10
"I, um, are you sure?" Doug asked. "Because if anything was going to make me hopelessly ugly to you, it was, it was my, my track record."
"Doug," she said, taking his face in her hands. "You will never be hopelessly ugly to me. Don't ever forget that." her face had flashes of almost anger.
"I, um," he was nonplussed. "It may be a lot for you to forgive, is all I'm saying."
"It's like the number of guys I was with before I met you. You may not love the number, but it's in the past and it cannot be changed now. What's more important is how we move ahead, together." She leaned in closer and kissed him.
He put his hand on her back and drew her close. This kiss, it was somehow sweeter than all the others, and he didn't want it to stop. Finally they broke apart. "So, er, how many have there been before me? Uh, you don't have to answer that if you don't wanna."
"No, it's okay." she smiled. "You are lucky number thirteen."
"Yes, I am very lucky," he said, fingers fiddling with the end of one of her sleeves.
"Let's, can we walk some more?"
"Wherever you wanna go. Uh, where is this place?"
"It's New Hampshire. Over there, see that peak? That's Mount Monadnock. This isn't too far from where the New England Red Sox have one of their parks."
"The who?"
"Do you, do you have baseball on your side of the pond?" she asked.
"Sure we do. Five bases, twelve guys on a team and a lotta fights."
"Uh, you mean four bases, nine guys on a team and, uh, only a few fights sometimes." she smiled. "What do you do for fun?"
"Fun? Huh, well, aside from the obvious," he looked at her meaningfully, "I go hunting. Fish sometimes. I do like sports, play rugby sometimes, but it's hard to get a team together. You?"
"I guess I'm more of a homebody than my job would indicate. I like land. Working it, building on it. I like to fish, too, but a part of that is just being on a boat."
"I mainly fish from piers."
"You should try boats some time."
"I should try a lot of things, I think," he said, "Lili, can I ask you, how do you, um, assuming anything could work and I could be there with you, how would it all work?"
"You mean the crossing over process?"
"No, not that. I mean after."
"Well, they always need good Tactical guys, so you should be able to work with no trouble."
"Would we live together?" he asked.
"I, uh, would you like that?"
"I think so. I mean, I know this hasn't been a lot of time at all. It's just ..." his voice trailed off.
=/\=
"Commander, communications just cut out." MacKenzie said to T'Pol.
"To the planet, or all communications?" she asked.
"Looks like we can talk to any of the planets. And to any ships in the area. But nothing outside the system."
"How very interesting. And perhaps an indication of how welcoming our hosts are. I'll alert the Captain."
=/\=
There was a large rock in a clearing right in front of them. "Uh, Lili?"
"Yes?"
"I think – uh, I think this is our destination."
"Oh?"
He sat down and patted his knee. "C'mere."
She sat down and faced him. "I like, I like all of this. I don't know if speculating about things is good, or if it's just going to make it all hurt that much more."
"Maybe." he admitted. "It's just, I dunno. I don't think I've ever gotten into a relationship before where I really wanted that to happen. The sex part, sure. But the rest of it? Not so much."
"Look, I don't even know if you're going to leave dirty socks on the floor or something like that."
"I don't, I swear," he said, "I like the place to be clean, things put away."
"I have to be really clean for work," she said, "But you might find an occasional hair ribbon in the wrong place. I guess I just sorta think I'm going to pick it up later, and then I forget and whatever it is doesn't get picked up."
"I suppose I can make allowances for that."
"You'd have to live under our laws, Doug."
"I know. I could, I would do whatever I could. I get the feeling that, with the pressure off, I wouldn't be looking to do anything like that, like going up to a Number Fifteen or anything."
"That reminds me. Since you have Reed's old job, was his counterpart, uh, Number Fourteen?"
"No," Doug said, "Fourteen was Geming Sulu. It was, uh, that was how I got onto the Enterprise in the first place."
"So, uh, how did Reed's counterpart get it? If you want to tell me."
"It's a little fuzzy. A few years ago, when we got the Defiant, the Enterprise ended up being destroyed. Not everyone made it from the old ship to the new one – we went in escape pods. I shoved Jenn into one and I got into another. Fought off a kid from Security for it. And I think that happened with a lot of people – they were either shot or stabbed and kept from getting into pods, or they were hit and dragged out of 'em. As for Reed, specifically, it was either then or before. He had this, uh, this thing he was testing out, a torture device. I think he was hoisted on that particular petard."
"Oh, my. I'm sorry I asked," Lili said.
"When we got to the Defiant, there was no one in charge of Tactical, and I was the top guy on the MACOs. When the Empress seized power, she installed me as head of Tactical. Funny, I think that was my only actual merit promotion."
"Well deserved, I'm sure," Lili kissed him.
"I don't know about that. I think it was more a case of, everyone's blind, but my blindness is just slightly less bad as everyone else's."
