*7
"Sir?"
"Yes, Malcolm?"
"I want you to know," Malcolm said, standing in Jonathan's Ready Room, "I spoke with Daniels today."
"Oh. Is he on the ship?"
"Not yet. I think tomorrow."
"I see. Do you know what it's about?" Jonathan asked.
"It has to do with that wave, sir."
=/\=
Dinner ended, and Lili brought out the Boston cream pie with two candles in it, "It's not only Empy's birthday," she said, "It's also Rick's. In fact, his was only a few days ago."
"Well, sorta," Rick admitted, "It's, um, February third."
"Then it's still closer than Empy's," Joss said.
"But they can both still celebrate together," Doug said.
They sang, and the candles were blown out.
"I don't have a present for you," Rick said to Marie Patrice.
"It's okay," she said seriously, patting his hand which made him laugh, "It's your birfday, too, so you don't need to give any presents."
"That's a reasonable explanation," Norri said, "Why the Boston cream pie?"
"It's where the Red Sox play!" Joss exclaimed.
"Well, they play all over New England. And one of these days," Lili paused for a second, realizing it might not happen at all, "we'll take you to your first game. And it'll be in the original Fenway Park, not in one of the satellite parks, like in New Hampshire and Providence. But – "she smiled a little, "my father's family was from Massachusetts. It's an Indian word. It means, 'Place where they don't pronounce their Rs'," she joked.
"Can we have tofflin juice?" Joss asked.
"No, you may not. None after noon, remember?" Doug said.
"What's tofflin juice?" Melissa asked.
"It's local. The plant grows fast and tall – almost a half a meter a day under the right conditions," Lili explained, "And its leaves can be ground into flour. But the sap is, well, the human body reacts to it the same way we react to caffeine. So any of it tonight and they'll be dancing 'til dawn."
"Ah. Well then none for you," Melissa said, addressing Tommy.
As if in response to her, he called out, "Ba!"
"Hey! That's new!" Melissa grinned from ear to ear, "Ball? You think he said ball?"
"It might be baby," Rick offered.
"It could be barometric pressure," Doug joked, "My son the meteorologist."
Once the pie had been served, Lili beckoned Doug and they walked outside. The four stars of the Lafa System had set, and the night was cool but comfortable as the stars came out. He put an arm around her, "Look, there's Lafa I," he said, pointing to a large orb.
"That one's easy," she said, "Can you find Lafa IV?"
"The reddish one? There?"
"Yep. That planet doesn't have a true night," she said, "It's within the orbits of the two littler stars, Fep and Ub. So once Lo and Abic have set, Fep and Ub dominate the night sky. It looks all red and orangey and a bit sinister."
"You'll miss it here, won't you?"
"I will. I hope we don't have to stay away too long. I was thinking, Doug, what the hell am I gonna tell my business partner? The restaurant will have to abruptly close, never to reopen. And then if we're successful, I'd've set the events in motion. It wouldn't be impossible to take it back, but I'd rather not have to."
Rick came over, "Hope I'm not intruding. We can do it this way. I have to send you from a transporter pad in my ship. We can set it up, just write notes for Norri and Melissa to send or read. And we'll tell them not to send or read anything until my ship leaves. That will happen when I send you – I'll just send you and depart. That will set in motion what will be the alternate timeline. But for your return, you'll come into the ship and then will just walk out of it, a few minutes later. Delete the messages and you're fine."
"Okay," Doug said.
"I'll start writing," Lili said, "And think of what to say to the kids."
"I can do the same thing," Doug said, "And we'll just say good-night to them tonight like always. And then leave afterwards."
"I don't love it, but it seems most logical," she said.
Back in the house, she typed furiously. First, she wrote a letter to Treve, her business partner, giving him half of her share of the business but retaining the other half for the children's support. A note to Joss's school, lying, explaining they had been called away and the children would be attending school on Ceres instead. Then a note to Yimar, the babysitter, thanking her for everything and telling her that they would be moving suddenly. And then the children. She sighed. She reached into the top drawer of her bureau, amid the lingerie, and found the little turquoise square of fabric that the key had been wrapped in.
She then went over to Tommy's things, "Hope you don't mind me borrowing these," she said. She took a blue crayon and a piece of paper. Malcolm, you give the best gifts, she thought to herself.
She began to write.
Dear Joss and Marie Patrice,
We love you more than you will probably ever realize.
But we must go, and it's because we love you that we have to do this. I wish it did not have to be so. We will be back, and we will not even spend a second not thinking about you and missing you.
You will both go and live with Melissa, and Norri, and Tommy. And there may be another brother coming. We're not sure. Please mind Norri and Melissa as you would your father and me. They will take care of you, but you need to make it as easy for them as possible. Please try not to fight too much.
Marie Patrice, this turquoise cloth was part of a present from Malcolm. He will be around as much as he can. Please, both of you listen to him as you would your father.
