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You mind if I give you a name? I'm thinking "Allen". Like, Allen the Alien. You know?
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Agh, sorry, man! This isn't a good environment for you, is it?
Just gotta finish this mission and you'll be home safe, you think you can hold out?
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Why don't I tell you a story, huh?
How about... how about the time I first met a little guy like you?
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I remember it well. I'd just gotten back from a deployment in France...
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He was already a few months old by then. Broke my heart, missing his birth. Mesa was understanding, at least. Guess she has to be. There's a war on.
First thing she did, when I got back, she let me hold him. Literally had him in hand when I first got through the door. But when she goes to hand him over, I hesitate, and of course she notices, and she goes:
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Come on, big man. You scared or something?
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Hey-- I just-- what if I break him, or--
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Oh yeah, you're right. One touch of your powerful biceps and he'll just turn to dust.
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I know, I know, I shouldn't be so...
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We'll never live it down. Obliterating our baby.
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Alright, just hand him over.
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So she gives him to me, and... God. He looks up at me, and he just breaks into that little smile, and it's just...
That's when you get it, you know? You get what it's all about.
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I reckon he'll like you. My kid. He always did love weird little creatures. Uh, no offense.
Mesa... at first she'll be cross with me for bringing another little scamp home, but I give her two weeks before she's babytalking you while she vacuums.
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...I'm sure it can't be long now til they let me back, right? I've been gone since 2052. I get that this mission is important, I get I'm the only one who can do it, it's just-- argh! Four years! My boy is growing up out there, back home, and I don't even get to see--!
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Agh, sorry! I shouldn't lay all this on you. You're just a. Uh. Little guy-thing.
I just miss 'em, you know? I wish there were some way for us to...
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