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Reading something ahead, Commander.

Looks to be a nebula.

Well, it'll warp back to one, Lieutenant Janssen.

Sensor scans, Mr. Bernstein.

It's not a nebula.

I'm picking up several different kinds of energy.

Radiation readings of a kind I've never seen before.

Put it on the main viewer.

We're heading right for it.

Would we like the captain, sir?

Not necessary.

Radiation and electromagnetic readings are well within our tolerance limit.

But doesn't the captain like to be notified whenever we come across

that might be considered unusual?

This poses no threat, Ensign.

Take it through at warp one.

Survey and map it. The captain can review the computer logs over his

coffee.

Going for a morning swim, Lieutenant?

You know there are green ladies at the pool, right?

Good morning, Auntie Niselle.

Dalton.

Good morning, Ensign.

I don't know if you can call turning the lights up at 0700 hours morning.

I don't understand it.

I have not broken my vow.

Yet I can feel it inside me.

What's wrong, Estelle?

I'm pregnant, Doctor.

Wait.

The final frontier.

These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.

Its five -year mission.

To explore strange new worlds.

To seek out new life and new civilizations.

To boldly go where no man has gone before.

Medical log, supplemental.

After a pregnancy of only three days, rather than a normal 10 -month delton

gestation period,

Antonin's cell is about to give birth.

The strange circumstances surrounding her pregnancy have raised deep concerns

to the nature of the infant.

Contractions are based at two minutes and regular, doctor.

The lesion is nine centimeters.

The baby's heartbeat is normal.

I don't know how she's doing it.

Straining her body to adjust so quickly.

If she wasn't a Delton... There's nothing to worry about, Doctor.

She'll be out in a moment.

Are you having any pain?

Delton women experience childbirth as another kind of orgasm.

We feel far more pleasure in it than pain.

Lucky you.

Indeed.

What the hell are you doing here?

Captain's orders, sir.

McCoy to Kirk.

Kirk here.

Dammit, Jim. Can't we let this woman have her child in peace?

A security officer's presence is normal procedure under these abnormal

circumstances, Bones. Now you can't tell me that a newborn infant seriously

poses any kind of danger to the security of this vessel.

Bones. I won't have it.

This is my sickbay, and I won't have this baby born with a phaser pointed at

head. Nobody's pointing any phasers, Doctor. It's unwarranted, Captain, and

compromises the best care I can provide to my patients.

Ensign Kirk, please take up your position in the corridor outside of

Aye, sir.

Thank you, Doctor.

Mr.

Chekov.

Can you monitor this baby from here once it's been born?

Captain, given the bond between the adult and mother and child, I feel that

anything itself would notice.

Just the same, I'd like you to monitor this as an intruder around the clock.

Sir, it's a baby!

Well, unless we can determine otherwise, this is an intruder masquerading as a

baby. Indeed.

Considering the human instinct to trust and nurture an infant, the intruder

could not choose a more perfect form.

Ah, Spock, but it's not just human nature we're talking about here. It's

nature as well.

Delton mothers are the most fiercely protective in the galaxy.

I'm pretty sure that's why this entity chose her.

Captain, any species selecting a surrogate mother would naturally select

most protective one. The choice does not necessarily mean the entity is

malevolent. Well, it doesn't guarantee that it's not either.

What it does guarantee is that I'm going to be making some pretty unpopular

decisions on this ship until we can determine whether or not this really is

threat.

She's coming now, Doctor.

Well, you were right.

It was an easy delivery.

Dolphins always know.

You needn't have worried.

Now, don't patronize me, young lady. You know this was no ordinary delivery.

She never took a hit. It was, though, Todd.

Have you, uh, have you thought of a name?

Ayerska. After the baby's father.

After his father?

Her father.

Ayerska means pure light in Delphi.

It's just a baby.

I wouldn't call immaculate conception after a three -day pregnancy.

Then what's to become of it?

Kirk here.

Jim, I just had a complete scan of the cell's baby.

Better get down here.

I'm on my way, Doctor.

Mr. Spock, you have the conference.

What do you have for me, Bones?

Well, the child checks out of human in almost every respect.

No delton characteristics?

None that I can detect.

Well, how the hell can that be?

I don't know.

What's even more incredible is how fast she's growing.

Even faster now than in the cell's womb.