Joss, take care of everyone. When Malcolm isn't around, you are the man of the house. I am counting on you and I know you can do this.
Our love for you goes on forever, even past the end of our lives. Remember that.
Love,
Mom
*8
Doug had his own letters to write, as Lili busied herself with what was certainly meaningless housework. But it took her mind off things, at least a bit. Rick helped her load the dishes in the sanitizer, but backed away and cringed when he cut his hand on the big knife she'd used to cut the pie.
"Lemme see that," she said when she saw his face.
"No, no," he said, still cringing. There was a little blood, but not enough to make him really react like that.
She looked away for a second to get a bandage but he told her not to bother. And, sure enough, the cut was not only no longer bleeding, she couldn't even find it.
"What the hell just happened?" she asked.
"Stem cell growth accelerator," he explained, "I have certain enhancements that make me well-suited to time travel. That one keeps me out of most hospitals – medical care can be rather primitive at times."
"But you had a lot of pain," she pointed out, "Much more than you should've had."
"That's the price I pay for quick healing – I get all of the pain but compressed into the shorter duration of the injury. It all goes away about ten times or more faster than normal, so I get ten times or more pain than you would."
"Ah. Hmm. Interesting."
=/\=
Doug wrote a letter to the Calafan envoy's office, resigning his commission. Then he wrote a commendation letter for the most promising cadet, Aliwev, recommending that the young Calafan man be promoted to his own job in his stead. And then, he sighed, one for the kids.
Dear Tommy, Marie Patrice and Joss,
Ever since Tommy arrived, it has been a dream of mine for the three of you to get to know each other better and possibly live in the same house. You should know each other as brothers and sister. This was not the way I wanted for this to happen, but I hope that you'll at least become close.
I hope that you will realize that it shouldn't matter who has which mother. We are all family. Do your best to stay together. Be strong and stay alert. There are a thousand things I could tell you about where you may be going but the biggest one I can tell you is to not show weakness.
I am very proud of all of you. We will be back as soon as we can.
Love,
Dad
=/\=
Melissa and Norri put Tommy down for the night. Doug came in, too, and kissed the boy on his forehead, "I can't do this," he whispered, turning away.
"Do your best," Melissa said, "He can't see that you're upset, or else he won't sleep."
Doug composed himself, "G'night," he said, trying to sound upbeat as he gently squeezed the boy's ankle for a second, and then backed off.
"What a big boy you are," Norri said quietly, "A big boy who sleeps through the night."
They closed the door.
=/\=
"Mommy, can we stay up with you?" Marie Patrice asked while Lili bathed her.
"No, you may not. You need to rest," Lili said absently.
"Does Joss get to stay up?"
"No, he does not."
"But I wanna see Rick."
"You'll, um, you'll see him later," Maybe.
=/\=
The kids still shared the same room, although the plan had been that that would change. Well, like their other plans, it was now gone.
"Good night, sport," Doug said to Joss. Upbeat. Be upbeat, he kept telling himself.
"Good night, Ducks," Lili said to Joss.
"Maa–ahhm."
"Don't you say that," Lili said, "It's just us and I will call you Ducks if I want to."
"Sleep tight, pretty girl," Doug said to Marie Patrice, "Have good dreams."
She was already settling in by the time Lili got to her, "Rest now," she said to her daughter.
Standing apart, arm in arm, they looked at their children, "Remember, if you can smell and taste in your dreams, it means you're dreaming like a Calafan. And that's very, very special," Lili said, "Dream away."
=/\=
Door closed, they sat in the kitchen with Rick, Melissa and Norri.
"You had mentioned that you had a personal stake in all this," Norri prompted, "What might that be?"
"Huh. It's, well, not embarrassing. Just not the best thing I could have done."
"Oh?" Doug asked.
"I, too, am a Dad," Rick said, "But I don't exactly qualify for Father of the Year."
"What?" asked Lili.
Doug thought for a second, "Jun," he said, "She said that to me once. I was ... distracted ... at the time. But she said you were Jun's father."
"Yep. That's me," Rick said, "And she thinks I'm dead – and needs to keep thinking that. This is why I'm not allowed to go."
"She – who's she?" Melissa asked.
"Empress Hoshi," Lili said, "At least, that's my guess."
"Yep," Rick said, "But in 2178 Jun isn't alone. There are five other kids, with four other fathers," he explained who they were.
"Ha. Every name is meaningful. Even to the Empress – that's interesting," Lili said, "Is she a good mother?"
"She's terrible," Rick said, "At least that was what I observed."
"Me, too," Doug said, "She didn't even remember when Jun was born, let alone care for him. Cutler was his babysitter, until I came here. My departure was a part of Cutler and Tucker leaving there. There must be another sitter. The Empress wouldn't sink to the level of changing dirty diapers or burping anyone."
"Or even breastfeeding," Rick said, "But no matter. There is a sitter, of course. It's Aidan MacKenzie."
