A month had elapsed. Lili was back to living in her quarters on C deck. Her new roommate was Security Crewman Deborah Haddon. It was Jenny and Aidan's wedding day.
The Ikaarans lived in the Observation Lounge. There was no more talk of stealing back ships or departures. But that was not due to Verinold and Lemnestra suddenly accepting their circumstances. Instead, it was a function of having few to no opportunities to take action.
Farming had continued on the little hidden planet, as the Enterprise continued to orbit it. Sandra threw herself into the work, knowing that it had sustained and transformed her before. It was also a means of assuaging her grief over losing Brooks. She was more affected than she had originally thought she would be.
Without Brooks to assist, the management of the second farming crew fell to Tristan. He became skilled, working closely with Dakiza and Timinka to work the land as efficiently as possible. The first harvest was projected to be pretty good, certainly better than they had originally thought. It was a far cry from barely scratching out a meager living, with the Ikaarans nearly all starving to death.
=/\=
Captain Archer was in his usual spot on the Bridge as it was a few hours before the scheduled nuptials. The doors opened. It was Chef Slocum, a man who barely visited A deck, let alone the Bridge.
"Captain," Will asked, "might I have a word with you?"
"Sure," the captain stated, "T'Pol, we'll be in my Ready Room." Once the door had closed, he asked, "Something on your mind, Chef?"
"Yes, well, we seem to be all set with fruits and vegetables. Anything we can't grow either here on the ship or on that planet, we can replicate."
"That's wonderful news."
"The thing of it is, I'm concerned about meat. That planet has nothing. The only non-humanoid animals on there are any hitchhiking viruses or bacteria."
"True."
"Sir, I'd like to take a hunting part to that Amity planet, and bring back some of what they called procul."
"What are they?"
"The database says they're large amphibious squid, and they can change color, possibly at will. According to the records, they can taste like deli meats or turkey, in general, depending upon body part, age of the animal and, of course method of preparation."
"Do we know when the other NX-01 is in that area?"
"We do," Will reported, "they were there in early September and then they get back there in late November. So I am thinking soon would be good. And we can avoid them by taking the Ikaaran shuttle and engaging its cloaking device."
"You'd best take the Ikaaran pilot, Kerna."
"Then I have the go-ahead?" Will asked.
"You do."
=/\=
Craig and Brian set up chairs for the wedding. Lili went to help them, but they waved her off. "Go do something nice with Jenny, while she's still single," Brian had suggested. And so Lili found herself waiting her turn for a haircut and style as the Quartermaster, Sekar Khan, attended to Jennifer.
"What do you think of this?" he asked, sweeping up her fiery red hair into a loose chignon.
"Huh, I dunno. What do you think, Roomie?"
"You might wanna stop calling me that, seeing as I live with Deb Haddon now," Lili reminded her. "Hmm," she appraised the proposed hairstyle, "it's asymmetrical."
"That is the idea," Sekar turned, "And the bride?"
"I like it," Jenny enthused, "I look mysterious and very chic. I think."
"Next victim," Sekar glanced at Lili.
"Oh yes, I suppose so. Not too short, okay?"
"Understood. It'll be just off the shoulder."
"Can I still put it in a ponytail?" Lili asked.
"Yes."
"Then go ahead."
When Sekar was done, Lili had a dramatic side part and her bangs were swooped over to the side. "Looking good, Roomie."
"Thanks. Are you ready?"
"I think so," Jennifer decided. She had on a fire engine red short cocktail dress with an Asian design. She did not own a white dress, and Sekar did not have enough white material to make her one.
"A moment." Sekar produced a wide white sash and tied it around Jenny's small waist.
"Oh?" asked the bride.
"I have studied all of the wedding photographs from before," Sekar explained. "And all of the brides wore a sash such as this. The tradition is observed even into 2154. And now you are the first."
"I guess I am."
Lili clicked open her communicator. "We're ready here." There was an acknowledgement from the Observation Lounge. "Let's go."
The three of them walked together. Chip came and collected them. "Lookin' good, Lili," he said after complimenting the bride.
"Thank you," Lili looked down. She was wearing her best dress, a sapphire blue number she'd picked up on Callisto. She knew she had worn it the last time, when she had stood up for Jenny and Aidan before. But that time, it had been Malcolm who had been the Best Man, and Jay had given the bride away. A perfect instant replay was impossible, a fact that saddened her greatly.
Sekar got the doors opened and waited. Chip extended an arm and escorted Lili to where Aidan was waiting with Captain Archer. Then Jennifer took Sekar's arm. He escorted her to a canopy that had been set up.
"Who gives this woman?" Jonathan asked.
"I do," Sekar stated, "on behalf of her family."
