Chapter Text
“Is this really necessary, question?”
“More than necessary, engineer volunteer number +λλ. Skill itself is the baseline; you’re about to embark on a journey into deep space in the very first space vessel to carry our kind outside of our planetary orbit. Years to be spent in a confined space with danger all around. It’d be preferable if the crew did not murder each other on the way.”
“Hah. Yeah, of course, mission supervisor.”
λ∀ Eridians setting off on a dangerous trip, the very best their planet had to offer. No ship would be big enough to carry that many egos, especially not for such a massive duration of time. λℓλℓλ+ days to journey to their destination, the same to get home, and they didn’t factor in the amount of time it’d take the crew to complete the mission. It’d be more than enough years to drive even the sturdiest mates crazy.
The crew selection process required a method as xenon-proof as engineering the steps of the scientific workflow and building the space vessel itself. The ship may take them to the potential source of the solution, but it will be their people performing each and every task assigned to them. The margin of error was just as low as it was for any other segment of their many thrums collectively arranging the trip to the Tau Ceti star system.
Senior consultants Minka and Aaron had performed countless psychological screenings in the span of a few days, their dead-set approach never wavering. Mission Control was actually delighted to see so many renowned scientists and engineers volunteer to participate in saving the future of their species. Their top responsibility was to appoint the crew of the Blip-A, ensuring their ability to work together in a confined space, several lightyears away from home.
Their very survival depended on it.
No pressure at all.
Engineer volunteer number +λλ wasn’t unlike any other engineer they’d interviewed before; young, talented, eager… with quite an ego to his name.
It wasn’t about drowning out the ego factor; they needed volunteers who were certain they were better than anyone, after all. It was about how they handled others’. Your skills didn’t amount to much if you failed to call them forth in life-or-death situations. And the entire mission was built on this exact premise.
The appointed consultants went over the same questionnaire about the basics as a warmup, and when they found engineer volunteer number +λλ to be quite bored of the whole process, Minka leaned closer to him, expectant. “There is a hull breach, but the engineer team responsible for ship maintenance work just had an argument about sleeping arrangements. How do you mitigate the situation, question?”
Engineer volunteer number +λλ rose a bit, carapace quivering with anticipation and pride, and began his lengthy explanation about having a commanding voice and prioritizing the safety of the crew over personal feud.
“I’d say I’m rather goal-oriented, able to keep my focus on the mission at hand. My ability to regulate emotio—”
“You have a mate of almost ∀Iℓ+ years. Are you willing to leave them behind, question? Do they consent to all of this?”
“Huh?” That threw him off-guard.
Minka tried to hide her own ego by acting with a touch of commanding presence. “Answer the question, candidate.”
“Of course we talked this through. You have received their official consent, I wouldn’t be able to be here if it wasn’t—”
“How do we know they weren’t forced to submit their approval, question?” Aaron chimed in, copying Minka’s own mannerisms.
Engineer volunteer number +λλ tapped his limbs anxiously, contemplating the situation. The consultants expected more confusion, but he sucked it up rather quickly. “We both know what’s at stake. We understand the prospects, we’d gone through different scenarios before my application was submitted. And we both know I have the ability to help. Out of the two of us, Adrian is the more commanding presence, to be honest. They would be immensely disappointed in me if I didn’t try to pursue this. And I wholeheartedly agree. Would you seriously expect me to start my sleep cycle the same each night, knowing I did jack shit about the future of our planet? I graduated at the top of my class not just because of my passion and respect for my profession, but because I want to see my skills put to good use.”
“So you agree that you wish to go to this mission because you want to boast about your contribution, question?” Minka asked, skeptical.
Engineer volunteer number +λλ clicked his toes, expectant. “Why of course.”
Minka and Aaron tried not to show how taken aback they were.
“Please explain,” Aaron pushed, albeit a bit tentative.
“I mean it’d be a great honor to be a part of the crew responsible for saving the planet. Who wouldn’t be immensely proud of that, question? Like, I could spend my time fixing up Astrophage breeding sites, or I could go to space.”
“Maintaining the Astrophage breeding sites is also a part of saving the planet. Or do you undermine the importance of our Erid-based operations, question?”
Engineer volunteer number +λλ was tapping his limbs, bashful. “This isn’t what I meant. Of course saving our planet is our collective responsibility, and all forms of contribution is just as valuable. But not everyone should be appointed to go to space if they are not fit for it. But I am. And it is also my responsibility to take up on the more dangerous parts of the mission because I’m able to. For the sake of the children. And the elderly. And everyone whose skills are more fit here than up there. They shouldn’t be pressured into going when the likes of me are right there.”
“You have a visible disability in one of your limbs, candidate.”
“It doesn’t hinder my mobility. I was found physically suitable, I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
Minka contemplated this for a second, and then leaned forward again. “You have quite the confidence in your capabilities.”
“Meanwhile you underestimate how much I seek exploration and results.”
“And if it’s one of your crewmates that comes up with the ideal fix, question? If their solution beats yours? Would you go as far as to sabotage their success to be able to proceed with your plans, question? Just so you can wallow in your pride?
Engineer volunteer number +λλ let out a confused warble. “I’d say I could only give you my word, but it’s not true, you can actually look it up if you want to. Adrian’s rising architect career is truly astonishing, they will do great in managing habitats against the cooling of Erid’s surface if you’ll have them. You better, if you want to preserve life on this planet. I’m proud of their accomplishments and would never take those from them, never have. All credits go to them and them only. And yet, they feel like my accomplishments too, in a way. Because I get to share my mate’s joy and pride.”