"Man, he was totally busted," Doug said.
"MacKenzie? The Tactical guy?" Melissa asked, "The one who hits on every woman he sees?"
"His counterpart, yes," Rick said, "Babysitter is the lowest role on the ship. Once slaves are brought in – which is around 2160 or so – they are technically lower in rank but babysitting is a thankless task on the other side of the pond."
"But 2178, there wouldn't be a need for a sitter, right? You said the youngest one, Izo, is a few months from being born, as of right now," Norri pointed out, "So by then he'd be, what, sixteen?"
"Yep, he'll be a few months from seventeen," Rick said, "But when babysitting stops being diaper changes, it turns into generally acting as the kids' only parent. Aidan's no teacher – the Empress hires one – but he's needed to deal with whatever scrapes they get into. Someone is always gunning for the kids."
"A teacher, eh?" Doug asked, "Then they don't go the normal route, and go off to school at age seven?"
"Not the Empress's children. She realizes that they've got huge targets painted on their backs, so she keeps them close. She's at least conscious enough of her investment in them to protect them that much. But her plan is she knows they'll fight over the succession when she dies. She's just making sure that's as late as possible. Then, it's Survival of the Fittest, so whoever makes it out of the battle for the succession is the one who becomes Emperor."
"Or Empress," Lili said, "You said there was one daughter."
"Yes. And this is not the original history," Rick said, "In the original, the kids cooperate after she dies. My boy," he said, with a slight hint of pride in his voice, "he keeps them together. And that keeps the Empire going for almost another two centuries, which is key to the proper timeline on the other side of the pond."
"And his children?" Melissa asked.
"He can't have any. That was a condition of him being able to stay alive at all," Rick said, "His being created wrought some havoc with the timeline, but we could fix that by assuring he wouldn't have any offspring. The choices were sterilization or death, so you can see which route I chose."
=/\=
He was thirsty, and got up. He wasn't really sure of what the grownups were saying, but it was all very mysterious and seemed both sad and furtive. A glass of water forgotten, Joss stood along to the side, out of the line of sight, and listened, fighting to understand just why the grownups were acting so strangely and why Mom and Dad had been so very subdued when saying good-night.
=/\=
"I think we need to get on my ship and start the real prep work," Rick said, "I know you'd like to linger but that's only gonna hurt more."
"Let me make one last call to Malcolm," Lili said, "Then I'll be ready."
They walked out to the backyard. Unseen, Joss got back into bed.
=/\=
"I'm sorry I woke you," Lili said, as Malcolm sleepily answered.
"It's all right. And apologizing implies you did something wrong. Far from it, Lili-Flower. Do you feel ready?"
"I feel awful. I'm abandoning everything."
"It's for a good cause," he said.
"I truly love you," she said.
"And I love you. I shall miss our nocturnal romps."
"Just that?"
"Not just the physical part, my love. You know this. There have been plenty of occasions when we've mainly just talked. The light that was in your eyes when Marie Patrice first started walking – I shan't forget that."
"It's mundane things a lot of the time," she admitted, "A lot of ordinariness."
"It's the stuff that makes up your life. You have allowed me to be a part of it. That's almost as intimate as holding your body to mine, touching and kissing and looking at all of your, your secret places."
"And yours, too. You've let me into your life, too, Malcolm. And I know that it's not easy for you to do that."
"There was never anyone before who I wanted to open the door for," he said, "We won't be able to talk about Jane Eyre," he changed the subject abruptly.
"No, I guess we won't. When I, when I get back. I promise we will then," she said, "I love you so much. I'll make dream contact as soon as I can."
"And I shall be receptive," he touched the Calafan cuff on his left wrist, fingering its complicated scrollwork, "I shall keep this on, always – just in case you are calling. I will listen for you."
=/\=
"And when you come back, it'll look like just a little while from now?" Melissa asked Doug while Norri stood over at the side with Rick.
"Yeah. Right, Rick? It'll be, like, you'll just see him leave this time. And then when we're done, this will play a second time, only you won't realize that. And the difference will be that we will come out of his ship before he departs."
"I love you, you icky boy," she said, "I never loved another man. Never wanted to," she kissed him.
Lili came outside, "I don't know what to wear."
"I'll take care of that," Rick said, "Doug, let's go."
He came up for air, "Take care of her, Norri. And take anything from the house you want," he said, "And you," addressing Melissa, "do a pregnancy test."
"I'd rather wait 'til you got back."
"The kid'll be in High School by then."
"The sticks are in the bathroom, in the top shelf of the cabinet," Lili said, "Take them with you if you want. I won't need them."
=/\=
The inside of the ship was far larger than it appeared from its exterior.
Lili was about to ask about that when Rick said, "It's quantum physics – a little trick whereby the space between electrons and neutrons is changed just a bit. It saves a lotta space."
"Neat," she said, looking around, and then stumbled upon his bedroom. The room was dominated by a king-sized bed with black satin sheets, "Rick? Are you expecting female company?"
