There were three of them. Two were fraternal twins, born fifteen years after their older sister, Marie Helêne. But the two younger ones were Karyn and Declan. It was just as Lili had predicted or, perhaps, as she had suggested. But no matter, for they were there just the same.
Marie Helêne's job was to farm, and she did it with relish. Karyn was both the pilot and the First Officer to Lorian Cyrus Tucker who was, as Jonathan Archer had predicted, the captain. And Declan Archer worked as the Chief Medical Officer, doing the very best he could, even though he had rather limited experience and always felt he was floundering.
Connor Greer IV was another member of that generation, and he was the Communications Officer. He was also related, for he was married to Stephanie Hodgkins, twin to Steven Hodgkins, who was Marie Helêne's husband. Steve and Stephanie were both on the senior staff – she was the Science Officer and he headed up the Tactical Department.
There was a new Hoshi Khan, great-granddaughter to the original Hoshi Sato Khan. She was an Engineer and was just back from leave, for she and her husband, Arashi Tiburón, had just welcomed a son, Jun Tiburón.
Arashi's sister, Linda, was married to Declan. They, too, had fairly recently become parents, and had named their daughter Lili. Steve and Marie Helêne had a son, Jay, but he was older. And Connor and Stephanie also had an older son – Connor V.
The youngest generation – which they called 3.4, or Pi – was in danger of collapsing on itself. Most of the children were related in some manner or another, and a lot of them closely so. A marriage for Lili Archer – when she came of age, for she was only two years old – would be rather difficult indeed to work out. She could not wed Jay as he was a first cousin; so was Jun. Plus Jay was quite a bit older than her.
Connor V was a potential prospect for Lili Archer, though, as he was a relative of her Aunt Marie Helêne's, but only on the Hodgkins side. Declan and Linda hoped their daughter would, when the time was right, take to someone like Connor, as there were few options.
The same was true for all of the other children in that generation. There were too many relatives and not enough variables.
=/\=
There was a meeting of the senior staff. "Today's the day," Lorian announced. No one had to ask what that meant – it was the day they knew they could meet the original NX-01.
"How is your mother feeling about all of this?" asked Karyn. T'Pol was still alive, the only one left of the original crew.
"She is … stoic," Lorian used the diplomatic term. "I imagine explaining all of our entanglements will be most difficult. Jolene's twins are married to one of the Archer great-grandchildren and a Greer! The Ikaaran blood! The Denobulan line! We should make sure they get the documentation. They are going to be interested."
"Sir," Karyn noted, "they are going to want to know about the Xindi weapon, and why we did not stop it."
"I, I know," Lorian agreed, "but it should be – is it not obvious? This is a ship full of small children and old men and women."
"And a lot of cobbled together spare parts," Hoshi added.
"That, too," continued the captain. "We could not keep up with the weapon or the Insectoids or the Reptilians. Ramming speed would have been our sole option. Are we to end the lives of Lili Archer, Jay Hodgkins and the rest of them? I, I am well aware of the idea of the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few. But I cannot condone that. I cannot think of that. These are our children. These are our parents, and all of our loved ones. It was an unthinkable option."
"Do we have an ETA?" asked Connor.
"A couple of hours," Karyn replied.
"Let's get the children to put the dogs into Cargo Bay Three," Stephanie suggested, "Keep them from getting underfoot."
"Good idea," replied her brother.
"Jolene," Lorian asked, "do you have a menu prepared?"
"I do," his daughter replied. "It is one of Lili O'Day's own specialties – roasted procul with honey mustard. Spinach is on the side, with roasted potatoes. Plus there is a Harvest Salad. The salad works as the vegan option as well."
"Good," he replied, "and we have the extra Kovaalan isomagnetic collector?"
"Yes," Hoshi replied, "We should be able to spare it. Perhaps they'll be able to traverse the subspace corridor without being kicked back in time. A third time, I feel, would most assuredly not be the charm."
"Right," Karyn agreed, "I wonder what they'll think of us, and what we can say to them."
