The idea to get more dogs circulated throughout the ship. At first, the captain was in mourning. Then he was apprehensive. Waffling a bit on the decision, he called a meeting of the senior staff, even though it was Christmas.
Lili wheeled in a cart with snacks and sodas. "You don't have to do that anymore. The serving, that is," Jonathan told her. It was just the two of them.
"Oh, it's no trouble," she explained, "don't tell anybody, but most of these are leftovers I'm trying to get rid of."
"Aha."
The others filed in and sat down. "Who's on duty?" asked the captain.
"Karin Bernstein is holding command," reported T'Pol, "Diana Jones is at the Science station. Ethan Shapiro is at Tactical. Maryam Haroun is at Communications, and Colleen Romanov is piloting."
"Jenny Crossman MacKenzie's in Engineering," reported Tripp.
"I've got Frank Todd in temporary command of the MACOs, sir," reported Julie.
"And Andrew Miller is in Sick Bay," reported Doctor Phlox.
"All right, let's get down to business," began Captain Archer, "I've had a few people talk to me about dogs."
"An excursion to Earth risks all manner of temporal contaminations," T'Pol pointed out.
"Not necessarily," Aidan stated, "what about taking the Ikaaran shuttle? It can be cloaked."
"It's also as slow as molasses," Travis complained, "It'll take forever to get there and back."
"Actually, I've been runnin' that problem over in my mind for a while now," Tripp mused, "and Dakiza and I've got an idea. We ran it by Lemnestra and she thinks it could work."
"Oh?" asked the captain.
"Yeah, I, um," Tripp looked a little apologetic, "I miss the little guy. And I kinda wanna do something to honor Chang's memory, too. I mean, we all know his history, both now and in the other iteration. But he gave his life so's we could keep that Ikaaran shuttle. It'd be a cryin' shame not to use it. It, uh, it cost too much to just let it sit in the bay."
"So you've been thinking about this a lot, I see," mused the captain.
"Yes," Tripp allowed, "and it's like this. Actually, can Lemnestra and Dakiza join us? I think they might be able to explain it better than I can."
"All right. Hoshi?" asked Jonathan.
"Right away."
"While we're waiting, let's talk about our food stores, Shelby?"
"Yes, well, we're doing pretty well with growing food on that planet. Can we name it at some point? I bet I'm not the only one who's getting a little sick of just calling it 'that planet'," she pointed out.
"We'll run a contest," the captain suggested.
"All right," Shelby continued, "Sandra and Tristan are good at managing the crops. We're fine with most things. We even have space in case we ever want or need to build settlements."
"That's wonderful news," replied the captain.
"Meat is a lot more problematic," stated Lili, "Craig tells me that the programs for replicating chicken and shrimp were already done by the other version of the NX-01. We faked the crab cakes by using replicated shrimp and breadcrumbs, and extra salt and bay seasoning."
"I don't remember noticing anything off," reported Aidan. There were murmurs of agreement.
"Well, I appreciate that," answered Lili, "but I knew they were off. Anyway, we've got very little real variety. Sure, I can dress it up anyway you please, but it all boils down to just being either replicator shrimp or replicator chicken. I mean, it's Christmas and I have turkeys, but this will be the last year for that unless we do something drastic."
"We could just have shrimp and chicken, right?" asked Travis.
"Travis," Lili looked him squarely in the eye, "do you really want me to tell you when you've had your last real burger, ever?"
"What?" he asked.
"We'll run out of beef in two years, by my reckoning. Within five, we'll be done with sausage, bacon, ham and salmon. Craig tells me that efforts were made to replicate all of these, but with varying levels of success. I imagine the other NX-01 got a lot less picky as the years dragged on, particularly after Chef Slocum and I passed. Or maybe they just forgot what real tuna and cod taste like, because those are also going to be all gone in about six years. Once our generation is gone, I guess it didn't matter quite so much, but it sure as hell matters now, I'd say."
Tripp made a face. "Just shrimp and chicken, eh? Can't you get Willets to do more with the replicator? I can get him help, if you like, maybe Torres."
