*22
"Can you contact the folks on the surface?" Doug asked, "I know Tucker's father – at least I'm about ninety percent sure he's who I think he is. I might be able to persuade him to help."
"The Empress monitors communications," Joss said.
"All of them?"
"Probably," DR said, "But I can check. It'll be less suspicious if I do it."
"He's right," Joss said, "The Empress pays attention to whatever I do. But she doesn't give a damn about DR here. I wish I could get outta hunting. I'm kinda sorry you suggested that, Dad."
"It'll get everyone on the surface," Doug said.
"You gotta understand," DR said, "Joss here doesn't hunt."
"I don't do any of that," Joss confirmed, "It's why I bothered getting good at baseball. Through the years, if I could show I was doing that, no one made me hunt or, ugh, participate in torture."
"They made Tom do that, didn't they?" Doug asked.
DR nodded, "I'm not so sure making is the right word for that. At least, not anymore."
"You mean he's a willing participant?"
"Definitely," Joss said, "He's, well, back in 2166, we all – except for DR, I guess – we felt a strong pull to this side of the pond. I mean, we're half and half, right?"
"Yep," Doug said grimly.
"Tom, I think he felt the strongest pull of all of us. Even more than Empy did, or does. I went in to follow him, and get him back. Empy followed but she was also drawn," Joss said.
"And you?" Doug asked DR.
"I ended up along for the ride," The boy replied, "A sled ride down into another universe, where I don't belong at all."
"We'll get you back – all of you," Doug said, "even if I have to put a phaser on stun and shoot Tommy to get him to come back with us. Get in touch with Tucker, however you can. I gotta go, but I'll get to the galley tonight. If you can get through, tell your mother, Joss. We gotta act quickly," he departed.
=/\=
"Can you wake me in, I dunno, twenty minutes?" Lili asked.
"You won't get enough sleep that way, Yilben," Susan said to her.
"It's okay. Right now, I need whatever I can get. Thanks."
=/\=
It was the same large area as before, similarly populated.
Species of all types milled around, mostly unsure of where to go. Purposeful strides would get her somewhere, but Lili was unsure of where to go. Without Malcolm, and Doug was awake, who would she be able to meet?
Calafans were more coherent in their movements, but she couldn't understand what they were saying. They were definitely communicating – she saw gestures – earlobe tugs, hands brushed over mouths, occasionally finger flicks or nose touches, all of that was still going on. And she understood enough of their language to expect to hear some words she knew, like ilben – heart – or fep – small – or cha – faith – or pran – sky – or mar – maps.But nothing. It was more like clicking and popping.
It was static. She recognized static. Way back when, a billion years ago or so, 2153 – she was on the other side of the pond, and working as a sous-chef for the Enterprise. She was also in the process of selling her old restaurant in San Mateo, a fusion place called Voracious. That was long before she and Doug had opened up Reversal. Hell, it was long before she and Doug had made contact, or she even knew he existed or that there was such a thing as a pond and a whole other place on the other side of it, where a funhouse mirror imperfectly reflected so many people into worse versions of themselves.
Jay, Doug's counterpart, he was still alive. But they hadn't had a romance. She had to admit, though, she'd found him attractive. But he was thoroughly unapproachable. She could barely stammer out a good morning to him – it was like trying to talk to a famous ballplayer like Ty Janeway. But, static. She would call the people buying they had been pleasant enough but there was always some sort of a complaint. She'd had to explain, over and over again – in the midst of the Xindi War, for gosh's sake! – How to jigger the knob and turn on the oven, who to see about getting the freshest salmon and so on and so forth. The reception was never any good, despite what Hoshi Sato – the Empress's counterpart, that was to laugh – could do.
These sounds were like that. It was just so much white noise, impossible to decipher. She thought she heard the word miva – clay – suddenly, but she was being shaken on the shoulder.
=/\=
Lili awoke.
"It's time," Susan said.
"Oh, thanks."
Lili got herself to the galley. Lunch would be ... something.
=/\=
Polloria was stacking boxes when she arrived, "We're running low on things," she said as Lili came in.
"Like what?"
"Everything, it seems. We'll probably have to go back to serving the Empress slop, and she is absolutely gonna hate that. We'll be punished – you, in particular – if you can't whip up some other miracle."
"Heh, great," Lili said.
There was a communications chime. Polloria answered it, "Yes. All right. Good. Polloria out."
"And?" Lili asked.
"Seems that there's going to be another hunt tomorrow. And then we'll leave the system the following day."
"Oh. I suppose you'll miss the Lafa System," Lili also thought about getting out. Being away from the gap – even if it was closed – was not a good thing. Absentmindedly, she touched the chain around her neck, but had the presence of mind to not pull it out. She didn't want to have to explain – or potentially lose – the only valuable possessions she had. And to lose the key would be the worst. It was all she had left of Malcolm, and had consulted the internal poem throughout the previous night, as she tried desperately to comfort herself, even a little bit, for his loss. It was still very, very fresh.
"Well, yes. But I don't have perfectly positive nostalgia for here."
"Oh? I thought all, uh, of us," Lili said cautiously as she was unsure as to who might be listening in, "wanted to stay here."
Polloria came a lot closer, "I am surprised you have forgotten who I am," she said quietly.
"I guess I didn't want to believe it," Lili said, "But I guess that there aren't any duplicated first names, are there?"
"No. Not until a death," Polloria said, "You must know we don't have surnames, so this is the only way to tell us all apart in the records. There is but one
master of music – Aliwev. And one delicate serving girl of Lo–me."
"And you are an escaped criminal?" Lili asked.
"Not escaped. They let us all out," Polloria said, "I think it was cheaper than keeping us in there. We became available for slave labor, as you can see. I am here, of course. Baden, my accomplice, he was not so fortunate."
"This is fortunate?"
"It is if you've been designated for laboratory experiments," Polloria said, "His name meant prosperous," she shook her head, a mass of coppery red waves, "He was far from that at the end. A doctor, becoming a lab rat. Not a good doctor, to be sure, but still. For me, it was, well, I was sentenced to potassium injections."
