Star Trek: Lilip
Chapter One: Lilip
Summary: The Enterprise-D receives a distress call from a research station on a lush moon. They manage to find a humanoid alien of an unknown species, and bring them on board.
Word Count: 5148
Author’s Note: I thought it’d be fun to write chronicles of my Star Trek OC’s life, detailing their story and exploring their character. Hope you enjoy the beginning of a long series!
Act One
Captain’s Log, Stardate 43085.7 (February 1st, 2366; 7:07 am). Not long after Doctor Crusher had been transferred aboard, and Doctor Pulaski having departed, we have had little time for reunion as the Enterprise received an urgent distress call from the Terys star system. After looking through decades old data, it was found that the Federation had established a research station on a Class-M moon orbiting the lone gas giant in the system. However, the station had severed contact through unknown means, and attempts to reach out over the years had resulted in failure.
So, to say receiving a message from this station after six decades of silence has been a surprise is quite the understatement. Especially given that the station was set up to catalogue the life forms on the moon, and research how life can evolve and thrive on a gas giant’s satellite. Should this mission bode well, it would be imperative that the data from the station be recovered. The information they have could prove invaluable to future exobiological research.
“We are within range, sir.” Lieutenant Commander Data announced from his station at ops. His pearlescent hands thrummed away on the control panel in front of him with calculated accuracy. The ship was just now entering the star system.
“Very good.” The Captain of the ship, Jean-Luc Picard pulled at his red uniform as soon as he voiced his acknowledgment. He turned to the other station several feet to Data’s right, with an officer seated at another control panel. “Open communications, Ensign Gates. Let them know that we are here to assist.”
“Right away, Captain.” Gates replied. She tapped her panel diligently. With two beeps coming from her station, it was clear the message had been sent.
But would it be received? And would there be a response? That was yet to be seen as the Enterprise passed the star. It glowed a bright, almost white yellow. A plume of plasma erupted from the fiery surface, shaking the ship as the flames licked her hull.
“Shields are steady, Captain.” The Klingon, Lieutenant Worf, announced once the shaking ceased.
“Maintain course,” Captain Picard commanded, “Ensign, status?”
“No response, sir.” Gates said.
Picard furrowed his brow as his gaze landed back to the viewscreen. In the distance, a tiny, blue speck pierced its color through the vast expanse of space. It grew larger as the ship neared the gas giant. The planet was huge, its atmosphere was streaked with stripes of various blues. The clouds that made up the planet swirled around at incredible speeds.
Alarming speeds, actually. For there was an arch of atmosphere that bulged from the planet. It flickered like fire here and there as the gas giant expelled its contents. It was clear that this was what the distress call was about, as the expulsion was so rapid and powerful that it would no doubt reach the moon and tear apart its own atmosphere.
“Bring us around,” Picard ordered, “We must make sure that the moon hasn't been struck.”
Upon entering the commands on the console, the Enterprise maneuvered around the evaporating gas giant. It was impossible to avoid the blast from the expulsion of atmosphere, and it rocked the ship violently. Bodies flung this way and that from the momentum, but were quickly recovered once the quaking stopped.
“Damage report.” Picard demanded.
“Shields holding at eighty percent, Captain.” Worf said in return as he steadied himself on his console.
“Let’s just hope the moon holds out better than us…”
The satellite came into view after a careful orbit around its host. It was tiny compared to the giant, about the size of Earth’s moon. Breaking the vast, blue ocean was one supercontinent covered in lush, green vegetation, with a mountain range splitting it down the middle. Down there was the research station, which was last reported having a staff of one hundred and four personnel, but that was sixty years ago. It was only speculation what the number could be now— Larger? Smaller?
While the sight of such a planetoid bursting with life was beautiful, such wonder was doused upon taking closer inspection of its atmosphere. A pale blue trail faced away from the moon’s host like the tail of a comet. The air that the flora and fauna breathed was being stripped away. The Enterprise was too late.
Captain Picard stiffened at the sight. He cocked his head in Data’s direction, urgency flashing in his eyes. “Data, can you find any life signs?”
“It is difficult to tell, sir,” Data’s calm tenor sounded as he tapped away on his console, “The drastic changes in the moon’s atmosphere coupled with the planet’s rapid expulsion of its own is making it difficult to scan for life forms.”
