Admiral José Rodriguez, the last living Terran, slowly opens his eyes. As he does, a single question comes to his mind.

"Where am I?"

The blurry-eyed Terran quickly awakens from his forced sleep, only to find himself back in a confusing reality. His body, strapped to a hospital bed, lays inert and unmoving. To the left of the bed, two giant, fearsome, bipedal crocodiles sit with their claws folded in their laps, eyeballing him like a piece of meat. To his right, Penelope, the holo-doctor, stands at his side and smiles politely, waiting for him to gather his bearings.

And, on the Admiral’s stomach, a fairly large, two-foot-tall bipedal kitty cat, blinks her eyes open and yawns.

"Big Baldy! You’re awake! Mraww!"

The sound of cat-like meowing enters José’s ears, but the sounds translate in his mind to coherent speech, allowing him to understand the linguistic intent of the little girl’s words.

José flicks his eyes from left to right, recalling what happened to him earlier. He tries to move, only to find that, in his weakened state, he can’t break free of the restraints holding him down.

The Terran starts to panic, but forces himself to remain calm.

"What’s going on? Where am I? What have you done to the crew?"

Penelope reaches out her hand and touches the Terran’s arm. "José Rodriguez. You have suffered an immense mental shock. Do you remember me? My designation is Penelope; I am one of the Bloodbearer’s bio-entities, presently serving as the ship doctor. We spoke before your, ahem, unexpected sedation."

"Sedation…" José mumbles, creasing his brows. "…You knocked me out?"

"Yes. I’m sorry, but you left me no choice. It was for your own good. I did not wish for you to unintentionally offend the Kraktol diplomats. These restraints are temporary, and I will remove them once we’ve successfully debriefed you regarding the missing gaps in your memory."

The Terran glances to his left at the frightening-looking Kraktol, their beady eyes gazing upon him from on high with predatory thirst. In his heart of hearts, the Terran can’t help but feel small and insignificant before such fearsome monsters.

"K-Kraktol? That’s you two… things? Crocodiles? Who are you? Creations of the Children of Ghül?"

The yellow-scaled crocodile lowers its head. "We are not related to the Children of Ghül, erm… Terran."

"Kyargh!" The red-scaled Kraktol yells. "You don’t remember us. We understand that. Let me just say that we are your friends, not your enemies. My name is Megla, and this is my sister, Soren. That ugly furball on your stomach is Lele."

Megla points at the kitten, who hisses in annoyance. "Meow! Watch who you’re calling ugly, scale-breath!"

Haha…" Penelope chuckles, a hint of nervousness in her voice. "Ahem. José Rodriguez, I didn’t wish to dump so much information on you so quickly, but it seems I have no choice. The situation you envisioned upon waking from the cloning bay was very different from the reality you find yourself in."

José stays silent. He stares at Penelope, waiting to hear her explanation.

The Terran’s cold, emotionless gaze doesn’t affect the holo-doctor. She continues as before, cycling her emotion and logic programming to best adapt to the situation.

"First… regarding your original mission, the one you probably remember. You and the rest of the Bloodbearer’s crew were on their way to Alpha Centauri Starbase IV. A series of unknown events occurred during the trip, which caused the Bloodbearer to end up inside an interstellar plasma storm. The crew remained in stasis, unaware of what had occurred. Likewise, this ship remained in Hibernation Mode, unmoving and unresponsive."

The Terran frowns. "For how long?"

Before Penelope can answer, he further clarifies. "How long was the Bloodbearer inside the plasma storm?"

Penelope falls silent for a moment. She glances at the Kraktol, then back to José. "…One hundred million years."

The Terran’s expression doesn’t change. He stares at the holo-doctor with the same dispassionate look as before, as if he didn’t hear what she said. "Oh? Is that so?"

"It is." Penelope replies.

"Mmm."

José nods his head slightly, his expression unchanged.

"You can’t expect me to believe that," José adds, after a few moments of silence. "What really happened? The truth, Penelope. I see no point in lying at a time like this."

"Crew-member Rodriguez," Penelope says, delicately avoiding the use of ‘Admiral’ or ‘Private.’ "What I have just said was the truth. The Bloodbearer became stranded inside of a plasma storm for one hundred million years. As such, when the, the, erm… when the crew awakened from stasis, they found that… Terrankind had gone extinct."

This time, José’s expression shifts noticeably. His brow creases, and his eyes narrow.

"How can you possibly expect me to swallow such an absurd lie? The best, top-of-the-line stasis modules in existence might last 500,000 years at most before the crew-members inside decomposed into a gelatinous substance. Let alone a hundred million years, half a million would render every crewmember of the Bloodbearer deader than a rock."

He continues. "Furthermore, it is impossible that this vessel could endure for a hundred million years without rusting or breaking down over time, and that’s without factoring its hull being continually bombarded by the electrical strikes of a plasma storm. Such violent, turbulent energies would rip the Bloodbearer apart within a few thousand years, even at its peak condition."