He came over and smiled, "Ha, well, I have friends wherever I go."
"You mean a girl in every port," Doug said, "You got kids everywhere, too?"
"No, just the one. They changed the rules because of me. Now we all go in with shots. Which reminds me, I'll give you the shot."
"I'm not planning on being with anyone but her."
"Understood. But she shouldn't get pregnant. And, well, just in case ..."
Lili looked at him, "We may have an open marriage but it doesn't mean we're with just anyone out there. We both only love two people."
"I get it," Rick said, "But still, it's a precaution that should be taken."
"Well, I don't need the shot," Lili said, "It's been ten months since I last had a period and right now I'm feeling a bit PMS-y so I am doubting that I need any more chemical assistance than I already get. Besides, the shot makes me sleepy on the first day."
"We definitely don't want that," Rick said, "Okay, identities. You are going to be obviously known to them," he said to Doug.
"Yeah, I suppose. They knew me as Doug Hayes. But by the time we get there, it'll be twenty years since then. I was fifty-four when I left. Are you gonna make it look like I'm seventy-four? Right now I'm fifty-nine."
"No. We'll – you'll use a different birth date if they ask you, and they will when they process you. Just tack on twenty years."
"December third, 2122," Doug said, trying it out for size, "I think that makes me ten years younger than Malcolm."
"Yeah," Lili said, "But you're still older than Melissa. What about me?"
"I got a different idea for you," Rick said, "But let's finish Doug first. You need a different name. And a different rank, as Captains and Lieutenants would be known."
"Can he be a Major?" Lili asked.
"Oh, no," Doug said.
"Yes," Lili said, "You can do him a lot of honor."
"Wanna clue me in?" Rick asked.
"Doug should be known as Major Jay Douglas Hayes– his counterpart here," Lili said.
"Step into that guy's life?" Doug asked.
"He would do the same," Lili said, "Become Jay. Take on what he was."
"His birthday was on the fifth. And does this mean I suddenly have a sister, Laura, too?"
"No," Rick said, "Keep it simple. Make it something you won't stumble over. Say you're your own cousin if anyone asks too many questions," he walked over to a replicator and began talking to it, "Period garb. Twenty-second century, early. MACO, mirror universe."
The computer asked, "Rank?"
"Major. Arm patch must read J. Hayes," he answered.
"Accessories?" asked the computer.
"Phase rifle," Doug said, "Small dagger, non-standard issue. Regular issue dagger. Communicator, too."
"Add a PADD, with tough shell designed for combat conditions," Rick added, "Anything else?" he asked them. Doug shook his head, "Replicate," Rick said to the device.
"Me, now, Coach?" Lili asked.
"Yep. I was checking, and it's rare to see a human in a kitchen on a combat ship during this time period. Therefore I think it'd be better to go with Plan B."
"Plan B?" asked Doug.
"She'll be a Calafan. Like I've said, the humans won't know. Keep your head down and stay deferential. Take whatever they dish out."
"They might smack her around," Doug said.
"I'll smack back," Lili said.
"No. Don't. Take it," Rick said, "You're a slave, remember? You keep quiet but you listen to everything."
"A kitchen crew can hear a lot of things," Lili confirmed, "We used to hear all the gossip on the Enterprisebefore everyone else did. This could definitely work. But any Calafans in there will find me out in about five seconds."
"Make friends," Doug said, "You're a lot better at that than I've ever been," he kissed her forehead, "You'll have something in common – hatred of the Empress."
"Use your best judgment," Rick said, "Talk like them and use whatever you know of their language. You'll need a name, something really nonthreatening."
Lili thought for a moment, "Yimar's little brother, his name is Chelben. And that means faith of the heart."
"But that's a guy's name," Doug pointed out.
"I can use the Yi- prefix. It's feminine. It means student of. So, Yilben – student of the heart."
"Poet?" Rick asked.
"Or cardiologist," Lili said, smiling, "But yeah, it would be accepted by them. I probably wouldn't have to fiddle with my date of birth at all."
"If you do, do the same thing. This is assuming you're found out as a human by someone in authority. So you'd be born March 27, 2129," Rick said, "Same year as the Empress."
"I need clothes," she said.
"Period garb. Early twenty-second century. Calafan female," Rick said to the replicator.
"Profession?" asked the computer.
"Food service. Uh, slave," Lili said.
"Accessories?"
"Do I get anything at all?" she asked.
"Plain handkerchief. I think that's it."
Their clothes came out. Lili looked at hers and frowned, "The shirt's too short. What if something splatters?"
"All the women bare their midriffs," Rick said, "You can change in the bedroom."
Lili and Doug went into Rick's bedroom, "This is too much," she said, "I half expect mood lighting or a mirror on the ceiling."
"We never did it on satin sheets," Doug said, kissing her.
"I know. But, we got a mission, my love."