William Riker, the Captain’s first officer, stood from his seat and took a step forward, his beautiful blue eyes not leaving the main viewscreen. “Do you have the coordinates of the station?”
“Affirmative.” Data confirmed.
“Scan there, see what you can find.”
While Data focused his search, a worried voice spilled from the lips of the Betazoid counselor, Deanna Troi. “Captain,” She addressed, “I’m sensing something from the surface…”
Picard turned to his trusted confidante, his gaze urged her to continue.
“An intense feeling of fear…” Troi’s black eyes clouded as she focused her mind to the sensations she began to pick up from the pseudo-antlers that made two bumps on her forehead. “And pain… great pain… Someone is down there, and they’re hurt badly…”
“Captain,” Data interrupted, “I can confirm life signs aboard the station, but it is difficult to determine how many.”
A blast from the gas giant pushed at the starship, rocking the bridge as people desperately tried to keep their footing.
“We cannot hold orbit around the moon or the planet for long, not unless we want to take a beating.” Picard planted his foot down firmly onto the carpet as the shaking stopped, steadily returning to his usual posture. He turned to Data. “Data, I want you to get down to the research station as quickly as you can.” Another plume of atmospheric discharge shook the ship. “You have one hour to assess the damage, and rescue anyone that may still be alive.”
“Just Data, sir?” Worf asked.
It was Data who answered. “With the change in atmosphere, it can be concluded that it would be impossible to breathe. As I do not require oxygen to survive, it is safest for myself to go, should the life support systems of the station fail.”
Worf simply nodded in agreement.
“Hurry, Mr. Data. Based on what we’re seeing, you don’t have much time.” Picard ushered as another shake rocked the bridge before quickly subsiding.
The android stood from his post, which was quickly filled by another officer as Data strode towards the turbolift. After inputting his destination for transporter room three, the lift moved in response. It moaned quietly as it made its way down, passing level after level. It finally stopped after several seconds, and the doors slid open.
Data walked briskly through the corridor until he reached his destination. A transporter pad against the wall made the rest of the room reflect a blue light. The officer that manned the station, Miles O’Brien, stood by a console several meters away.
“Ready when you are, sir.” O’Brien said in his Irish accent.
After grabbing a tricorder, Data hopped up to the pad, and positioned himself to stand above a white circle of light. “Energize.”
With a few taps of the console, and a sliding motion from his fingers, O’Brien breathed life into the transporter. The glow brightened, and Data was enveloped by blue streaks of light, his figure fading away until he disappeared completely. The machine ceased its bright glow as soon as the android vanished from sight, returning the room to a comfortable level of brightness as the machine purred its gentle hum.
It was by pure chance that the rapidly changing atmosphere didn’t interfere with the beam down. Data’s form appeared, wrapped in a blue light as he was transported from the ship to the inside of the station. The building was dark—the power having gone out from the strong winds outside. Shelves and appliances littered the floor. The station had definitely taken a beating from the high winds that blasted its walls and shook the room.
Tricorder in hand, the device lit up and murmured a droning sound as Data scanned the area. Stepping with calculated precision to avoid any debris, he moved his tricorder back and forth. There was very little oxygen in the room he had beamed into, and Data suspected that perhaps it was like that throughout the rest of the building. Regardless, it was worth looking around for anyone, especially if the life form that Counselor Troi sensed was still alive. After making his way down a dark hallway, Data entered what appeared to be a room dedicated to the operations of the station. A giant crack marred the wall and yawned as wind punctured its way inside. It wasn’t at all a surprise that there were several bodies scattered around, every one of them showing signs of asphyxiation.
One of the personnel, a Caitian, leaned limply against a podium with a control panel that was still lit with power. The feline’s eyes were bulging from her sandy colored face, but surprisingly showed the relief she felt in her last moments. Upon closer inspection of the panel, Data saw that the Caitian had rerouted all backup power to a single room. Life support was on and running in that space alone.
His photographic memory giving him the layout of the building, Data carried himself briskly through the next corridor. A ventilation pipe had ripped itself off the ceiling and groaned against the floor. Maneuvering himself around the pipe, the android continued until he had reached the room that still had power. With quick thinking, Data tapped the control panel next to the door. It opened, and a burst of air slapped against him as he quickly nosed his way inside. The door shut tightly behind him the second he had entered. Whatever loss there was in oxygen from the open door was minimal.