“But your crewmates aren’t your mate.”
“No, but we have a common goal. We are all a part of something that’s much bigger than us. What’s success if there’s no one to share it with, question?”
“Hm.”
And so the interview went on for several hours after that, leaving every participant drained to the core.
Once engineer volunteer number +λλ left the room, the two consultants turned to each other.
“What do you think, question?” Aaron asked, musical tones laced with the tiniest bit of amusement. She didn’t shy away from letting her personal judgement shine through her stoic attitude reserved for official matters.
Minka contemplated her answer for a little bit. “He is very eager. And embarrassingly straightforward.”
“Indeed, but so are many others.”
“That’s true, but if you listen to their mannerisms, they are clearly using their enthusiasm to mask their fear. The scientific curiosity and the drive to save our planet might just be sufficient to carry out this mission successfully, however, this one, Rocky, he doesn’t know fear.”
“Oh, he will,” Aaron chirped, her resolve fully present. “Just give it a little time.”
“Did I miss anything interesting during my sleep cycle, question?”
“Engineer Rocky refused to leave the alien ship for medical eval,” says Irina to their colleague Malcolm, sitting at their control panel of the space elevator, distraught. “He sounded… afraid.”
“Eh, space got to him a little bit. He’ll come around,” Malcolm responds, a dismissive warble to his voice.
“I think it’s a bit more complicated than that.”
It has pretty much been an unsung consensus that the mission might not have the closing all of Erid was fighting to achieve. As the years ticked by, everyone’s uncertainty got cemented, hopes mostly buried, backup plans abandoned half-baked, arguments rippling through or straight up disrupting the many thrums amongst the best of the best the planet had to offer. Should we build another ship? But we have no clue what went wrong – because surely something did! –, wouldn’t that just morph into yet another disaster? Years of helpless waiting, sitting idle, observing the central star’s deteriorating state, and Erid had had enough. The mission to Tau Ceti caused an explosive growth in technology and space engineering, but the risks were still too impedimental in the process of hatching an entire new plan to stop their planet from dying out. The singing of the skeptics, the overly optimistic, the doomsday harbingers, the idealists all morphed into an ongoing cacophony.
After a while, it didn’t matter what you believed in – if you counted on the return of the Blip-A and its crew or not –, staying dormant and frozen was not going to be the final answer. But what else is there if the one project all of Erid’s resources went into didn’t succeed? What else is there, if you used up your best chance?
One single rule remained: expect the unexpected.
Well, the unexpected came in the form of an intelligent alien with odd biology and wild atmospheric conditions, requiring immediate medical attention; from a species not equipped for such a case.
“How confidential are they treating all of this, question?” Malcolm asked just to cut through the pressure sitting steadily around him and Irina. After the mission sendoff, the space elevator had pretty much been out of commission. With the follow-up operation plans slowly dying down, they hadn’t been getting all that many visitors, and the maintenance team was a company for themselves. They thrummed in an enclosed circle most of the time, only addressing the two of them to report for duty and clock off work.
But ever since the alien vessel showed up on their radars and they received a very Eridian message from aboard it, things have exploded right in their carapaces, turning their dull days upside down.
“It’s security level ∀,” Irina responds, their tone agitated. “I’ve been working here for +++ years. Never experienced a level ∀ phenomenon before.”
“Oh stars hanging overhead…” Malcolm whines. “That’s way above our expertise. What are we even supposed to do now, question?”
Things have been hectic, to say the least. After the first contact with the ship Engineer Rocky called the ‘Hail Mary’, they have been stuck here with no chance to return to the surface anytime soon, managing the rapidly increasing traffic through the elevator.
Mission Control and many appointed scientists have been coming and going at a rapid speed (much to the maintenance team’s dislike), expecting to wrap up the last leg of the mission, but instead receiving an entirely different task: there is an alien life form aboard, and, as sole survivor Engineer Rocky pressed (demanded, let’s be honest here), you need to keep him alive. No alternatives.
(“What do you mean sole survivor, question?”
“Thrums almighty, what happened out there, question?”
“Did you say alien, question?”)
“We are standing by until further notice,” Irina reminded Malcolm. “Letting the scientists do their thing, only intervening if absolutely necessary. We are secondary contact to the ship’s inhabitants now, meaning if Mission Control is unavailable, all transmissions go through us and us only.”
“How much does the public even know, question?” Malcolm mused. “Mission Control has been organizing massive thrums regarding the… situation. They can’t actually expect everyone involved to keep it sealed for too long. If they really want to save our… guest, we need all limbs on deck, effective immediately.”
“I think the public has a general idea, but the urgency of the matter doesn’t allow details to go through,” said Irina. “Most of my cluster also received an urgent task, and the details attached were all just heavy-handed instructions. There are plenty of questions, of course, but Mission Control is actually deeming it part of the Petrova-disaster. They are weaponizing the fear of their own. It’s messy, and I’m pretty sure most of Mission Control will be convicted once this is over.”
“Gah. Doesn’t appear like it’s gonna be over soon.”
“Yeah.”
Malcolm lets out such a loud snort he actually feels embarrassed about afterwards. “I mean, I expected a lot of things. Corrupted crewmates, an infested ship, corpses, an overall failed mission. But… aliens?”
