It was early. Lili was setting out muffins and Danish on a tray in the Observation Lounge for the executive staff's breakfast meeting. She turned to put on the coffee when the doors swished open. "You're early," she said, back to the doors. "Pay no attention to the woman behind the curtain."
"Oh, uh, sorry, Ensign." It was Major Hayes.
She spun around quickly, almost losing her balance. He made as if to leave. She called out, "Don't go!" Her voice quavered a little, a betrayal of some nerves on her part.
"Oh?"
"Uh, Major?" she said, assured that he would stay and listen to her, "it's all so awkward."
"Yeah, I know," he admitted, "Actually, that's why I'm here early. I mean; you and me?"
"I know", she said, "and Charlotte had said you and I had two kids together."
"Yeah."
"I, um, I wouldn't do that with, with just anybody."
He nodded. "I don't think of myself as the fatherly type. I guess, uh, I guess we all have to, now. I mean, it's just a matter of time before this ship turns generational."
"Right," she said, starting up hot water for tea. "We, uh, you and I, we don't talk much."
"I know. And, uh, I gotta wonder, uh, it was you and me, but it was also you and, and Reed. Did you leave me?"
"I don't know," she said, even more nervous. "I know myself. I'm a loyal person. I wonder who that woman was."
"Or that guy," he said, thumping his own chest.
"Can we, can we be friends?" she asked, holding out her hand, palm up in supplication. He stared at her hand and then she corrected herself and changed her hand's position to perpendicular to the floor. They shook hands.
The doors opened and Shelby Pike walked in with Hoshi Sato. The remainder of the executive staff entered as Lili turned the heat off from under a whistling teakettle.
=/\=
In the gym, the MACOs went through drills as Julie McKenzie and Frank Todd put them through their paces. "Do we hafta?" complained Chang.
"Yes," Frank insisted. "Fighting readiness and discipline are more important now than ever before." He was a very big guy, and so that was that.
"Maybe a break would be good," Julie said, "I can feel I'm getting a cramp." She mopped a brow damp with perspiration.
"All right! Take five!" Todd bellowed.
Chang retreated to near where the exercise bicycles were. Brad Moreno, Gary Hodgkins, Victor Brown and Neil Kemper joined him. Tristan Curtis and Brooks Haynem from Security were nearby. They put down free weights in order to join them. "I bet they'll announce it today," Chang opened with.
"Announce what?" Victor Brown inquired.
"That this'll be a generational ship. So it'll be open season on the honeys."
"I heard you were already set," said Tristan Curtis. "Didn't that chick Charlotte say you and Sloane had a kid?"
"The dice rolled one way," Chang said, "maybe this time they'll roll another way. I mean, ya gotta avoid the dogs, like Socorro and O'Day and, heh," he snored a bit, "Money over there."
Susie Money, who was chatting with Julie, Nan Myers and Stellar Cartographer Ingrid Nyqvist, either didn't hear him, or chose to ignore him.
"I'm gonna go after Crossman," Chang said, "I wanna see if she's a natural redhead, if yanno what I mean. Or Sato, or maybe Haddon. She looks like she could take a good –"
He stopped talking as the other men backed away. Then he saw Todd nearby. "Take a good what?" Todd asked, snarling.
"Nothing you'd know about," Chang said.
"You'd be surprised at what I experimented with," Todd said, "Now you and Kemper, Moreno and Brown, drop and give me twenty. And I don't wanna hear anything else from any of you about comparing the women. Or the men, for that matter. Generational ship or not, we will treat each other with courtesy and respect. This will go on report to the Major. I trust I make myself clear?"
"Yes," said Kemper.
"Oh and as for you, Curtis and Haynem," Todd said, as Chang began doing pushups, "You're on report to Reed for this little incident. Now let's get back to the regular workout and stop this nonsense and nastiness right now."
"Yes," said Brown.
=/\=
In the Observation Lounge, the executive staff got settled in as Lili served. "I can also make cocoa in case anyone wants," she said, "just give me a few minutes. Oh, and we have cheese, blueberry and cherry Danish. They're all easily identified by the color of whatever's in the center. The cherry and blueberry varieties are dairy-free. The muffins are bran, lemon poppy seed and coconut lime. Only the coconut lime is dairy-free."
"Thank you for your consideration," T'Pol replied, taking one of the cherry Danish.
"Which is the coconut?" Malcolm asked.
"Here," she said, taking one for him. "Tea?"
"Yes. The gunpowder, if you have it."