"Don't you know your own system?"
"Not really. But no one does."
"Huh?"
"Lili, remember when I told you about your counterpart, and what happened to her?"
"Of course, it was only maybe an hour ago."
"Yes, of course. Well, the Empress didn't like everyone knowing. I guess she was disappointed in how her counterpart's life had turned out on your side of the pond. I never really had that as I didn't put it all together that between me and Jay Hayes, we were the same but with switched names. Anyway, the Empress didn't like it, so she ordered the records destroyed."
"Uh, okay. But that shouldn't take out everything."
"No, it shouldn't. But the deleting was done quickly. I mean, this is the Empress we're talking about. You did what you were told, and fast, fast, fast! So mistakes were made in the deletion coding."
"Not so sure I follow you," Lili admitted.
"See, they deleted not just references to Hayes but any references to anyone named Hayes. Ever."
"Wasn't there a President Hayes?"
"There may have been. I'll certainly never know. And it's even any references to anything with Hayes on it. Like if there's a Hayes screwdriver, or a planet called Hayes."
"A planet?"
"Humor me for a second, okay? If there's a Hayes virus or a Hayes vaccine, all of that's wiped. Same for Tucker, Sato, Mayweather, Archer, Cutler – every single name. This cascaded through the entire database. So any references to, uh, to Beef a la Mayweather or Cutler Falls or a Tucker's deer were also completely erased. Left us with almost nothing. I have no idea which name or names' removals caused the most damage, but it doesn't matter now. It's all permanently wiped and cannot be recovered. The people who screwed up were, of course, tortured and killed."
"Tortured? To, to confess something?"
"No. They were tortured for the Empress's own amusement."
"Did you, um, have anything to do with that, Doug?"
"I dealt with finding them, but not punishing them. She, uh, apparently it's a thrill for her if she or her boy toy get to do that."
"My God."
=/\=
The Captain was roused out of a dream about water polo. Just about to take the final shot of the game! He shook himself awake as soon as he realized what the problem was.
=/\=
"Let's, um, let's change the subject," he said.
"All right." she kissed him.
"I should warn you if we live together, that I snore sometimes."
"Funny, I've never seen or heard you sleep."
"True. Same here."
"Well, I talk in my sleep," Lili said.
"You give away secret recipes or something? Or do you talk about, about us?"
"I, well, Jenny doesn't say. It's probably just a few random words, although about a year ago she said I said, 'Are you searching for buried treasure?' Pretty funny."
"What were you dreaming about that you said that?"
"Ha, it was sex." she kissed him. "Not as good as this dream. Or any other one with you in it."
"You star in my best dreams, too." he said, "Are you, um, comfortable?"
"Actually, I'm a little, uh, hot." she looked at him intently.
"I think you're very hot," he said.
=/\=
She broke away a bit more quickly than usual. "I, I think we're both gonna have to do laundry. Not my favorite chore."
"I can do it," he said, "Come back a sec."
She got back on his lap. "Of course."
"So pretty," he said. They kissed.
"Y'know, Doug, it would really be stupid if we were to fall in love."
"True." he allowed. "We have no idea if we can be together."
They were both silent for a moment.
"It's too late now," she said.
"Yeah, for me, too." he agreed, kissing her and mussing her hair.
This time, they lay on the ground together, just touching, not saying anything, not kissing.
"I, I don't say it much. Haven't said it in many years," he said, "I, uh, it's another stupid sign of weakness. You, you'll teach me to say it more?"
"Yes, of course," she said, kissing his cheek.
"I should say it now, yes?"
"Yes."
11
Doug made his way through the halls the following morning, a bit more of a spring in his step than before. A little distracted, perhaps. He heard crying.
That could only mean one person. Well, really, two. He turned around.
"Jun!" he called out, kneeling.
A toddler ran to him. "Unka Duck!"
The toddler was followed by a young, tired-looking woman with a fresh black eye.
"Crewman Cutler," Doug said, straightening up after the toddler had hugged him.
"Lieutenant Commander Hayes," she said, "C'mon, Jun." she held her hand out to the toddler, who was bending over to check out some unseen thing on the floor.
"He's getting better with his words," Doug said.
"Yes. Well, he's the Empress's son. Wouldn't expect anything less," she said, "Jun, put that down!"
"Nuh-uh!" he called out, holding up a tiny broken-off dagger tip as his prize.
"How'd you get the shiner?" Doug asked.
Cutler nodded her head slightly in the child's direction. "Jun, put that down!" she repeated, getting exasperated.
"You've gotta tell him 'no' more often, I think."
"You don't have children. Unless you're his father." Cutler said.
"Ha, no, I'm no one's father, so far as I'm aware," Doug said, "Still a mystery, eh?"