Irina and Malcolm have caught a glimpse of their… guest when helping Engineer Rocky with the docking process. The ‘Hail Mary’ is unlike anything an Eridian would design so attaching a reconstructed tunnel to its airlock was a massive challenge (the mechanics’ dismay have skyrocketed, obviously), but they made it work thanks to the continuous direction and redirection of Engineer Rocky. (The only returning member of their crew, for sacred thrums’ sake!) He knows that alien ship inside and out, and there is something oddly unsettling about this knowledge.
(“He’s been aboard an alien ship for literal years, question?” shouted Malcolm. “I can’t decide whether this is the coolest thing ever or the most horrifying.”)
When the tunnel was successfully attached to the ‘Hail Mary’, both Irina and Malcolm were curious and insane enough to initiate first official contact willingly, but very soon they were ushered away by the appointed scientists to allow them to work as quickly as possible.
Still, both of them got a good glimpse. (Not to mention, they eavesdropped. Like a lot. They still do. They will likely be stuck here for years to come, they deserve this much.) The human, as Engineer Rocky called him, is tall and thin, and his body consists mostly of water. He is soft to the touch and oh so vulnerable. What a weird, faulty design! Irina and Malcolm were definitely taken aback, but then, as they managed to learn more and more about him, their prejudices slowly morphed into tentative admiration.
This alien can hear light, for starters. He has something called an immune system to fight off bacteria. He has in his possession an array of useful tools, and he operates a thinking machine, which is unlike anything Irina and Malcolm have ever had the imagination for. His interstellar knowledge far surpasses theirs, and it was this exact knowledge that proved to be essential for the success of the mission. He breathes highly inflammable gas, and he lives in a very very very thin atmosphere. He isn’t even supposed to be alive by Eridian standards (He has a separate body part to store the brain! Such an easy target! Yuck!), and yet…
They also overheard the more personal side of the story. Like how said alien gave up his only chance to go home because he was so adamant to save their species. Why would someone do that? Neither Irina nor Malcolm can wrap their crystal minds around the concept.
(“Maybe it’s not an alien, but a guardian spirit,” Malcolm mused, tapping back into his cluster’s religious background. The background he fought so hard to stay connected to, even in the midst of scientific breakthroughs.
“I mean… we have nice people,” Irina beckoned, “I’m pretty sure aliens can be nice as well.”
“He chose us over his own people! This is no mere sacrifice, dammit!”)
And so they sit, ushering all the scientists to and from the airlock of the alien ship, all the while trying not to go completely insane. They have an alien right next door, so it’s rather difficult.
“The human is basically a corpse, if you think about it,” Irina says, their chords slightly discordant.
“And the savior of our planet,” Malcolm stresses.
“Yes. How long do you think Mission Control will keep up with Engineer Rocky’s antics until they finally coerce him to commend the alien to the stars, question?”
“You want it gone, question?”
Irina is tense, carapace drawn into their shoulders. “Not what I said, but I admit it does freak me out a bit. From what I gathered, the alien is very sick. It’s making our very last crew member sick. I doubt Engineer Rocky will truly return to us until this is going on. Mission Control will not let him perish, not when he has so much to share with us. So… he either lets the alien go, or we lose crew member λ∀ as well.”
Malcolm’s radiator pieces move up and down in an agitated rhythm. “Why do you have to be so annoyingly negative, though, question? We save the alien, we get Engineer Rocky back. Simple as that.”
“It’s an alien from a completely different environment to ours. You can’t be this dense. His biology, his… everything. Foreign. Alien. It’s… it sounds impossible to me.”
“Well, solving the Astrophage-disaster was also deemed impossible by many… Now look at us. And it only took V.”
Irina’s entire carapace shakes with the short chord of a barely stifled laugh “And millions dedicating their careers for the preparation. Don’t discredit our work, Malcolm.”
“Yeah, yeah, but in the end, when it mattered the most… It was an Eridian and a human via the power of friendship. It’d be one of the biggest failures in the history of our species to let the alien die. Sounds like some cheesy puppet show.”
Irina snorts at that. “Oh no, I agree with the sentiment. Still sounds pretty impossible, though.”
Engineer Rocky would most definitely disagree.
He’s been coordinating the teams appointed to aid his human companion nonstop, sleep cycle be damned. He’s been extremely thorough and relentless, giving absolutely zero margin for error. He’s always been second engineer, nowhere near the top ranks, and yet, he barks at everyone if they stand outside of line, dictate their routines and workflow; whatever the thrums are about, Rocky is certainly the loudest chord in them all.
Mission Control surely foresees some kind of positive outcome, there’s no way they’d allow any of this to happen otherwise. Of course, saving the alien that saved their entire planet should be top priority, but messing around with a completely alien biology and materials… There’s only so far the smartest of the Eridians can go.
“Have you met him before, question?” Irina asks. “Engineer Rocky, I mean.”
“Briefly,” Malcolm nods. “Sounds like he hasn’t changed all that much. He always used to be a tad bit too enthusiastic, bordering on maniac, if you ask me. I mean, I’m very passionate about my job, but come on. Well, he ended up on the Blip-A, and I didn’t. He’s remarkable, from what I heard. You need to be a bit crazy to achieve all that.”
Irina’s carapace droops slightly. “I don’t think what he’s been demonstrating ever since his arrival is enthusiasm. Sounds more like despair to me.”
“Well. He isn’t just trying to save our savior. He’s trying to save a friend.”