By human standards, she's growing a little more than a year per day.

Now, her metabolism is normal, which in theory means she can't possibly be

processing enough food to account for the rate of growth we're observing.

Well, what would happen if I had them separated now?

No, you can't do that, Jim. For one thing, a cell would stop at nothing to

her back.

That child could pose a threat to the ship in ways that we can't even imagine.

No matter how much a cell loves that child.

That child was put inside her by an unknown alien for an unknown reason.

Well, it may be unusual, but it's not altogether unheard of for species to

reproduce by depositing their eggs in unsuspecting hosts.

Exactly. And in almost every case, that life form that's reproducing is almost

always a parasite.

Let me see if I can set your mind at ease.

There's something else I haven't told you about a cell's baby.

I don't think she's going to live out the week.

Why not?

She was born with an abnormally high white blood cell count, and it's

increasing.

She has leukemia, and from all my studies, I don't believe she's going to

respond to any known form of treatment.

Acknowledge, Mr. Spock. I'll be there momentarily.

Go to yellow alert.

Does the cell know?

Not yet.

Use your discretion, Bones.

Any sign of hostility, Mr. Chekhov?

Enough time.

Sensor readings, Mr. Spock.

No, no, my boy.

Hedging your bets, Spock? You think there's something inside that thing?

Sensors indicate only a hollow tri -titanium shell surrounding a field of

could be dark white.

Dark white?

Analogous to dark matter, Captain.

It seems to possess the energy of photons, but without the detectable

wavelength. There appeared to be some in a cloud that we encountered four nights

ago. The night Ethel's child was conceived?

Precisely. But it is far more concentrated inside the cylinder.

The shell exactly duplicates the alloy of our hull.

Well, that's no coincidence, Fox. Somebody's making a point about our

technology. Perhaps.

Sensors show no signs of machinery on board of any kind, yet it appears to

no difficulty paralleling our course.

Well, how can that be? It cannot be.

Logic dictates there is a controlling life form that our sensors are failing

detect.

Lieutenant, hailing frequencies open.

Hailing frequencies open, sir.

This is Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise.

Identify yourself and your intentions.

No response, sir.

It seems safe to assume there's a connection between the object and the

child, cousin.

Well, we still don't know who's behind all this, Spock. I mean, for all we

it could be a cell's child causing this.

It has made no hostile gestures, sir.

Scan it again, Spock. This time, a little more aggressively.

If it thinks we're trying to scan it, maybe it'll take the time to contact us.

I want to know what the hell I'm dealing with before I have to do anything about

it.

Captain's Log, Stardate 9717 .7.

A week has passed since the birth of a cell's child and the appearance of a

strange alien cylinder.

Despite an ever -increasing white blood cell count, Ayerska remains healthy.

Her stage of development is now roughly that of a ten -year -old child.

We remain unable to make contact with the alien cylinder or to determine why

even how it is following us.

Today I resume my duty.

That means we'll be apart for a time.

Can't I work with you?

No. My work is my work.

It's important now for you to spend time alone, to become what you are to be.

What will I do?

Whatever you want.

Learn. Discover joyfulness alone.

Once you achieve that, you need never fear rejection.

Come.

I would like permission to resume my duties, Captain.

And what about your daughter?

She's busy learning to have a good relationship.

With whom?

Herself. She must be alone and get to know herself before sharing herself with

others. Estelle, have you made any plans for you and your daughter?

Plans?

I must love her, teach her what I can, and let her go.

Go? Go where?

To do what?

Appearances to the contrary. She's not human, and she's not Delta, nor is she

any other race that we're familiar with.

Do you really think she can adjust to that kind of aloneness?

Captain, she is my child.

Even if we are physically separated, the bond between us is inseparable.

Where she goes and what she does must be left up to her.

And what if she were to pose some kind of danger?

She does not, could not, pose danger to anyone.

Do you have any idea whether or not she's connected to that cylinder out

No.

None at all, I'm sorry.

Very well, Ensign.

Thank you.

You can return to duty now.

Thank you, sir.

We're relieved, Mr. Chekov. Thanks for taking over for me.

It was my pleasure.

And how is the beautiful Iris here today?

She's just marvelous.

Something is being beamed aboard from the alien cylinder.

It's roughly one cubic centimeter of dark light atmosphere contained in the

cylinder. Find it and isolate it.