"From his mannerisms, I'd say Torres or Masterson." Cutler said, "But you didn't hear that from me. Y'know, I think you're one of the only people Jun here actually likes. You should quit Tactical and become his babysitter. Get me a little peace," she said the last sentence barely audibly.
"What, and leave all this? Look, I've gotta get to the Bridge."
"We're going there, too." Cutler said, "It's his first birthday."
"Then I'll walk with you. Halls aren't a good place to be when you've got distractions."
"Yep. Big target there." she admitted. "And when the Empress has the next one, that'll only be multiplied."
"She's pregnant again?" Doug asked quietly.
"I don't think so, not yet. I think she's looking for suitable candidates."
"So, not Travis?" he asked.
"Ha, nope. Good for fun, not for breeding." Cutler sniffed.
"Here we are," Doug said, getting the door to open.
=/\=
Lunch meeting. Main conference room. Lili was again catering for the Executive Team.
"We have Thai Panang Curry today," she said, "Tofu for Commander T'Pol, in that smaller bowl over there, and chicken for everyone else, over here. Help yourselves to basmati rice and extra coconut sauce if you like. Enjoy."
"Ensign, why don't you stay. This may concern you a bit." The Captain said.
"Sir, I think Chef needs me to work the regular lunch rush."
"Probably does. But – does Hayes know anything about any loss of communications?" Jonathan asked.
"Um, no. At least I don't think he does. But he and I have not been talking about this much lately."
"Have you been talking about anything tactical?" T'Pol asked.
"Any clues would be helpful," Travis encouraged.
"N-no," Lili said, "I don't even know where they are."
"They? Hayes is on a ship?" Malcolm asked.
"Uh, yes. It's called the Defiant."
"There is no such ship in the Starfleet system." T'Pol said, after checking her PADD.
"Well, um, that's what he called it," Lili said, getting uncomfortable.
"Ensign, we are still concerned," Phlox said, "This whole situation is well out of hand."
"Yes, it's very out of hand," Lili admitted. "He – I hope you can find some way to bring him here, to our side of the pond. Because – please – we want to be together."
"Ensign, we will consider that." Archer said. There was a communications hail. He answered it. "Yes, of course. Sending her your way now." he closed the communications link. "You were right. Your boss needs you to serve lunch."
"Very well, sir." she departed.
Once she was safely out of the room, Archer asked, "Impressions?"
"Bringing him over here?" Phlox asked. "Certainly not! Who knows what viruses this man – if he is a human male at all – could bring over. Even a common cold. He could be immune, and no one here would be."
"I don't even think it's possible." Tucker said, "I mean, it's not like transporting. At least, I'm guessing it's not. Where's the bridge between, what did she call it? One side of the pond and the other. Where and how and when is it all happening?"
"It's pretty obvious that it's happening at night," Hoshi said, finishing the last of her rice.
"What kind of route are we taking through the Lafa System?" Malcolm asked.
"Uh, it's complicated," Travis said, "There are four stars to duck, plus loads of planets, moons and ships always flying around. Figure eight on top of figure eight and around and around. Like an ice skater, kinda."
"There may be some point where the doorway between one side and another is wedged open, and then another point when it's closed," Jonathan said.
"Or a septum is breached, like how gases are exchanged in the lungs. And then the septum closes up again upon waking," Phlox said, "That could almost explain the biological findings."
"This is all speculation that the Ensign's theory about a second universe is at all accurate." T'Pol pointed out.
"It's still possible that this is a Klingon ruse, or has something to do with the Calafans themselves." Malcolm agreed.
"Have we gotten any communications out since last night?" Jonathan asked.
"No," Hoshi said, "And communications were slow and unreliable before that. There are no buoys out here, so even open lines would take a long time to get through. I'm not so sure that any communications for the past week have really made it all the way to Starfleet Command."
"So we're kinda sitting ducks here." Tucker said.
"We can still leave," Travis said, "At least, I believe we can. Engines seem to be working just fine."
"Let's see what our hosts really have in mind. Invite them to dinner tonight, get them here and see if there's a way to talk this out," Jonathan said, "And have the Ensign cater it. Maybe that'll resolve some of this."
"How do you figure that?" Travis asked.
"Well, there's an old military state of mind," Malcolm said, "You dehumanize your foe. Perhaps that's not the correct word here, but the idea is, you treat your enemy as if he is not sentient and just a mass of horror and subintelligence. But once the soldier meets an opponent and actually gets to know them, that kind of conditioning can fall apart. That's why it's discredited these days. We don't train that way anymore."
"Yes, that's my idea," Jonathan said, "If they see the Ensign – that she's a real person – I do hope they'll do the right thing and free her from this, this, whatever it is."
"Assuming they're responsible for it at all," Hoshi said.