"Yes, I'm remembering that now," Lili said, "You, well, it was a plot to kill the High Priestess, yes?"
"Yes, and she was eventually killed. I regret that now. But potassium injections – it's a horrid punishment. I lived that way for about a decade or so. Existed, really. Lived implies I was, perhaps, happy or at least in control of my faculties. It changes you," Polloria said, "All that was important before was power. Now, survival. And it would be good to have freedom, of course. But right now, survival. Anywhere but here."
"Polloria, you've seen what's going on at night. Why is it all staticky?"
"Ah, they set it up. Good," she said, and went back to stacking.
"Set up what?"
"It's a cover. There are prying eyes. The Empress; she's now living in dreams. It must be the ultimate in despotism, to control not only your subjects' waking lives but also their sleeping ones. Perfect totalitarianism. Now, while I expected and hoped I would have control, I hadn't thought or even really wanted to peek into nighttime dalliances. Maybe I wasn't thinking big enough. I don't know. That hardly matters now."
"Why would she want to look in?" Lili asked, but she had an idea of the answer already.
"Oh, well, if your subjects can speak to one another while unconscious, they can plot against you. Root out the conspirators and send them to the booth!"
"Are there listening posts here, all around us?"
"No. At least, I suspect there aren't, for too many things have happened, and have been said, without consequence. But I wouldn't put it past her for the future. But for now, I expect she feels it's either dull or counterproductive."
"Hmm. A big setup like that would entail a huge bureaucracy," Lili suggested, "I don't think anyone here is interested in records and recordkeeping."
"Except the third one, Arashi," Polloria said, "If he gets control after her death, I am sure he will take every means necessary to assure that he is looking in on every single aspect of everyone's lives. He'll be searching for oddities, rebellions, conspiracies, anomalies and anything else that tickles his fancy. Of all of them, I hate her the most, and I wish her dead," Polloria said the last few words very quietly, and Lili had to strain to really hear her, "But it's Arashi who truly scares me. Anyone with a brain in their head should, if they take her out, take him out as well."
=/\=
"Ha, that's it," DR said to himself as he clicked on a PADD.
"What's what?" Joss asked. They were sitting in quarters together, and Joss was absently looking over film of his batting stance from the game against the Hunters.
"I figured out how to get through to the surface."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I'll make it look like a love letter to Betsy," DR said, "Once they see it's just a teenage crush note, they'll leave us alone."
"You sure about that?"
"I'm not sure about anything. And Betsy might just delete it without reading it. But I know that a note I sent wasn't intercepted."
"A note?" Joss asked.
"Yeah, I wrote to Bernstein," he said, "It was last year, but no one gave me grief about it."
"It's all we've got, I guess," Joss said, "Start writing."
"Hmm," DR started to type.
Dear Betsy,
I saw you at the game and I hope you saw me. I think you're really pretty and have a beautiful smile. I hope we can see each other some time. We are leaving the system soon, but we're planning on a hunt on the surface. I think it'll be tomorrow. You know I don't hunt, but if I could see you and maybe we could go for a walk alone and look at the suns setting, I think it would be a really fun time.
I just want to look at your smile close up. I hope that will be okay for you. Please let me know.
– DR
"Hmm," Joss said, looking over the note, "You don't wanna hurt her feelings."
"I don't!" DR said, "But we gotta make sure she doesn't delete it or anything. Or maybe have her Dad get angry and read it. Think I should make it steamy or something?"
"Uh, no, I don't think you want Tripp Tucker to break your nose or anything."
"Here goes nothing," DR hit send.
=/\=
Aliwev came in, "Have we got lunch yet?"
"Sure," Lili presented a stir-fry with mostly meats but also some vegetable tube paste squeezings.
"What about those spices over there?" Rellie asked.
"Tomorrow," Lili said. She had something in mind for them – cumin and chipotle chili powder, "I want to save the flour, too."
"Why? We'll be getting supplies when we get to Andoria," Rellie pointed out.
"I have an idea," Lili said, "But I don't want to execute it just yet."
"Execute is probably a poor choice of words," Aliwev said.
=/\=
DR's PADD was flashing, but he ignored it during lunch until Takara pointed it out to him, "Aren't you gonna read that?" She had come in late and had ended up at a position of some dishonor, near him and Susan.
"Uh, later."
She grabbed the PADD and looked at the sender, "It's from Betsy! DR's got a girlfriend!"
"Huh," he turned red.
"Him? He's hopelessly ugly," Takeo said, "She musta meant that note for me. Gimme that."
"Nuh-uh, it's addressed to DR," Takara said.
"Give it to me!" her twin demanded.
"I am the elder and I say no," Takara said, "Here. Just read it out loud," she gave the PADD to DR.
"Oh, it's probably nothing. She, uh, she collects bugs on the surface. I think she wanted to show me some of them, see if I could identify them," DR said.
"You mean she eats them," Jun said, "Really, Takeo, get yourself someone better. When we get to Andoria, grab a blue chick. Leave the bug-eater to the shrimp."
"Aren't shrimps a form of bugs?" Arashi asked, looking up from his PADD.
"Not exactly," Susan said.
"Who asked you, Teacher?" Izo said, "Huh. Bugs. Hudson doesn't eat ... bugs."
"When the good-time girl's over fifty, it's time for a new good-time girl," Tommy said, "At least Bernstein's a good decade younger."
"Hey, Hudson still knows her way around," Izo said.
Lili served the stir-fry and tried not to listen to them picking apart the sexual prowess and skills of her friends' counterparts.
=/\=
Dishes in the sanitizer, Lili finally walked out of the galley and almost ran right into DR.
"I thought you'd never be done," he said.
"Were you waiting long?"
"A while. Here, there's the old Botany Lab. It's used for storage; no one's gonna go in unless they want a pair of boots or something."
Once the door had safely closed behind them, he said, "I heard from Tripp Tucker."
"Ha," she said, "I take it things are happening that I'm not aware of."
He told her what they'd planned, "So, tomorrow, you'll all be on the surface?"