"They're family," Declan declared, "I'm sure we'll all think of something."
=/\=
On the other version of the ship – a newer ship with their ancestors, the mood was mixed. Captain Jonathan Archer, T'Pol and Commander Tucker were all finishing their breakfasts in the Captain's Mess.
"Anyone want more coffee?" Lili O'Day asked as she cleared a few dishes. "Tea, Commander T'Pol?"
"No, thank you," replied the Vulcan. She turned to Jonathan. "Captain, crew morale is unsettled. They seem overly apprehensive."
"Well, we've been goin' full tilt for a while," Tripp pointed out. "We've had deaths and we've had to deal with some fairly extensive damage to the ship."
"We can't just stop," stated the captain, "we've got to meet Degra." He was referring to a Xindi – there was a way to, perhaps, truncate their war with that species, if not end it entirely. He was hopeful.
"Understood," was the crisp Vulcan reply. "However, the crew is not operating at peak efficiency."
"They need a change," Lili murmured to herself.
"Ensign, you have something to add?" asked the captain, a tinge of exasperation in his voice.
"Uh, no, sir."
=/\=
A few hours later, they saw it. It was another version of the NX-01. Old, battered, and frayed at the seams – there were even some pieces of her that seemed as if they had been bolted on.
The captain called a hasty meeting of the entire senior staff, bringing them all to the Bridge. It was everyone, even Shelby Pike in Botany and Andrew Miller from the Science lab and Sekar Khan the Quartermaster and Chef Slocum. The captain spoke. "The news is obviously all over the ship. Even if it wasn't, one quick look out any window should tell the tale."
"The whole thing seems to be nuts," mused Travis Mayweather. Unlike most of the rest of them, he was still multitasking, as someone had to pilot.
"Maybe," Chef Slocum conceded, "but what a treasure trove of information there must be!"
"If they really are our descendants," Phlox opined, "simple DNA scans will tell the tale. And if they are, then it does beg some rather obvious questions."
"It does make you wonder," Jay added.
"I do not believe," Malcolm stated, "that they pose any real threat. A quick scan of their armaments revealed that their torpedo array is cobbled together from all sorts of mismatched bits and bobs."
"Same with their hull and a lotta other things," Tucker confirmed. "It makes sense, I mean; they gotta be improvising in all sorts o' ways."
"Can we have their senior staff come here," Jonathan asked, "and, I dunno, maybe feed them lunch?"
"Sure," Will agreed, "I'll get Lili on it." He hastily tapped out a message on his PADD.
The captain nodded to Hoshi, who opened up a channel. "Mister Tucker," the captain stated. Involuntarily, Tripp looked up at the same time that Lorian did. "I'd like to invite your senior staff to lunch in our Observation Lounge."
"That would be wonderful," Lorian replied, "we will bring some of our food with us, and have you share in our bounty. We do ask one thing, though."
"Oh, what is that?"
"For our senior staff, we would like to meet our, our ancestors. We hope the following people can at least make an appearance." He consulted a PADD. "You, Karin Bernstein, Tracey Carter, Sophie Creighton, Amanda Cole, Tristan Curtis, Brian Delacroix, Connor Greer, Gary Hodgkins, Judy Kelly, Chandrasekar Khan, Mario Lattimer, Travis Mayweather, Julie McKenzie, Andrew Miller, Susie Money, Bradford Moreno, Lili O'Day, Phlox, Michelle Pike, Meredith Porter, Joshua Rosen, Michael Rostov, Rex Ryan, Hoshi Sato, Ethan Shapiro, Katherine Shelton, Sandra Sloane, Bree Tanner, Oscar Tiburón, José Torres, T'Pol and Tripp Tucker. Please, I realize that is a lot of people, but we are dying to meet you all."
"Of course," replied the captain, "see you at twelve."
As the connection was cut, Will Slocum sent a second note to Lili – get Preston Jennings to help you, the guest list just tripled.
