"Christopher, this is it! Here's the canister!" Wikus smashed the glass and reached in for the silver canister, the key to getting back to the mothership.

Christopher paid no attention to him. His focus was on the body of an alien lying on top of a dissection table. He reached out uncertainly, as if he could not comprehend what he was seeing. "Lydia?" He brushed his claws against the cold face.

Gunshots zoomed past and Wikus shot at their attackers. "What the fuck are you doing?! Snap out of it, we have to go! Now!" More gunshots barely missed him. "Christopher!"

He suddenly became aware of what was happening and ducked down beside Wikus. "I have an idea to get out."

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Back in District 9, in the shack, Christopher told Wikus what he had on his mind. "You have to wait three years."

Wikus stared back wide-eyed. He couldn't believe it. "Three years? Three fucking human years?! No, we had a deal."

"I can't. I have to go back to my home planet and get help."

"No, no, no, no. You need to fix me. Fix this," Wikus screamed, pointing towards his arm. "You promised-"

"I made that promise before I knew the truth! I can't let humans use my kin as experiments..." Christopher turned his back towards Wikus and leaned against the shack's wall. "She wasn't supposed to die. She was supposed to be careful and survive, like always."

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Christopher set the mothership into autopilot and leaned back for a much desired break. His wounds still hurt, but the medical equipment would fix it soon enough. He just needed to catch his breath.

His little one crawled into his lap and looked up. "So, we're finally going home now, right, father?"

"Yes, young one, we're going home."

"Excellent! I can't wait to finally see it. I wish Lydia was here, though. She was always telling me how beautiful our planet is." He scurried off to explore the rest of the ship.

Christopher breathed uneasily, and he felt very shaken, as if the weight of the experiences from the last 20 years suddenly dropped on him. Images of Lydia flooded his mind, from times when she visited the shack, talked to his young one, and of her body at MNU.

He looked to his left and right, finding the emptiness almost suffocating.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. You're supposed to be here, sitting next to me, as we fly home. That was our plan!"

Christopher shook his head, and let out a heartbreaking cry. After several minutes, he had a new goal.

"The first night I get home, I'll stay outside and look up at the night sky. You and I will watch the 7 moons you loved so much. Together."

The young one came back to the bridge. "Father, I'm glad we're going back home."

"Me too."