"We can live together, yanno," he said, "I can get okay quarters as a Major. Kick out my roommate. Fix him up with whoever they assign to be your roommate."
She smiled, "I don't suppose it'll be Jennifer again."
"No. She got out when I did," he said, sticking the smaller dagger in his left boot, "I don't think you'll have a lotta choice in the matter."
They walked back into the main area, "Ah, good," Rick said, looking at them, "I think you can keep the hair ribbon."
"I need to keep my hair back. They should be okay with it," Lili said. She put her hand up to her face and her wedding ring flashed a little.
"No wedding rings," Rick said.
"Nuh-uh," Doug said, "This thing doesn't come off until after I'm dead."
"You can't be married," Rick said, "All of the men have to be, at least theoretically, sexually available to the Empress."
"It's good to be the Empress," Lili said.
"I'm still not taking it off," Doug said.
"Wait, can he be widowed?" Lili asked, "You could, uh, say you were married to Charlotte," she said, spinning the tale by using her own rarely-heard first name, "and she could've died in a house fire."
"Like the way your parents went," Doug said.
"Yeah. Like that. And, I can't wear a ring, either. Calafans don't wear wedding rings. But here," she pulled the key out from inside her shirt, "I can put it on this chain. If anyone asks me, I can say it was a gift from a kind mistress or something, I dunno," she unclasped the chain, put her ring on it and handed it to Doug to put it on her.
He did so, "Reed get you that key?"
"Yeah."
"It's pretty nice."
"He said it was 'cause he shouldn't give me a ring."
"Well, he shouldn't. He's been really good about everything," Doug said, "Better than a lotta guys would be. All set."
"Thanks," she smiled at him, "If we can't be married, can we at least live together on the ship?"
"No," Rick said, "But you can meet. The Empress can't be everywhere at once, and her, ahem, observers, are often off doing their own things. There will be a lot of people coming in, new recruits and the like. They would notice if it was official but if a Major grabbed a Calafan woman and molested her, no one would bat an eye."
Lili sighed, "Gawd."
"Sleeve up," Rick said to Doug, then gave him the shot, "You're good to go."
"So, we start now?" Doug asked.
"One more quickie thing. Two, actually. First, I'll put you in for May thirty-first. Give you a chance to get in there before the next day's incursion. The other thing is – and it's part of why I want to give you that kind of lead time – this transport might not all happen today," Rick said.
"A long transport is no fun," Doug said, "When I came over initially, it was a good day or so. I was alone with my thoughts a lot."
"This would be more like a year," Rick said.
"A year in a transporter pattern buffer will kill anyone," Lili said.
"It won't feel like it. It's incoherent time, continuing to rear its ugly head," Rick explained, "You're up, you're down, you're here, you're still in the house. Once it's all resolved, that'll be gone. But until it is, the transport will go back and forth, a bit like a tide. Time's a wave, in part, remember? This is a part of that. It won't feel like a year to you, and probably not to me or to the folks outside or in your house. To them, though, you might not leave in February. It might be July or something like that."
"I'm glad you're the expert and I'm not," Lili said.
"Flares. We need the flares," Doug said.
"Yes!" Rick brought them out. They were small.
"They look like Christmas crackers. Malcolm sent them last year," Lili said, "But these are black; his were red or green or gold."
"They work similarly. All your Calafan friend has to do – and all you have to do, the second time – is break it in half, facing away from the dishes on Point Abic. Nothing will be seen, felt or heard."
"You take one," Doug said, "I'll keep one as well," he placed it into a zippered pocket and secured it.
"Temporal tags," Rick said, handing them each two, "These are tied in with the flares, and will begin emitting a frequency once a flare has gone off. I can interpret it. The Empress and her crew won't know – they'll just see it as background noise."
"These little things?" Lili asked, turning one over in her hand, "Will they be damaged if I put them too close to an oven?"
"No. They'll be fine. Just don't lose them," Rick said.
She placed the little strips, which were maybe eight centimeters long at best, into a pocket in her little shirt, then fastened it with a hook-and-eye closure, "Ready."
"Okay, onto the pad, both of you."
They did as told, and Rick fiddled with controls. He set the dark matter stream to reverse and locked in the coordinates for the dishes on Point Abic, "I have to set this off at the same time I start your transport. Otherwise, you'll just go forward in time but you'll stay on our side of the pond."
"Oh. Okay," Lili said, "This won't hurt, right?"
"Not a bit. Energizing now."
Rick saw them go, kind of, and there was a blur of the shadows of bodies moving back and forth, onto the pad and off it, to one side or another. Checking the clock he saw the days progress and sometimes reverse. Finally he felt able to say that the transport was finished. He checked one last time, "A great little invention, Mr. O'Connor," he said, and then took off, heading for the Enterprise's last-known position.
=/\=
From the ground, Melissa and Norri saw similar incoherence, a parade of Dougs and Lilis and Ricks filing in and out of the ship, backwards and forwards. But at one point, the picture cleared, "It's chilly," Norri said.
