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Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.
Semisonic
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It had grown quiet, no silent, in the Medical Bay. Completely unbearable. I had been content to watch Harper sleeping in his bed on the other side of the room for half an hour. He reminded me of an angel, with his white shirt, blond hair and the peaceful expression on his face. He was my angel for saving me from the depths of my own mind when I lost all hope of ever escaping. I felt I owed him my life for risking his for me.

Trance had instructed me to sleep. I did give sleep an honest attempt, but how could I expect to sleep after my world was turned upside down. I was over eight thousand years old, and that was just beginning to sink in on a lot of levels. Everything that I had known was gone. My relatives had been dead for thousands of years. There probably wasn't anyone even remotely related to me remaining, considering my geneology. Earth would be a totally new planet, if it still existed. The thought that the only planet I ever knew was gone was more than slightly unsettling. I had become just another lost soul in the universe with no where to go.

I knew the crew would ask me soon where I wanted to be taken. In fact, they had probably intended to ask me just that before I had that embarrassing emotional outburst. They probably actually cared about my well-being. The well-being of someone who should have died hundreds of generations ago. I hadn't a clue about technology, other planets, eight thousand years of history or all of these alien species. Like Trance. She was sparkly and lavendar, with colorful accents in her medium blond hair. She was so mysterious.

I made a decision at that moment. My quest here would be for knowledge. I would learn as much as the average person knew about the time period as quickly as possible. Then, I would find somewhere to go and something to do with my life. Losing all hope of sleep and hoping Trance was up for a conversation, I tip toed across the room in the direction she had left in. I found her asleep against a wall, next to an opened cabinet. After examining the cabinet and what lie near it, I came to the conclusion she was alphabetizing the contents. Everything was labelled, which made it much easier. Within the hour, I had organized the cabinet. I smiled with pride when I inspected my work.

I allowed Trance to sleep and returned to my bed. Harper was still sleeping, and I had nothing to do. The more I thought about it, the more I needed to speak with Captain Hunt. He would be able to answer a lot of my questions, and I hadn't had the chance to thank him for letting me live. I was an intruder that could have posed a threat to the welfare of his ship. I don't think I would have made the same decision if I had been in his position.

Feeling slightly guilty about leaving without permission, I crept out of the Medical Bay into the corridor. It was fortunately empty. I didn't know which way to go to find the Captain. I chose to proceed right. I turned a corner and bumped into someone. As I looked up to see who it had been, I was sent into a state of complete terror. An alien with dark fur, claws and a horrifying face wearing a robe was staring at me. I felt like I had been sucked into a bad horror movie.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't see you. Please forgive me." I know my fear was apparent in my voice and the fact that my hands were trembling.

"No, it was my fault. You must be Lise." He knew my name. I wasn't sure of whether to feel more or less terrified.

"Yes, I'm Lise." I had almost lost my ability of thought and speech.

"I'm Rev Bem, another member of the crew."

"It's...nice to meet you."

"Weren't you supposed to be confined to Medical Bay?"

"I was just looking for Captain Hunt. I need to talk to him." The urge to sprint back to Medical Bay as quickly as my feet would go was almost overwhelming.

"He's at the end of the corridor in the first room on the left." He walked away, and I released a huge sigh of relief. Even though he hadn't done anything to provoke it, he beyond scared me.

I found the room Rev had spoken of and entered it. Captain Hunt was throwing a basketball against a wall. I stood at the entrance of the room and watched until he noticed me.

"Lise," he said, walking over to me.

"I know I didn't have permission to leave Medical Bay, but I really wanted to talk to you."

"What's on your mind?"

"I don't know much about anything now, but I have to find a place to live and something to do with my life."

"Why do you want to rush through this? Eight thousand years is a long time and a lot has happened."

"I...I'm only a burden to your crew and you. I've disrupted everything, probably ruined your mission, and I want you to be able to go on with your lives."

He was silent for a moment before speaking. "You haven't caused that much trouble, and you should think through this before you decide what to do. It's up to you, but I think you should catch up on what's happened."

"Does Earth still exist?"

"It does, but it's not a very hospitable place anymore. If you want to know what it's like there, you can ask Harper. He grew up on Earth."

"If I can't go back to Earth...I guess I will have to stay here and invest some time in seeing what other options there are. Is there anything I can do to earn my keep while I'm here?"

"We'll see about that once you're released from Medical Bay. I know exactly what you're going through, and I know it isn't easy to cope."

"You know what I'm going through?"

"I am 342 years old. I was stuck in a time loop for 300 years and everything drastically changed over that time."

"I'm sorry...it's actually a lot easier to handle than I thought it would be. I didn't really have any family or friends that cared about me before."

He was again silent for several seconds. "If you ever need to talk or have any questions, you're free to come to me."

"Thank you. I'll go back to Medical Bay now." I walked slowly out of the room and into the corridor. It was so much to think about.

A different alien passed me on the way. He was tall with olive tone skin and dressed in a dark outfit. Something about him gave me a bad feeling. I turned around and followed him. At a junction between corridors, he crouched down and hid himself. I wondered what he was up to. A few minutes passed as I watched him before he pulled out a dagger. I saw the other officer that had been with Captain Hunt when he spoke to me in Medical Bay, Beka I think was her name, walking by. I yelled a warning out as I ran towards the alien. She wasn't prepared for an attack, and he nearly stabbed her. I instinctively flung myself at him, allowing Beka to escaped unscathed. He was much stronger than me, but I had determination. I tried to escape from him when I saw Beka draw her weapon. I almost succeeded when I felt the dagger slip under my ribs. Beka fired on the alien, and he dropped to the ground. Blood gently flowed from the point of entry through my shirt. I knew the dagger was embedded near my heart and lungs. This couldn't be good.

"Help me." I looked up at Beka with pleading eyes as I passed out.