=/\=
The guests came in, bearing covered dishes. "I am Jolene Tucker Hodgkins. I am the chef," stated a part-Vulcan woman.
Will took a dish from her. "What is this?"
"It's roasted procul with honey mustard. It is one of Lili O'Day Torres's recipes."
"Me?" Lili asked as she set out plates for buffet style. Torres? She almost dropped a plate.
"Yes." Jolene smiled a tiny bit. She was, after all, only one-quarter Vulcan.
The rest of the older NX-01's senior staff came in – Lorian Cyrus Tucker, Marie Helêne Archer Hodgkins, Karyn Archer, Stephanie Hodgkins Greer, Maxwell Tiburón, Connor Greer IV, Hoshi Khan Tiburón, Declan Archer and Steven Hodgkins.
"I am Lorian Cyrus Tucker," announced the part-Vulcan. "I am the captain. You have met my daughter Jolene Tucker Hodgkins, who is our chef. To my right is Karyn Archer. She is my First Officer and is also our pilot. Her twin brother, Declan Archer, is our Chief Medical Officer. Their older sister, Marie Helêne Archer Hodgkins, is our Chief Farmer. She's also Jolene's daughter-in-law."
"My mother's name was Marie Helêne," Lili whispered.
Jay Hayes happened to be standing next to her and he looked at her. "Maybe she's your kid," he whispered back.
"We have another set of twins on our senior staff. Steven Hodgkins is our Tactical Officer; he's married to Marie Helêne. Stephanie Hodgkins Greer is his twin and is our Science Officer. Her husband, Connor Greer IV, is our Communications Officer. As you can see, we believe in spreading the wealth amongst our families."
An older man in that entourage seemed to be flagging. Preston stepped forward and got him a chair. Lorian continued, "That's Maxwell Tiburón – he's our Botanist. His daughter-in-law, Hoshi Khan Tiburón, is our Chief Engineer. The Tiburón family is related to the Archer and Hodgkins families. Declan is Max's son-in-law."
"I hope you have a scorecard," Jonathan quipped.
"I know it's confusing," Lorian admitted, "but let's get a bit acquainted, if we could, and, well, allow me to ask you something, if I could."
"Oh?" asked the younger of the two captains.
"May I tell you who Marie Helêne, Declan and Karyn's great-grandparents are? For you are one of those eight people."
"I see," replied Jonathan. "And the other seven?"
"You were married to an Ikaaran woman named Esilia," Karyn explained. "Your son was named Aaron Gregory, known as AG. He married Maria Elena Torres."
José's jaw about hit the floor. "My, my daughter? Who was her mother?"
"Chef Lili O'Day," answered Declan.
"Chef?" Lili asked, "I'm, I'm the sous-chef. Holy cow. Move over, Max, I gotta sit down, too," she quipped.
The assembly laughed a little. Lorian continued. "AG and Maria Elena had a son, Jacob Henry, and a daughter, Sally. Jake married Mindy Ryan, daughter of Nick Ryan, the son of Rex Ryan and Meredith Porter."
"You better make some more room," Meredith quipped. She glanced over at Rex for a second and he looked down.
"Sally married Izo Khan, grandson of Chandrasekar Khan and Hoshi Sato," Marie Helêne explained.
Again, nervous glances were exchanged. "Jake and Mindy had three kids. That's the three of us," Karyn explained. "Sally and Izo's daughter is Hoshi."
"All of you Hodgkins people, I guess you're all mine," reasoned Gary. "Who did I marry?"
"Sophie Creighton," explained Lorian. "Your son was Leo. He married Amy Delacroix."
"D-Delacroix?" asked Brian.
"You were married to an Ikaaran woman named Izquilla," Karyn explained, "and Amy and Leo's son was Richard. He married Jolene Tucker here," she indicated the older NX-01's chef, who nodded.
"How do the Tiburóns fit in?" asked Oscar. "I must have had a son."
"You did," Lorian confirmed. "Carlos also had a sister, Amanda, who you called Almendra. Their mother was Tracey Carter."