"So far as I can tell, yes," DR said.
"It would be good if we had the means of getting through to the twenty-one side, but if at least we can keep everyone off the ship, that's a good chunk of things. And Tucker will meet us?"
"Well, he thinks I have a thing for his daughter."
"He has a daughter?"
"He has a son, too. Remember Charlie? He played catcher, next to Joss? Takara's interested in him. So I think Tripp has a lot of motivation to be around and keep an eye on things. They – he and his wife – they camp with another woman and a Calafan man."
"Hmm," Lili said, "I actually have an idea. I've been saving some stuff, some food, because I think I can get Marie Patrice to remember things if I make something familiar."
"Which is?"
"It doesn't matter. It's light, though, and portable. What we could do is, the guys hunt but the thing I'm gonna make can be a kind of appetizer for while they're waiting. She sees and eats the food and maybe she remembers things. And then it's three for four. Plus I have this," Lili took out the turquoise bit of cloth.
"Her handkerchief. She's had that for years."
"I don't think she realizes it's important. In any event, I can stick a tag on it. If she won't take a tag voluntarily, well, there will be one on her whether she wants it or not. Where's yours?"
"Left boot," DR said, "Could probably drop the fourth one in Tom's boot when he wasn't looking."
"No, the laces would be tied. You should really stick it in there so it's not lost, like under the tongue flap or something like that."
"Okay, but it's a thought," DR said, "And if we don't have a means of getting over, well, there's no need to pass any tags, at least, there's no rush."
"Can I use your PADD?" Lili asked.
"Sure. Address it to Betsy, whatever you write, and sign it as being from me. They scan the outgoing communications, but they only scan the to and from fields. If those aren't interesting, they don't seem to scan anything else. And believe me, a love letter from me to a girl who lives in a cave on the surface is just not that interesting to them."
Lili began to type.
Dear Betsy,
Please share this note with whoever you see fit.
My name is Lili O'Day Beckett, and I am writing this note on DR's account. I am married to the former Doug Hayes. Your father – and maybe also your mother – knows who that is. He is here with me.
We are back for a very specific purpose. We need your help.
Tomorrow, the Empress's family will be on the surface. We need a Calafan to assist us. If the passageway can be opened, someone needs to slip through with a small, safe device that either I or my husband can provide, and then set it off on the other side of the pond.
This will help to reset things. I know that the Empress has been here a lot, and I'm sure that hasn't been good for anyone. If we can reset it in 2166, and do it right, we can make sure that she comes back less, if at all, and you'll be free and undisturbed here.
You know that Doug helped you get out back in '57. I don't expect you to feel an obligation from over twenty years ago. But I do hope you'll want to help a friend and his family.
Thank you.
– DR
She hit send.
"We better split up," she said.
"Stay late at the galley," DR said, "Your, um, I guess he's your husband. He said he'd try to see you there."
"Thanks. Your family's worried about you, yanno."
"I guess so."
=/\=
Dinner was leftovers. It was a lot for Lili to continue to protect the spices, and the flour and some of the linfep fat and meat, but she managed to pull it off.
"I'll finish the cleanup," she had told the others, and they left early. She saw Aliwev put his arm around Polloria's waist. She hesitated before pushing him away. Progress for him, perhaps.
She was about ready to give up waiting when the door slid open and it was Doug and DR.
"Where's Joss?" she asked, kissing Doug.
"Too risky," DR said.
"We got the response," Doug said.
Dear DR,
I remember you and, of course, your husband. This is Tripp.
Beth is here with me, and so is Jennifer. Her fellow is a Calafan named Treve. I don't know if you remember him. His mother was the High Priestess, way back when.
We can be available during and after the hunt. Have DR and Betsy go off together as a cover if you have to. All we really need to do is, keep yours and my people on the surface, and get the Empress's crowd off it. Do whatever you have to. I don't know how we'll get that passageway open again or if that's even possible, but at least you could live down here. The life is hard but you're free.
See you tomorrow.
– Betsy
"What did he mean by 'Do whatever you have to'?" asked DR.
"It means – and this is not a bad idea at all – if we have to, we should kill the Empress," Lili said quietly.
"Lili, you don't want to be that kind of person," Doug said.
"Doug, it was Malcolm's last wish."
"Who?" asked DR.
"The Captain of the starship you saw destroyed," Lili said, then pulled the key out, "The man who gave me this."
"Someone special to you, then?" DR asked.
"Yes," she said, and sat down, eyes shining. Tears were not far away.
"Listen, Lili. If anyone has to be doing any killing, let it be me," Doug said, "I've already done it fifteen times."
"Fourteen," she corrected him.
"No, fifteen. When I left, I blew up the Defiant'sTransporter Room. I had thought there was no one in it at the time," Doug said, "DR, this was, uh, back in '57. But there was someone in there. Deb Haddon. Now I gotta process that, too. Let me have all of that. If I can give you anything, anything at all, let it be that I make sure that you never have to have that."
"Doug, I killed a Xindi Insectoid back '53. I'm not unfamiliar with such things," Lili said, "And I have olowa leaves. It would be easy."
"Olowa leaves?" asked DR.
"They naturally contain tricoulamine," Doug explained, "which is a neurotoxin. The Empress – or any other human – who ate something made from olowa leaves – would be dead by the time they swallowed."
"But there's a food taster," DR pointed out.
"I have her on board," Lili said.
"Susan doesn't always listen," Doug said.
"And you know this how?" DR asked.
"We had a thing. It was a long time ago."
"I think she'll follow directions," Lili said, "She's aware of what's at stake."
"A dead Empress is all well and good," DR said, "But we need to get that crowd off the surface, not keep them there, to ask questions and torture people, and hunt out the conspirators."
"Hmm," Doug said, "Let's just keep this in our back pockets. We'll have phase rifles, too, or at least Joss and Tom and I will."
"Tommy's not trustworthy," Lili said.
"I know," Doug said, "And neither is Travis. But Aidan and Chip – they might wanna seize the opportunity."