=/\=
"Did you miss Mommy?" Hoshi asked, hugging her son. He hit her in the face. "I guess not," she said, putting him down abruptly. "So, he's one today?" she asked Crewman Cutler.
"Yes, Empress."
"I had forgotten." The Empress said, "Hmm. There is no candy. She went into the Ready Room and emerged with a small knife. "This was my first knife," she said, presenting it to him.
Cutler looked on in alarm. "Empress!"
"Are you objecting, Crewman? I can always get another babysitter." Hoshi yawned.
"Um, no. It's just, Jun's, his, his, ..."
"His eye-hand coordination might not be fully developed yet," Doug pointed out.
"Then you'll help to develop it." The Empress said, "Start him on the lab animals in Sick Bay. If Dr. Morgan objects, tell him it's under my orders."
"Yes, Empress." Cutler said.
"Now take him out of here and don't bring him back until Winter holiday week."
"Yes, Empress. Come, Jun! We can play with the pretty knife later." she picked up the child and took the dagger out of his hand, all in one swift motion. He started to wail. They quickly departed.
=/\=
Dinner was again in the main conference room. Lili served the Executive Team and two aliens. One was older, it seemed, with flowing white hair and complicated rococo silver scrollwork up and down his arms. The other seemed younger but was completely bald and almost thoroughly devoid of any hair whatsoever. That one's arms were solid silver.
"Captain, this is my elder son, Treve." First Minister Chawev said.
"Pleased to meet you," Jonathan said, and then introduced everyone around, even Lili.
They all sat down. Treve looked up at Lili, then down at the fork set down next to his plate. "I, I can understand this," he said, indicating a knife. "But not this other one. How do you use it? I do not wish to be impolite."
"Totally understood," Lili said, "This is a fork. It's held, like, well, you're having roast beef so you'll need to cut. You use the fork to steady the meat for cutting, and then you slice it with the knife, then spear it with the fork and eat."
"I, I don't follow."
"No problem. Uh, are you left- or right-handed?"
"I, I use the correct hand. We all do," Treve said, bewildered.
"Which is?" Lili asked.
He raised his left hand. "This one."
"Oh, interesting. Humans can be dominant on either side, sometimes there isn't really clearcut dominance and those people are ambidextrous. Maybe three-quarters of all of us are righties, and I am one, too, but I can cut with either hand. So, here." she stood behind him. "You hold the fork this way when you're cutting, and just saw with the knife. Then put the knife down and switch hands so you're eating with your left."
"Why do I switch?"
"Well, I imagine it's easier to do the delicate work when you use your left hand."
"The correct hand is always better. And, and thank you," Treve said.
"My pleasure," Lili said, sitting back down.
"Captain, you have a fascinating and beautiful ship. We particularly enjoyed seeing your transporting device. And your crew is as courteous as they are professional." Chawev stated.
"Thank you. Best crew in the fleet," Jonathan said, "We are, we're having some trouble with our communications. Might you know something about that?"
"There are layers of sodium vapor between Ub and Fep. And there are occasional flares between those two suns as well. These pulses can interfere with any number of more delicate systems. This is one of the reasons why we are on the move so much. When the flaring goes down, my people move in closer. When it kicks back up, we move away. This has been our way for generations."
"There is a report of some sodium vapor from when my people were last here." T'Pol pointed out. "But no information on any loss of communications."
"Perhaps the older iteration of your communications devices was less sophisticated. It may have been less vulnerable. You see, we have found that increased technological detail and power can often lead to more likely breakdowns." Chawev assured.
"That's possible," Jonathan allowed.
The rest of the dinner finished in relative silence. Chawev and Treve asked to be excused briefly, in order to pray in private. Hoshi showed them to a side room and left them there.
"Father," Treve said, "these are kind people. We should not do what we are planning to do."
"It is the only way." Chawev said, "Come, pray with me, or at least we will make it look good. A few moments before we rejoin our hosts."
In the main conference room, Tucker asked, "Did anyone buy that?"
"Buy what?" Travis asked, finishing his second helping of beef.
"The line about the equipment being more sensitive. That's why we build in redundant controls."
"Maybe they don't know that," Lili said, "Maybe they really don't have ulterior motives," she said, as she tucked the dishes into her cart.
=/\=
"Now, let's see. Do we have targeting sensors yet?" Hoshi asked.
"I'll ask Tucker," Doug said, opening a communications channel.
"Targeting sensors are hit or miss." Tucker said, by way of greeting. "You'll need to fire some practice rounds."
"Okay, you heard the man," Doug said.
"All right. Practice on one of their smaller cities. On that little rocky moon over there." The Empress commanded, pointing.
"Travis, can you take us in a little closer?" Doug asked, swallowing.
"Sure, Old Man."