It is in our number 10 filter of our atmospheric purification system.

We've isolated the filter and are redirecting the airflow.

What's the problem, Bob?

A small quantity of dark light was beamed into our filtration system.

Lieutenant Chekov contained it as quickly as possible.

However, it is an extreme biotoxin, and we were exposed to a lethal dose 2 .3

seconds after it arrived.

Unless Dr. McCoy can counteract it within 6 .2 hours, it will kill us all.

Captain's log supplemental.

It has now been more than four hours since the alien craft beamed a deadly

portion of its atmosphere into our ship.

So far, Dr. McCoy has made little progress toward finding a cure for its

effects.

The crew is already displaying symptoms of the dark light toxin, and though they

continue to maintain the ship's routine, many of them have become despondent,

hopeless.

What is this?

NK -175 is with non -flex serum.

Any luck?

Work with.

Next.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you.

It's alright, Law.

Why don't you wake your mother?

She's at the bridge, and Captain Kirk doesn't like me to be there.

So you came down to see old Mr. Scott?

You know, you're the only wee lass I've ever known who could see the beauty in

an engineering schematic.

I see beauty in almost everything, Mr. Scott.

I've got a present for you.

It's like your mother's.

Oh, Mr. Scott.

It's beautiful.

Thank you.

Is it possible that they're being remotely controlled somehow?

If that is the case, then it is being done from a greater distance than our

-range scanners can detect.

Well, something moved the dark light into our air supply.

There must be an intelligent life form behind all of this. I'm convinced that

they know what they're doing to us.

Possibly. Or it could be studying us, learning how the toxins affect us.

If it simply wanted to kill us, I suspect it could do so far more

Well, that's comforting.

Really? No, Mr. Zahn.

Not really.

Bones, progress report.

None. The toxin makes changes to the protein in our cells that I can't begin

understand. I'm just flying blind, hoping to get lucky, too.

We've got less than two hours.

Doctor, when was the last time you examined Ayerska? Dammit, Spock! I don't

time to do a complete...

trying to create a vaccine.

If she and the object are in fact connected, then Ayerska could provide a

counteracting the toxin. Fine. Then send her down.

I can't do any worse than I'm doing now.

Captain, if this is absolutely necessary, I'd like to be with her for

examination.

I don't want her to be frightened or think she's done something wrong.

You can interfere with what the doctor has planned.

I understand.

Fair to sit there.

Come. I thought you wanted to stay with your daughter.

She knew I would feel any pain that she felt, and my pain would be greater than

hers.

Won't you feel it just as much here?

Only if I focus on it, and she asked me not to.

She felt it would make the process more difficult for her.

I'm sorry that all this was necessary.

Why did you do that?

To make a connection.

A sexual connection?

I'm Delton.

Any meaningful contact between us will feel sexual to you.

And you think you could use that to influence me?

Captain, do you know why Deltons agree to take oaths of celibacy?

Because Starfleet requires you to.

Beyond that, we live to connect as deeply as possible with other beings.

Putting a limit on our ability to do so heightens all our senses to compensate

for what we're missing.

So the process of being less Deltan makes us even more Deltan.

So what's your point, Ensign?

The only bond stronger than that between Deltan lovers is the bond between a

Deltan mother and her child.

You felt a powerful connection when I touched you, but my bond with Ayerska is

infinitely deeper. I can sense all her feelings.

Even the difference between how a food tastes to me and how it tastes to her.

I hope that my touch would help you to understand how I can know that my

daughter is no threat to this ship.

Well, that cylinder attacked this ship and poisoned our air.

And you know they're connected somehow.

She feels a connection but has no sense of its nature.

Attacking that cylinder could harm Ayerska.

That's why you're here.

I would know if she were not.

She is not responsible for what the cylinder does.

Well, the evidence suggests that she may not be directing it.

But it probably wouldn't be here otherwise.

Come.

Well, I've deployed medics to all decks dispensing injections.

I thought you'd like yours as soon as possible.

Well, you found a cure.

Dr. McCoy taught me all about life and death.

Well, thank my young assistant here. She had the cure inside her a week before

we even needed it.

Those strange white corpuscles of hers adapted to the toxin and neutralized it.

Has she been affected in any other way?

Just her miraculous blood adaptation.