Joey, or navigator volunteer λ+ as he’d been referred to in the meeting room, was tapping his limbs anxiously.
He was hovering near the entrance of Mission Control’s facility relocated into his cluster for the recruitment and admission progress. It’d been a tough couple of hours. Not that he expected anything less from a project of this magnitude – their very existence was on the line after all –, but the psychological evaluation still shook him to the core.
Joey had always been fascinated by space and the potential to reach the stars one day, but cruising through the vastness of it and preparing for an urgent and extremely dangerous mission were not of the same caliber. Joey was never really good with urgency and stress, but seeing his closest peers acting so eager to participate pushed him to confront his own limitations.
And yet, upon facing the delegation of Mission Control, all doubt crept right back in. Joey wasn’t the type to pass up an opportunity, even with his fears tying his limbs together, but he definitely felt like not even all those years of studying would amount to much now.
I’m not nearly enough. Or is it such an impossible situation that there’s no one with an expertise to match it?
Well, maybe there was. His former school friend from the neighboring cluster, Rocky. One of the best engineers Joey had the opportunity to cross paths with. And can you believe this? He was walking out of the facility as if the interview didn’t drag him down but instead lifted him as high as he’d go with a spaceship barely even built.
Curiosity got the best of him, so of course Joey had to interrupt Rocky’s excited conversation with his mate, just to try and steal some of his enthusiasm.
Even though Eridians weren’t able to forget, the navigator still felt a tingle of pride when his former engineer friend instantly recognized him. Joey wasn’t one for silly small-talks, and it appeared Rocky didn’t appreciate them either. Once his mate excused themselves to retreat into their privacy to eat, the two past school friends jumped straight into it.
“Did they bombard you with idiotic questions, too, question?” Joey asked, his radiator pieces moving up and down restlessly as his mind was recalling the screening.
“Yeah, some pretty wild ones, actually!” Rocky trilled, but Joey couldn’t tell whether he was disturbed or excited.
“Did they ask you what you’d do if you were the only one on the ship, question?”
“Yeah,” Rocky nodded. “Which is odd to say the least. The final number of the crew is supposed to be λ∀, right, question?”
Joey didn’t want to ponder on it, but still carried on nevertheless. “Correct. I mean, they want people for all kinds of different positions, why would you need to cover for everyone? I’m navigation, do they want me to learn engineering or molecular biology in just II+∀+ days, question? Come on. Ridiculous. You dedicate countless years of your life to your craft to perfect it, they can’t ask me to skip that amount of work and still get the same results just because a life-or-death situation dictates it. Wouldn’t that just jeopardize the mission? I seriously don’t understand. If they are trying to prepare us for a possible outcome like this, if something disastrous happened and I was the only crew on the Blip-A, I’d just pilot the ship straight into Tau Ceti. Full stop.”
Rocky let out a nervous chuckle at that.
Joey’s radiator pieces moved up and down in an agitated rhythm. “What, question? Wouldn’t you do the same? Wouldn’t you just… quit, question?”
“Dunno. I don’t think I know how to.”
This sentence reverberated inside his mind for a long time after that; when he was asked in for a second screening, and he needed to decide whether he was truly up for anything this mission would more than likely hurl at them. They needed Eridians who were more than sure of their capabilities. (Joey promised the committee he was more than ready to handle anything, and he actually meant it this time. Damn, that cheeky engineer was actually a good influence on him.) It played on repeat in his crystal brain when all of their bodies were breaking down in the depth of the ship, their insides rotting, decomposing… all falling victim to forces unknown, except Rocky. Every crewmate of his surely envisioned total failure… all except Joey. Because if Rocky were to truly survive this, their chances of saving Erid remained strong as ever.
Irina can feel their body edge closer to sleep, when the distress call comes. They’ve been putting off sleep for as long as they could, given their updated status with an alien spaceship docked to the space elevator, but there’s only so much you can do when your bodily functions and natural rhythm override your intentions.
The call, however, jolts their body out of the nearing sleep cycle.
It comes from the lead scientist, one of the selected few allowed on the ‘Hail Mary’ to command groups committed to aid the human in his survival. Her musical notes sound perturbed, anxiety poking a hole in the thick atmosphere around them all.
The human is in distress. Engineer Rocky has exited the thrum to assist him, leaving all the scientists to their own devices, helpless and unnerved. From what Irina has gathered about the alien through their ongoing contact with the ship’s delegation, his sleep patterns are rather… disturbing. Humans don’t sleep like Eridians. They move and make sound, and they can interrupt it. So foreign. So… irksome.
The human is sick. Dying. He barely has any lucid moments anymore. Him being awake should be a good thing, right?
But it doesn’t sound good.
Hah. Irina can barely grasp the concept of a human, and yet it doesn’t sound good. Malcolm is perched behind his control panel, unmoving. Scared. The two of them are clearly in agreement.
While the lead scientist is requesting the point of view of the medical personnel still stationed on Erid (not that there aren’t any medics onboard the ‘Hail Mary’, but more perspectives the merrier), the noise the human makes filters through the comm line of the space elevator.
Engineer Rocky is talking (begging) to him, his notes almost too shaky to comprehend. The human that Engineer Rocky calls ‘Grace’ is mumbling something. His voice is unnaturally monotone and scratchy and wavering… or maybe that’s just how humans speak. No, it is surely wrong, otherwise Engineer Rocky wouldn’t act so disturbed. So pleading.