Doug set up the forward phaser. He also did a quick analysis, mainly to see if it was working. It was. The city had a population of about 10,000 Calafans. He felt sweat spring out from his palms. War was one thing. He could talk to Lili about that. She would get that. But a massacre of innocents? That was a whole other kettle of fish.
"Uh, ready when you are, Travis."
"That's Commander Mayweather to you," Travis said, as the Empress busied herself in the Ready Room.
"Uh, sure," Doug said. Stupid kid.
"In position." Mayweather said.
Doug gently nudged the targeting coordinates over one degree. Let's hope you don't have suburbs, he thought to himself. He fired.
"Looks like you missed, Old Man." Mayweather said, as soon as the damage could be assessed.
"Or maybe you weren't in the proper position," Doug countered.
"Which one is it?" The Empress demanded.
"I've got working sensors. He doesn't," Doug pointed out.
"Maybe so," she said, "Either way, fix it. We'll take out that city as soon as we've got navigation back and working perfectly. If we're gonna conquer these people, we need good navigation so's we don't slam into a planet on our way outta this godforsaken system."
=/\=
Lili was back in her room. The dinner rush was done and she was early for a change. Jenny walked in. "Ah, you remembered!" Jenny exclaimed.
"Uh, what did I remember? I forget."
"Very funny. It's movie night, Roomie!"
"Oh. Yeah."
"Look, I got it all set up. MacKenzie will meet us there. Wear something, uh, not something you cook in." she suggested.
"You're assuming I want to do this."
"Well, sure. It'll be fun."
"Jenny, I have someone."
"You have dreams, Lili. It's about time you went out with someone real. And real yummy. C'mon."
"Jenny, I just want to – "
"Go to sleep, right? I hear you talking in your sleep, you know. It's Doug this, and Doug that. And I'm glad you have a really active fantasy life. But don't you think you need an active reality life?"
Lili stared at her. "I, um, I don't wanna do anything I, uh, don't wanna do."
"Of course not," Jenny said, "Whatever the heck that means. I'm sure Aidan will be a perfect gentleman. Unless of course you decide you don't want him to."
"You better not have given him any expectations," Lili said.
"Not a one. It's just a movie! Have some fun," Jenny rummaged in the closet. "Here. Wear this."
It was the sapphire dress. "Uh, no," Lili said, taking out grey slacks and a purple turtleneck.
"Oh, c'mon. Show the poor guy something," Jenny said.
"No. If you want me to come with you at all, I wear this. Mmmmkay?"
"Okay. But don't come crying to me if it doesn't work for you."
=/\=
"Almost ready." First Minister Chawev said, "You collected good data, my son."
"Father, I still object," Treve said.
"Duly noted." the father replied. "But we are going ahead anyway."
=/\=
Movie Night was sparsely attended. MacKenzie greeted Jenny and Lili but he was not alone. "Lili, you remember Brian Delacroix, right?" he asked.
"Sure. Security, right?" Lili asked. Delacroix was shorter than her and even younger than MacKenzie.
"Uh, yeah," he said.
"So, is everything secure?" she asked.
"Yes. The perimeter is secure." he stated.
"Let's sit down," Jennifer said. She sat next to Lili, and motioned for Aidan to sit on the other side of Lili.
He apparently missed her cue and instead sat on the other side of Jennifer. "Here, Brian," he said, motioning to his friend. "Why don't you sit next to Lili?"
Brian sat down and fidgeted. "Do you, um, having you been cooking anything lately?" he asked.
"Yes, I cook every day. I made the horseradish sauce and the side dishes tonight," she said.
"Oh. Those were really good. You should, uh, you should be a chef or something."
"I am a chef."
"I mean like a, like a Head Chef or whatever those are called," he said, blushing.
"I used to have my own restaurant," she said, "I've done that before."
"Oh," he said, and fell silent.
"So, um, baby," Aidan said to Jennifer, "I'm glad you finally agreed to this."
"Well, um," Jennifer squirmed, "it was my idea. To, uh, to get Lili out of the kitchen. She's a very nice girl."
"I'm sure she is," Aidan said, "And you're a very nice girl, too. A very, very nice girl."
"Oh," Jennifer said.
There was silence.
Lieutenant Reed came in and waved. "Oh, hi!" Lili said, "Uh, Brian, can you move over one?"
"Uh, sure," Brian said.
"I gotta stay on the aisle. Quick getaway, yanno." MacKenzie said, "Can ya move in, Lieutenant?"
"Sure," Malcolm said. He sat down between Lili and Brian.
Lili sighed in relief. "Uh, didn't know you liked old movies."
"They're all right," Malcolm said, "Just something to do to pass the time. Did you make any interesting popcorn?"
"No, I didn't get a chance to," Lili said, "Would've made chili corn, or kettle corn, with some honey."
"I'm not much of a candy eater," Malcolm said, "But I know some people like it. Do you make candy, ever?"
