Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

Part 25 - The Curse of Memory

"It's almost Christmas, my love," Lili told Maria Elena, who was sitting on a stack of flattened cargo containers so that she could reach a counter in the galley. "I bet you'll remember this one."

"Mommy!"

"Yes, that's me! We're gonna make sugar cookies!" She rolled out dough as the dogs watched, hoping for a dropped morsel or two. Once it was ready, she cut out several cookies with a metal ring – the interior of an old pineapple can. She cleared the leftover scraps and balled them up. "Here," she gave the ball of dough to her daughter, "you can play with this." The dogs, seeing their chance, positioned themselves under the child. Their patience and proximity did not go unrewarded.

The doors swished open. "I see we have a helper today," Craig said. "Jeris would have come, too, but he's busy helping his mother wrap gifts."

"They've really taken to our holidays, eh?"

"I think Dakiza knows the Nativity story better than I do. Funny, it's become one of their biggest and most beloved rituals on the ship."

"It just kinda feels like home, I guess." Lili looked over at Maria Elena, who was just feeding the raw dough to the dogs. "That's quite enough. I don't want sick doggies, okay? I swear, sometimes Cokie is such a chowhound!"

=/\=

On the Bridge, Izquilla adjusted the earpiece as Maryam looked on. "How odd. I am hearing – it seems to be a transmission in my native tongue. But the accent is off. I cannot place it."

"We should analyze it," Maryam suggested.

"Most definitely."

"Is it a distress call of some sort?" asked Captain Archer.

"I do not believe so," the Ikaaran Communications Officer turned up the sound so that they all could hear.

Lemnestra and Nyota were handling the Science station. "Male voices," Lemnestra said, "but they cannot get the popping sound quite right. It comes from the back of the tongue." She demonstrated.

Then there was, for a few seconds, English. It sounded a little like singing, but it was just two words – 'Santa Claus'.

"That is your folklore figure," Izquilla stated.

"I think I remember this," Jonathan Archer said, "Let's have a look at the old database. Find out whatever went on, well, today. Actually, Maryam, get me the shipwide intercom, please."

"Go ahead, sir."

"All hands, this is the captain. We've received a pretty strange transmission, and we'd like your help in deciphering it. Check your logs for this week – you know; your logs from the other version of the NX-01, from the first kick back in time. If you are responsible for the logs from any deceased crew members, then please check them as well."

He paused for a moment. "What I want everyone to check for is – what would cause the other NX-01 to broadcast a strange message? I don't think it's anything sinister. Let's just refer to it as professional curiosity. Thank you, Archer out."

=/\=

In various corners of the ship, they checked. Sandra Sloane Curtis had been helping Victoria with the children, but she stopped to check Brooks Haynem's old logs. She read them – the entries were about the fact that he had fallen for her – and wept.

Susie Money didn't have a log for Dan Chang, and realized he was in exile at the time, having escaped from custody on the planet called Amity. Colleen Romanov Novakovich read Chris Harris's old logs – he wrote about missing amusement parks. She found herself becoming overcome. Patti Socorro Kelby read Will Slocum's log entries, expressing his frustration with her – they had been married on the other version of the ship. She shrugged.