Concluding, the Terran adds, "And finally, the fact you’re standing here inside the Bloodbearer’s medical bay means that not only is the ship running, but its holo-projectors haven’t decomposed either. This vessel requires constant maintenance. Its power systems would surely fail, given a hundred million years, causing all of its automated maintenance drones to fall inactive. With all of that in mind, I’d like to kindly ask you to fuck off with these lies and tell me what has happened to the rest of the crew, who these crocodilian creatures are, and why you have me strapped to this bloody bed!"

José bites off the end of his sentence, leaving his words to ring in the ears of everyone present.

Megla and Soren lower their heads, unable to look the Terran in his eyes. Lele’s ears flatten, as she, too, appears distraught.

Penelope doesn’t reply for several long seconds. When she does, she appears noticeably less cheerful compared to before.

"Crew-member Rodriguez. Unfortunately, I don’t have a retort for each of your observations. In the six months after your awakening, prior to your death and rebirth in the cloning device, you hypothesized several possibilities regarding how the Bloodbearer survived one hundred million years in a plasma cloud. For instance, even with such powerful energy bolts striking the Bloodbearer’s plating, perhaps the ship converted some of that energy into static fuel to power its inner capacitors. This would enable it to maintain life support, as well as its inner fleet of repair drones, for well past its projected sustainability limits."

José snorts. "And the crew? It’s impossible for anyone to survive in stasis past 500,000 years, and that’s at the upper limits of credibility. Forget one hundred million years, the whole crew would have likely perished before the arrival of the 51st Era. How can you explain that?"

This time, the entire mood of the room turns somber. Lele looks away, unable to meet José’s gaze. The other Kessu at the foot of the bed bow their heads, remorse on their faces.

"You are correct, crew-member Rodriguez…" Penelope murmurs, her voice low. "It is impossible for humans to survive for so long in stasis. Of course, there are occasional miracles that can happen… but they are infrequent, at best."

José nods. "So you admit it. The crew couldn’t have possibly survived for so long, yet here I am. So cut the crap. Where are my superior officers? Where is Private Azaram? What the hell is going on, and why does everyone here look like they’re attending a god-damned funeral? Just tell me what’s really happening!"

Penelope winces. Hearing the Terran’s clear inability to believe her words, she decides to stop dodging around and answer him in as matter-a-fact manner as possible.

"Very well. Since you wish to know, I suppose that can only mean my persuasiveness subroutines have lost much of their nuance due to data degradation."

After a momentary pause, Penelope continues.

"I regret to inform you, José Rodriguez, that nothing I have said was a lie or an inaccuracy. Your hypotheses are all correct. It is essentially impossible for a crew to survive for one hundred million years in stasis. However, miracles can happen. Your survival was a one-in-a-trillion fluke, but upon emerging from stasis, you still suffered countless decayed internal organs. That is why you are the sole remaining survivor aboard the Bloodbearer."

Her voice hollow, Penelope concludes. "Every other Terran aboard this ship has perished. You are the sole survivor left of your species. I am sorry to inform you in such a blunt manner, crew-member Rodriguez. I truly am."

José’s expression doesn’t change. He stares evenly at Penelope, as if trying to bore holes through her holographic body.

"…Bullshit. What a load of bullshit. If this is a practical joke, it’s absolutely sickening. Not even Nicky would sink this low. Where’s your proof? Your evidence?"

Penelope meets José’s disbelieving sneer with a look of helplessness. "I am prepared to remove these restraints, so long as you promise to contain your emotions. The Kraktol diplomats will not harm you, so I would prefer you do not harm them, as well."

"What does that have to do with anything?" José asks.

"I will show you the proof you wish to see," Penelope says, her tone even. "Originally, I intended to introduce you to your new reality slowly, one step at a time. However, due to certain unfortunate… circumstances… that is no longer possible. Therefore, I will simply tell you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

José rolls his eyes. "The truth, sure. Fine, I promise not to attack anyone. How about that? You reinstalled my bio-chip, right? You know I never go back on my word."

"I do," Penelope says, nodding slowly. "Lele, please help me remove the Adm- erm, crew-member Rodriguez’s restraints."

"Okay."

Lele’s ears, still lowered flat, reveal the sadness in her heart. She gets to work popping open the restraint links on the left side of José’s bed, while Penelope removes those on the right.

After finishing, José sits up straight, with Lele still in his lap. The black-furred kitty meows at him. "Big Baldy, we’re all your friends, you know? We’re all here to help you! You can talk to us about anything."

"Thanks for the offer, kitty cat," José says, forcing a smile. "You’re a little cutie. I don’t know who or what created you, but you’re definitely adorable, I’ll give you that."

"…My name is Lele, not ‘kitty-cat,’" Lele mutters, sulkily. "Lele. Got it?"

"Alright, sure, Lele," José says, his smile turning a tad more authentic. He pets the top of her head, marveling to himself at how soft and fluffy her hair is.

Such a cute kitty.

José swings his legs over the left side of the bed. As he does, the Kraktol take a few steps back to give him room, but he ignores them and rises to his full height. It’s only once José stands up that he realizes both of the Kraktol females are an entire head shorter than him.

Curious. They looked bigger when I was laying down. They aren’t quite so fearsome now that I’ve stood up.