As Data scanned the room, it was apparent that these were sleeping quarters. A bed rested neatly against the far wall where a window rattled violently above it, ready to shatter at any moment. The pillows had been tossed to the floor, and the blanket dangled lamely from the mattress. To the right, a bookshelf had fallen and scattered its contents into a messy pile. But from the pile of fallen books and PADDs, a small, dark hand peeked through a gap.
Quickly, Data rushed to the bookshelf and used his superhuman strength to lift it off of whatever it had fallen on. Throwing it aside with relative ease, he soon picked away at the books. As he did so, the body underneath grew more visible.
It was a humanoid with deep, magenta skin. Their curly hair was a dark purple that cascaded in ribbons down to their shoulders. Interestingly, their ears were long and pointed with rows of grooves inside them. From the ear and to the chin, mutton chops of hair fanned out similar to the ruffs of fur belonging to an Earth lynx. What’s more, peeking from the bottom of their knee length gown, a purple furred tail twitched. This being—whoever and whatever they were—was alive.
Act Two
Pulling the alien out from the mess, Data heard a weak whimper. They were clearly in pain.
The window began to crack under the battering of wind. Immediately Data pressed his hand to his combadge, the golden delta chirping in response. “Data to Enterprise,” He began quickly, “I have one survivor. Two to beam directly to sickbay.” He returned his hand to the being that groaned in agony, holding them in his arms as the shafts of light enveloped the both of them. Soon, they vanished from the spot in the same instance that the window finally caved under the pressure and shattered.
Data had found himself and this stranger back on the Enterprise in its sickbay. In an instant, Doctor Beverly Crusher rushed to the pair, ushering them to a biobed. Data complied, and set the being down as Doctor Crusher began to scan them.
“Was she the only survivor?” Doctor Crusher asked Data.
The android nodded. “She was in the only room with life support systems active. While I did not cover the entire station, it can be surmised that everyone else had perished. It was clear from the bodies I had encountered that they all died from lack of oxygen.” He twitched his head, his yellow eyes darting back and forth as he made some calculations. “I estimate the time of death for the personnel aboard to have been within the frame of thirty to forty minutes before we had gotten to the moon.”
While she continued scanning, the doctor nodded, her eyes softened at her patient. Looking over her tricorder, she could see several bruised ribs, the bones in their arms splintered, and a concussion.
The patient’s eyes rolled lazily open as they opened their mouth to release a pitiful sigh. The whites of their eyes were a pale lavender, and the irises were a darker purple. Scrunching their bushy eyebrows, they looked around as best they could, their sight settling on Data, who returned the gaze.
“Data,” Doctor Crusher started, “I need to grab some hyposprays. I’ll be gone for just a moment, but please do your best to keep her from falling asleep, alright?”
“Of course, Doctor.” Data accepted as Crusher briskly stepped away to a small area out of sight. He looked back down at the being who began to move their hand. Their magenta fingers brushed against Data’s yellow uniform, and in response he grabbed their hand softly. “I am Lieutenant Commander Data. You are aboard the USS Enterprise. You are safe now.”
As the patient began to blink in acknowledgment, Doctor Crusher returned with three hyposprays. One by one, she pressed them to her patient’s neck and squeezed the trigger. They released a sharp hiss, but Data could see that the pain they were feeling was starting to subside thanks to the medicine.
“How’s that?” Doctor Crusher asked. She pressed her palm sweetly onto their shoulder.
After a strained swallow, the patient finally spoke. “…better…” They answered, their voice soft and quiet.
“I’ll need to gather a few tools in order to heal your bruises and your head. Will you be alright with Data for a minute?”
The being nodded, looking back at Data and squeezing his hand.
While Doctor Crusher rushed to a counter a few meters away, Data looked back towards the being. “May I ask, what is your name?”
With tremendous effort, the being coughed out, “Lilip…”
“Lily?” Doctor Crusher echoed upon her return. She pressed a thin, pen-like device over Lilip’s head. “That’s a beautiful name.”
“Lilip!” Lilip repeated, gaining more of their voice back. “With a puh at the end!” Their correction was cut off as their voice scratched at their throat.
“Lilip…” Doctor Crusher switched to a device that looked like a tricorder, but with two prongs at the end. She hovered the device over Lilip’s chest. “I like that name, very lovely.” Her eyes moved to Data. “And you’ve already made a friend.”