Captain, our hull is being penetrated by an energy beam of unknown nature from

the alien cylinder.

Shields are ineffective.

I'm on my way.

Alien energy beam has focused on impulse engine plasma cooling into two.

Recoil and shutdown servos.

Evasive maneuvers.

Influx engine plasma is overheating, Captain.

Locked phasers on target.

Locked on target, sir.

Captain, the alien has disengaged its energy beam. Hold your fire, Mr. Sulu.

Why did they stop?

I believe the attack was disengaged because it has completed its goal.

Our impulse engine plasma cooling coil has ruptured. The attack was broken off

at the exact instant the rupture occurred.

Why would they do that, Mr. Scott?

What point is it, sir?

Unknown, Captain.

We've got a mess down here, Captain. The impulse engines are spewing out plasma

and we can't shut them down.

Ensign Hammonds is in there trying to get a better look.

Keep me posted, Mr. Scott.

Well, as always, that green blood of yours proved the particular pain in my

posterior.

Look, there's a leak in number two's cooling coil.

Yes, we know.

We have to fix it or the impulse engine will explode.

How did you know that?

Mr. Scott showed me all the technical manuals.

Medical team to engineering.

Lieutenant Rask has taken a massive dose of data radiation.

Captain, the automatic system has failed. I'll seal the tube manually for

But the leak has released a pure of data ionized plasma. Can you stop it?

Our only hope is to pass the coil.

One man could weld a patch in about 15 minutes.

Captain, data radiation in the access tube is too intense.

Even with a protective suit.

No one could remain conscious in there for more than a few minutes.

Get down there, see if you can lend a hand.

Lulu, how much time do we have?

Eighty -nine minutes.

She's right, Captain.

Stay on it, Mr. Scott.

Young lady, you'll have to come with me. But can't I?

Ow!

I'm sorry.

I need you to come with me.

Please.

You too, Mr. Fox.

The theta plasma levels are in red zone proximity.

Keep the exhaust manifolds on full, or I'm a dead man. Aye, sir.

I'm considering a mind meld.

I don't think it would work, Captain.

His cell would sense it instantly, and I would be flooded with her feelings as

well.

What's a mind meld?

Great. Delton sensitivity and ears like a Vulcan.

A mind meld is a technique that would let us share each other's thoughts.

I'd like that.

Yeah, I'd like that too, but now is not the time. Your mother has the ability to

sense aspects of things that she can't see or touch.

Can you do this as well?

Yes, I think so.

Can you cry for me? Can you try very hard?

Are you able to sense anything about the cylinder that's following the ship?

Mr. Scott is dying. I have to help him.

No!

What's wrong?

Dr. McCoy to the briefing room.

Send a medical team.

Jim, I should keep Scott in. In a minute, Bones.

I need to know if Ayerska's blood will adapt to the fate of radiation.

It's possible.

It can.

I know it can.

You cannot allow this. I won't allow it. She's just a child.

I want to. I can save the ship and Mr.

Scott. That's not your job.

Yes, it is. If I fix the leak, my blood will adapt to the theta radiation, and

Dr. McCoy can use it to save Mr. Scott, just like last time. Sweetheart, we

don't know that your blood will adapt again.

She's right.

We can't know for sure.

However, Ensign, I believe it's highly likely her blood will adapt as needed.

You may be willing to risk my daughter's life on highly likely, but I am not.

Ensign, the impulse engines will explode inside of an hour if we don't fix that

leak. All of our lines are at risk.

Your daughter is the only person capable of staying conscious long enough inside

that tube to fix it. You don't know she can stay conscious in there.

We know that nobody else can.

Mommy, Mr. Scott is my friend.

I don't want him to die.

Please.

We need to get that suit of him.

Get Dr. McCoy down here now.

Decker to Captain.

Kirk here. How's Scotty?

Critical. My boy's on his way. I'll be on the bridge.

I should be going.

Despite my fear, I cherish that you have learned to love others so much that you

want to do.

I'll be all right, Mother.

Really.

Any activity in the solar system?

None, sir.

How long until infiltration meltdown?

20 minutes, sir.

Mr.

Scott already applied the patch to the leak.

So, all you have to do is use this torch along the edges of the patch to seal

it. It's operated by... Mr.

Scott told me yesterday. He just pressed this button.

The edges of the seal will change color from red to blue as it seals.