Polloria came in, yawning, "Oh! I didn't think anyone would be here. I was just getting a small bit of paste for later," she paused, "You're not talking about food, of course."
"I know you," Doug said, raising his phase rifle, "And I recall you can't be trusted as far as you can be thrown."
"Oh, put that down," she said, "This is about our favorite Empress, right?"
Lili nodded, "Say nothing," she brushed her mouth with the side of her hand.
"Who would I say things to? Even ratting you out wouldn't get me anything better than what I've currently got."
"Would you go to the surface and take something to the other side of the pond?" DR asked, point blank.
"One would have to get to the other side," Polloria said.
"And without a pulse shot at our disposal, I am thinking that can't happen," Lili said.
"Wait. Do you know how I was sent over, back in '57?" Doug asked, "It wasn't a pulse shot."
"No," Polloria said, "It was mass meditation."
"Could that work again?" DR asked.
"Sure. But you'd need to contact all Calafans. I can't do that," she said.
"Can anyone?" Lili asked.
"Yes," Polloria said, "There is one person. I'll let Aliwev wonder where I've gone to. This is more important. You and I – we will sleep," she said to Lili, "You two stand guard."
The PADD dinged.
Dear DR,
2166 is a tricky time. Torres got through, but it was because there was no resistance. If there was resistance, the Empress would not go ahead with any invasion. Even small resistance might prove to be enough. She doesn't want casualties. Give her at least one in 2166, and I think we'll be good to go.
– Betsy
Lili and Polloria lay down on the big food preparation table.
"Be with who you desire," Doug said.
*23
It was another huge hallway filled, as before, with people of all shapes and sizes and races and species.
Lili saw plenty of people from the mirror – twenty – side of things. Pamela was slapping Izo, and he didn't seem to mind, as it only served to increase his ardor. Chip was trying on a new suit. Susan was taking a walk on Titania. Travis was getting his teeth cleaned by Doctor Morgan.
For the most part, the dreams were chaste and mundane, covers to conceal true desires and keep them hidden from prying eyes. Surely, with directed, Calafan-style dreaming, no one wanted to be getting a dental procedure done! Yet it was happening – and would be easier to explain to a nosy despot than, perhaps, a dream about an encounter.
Polloria led her along, "Wait here a moment," she finally said to Lili.
There was still a mountain of static, closing in on all sides, whenever Calafans were close by. Noses were touched, fingers were flicked, but they also hissed and popped. Then, a word, in Calafan: enne.
It meant water.
But it could also mean pond.
=/\=
The galley door slid open.
Doug cocked his phase rifle. It was Aliwev.
"Sir?" asked Aliwev.
"Oh, sorry," Doug put the rifle down.
"Sir, I know you," Aliwev said, "But it can't be."
"Yes, it can," Doug said.
"I know that humans age differently than we do," Aliwev said.
"What's happening here?" asked DR.
"This man with you, he was my commanding officer," Aliwev said, "But it was over fifteen years ago."
"Seventeen, to be precise," Doug said.
"Captain," Aliwev said, "What are you doing here?"
"Trying to reverse it all," Doug said, "My, my wife," he indicated Lili, "she and Polloria are trying to contact someone who can maybe help us."
Aliwev looked down at the two sleeping women. Eyelids bounced as the movements got more and more rapid, "I may not have done it for years, but I can still fight. Beneath a galley slave's uniform beats the heart of a fighter."
"Tomorrow," Doug said, "You may need all of your old skills."
=/\=
The language switched, and suddenly it was English, not Calafan. Polloria returned, "This way," she said.
They walked, and a door appeared. Polloria opened it.
"Just the twenty-one human," said an unseen voice, "You, it was a long time ago, but I cannot allow you here. You must understand."
"By all means," Polloria said, and departed.
=/\=
She woke and looked at the three men around her.
"And ...?" asked DR.
"She's not done yet," Polloria explained.
=/\=
Lili walked down an empty hall to where there was a Calafan woman seated. The woman wore a long-sleeved green and copper gown. She smiled as Lili approached, "It is good to see you! It's been a long time!"
"Excuse me?"
"Yes. Oh, you have forgotten. That's unfortunate," said the Calafan woman.
A man and a woman appeared; they were humans – then another human woman and two Calafan men.
"You must be Hayes's wife," Drawled one of the men, who had a jagged facial scar and a drooping eyelid. His Floridian accent had never really departed, even after a good two decades on Lafa II.
"He's Beckett now, but, yes," Lili said.
"Hmmm," said a woman holding the scarred man's arm. She had a wide, open face and her eyes crinkled a bit, "The age seems wrong."
"Yeah, you should be older, seeing as we were both nabbed at the same time, for the same purpose," said the other human woman, who had grey hair but her arms were covered with coppery tattoos mimicking calloo – similar to Lili's own tattoos. She was holding hands with one of the Calafan men.
"Something is different, Jennifer," said one of the Calafan men to her, "But this is the only human twenty-one here."
"Yes," said the other Calafan man, "There are a few twenty-and-one-halves. But this is the only human who is a twenty-one."
"My, my children," Lili said, "They are twenty-and-a-half. There are three of them."
"Yes, we have three," said the scarred man, "You wrote to me, under the guise of the twenty-one kid romancing my – our – daughter."
"So you're Tripp Tucker," Lili said.
"Betsy knows better," said the woman holding his arm, "She won't get involved with any of the Empress's brats. Our son, on the other hand..."
"Marie Patrice or Takara?" asked Lili.
"Takara," The woman spat out.
"Now, now, Beth," said Tripp, "That could be our future daughter-in-law you're talkin' 'bout."
"If there were more and better choices, he'd be elsewhere. He could take up with a Calafan girl, right, Treve?"
"If you're all right with not having any grandchildren, then yes, of course," he said, squeezing Jennifer's hand, "We do all right."
"Ahem," said the seated woman. She got up, "Honestly, I'm too soft on all of them. Since you have forgotten, I shall remind you. I am Yimar, the High Priestess of the Calafan twenties."
"Your counterpart is, uh, was, my babysitter," Lili said.