"Believe me, he's trying," Lili reported, "but in the meantime, if we could get other meat, we'd be able to stretch everything. It would really help."
"That means hunting procul," Aidan concluded.
"Out of the question," Captain Archer's tone was one of finality, "that's how Chef died."
The doors swished open, and Dakiza and Lemnestra arrived. The once-proud Ikaaran Science Officer bowed her head in respect. The captain greeted them and then explained, "We're just now working on settling something about our food stocks. I don't think this will take too much longer."
"No trouble," Dakiza assured them.
"Yanno," Sekar added, "the only reason Chef died was because of a malostrea bite. But the procul themselves are perfectly harmless. It seems a shame to give up on them, particularly when we have the means of getting to Amity."
"What if we brought the procul to us?" asked Lili.
"Come again?" Tripp asked.
"Bring over a herd of, I dunno, twenty of them, and plunk them down on that planet."
"Aren't they vegetarians?" Shelby asked, "Tris and Sandra would have their hands full keeping them out of our food crops, or we'd have to assign a few crew members to do that. I don't know about personnel reserves but we've already lost people. I dunno if we can spare anyone for that kind of detail. And it would be 24/7, right?"
"Plus there's no real ocean there," Travis pointed out, "it's just ponds. Can they live if there's no ocean?"
"Couldn't dogs herd the procul away from the crops?" Hoshi asked, "You know, like they do with sheep."
"These dogs," Dakiza asked, "are they like your beloved Porthos?"
"A bit," Jonathan confirmed, fighting to avoid getting a little misty-eyed, "But he was a hound. Those are used for hunting. Herding dogs tend to be larger."
"I see," asked Dakiza, "are they anywhere but your Earth right now?"
"No," reported T'Pol, "therefore, any attempts to obtain more of these animals would be far too difficult. The risk of cultural and temporal contamination is far too great."
"You cannot deny," Phlox said, of all people, "that crew morale has suffered since Porthos's demise. I have been reading more and more of my notes from the other iteration and make no mistake about it – crew morale suffered in all sorts of ways. And that was a crew that did not see most of its first casualties until the 2050s, whereas this version has already experienced six – seven if you count Porthos."
"Let me know what you're proposing," said the captain, "before we all start making up our minds one way or the other."
"Lemnestra," Tripp encouraged, "tell the cap'n what you told me about the thermobaric cloud barrier."
"Yes," she wrung her hands and looked uncomfortable at addressing Captain Archer directly, "the thermobaric clouds are likely to be less dense than in 2154, when you first entered the Delphic Expanse. Furthermore, there are ways of collecting fuel from them."
"Fuel?" asked Travis.
"It's got quite a kick to it, too," reported Tripp.
"Yes," Lemnestra confirmed, "It is very powerful."
"Then why don't you use it in your shuttle?" asked Aidan.
"We have used it there," confirmed Dakiza, "but it can compromise the cloaking mechanism if it is overused. Plus, once we had crash-landed, we could not obtain any more, of course."
"I wonder why the earlier version didn't share this information with us," mused the captain.
"It is possible that they did not think your vessel could handle the compounds. I do not wish to think that they believed they could not trust you with this data," Dakiza commented.
"I don't know," Captain Archer filed that information away for later.
"See," Tripp explained, "they collect the actual clouds themselves. You recall the gas that was getting into our vents? There's fuel in there. It's the hexafluorine."
"It is a raw material," Dakiza explained, "so it would need to be worked on. But if it were properly refined, it could provide either your vessel or our shuttle with considerably more speed."
"The method is kinda similar to how we refined trellium," Tripp explained.
"Captain," Lemnestra volunteered, "I would like to work on this project. Even if you decide not to venture to Earth, it may still be of some assistance to you. And, for me, I pray that you will permit me this small shot at redemption."
"I bet that's where Verinold was headed," Sekar mused.
"Most likely," Tripp agreed, "the increase in speed could be significant."
"How significant are we talking about?" asked Captain Archer.
"Warp Six for the Enterprise, I think," replied the engineer. "Not so sure about the Ikaaran shuttle, but anything's better'n what it currently does."