“Please save your energy. You’re in safe hands now.”
The human’s entire form is wrecked with shakes, his orifice compartments (teeth, Irina recalls) are chattering. He is cycling his atmosphere through his lung compartments at an alarmingly fast rate. Engineer Rocky leans closer – as close as the xenonite exosuit would let him –, placing two tentative claws on the human’s torso.
“Ǹ̶͈ọ̴̍,̶̮̾ ̶̺̆n̴̜̾ȍ̵ͅ,̵̹͒ ̷̨̍n̵͔̎ỏ̸̩,̸̆ͅ ̴͔̃n̶̼̾o̸͓̎…̶̮͠” the alien keeps wheezing out, his top round body part (the head, Irina, it’s called a head) shaking at a dizzying speed. “Ï̶̞ ̵̗̽c̸̻̉ä̴̠n̷͙̒’̵̝̑t̷̜̒ ̷̜͐g̷̜̊o̸͕͛…̵͉̽”
“We won’t let you,” Engineer Rocky presses, his tone urgent, unwavering. “We will find a way to fix this, fix you.” It’s a promise.
The human keens at that, as if he completely misunderstands Engineer Rocky’s intentions. Maybe his sick brain cannot comprehend Eridian speech and mannerisms anymore. Anymore. Yeah. They must’ve learned how to communicate properly; without it, the alien ship wouldn’t even be here in the first place.
“Ï̶̞ ̵̗̽c̸̻̉ä̴̠n̷͙̒’̵̝̑t̷̜̒ ̷̜͐g̷̜̊o̸͕͛…̵͉̽” the human (Grace, Irina reminds themselves) repeats his previous string of noises, and even to an Eridian it sounds desperate. “I̵̥̅ ̸͉̂c̴̡̓ȃ̸̦n̷̦͌’̶̰͑t̴̯̀ ̸̫͝g̸̫̓ō̴̪ ̴̫̈k̸̞͘n̶̟͛o̷͎͗w̷̰̎i̶̢̐ṇ̷̛g̸̼͝ ̵͚̊I̵̻͊ ̴̨͛l̵̺̑î̷̞e̴͎̐d̶̮̓ ̵͉̕ṭ̷̋o̵̧̿ ̸͇͑y̴͖̿ỏ̷̮u̵̇ͅ ̶̹̄a̷͕͑l̵̹̿ḽ̸̔ ̴̱̎t̶͈̓h̸̲͒î̶̹s̸̙͋ ̵̦͆t̷̹̏ỉ̶̠m̶̲̓e̸̡͌…̴͔̒ ̷̪̒I̴͇͝ ̴͉͆l̸͈̀i̴͉͝e̵̹͆d̴̝̾,̵̨͂ ̵̩̒I̶̛͓ ̴̛͔l̴̬̄ỉ̷̙e̵̲͌d̶͈̆,̶̢̀ ̵̩̾Ḯ̵̜ ̷̦̄ḽ̶̓ị̸͝ê̶̫d̷̟̒…̷̔ͅ”
“Please, you’re speaking nonsense.” Engineer Rocky’s own warble matches the human’s crestfallen tone. “You must calm dow—”
“Í̴͖ ̵̥̓l̸̲̂í̸̧e̵̪̔d̸̼̈́!̵̼͝” Alien Grace raises the volume of his speech, and Engineer Rocky goes completely still. “Ŷ̶̥o̷̢̍ụ̷̊ ̴͎͝h̶̝̀a̴̳̒v̸̟̈́e̴̻͋ ̵̣͑t̸͓͝o̶̥͗ ̶͚̏k̷̝̽ṇ̵̓ǫ̸̃w̶̟͒…̸͙͋ ̶̹͛I̴̟͊ ̵̒͜d̴͚̀ḭ̵̑ḑ̶͋n̸̗̈’̴̘̇t̴͇̀…̷̯̄ ̵̠́I̵̜̚ ̶̜̔d̸̟͂i̴͎̒d̵͈́n̷̻͊’̴͉̒ẗ̴́͜ ̴̗̓v̵̙͘o̵͙̿l̶̠̀u̶̟̐ǹ̴̡t̵̲̀e̵̞̋e̴̺͆r̵͚̉ ̵̱̔t̶̪͛o̷͇͌ ̴̺͌g̶̒ͅo̷̱͘ ̸̢̽o̶̗̅ǹ̸̳ ̴̗͂t̵̛̳h̴̟͝í̶̳ṣ̵̔ ̴̝̆m̸̮͝í̸̘s̵͎̓s̴͉̃ị̸͠ö̸̜́n̸̞̈́.̷͖̊ ̸͚͊I̵̹̎ ̶̭͂ṛ̷̍e̷̛͔f̵͎̕u̵͇͑s̵͘ͅẽ̷͇d̴͇̓.̴̟̐ ̶̟̐I̸̫̔ ̴̢̇w̷͇̚à̶̦s̸͓͒ ̸̫͒f̴̩͂o̸̟͗r̸̦̓c̴̠̆e̸̢̛d̷͕͝.̸̥̚ ̶͎͠I̵̘͂ ̵̕͜w̸̙̎a̸̫͝s̵̥̅…̸̛̹ ̸̩̃I̵̠͑ ̴̝͆c̴̬̐a̵͌ͅn̴̰̈́’̷̗̚t̶̖̚ ̷̛͓t̶̤̀e̸͔͛ã̴̱c̷̬̾h̸̞̍ ̷̱̑y̵̨̑o̵̱̾u̸̢̾ ̶͚̊h̸͉̑o̴͉̐w̶̧͊ ̵̫̍t̸̩̽o̶͍͋ ̸͙́b̷͚̈́ȅ̸͉ ̸̦̽b̸͚̈́r̵̟͋a̶̼͐v̷͖̿ẻ̴͔ ̶̗̍w̵̘̑ḧ̶́͜ë̶̞́n̶̛̮ ̶́͜I̵̘͝’̵̗̌m̵̟͝ ̵̢́a̴̭̋ ̶̟̏c̶̎͜ō̵̪w̶̧̃a̴̡̋r̶͔͆d̶̖̅ ̵̺̊m̷͇̕y̴̤͛s̵͙̽e̷̖͗l̶͓̐f̶̰̾…̷͍͝”
Engineer Rocky lets out a heart-wrenching keen. “What are you saying, question?”