Melissa checked her PADD, "It's November."
*9
Rick got the HG Wells close to the Enterprise, with the cloak engaged, and then lifted the cloak so that the little time ship could be seen. He hailed the Enterpriseand Hoshi answered – always a tad rattling for him, given how he'd known her counterpart on the other side of the pond. He checked his records one last time. Anachronisms be damned, he thought to himself. The timeline was all off, and was only going to get worse. He'd deal with Carmen's wrath later.
He docked and was welcomed on, then threw the cloak back over the Wellsso that any curious eyes would see nothing. In Jonathan's Ready Room, he explained, "I'm here about the wave and about other things, too."
"Oh?" asked the Captain.
"Yes. There's an invasion coming," Rick said, "I need you, Reed and Tucker. You've gotta do more than just change some polarization protocols. You need to reinforce the hull and upgrade the weapons, and the Columbianeeds to do that as well."
"Wait, what?" Jonathan asked, "What about T'Pol?"
"Yes, involve her, too. Hell, involve everyone. The invasion will be in 2166," Rick said, "But I can only be here for about another week, and then I have to go back to right now but keep an appointment over on Lafa II. You've got five years to get ready. Make the most of them."
=/\=
May 31st, 2178
Leonora Digiorno sat in a hot transport. It swayed a little as it moved, a converted pleasure craft reinforced and slow, but durable. It was as safe as one could get, traveling to a damned war zone. She was lucky to get the tickets at all.
On one side of her was a teenaged boy. On the other was a middle-aged woman, a few years older than her. Or younger, perhaps. As for Norri, the lioness's mane had long gone from auburn to an ashy grey but she was, after all, forty-two years of age. She was tired and bored. There were few windows on the transport – it was like being in a freight car.
They were headed to the Lafa System, that godawful place. There was nothing to do on the transport but think about the last time she'd been in the area. But it was hot, and the rocking was making her drowsy, so she slept.
=/\=
Leonora had the same old dream.
It wasn't really a dream, in the sense that dreams are often inventions or reconfigurations of reality. And it wasn't a Calafan-style dream – she had no amplifying metal on her person and no experience in that area anyway.
No. This was a nocturnal vision, to be sure, and she was definitely asleep. But to call it a dream would be to add a fictitious spin to it. For it was no dream – it was a memory – a perfectly preserved, utterly traumatic memory.
And for the previous eleven-plus years, she had relived it.
Every single damned night.
This time was no different.
It was December twenty-sixth of 2166. Boxing Day.
It was a fool's errand. They didn't know it at the time, but it was. But Melissa and Malcolm had insisted. All they had wanted to do was attempt to make contact. It had been so long. And the year was nearly over. Perhaps what Rick had said had been incorrect. So they all went to Lafa II. She and Melissa and the kids, in a transport much like the one she was on, and Malcolm via the Enterprise.
They had had Christmas dinner and even a few modest gifts. The children were growing strong and tall – Joss was eight and was growing like a weed, with six-year-old Tommy trying to follow right behind him. Malcolm, as always, had brought the best presents, even though times were not so good. No one could cook like Lili so the gifts had been food-oriented, with jars of chestnuts, little chocolate bars and delicate little packets of tea in the offing. It had been as festive an occasion as was possible under the circumstances.
And that night, Melissa and Malcolm had slept in Lili and Doug's old bed, thereby breaking Doug's biggest commandment but, so far as she knew, no other commandments. It was for the purposes of making contact. She'd seen them lying there, sleeping, eyelids twitching furiously as they kept his cuff and her bracelet in direct contact. Their shared dream had seemed troubled but Norri had not known, at the time, just how troubled it truly was.
But it was the following morning, and she didn't want to wake them. She shut the door quietly and instead woke the children, brushing her hand over her mouth – instead of placing a finger against her lips – to mimic the Calafan sign for staying quiet.
There had been snow. Most of Lafa II had a climate much like Australia's, but there could be snow on Point Abic, and there was! Instead of breakfast, she gave them each a chocolate bar – diets be damned for one day. She bundled up little bodies and made her way out, taking the old sled out of the shed in the back.
When they had gotten to Point Abic, it was lively. They weren't the only humans who'd decided to do that. There were the Robinsons, the Montgomerys and the Montez family. She recognized the Kleins and even old Doctor Morgan with his granddaughter. There were a few dozen other families – she didn't know all of the human settlers. But there were lots of children and they were all having a fabulous time. Their sled was a most welcome sight as there were only two other sleds. She walked up and down the rise several times until she was too tired, and ended up telling two older boys that, if they carted the children around a bit, they'd be allowed to take the sled themselves a few times.
She sat on a small bench and a man came over with a flask, "Want some?" he asked.
"No," she said, "Too early for me, Dave."