The Terran muses to himself for a moment before pulling off his hospital shirt and putting on a fresh, clean, military jacket. The navy blue coloration makes him look much more professional compared to before, causing all of the Kessu and Kraktol to stare at him with nostalgic gazes.

José pushes past the Kraktol, only for an elderly Kessu to come waddling toward him while leaning on a cane.

"Mraaw! Great Precursor, you may not remember me, but I wanted to thank you! I am Elder Nyoor. You saved the life of my child, Ruuki!"

"I did?" José asks, as he kneels down to pet the old cat’s head. "Haha. Is that so? Well, uh, I’m glad I could help."

Seeing the Terran’s expression soften whenever he interacts with a Kessu, Penelope nods to herself. She doesn’t say anything, but her gaze clearly indicates how glad she is that she decided to allow the cat-aliens inside the room.

"So, where are we going?" José asks, as he turns to Penelope. "To see the rest of the crew, I hope."

Penelope’s smile freezes on her face.

"…Yes. That’s exactly correct."

"Oh? Haha. You’ve finally decided to stop screwing with me," José says, nodding his head. "About time."

Penelope sighs. "You could say that."

…………………………………

The Terran exits his hospital room, only to emerge into a hallway packed to the brim with several hundred Kessu, all of the kitty-cats bunched up outside, waiting for his exit. José pauses when the door opens, staring in surprise at the sea of differently-colored fur before him.

"By the Emperor! Just how many of these cat-creatures are there?"

As José marvels at the Kessu, they meow back.

"Look! It’s the Precursor! He’s alive!"

"Wow, I’m so happy! He saved us from those mean, nasty Kraktol!"

"Mraww, not all Kraktol are bad. Soren is nice!"

"Yeah, but that Megla…"

Several meowing conversations reach José’s ears. He listens intently, but mostly just picks up idle gossip and fawning adoration about himself. After leaning down to pet the heads of all the nearest Kessu, his spirits rise noticeably.

"Haha. I haven’t any idea how we stumbled upon these creatures, but it’s hard not to smile when there are so many of them."

José exits the hospital room, followed by Penelope, Megla, Soren, and the other Kessu. Lele squeezes past their legs and runs toward José, gently scratching his jeans.

"Big Baldyyy!"

Picking up on her intent, José leans down, lifts the kitten into his grasp, and laughs when she squeals in delight. "Alright, alright, stop whining. I’ll carry you wherever we’re going."

Penelope disappears from the hospital room and reappears in the corridor, phasing into a gap in the crowd via the hallway’s holo-projectors. "This way, please."

José follows after her, holding Lele in his arms. The kitten is all smiles as she sticks out her tongue at the other Kessu children nearby, all of them jealous at her special relationship with the Precursor.

As José follows Penelope, his doubts begin to grow.

"Why are there so many cats here, but only two crocodiles?"

Behind José, Megla pipes up. "Kyargh! My sister and I are the only Kraktol aboard the Bloodbearer. We’re here because of a few extenuating circumstances. You personally drafted us into this ship’s crew."

José frowns. "I only drafted you two? And why would I do that, on my own authority? No, don’t tell me. It’s because all the rest of my crewmates are dead, right? That would make me the Bloodbearer’s commander."

The humans’ clearly sardonic tone gives off the impression he still doesn’t believe any of Penelope’s claims are real. His brain denies reality, filling in any gaps in his memories with whatever happens to make the most sense to him.

"Just ridiculous," José mutters. "Who could believe such an outlandish story? When I get down to the bottom of this, some heads are going to roll."

Penelope doesn’t offer a retort, nor do any of the others present. They merely stay silent, while the ever-increasing party of hundreds of Kessu trails along behind the Terran and his comrades.

Eventually, the entry to the stasis bay appears up ahead. The giant double-doors open up, making José’s eyebrows point downward into a ‘V’ shape.

"Why come here?"

Penelope doesn’t answer. Instead, she steps into the center of the room, where thousands of stasis pods mounted to the walls encircle her.

"This is everyone," Penelope says, turning to face José. "All of the Bloodbearer’s crew. Except for you."

José balks.

"You can’t be serious. They’re… they’re all here? Everyone? Even Nicky-boy?"

Penelope’s eyes lose some of their luster.

"That’s right. I’m sorry, crew-member Rodriguez. I have not spoken a single lie. Every other member of the crew has perished. You are the last living Terran in the entirety of the Milky Way."

Finally, José’s disbelieving expression cracks. He stares blankly at Penelope for over a minute, as if trying to read whether she’s lying or not based on her facial cues.

"Impossible. Impossible…" The Terran mutters, clutching Lele tightly. "They can’t be dead. You’re lying. You’re fucking with me!"

Penelope shakes her head.

"I’m afraid not. Here. Umi has recordings of the last six months, taken from your retinal sensors. They aren’t your memories, exactly, but they’re as close as you’ll ever get. Compare them with what you see here… and decide for yourself what is true and false."

Penelope holds up her palm. A floating ball of data appears in midair, then hovers toward José’s face. He stands still, unresisting, as it merges with his cerebral implants and downloads into his consciousness.

"Fine…" José mutters, his mouth dry. "Let’s see your… your so-called ‘evidence.’"