I will probably improve upon this chapter later. If anyone's reading this, I decided you should at least know what happens next.
Marlene awoke the next morning, not feeling well, but alert. Yuji was sitting next to her, supporting two babies wrapped in a blanket on his lap. Both babies were asleep, but apparently Yuji wasn't.
"Hello," Marlene said to Yuji quietly. Yuji looked over at her and smiled.
"You're awake. I was so worried when you passed out."
Marlene smiled back. "You should know that something like that wouldn't kill me." She turned her gaze to her children. She felt great waves of happiness, contentedness, and love. "How are they?"
"As far as I can tell, they're fine. There don't appear to be any complications." He looked down at them. "They're beautiful. I just can't believe that we've brought these wonderful new lives into the world." He carefully stood up. "Would you like to hold them." She held out her arms, and he handed them over to her. She cradled them lovingly in her arms.
"I know that at least one of them is a boy. What about the other?"
"A girl."
Marlene felt so wonderful holding her children. "You know, we never decided on names. I think we should now."
"Okay. What do you think we should call our daughter?"Marlene went over the names she had thought of in her head. "I was thinking about Alicia. She was just an innocent young girl until the B-cells claimed her."
Yuji didn't seem thrilled at that name. "I just don't think I'd be comfortable naming her after someone we knew who's dead. I don't think it's fair to our daughter."
Marlene understood what he was saying. "How about just Alice, then?"
Yuji smiled at her. "I think Alice is just perfect."
Marlene looked down at the beautiful, sleeping Alice, then shifted her gaze over to her son. "I got my turn. What do you want to call him?"
"I've always liked the name Ryan. What do you think?"
"I like it." They both looked down at their children and Marlene said, "Since I didn't get to say this yesterday, I'm going to do it properly now. Welcome to the world, Alice and Ryan." She looked at Yuji with tears in her eyes. "Yuji, thank you so much for them."
Yuji gently kissed her on the forehead. "And thank you, for giving me something to live for."
After several moments of silence, Marlene spoke up. "Yuji, you should head back to the shuttle and bring back an Armor Shrike."
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"
Marlene nodded. "I'll be fine with these two. Just be sure to bring back the medkit."
Yuji left her with the sidearm and the twins and left the cryogenics facility. He returned to the shuttle and retrieved the Armor Shrike. Three hours after he left he returned to the facility with the Shrike. He brought the medkit back to Marlene, who was still in bed with the twins. He handed her the medkit and she gave herself an injection from one of the vials of medicines.
"I should be able to move in a few minutes," she said.
Yuji cocked an eyebrow. "They developed a medication that can put a woman back on her feet only hours after childbirth in just a few decades?"
"With the war against the Blue, the High Council wanted to make sure their female soldiers could be back on the field as soon as possible."
"Makes sense."
Several minutes later, Marlene was on her feet, though a bit wobbly. With Yuji carrying Ryan and Alice, they both headed for the Shrike.
"What about all that stuff you wanted to look for here?" Marlene asked Yuji.
"Forget it. No one's bothered them for two decades; a few more weeks won't matter."
When they got back to the Shrike, Yuji operated it while Marlene sat in the upper portion with the twins. They soon made it back to the shuttle. After giving Marlene more medical attention, the new parents turned their focus to their children. Sooner than they realized, the sun had fallen and they put the twins to bed, and they fell asleep that night.
Little did either Yuji or Marlene realize, someone entered the medical portion of their shuttle that night and then entered their sleeping area. That person quietly drew blood from both of the twins and took the samples back to the medical area. After examining both samples for several minutes, the figure had its answer.
"So, it's true. The B-cells continue to live. There is no other option. Those two must destroyed."
Sorry for the huge delay. Life is busy. I had to cut the the details in this chapter short to post it. I plan to clarifiy who this figure is soon. Be patient a little longer.