They sat and talked – her and Dave Ryan – about mundane things. Davey junior was about to enter kindergarten. Marie Patrice was a young lady of almost seven and was already talking about her little boyfriend, Danny, who was throwing snowballs but just at the big amplifying dishes, not at anyone.
It was usual parent-y stuff. Nothing remarkable, nothing painful, nothing strange and nothing hurtful. Except for the damned dishes, it was a scene out of freakin' Currier and Ives.
And then she'd heard it.
They all had.
It was a low rumble, and then a whistle, and she had looked up, and the scene began to change, "Look, it's snowing again!" somebody yelled, but they were mistaken because the bits and flakes and streaks of white and grey weren't moving down at all, but sideways, and with no wind whatsoever.
Alarmed, she had gotten up, and called the children's names.
But it was by that time much louder, and Dave realized he should find Davey, and began yelling as well, and soon their panic began to spread as other parents called and began running around, while children continued to skip and bounce and play, not understanding that things were about to change radically and not for the better.
Only one of the children heard her. He came running, five-year-old feet stumbling along in the cold.
Neil.
For it had taken, and there was, indeed, a Neil.
He ran to her, and she gripped him, hard, so hard that he began to struggle, but she held him all the more tightly.
The swirling incoherence shifted and it got louder.
And that's when the first shots were fired.
She ran.
Leonora was no soldier. A book editor, for gosh's sake! Her fear overcame her, for she knew what was happening, even if no one else did.
She stopped, then, and turned, for there were other children and surely there was something she could do. But the troops were coming, and there were a lot of them. She ducked behind an olowa tree and crouched down, fairly well smothering Neil in her arms, demanding that he stay quiet even though it was impossible to hear anything in the chaotic din of tramping feet and phaser fire.
She clicked open her Communicator and just yelled into it, "It's happening!"
Shaking cobwebs on the other end, Melissa had just answered, "We'll be there!"
But it had taken too long, even though it was only a few minutes.
The troops continued, and she could see, in silhouette, four small figures go in the opposite direction. They were being drawn, somehow, to go where the troops were coming from. It was three with one more, hanging back a little bit but still following along.
And that was all she saw of that, for a body suddenly landed near where they were hiding.
She ran back toward the house and saw Malcolm out of the corner of her eye, "Get to the
Enterprise!" he had yelled.
And she had, and they had sent their own ground troops in as that was the beginning.
And a few days later, when they could get back to the area to assess damage, the hole was still open, a ragged, gaping maw between universes, and on their side of the pond there were bodies, including Dave Ryan's. And there were missing people as well – at least two dozen children and almost as many adults.
The Enterprise had dropped her and Melissa and Neil at the nearest Starbase. Melissa had reupped, taking on a three-year tour. And she and Neil had returned, eventually, to Ceres, where they waited for, inevitably, the invasion to get there as well.
=/\=
"Commander?"
"Yes, sir?"
"What brings you here?" he asked.
"Well, Captain Reed, I was wondering. Permission to, to speak freely, sir."
"Of course, Jennifer. Do sit down," he indicated a seat in the Ready Room on the USS Bluebird, "Tea?"
"No, thank you. Uh, sir, why are we in the Lafa System? It's, well, it's pretty much a dead zone right now. Isn't it?"
"Mostly," he admitted, "But we are here because, well, because I mean to make a particular type of contact."
"Hmm," she said, "Lili and Doug Beckett, right? They can move into a dream, if I'm remembering correctly."
"Yes. You remembered they had lived here," he fingered the cuff on his left hand, a gesture he made when he was nervous, or troubled, or just pensive.
"Of course," Jennifer said, "Sir?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you, um, this is probably none of my business. But, there are plenty of places in the fighting where we probably really should be. This, it seems almost a desperate thing to do."
"Quite," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers and changing positions. For the past four years, he'd rarely been fully physically comfortable, "It's, just, it's something to do for people you, well, care about."
"Are you in love with her?"
"Commander, you are my First Officer. And you are an exemplary one. But I scarcely think that discussing my personal life is of aid to this ship."
"It's not," she said, "I just, I want to believe that someone believes in love, still," Jennifer said.
"It hasn't been easy for you. You could have a command at this point, I'll wager."
"I have no ambitions, sir. Not since Frank and the children were killed. Not since anything, really," Jennifer stated blankly.
"I have few myself. I'm only in command of this vessel because, well, no one has more experience these days. What I wouldn't give to have Archer or T'Pol to lean on and ask questions of. But that's no longer possible. At least, I can, well, I can see a little light, maybe. The last time, it didn't work. There was no contact. I have to hope that this time it will truly happen," His eyes were far away, looking out the window of the Bluebird.
"You still believe in love, Captain," she said.
"There's nothing like it," he said softly.
=/\=
The lines stretched, long, a double line from the processing area to God knows where.
And Doug and Lili were on two separate lines.
They'd started on the same one, but human soldiers took one look at Lili and sneered at her, "Aliens over there!" one of them had said gruffly, pointing to a longer line.
