It had been months since the incident on Shuttlepod One with Trip. I was helping out with Doctor Phlox in sick bay the day that it happened. Trip had come up with a way to compress the antimatter stream and make the engine run more smoothly. I didn't exactly understand what the first part meant, but I was excited for the advancement.
"Emily, if you could come over here and give Hoshi something for her headache, I'll deal with Ms. Cutler's burn," Phlox called to me.
"Yes, sir," I dropped my book and walked over. Hoshi was sitting on the bed next to where Phlox was working.
I glanced over at his patient with a frigid glare. "Crewman Cutler," I said coldly.
She looked confused at my demeanor, but I turned away quickly.
I addressed Hoshi, "This should help." I picked up a hypospray and pressed it to her neck.
"Thanks," she sighed in relief.
"Stressed out lately?" I inquired.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" she cocked her head.
I shrugged. "Your expression."
"Am I really that see-through?" she laughed.
"Nope. I'm just a genius," I joked.
She smiled at me, hopping down from her bed. She looked like she was about to say something more when the doors to sick bay burst open.
We looked over. They were carrying a body in on a stretcher with a large gash on the side of their face.
I tried to get a closer look at who was on the stretcher. I stood on my tiptoes and almost wished I hadn't.
The entire left side of Trip's face was burned up and bleeding.
"What happened?" I rushed over, walking with them as they carried him to a bed. I stared down at the nasty wound on Trip's temple.
They sat the stretcher on a bed. "We were running engine tests and there was a primary injector flare. The only option was a manual shutdown. Commander Tucker climbed up there and shut it down just in time. If he hadn't, we would've lost the whole engine."
"So how did he get hurt?" I looked down at him. If it weren't for the huge gash in his head he would've looked like he was sleeping. He seemed so peaceful.
"There was a nearby explosion. It blew up near his head and knocked him off the engine."
"Emily, go prepare the biobed."
I tore myself away from Trip's body to follow Doctor Phlox's order. I would help in any way I could.
---
"Commander Tucker is in a coma induced by extensive neural damage," Phlox informed my father.
He stood there for a second before speaking. "Can it be fixed?"
"I can think of only one way," Phlox shook his head.
"...And that is?"
"There is something called a Lyssarian Desert Larvae. It can clone Commander Tucker, and we can harvest the neural tissue we need from it."
I was sitting next to Trip's body. I looked up at this. "What? You're going to create a clone of him just to harvest tissue? Like some sort of discardable Human being?"
"That's enough, Emily." My father scolded. I fell silent.
"That decision is up to the Captain. The clone will progress and develop very quickly. It will only have a lifespan of fifteen days," Phlox continued.
My father deliberated for a moment. Then,
"...I need my chief engineer."
"Dad!"
"Emily, I said that was enough!"
I was quiet for a second before I looked at the doctor. "Isn't there any other way?"
"Not an accessible one, no," Phlox folded his hands in front of him.
"Will the clone live through the transfer?" I asked painstakingly.
Phlox nodded immediately. "Yes, it has been done many times before. The clone will live out its normal lifespan."
I decided one thing right then. This kid was not going to grow up unloved, if it was the only thing I could guarantee.
---
The doctor handed me the screaming baby. I held him in my arms and wrapped him in a blanket.
"Trip was a pretty cute baby, huh?" I smiled, rocking the child in my arms.
"I suppose Humans do produce... aesthetically pleasing offspring," T'Pol was standing next to me, looking down at the baby.
"Have you come up with a name for him?" Phlox pulled off his gloves.
I was reminded of an old game I used to play on Earth.
"Yeah... I think the name 'Sim' would suit him," I caressed his cheek gently. "What do you think about that, little buddy?"
The baby's hand wrapped around my finger. I grinned and looked up at Doctor Phlox.
"'Sim' it is."
He grew up fast. Within a day, he was already taking his first steps, towards me. Laughing for the first time, at me. Saying his first word, "Emiwee."
Before we knew it, he was sitting in my room with me on the floor, reading line after line of the Percy Jackson books.
"I like these. Do you have the book about the Martian Machines?" he looked up at me, sitting the book down.
"Sim... Where did you hear about that book?" I frowned.
"My mama read it to me. Do you have it?" he stood and walked to the bookshelves.
I watched him as he scanned the books. "Huh..."
"Doctor, there's something strange going on with Sim," I spoke through the com. "He's remembering things that happened to Trip."
"Fascinating! I've never heard of this before... It must be the Larvae's reaction to the human DNA. Very unique, indeed..."
"I think he's developing the memories as he becomes the age Trip was when it happened to him," I tilted my head. "He was just telling me all about his new baby sister."
"Ah, the thrill of a newborn in the family. Well, I've got work to do, Emily, but I will be sure to include this information in the log. Very observant."
"Alright. Talk to you soon, Phlox."
The com beeped as the channel between Phlox and I closed. I stood, stretching.
There was another beeping at my door and I called, "Come in!"
Sim stepped through the door. He was about nine years old now, or the equivalent of it for a clone who lives a full life in the span of fifteen days. "Hey, Emily."
"Ah, Sim! Come back to hear the rest of the book? Sit down, I'll read you the last chapter."
"Well, before we do that, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," he sat down on my bed.
"What is it, Sim?" I walked over and grabbed the book off the shelf.
"Well, it's just... my mother calls me Trip, and... everyone here calls me 'Sim'. Why is that?"
I dropped the book I was holding onto the ground, staring in astonishment at the opposite wall.
"Emily?"
I should've seen this coming, but when I finally found out what was happening, it was too late to think of solutions for all of the things that would happen. Conflicting memories hadn't occurred to me. At first, I'd just thought that he called Hoshi or T'Pol 'Ma' for some reason. Then he started recounting more things to me, talking about laying in the grass and having a picnic under the sun. We hadn't been on an inhabitable planet since before he'd been born.
I couldn't hide it from him any longer.
I turned to face him. "There's... something I should show you," I laid a hand on his shoulder.
We walked into sickbay together. I was holding his hand, leading him towards the curtain at the edge of the room.
He stopped walking. "Doctor Phlox told me not to go over there."
"Well, it's time you see what's behind that curtain," I walked to it and pulled it aside slowly.
We stepped in together.
Laying in a bed behind the curtain was Trip's body. My heart hurt seeing him in that state. I, instead, looked down at Sim.
"This is Charles 'Trip' Tucker III."
He shook his head. "That can't be. I'm..." he trailed off, staring down at Trip. I knew what he was about to say. 'I'm Trip'
"Sim, you have to understand," I looked down at him. "We need you. And we need Trip. You're gonna be a huge help."
"I'm not Trip...?"
"No, Sim. That's Trip. I didn't know Trip until he was twenty years old. You've known me for as long as you can remember."
"...Okay. Well... at least I got to meet you earlier," he smiled up at me.
"You're a sweetheart," I ruffled his hair. "C'mere." I pulled him into a hug. "I love you, Sim. More than anything."