"I can spin sugar but it's usually for cake toppings. I could make rolled sugar, cut it into sticks, flavor it a few different ways. Candy's fun if you've got food coloring, and we don't. We have the flavorings but not the colors, so everything would be clear."
"What kind of flavorings do you have?" asked Malcolm. "I like pineapple, if you have that."
"I think I do," Lili said, "We have cherry, grape, root beer, stuff like that."
"I like root beer," Brian said, and then they were all silent for the film, although Lili did notice Jenny pushing Aidan away.
When the movie ended, Malcolm turned to her. "Well, that was strange. Trying to make his wife think she was going mad. I don't suppose any of the women here are that unsophisticated. Ensign, are you off to, to bed now?"
"Yes," Lili said. Waiting through the film had been torturous, and she had fought falling asleep. She didn't want to be engaging with Doug with so many people around.
"Pleasant, pleasant dreaming then," he said, taking his leave of her.
"C'mon, girls, the night is young," Aidan said.
"I have to serve breakfast tomorrow," Lili said, walking away.
"And, um, I have work to do, too," Jenny said, "Uh, g'night." she ran after Lili.
When they were in the halls, Jenny asked, "So, uh, what the heck was that all about?"
"Don't you know?"
"What?"
"Jenny, allow me to explain something to you. Aidan didn't think he was on a date with me. He thought he was on a date with you."
"Huh? I guess that's why he got grabby. Very annoying but I think guys are sometimes just like that."
"Not necessarily," Lili said, "But, be that as it may, he brought along his wingman and went for it with you."
"Wingman? What's a wingman?"
"That's Brian. The guy who'll distract the ugly girl, so a guy can make a move on the hot one."
"Lili, you are not ugly."
"Well, thanks. But I'm no stunner, either, not like you, to be sure. And I'd've been stuck with Brian all night if Malcolm hadn't come along and rescued me."
"Malcolm? Ha, Roomie, I think you don't need me fixing you up."
"Good, I'm glad you're seeing the light on that."
"Well, no need for me to intervene. I think Malcolm – ha, what a totally cute British name! – I think he likes you."
"Oh, pul-eeze."
12
"You go on ahead, Lili," she said, "I'm not quite tired yet." She disappeared down a different hallway.
Lili walked along to their quarters, trying not to run, not to get too overly excited. The entire day, she'd been a bundle of excitement and nerves. She heard her name, and turned. "Oh, hi, Ensign Sato."
"Oh, c'mon, you know we're on a first-name basis," Hoshi said, "Mind if I walk with you a little?"
"'Course not. Did you watch the movie?"
"Only the last half or so. I get the feeling I missed a lot. Actually, um, can I ask you something, seeing as I have you here?"
"Yeah, I suppose so," Lili said.
"Hayes, um, can you, will you, tell me what he's like?"
"Like, uh, how?"
"Well, just, I didn't know him. Nobody did. Most of us didn't even know his first name until his funeral. He was always kind of a swaggery guy, if that makes any sense."
"Yes, it does. I got that impression of Jay, too," Lili allowed.
"So, is, um, Doug, you said his name was?"
"Yes."
"Is he swaggery?"
"Even more so. Attentive. Letting his guard down."
"Is he, um, uh, how shall I put this? The doctor said he'd be like this, this super male," Hoshi said, "Uh, is he?"
"Hoshi, are you asking me if he's good?"
"Huh, uh..."
"No one's telling you to ask me this, are they?"
"No, no. I'm just being nosy. Too nosy."
"Answer: he is excellent."
"That's all anyone can ask for," Hoshi said, "And, um, I shouldn't have pried."
"No, um, it's okay. I guess it looks weird, getting that intimate and involved that quickly. I won't deny that my brain's probably rather sex-addled."
"This is not the worst thing in the world." Hoshi grinned. "These are your quarters, right?"
"Yep. Gotta go."
"Have fun," Hoshi said, grinning and shaking her head as she continued walking down the hallway.
=/\=
It was a beach.
Doug was near the water line, standing, wearing orange board shorts. He was waving.
Lili willed herself out of cut off sweats and an old baseball shirt and into a white tankini with little shamrocks all over it, and matching boy shorts. She ran over.
"Been waiting long?"
"Nah. I don't know if we fall asleep at the same time – maybe we don't – but it never seems like a long time. During the day, though, that's another story. Hard to wait all day. And, um, I swear I will say it to you first tonight. I swear," he said, kissing her.
"Is it hard for you to say it?"
"Yes, it is. I've been conditioned one way for almost 55 years, Lili. But I am determined. I'm gonna say it to you first today. I promise."
There was a blanket, a cooler and a vase with blue flowers in it.
"What have we here?" she asked, sitting down on the blanket.
