crunching a malostrea underfoot as he turned.
Another push with a rifle butt got the remaining malostrea off Will's ankle, but then another one climbed up. It moved more quickly than the others had, and it must have been angry, for it did not hesitate, and it clamped down on Will's calf.
He did not call out. Instead, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and, just as Dan had predicted, he sank like a rock.
"Oh my God!" Susie yelled. She grabbed Will's legs as Eddie got his head. Dan and Mario followed behind. As quickly as they could, they raced to the shuttle.
"Gun it!" yelled Dan as they got in and Mario sealed the hatch. The clapping and chattering could still be heard outside as they took off.
"I can empathically heal," Kerna told them, "but not most poisons. And not while I am piloting, to be sure. Switch with me, Eddie."
Eddie got up to trade places with her so that she could at least make the effort. "Anybody know if we can do a standard field snakebite remedy?" he asked.
"You mean suck out the poison?" Mario asked. He flipped open his communicator. "Sick Bay, Lattimer here. We got a man with a malostrea bite. Can we suck out the poison?"
Phlox answered. "No, use a knife and cut out the affected area. I'll tell Commander Tucker to stand by at the transporter. Keep me posted. Phlox out."
"Stay with me, Chef," Susie said to Will as Mario cut a chunk out of the injured man's calf. There was no time to clean a knife or any other niceties. Blood flowed as Mario tied a makeshift tourniquet on. Worriedly, Susie added, "I think he's going into shock."
Mario produced a blanket from the back of the shuttle. They covered up Will. He felt the injured man's forehead. "He's got a fever, too, I think."
"C'mon, Will," Susie encouraged, "make believe you're, you're frying something, okay?" Kerna placed her unwashed hands on him, right on his bloody wound, and there was a glowing inside her hands that spread up her arm. But then the glow ping-ponged around her body, trying and failing to find purchase. She shook her head – she could not help him.
=/\=
On the Enterprise, Tripp and José raced to the transporter. "We need to boost power," Tucker commanded, "Give it everything we've got."
"Right," José replied, "rerouting power now."
"Almost in range, almost," Tripp checked a display. "Now!"
José worked the controls and, as Tripp stood by and Phlox rushed over, Will Slocum materialized on the transporter pad. But it was too late, and he took a half a gasping, wheezing breath.
Phlox applied emergency cardiostimulators, but it just wasn't enough. "I cannot revive this man," the Denobulan shook his head, "There is nothing I can do."
=/\=
In the landing bay, the Ikaaran shuttle was brought in quickly, bumping as it landed. Without waiting to get their cargo out, everyone raced to Sick Bay. But they only found Andrew in there. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Where's Chef?" asked Colleen.
"What? Phlox just called me, told me to cover."
"The transporter!" Dan exclaimed.
The six of them ran over, just in time to see Phlox rise from a kneeling position. "I'll have to perform an autopsy to be certain," he stated, "but I am about ninety percent positive that Chef Slocum succumbed to acute tricoulamine poisoning."
"My God," Colleen gasped as she arrived, "it was, oh God, it wasn't even a big bite."
"Those suckers pack a punch," Eddie said.
"It's just like Hayes and Reed, and Harris and Haynem," Dan stated, "He was unprepared. And that gets you killed around here."
=/\=
In the galley, Lili grumbled to herself as she started to chop vegetables for that night's dinner. It would be procul and … something. The door slid open.
It was Patti. "I'm sorry," she stated, "I kinda put my foot in my mouth about, about stuff. Friends?"
"Sure," Lili shook Patti's proffered hand.
The door slid open again. It was Brian. "You're early," Lili observed.
"And so are you," he replied.
=/\=
On the Bridge, Hoshi reported, "Urgent message for you, Captain. It's from Commander Tucker."
"I'll take it in my Ready Room." Captain Archer bounded into the little room.
"Cap'n," Tripp reported, "we had a fatality. Come to the transporter."
"That damned machine!"
"No, Cap'n. Phlox tells me it's from a bite from one of the clam fellers on the surface."
"Malostrea," Phlox interjected.
"Who?" asked Jonathan.
"It was Chef, sir."
"Captain," Phlox stated, "I have taken the liberty of sending the remainder of the hunting party to Sick Bay, as a precaution. Someone will need to unload the shuttle's cargo."
"Understood," replied Captain Archer, "I'll be right there." He closed the connection and opened the door to the Ready Room. "T'Pol, please keep command for a while longer. Hoshi, contact Julie McKenzie. Tell her to get a half a dozen MACOs to offload the cargo from the Ikaaran shuttle and bring it to the galley."
"Right away, sir," Hoshi replied. T'Pol nodded.
He sighed. "There was a casualty. Chef Slocum is dead. No one else was injured; at least we don't think so. Doctor Phlox has the rest of the hunting party in Sick Bay. Where are Patti Socorro and Lili O'Day?"
"Patti isn't on duty right now," Travis stated, "She might be in quarters."
"It might be early for starting supper," Aidan speculated, "So my guess is quarters for O'Day, or else the galley."
"Okay." The captain departed.
=/\=
They weren't in their shared quarters, so he went to the galley. "I'm glad I found you both here."
"Captain?" Patti asked.
Lili took one look at Jonathan's face. "We'd better both sit down. I get the feeling this is bad news."
Captain Archer nodded. "Chef Slocum is dead," he didn't give any preamble, "We'll see what his last wishes were, but I suspect you should both be considered to be his next of kin if he hasn't designated anybody."
The door slid open. It was Craig, who looked pale. He immediately explained, "I walked by the transporter in order to get here. I saw." The captain nodded.
Brian stated, "I guess Lili's the chef now."
Lili sat there, a bit nonplussed. "I, I don't know what to say."
"Yes," the captain confirmed, "I know the timing is abysmal, but you're promoted to Lieutenant Commander."
"Huh. I, uh, I need a sous-chef," she glanced over at Craig and Brian, "and they should be promoted to an Ensign's rank."
"Which one?" asked the captain.
"Can it be both?" she asked.
"I don't see any reason why not."
"We'll, uh, we'll make something Italian," Lili decided, "Chef Slocum is – was, God, was – half-Italian. Patti, do you have a preference?"
"I dunno, maybe pizza?" Patti had been a little shell-shocked. It was the first thing she had said since hearing the awful news.
"Pizza it is," Lili decided. Together, she and her new sous-chefs started getting everything ready as somber MACOs brought in the fruits of that day's fatal labors.
=/\=
Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, November second, 2037
God knows I never wanted to be promoted this way. I'll get debriefed in all sorts of ways, I know. I'll get all the secret codes. I'm Malcolm's rank, suddenly. Oh, how I wish he had lived to see that!
There have been too many changes in my life, and far, far too many deaths. Please, God, ease up a little, all right?
=/\=
Patti Socorro's Personal Log, November second, 2037
I guess it shouldn't matter so much to me, but it does. We were unhappy last time. He was not coming around. I already looked at his logs and he was trying to get with Sophie anyway.
But I can't help feeling saddened. Part of it is because Will didn't deserve to go that way. Nobody does.
But it's also selfish. I also wonder – what becomes of me now?
=/\=
José Torres's Personal Log, November second, 2037
If I had only been faster.
=/\=
Charles Tucker III's Personal Log, November second, 2037
I swear I am going to beat T'Pol over the head if I have to. Life is short. Regrets are long. I don't wanna die alone like Chef Slocum did.