Tracey glanced over at Oscar, her hand on her mouth. She had always thought the guy was cute, but hadn't said more than maybe three words to him, and didn't even know his first name.
"Carlos married Rachel Shapiro," Jolene explained, "and Mister Shapiro?"
"Yes?" Ethan asked.
"Your wife was another Ikaaran, named Timinka."
"Oh, uh, thanks."
"Carlos and Rachel," Max added, "They were my parents."
Connor Greer I walked over to Connor Greer IV. "I guess I know a little bit about where you come from. Is there a number five?"
"There is," confirmed the fourth Connor Greer. "Your wife was Bree Tanner. The second Connor married Valleri Rostov. She was the daughter of Michael Rostov and Judy Kelly. The third Connor – my Dad – married Adele Phlox Mayweather. Her parents were Michelle Phlox and Paul Mayweather. Michelle was the oldest child of Dr. Phlox and Amanda Cole. And Paul was the son of Travis Mayweather and Julie McKenzie."
"Oldest child?" asked Phlox. "Out of how many?"
"You had nine kids," Max stated, "There is a lot of the Denobulan genome running rampant in our population."
"Nine kids?" asked Amanda Cole. "Good lord, I suddenly have a headache the size of Pittsburgh."
"Where do you fit into all of this, Lorian?" asked Captain Archer.
"My parentage – I do hope it's obvious – it's Commander Tucker and Commander T'Pol. Jolene's mother was Jill Lattimer, my first wife. Mario Lattimer and Susie Money were my in-laws. My second wife and I, we did not have children. She was Hanna Rosen, daughter of Joshua Rosen and Karin Bernstein. I was her second husband. Her first was Scott Miller, son of Andrew Miller and Michelle Pike, who I believe is called Shelby. You more or less know the rest, I believe."
Susie gave Mario a playful punch in the arm and he pretended that it had hurt. He smiled and winked at her.
"Why am I here?" asked Kate Shelton.
As Kate's contribution to the gene pool was explained – she had been Brandi Moreno's mother, and Brandi had been Mindy Ryan Archer's mother – Lili stepped back. Not looking where she was going, she accidentally stepped on Malcolm's toe. "Oh, sorry," she whispered.
"That's quite all right, Ensign. So, you and Mister Torres were related to the captain. Pity there's no word for in-law to in-law relationships such as that."
"There is in Yiddish," murmured Ethan Shapiro, "It's machtunim."
"It's consuegros in Spanish," Oscar whispered.
"Huh, well, I shan't pretend I can pronounce either of those," Malcolm thought for a moment. "I wonder why I haven't been mentioned."
"Maybe you're not in this branch," Lili offered, "Will hasn't been mentioned, either, and neither has Jay Hayes."
"Right," Malcolm confirmed, "Well, we shall find out all the gory details soon enough, I suppose." They turned their attention back to the guests.
"Tristan Curtis and Sandra Sloane were also married," Karyn was saying, "and their daughter was Penny. Anyway, there's tons of these tangled up relationships. We'll send you our trees, if you like."
"Sure," agreed Captain Archer.
"You never mentioned me," Will pointed out.
Marie Helêne, Max and Hoshi Khan Tiburón all glanced around nervously. Lorian finally stated, "We were hoping to reveal some of these in a more private manner. There were some men who never wed, and died young." He checked a PADD. "You were one. So were Daniel Chang, Christian Harris, Jay Hayes, Brooks Haynem and Malcolm Reed."
Malcolm felt himself swaying a little bit. Lili was nearby, and she put an arm out to steady him. He briefly smiled his thanks to her as the lunch continued.
=/\=
Afterwards, Karyn gave Jonathan a tour of her version of the ship, Lorian spent time with Tripp, and T'Pol met her elder self. Lili spent time with Declan and Marie Helêne. Jolene came along to the galley, and they compared notes on cooking. Preston Jennings quickly returned to his usual post in Navigation, and Will, too, departed. He was rather unsettled about the news of his early demise. No one had had the heart to tell him that it had been from a malostrea poisoning, or even what a malostrea was. The word was never uttered.