"I didn't know what kind of flowers you like. But I know you like blue. So I, um, I found these in the database and imagined them colored blue. I bet that's all wrong."
"Daisies aren't normally blue," Lili said, "But it's the thought that counts."
"The other thing I know a lot better," he said, opening up the cooler. He took out a small bottle of Champagne. "May I pour you some?" he asked, popping the cork.
"Sure. Lemme see. Ah, Grande Siècle. I am impressed."
"I had to look it up. I'm more of a beer man, usually. Is it, is it a good kind?"
"Yes, it's a very good kind." she raised her glass.
"To, to connections," he said.
"And to dreams." she replied. They drank.
"Y'know, it's strange," he said, "I normally dream in color, and of course I can hear and feel. But I can smell and taste in my dreams with you."
"Well, they're more than dreams," she said, "But I know what you mean. I sometimes smell and taste – maybe that's related to being in Food Service – but never anything more than something really simple. I once dreamt I made and ate a salad composed of shredded iceberg lettuce and little green scallions chopped finely. Kind of a mundane vision. I mean, I didn't even add dressing."
"I haven't had fresh vegetable in a long time," he said, "We get some meat, sometimes, go to planets and hunt. Kind of the alien beef lottery. Never know how it's gonna taste, but it beats the usual junk. But vegetables are such a luxury. We get those vitamins and whatever from this paste stuff. It's mixed in with everything and it's bland."
"I wish I could cook for you. I mean really cook, not just conjure it up this way. What would, uh, what would you like if I cooked for you, Doug?"
"A steak. A real steak, made from an actual cow. Uh, you wouldn't have to Kosher kill it."
"Good. I think I've had enough of that for a while. How do you want it cooked?"
"Rare. Just a little crusty on the outside, inside really, uh, really moist."
"Bloody?"
"Not really. I just don't want it to be dry."
"I won't make you a dry steak, Doug. Sides?"
"French – no, roasted potatoes. Skin on."
"Green vegetable?"
"Huh, hmm. Forget what it's called," he said.
"Snow peas?"
"Are those like regular peas?"
"Yeah, but still in the shell."
"No."
"Zucchini?" he shook his head. "Broccoli?"
"What's that?"
"Looks like little trees."
"Um, no, don't think so."
"Asparagus?"
"I know what that is, but it's not what I have in mind."
"Spinach!"
"Yes!" he said, excitedly. "With a little, uh, softened onions and salt. And real cheddar cheese."
"Okay, so a pan-seared steak, a little garlic butter on that good for you?" she asked.
"If I have garlic, I might offend."
"I'll have garlic, too, and then it won't matter." she smiled.
He kissed her. "And, um, you don't have to serve me like an Emperor or anything. I can put together my own plate. You're not my servant."
"I know. I just want to do something for you."
"You already do a lot for me. Actually, I wonder most of the time what I can do for you. And I keep feeling like I'm lacking and I can't do anything for you."
"You do everything," she said, kissing him deeply.
"I'm not, uh, not necessarily talking about, you know. I just want this to be, you know, I want it to be equal."
"Me, too," she said, "And I think it is. You may not realize it, but what you give me is confidence. You make me feel like I'm young and beautiful and desirable – things I know I'm not."
"Don't be absurd. You're all those things."
"No. Really. You know I'm not really sitting here in a swimsuit with you. You know why I'm not wearing a bikini? It's because I don't like my belly."
"I think you have a perfectly good one," he said, "It's not flat-flat, but it's fine. Don't worry about that."
"See? There you go, doing it again."
"Doing what?"
"Making me believe in myself."
They kissed again, and he stared at her for a few seconds. "Lili," he finally said, "this is what I want holding against my chest. I want to feel your belly on mine, your chest on my chest. No one else's."
They gazed at each other for a while, not speaking. He took her right hand and kissed it. "This is the best hand."
"Oh, and what of the other one?"
"This," he said, taking her left hand, "is the second-best hand. This is the best belly," he said, kissing it. "These are the best shoulders." he kissed each one. "These are the best eyes." she closed them and he carefully kissed the lids. "This is the best nose." she giggled as he kissed it. "This is the best mouth."
"No, that one is," she said, kissing him.
"Your, um, your hip bones jut out just a little," he said.
"Yeah?"
"I guess I bang them a lot."
"That's all right. Will you kiss and make them better?" she teased.
"Sure," he said, smiling. "I was hoping for the invitation. I may take a certain, um, detour."
"Of course I'll have to return the favor," she said, "Or simultaneously."
"My favorite number," he said.
"Let's not be crude about this."
"I'm not!" he said, "It's a great number, divisible by two primes: three and twenty-three."
"Well, now that you put it that way, Doug, let's do some math."
=/\=
"Ready?"
"Ready, First Minister."
"Then let us begin. They will not know what happened for at least a few hours."