"Before proceeding with the actual ceremony, I'd like to say a few words," began the captain. "It appears that I did this a lot of times in the last go-'round. I guess I got pretty good at it. But right now it's all new to me so, Jenny and Aidan, I hope you'll be a bit indulgent."
"No problemo," Aidan replied, and the assembly laughed together.
"All right," Jonathan smiled a tight little smile. "I'd like to tell you a little about an old Earth text. It's not a religious one. But it talks about love. It's by an ancient philosopher named Plato, and it's called The Symposium. For our guests, I'd like to point out that the text was written a good twenty five hundred years ago." Verinold nodded in acknowledgement.
"A symposium, these days, is a kind of scholarly discussion. But the story is, instead, about a dinner party of friends. And the subject turns to love. The guests are all asked to define it."
Jonathan continued. "Maybe at the reception, if anyone wants to, they can take a crack at defining it. But the story itself sets forth a few theories. There's one that I really like." Aidan and Jennifer looked at each other.
"The theory is that our original makeup isn't bipedal at all. Instead, we are quadrupeds. But it's not just our legs that are doubled. It's everything. We are originally beings with two heads, four arms and four legs. We are joined together, as one."
Aidan took Jenny's hand, smiling at her.
"But somewhere in there, perhaps just before birth, we are sundered in two. Split in half, we spend our lives looking for our own half, our better half."
Chip glanced over, past Lili, to Deb.
"When we find that better half, we latch on, and we don't let go," Captain Archer explained, "for we know that we are completed and whole again. It feels like, like home, I suppose."
Certain people neared each other, a silent support of that hypothesis. Lili saw Tracey Carter and Oscar Tiburón, and Mara Brodsky and Walter Woods, get closer to each other. "Do you, Aidan, take Jennifer, to be your wife?"
"Yes."
"Jennifer, do you take Aidan to be your husband?"
"I do."
"By the authority invested in me, by Starfleet, and Earth and, well, all of you, I hereby now pronounce you husband and wife. Kiss your bride, Aidan."
Once the kiss had concluded and the wedding party had congratulated the happy couple as the canopy was removed, Chip disappeared in order to get the music started. "All right," he spoke over the intercom, "It's the first dance. And I wanna see some dancing. Even on the Bridge," he joked.
He started up the music. It was an old song by Dusty Springfield.
I don't know what it is
That makes me love you so
I only know I never wanna let you go
'Cos you started something
Oh, can't you see
That ever since we met
You've had a hold on me
It happens to be true
I only want to be with you
Chip returned and he and Lili danced a bit. She finally quit. "Sorry," she shook her head, "I'm not exactly feelin' it. It's nothing personal. Plus I get the feeling you want another partner."
"Are you okay with that?" he asked. Lili nodded and he went to grab Deb.
It doesn't matter where you go or what you do
I wanna spend each moment of the day with you
Oh, look what has happened with just one kiss
I never knew that I could be in love like this
It's crazy but it's true
I only want to be with you
Captain Archer approached the Ikaarans. "It's customary to dance," he stated.
"We do not know how," Lemnestra informed him.
"I'm not much better, and I actually know how to do this. Anyone?" Esilia joined him.
You stopped and smiled at me
Asked if I'd care to dance
I fell into your open arms
And I didn't stand a chance
Now, listen, honey
I just wanna be beside you everywhere
As long as we're together, honey
I don't care
Cos you started something
Oh, can't you see
That ever since we met
You've had a hold on me
No matter what you do
I only want to be with you
=/\=
On the Bridge, T'Pol was in command. She did not dance, of course. Ethan Shapiro was at Tactical and Diana Jones was at the Science station as Maryam Haroun tried her hand at Communications. "Ladies?" Ethan asked.
The Vulcan eyebrow was raised, but T'Pol said nothing. They were alone in the hidden sector of the Delphic Expanse. It was highly unlikely that there would be an emergency at that very moment. She decided to permit a small amount of frivolity, despite its obvious illogic.
Maryam shook her head, but Diana got up. "Sure," she said, "just don't step on my toes, okay?"
"Nothing to worry about from ole Sugar Lips Shapiro," he smiled.
"Er, Ethan you do know I'm a lesbian, don't you?" Diana asked as they danced.
"I do now," he was still smiling. He then turned serious for a moment and quietly said to her, "I hope you get what you need."
"I hope you do, too."
=/\=
You stopped and smiled at me
Asked me if I'd care to dance
I feel into your open arms
And I didn't stand a chance
Now hear this, honey
I just wanna be beside you everywhere
As long as we're together, honey
I don't care
Lili stood, watching Jenny and Aidan, who were rather good, although he mainly just facilitated her movements. José came over. "I dunno how anybody can do that," he sighed, "I figure I'd just fall down and break something."
"I'm not that graceful, either," she admitted.