"You're in luck," she said, handing him a tea bag and then pouring hot water into his cup.
A PADD chimed, and they all checked. It was the Major's. "Huh," he said, scowling a bit. Lili grabbed one of the pieces of blueberry Danish with the tongs and set it on the plate in front of him. "Oh, uh, yeah, thanks," he said absently, still staring at the PADD and frowning. He shook his head as he clicked something to change screens and the cover of the book he was reading came up. It was Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
Captain Archer spoke. "I'd like to start delving into that database. I know that everyone on the ship is anxious to see what's in there. And everyone is certainly entitled to their own log entries, and the entries made by their next of kin, all going down in a straight line. So, if I understood Charlotte, that would mean that I would not be entitled to look at her logs, but Major Hayes, Lieutenant Reed, Doctor Phlox, Commander T'Pol, Commander Tucker and Ensign O'Day here would. But I would be entitled to see the log entries made by her husband, Andrew Archer. And so would the Major, Ensign O'Day, Doctor Phlox again, and several others. It's rather tangled."
"Captain," T'Pol suggested, "given the date, and our location, we will need to know all navigational logs, so as to avoid coming into contact with the other NX-01, thereby jeopardizing its history, not to mention the very existence of Charlotte, Andrew and all the rest of them."
"Can you quickly locate their navigational logs from today and, say, a week before and a week after?" the captain asked Hoshi.
"Sure, just a second," she tapped on her PADD. "Got it."
"Send those over to Chris Harris. Tell him to stay as far away from those coordinates as he safely can. Make sure Aidan gets a copy. We'll set regular courses soon enough. If there's a planet or a star we can hide behind, let's do that as a stop-gap measure."
"Understood, sir," she said as she tapped out the instructions and then sent the note. "Okay, ready."
"All right," said the captain, "let's start with bare bones. I'd like you to assemble a timeline. It should only be limited to the ninety-two people currently on board – fifty-eight men and thirty-four women. I want records of births, deaths, marriages, divorces, promotions, demotions and any medals and disciplinary hearings." Hoshi began clicking away in order to gather the data. "And instead of just sending the file to each of our PADDs, I'd like you to read it aloud. If it gets long, feel free to pass your PADD around. I just think it'll be best if we all hear it at the same time. And, uh, I don't need to remind everyone, but this meeting is classified."
"Understood, sir. Orange juice?"
"Sure."
She poured as they waited for Hoshi to compile the data. While they were waiting, Will added, "If there are going to be a lot more of these meetings, the Ensign and I could use some help. At some point, she'll need to leave in order to prepare lunch."
"I think we'll have to reshuffle a lot of people," Archer opined, "I get the feeling Navigation is going to get a lot less busy. Ready?" he asked Hoshi. She nodded. "Let's hear it."
=/\=
Hoshi cleared her throat and proceeded. "Uh, the first entry is a disciplinary action from April thirteenth, 2037. It says here that Private Chang was disciplined for, uh …."
"I can fill it in for you, Ensign," Jay interrupted, "I bet it was for sexual harassment, right?" She nodded so he continued. "I've got a report that he did the same thing today. I don't have the specifics; I'll have to ask Private Todd. But apparently Chang was having a conversation with some MACOs and a few of the Security crewmen as well, Lieutenant."
"Oh," Malcolm checked his PADD. "There it is. Mister Haynem and Mister Curtis were involved as well. I have no particulars, either."
"So history is repeating itself," Shelby stated.
"Not necessarily," the captain explained, "after all, it's July, not April. We can't expect people to react too differently. But look into the disciplining that was done last time. Uh, after we're done with this meeting. And we'll see. If it was effective, let's just do it again. If not, well, we'll try something new. Ensign Sato?"
"Yes," she said, reading aloud, "The next entry is from September twentieth, 2037. It's for the wedding of Judy Kelly and Michael Rostov."
"Engineering's the first outta the gate, eh?" Tripp said.
"October twenty-seventh, 2037 – wedding of T'Pol and Charles Tucker III," Hoshi announced.
T'Pol raised an eyebrow very slightly as Tripp grinned.
"Next?" Jonathan asked.
"November eighteenth, 2037 – wedding of Karin Bernstein and Joshua Rosen."
"I'd better learn a Jewish ceremony," stated the captain, "and a Vulcan one as well," he added hastily.
"March twenty-seventh, 2038," Hoshi began.
"Oh, that's my birthday," Lili muttered absently.