“İ̵͙t̷͚͒’̷͙̚s̵̝̐ ̵̻͠t̸͇́r̶͇͆ṵ̷̀ḙ̵͛…̵̬̑ ̶͓̓Ì̴̱ ̶̛̬d̸͔͊o̷͔̔n̴̪̅’̸̺̾t̶̞͗ ̵̣̋d̴̛̥ḛ̵̾s̸̖͘e̸͎͐ṙ̶̖ṿ̴́e̷̡͌ ̶̪͗t̶̤͠ḣ̸͖i̸̳͌s̵̨̔…̸̖̋ ̸͍̑I̶͖̔ ̶̺̈s̶̢̓å̶͜ì̸͉d̶͔̀ ̷̳͋n̷̲̊o̶̾͜…̴͎̒ ̴̣́Í̵̗ ̴͙͛a̵̡̍m̵̡͛ ̶͙̎a̴͔̓ ̵̥́c̶̄͜o̵͉͂w̴̫͗á̸͓ṟ̸̓ḑ̵͝,̸̡͘ ̷̰͘I̴͉̔ ̶̏͜w̵͚͘à̵̩s̴̄ͅ ̷̍͜n̵̒ͅe̵͙͗v̴͎̊e̴̝̐ȓ̴̦ ̷̡̐m̷͔̿ë̸̼́â̴̮n̵̰̔t̸͍̅ ̵̖̄t̴̩̋ȯ̸̟ ̷̟̅b̸̪̾e̴̤͗ ̸̡͠ḥ̷͊e̵͖̽r̸̭͠ë̴͓.̴̗͗ ̴̯̐Ỉ̵̫ ̶͕̓ś̸̡a̵̙͂i̶̅͜d̵̫͊ ̶̖̀n̸̩͑ỏ̷̻…̶̲͛ ̶̥͑Y̶̲̽o̶̙͝ủ̵̪ ̶̭̀c̴͚̓ö̵̧́u̵͖̚l̷̡͘d̶̈ͅ’̸͎͂v̵̯͋e̷̲͘ ̷̢̊ḍ̵̏i̵̡͛e̷̖̍d̴̮̀,̶̠̋ ̷̼̊a̷͍͒l̸̞̈́ĺ̷̝ ̵̟͝o̵̓͜f̶̢̛ ̵̘̊E̴̦͌r̴͖̚i̷̝̓d̴͖̀,̷̗̈ ̷͖̕ḁ̷͝l̵̡͛l̶͔͝ ̸̰̀o̴̰̾f̴̼̏ ̷̲͗E̵̜͛à̷͚r̴̖̾t̸͈̽h̶͖̕…̶̧̅”
“Grace, stop.”
“Ǐ̴̜t̶̡̀’̶͔͝s̵̠͝ ̵̥̈t̶̊ͅr̷̬̈́u̷̫̔e̵̮͑.̷̧̍ ̷͎͘D̷̥́ő̵̬n̶̩͠’̸̠͌t̵͈̉ ̶̠̾ẅ̷̹a̵̢͠ş̷͛t̸͙̅è̶̫ ̸̘̈ẙ̵̫o̷̗̾û̸̧r̶̠͑ ̶͉͒ȓ̷͉é̶̮s̷̹͂o̵̖̓ȗ̴̢ŕ̸̫—̵̱͌”
“Grace, stop!”
“I̶̖̚ ̴̱̓d̴̜͋ơ̵̤n̵̘̐’̵̞̎ṫ̵͚ ̴̮̓d̴̛͖e̷͕͌s̶͚͝è̶̳r̴̪͊v̴̞̑ë̸̦́ ̵̡̛i̷̖̓t̶̨́…̵̙̈́ ̴̉ͅI̶͈̋ ̸̝́ḑ̶̄o̸̠̔n̶̯͝’̴̙̈́ţ̷̽,̵͉͂ ̷̓ͅḬ̷͂ ̴̯̋d̶̦͂o̸̰͝n̴̗̿’̴̮͝ţ̶͝…̴̡͂”
“Grace. You’re rambling. It was always meant to be a suicide mission. You were scared. We’ll talk about this when you’re feeling better, okay? But you must rest now. Please.”
The human is still shaking. Engineer Rocky puts some of his weight on him, but it does little to calm his nerves.