She had done as she was told, and then the soldiers began to bother Doug, "Alien tail, eh? Whadda they have that a good human chick doesn't?"
"Well, there's the Orion girls," Another soldier had pointed out, "They can do lots of things."
"Andorians, too," said another, "Get the antennae waving and you're in business. And they are really dark blue down there. Know what I'm sayin'?" And they had laughed as Doug had stood there, at attention, thinking about anything but that.
He had gotten to the front of his line first. First they scanned him with a wand, "Twenty centimeter radiation band," said one clerk to another, "Pass."
He'd gone to a second station and given his fake name and date of birth
, Jay Hayes, December third, 2122. There were three teenaged boys, all partly of Asian extraction, "A Major, eh?" asked the tall one, "Where'd you last see combat?"
"Uh, Denobula. And Andoria," Doug said.
"Commanding officer there?"
"Donnelly," he said. That had, at one point in time, been true, but a good five plus decades before.
"Hmm," said another teen, "There's a slight bit of familiarity I'm sensing.
Déjà vu, maybe. Specialty?"
"I have a common last name. Lots of my family is military. I can mold raw recruits," said Doug. That much was true. He positioned himself so he could look back at the other line. Lili was maybe sixteen places back, but it was getting dark.
"Pay is standard," said a seated teen, "Thumb print here. And, here."
"We need you to whip recruits into shape," said the second teen, who seemed older than the other two, an old man of close to twenty-one, "If you don't, you know what will happen."
"Yes. You'll dump me on the next rock," Doug said.
They let him onto the next shuttle.
=/\=
Lili had a different kind of luck.
She stood behind a Xindi sloth woman who looked back at her nervously, "What's the matter?" Lili had finally asked quietly.
"You are a soldier's property," The Xindi had said, "They came in my village and raped and burned."
"Mine, too," Lili said, "But that one has been a good, uh, master."
"You're the Empress's property now," said the Xindi.
Once they were closer to the front of the line, Lili could hear two boys talking. One was of part Asian and part African extraction. He said, "It's the twins' birthday tomorrow."
"You get the girls?" asked the other kid.
"Sure I did. Might make a man outta Arashi yet," he said.
"And you, too, Izo," Joked the other kid.
"I am counting on that," Izo said, grinning, "Maybe even DR."
"That shrimp! Ha!" laughed the other kid, "I think when even hookers won't do it with you, it means you're kinda ugly."
"Too bad the food'll stink," said Izo.
Lili recognized that clue. She cut the line.
"Hey!" yelled the Xindi.
"Sirs! Sirs!" Lili called, "I can, I can cook good meals. Nutritious and flavorful! I am a trained che- uh, cook. Can make all kinds of human specialties."
"Riiiiight. Get back in line, alien," Sneered the second boy, tossing brown hair out of his face.
"Tom, really," Izo said, "this could be fun," Lili's eyes widened when she heard that name.
"Fun?"
"Sure. We let the alien cook. And we'll feed it to Teacher first. If it's good, then we get a good meal out of the whole thing. If it's poisoned, then we won't have to take our History test."
"Heh, yeah, Izo," said Tom, "Pity she's ancient."
"Really, you set your sights too low," Izo said, "Don't bother with the kitchen help. Orions. Trust me on this one. Orions for doing it and someone upper class for, you know, more permanent stuff."
"Like your sister?"
"Even Takara's not gonna marry more than one of ya," Izo said, "But she might have fun with ya."
A taller, older man came over, "The line stopped moving," he said.
"Sir, I can cook good foods!" Lili repeated. Maybe the guy was someone in a position of authority.
"Did I ask you?" he said, and turned, and she recognized him.
Masterson, he was Masterson.
"Well, why isn't the line moving, Tom?"
"Sorry, Chip. We were thinking, if this alien really can cook, the Empress might like it."
"And if the alien can't, then she and Travis have someone new to torture. Huh. Could be another use, too. Slave!"
"Yes, sir?"
"I need food for a training table, for human athletes. Can you prepare that?"
'Yes. You'll need protein for muscles, carbohydrates for energy, and fat for warmth and flavor and to burn when carbohydrate stores have run out. Roast meats and, and whole grains are best, with vegetables, of course –
these are good for all kinds of athletes."
"Vegetables. Ha, we haven't had fresh ones in years," Chip said.
"There are, there are native plants, sir. They are mostly good for human consumption."
"How do you know?"
"I, I lived here, sir, in the countryside, with a human mistress and her, her soldier son. But she has recently died, and so I am here looking for some work," Lili said.
"You don't belong to that mistress or that master anymore. You belong to the Empress now."
"I understand, sir," Lili bowed her head, "May I ask what the sport is that the athletes will be playing? That will help me to adjust the proportions properly for, for optimal performance. Performance can be, it can be enhanced. And that can lead to more wins, sir."
"Baseball," he said.