=/\=
Spent, she rolled onto her side. "You're like a slingshot."
"I am? Huh, I wonder how I, uh, compare."
"Not to worry," she said, "And you're not being compared."
"Thanks. You, you treat me well. Let me ask you, would you stay on the Enterprise. If we were, uh, together?"
"Only if you were here."
"Well, they already have a Tactical Officer, right? I don't imagine Reed's going anywhere any time soon."
"Probably not. And the Columbia is already fully staffed, too. I know they're building more ships, but that takes a while."
"Oh. Hmm. We'd have to occupy our time somehow."
"Yes. And not just doing what we were just doing." she reached over and brought his face to hers, and kissed him.
"True. We'd have to earn a living. Dig ditches, or something."
She smiled. "I would just open up another restaurant, I guess. But it wasn't easy the last time."
"How so?"
"I like the creative part: the cooking, the menu planning, even shopping and figuring out what's in season or fits in budget. But the haggling with suppliers, getting the construction done, doing the books? That part was awful. I was doing it all on my own. By the time the Enterprise came calling, I was glad to be done with that."
"Sounds like you need a business partner."
"Are you sure you want to be that kind of a partner to me?"
"I like the current way very much," he said, kissing her. "But I can't just sit idly by. Plus I bet I could do all that. Strong arm the contractors, get the suppliers in line, make sure you got your broccoli the way you wanted it."
She smiled. "You wouldn't be able to go around breaking arms or anything, you know."
"I know. Lili, I'll sweep the floors if I have to. Let's just be together."
They kissed. She broke away suddenly. "We need a name! And it can't be Voracious II. Sequels are always pale imitations of originals."
"I don't mind pale," he said, holding her face in his hands. "Your eyes, they're like this crystal blue, almost transparent."
"Not transparent. If they were, they'd be pink, you'd see blood vessels. I guess they're just a really light blue. But yours! Yours are like stones."
"Stones? I don't think that's the most romantic thing you've ever said to me, Lili."
"No, it's good. Really. They're kind of bluish-greenish-greyish. Sort of like pebbles you find at the bottom of a clear stream. The best eyes."
"Hmm. I disagree. Not the best. You have those. But – I think I know the name."
"Oh? Lay it on me." she smiled.
"Reversal."
"Reversal?"
"Yes. This is – you've turned me around. And I guess we turned each other around. I, I dunno. It just makes sense to me, but you've got veto power over it."
"No, no, wait." she counted on her fingers. "Eight letters. First four, R-E-V-E, can be in black on white background, then a forward slash separator, last four letters, R-S-A-L in white on a black background."
"Yeah, you should definitely do the signage. I don't have an artistic bone in my body," he said.
"Wait, wait, wait," she said, getting a little more excited.
"Hmm?"
"Oh, it's ideal. Do you know what rêve means in French?"
"Nope."
"It means dream."
=/\=
"Ready, First Minister?"
"Yes." Chawev said, "Start now."
=/\=
"Let's go to the kitchen. Er, dressed," Lili said, "I want to cook something with you."
"I thought we were cooking just fine here."
"Yes, but, indulge me for a sec. And then, hah, we'll need a shower."
"Oh." He raised an eyebrow and smiled at her slyly. "I see your plan, Miss O'Day."
They were instantly transformed to the kitchen and into clothes: Lili in chef's whites and Doug in a pair of tan pants and a green shirt.
"Here," she said, handing him a baseball cap.
"New England Red Sox." he read off, before putting it on.
"My favorite team," she said, donning a West Coast Mariners hat. "We'll make chocolate chunk cookies. Very easy and very fast."
"All right."
"Here." she gave him her PADD. "Can you write down the recipe while we go? I mean, I know how to make these, but maybe we'll improvise a little."
"Sure. You talk, I'll type."
"Preheat oven to, um, 177 degrees. Combine dry ingredients. Which are, uh, 260 grams of flour ..."
=/\=
Jennifer walked in late. Lili was dreaming, she could tell. Something about flowers. "Hope you're happy," Jenny said, as she eased herself into her own bed.
=/\=
"Oh my God, these are wonderful," Doug said, eating a cookie. "You were right. This is a fast recipe. And now for a shower."
"Yes!" Lili smiled at him, and vanished.
Doug put his hand out to where she'd been standing. "Wait, wait, wait! I didn't get a chance to say it!"
He looked around, scared. The kitchen was still there. It still smelled of vanilla and sugar and chocolate. The PADD was still in his hands. "Maybe you can see this. I'm, I'm not ready for this, but maybe you can see this." He started to type, and typed for hours until the alarm went off, and he awoke in a pool of cold sweat.
=/\=
Jennifer woke to an empty room. But in Lili's bed, there was something flashing. She picked it up. It was a PADD.
46