"Let me show you pictures of my son," Marie Helêne offered.
"And my little daughter, too," added Declan. They had battered old PADDs and produced them. They began clicking around.
"There," Marie Helêne explained, "That is Jay Hodgkins."
"Wow, your son is tall. And Jay? Our head of the MACOs is named Jay," Lili explained. "He's a rather stern fellow, it seems."
Marie Helêne and Declan shared a quick glance. "Should we?" he asked.
"Should you what?" Lili inquired as she glanced quickly at the image of Lili Archer.
Marie Helêne sighed. "I – huh, it feels so strange to talk about it."
"Is it bad?" asked Lili.
"You have dreams, right?" asked Declan.
"Everybody dreams."
"True," Marie Helêne conceded, "But yours are considerably more detailed than other people's. You talk in your sleep, but it's not random words, right? It's, it's conversations."
"How do you know this about me?"
"I have the same kinds of dreams," Marie Helêne admitted. "You dream of, it's – I think – it's of great love."
"That doesn't make any sense," Lili insisted. "I haven't met anyone."
"Six men," insisted Declan, "including you, it's almost like the seven stars in the Big Dipper."
"Now I know you're talking crazy. The Big Dipper? I never even saw it the proper way until the first time I went to Earth. And I was sixteen then – I grew up on Titan. Who did you hear that kind of nonsense from?"
"From you," explained Marie Helêne. "I, I was there when you passed. I was an infant. I'm in my sixties now – older than you are. But I have it, too."
"Have what?"
"A gift," Jolene interjected, "I apologize for eavesdropping. But this is a small space. Allow me to explain."
"Please," Lili pleaded.
"Vulcans have certain telepathic gifts. And some humans have psionic abilities. You evidently have some limited abilities. And they are solely manifested during your dream states."
"Is that why I talk so much?"
"It might be," Declan opined, "See, my sister here, she seems to have those same abilities."
"So you're seeing things?"
"I don't remember much. Steve – my husband – hears me at night. I think he knows and recalls a lot more than even I do."
"Then how do you know about my dreams? You told me you were a baby. And Dec here – and I guess Karyn, too – they're both at least a decade younger than you are," Lili pointed out.
"Fifteen years younger," Marie Helêne confirmed. "But I know because my own parents told me. They told all three of us. See, on your, your dying day, Lili, you had visions. You predicted Dec and Karyn's births, for one thing."
Lili sat down, hard, on a stool. "I, I don't know what to say."
"You saw beyond," Marie Helêne stated. "I like to think I might see some of that, too. You saw – you didn't call it an afterlife. My mother said you referred to it as an afterworld."
"An afterworld?"
"Yes," Declan confirmed, "and you had details and everything."
Jolene went over to the replicator and began to fiddle with it. There was a communications chime, and she answered it. "Yes? Right away. Tucker Hodgkins out." She turned to the others. "We have been ordered to return to our ship right away, I am sorry to say. Lili, I have taken the liberty of programming in the first item Mister Willets ever added to the replicator."
"Willets? You mean Craig Willets, in Engineering?"
"The very same," Declan confirmed.
There was a ship-wide shudder. "We'd better go," Marie Helêne looked a bit concerned, "Let's catch up more, and soon."
"I want to know the entire family," Lili decided, "Even if it is a bit confusing."
"Bring José," Declan suggested.
"I, I barely know him," Lili stated truthfully. "It feels like it would be the very definition of awkward."
"Either way, we want to know you. My parents and grandparents always spoke well of you," Marie Helêne explained. "A lot of people loved you. I think I can speak for my siblings – we already do, too."
Tearfully, Lili hugged the two of them. Then she looked up. "You, too, Jolene. I think you're family somehow, aren't you? And even if you aren't, you're a chef, dammit, and that's close enough, so far as I'm concerned."