"Yes, uh," Hoshi continued, "Sandra Sloane was confined to quarters for; it says here it was for rumormongering and jeopardizing morale."
"There must be more in the logs," speculated the captain.
Hoshi nodded. "August twelfth, 2038, Amanda Tiburón born to Oscar Tiburón and Tracey Carter."
"So there's the first kid," Travis stated.
"That's not the only thing that happened that day," said Hoshi, "it says here it's also the wedding of Michelle Pike and Andrew Miller."
"Andy?" Shelby asked, a little dubious.
"August thirty-first, 2038, wedding of Jennifer Crossman and Aidan MacKenzie," Hoshi said.
Lili smiled to herself. That one had been as she'd predicted. "More coffee, anyone?"
"Uh, sure," said Jay.
"September eighteenth, 2038, Valleri Rostov born to Michael Rostov and Judy Kelly Rostov."
"Perhaps the incident with Sloane was an isolated one," Malcolm mused, "I don't see anything else and it's, what, five months later?"
"There's more to tell," Will reminded him.
"October ninth, 2038, wedding of Maryam Haroun and Azar Hamidi," Hoshi said, "you might wanna add Muslim wedding ceremony to your reading list, Captain."
"Right away," he smiled a bit. "Lots of weddings, man oh man! I guess we can all figure out how we spent our time."
"October twenty-fifth, 2038, the following promotions occurred – Charles Tucker III was promoted to full Commander; Lieutenant Malcolm Reed was promoted to Commander; Ensign Aidan MacKenzie, Ensign Hoshi Sato and Ensign Travis Mayweather were promoted to Lieutenant Commander. The following were promoted to Ensign – Karin Bernstein-Rosen, Azar Hamidi, Maryam Haroun Hamidi, Diana Jones, Chandrasekar Khan, Andrew Miller, Michelle Pike Miller, Joshua Rosen and Craig Willets. The following were given the Distinguished Service Medal – Karin Bernstein-Rosen, Maryam Haroun Hamidi, Chandrasekar Khan, Andrew Miller, Michelle Pike Miller and Craig Willets."
"Looks like we did something other than get married," Travis observed.
"The medals were for people changing roles, it seems," Hoshi stated, reading. "Karin was given hers for being involved in command. Maryam got hers for working in Communications. Sekar got his for Quartermaster work. Andrew got his for; it says here he was training to be a doctor. Shelby, you got yours for growing crops. Craig got his for working in Food Service and programming the replicators."
"Well, there's our helper, O'Day," Will speculated.
"Sounds good to me," Lili replied.
"There are also promotions among the MACOs," Hoshi said, "uh, Corporal McKenzie was promoted to Sergeant, and Private Todd and Private Money were made Corporals."
Jay nodded, thinking about who would be trustworthy, and who, eventually, might end up replacing him as the CO.
"Uh, oh, the next entry's not so nice," Hoshi said, "November fifth, 2038, Sandra Sloane was sent to the Brig, and the following were confined to quarters or otherwise disciplined –Mario Lattimer, Susie Money, Brad Moreno, Nanette Myers, Ethan Novakovich, Ingrid Nyqvist, Mark Reilly and Patti Socorro."
"What happened?" Jonathan asked, alarmed.
"It seems, uh, there was a riot in the Observation Lounge. It says here that Nyqvist started it."
"Sloane probably ended up in the Brig because she'd been confined to quarters earlier," Phlox mused. "You know, clinical depression can sometimes manifest itself in increased tendencies toward aggression."
"You think that's what this was?" asked the captain.
"It would not shock me," replied the Denobulan.
"Next?" asked the captain, unsure if he wanted to hear it.
"June fourth, 2039, John Phlox born to Phlox and Amanda Cole."
"I beg your pardon?" asked the doctor. "Despite what Charlotte had said; humans and Denobulans cannot interbreed at this time."
"That database is sure full o' surprises, eh?" Tripp asked. "I betcha ya can now."
"I suppose we can," mused the doctor. "I, I know that Charlotte had mentioned that, but I don't suppose I had put it all together until just now. How extraordinary!"
"June twenty-third, 2039, Jeffrey Woods born to Walter Woods and Mara Brodsky Slater."
"Holy cow," Tripp said, whistling through his teeth.
"August eleventh, 2039, divorce of Robert Slater and Mara Brodsky. Full custody of the child Jeffrey Woods granted to Mara Brodsky and Walter Woods."