"I am no teenager," said Yimar, "I am thirty-five years old. My calloo is all spotty these days. There's nothing good to show off. Treve's is coming in well, though."
"You're surprisingly chipper for someone whose people just lost their big cultural artifact," Lili said.
"We'll be all right," Yimar smiled.
"You're almost bubbly," Lili said, "The cuff was lost in the collision."
"The cuff?" Yimar smiled even more broadly.
"Yes."
"Not the cuff – a cuff," Yimar said, pulling up her left sleeve to reveal a similar, copper-colored cuff. Its vintage was obviously identical to the one that Lili had given Malcolm – millennia old, it was a bit worn down by the caresses of many millions of supplicants.
Dumbfounded, Lili stood there for a second, and then stammered out, "There were, there were two?"
"No, no, no!" Yimar laughed, "There were four."
=/\=
"Tomorrow, we'll be on the surface," Doug explained, "I need the portal opened and to be able to get my people through."
"How many are we talking about?" asked Aliwev.
"Six. Him, me, her, Joss, Marie Patrice and Tommy. No one else. But before we go through, a Calafan has to pass in and set off a flare."
"And it would be better," Aliwev said, "If none of the others followed, in the event that you do not succeed, yes?"
"Yeah," DR said, "At least if the door's gonna be shut, let's make sure the twenties are all on their side of it."
"Well, there are people like me," Aliwev said, "I am a twenty-one, you know. Back, before the passageway was propped open, we just visited at night. Then we could pass regularly, and then after the 2166 pulse shot, humans could pass as well. And now no one can pass, not even Calafans."
"Don't be so sure," Polloria said, "She is checking. Maybe the High Priestess can do something. If anyone can get all of the people to meditate in tandem, it is her."
=/\=
"Four?"
"Oh, yes! This one I am sporting is the cuff of Ub," Yimar said, "The one that was destroyed – and its remnants are now holding the door closed, and jamming it – that one was the cuff of Lo. The other two, as you might expect, are the cuff of Abic and the cuff of Fep. Those are on the twenty-one and twenty sides, respectively."
"And where are they?"
"I'm not certain. I know that those two other cuffs exist – they're a kind of yellowish color, not like this one – but their exact locations are unknown," Yimar said.
"Why are there four?"
"Our mythology – you have learned some of it, hmm? Four divine beings corresponding to the four stars in our system – that's the original story, of two couples, one on either side, who mate but with their nighttime counterparts. The women are impregnated and children – hybrids – are born. Two sons, coming from men not married to the women. And then a second set of matings, where the paternity is assured within the marriages and purebred daughters are born. On my side, the daughter is Ub, and the son is Fep. On yours, the daughter is Lo, and the son is Abic."
"I've heard that," Lili said.
"And the Big Bang is one big bang," Beth said.
"Oh, yeah," Tripp confirmed, smiling at her.
"What they are saying is," Treve said, "on your side, the Big Bang is her climax. On our side, it's his."
"Oooohhhkay," Lili said.
"Of course we have physicists and we know better. We aren't living in a superstitious world anymore," said Yimar, "But the stories are important because the people – the four principals – they were real. Now, they weren't gods and goddesses. They were mortals. But what was happening is that there was a septum dividing the two universes. And originally, they were all the same species, and they could pass to each other in both the day and the night. All were a kind of brassy yellowish color. Still with calloo, but a cross between the silver and the copper. The one species was beginning to experience an event called speciation. That is, it was starting to divide into two. Those two are the two colors you see these days. When the first pregnancies occurred, it was alarming to the participants, because paternity was not assured, and then the second pregnancies were equally alarming, but because the daughters were of different shades – new species, both of them."
"And this meant that there needed to be a division," Treve said, "So the cuffs were made and the amplifying dishes were devised. And the septum was closed up. You went to one side or another and you and your descendants remained there. Families could reunite – and lovers could meet – in the night. But during the day, the two species continued to diverge, on their own sides of the pond."
"But!" Yimar said, "It all changed in '57. You see, we pushed your husband over to your side. It was done with a lot of power from two ships, the Defiant on our side, and the Enterprise on yours."
"We rerouted everything but Life Support," Beth said.
"Thank you," Lili said.
"There were three pieces of the transference," Tripp said, "Collection happened on the Defiant. We gathered up Doug's molecules and transferred them into the pattern buffer and held them there. Then the last piece took place on the Enterprise– transmission – that was just through your transporter but it was slower because the ship had less power."
"That one took hours, as I recall," Lili stated.
"But it's the middle part that concerns us," Yimar said, "That one occurred on the surface. Amplification was achieved by focusing the stream into the thickest concentration of dishes on Point Abic. Then, through meditation as boosted by sodium vapor flares being traded between two of the stars, we were able to shoot the stream through to the other side. We were supposed to close up the septum again. But I was a fourteen-year-old High Priestess. And I wasn't going to listen to anyone. So my first major decision was to throw the door open permanently."
"And this was fine for a while," said the other Calafan man, who had been hanging back a bit, "People visited. Lovers met, but marriages remained intact. After all, as differing species, we could not interbreed. People who had been nocturnal lovers remained subordinate and accepted their lots and everything seemed fine. And it would have been, except the Empress wanted to get over to the twenty-one side of things."
"Why?" asked Lili.
"There were more and better ships and new worlds to conquer," Jennifer explained, "The Defiant was from your side of things. I imagine the theory was that you'd have more ships just like it."
"There was also a botched attempt to move far ahead in time. I know about that," Lili said, "Further ahead than Doug and I moved."
"Precisely," Yimar said, "And having humans wade back and forth in the pond is not good, not now. You're just not ready for it. You will be, perhaps, in about five hundred years. But most humans can't take it. In any event, the cuff's loss is not what I would have wanted, and it creates an imbalance on this side. We are not supposed to have three of the four."
"I never should have given it to Malcolm," Lili said, and then touched the chain absently, "You'd still have it."
"Oh, it's all right," Yimar said, "See, it was Yipran on the other side who gave it to you, yes?" Lili nodded, "And it was hers to do with as she wished. And then it was yours, and you had the same power."