"We'd be able to outrun most other species' ships, I bet," Travis speculated.
"Pursuing this alternate source of energy is a logical course of action," T'Pol stated, "however, returning to Earth remains a risky proposition at best."
"I know enough about the history of that time," Shelby explained, "that I know they didn't have much of anything out there, up in space. There was a mission to Mars, and they went to the moon a few times. But most of the time, people were concentrating on their troubles on Earth."
"We could hide on the other side of Jupiter," Travis suggested.
"And then we could send the Ikaaran shuttle out, cloaked," Aidan added.
The Vulcan eyebrow was raised. "And then? How would you obtain a large number of dogs and not contaminate the timeline?"
"Huh," the captain mused, "we'd need animals that were about to die. And that wouldn't do us any good. Plus we're still stuck with the problem of drawing too much attention to ourselves in getting them."
They all thought for a moment. "Actually, I know of a place where there would be lots and lots of dogs, just about ready to die," Lili reported, "and they wouldn't be sick, or old, or hurt, or anything."
"What is this magical place?" Phlox asked.
"The live market in any Asian or Southeast Asian city," replied the chef, "See, when I was in Cooking School, we learned about everything – and I mean everything – that people eat or used to eat, and how it was grown, slaughtered, cooked, whatever."
"Dog?" Travis asked.
"Yes," Hoshi confirmed, "There were definitely people who ate dog."
"Assuming you could travel to Seoul or Beijing or another such city and land undetected," T'Pol allowed, "What then?"
"I could make era-appropriate garb," Sekar offered, "But money would be needed."
Lili unconsciously patted a zipped pocket on her left wrist, where Jay's lucky nickel was. "Can we replicate it, do you think?"
"Probably not too terribly convincingly," Tripp stated, "You just got done finishin' tellin' us that Willets couldn't make decent beef 'n beer, remember? But I bet we could barter somethin'."
"That could work," Aidan agreed, "Those folks needed pretty much everything, so even a supply of copper or tin might be sufficient."
"And your pretext?" T'Pol pressed the point.
"I have – or, rather, Jay did – an old World War III general's uni," Lili explained, "if it's authentic, maybe it could be used somehow."
"I can check," offered Sekar.
"So we got a general goin' to the live market?" Tripp asked.
"Maybe he could be interested in exotic foods," Shelby thought out loud, "We can do this, we can think up something. Hell, let's ask the rest of the crew. I don't want this to be pretext by committee but I bet there are good ideas out there. Sir, we should go to Earth, even if we fail at getting dogs. We should go because it will give us all a lift like nothing else ever would. Please?"
"Let's vote," commanded Jonathan. "Travis?"
"I vote yes if we can hide well and come up with a really good pretext."
"Fair enough," replied the captain, "Shelby?"
"Yes, and without reservations."
"Lili?"
"Yes," she nodded, "I think this honors Jay's memory."
"Tripp?"
"I think it's an interestin' challenge. And I think it could honor Chang's memory as well."
"Aidan?"
"Only if we really limit the number of people, and we only go once. Otherwise, I figure we run too much of a risk of cultural contamination."
"Phlox?"
"I believe this excursion would improve crew morale considerably. And its product will sustain morale for months if not longer. Furthermore, the addition of procul meat to our diets will be helpful, for both morale and nutritional purposes."
"Sekar?"
"I mainly want to see if we can do it." The Vulcan eyebrow was raised so he hastily added, "I don't want to lose this opportunity. It would be such a shame."
"T'Pol?"
"We must do everything we can in order to minimize the risks of cultural contamination. Only a minimal number of persons would be allowed to go, and for a limited amount of time."
"So you're saying yes?" asked Captain Archer.
"Captain," she stated, "I cannot, as you would say, buck this trend."
=/\=
After the meeting, Lili led Aidan and Sekar to Jay's old quarters. Aidan got the huge magnetic lock off the door. "Ladies first," he gestured.
She opened up Jay's closet and reached in, for the old general's uni. His aroma hit her nose, and she felt a pang. "I could swear you were here," she murmured.
"Hmm?" Sekar asked.