"No, you were!" José insisted. "Really."
"You don't have much of a sample size. I was only dancing with Chip for, like, a minute."
"It's engineering," he decided, "I can extrapolate."
'Cos you started something
Oh, can't you see
That ever since we met
You've had a hold on me
No matter what you do
I only want to be with you
I said, no matter, no matter what you do
I only want to be with you
=/\=
As the song ended, Jenny and Aidan just stood in the middle of the Observation Lounge and kissed. Esilia and Jonathan moved off to the side. "Are all of your ceremonies this way?" she asked.
"No," he stated, "I know we've got people who'd probably like to have more deeply religious ceremonies."
"So there are customs in your faith?"
"There are a lot of faiths on board. Oscar Tiburón and José Torres over there are both Catholics. Ethan Shapiro is Jewish. Sekar Khan is Hindu. Hoshi Sato is a Buddhist."
"Do you practice one of those faiths?"
"I do not," he told her, "I'm a lapsed Lutheran."
"I understand absolutely nothing of what you say. The names of the various faiths, even those are confusing."
"On our planet," Captain Archer explained, "there have even been wars fought over those religions, and others, like Islam. That's the faith that Azar Hamidi over there practices."
"We have but one faith," she explained, "It is a natural one. We commune with the good things we get from the ground. This includes food, but also the minerals and the soil and ore from mining operations."
Dan Chang had gotten a hold of the intercom. Without any spirits being served, he couldn't blame his boorishness on alcohol. "You said you wanted to talk about love, Captain," he began, "but what is there to talk about? Unless it's the old Beast with Two Backs, know what I'm sayin'? Nobody here is gonna fall in love. And those who think they are," he sneered at Jennifer and Aidan, "they are just lyin' to themselves, and to each other. Everybody here is just gonna settle."
Lili had heard enough already. She approached Dan and her voice, too, ended up being amplified throughout the ship – a strange thing for her. "I will not have you ruin Jenny and Aidan's day!" she exclaimed, a bit teary, "Ever since Malcolm and Jay and the others died, you've been acting like a spoiled brat. Hell, you were acting that way before, but now it's even worse! It's like you've got no brakes!"
He glared at her but at least he had stopped talking.
Lili continued. "I don't know what love is. Not anymore, if I even knew then at all. And I see the people who can have an instant replay from last time. And I bet most of them will. Good for them. And hey, that was kinda my plan, too. I can understand the motivation." She stopped for a second and dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief. "But I hope you won't forget those of us who, who can never have an instant replay. It's not just me. It's Ethan Shapiro and it's Craig Willets and Brian Delacroix. It's Sophie Creighton, and Sandra Sloane and Tristan Curtis and Gary Hodgkins. And it's, it's even you, Dan Chang. And it's, it's Eddie Hamboyan and, and José Torres and Derek Kelby and others. And it's our captain, too. What do I think love is? I think it's a voice in the dark during your, your worst times. It goes beyond the end, after life and before birth. It crosses every line and every plane imaginable, and a lot that I bet we've never even thought of. And I know that Jenny and Aidan have got it."
"I know I'm supposed to make a toast," Chip came over and made sure his voice was heard on the intercom, "and no one's got a glass yet and it's not even the right time during the reception but, well, I think that was the toast. All I can say is hear, here."
=/\=
Jennifer Crossman MacKenzie's Personal Log, October fourth, 2037
We did it; we got married. And while I know it wasn't the same like last time, it was still pretty awesome. I don't know why I hesitated so long the last time. But now it doesn't matter.
=/\=
Edmund Hamboyan's Personal Log, October fourth, 2037
I'm going to go talk to that Ikaaran girl, Kerna. She's their pilot. I know they are trying not to fraternize too much but I don't care.
Last time, I married an Ikaaran named Minatka. Maybe it'll happen again, eh?
=/\=
William Slocum's Personal Log, October fourth, 2037
I got permission to go hunting on that Amity planet. This is my chance to really show off for the ladies. I gotta upgrade from Socorro this time around. Maybe Creighton.
=/\=
Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, October fourth, 2037
I have conducted my first wedding. There will be many more, I am sure.
The sous-chef pointed out that there are any number of us without what she called instant replay chances. It's true. I am one of those who will have to change partners. I can't see standing in the way of earlier configurations. At least, people should be given a chance to try again.
So right now there are three women who don't have instant replay partners – her – she's Lili O'Day, Sandra Sloane and Sophie Creighton. Interesting.
=/\=
Chandler Masterson's Personal Log, October fourth, 2037
Deb and I move well together. It makes me wonder about other things. I am trying to play it cool but God, I look at her face and her light brown eyes and I don't know how long I can hold back. I hope she's okay with an instant replay as Lili says, 'cause I am so there.