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“Lily? Lily, are you there?”
Kai sent the message again, hoping that this time the woman would respond.
Her eyes went to the chart up on the main monitor showing the progress of the rescue drone. It had cleared the debris field some time ago and now was just over three quarters of the way to Lily’s pod.
“Lily, if you can hear me, please respond.”
She waited again in vain.
Footsteps came up softly behind her, and Brooks knelt down next to her console.
“Anything?” he asked quietly.
“No,” she answered. “There’s been no activity at all.”
Brooks nodded, his eyes closing a moment.
He did not have to tell her to keep trying; he knew she would.
“You’re doing everything you can,” he told her.
“I know,” she replied.
Brooks looked as if he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t. He stood, putting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, then moved over to speak to Cutter and Cenz, who were still working on the problem from their end.
“Lily-” she began.
A voice crackled in.
“It’s cold out here,” Lily said. Her voice was soft and weak, almost lost to the static.
“Lily, I’m glad to hear you!” Kai said, relief flooding through her. “Listen, we have a drone approaching your pod. It will arrive soon and can start purifying the air in there, okay?”
There was a long pause again. Kai was about to speak when Lily’s next message came through.
“Don’t have it block the viewport under the access panel,” Lily said. “I want to keep seeing the stars.”
Kai’s heart pounded harder in her chest.
“Lily, are you feeling okay?”
“No,” Lily replied. “I don’t feel anything. Not okay. Not bad. But I can still see the stars. I don’t want to lose that.”
“Lily, the gas leak is affecting your thinking. I need you to not do anything rash, okay? Just rest and soon the air will feel clearer. Dr. Y will be able to-“
“They’re twinkling like they do on Earth,” Lily said. “Isn’t that weird? There’s no atmosphere out there, but . . . maybe there is, you know? Maybe space does have air and we just never knew it.”
“Lily,” Kai said, her voice going firm. “Do not try to open the pod.”
“I’m not that far gone,” Lily replied. “I just wonder. Because they’re twinkling, and I know it sounds really crazy but I think they’re sending me a message. They’re calling me home.”
Kai fought down panic. “Lily, promise me you won’t do anything. Just sit tight and wait.”
“You can let me go,” Lily told her. “I know you care, you really do. But it’s okay, Kai. You don’t need to worry about me anymore.”
The call clicked off again.
“Lily? Lily!”
Kai was yelling now, the others on the bridge looking to her, but she didn’t care.
Other Terrestrial 
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