Imposter System

"Doctor O'Connely, I assume you saw the invitation. Don't fret, I'll take care of all the designing and catering. The crew needs a bit of a moral boost since we can't contact Earth anymore. This party will be great."

Before Matt could say anything, the captain cornered him. If he complained at this point it would be untactful. He could only thank the captain and head back to his quarters. When he arrived, Alexis was waiting for him on the couch. Matt could see the excitement from her body language. The sound of the door swishing open and closed made the daydreaming Alexis jump and turn toward him.

Matt opened his arms in a hugging gesture and Alexis nearly sprinted over to embrace him. The momentum almost knocking them both over. He lifted her up by her thighs and sat down on the couch. Matt had noticed a slight change in her abdomen area and was relieved that it was growing. His biggest fear was something being wrong with the baby. He never experienced a pregnancy before and the movies always made it seem like it's a sudden overnight change, but its pretty subtle early on.

Matt suddenly stopped smiling and realized what he had just thought. His biggest fear was a problem with their child. Not Shepherd. Not Willard. Not surviving. For a moment, he was no longer a time-traveling alien imposter, but a nervous father. Alexis saw his mood change and gave him an inquiring look.

{Are you okay?}

{Yeah, I just realized what's most important to me.}

{Oh yeah, and what is that?} She thought with a smirk. However, she didn't expect the mental counterattack. Matt leaned in for a long kiss and started bombarding her with images of herself and their children from the dreamscape they shared and finishing it off with how she looked in reality. The worst part was he threw in several provocative scenes.

{My soon-to-be wife and our child.}

Although he didn't put it to words, she understood what he meant. Matt would often brood over his plans or worry about how he will survive or get over the next hurdle. The fact that he made a self-realization about his priorities and that it was actually her and their baby made Alexis very happy. The thing she feared the most is Matt losing his mind looking over his shoulder all the time.

After indulging in each other, they eventually calmed down and went to get dinner. If only they knew just how much of a wave their wedding announcement made, they might not have left their quarters. When they arrived at the cafeteria, they were swarmed and barraged with questions. A wedding lead by the captain was a high-profile event.

Although the politics of the ship were straight forward for most of the crew currently, that wouldn't be the case forever. Once they arrived on Exveus, society would naturally begin to form based on perceived worth. Anyone that attended a grand ceremony hosted by the Captain would be considered part of 'high society.' Everyone on this ship was intelligent in their own regard, and they already figured out the impact of this event.

It took a long time for Matt and Alexis to get their food and escape the crowd. They opted to eat in their quarters while they hid from the strange people. Most of them were from a lower position hoping to meet the Captain at the wedding and get brought closer to the bridge or even have a room of their own in the single-digit decks. Because of this, they had no valid reason to follow Matt and Alexis to their deck and quarters.

After eating, there was a ring at their door. Matt went to check it while Alexis finished off the meals. Her appetite grew much more with every passing day. When Matt checked who was outside, he was shocked. Without even considering it, he quickly let them in. Two women and a man walked in holding three babies respectively. Alexis looked over and instantly recognized the trio since they were somewhat celebrities on the ship.

"Mama, down, down!" The eldest said as she had grown tired of being carried and wanted to run around. The little one-year old was set on the ground and she almost instantly started to explore the new environment. However, she was wobbly so it looked like a baby duck when she walked.

"Be careful, Fran. Don't run." Her mother said as the little one already made it to the couches.

"What brings you three here?" Matt inquired.

"The Captain invited us to the wedding so we wanted to meet you before showing up. It felt appropriate." The other woman answered.

"Hoho, dude, nice crib. Its like, just my style. Congrats on the wedding broski." The guy responded. Matt felt his way of speaking was very unique in this time. Perhaps he was a time-traveler too? Alexis came up to greet them after making sure the little girl didn't try to climb up on the couches. Although there weren't any sharp corners or hard surfaces, even a small hit on the head could be bad.

"It's a pleasure to meet you! You must be Sandra and Sarah Louis and Markus Lindbergh." Alexis said excitedly.

It wasn't a secret that these three were the golden trio of the ship. Sandra and Sarah were identical twins and they both ended up together with Markus. The exact story of how they ended up in that strange relationship wasn't known. Sarah quickly became pregnant within weeks of the launch. She gave birth to her little girl and then two months later, Sandra gave birth to twin boys.

Many later tried to get together with Markus in hopes that he would give them a child as well, but he had his unfortunate accident. As one of the ace pilots on the ship, he would occasionally run drills with the shuttles between hyperspace jumps. On one mission a few months after his children's births, he was hit by a stray meteorite the size of a baby's fist. His cabin quickly decompressed and he was barely saved just before he asphyxiated. Unfortunately, he received permanent damage to his frontal lobe and he developed many issues.

Fortunately, his piloting skill was still the best on the ship, but his social skills, mannerisms, speech, and sexual function were drastically affected. Sarah and Sandra were naturally attached to him and retired from their positions on the bridge in order to take care of their children and him. After six months of rehabilitation, he was able to return to somewhat normal function but anything else is unknown to the public.

"It's good to meet you all, I'm Matt and this is Alexis. Please come sit down. We just finished eating so sorry about the smell."

After getting acquainted, they talked a lot. Well, mostly the oldest talked about random things while the adults listened and let her burn her energy. Alexis was a natural with the child and the two grew attached quickly. Because of her experience in a pseudo-reality, she developed a good affinity. After the eldest fell asleep, Sarah finally voiced the main purpose of their visit.

"We would like for you to babysit Fran and the twins."

"M-me?" Alexis was surprised. She really liked Fran and the twins because they reminded her of their dream-children. But to entrust them to a stranger felt a bit reckless.

"We weren't completely convinced of Sarah's suggestion either so we wanted to watch how you interacted with the children. Well, needless to say you are going to be a great mother." Sandra chimed in.

"Yea-ha, I, like, totally trust you with our little ones, bra." Markus said as well. It seemed that he didn't mean to speak that way, but was the result of brain damage and subsequent rehabilitation.

"But why do you need a baby sitter?" Alexis was still unsure of their intentions. After everything that has happened, she was naturally suspicious of others.

"Ah, the truth is, the Captain asked us to return to our duties. When we voiced our concern for the children, he suggested meeting you. It seems he is a good judge of character."

Matt and Alexis didn't need to give each other any hints or gestures. It was as if they could read each other's minds. Well, they could.

{It's suspicious. Why does the captain want you to watch these kids?}

{I agree. Something is off. However, I think it's best to agree.}

"I'd love to." Sarah was a bit concerned that being forthright might make Alexis hesitate, but she seemed genuinely interested in the kids. Because of this, the three parents felt a lot safer leaving the kids with her. They talked a bit longer before finally returning to their quarters. It was difficult to get them to leave, because once Sarah and Alexis started talking about baby-related topics, they seemed to never run out of words.

"You seem happy." Matt teased.

"Of course, I'm happy. I have a loving husband and I get to take care of some cute kids."

"Save some of that enthusiasm for our child, too." Matt said while embracing Alexis from behind.

"Obviously. I thought you were supposed to be smart~!" Alex joked causing the both of them to laugh.