"Oh, uh, nothing. Here it is." She presented it to him.
"Oh, this is spectacular!" He gushed, "And I could use this material!"
"No, no," she implored, "I don't want you to cut it in any way. Please."
"I am sorry," he stepped back, "perhaps I was overly enthusiastic."
"Is it the real deal?" asked Aidan.
Sekar picked up the hem of one of the pant legs and inspected it closely. Then he checked the sleeves. "The piecework is certainly consistent with the techniques of the period, from maybe a decade before now," reported the Quartermaster, "I'm about ninety percent sure it's authentic."
"That's great;" enthused Aidan, "but who's gonna wear it?"
"Somebody older," Lili suggested, "I don't think anyone's gonna buy a young guy having a general's rank."
"Right," Aidan replied absently, "so Del is out of the question."
"He's too short, anyway," said Sekar, "since you don't want me to alter these garments in any way, it will need to be someone who can fit into them perfectly, or at least close enough that it would not look odd."
Aidan tried on the jacket, but it was too tight in the back. Sekar tried it and, for him, it was too long in the sleeves. "Sleeves are tricky," he said, "pant legs can be faked much more readily, whether too long or too short. Hence we will need to first find our shipmates who can fit into the jacket. Then we can select from that pool of candidates."
There was a communications chime. "Oh! That's me!" Lili flipped open her communicator. "O'Day here."
"How's it coming?" asked Captain Archer.
"The uni is authentic," Sekar said, "but we will need to determine who can fit into it fairly closely. The jacket will be trickier but it is much more vital. We are going with no alterations."
"Understood. We'll also need to think of our best people for this mission," said Jonathan, "I respect T'Pol's desire to keep the number of travelers to a minimum, so people will probably have to do double duty. Hoshi is a given, as are you, Lieutenant Commander O'Day."
"Me?"
"Yes," he said, "you're the best person to go to that live market and haggle. I am thinking that the pretext would be that you're the general's wife, and Hoshi would be your interpreter."
"I suppose that could work," Lili allowed.
"Captain," Aidan suggested, "maybe we could have all of the guys try on the jacket tonight. You know, kinda like a bit of Christmas entertainment. You don't mind, do ya, Lili?"
"Long as it doesn't get torn or stained."
"Then we'll do that," agreed the captain, "Archer out."
"You hold onto the pants for now," Lili decided, "and I guess whoever fits into the jacket can try on the pants at your work station. You got any idea about what I'll wear?"
"I am thinking something a bit elegant, but faded," Sekar said, after studying her face for a moment, "this is a time of want. Everyone was struggling."
"I leave it to you," she said, as they left Jay's old quarters. She took one last melancholic look before Aidan got the door closed and replaced the huge magnetic lock.
=/\=
Christmas was a celebration of togetherness, more than anything else. Sekar presented Doctor Phlox with a red velvet jacket with fake white fur trim, and a matching Santa hat. "What am I to do with these articles?" inquired the Denobulan.
"You'll play Father Christmas," Sekar said.
Colleen and Shelby were wearing little green elf costumes. They approached him. "Let's get you all set up, Saint Nick," Colleen said. They put on the jacket and the hat. "There!"
"And what else do I do?" he asked.
"Lili says there are peppermint and strawberry candy canes. Colleen and I'll hand them out," Shelby offered, "and your job is to listen to what everyone wants for presents. And, uh, be jolly and occasionally let out a 'ho, ho, ho!' Got it?"
"Ho, ho, ho?" Phlox asked.
"Say it like you mean it," Colleen explained.
"Ho, ho, ho!"
"Much better," Shelby confirmed.
=/\=
As crew members stood in line for turkey with stuffing and gravy, mashed potatoes with the skins still on, carrots in a mint and dill sauce, cauliflower with a mild cheese sauce and salad, the men tried on the jacket. As expected, Brian was too short, as was Craig. It was too small for Tristan, and the sleeves were too short for Tripp.
The first man to fit into it at all well was Travis. "General!" Julie McKenzie said, saluting him and laughing. He handed the jacket back to Sekar, who was taking notes.