"But I should have put it in a vault, not given it to my, my lover."
"Actually, that's perfectly fine, and almost what you're supposed to do with it," Yimar said, "And it was kept safe for a long time – most likely longer than it would have been if it had been kept by Yipran. She was, as you know, somewhat damaged by her ordeal. She was never the same after years of potassium injections and being near death. When you and Jennifer over there were plucked by our people, both Yiprans had been poisoned for a good eight years. On my side of things, Jennifer chose me to be the High Priestess. On your side, as you might recall, you asked if every woman could be a High Priestess. And it was left as a stalemate. But, since that Yipran continued to live, she was, technically, still the High Priestess until her passing."
"Is there a High Priestess on the other side?" Lili asked.
"Yes. It's my counterpart. That is rare, for a woman to directly inherit this role. It's not supposed to happen. But on the twenty-one end of things, the government is in exile and the traditions have mainly been lost. So they just picked her. Back when we had more contact, she and I would talk. You're not supposed to, you know. It's considered incest to contact yourself in dreams. But neither of us had anyone else to meet. It can be lonely when you have no one in the night."
"Neither of you married?" Lili asked.
"No, and we didn't get nighttime men, either. For a High Priestess, well, men can be rather starstruck. Or they can be looking for some sort of an advantage."
"And the cuffs?"
"Oh, yes," Yimar said, "We can probably be all right without them, if we all concentrate – and that means both sides of the pond."
"Huh?"
"Amplifying material is all well and good. And I see you have a chain 'round your neck. That's made from the twenty-one side's alloy as well," Treve said.
Lili took out the key and ring from their hiding place, "These are made from the same stuff. But, you don't need it?"
"And neither do you. And Jennifer doesn't, either," said the unnamed Calafan man in the back.
"It's the calloo," said Yimar, "Ever wonder why it matches the cuffs and the dishes? It's made of the same thing. We are, quite literally, composed of amplifying material. And you and Jennifer have been painted with it as well."
"The loss of the cuff is tragic," said Beth, "in particular, how it was lost."
"Yes," Lili said, "Not only did I lose my nighttime man, but Doug lost one of his sons, and we lost our, I don't know what you'd call Norri to us. A good friend, a sister, even, I guess. And another seventy-plus people, some of whom we knew and were our friends."
"But the loss of the cuff isn't fatal," Yimar said, "Even without sodium vapor flaring, simultaneous group meditation should do it. We could reopen the portal, and that could help to push the remnants of the cuff of Lo back and correct the imbalance. The opening will be small and will not last for long."
"Would it be enough of an opening for a person to go through safely?" asked Lili.
"It should be," said the unnamed Calafan man.
"Then it should be tomorrow. And that person – if Doug or I can reach them – needs to carry something for us and shoot it off on the other side, away from the direction of the dishes. This will – assuming the children are all tagged – so wait for that, please – it will get us to 2166. And at least that piece can be reset. And if we can reset it again from 2166, then things will go back even further, to 2161."
"That's after our people were enslaved, but only on the twenty side of things," Treve pointed out.
"Could we mount an attack on the Empress then? We don't have much, and we didn't have allies," Jennifer said.
"But they won't have their successes on the other side of the pond," Treve said, "It's worth a shot. I wish it were earlier. But it will have to do. This current timeline – we feel it's wrong; it seems more than a little off. If that can be rewound, then there will be another chance to at least free our people. I volunteer to go."
"No, brother," said the unnamed Calafan man, "You have a wife. If you cannot return, she will be bereft. I have no one. I will go."
"Chelben," Yimar said, "you're my little brother. But you hardly need me to protect you. If you are trapped there, find my counterpart. I don't believe she is still in the system at all."
"All right," he said, "I can meet you on the surface," he said to Lili, "and you can give me the article to take to the other side."
"Tomorrow. This will all have to happen tomorrow," Lili said.
"Very well," Yimar said, "I shall contact my counterpart now. You will help me."
"Me?"
"You are a twenty-one. And your calloo corresponds to hers, more or less."
"All right."
"First, I'll send one short message to our side," Yimar said. There was a buzzing noise for a second, "All set."
"That was it?"
"Absolutely. We shall meet, figuratively, when the four stars – Lo, Abic, Fep and Ub – are at their zeniths tomorrow."
"Noon," Lili said. Lunchtime.
"Yes. Now, everyone else drop off, please."
They disappeared, all five of them, leaving Lili alone with Yimar.
"What do we do?" asked Lili, "We're already asleep."
"Just concentrate," Yimar said, "Think of her, even as you knew her, as a young woman," she rolled up her left sleeve and took Lili's right hand, and made sure that their arms were touching.
The picture was fuzzy and then it suddenly cleared.
"I didn't think this was possible anymore," said the silver Yimar.
"I just needed my own bit of amplification," Replied the copper one, "Here's what we'd like for you to do."
"It'll really do a number on the Empress," Lili said.
"I guess you moved very suddenly," said the silver Yimar.
"I guess we did," Lili replied, "Please help us. We can undo it all."
"By all means. Let us begin."
*24
June 3, 2178.
Early morning. At least Lili had slept a bit.
The day promised to be chockfull of work, work and more work.
She was hopeful for a resolution but also mindful of the fact that there was a ton of work.
And the first work was cooking. At least the breakfast rush was done.
She had saved linfep meat and fat, flour, cumin and chipotle chili powder. She looked around the galley for anything she could use as a ring. Mice scampered by her feet but there was no time to do some favor or another for Doctor Morgan in order to borrow the snake again. She'd just have to tolerate the rodents. The very thought of that made her shudder a little but she had no real choice in the matter.
While she was heating up the fat in order to break it down into a liquid form, she made dough and rolled it out, then began cutting. She counted on her fingers a few times how many people she'd have to cook for. Fifteen. So she cut out twenty rounds, knowing fully well that someone would want seconds.
In fact, she was counting on their greed.