“I̴̠̓’̴̯̚m̷̰̊ ̸̯̃n̸̳͛ö̴͖́t̷̪͘ ̷͔̑w̴̘͌h̶͒͜ǒ̷̟ ̴̝̕y̵̖̕o̷͇̎ṵ̴̈́ ̶͔͝t̵͗͜h̵̲̓i̸͍͠n̵̗̎k̴̼̾ ̴̫̅I̶̪̅ ̸͖͒a̴̬̐m̶̕͜.̸͖͑ ̵͎͝I̶̹̿ ̶̬̿d̵̻̓o̷͔̾ṉ̷̅’̸͚̈́t̴͙́ ̶̣̕ḏ̵͛e̵͓͑s̸̬̀ẻ̵̻r̶͇̀v̷̨͌e̵̮̓…̶̫͊” Those sounds again; they are making Engineer Rocky agitated, a shudder running up his carapace.
“It doesn’t matter, Grace. You still saved me. Saved Erid. And we will find a way to save you in return.”
“I̸̜̊ ̴̛̳l̴̽ͅi̷̮̅e̴̫͝d̴̲͒ ̷̥͝t̶̟̔o̵̲̿ ̴̣͝ȳ̵̜o̸̻̕u̶͎̾.̷͕͐ ̴̭̈́F̸̬̀o̷̢͂o̷̮͗l̶̤̾e̷̥͘d̸̞̿ ̸͖̀ý̵̫ö̷̩́ú̸̱ ̵͈̄t̷̤̆ő̸̜ ̵̥̄b̴̟̅e̶̹̾c̷̬̉o̴̰̾m̸̠̈́ë̴͚ ̴̭͐y̵͉̍o̶̪͑u̸̠͗r̷̺̍ ̶̟͑f̵̨̎r̶̲̔i̸͙͠e̶̛͙ṉ̵̍d̸͙͒ ̸͓̐b̴̞̆e̸͇͒c̸̦̃a̶͚̅u̸̲̇ś̵̪e̷͙̊ ̸̛̩I̴͈̐ ̷̺͋ẁ̸̱a̵̦̾ś̷̬ ̸͎́s̸̲͘o̸̘̅ ̷͑ͅa̷̚ͅl̶̫͌o̷̗̓n̷̩͗è̷͍ ̸̘͝ȃ̸̘n̴̺͐ḓ̴͌ ̸̜̋s̶͍͂ò̵̘…̸̨̕ ̶̳̈́a̴̱͌f̷͉̍r̵̮̔a̴̻͌i̵̗̓d̶̖̊.̷̡͝ ̶̤͛Y̶̺͝o̷͙̾u̸̢̇ ̷̭̅c̶̠͛a̸͈͆n̸̟̎ ̷͖͘l̶͖͌e̵̲̚ả̵̱v̷̟̋ē̴̘ ̸͕̐m̵̢͋e̵̫͋,̶̘͘ ̴͎̑I̸̭̐’̴̲͂l̷̯̚l̶̨͑…̶̬̃ ̵̡̓I̶͓͋ ̸͙͆d̴̘͠ĕ̸̖s̵̼̄e̸̞̊r̸͇̾v̴͚͘e̸̱̚ ̵͍̆ī̵͎t̷͉̋.̶̧̀”
“No. You’re stuck with me now, whether you like it or not. I don’t care what you say.”
“Ÿ̶͖́o̸̜̓u̸̪͆ ̶̛͔d̶̹̋e̵͘͜s̸͓͠e̸̤͘r̴̛͕v̵̙̓e̸̺̊ ̵̪̀à̸ͅ ̵̩̀b̴̝͑ẹ̵͋ṯ̷͒t̷̝́e̸̛̯ŕ̴͙ ̷̡͠f̴͍̾r̴̰͊i̵̛̪e̷̖͑n̷͓̆ḑ̶́,̴̞̓ ̵͔͗y̸̟̚o̶͔̿ụ̶͆ ̶͍̐d̷͔̆o̷̠̔n̸̤̏’̷̡̔t̵̠͘ ̷̫̊ü̵̪ñ̸̻d̶̺̕e̵̳͒r̶̯̎s̴̪͗t̷̯͌å̵̮ǹ̸͔ḑ̴͊…̸̳̚ ̴͈͘Î̵͖ ̵̬̈́ẁ̵̤a̶͖͝s̴̨̓ ̴̤̽f̴̬̈́ǫ̵̇r̴͔̀c̶͋ͅe̷̱̿d̵͉̆ ̵͔̚o̷̪͒n̵̲̒ ̴͕͠ṯ̷͗h̴͚̏i̶̧̕s̴̮͛ ̸̫͋m̸̘͑i̸̩̅s̷̜̑s̸̤̕ī̷͜ọ̵̚n̸̾ͅ ̵̺͐ḅ̶͛ẻ̷̜c̵͙͋a̷̩̾u̴̺͌s̸͕̄é̶̜ ̴̰͘I̸̡͂ ̶͇̀ā̶̗b̶̳͋a̷̳͘n̴͎͛d̶̺͆ő̷̻n̴̖͠ȩ̵͝d̵̟͆ ̷̯͆a̷̧͌l̸̪̀l̷͖͛ ̴͔͑o̶̖̒f̸̘͝ ̴͔̕h̸̟̽u̷̗͌m̶̭͗a̴̙̕n̵̾͜í̷̟ẗ̸͕́y̵̖͒…̶̰͐ ̴̠̓I̷̗͊f̴̳̔ ̸̆͜t̴͇̐h̶̥̆e̸̮͠y̴̪̍ ̷̳̑d̷̝̈́î̶̝ḑ̷̿n̴̦̕’̷͙̈́ț̸͝ ̵̰́f̷͇̏o̸͔͆ȑ̷̤c̷̯̚ë̴̖ ̴̭́m̴̯̀e̵̟̊,̸̳̄ ̶͕̅Ĭ̸̜ ̷̛̺w̵͙͂o̵̳͂ṷ̴̚l̶͎̈́d̸̮̉’̸̡͋v̵̺͆ȇ̷͕ ̶̟͆n̷̼͘e̴̫͝v̷̱͑ë̴̡r̷̙̄ ̵̗͠m̴̼͝ẹ̶̒t̴̺͛ ̶̰̾ÿ̷̙o̸̤̒u̸̫̓!̴͉̈́ ̷̲͒T̶̢̛h̵͍̀ë̷̥́ỹ̸̩ ̴̫͝w̴̩͐è̸̙ṟ̵̍e̴͇̔ ̷̡̔r̵͈̂i̵͇̐g̸͎̾h̵̫͋t̶̗͝.