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Grace had first hatched out in what he now would recognize as a lab. The world was a soft, blurry texture that he couldn't parse. He can tell there's something solid, but as he began to chirp, things grew clearer. Tall shapes wandering beyond the barrier.
He doesn't exactly…know what he is. They call him 'Our Saving Grace'. Not that he can repeat it. He tries very hard! But he can only produce notes. Whistles and clicks. It's a bit of a curse. As an adult, he'd understand how difficult it would be for an infant to be raised like he was. Babies mimic, they crave contact. The most he'd been given was a few reassuring pats through fume hood gloves.
But it was for his own safety, they promised. (And theirs of course)
Grace had lived in many facilities over his nearly three hundred years. But always separate. He does his absolute best to match the culture around him. It should be easy, as he was raised here but…humans have faces. They'd burn at his touch. He was just…different.
But that's not something he can control.
He found a strong love for science, microbiology, and teaching. He had eventually been allowed to take and lead classes. He was one of the most beloved educators in his department. They'd approved his transfer to the 2nd Schiaparelli Base Public School about fifty years back. He didn't like Mars quite as much as Earth, but they felt it suited him best.
And hey, having an alien with a doctorate in microbiology was a big draw for parents.
Sure, he had to have specialized chambers made, with small tunnels running along the walls. He'd love to interact with his students like his human coworkers. It'd make life much easier, but that just wasn't the case.
"Dr. Grace?"
He glanced up from grading papers, using his modified sonar gun to read them. He doesn't recognize this woman. She's got an accent he can't place immediately. But she has an air of power that he can't ignore.
"Uhm, yes, that's me." He sat up on his legs, straightening his sweater with a spare claw. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting a parent to-"
"Not a parent." She shook her head. "My name is Ę̶͋v̸̤͌a̸̦͌ ̸͚͂Ṡ̷̪t̴̞̆ṟ̶͌ḁ̸́t̸̗͑ț̶͛"
"One second-" Grace finds his computer, trying to find something close to ascribe to her. The name that sounded like Eva to our human audience, meant something along the lines of 'life' according to the internet. Stratt was a little more obscure. So he simply made up a few notes to use. He was the one who made his language up from scratch, after all. He makes sure his translator will use her name. "Eva Stratt?"
The software must pronounce it strangely, because she pulled a face clear enough for him to see. "Are you aware of the Petrova Task force?"
This was not what he wanted out of his life. Grace just wanted to teach his kids…but he was quite literally the only one capable of filling this role.
He knew the Sun was dying. That wasn't even a secret at this point. They had been looking for a very particular microbiologist. One that could survive in extreme conditions. To be blunt, they needed their only sapient alien to go on a mission where his crew mates would almost certainly die.
Grace had pointed out he had no astronaut training beyond the standard transports between Earth, the Moon, and Mars.
To which the ever intimidating Stratt would remind him that he had no choice in this matter. When they get right down to it, Grace was the property of multiple governments. Mostly the States, but Russia had a legitimate claim. The mission that had found the drifting ship his egg had been laid in was a joint endeavor.
But hey, 'family' is always weird.
The alien had tried his best but…she's right. If both governments agreed, he had no choice. It's always hard remembering that you technically didn't count as a person in the eyes of the law.
Doesn't mean he didn't raise a fuss every chance he got! He made it exceptionally clear that this was ethically wrong, and that he didn't want to do this. But they just had him study what they'd sampled from the Petrova Line.
He'd love to be able to teach his students about the things he'd learned…
It was some kind of malfunction.
The coma beds had failed at the worst possible moment. Grace wasn't like humans. When he slept, he couldn't wake up no matter how hard he tried. He's just…gone. He'd stationed himself in the dormitory. Something in him needed to watch over them…
It was somewhere around their second year (relativity). He'd checked on the two before he'd hunkered down. Upon waking, the scream of alarms is gut wrenching.
Grace scrambled for Nanny's readouts, using his scope to see what she was-
No…no, what?! "Check vitals: Commander Yáo and Engineer Ilyukhina."
The robot responded to him in English. He was raised alongside it, after all. "Commander Yáo and Engineer Ilyukhina, Deceased."
"How?!"
"Command not-"
"Diagnose COD." Grace cut her off.
"Mechanical malfunction. Automated Ventilator suffered critical failure. Cause of Death: Suffocation."
He trembled. "When?"
"Error log notes first alarm to have been five hours ago. Patients deceased within ten minutes."
The alien's vents hitch. He had only fallen asleep fifteen minutes before they died. "Life saving measures?"
"None. Ventilator offline for thirty minutes. Total brain death. Instruction, allocate resources to surviving crew."
So himself. Grace slumped, notes low and weak. "Thank you, Nanny…"
"You're welcome, Dr. Grace."
He'd done his best to give them a proper send off. Using his EVA suit, he'd arranged their bodies with the few things they'd brought with them. He knows both of them have photos. Grace did his best to figure out who they belonged to.
They'd put them all in one box in storage, and it's not like he can see like humans can. Some of the pictures had such low contrast that it was a toss up. He really hopes they can forgive him if he messed it up.
He doesn't know what to say.
"I…I know I failed you." Grace shuddered, his gloved hand gently tucking Ilyukhina's hair behind her ear. She was pretty for a human. Clever. Sweet. Funny…man this stunk. "I should have been awake. I'll never be able to fix this…"
He sighed gently. "I commend your body to the stars…" Backing away, he sealed the airlock and let her free.
Yáo next. He was a wonderful leader. Protective, steady, warm. One that Grace knew he could never hope to match. "I will do everything in my power to make sure you haven't died in vain. I'll finish the mission."
As the airlock carried the Commander away, Grace feels his voice stutter. "I-I commend your body to the stars…"
And just like that, Dr. Grace was completely alone.
Two and a half years, and he was finally here. Grace hadn't been able to bring himself to modify the Hail Mary. That was his crew's place. Not his. He had plenty of room, it was just himself after all.
Before he can get ahead of himself, he activated the centrifuge. He needs to get a reading on Tau Ceti. It was the whole reason he was here, after all. So the alien waits until the ship beeps to let him know it's safe to move. He skittered along to the external cameras. Time to get a good look at what was going on...or hear, whatever.
They'd made him a modified Petrova Scope. Or rather, they'd hooked up another monitor to it that he could actually see. Listening to the readout, he was dismayed to find that they also had a Petrova line.
Dang it! Irritation pushed a gush of hot air from his vents, hissing. But that's when he notices it. A strange void in the signal. There were no satellites in this area…
"Blip-A detected." The ship announced.
…What??