And the gas should stop the gate.

Don't worry, I can do it.

All right.

Let's go.

Well, there's nothing more we can do.

We can only hope that Ayerska's blood will adapt to the theta radiation.

I can't start preparing the medium for the serum right now, Doctor.

We might as well be ready.

Do it.

I'll be on the bridge.

Alrighty.

Here, I see the path.

Remember to keep the torch in place until the red line turns blue.

Then move it to the next bit of red.

I will.

How

long

has she been in there?

3 .2 minutes longer than Mr. Scott.

Well, that's a good sign.

The pattern of recent events indicates she will succeed in her task and

no ill effects from the radiation doctor.

However, the same pattern dictates a new crisis will follow swiftly upon

resolution of this one.

No life form in the galaxy can spoil good news faster than your average

In a minute, we'll head back to 6A and start getting ready.

Captain, I suggest a manual without airspace.

Their subconscious may well hold the reason for these consecutive crises.

I mentioned that earlier to Spock, and he thought the child's connection to her

mother would make it unlikely to succeed.

For him, perhaps.

Mr. Spock has struggled his entire life to suppress emotion.

For me, it is effortless. I would have less chance of being overwhelmed.

Are you saying this could be more dangerous than usual?

Undoubtedly. But I suspect the risk will be necessary.

Let's hope not.

For now, we have more pressing matters to deal with. How much time do we have,

Mr. Chekov?

Four minutes, sir.

Engineering, stand by to recharge impulse engine coolers on my command.

Aye, Captain.

Afterward quickly, Iron Captain.

One minute to impulse engine meltdown.

Engineering, recharge impulse engine coolers now.

Recharging, sir. Blood flow levels returning to normal.

Impulse engine temperature is coming down, Captain.

Edge to Kirk.

Escort Ayersco to sickbay on the double.

Captain, I think that the alien object is attacking us again.

You think?

What's it doing? I don't know, Captain, but something is affecting the integrity

of our hull. On screen, now.

There's no apparent energy being applied to us, but somehow the atoms of our

hull are being manipulated below the quantum level.

Is the object causing this?

Unknown, sir, but the object is a convenient team. Same effect.

Evasive maneuvers, but it will take us away.

The anti -matter imbalance tested.

What's the drive engine shutting down?

What the hell is going on?

I can only estimate that if the manipulation continues at the present

ship's hull will still exist in something less than 14 minutes.

Mr. Spock, take the cot. Mr. Zahn, you're with me.

You,

my dear, have the most amazing blood any doctor has ever encountered.

With you around, I could cure just about anything.

I have the medium already.

I will have the serum in no time.

I need Mr. Zahn to mind meld with your daughter now.

Is that wise?

Melding with her melds with me and everyone close to me.

Wise or not, it's the only way I'm going to understand the threat to this ship.

Ayerska?

I'd be happy to join minds with Mr. Zahn.

Wouldn't it be funny if we taught him how to laugh?

Very funny, darling.

My mind to your mind.

Your thoughts.

To my thoughts.

Captain's log supplemental.

An unknown entity believed connected to a cell's mysterious daughter.

is poised to destroy our ship in less than 12 minutes.

Lieutenant Zahn, our best chance to understand this entity's motives, lies

unconscious in sickbay.

I can try, but I could just as easily kill him.

There isn't enough of a way. No, stop!

I can't risk losing you both.

Lieutenant Zahn is no longer in contact with Adel and Ayerska.

Whatever shock resulting from their contact has already processed.

I would be melding Vulcan to Vulcan, which essentially... Should be safe.

Thoughts?

Well, should be safe isn't the same as safe.

And there's no way I can predict the risk. I mean, I consider it a small

if I can cure a Vulcan of a headache.

Vulcans do not get headaches, Doctor.

I rest my case.

Spock! Spock!

Both, give him a shot. Get him out of here.

Spock, what happened?

I was overwhelmed with a sensation.

A sense of connection unlike any I've known.

It was intoxicating.

Perhaps it was dealt in love.

Perhaps it was from the alien entity.

I do not know.

Did you find any connection between Ierska and the entity?

Only one word, sir.

Crayontha.

Crayontha. Crayontha.

Crayontha?

What does that mean?

Unknown, sir.

Spock, use the ship's computer and run a search for the word biopsy. No.

