Temper {Star Trek Enterprise Fan Fiction}

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Jay, Doug's counterpart, he was still alive. But they hadn't had a romance. She had to admit, though, she'd found him attractive. But he was thoroughly unapproachable. She could barely stammer out a good morning to him – it was like trying to talk to a famous ballplayer like Ty Janeway. But, static. She would call the people buying Voracious. And they had been pleasant enough but there was always some sort of a complaint. She'd had to explain, over and over again – in the midst of the Xindi War, for gosh's sake! – How to jigger the knob and turn on the oven, who to see about getting the freshest salmon and so on and so forth. The reception was never any good, despite what Hoshi Sato – the Empress's counterpart, that was to laugh – could do.

These sounds were like that. It was just so much white noise, impossible to decipher. She thought she heard the word miva – clay – suddenly, but she was being shaken on the shoulder.

=/\=

Lili awoke.

"It's time," Susan said.

"Oh, thanks."

Lili got herself to the galley. Lunch would be ... something.

=/\=

Polloria was stacking boxes when she arrived, "We're running low on things," she said as Lili came in.

"Like what?"

"Everything, it seems. We'll probably have to go back to serving the Empress slop, and she is absolutely gonna hate that. We'll be punished – you, in particular – if you can't whip up some other miracle."

"Heh, great," Lili said.

There was a communications chime. Polloria answered it, "Yes. All right. Good. Polloria out."

"And?" Lili asked.

"Seems that there's going to be another hunt tomorrow. And then we'll leave the system the following day."

"Oh. I suppose you'll miss the Lafa System," Lili also thought about getting out. Being away from the gap – even if it was closed – was not a good thing. Absentmindedly, she touched the chain around her neck, but had the presence of mind to not pull it out. She didn't want to have to explain – or potentially lose – the only valuable possessions she had. And to lose the key would be the worst. It was all she had left of Malcolm, and had consulted the internal poem throughout the previous night, as she tried desperately to comfort herself, even a little bit, for his loss. It was still very, very fresh.

"Well, yes. But I don't have perfectly positive nostalgia for here."

"Oh? I thought all, uh, of us," Lili said cautiously as she was unsure as to who might be listening in, "wanted to stay here."

Polloria came a lot closer, "I am surprised you have forgotten who I am," she said quietly.

"I guess I didn't want to believe it," Lili said, "But I guess that there aren't any duplicated first names, are there?"

"No. Not until a death," Polloria said, "You must know we don't have surnames, so this is the only way to tell us all apart in the records. There is but one master of music – Aliwev. And one delicate serving girl of Lo – me."

"And you are an escaped criminal?" Lili asked.

"Not escaped. They let us all out," Polloria said, "I think it was cheaper than keeping us in there. We became available for slave labor, as you can see. I am here, of course. Baden, my accomplice, he was not so fortunate."