José also fit well, as did Gary, Ethan and Captain Archer. Once the fittings were done, Sekar tapped out a quick message, "Come to my work station tomorrow and we'll try the pants." He addressed it to the total of seventeen men who were at all believable in the jacket. He hit send and brought the jacket to his work area so that it wouldn't be in any danger of being damaged. Rejoining the party, he approached Hoshi, "I'm a jealous man," he told her, without preamble.
"Oh?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied, "I am jealous of the fact that you are going to Earth, for I know I am not. I will miss you."
"You'll miss me?"
"Yes," he said, "I know you are still unsure. But I am not. At least, not when it comes to you."
Chip started up music, The Sweet Cupcakes singing Santa Clause is coming to Town. "C'mon," he exhorted over the intercom, "it's party time!"
Amanda Cole got in line first and sat down on Santa Phlox's lap. "I'll tell you what I want for Christmas," she purred, "but only if you'll deliver it personally."
"I, uh," he said, "As I recall," he said quietly, "this is how you and I began our relationship last time."
"That's right," she whispered back, "and that's what I want for Christmas."
"I believe I can supply that."
=/\=
The Ikaaran women mainly stood around, unsure of what to do with themselves. Timinka asked, "So is this the greatest holiday in the human year?"
"Not necessarily," Ethan Shapiro said, "it's got a religious basis and it's not even my own faith. But I don't mind the celebration. Over there," he indicated an electric menorah that he, Karin, Josh and Andrew had lit earlier, "that's a symbol of my faith."
"Which is the majority faith?"
"It's close to a tie between Christianity – they're the people who celebrate Christmas – and Islam. Azar Hamidi, Maryam Haroun and Ramih Azar all practice that. Judaism – that's mine – we're a really small minority, and we always have been."
"There are many stories in our faith, of the small defeating the large, and the weak gaining the upper hand over the strong," Timinka said.
"Let me tell you the story of David and Goliath."
=/\=
"I brought Christmas dinner to Verinold, and to his guards, Azar Hamidi and Gary Hodgkins," Craig said, "He asked me if he was gonna have a trial, Captain."
"Yeah," said Captain Archer, "I'm not so sure where to begin with that," he confessed. "We don't have anyone around this time who's ignorant of the circumstances of Chang's death, not like last time when there was a trial about the assault on Patti Socorro."
"Right," Craig said, "but I think maybe there should be something. We're all concerned about going to Earth, but shouldn't that be a priority, too?"
"You're right, Crewman," he allowed.
Esilia came over. "I overheard you speaking about Verinold. I apologize for eavesdropping."
"It's all right," stated the captain, "Crewman Willets here has reminded me that we need to get that resolved. He's right, of course."
"If I, or any of my fellow Ikaarans, can help you in any way," she said, "just ask."
The music had shifted down tempo, to an instrumental version of Silent Night. "You can help by, by dancing with me."
She looked at him a little shyly. "We did not set out to be brides. Know that I left Ikaaria with every intention of spending four years farming, and then returning, and marrying there, and selecting a mate from among my own people. I know my shipmates had similar intentions."
He held her as they danced. "I started out in 2151. And I had every intention of going on my mission of, ha, exploration, and meeting new species and all of that. I wanted to see the stars, and I wanted to make friends. I never dreamed I'd make a, a really good friend."
"Just a friend?"
"To start, yes," Jonathan smiled, "but more now."
=/\=
Lili refilled snack bowls as Brian and Craig hovered. "Go and have fun," she finally told them.
Craig approached Dakiza as Brian went after Izquilla. Lili smiled, watching the magic of the night taking over.
"It's great to see so many people happy again," was a voice behind her. Lili jumped a little. It was Diana.
"Yeah, it is. Looks like a lot of our Ikaaran friends are finding partners."
"Now, me," Diana sighed, "I know I'm the odd woman out. I got my doubts that any of them are lesbians. Unless you've heard otherwise; er, have you?"
"Sorry, but I haven't heard, one way or the other," Lili reported.
"It's okay," Diana replied, "I mean, it most decidedly is not okay, but there isn't a damned thing I can do about it, eh? But what about you?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you," Diana said, "There's gotta be someone."