She barely had enough dough but saved a little in case she needed to repair or redo anything. Then she mixed the meat with the spices. Grabbing a spoon, she doled out servings onto each of the rounds, trying hard to make them more or less even – except for three. For those, she put in less meat but added olowa leaves. She sealed those up and put initials on one of them:
SC - Susan Cheshire.
For the others, she sealed them up. Three of them she didn't mark at all, and just folded over an edge. She tried to make it obvious but not too obvious.
And then for the other fourteen – HS - Hoshi Sato, TM - Travis Mayweather, CM - Chip Masterson, JS - Jun Sato, KS - Kirin Sato, AS - Arashi Sato, TS - Takara Sato. She couldn't give Takeo another TS, so she carefully poked out his entire first name with a fork. It was readable – barely. IS - Izo Sato, MP - Marie Patrice, DR for, well, whatever his full name was. She spelled out Tom and Joss. And one more–AM - Aidan MacKenzie.
There were no pastry brushes – no one in the galley knew about such niceties other than herself – so she carefully poured a little of the fat onto each empanada – for that was what the little pastries were – and baked them in the oven.
Except for the one marked SC, she put the poisoned empanadas into the bottom of the cooler, and then stacked the others on top. Ready.
=/\=
"Okay, men! We've got a hunt this morning!" Doug yelled at the recruits as they hustled themselves into uniform.
"Sir, yes, sir!" Thunderous voices barked their assent as one.
"The Empress's sons will be coming along. And so will – I think – a kid from the surface. You can hunt a little, but the main objective is to let them bring down the big game. We are there to make them look good. Is that clear?"
Silence.
"I said, 'is that clear?'?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
=/\=
Back in quarters, Lili took the laundered turquoise cloth out and stuck it in her pocket. Then, thinking better of it, she stuck the one tag Doug had given her onto the cloth. She saw Susan reading from a PADD, but Susan didn't seem to have noticed the cloth or the tag.
"Remember the stuff I told you about the food?" Lili asked.
"Sure," Susan turned off her PADD to pay full attention.
"We've got empanadas today, as a kind of appetizer while waiting for the hunt to come in. They're a kind of meat sandwich; it's pastry with a filling."
"Okay."
"Three of them have olowa leaves in them, which means they are poisoned."
"Ah," Susan said, "Which ones?"
"There are twenty empanadas. Fifteen of them have the guests' names on them. Five are unmarked."
"If you poisoned the one for the Empress, I mean, how obvious is that?" Susan said, "Really, you need to be more subtle than that."
"I am being more subtle than that," Lili said, "Two of the unmarked ones are poisoned. You'll know them because the other three have an edge folded down. The other poisoned one is yours."
"Mine? I'm going to assume you don't want me dead."
"I don't," Lili said, "But here's the thing. They'll all have you taste their own. It won't be good enough for you to just taste the Empress's. So do so, and then claim you're too full to eat yours. If that doesn't seem plausible, say you think it's undercooked. Just don't eat it. No one's – sorry, but it's true – no one's going to be concerned with you being poisoned."
"I know you're right. And?"
"And then, if someone wants seconds, you'll be in charge of the cooler. Just take out as you wish – poisoned or not. I'll make sure that my – well, the ones I don't want poisoned – I'll make sure that they know to not ask for seconds."
"Or we could leave them for anyone to take. That would take the heat off me," Susan said, "And it would introduce more randomness. I'll make sure that Aidan doesn't get seconds. Chip's always been decent to me – I'll see if I can steer him away, too. The Empress and Travis, though, they're on their own."
"Fair enough."
"I take it you'll be departing, of course?"
"Yes," Lili said.
"To the surface?" asked Susan.
"It's probably better if you don't know too much about that."
"You're probably right."
=/\=
Ten AM.
The military transport was packed with men. Doug took his recruits – twenty somewhat fresh-faced kids who weren't too disciplined but were a lot better than they had been just a few days ago. Jun yawned. Kirin had brought Ironblaze along – stupid kid, who the hell needed a sword to bring down linfep? – But was at least somewhat patient. Arashi didn't look up from his PADD as he checked the figures from the last Game Night. Izo and Takeo poked each other in the ribs and otherwise engaged in sibling antics. Tom looked out the small window. Joss looked uncomfortable. Travis grinned, ready to do damage.
"All right, there's linfep down on the surface," Doug said.
"How do you know?" Travis asked.
"I lived down there for a while," he replied.
"No wonder he likes to do the old silver slave," one of the recruits joked.
Doug just shot him a look but said nothing.
"What's a linfep?" asked Kirin.
"They look like hares," Doug said, "But they have tusks. It helps them to burrow underground. They're fast."
"What about the big stuff?" asked Tom.
"I'm bored," Jun complained.
"The bigger stuff is on some of the other planets.
But linfep is easier to bring down, at least to start. I guess, Travis, it would be okay to go to the other planets once we've gotten our share of linfep."
"Major, I don't recall giving you the power to make such decisions," Travis said.
"My apologies, sir," Annoyed, Doug looked out the window.
"We'll go to the other planets later," Travis said after a while, "Bring down bigger game."
"Great idea, sir," Doug said, making every effort not to roll his eyes.
=/\=
"What are you wearing?" Marie Patrice asked Takara as they primped in front of the mirror in their shared quarters.
"What do you suggest?"
"Hmm. Joss likes blue. Tommy likes black. I don't know about Charlie."
"Pink, then," Takara said, "This," it was a strapless top festooned with feathers.
"Excellent choice. One of my better creations. And the matching shorts. Me, I'm in camo."
"Good. Jun will like that."
=/\=
They got onto the surface, "Okay, we'll break off into four teams," Doug said, "Recruits split into two," They did so, and left.
"All right. Kirin, Jun and Izo are one team. Everyone else is the other," Travis said.
"Shouldn't the teams be more equal?" Takeo asked.
"Sure," Travis replied, "You go with them. And take Arashi, too. Arashi?"
"Yeah?"
"Go with that group," Travis said.
"Do I hafta? I got collections to process."
"Go," Travis said, and that was that.
"Kirin, you might wanna leave the sword in the transport," Doug said.
