Liang had just turned around and came face-to-face with a boy around his height, with a face slightly younger-looking, short blonde hair, and...something peculiar, but Liang couldn't quite place his finger on it. The boy was wearing the same standard-issue clothing that the children of the Winnipeg usually wore during the daytime. Startled by his discovery, Liang let out a loud gasp, which caused Deanna to turn around and let out a scream.
"Deanna, don't--" Liang was cut off when the boy they were facing started to scream as well. The way his face looked when he opened his mouth was just slightly off, but Liang didn't have time to consider why. Finally, Liang reached over and put his hand over Deanna's mouth, stopping the scream. The boy looked at them, then put his hand over his own mouth, also stopping screaming.
"Deanna, calm down," Liang said. "Everything's going to be okay. Now," he turned his attention towards the boy, "who are you, and what are you doing on our ship?"
"My name's Dimitri," the boy said, "and this is my ship, the SS Winnipeg." His voice seemed to be adjusting ever so slightly as he talked, as if he was trying to find the right balance.
"Your ship?!" Deanna exclaimed. "But this is our ship!!"
"Perhaps I should explain," said a voice from the darkness behind Dimitri. A woman stepped out from the shadows, and Liang and Deanna recognized it as Harriet Reyes, one of the adults on the ship, who was the only childless woman aboard.
"Ms. Reyes?" Liang said, surprised. "Do you know about him?"
"Of course I know about him," she said, as she put her hands on Dimitri's shoulders. "He's my son."
Deanna stared at her, mouth agape. "B-but that's impossible!"
"Not in the slightest," Harriet said, smiling. "The simple fact is that Dimitri is an android I and my husband have been working on for the last three years. We were both so devastated when we learned that I was unable to have children, so we looked at the alternatives, and the only one that really made sense was creating one this way. In a way, it's just like making a child, but the process takes longer, and we had to put more of our heart and soul into it. We have been keeping him in our quarters until he was ready to be introduced to all of you, but I guess he found out how to sneak out in the middle of the night." Dimitri smiled as Harriet talked, looking up at her with a sense of admiration and longing. "Dimitri, say hello to Liang and Deanna," Harriet said as she gestured towards the two human children.
"Hello, Deanna," Dimitri said as he bowed slightly, offering out his hand. Deanna hesitated a little before she finally took his hand and gave it a quick shake. Dimitri then straightened up and then stuck out his hand towards Liang, saying "and Hello, Liang." Amazed, Liang stuck out his hand and squeezed Dimitri's, who had a firm, tight grip, causing Liang's hand to hurt, if only slightly.
"Nice to meet you," Liang said, as he pulled his hand back, rubbing it with his other hand.
"Okay, now, Dimitri," Harriet said, "we need to get back to your room so we can all have a restful night. We'll introduce you to the other children tomorrow."
"Yes, mother," Dimitri said, as he turned around and headed back to their room.
"Make sure you get some sleep, too," Harriet said to Liang and Deanna. "I have a feeling tomorrow's going to be a big day for all of us."
As Harriet disappeared back into their room, Liang turned to Deanna. "Okay, how weird is that?"
"I don't know," Deanna said. "I think I'm still in shock."
"Well, regardless, we need to tell Ken and Dyson now, so as they don't freak out about it tomorrow."
"You want to wake them up in the middle of the night?" Deanna asked. "Why don't we just let them sleep? It's not like anyone can do anything tonight anyways."
"Well," Liang said as he thought it over...
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