"They're both gone," Lili turned away, and Diana cursed herself for being so insensitive.
=/\=
As before, Lili's dream was ebony black. But this time, she heard more than one set of footsteps. "Ian?" she called out, a tiny bit alarmed.
"It is I," he said, "and I have brought you your Christmas gift."
"Oh! I'm afraid I didn't get you anything. I'm sorry."
"It's all right," he said, "You don't really remember me from dream to dream anyway."
"Thank you for understanding, Ian."
"And now for your gift."
Four separate pairs of hands touched her shoulders. One pair seemed to take control, and that belonged to whoever hugged her first. She put a hand up to the lower part of that man's jaw. He was taller than Ian. "Jay?" she asked. There was a nod. "I've missed you," she admitted. There was another nod. "Can you speak to me?" There was a shake of the head.
"That is the condition," Ian declared, "only I can speak with you right now."
"I see," Lili whispered. Jay touched a finger to the palm of her hand and began to spell carefully. Lili understood immediately and followed along, out loud. "S, P, A, R, R, O, W. Sparrow. Oh, Jay."
"He called you that. It was out of great affection."
She hugged him again. "Thanks Jay or perhaps I should say blue Jay." He nodded again, and then broke away, conceding so that someone else could have a turn.
The next one was shorter. She immediately knew who it was. "Malcolm!" He nodded in confirmation. "I remember you said it was right." Another nod. "I remember you said it was your way." More nodding. "I remember all of those things about you. I am going to start to reread Jane Eyre, just for you." She felt moisture by his jaw. "What is this?"
"It's what you think it is," Ian confirmed.
"Oh, Malcolm, I don't mean to sadden you." He held her for a long time and then he, too, had to concede.
The next one was tall again, like Jay. "Who is this?" Lili asked.
"This is Jay's counterpart, Lili. His name is Douglas. In the primary timeline, when all of this has spooled out, you will meet him, in late October of 2157. And you will fall in love. And you will find a way to be together, and you will marry."
"Thank you for the look ahead," she stated, even though it was pitch black and she could not see anything, as always.
Doug also pulled back. Lili groped around. "Ian?"
"I am right here."
"Come here. You should get a gift, too."
"I –"
"Don't be shy." He came close and she put her arms around him. "Thank you for everything. You have been wonderful to me. Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise."
"Thank you," he whispered.
=/\=
Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, December twenty-fifth, 2037
I guess we're going to Earth. But there also needs to be a trial. Willets and the others are right. So, unless there is no one else to go and play at being a general, I will stay up here, and will conduct the trial.
In other news, I let Esilia know that I like her. I am moving slowly, and being respectful. I am beginning to believe in lightning striking twice.
And maybe it'll strike better this time, for I now have the nagging feeling that Ebrona and her people kept things from us. I died happy last time. Ignorant, yes. Perhaps that was for the best, then. But that was then, and this is now – the new now – and I don't know having been kept in the dark. Hence going slowly is in, I suspect, even more of my best interests, now that I know that.
=/\=
Chandrasekar Khan's Personal Log, December twenty-fifth, 2037
I have the assignment for the Earth clothing. The general's uni is, actually, from earlier, perhaps 2020 or so. But no matter and that will actually be better. I will create a name tag for it.
I also spoke with Hoshi some more. I want that to work out, again.
=/\=
Phlox's Personal Log, December twenty-fifth, 2037
I have begun a relationship with Amanda Cole.
=/\=
Jennifer Crossman MacKenzie's Personal Log, December twenty-fifth, 2037
I haven't told Aidan yet, but I think I may be pregnant. I'll go see Phlox in the morning, to be sure. Don't wanna give Aidan a heart attack if I don't have to!
=/\=
Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, December twenty-fifth, 2037
So I'm on the short list to go to Earth. Wacky. I never even got there until I was sixteen.
Diana Jones asked me, today, about whether I'd found someone else. I can't see it. I just can't see it, and I don't know if I ever will. I feel so alone sometimes, but then I think of Jay and Malcolm and no one else feels right.