Lilip and Data once again locked eyes. The magenta being smiled warmly, though their eyes betrayed the pain they felt as Doctor Crusher set to work. It felt as if their ribs were being pressed tightly against the muscles that cradled them as the bruising faded. Their lungs felt tight and heavy, but the sensation soon evaporated, and Lilip gulped a mouthful of air.
“There we go, just breathe,” Doctor Crusher cooed, “I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to breathe down there.”
“Actually, Doctor,” Data said, “They were in the only room that had any power left, including life support systems.” He glanced down as the medical device moved up and down Lilip’s arms. “However, they were trapped underneath a fallen bookcase, so I would not doubt the possibility.” Blinking, his eyes met the purple stranger’s. “Is that a correct assumption?”
Lilip nodded. “Is everyone else okay..?”
Doctor Crusher ceased her work and glanced up at Data. The knowing look they both gave each other was all Lilip needed. Tears of pain turned to those of grief as they wept silently, squeezing Data’s hand yet again. The android let his other hand cup theirs, sandwiching it between him.
“Your bedside manner has improved since I’ve been away, Data.” Doctor Crusher teased playfully. She finally put her medical devices down on a table and placed her palm on Lilip’s arm. “You’ll be alright, just go easy for a few days.” She took Lilip’s other hand in hers. “You have my condolences, truly.”
As Lilip sunk their head into the pillow with Crusher wiping away their tears, the doors to sickbay opened. Lilip glanced through misty eyes as a tall human man with brown hair and a matching beard strode into the room alongside an older man with a bald head. The two wore uniforms similar to Data and Doctor Crusher, but were red instead of their respective yellow and blue.
“Data, report.” The older man ordered.
“Yes, Captain,” Data replied, “Upon my inspection, it can be concluded that—other than the lone survivor that had been recovered—all personnel had perished from the rapid evaporation of the atmosphere.”
“Well, couldn’t they just have locked themselves inside the building with life support?” The bearded man asked.
“From what I had gathered, the station could not withstand the wind speeds, and therefore would have left many places open for the oxygen supply to escape, such as the operations room,” Data answered as he let his eyes rest on Lilip, “I only had a short window of time to retrieve her before the systems failed entirely.”
“Well done, Data.” The bald man praised. He took a few steps forward to meet with the magenta being. “I am Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of this ship.” He waved a hand towards the bearded man. “This is my first officer, Commander William Riker.”
Riker gave a curt nod towards Lilip.
Captain Picard continued, “We’d ask a few questions, if you’re willing.”
Lilip, meanwhile, took their hands back and shuffled into a sitting position. Their ribs felt sore, and placing weight on their arms caused a jolt of discomfort to shoot through their limbs.
“Jean-Luc…” Doctor Crusher reprimanded, “She’s just lost her home, her family, her friends… give her time to settle down from the shock of it all.”
“And I would be happy to, but Command has issued me to give a full report on the information gathered from the station as soon as possible. I’m afraid this cannot wait.” He turned to Data. “Have you recovered anything in that regard while you were down there?”
“Negative, sir. I had no time if it meant saving Lilip.” The android returned.
“Lilip?”
“My name…” Lilip muttered softly. They rubbed their eyes to keep back tears, and let out a hoarse sniff. “If you want all the research notes we’ve collected over the years, I could catalogue them.”
“Is it possible that you could even remember it all?” Riker asked.
“Not… all of it,” Lilip admitted as they fought back a choked sob, still raw from grief, “But I can at least record what I can remember.”
Captain Picard sighed, his brow furrowed in disappointment. “All that information is lost… The gas giant ripped away the moon’s entire atmosphere, and with it uprooted the station since you’ve transported on board. Even if Data could beam down again, it would be a fruitless endeavor…”
“I still have the data I can remember!”
“Yes, but it would take quite a bit of time for you to record it all.”
“Captain,” Data interjected, “While it is true that we did not recover the data from the station’s archives, Lilip offering to record what they know is the only chance we have to learn about the biosphere of a gas giant’s satellite, to say nothing of a station that had been lost for sixty years.” He looked from his captain back to Lilip. “I propose that—as she has no place to go—Lilip remain aboard the Enterprise to catalogue whatever information she can recall. As senior officer of sciences, I will supervise her work.”
“That’s a pretty big proposal there, Data.” Commander Riker said.