"October eighth, 2039," said Hoshi, "Lili O'Day and Jay Hayes rescued from Imvari captivity. Commendations to participants Malcolm Reed, Franklin Thomas Todd, Gary Hodgkins, Ramih Azar, Victor Brown, Tristan Curtis, William Dane, Eric Forbes , Edmund Hamboyan, Mario Lattimer, Mark Reilly, Robert Slater and Anthony Vittorio. One casualty – Gary Hodgkins."
"I wonder how we were captured," Lili speculated absently.
"October thirteenth, 2039," Hoshi read aloud, "It's a disciplinary action. Ensign Craig Willets was demoted by one rank, back to Crewman after he confessed to, oh, this is weird."
"Well?" asked the captain.
"It says he spray-painted graffiti outside Ensign O'Day's door."
"What?" asked Lili.
"I suppose the details will tell the tale," the captain speculated.
"How odd," Lili replied, and then set about clearing some of the dirty dishes.
"October fifteenth, 2039, oh my God," Hoshi said.
"What is it?" asked the captain.
"Sir, this is really bad. Uh," she sighed, "the following were taken into custody and placed into the Brig – Private Victor Brown, Private Daniel Chang, Crewman Tristan Curtis and Private Brad Moreno."
"What's the charge?" asked Jay.
"God," Hoshi was troubled, "it's for raping Patti Socorro."
The silence was palpable. Except for T'Pol, everyone looked like they'd had the wind knocked out of them.
"Here, I'll continue." The captain took the PADD from Hoshi after a while. "November nineteenth, 2039, trial begins for Brown, Chang, Curtis, Moreno, Sloane and Haynem."
"Where are Sloane and Haynem involved?" asked Will.
"We'll have to look at the logs for that, I'm sure," guessed the captain. "December twenty-sixth, 2039, sentencing – all six were found guilty. All were taken to a planet called Paradise for six months of harvesting labor. Afterwards, Sloane and Haynem were released and the others were brought to a planet called Amity for more farming work. Those four remained there for a year. Kemper and Moreno were then released. Chang and Curtis were brought to the North Pole of Amity for a six-month stint. Then there was supposed to be six months on a mining planet, but only for Chang. But it looks like it didn't work out that way. After Kemper and Moreno were returned, about a month afterwards, the other two escaped."
"Escaped?" asked Jay, "Where the hell could they possibly go?"
"Somewhere on the planet, I'm guessing," said the captain. He shook his head. "Here, I'd rather talk about some happier news, all right?"
"The details will be available in the captain's logs, no doubt," T'Pol stated.
The captain talked about births and more weddings for a while, and then added, "September second, 2040, Jeremiah Logan Hayes born to Jay Hayes and Charlotte Lilienne O'Day."
"Oh, my!" she exclaimed, suddenly sitting down in an empty chair. He continued talking.
"December twelfth, 2041, wedding of Ebrona, an Ikaaran, and Jonathan Archer." He looked up. "Do you know about this species, T'Pol?"
"No, except for Charlotte quickly mentioning them," she stated, "it is another mystery." Phlox also shook his head.
The captain continued, as more weddings and births were announced; many of them were part-Ikaaran. "January eleventh, 2042, Madeline Suzette Hayes, born to Jay Hayes and Charlotte Lilienne O'Day."
"There's our second," Jay stated.
"October thirty-first, 2043, Pamela Morgan Reed, born to Malcolm Reed and Charlotte Lilienne O'Day."
"And there's mine," Malcolm confirmed quietly.
The captain went on for a while more, and then came to another difficult entry. He sighed. "This one is, well, it's the first deaths, other than Hodgkins. Are we ready to hear about them?"
"May as well," Tripp answered for all of them.
"June thirtieth, 2052, on a mission to rescue Daniel Chang and Tristan Curtis from an Imvari slave ship, the following casualties were sustained," began the captain.
"Imvari?" T'Pol asked, "This is the species that attacked."
"The casualties were Daniel Chang, Tristan Curtis, Edmund Hamboyan, Christian Harris, Lloyd Ketcham and Malcolm Reed. Causes of death are the destruction of the Imvari ship; except for Chang, who died in Sick Bay, of acute malnutrition and starvation."
Lili put a hand up to her face, trembling. Malcolm turned pale.
"I have another entry for that day," reported Jonathan, "wedding of Jay Hayes and Charlotte Lilienne O'Day. Family changes their surname to Reed-Hayes in memory of Malcolm Reed. Pamela Morgan Reed is hereby adopted by Jay Hayes."
"God, I hope we logged that somehow," Lili stated, "'cause I can't figure it out at all. We, somehow, all three of us, we had some sort of an understanding, it seems."