=/\=
The Kovaalans weren't letting up. The two versions of the NX-01 had been docked together, but four Kovaalan ships came and fired upon them. The newer ship was damaged and Lorian let it go. It drifted into the subspace corridor and Lorian turned his vessel to face the Kovaalans.
"We need to get them through, and be sure of it," Lorian commanded as his Bridge was rocked again. "More power, Hoshi!"
"Doing what I can!" She yelled back from Engineering.
"Helm, let's get between the Kovaalans and the other NX-01!" commanded the half-Vulcan.
"Aye, sir," replied Karyn, deftly maneuvering the ship.
"Hull plating polarization is holding," Steven reported.
"I'm getting an image on sensors," reported Stephanie, "It's faint."
"Hang on, there's an image," reported Connor.
"On screen," Lorian ordered.
"It's an Imvari slave ship," stated Karyn, looking up from her station.
"It's one of those that our ancestors tried to take out, I believe," Steve opined, "Look at the damage to those three starboard arms." He was right. It was the same ship they'd fought for years, ever since Kerna had piloted a small mission to the dilithium mining planet, back in 2039.
"We'll have to lose track of the other NX-01 and let them deal with the Kovaalans for now," Lorian decided, "this is more important."
They weren't too far from the old Amity system. Karyn turned the ship, and the battle was on.
"Target those other arms," Lorian commanded.
Steve fired a torpedo spread. "Direct hit to two of them."
"Let's get closer, do some damage to that midsection," Lorian added.
They got in closer. The Imvari ship fired its phaser banks. The NX-01 was hit hard. "We're venting plasma!" Stephanie yelled.
"F deck reports hull breaches," Connor reported. He tapped his earpiece a few times. "I've lost contact with F deck. Nothing for G deck, either."
"Target the Imvari engines!" Lorian called out.
Steve fired. "We don't seem to be getting as much out of our hits! I can't figure out why!"
There was another hit. "I've lost touch with E and D decks," Connor reported. "There are fires on C and B."
=/\=
Sick Bay was on E deck. Connor had lost contact but it was still there for the nonce, still hanging on. Declan had his hands full trying to keep things together. The children on board were also there, as it was supposed to be the safest part of the ship although the Imvari were making a lie out of that. Marie Helêne was tasked with keeping the children out of harm's way as much as possible, including her little niece, Lili Archer; Connor's son, Connor V; Hoshi and Arashi's infant son, Jun Tiburón; and her own son, Jay Hodgkins, who was old enough to have an idea of what was going on.
"Mom?" Jay asked, "Uncle Dec looks scared. Do you think we'll make it?"
"I'm not sure," Marie Helêne admitted, "but I think it's more important to make sure the other NX-01 does."
Declan nodded. "Our purpose – our very reason for existing – is to get them through." Their area was rocked again as the ship took another hit. "I've tried my own communicator and the wall communicator," he admitted, "I can't raise anyone."
"Karyn," Marie Helêne whispered, "and Stephanie and, God, Steven!"
"Mom," Jay repeated, "what do we do now?"
She stood there for a second and the next few moments felt as if they were happening underwater. They were slow motion, and she felt disembodied, as a fireball erupted and shot across Sick Bay. Her last moment was spent leaping on top of Jay and Declan, trying to protect them from the absolute worst of it as the ship tore itself apart over Amity, and its explosive shock wave finally destroyed the hated Imvari slaver ship as well. The good and the bad, the healers and the haters, all fell or burned to their deaths as the other version of the NX-01 – the one with Travis and Jonathan and Lili and Ethan and Shelby and the rest of them – made it through the subspace corridor for a rendezvous with a Xindi named Degra.
=/\=
It was a stone bridge, over a calm little stream. Marie Helêne looked at the others. It was crowded; there were so many of them crossing over at the same time.
She looked into the face of a man she had seen in her dreams – Doug Hayes. He handed her a trowel. "I know you," she stated.