Send a broadcast biopsy to the alien cylinder on all frequencies.

Broadcasting. Mr. Kirk, lock phasers on the alien cylinder.

Arming phasers.

Locking on target.

No response, sir.

If they won't respond to one kind of communication...

Maybe they'll respond to another.

Fire.

I'm sorry.

I didn't want to hurt you.

You realize this proves the connection between your daughter and the entity.

What do you intend to do, Captain?

I don't know.

But I'm not going to let this ship be taken over without flight.

Captain, I found a reference to Krantha.

It was prominent in hieroglyphs found in ruins of an advanced civilization on a

planet abandoned by its inhabitants over 100 million years ago.

What does it mean, Spock? The translation is believed to be

Unnecessary shell. There may be a connection, Captain, as the planet is

not far from where its cell was impregnated.

Ayerska, does unnecessary shell mean anything to you?

No, sir.

Think hard.

Think very hard.

Cryompha.

Unnecessary shell.

Did you think of something?

I don't know.

I don't think so.

Enter the cell.

Hold your tongue.

What are you going to do?

Look, the phasers didn't do anything.

They sent a message.

I have no choice but to send it back.

Mr. Kirk, fire phasers. No!

Security team to the bridge.

Your mother's going to be all right.

Shut that damn thing off.

Take Antoinette Sell and her daughter to reporters and see to it that they stay

there.

Phasers and photon torpedo controls are both out, Captain.

Go to auxiliary.

Captain, if that was right, despite the pain of the child, the alien cylinders

experienced no damage.

I believe additional firing would only hurt the child.

No need to be frightened. You've only felt pain.

Why must anyone feel pain?

It's part of life.

Sometimes it's how we understand.

Can you make me understand what Criantha is?

It's inside your mind. Only you can find it.

And if I don't, everyone will die.

Don't use your mind to feel guilt.

Ask yourself what Criantha is, and just let the answer come.

Mr. Spock said it meant a necessary shell.

That's what it means to him.

Discover what it means to you.

Mr. Spock, how much time?

Approximately five minutes, Captain.

Allergy. Report.

No progress on a catalyzing agent, Captain.

Physics lab. Report.

Don't look back, sir.

Bones, what's your status? All the theta radiation patients have responded to

treatment, Jim.

And Nurse Patel is on her way to the bridge with Mr. Zahn.

The minute he regained consciousness, he insisted on coming up here.

Are you all right, Mr. Zahn?

The skeleton impressions were stronger than anticipated.

But I will recover.

What you must know is that each of the climates of the Thaler ship was intended

to teach Ayurska something about life, death, and emotions I could not

comprehend.

Ayurska feels incomplete, but does not know why.

What about Criantha? What is Criantha? I do not know, but I believe it to be the

key to her next stage of development.

No! I'm not ready to lose you.

You can never lose me. That's why you were chosen.

But I will lose this.

And this.

We will touch in other ways.

I know.

I'm sorry.

Fuck.

I know, Captain, but quantum manipulation of the atoms in our hull is

synchronized with those of the filling it.

Hold that. This is security.

Ensign, you've found our daughter. Escape from their quarters.

Standing o' deck, Captain.

Ahead, then.

Ensign Kirk, get to the transporter room on the double and detain them. Spock,

you're with me.

Let her go! The unnecessary shell is my body!

Got it.

No!

Forgive me, Jim.

There was no time to explain.

Where did you find her?

She sent Ayerska into the cylinder.

You killed her?

No, Captain.

Her body was the unnecessary shit.

She learned to let it go.

The alien cylinder has well escaped, and the hole has returned to normal.

Stand down for red alertness to check on.

Thousands of centuries ago, Ayerska's race existed in human form.

Just as humans pass through all evolutionary stages, from single cell to

being within the mother's womb, Ayerska had to experience all stages of her

race's prior development.

So what you're saying is that Ayerska hasn't even really been born yet.

Until she had experienced all joys and pains of living in a body and was ready

to shed the unnecessary shell it represented to her.

She was still in an embryonic state for her race.

I was her first womb.

The Enterprise was her sixth.

I wish your life with you could have been longer.

And I wish there was some way I could have made it easier for both of you.

Thank you, Captain.

I appreciate your sentiments, but only our physical connection has been broken.

Besides, I hardly expect you to make improvement on a miracle.