“Yes. Indeed… And one that must be carefully thought over” Captain Picard muttered under his breath. He turned to face Lilip. “You are welcome aboard the Enterprise currently as a patient to Doctor Crusher, but as for this idea of you staying here…”
“Please?” Lilip asked. “I don’t know where else I can go. At least here, I can be of use to you.”
“That will remain to be seen,” Picard said, “But do rest now. We’ll have much to go over once you’ve regained your energy…” His gaze softened. “...and had a chance to grieve.” His eyes then fixed to Data. “Meet me in my ready room, we’ll discuss more there.”
“Yes, sir.” Data followed Picard and Riker to the exit.
Riker paused and turned around, his eyes resting on Doctor Crusher. “Good to be back, huh Bev?”
Doctor Crusher smiled. “Now that I’ve got my work cut out for me, it really is.”
Act Three
Captain Picard sat at his desk, his eyes looking sightlessly ahead. Upon focusing his gaze, he took one fond glance at the lionfish in his little aquarium before shifting to Data and Riker. “There’s still the question as to how and why the station had lost contact with the rest of the Federation for all these years.”
“Perhaps with the solar radiation from the star, it caused a storm much like the one we encountered upon our arrival, although not as strong.” Data hypothesized.
“Communication systems were completely dead,” Riker added, “It’s likely that they’ve been disabled all this time.”
“Yes, I was thinking the same thing,” Picard sighed, “All that information… all those people… decades of research from the moon… all that life, gone.”
“We still have Lilip.” Data reminded.
“That’s another thing,” Picard said, “This Lilip… Do we know anything about her? About her species?”
“She’s not like anyone else we’ve ever come across before,” Riker noted, “It’s safe to say we know nothing about her.”
“Mm, indeed.” Picard placed his index finger and thumb to his chin in thought. Letting his back rest against his chair, he softly swiveled to and fro as he let himself think.
Data took a step forward, his brows raised. “Lilip did offer to report any information they had learned and remembered. Perhaps her knowledge of her own species is part of that roster.”
Picard nodded. “I have Doctor Crusher analyzing the subject as we speak.”
“This’ll make quite the report back to Command, won’t it?” Riker wondered.
“Oh, Yes.” Picard’s voice had a hint of intrigue to it. He faced Data. “You did very well in retrieving Lilip, well done.” He paused his swiveling “I have given some thought to your proposal about her.”
Data’s eyes flashed with interest.
The Captain continued. “I have elected to have her stay aboard the Enterprise for now. Once she recovers, she will be assigned quarters, and I expect you to oversee her reports, Mr. Data. While her memory may not be as strong as official logs from the station, it’s all we have. I’ll alert Command to the situation at hand in my report. We will shelter her in the meantime until they decide what will be next for her. Understood?”
“Yes, Captain.” Data confirmed.
“Number One?”
“Understood, sir.” Riker insisted.
Picard stood from his seat and pulled at the bottom of his top. “Very good. Dismissed.”
“Well, everything looks good,” Doctor Crusher examined as she scanned Lilip with her tricorder. “Vitals are normal… I suppose.” She glanced up to look Lilip in the eyes. “How do you feel?”
It had been around ten minutes since Lilip woke from a brief nap. At this point, Lilip was sat up, their legs dangling from the edge of the biobed. Eyes clouded, they were still processing the loss of everything they had known. They did not respond.
“You know, we have a counselor on board,” Doctor Crusher said, “Perhaps it would do you some good to speak with her. Get your emotions all together, and figure out how to process everything that’s happened.”
Blinking, Lilip’s eyes cleared. It was as if they had only now just realized their surroundings. Looking around, their pulse quickened as their eyes scanned the various medical devices stored in the room. They turned back to face Doctor Crusher, clarity in their gaze for the first time since their rescue. “Can we go to a different room?” They asked, voice cracked with anxiety.
“Is something wrong?”
“I just—” Taking a breath, Lilip sighed. “I don’t like infirmaries…”
Doctor Crusher let out an amused sigh. “While you were asleep, the Captain had arranged quarters for you. Why don’t I show you to them, and we can talk there?”
Lilip nodded as they shuffled off of the biobed. Their tail lagged behind, drifting onto the floor as their gown kissed their knees. They followed the doctor out the door and into the hallway. As they passed several officers on their way to their next duties, several of them cast curious glances towards Lilip. Their face grew hot with embarrassment, for they knew just how little the Federation knew of her species. After entering the turbolift with Doctor Crusher inputting the destination for Deck Nine, the pair were met with an awkward silence.