"In a way, you're family," he replied, "but all beings are, in some way or another, even the ones that aren't sentient. It doesn't matter here. You will plant. I will build. Lili, when she gets here, will cook. Others will hunt or entertain or create or lead and we will all do it together, for the greater and greatest good, as we shed our sins and our earlier existences. This is the afterworld, and you're all welcome here."
=/\=
And for Lili, looking out the window of her small shared cabin on C deck, the sight of the subspace corridor, but no sign of the other NX-01 could mean but one thing. "They sacrificed themselves for us," she murmured.
"Hmm?" asked her roommate, Jenny Crossman.
"They got us through."
=/\=
In her dream that night, for the first time, she saw a beautiful country, with green fields and small unfinished houses here and there. She could not see the people – her psionic gifts were not as well-developed as they would be later in her life.
But Lili knew, just a little bit, and only in her dreams, that the crew of the other ship was all right, and they had come home.
=/\=
Lorian Cyrus Tucker's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154
The day has arrived. I scarcely know what to say to my own parents. They will be unsettled, I imagine.
=/\=
José Torres's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154
Me and Chef's assistant? How strange. She is a nice girl, older than me. Girl, I guess, is not the right word for her. I would not know what to say. My experience with women is limited at best. And to know that we were wed once before, in what was quite literally another life? It is hard to wrap my mind around it.
=/\=
Malcolm Reed's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154
To know that no one cared enough to share their life with me – it is very, very hurtful. Today, when Diana Jones was looking for a seat at supper, I asked her to join me. We had a pleasant yet awkward conversation.
I am not, specifically, interested in her. It's more that I should be interested in someone. I can't continue shutting people out of my life like this. For I am certain that my eternal bachelorhood was mostly my own damnable fault.
I tend to fall for women who are either thoroughly inappropriate for me or are utterly unattainable. Crewman Jones is slightly in the former but apparently not in the latter. Plus, she is a blonde. Hope springs eternal, I suppose.
=/\=
Jonathan Archer's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154
I can scarcely comment on today. It was odd, to say the least. There was another ship out there. We were here before, and we failed to traverse a certain subspace corridor. That ship ricocheted back to 2037.
I married a woman from a species none of us – not even T'Pol – have ever heard of. They farmed, er, somewhere. I don't even have those coordinates. They married and intermarried and had a family tree that was as tangled as a madman's synapses must be.
I feel an empty sense of bereavement, of seeing just a fraction of their lives. Who they were, why they did what they did, who they loved and how they saw themselves – it's only a sliver of that puzzle.
They seem to have laid down their lives for us. I can only hope we are worthy of such an honor.
=/\=
Phlox's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154
To know that there are – or, perhaps, were is a better verb tense – more relatives of mine, that was a pleasure and now it is a burden and a hurt.
I do hope they did not suffer unnecessarily.
=/\=
Marie Helêne Hodgkins's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154
Today I will meet my forebears. And I hope I can talk to Lili about the dreams. I feel we already have at least a little bit of a connection.
=/\=
Jay Hayes's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154
Seeing the other NX-01, it was weird, and that's an understatement. I was one of the odd men out, and they didn't say why but I suspect there were early casualties. That's all I can come up with, particularly seeing the pattern of who was left out of the genetics sweepstakes – me, Reed, Chang, Harris, Haynem – all of that spells 'failed mission' to me. As for Chef Slocum being out of the running, that's harder to assess. But I can see – his assistant sometimes cringes and rolls her eyes a bit when talking to him. He can be an insensitive lout sometimes. So maybe that's it.
As for the chef's assistant, she hit the jackpot somehow, with three descendants on their exec staff and they really seemed to have been taken with her. I notice her a little – she's got great eyes and she's kinda sweet.
That ship and those people, they make you think about those things. Am I ready to open myself up to things, with her or anyone else? I dunno.
=/\=
Charlotte Lilienne O'Day's Personal Log, January fourteenth, 2154
I will write more later. Right now, I'm just saddened for people I barely knew, but I already knew I loved. I suspect they are all gone.