"I have another entry for that day," the captain reported, "death – Ebrona, an Ikaaran, wife of Jonathan Archer. Cause – the decline. Age – forty-six."
"What's the decline?" asked Shelby.
"I have no idea," replied the doctor, "I will assume that there are research notes. Perhaps a cure was found later."
The captain continued on, as more Ikaarans passed on but grandchildren were also born, including Jeremiah Reed-Hayes's three. "December third, 2082, death – Jay Reed-Hayes, husband of Charlotte Lilienne Reed-Hayes. Cause – myocardial infarction. Age – ninety-six."
Lili again reacted, taking a handkerchief out of a zippered pocket.
"December fourth, 2082, death – Charlotte Lilienne Reed-Hayes, widow of Jay Reed-Hayes. Cause – suicide by ingestion of tricoulamine tablet. Age – eighty-nine."
"My God," Lili murmured softly. The closest person was Shelby, who put a hand on her arm.
The captain read more, going to 2109, when the last of the original crew had died – Brian Delacroix. He had been eighty-six years of age.
A bell dinged on a PADD, and Lili jumped. "It's your PADD, O'Day," Will told her, "it's eleven hundred hours. You've got to start lunch."
"Oh, uh, yeah," she murmured, rising a little shakily.
"Let's adjourn," decided the captain. "I don't know about anyone else, but this is all I can take for one day. Jay, Malcolm, let's figure out a suitable punishment for today's offenders. I don't want this escalating like it did last time. And Hoshi, when we get back to the Bridge, I'd like the intercom for a big announcement."
"Of course, sir."
=/\=
After lunch, Captain Archer made the announcement. "Members of the crew, it's obvious, but I wanted to get it out there – the NX-01 is now a generational ship. This means that the rules against fraternization no longer apply, even to persons of differing ranks. Furthermore, the executive staff has read a basic outline of the timeline as is reflected in the other NX-01's database. We know who married whom," he smiled a little, "and we will release that information tonight. The remainder of the database will be released in piecemeal fashion, except for personal logs, which will be released starting tomorrow. Everyone is entitled to view their own logs, and those of their direct in-line descendants. For Charlotte Reed-Hayes Archer, that includes the following persons – Lili O'Day, Jay Hayes, Malcolm Reed, Doctor Phlox, Amanda Cole, Sandra Sloane and Daniel Chang, among others."
He paused for a breath. "The numbers and entanglements can be a bit daunting. One thing we know is that a number of the men married women from a species known as Ikaarans. Since we can't run into the same people, then that will of course change. We have also learned that that species is rather short-lived. We will be searching within the medical and scientific records in order to determine whether anything was done about that. It might prove to be an effective bargaining chip in the event of negotiations with that species."
He paused again. "I am, I am sure, getting ahead of myself. There is time to digest all of this. But I want everyone to know that the records are good, but they aren't dispositive. No one says it's all got to work out exactly the way it did the last time around. Archer out."
=/\=
Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, July fifteenth, 2037
Rapists on the ship? Cuckoldings? Escaped prisoners? Graffiti? Short-lived alien brides? Some sort of threesome arrangement for my Tactical Officer, the MACOs' CO and the sous-chef? What the hell?
What kind of a place did I run?
=/\=
Jay Hayes's Personal Log, July fifteenth, 2037
It looks like she didn't leave me. Hell, it even looks like she committed suicide over me. I don't know how that makes me feel. But we were together a long time, it seems. We must have cared. It must have been the big L. As for Reed, I don't know where to start. Somewhere, she has a daughter with him. And then we marry the day he dies, but we take on his name and I adopt his daughter? What the hell happened?
=/\=
Malcolm Reed's Personal Log, July fifteenth, 2037
A daughter. I scarcely know what I would say to one. There's naught in that timeline about who's a decent father. And it was somewhere in the, the midst of her relationship with him. How odd. Was it some long-term affair? And why would he adopt my child? Was it consensual, somehow?
=/\=
Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, July fifteenth, 2037
I gotta see those logs. But I do know one thing. I was right about Jenny and Aidan. And Chang – good lord. I don't know if I can look at him normally anymore.
=/\=
Franklin Thomas Todd's Personal Log, July fifteenth, 2037
Major Hayes and Lieutenant Reed said they want to talk to me about disciplining Chang and the others, and more harshly than I had planned. I don't know what's going on, but I bet there's something in that database about that. There's something they're not telling us.