"Oh, yeah. Right," The boys left, and it was just Doug, Joss, Tom and Travis left.
"Lead the way, old man," said Doug.
"Who you callin' old, Major?" joked Travis.
"Never mind," Doug said.
They headed out. The terrain started off smooth but turned rough and hilly quickly.
There was a low whistle. That was the signal. Doug ducked, and pulled Joss down with him.
There were two phaser shots, and Travis and Tom went down quickly.
Chelben, Treve and Tripp emerged from the forest.
"Quick, before they wake up," Doug said, as he took the remaining tag out from his pocket. He took off Tom's right boot, stuck the tag under the tongue flap and then put the boot back on him.
Travis was stirring, so Treve stunned him again.
"Here," Doug said, giving a flare to Chelben, "We've just got one left to tag. You snap it open at the break, here. But do it facing away from the dishes. Got that?"
"Of course. And I'll wait for a signal from you or your wife to tell me when the fourth one is tagged."
"Good man. All right, let's get Tom a ways from here. And stun Travis again – heavier setting this time," Doug said.
Tripp gave Travis another shot, "And that's for insulting my wife twenty-five years ago."
"Okay, let's go," Joss said as they lifted Tom. With four of them holding him, the going was fast, even in the rough terrain. Doug led the way.
"Okay, here," he said, pointing to a clearing, "Wait a sec. Quiet."
They were quiet. He saw a rustling in the undergrowth and shot a linfep.
"Okay, that'll make this look better," Doug said.
Treve took three more linfep out of a pouch he had slung over his shoulder, "Now it'll look even better. We'll go now – Chelben and I will need to meditate at noon."
"Go easy," Tripp said to Doug as they shook hands, "Will I remember any o' this after you turn the clock back?"
"Hopefully not," Doug said, "Make sure your boy doesn't end up with Takara. She'll be hell on wheels."
"Maybe you can fix that, too."
"I'm no miracle worker."
Tommy was stirring, so the three of them blended back into the forest.
"Wha?" he asked as he came to.
"We got separated. You went on ahead. Looks like you were really successful but you mighta lost your footing, and hit your head," Joss explained.
"Oh. Huh. Hey, I guess I did get these. Where's Travis?"
"We don't know," Doug said, "Maybe he went to where you're gonna have the picnic?"
=/\=
Lili sat in the back of the civilian transport. The Empress, of course, didn't travel in such horrid conveyances. Her shuttle was already on the surface, and she'd taken Takara and Marie Patrice with her. Shelby had piloted and had gotten an earful of wedding plans for Marie Patrice. Those mostly involved what she would wear, and little about the groom. So far as Marie Patrice was concerned, Jun and Kirin were more or less interchangeable. But the civilian transport was for the kitchen help, and DR, Aidan, Susan and Chip ended up along for the ride.
"I have empanadas to start, while we're waiting for the hunt to finish," Lili said, "And everyone gets one. But, I don't recommend having seconds. You'll spoil your appetite."
"Yeah," Susan said, "nobody here wants to do that."
"But there's enough for seconds, right?" Chip asked, "Arashi and Izo always want them."
"There's only enough for them," Lili said, "And maybe for the Empress. Otherwise, no," she looked at DR meaningfully.
When the transport landed, she was able to corral him for a moment, "It is imperative that you not have seconds. Not you, not Joss, not Tom and not Marie Patrice. And no one else who was in the transport with us."
"Why?" he asked quietly.
"The seconds are – well, some of them – are poisoned," she whispered, "Just – keep those from having seconds," she dug her nails into his arm a little.
"Slave!" yelled Takara, "We're hungry!"
"Must dash," she said, "Remember: no seconds."
=/\=
Eleven-thirty AM.
They brought down five more linfep. It was a great day for hunting. They didn't see Travis anywhere, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Doug wasn't about to stick his neck out to look for Mayweather.
As for Tommy's part, he didn't seem to notice the tag in his boot, or the fact that he'd been stunned. He seemed all right. They brought the game back just as the other boys were returning with their own kills.
The girls and DR were sitting down, with DR near Susan and Aidan.
Toward the other side of a blanket that had been placed on the ground was the Empress, seated in a chair and fanning herself. It wasn't too warm yet but she was bored. Chip sat at her feet.
Kirin came back first and immediately started to hunt around in the military transport, "Aha!" he took Ironblaze back out, and stood in a clearing near the party. Preening and showing off, he went through move after move on his own, occasionally looking back to see if Marie Patrice was watching. She was, sometimes, but Jun was back as well, so she busied herself with tending to him a bit.
The rest of the kids sat down. Travis came in later, and still seemed to be a bit disoriented, but he didn't say anything.
"Empress!" Lili announced, "We have a little appetizer for you as we wait for the meat to be cleaned and readied for today's lunch," she opened up the cooler with a flourish, "May I present – empanadas!"
"Ha, they could call them Empy's Nachos," Takara said to Marie Patrice, who turned white.
"What?"
"Empy's Nachos. It sounds like that."
"Yeah. It ... does."
Doug was nearby, scanning the horizon, looking for the recruits, who weren't back yet. He turned slightly as Joss got up and walked near him to go over and call Kirin over for the food.
For just a second, Marie Patrice saw Doug and Joss next to each other.
Same eyes. Same hair – mostly, the Major's was going grey. Same jaw. Same squared shoulders.
She swallowed hard.
"Empy! This one's yours," Takara said, pressing the empanada marked with MP into Marie Patrice's hands as Aliwev stood by with a pitcher of ice water. Rellie and Polloria hung back and set about cleaning the kills.
"Oh, thanks."
"Wait. Taste it first," The Empress commanded.
Susan got up and broke off a piece of Hoshi's empanada, "It's pretty good. Kinda spicy."
"Check everyone else's," Hoshi commanded.
Susan did so, "Wow, that was a lot. I think I'll wait for the rest of lunch," she said, trying not to sound too conspicuous, and shoved her empanada back into the cooler.
Lili looked over and fingered the cloth in her pocket.
So far, so good.