“So,” Doctor Crusher cleared her throat as she broke the silence, “Would you like to tell me about yourself?”
Lilip paused, their shoulders stiffened. “What do you wanna know..?”
“Well, how old you are, what your life was like growing up on Terys Beta… that sort of thing.”
Lilip cringed, but was thankful the doctor didn’t ask about their kind. Not even they knew what they were. “Um,” They stuttered, “Do you guys still go by the Gregorian Earth Calendar? Or are you exclusively using Stardates?”
“Oh, you can tell me in years, if that works with you.”
“Oh. I’m, um…” After searching their mind to make the brief calculations, Lilip continued. “I’ll be twenty next month.”
“Really?” Doctor Crusher smiled sweetly. “I have a son who’s just a few years younger than you! Wesley’s his name.”
“Okay.” Lilip wasn’t fond of the idea of interacting with a teenager, but they kept up a polite front. “What does he do?”
The turbolift doors opened, and as the pair stepped out, Doctor Crusher answered, “He’s in school right now, studying to get into the Academy. As far as I’m aware, he’s still an acting ensign, too.”
“Acting?” Lilip echoed.
“Oh, he’s a very bright young man. He’s helped the crew here and there enough to warrant the opportunity!” Crusher beamed as she boasted about her son, and Lilip couldn’t help but let out a smile. The lovely doctor took notice and returned the expression sweetly, her eyes glowing with appreciation.
Doctor Crusher paused her steps as they reached a door. Ushering her hand, she explained, “These are Counselor Troi’s quarters. I just thought you should know in case you ever need to schedule an appointment with her.”
Lilip nodded absentmindedly. They wondered what this Troi was like. Continuing on, the duo passed a few more doors before stopping yet again.
“Here are your quarters,” Doctor Crusher pointed, “Shall we?” She pressed her fingers against the control panel next to the door, and it opened with a soft hiss.
Entering, Lilip couldn’t help but feel as though they didn’t deserve it. The room was separated in two parts—the entrance leading to a living area. A couch faced away from the windows against the wall, a coffee table placed neatly in front of it. Several chairs surrounded a small table to the left towards the door, and against the wall it was near, a replicator appliance yawned from its panel. There were several large potted plants placed delicately around the room, which Lilip appreciated. They made a mental note to study them sometime.
To their left, a small entryway headed to the bedroom, a queen size mattress resting against the far wall. And from that room, the bathroom which Lilip would have to check out later. These quarters were much more luxurious than the room they had lived in at the research station. For a brief moment, they wondered if perhaps there was a mistake in their room assignment.
“Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll get you something to drink?” Doctor Crusher’s voice snapped Lilip from their thoughts. “Tea? Water?”
“W-water, please.” Lilip realized just how parched they were upon groaning out their answer.
The good doctor input the order into the replicator, and a glass of cold water materialized out of thin air. Upon collecting it and bringing it to Lilip, Crusher asked, “Is there any particular reason that the sickbay was frightening to you?”
Pausing to sip their drink, Lilip did their best to collect their thoughts. “I just… I don’t like medical settings…”
Doctor Crusher hummed. “May I ask a more personal question?”
Lilip cringed yet again, fully aware of what she was going to ask.
“Does this have anything to do with you? I mean, your species is on no record anywhere…”
“Yes.” Lilip stated pointedly before taking another drink of water. The tip of their tail twitched in annoyance.
Crusher let out the short exhale of a humored breath. “I suppose this isn’t something you’re comfortable talking about?”
“No.”
“Then, I won’t push you, but I’ll tell you now that you will have to talk about it eventually.” Crusher rose from her seat on the couch and took several steps towards the door. “Settle in for now. I’ll call for you once everything is sorted out, alright?”
Lilip blinked appreciatively. They were certain that this doctor was extremely curious about them, but they felt safe knowing that she wouldn’t force them to explain what they didn’t know. After watching the doctor leave, Lilip finished their drink and stood. Upon placing their empty glass in the replicator, they stepped towards the bedroom.
Though they had only just woken up from a nap, the fatigue from everything hit them exponentially. The grief returned and hung over them like a dark cloud, fogging their mind and making their limbs heavy. Drawing themself under the covers, Lilip curled into a ball. Their home—everything they had ever known was gone. What would become of them now?