̴̣̓ ̷̘̋Y̴͖̏ǒ̸͙u̷̗̕’̶̱̊d̴͈̈́ ̸͌͜b̴̮̃e̶̛̥ ̶͉͋d̴̫͝e̶̝͌a̶̙̓d̴̥̈́.̴̧̓ ̴̥̄N̸͇̋ŏ̵̧.̴͎̐ ̶͎̈́Y̵̭̕ǒ̸̮u̵̯̾ ̴̹̒w̷̽͜o̵͉̍u̶͓̕l̵̜̚d̶̙́’̵̱̇v̶̳̊e̸̻̽ ̶͍͑f̵̤͗ï̶̗g̶̭͒ȕ̷̪r̶͕̚e̷͕̿d̶̼̊ ̵̖͋s̴̝̍ȏ̸͜m̸̦̕e̷̮̽t̷͓̏h̷̖̋i̴̹͊n̴̼̄g̷͚͆ ̵̠̉o̸̯̎ū̵̜ṭ̴͗.̴̥̈́ ̴͇̚Y̸̦͂ò̷̱ŭ̵͈ ̵̣̈d̴͙̈́ȍ̷͇n̴̳͑’̷̱́t̷͒͜ ̶̢̌n̷̗̂ė̴̲e̴̢͠d̵̰̃ ̷̠̂m̷̳̉ḛ̴͑,̷̯̏ ̴̡͘I̸̮̍’̵̻̂m̶̮͒ ̵̱̾j̵͇͂u̸̗͝s̶̬͠t̵͖͌ ̷̜̓a̸̛̹ ̶̒ͅb̶̟̿u̶̮͐r̴͚͛d̴̢͆ê̵ͅn̷̝̈́…̵͓͊”
Engineer Rocky stomps one of his limbs, but he is oh so careful around his companion. “Don’t discredit my judgement. This is my decision to make, and I already made up my mind.”
The human is leaking. It shakes Irina to the core. Shakes Engineer Rocky to the core as well. Malcolm has not moved since the transmission began, and if Irina didn’t know better, they’d assume their colleague was sleeping.
“Please sleep now,” Engineer Rocky pleads, his entire body covering the human’s now. “You’re safe. I’ll be watching. Just please calm down. Your body cannot take this at your current state. Please.”
“L̴͈̂i̵͕͂f̵͔͆e̷̙̓ ̵̰̑i̴͇͘š̷̰ ̴̲̕r̴̥͑e̴̼͝a̴̛̺s̶͚͆o̴̬̍n̵̯̍,̵͚͒ ̵̦̈R̷͙̎o̶̪͆c̶͓̕ḳ̴̊…̷͔̈́” Alien Grace’s heartbeat is still fast, but his speech is getting weirder now. More tired sounding. “L̴̡̚ḯ̵̧f̶̩̉è̶̬ ̵̙̂i̶͙͛s̸̱͗ ̶̦̉r̴͙̉e̷̬̍a̵̺̓s̵̰͝o̶̢̕n̷̞͗ ̶̘̔f̴̖̚o̸̬̕r̵̺̆ ̵̜͋Ǎ̶͉s̸͙̽t̴̘́r̸̟̐o̵̱͆p̷̲͛h̷̟̽ã̸̹g̶̫͑ė̶͔ ̴͕̐b̴͙̽á̶̦l̸͉̿ä̷̞n̴̺͛ĉ̸̡e̷̞͐…̷̱͛”
“Yes, life is reason, Grace,” Engineer Rocky responds, his chords breaking on the last note. “Please sleep. You’ll only live if you rest now.”
“W̶̢̒e̷̟̊ ̵̮̊n̷͇̄ë̵͚ë̵͇d̷̻̽ ̵̭̇t̶̝̑o̴̲͛ ̵͍͊f̵̪͠i̴͗͜n̸̺͑d̷̘͒ ̴̡̍t̸̘̑h̷̤́é̴̙ ̴̖̽p̴͍͑r̸̙̋e̷̳͠d̴̪͠ḁ̵̂t̸͈̒õ̷̞r̵̗͊…̷͕͝”
“We will. But later. After you rest.”
“N̸̫̋ŏ̵̱ ̵̘͗t̵̪̾ȋ̵̪m̴̫̆e̸̱͛…̵͓͌” The human maneuvers two of his thin limbs to push himself upright, but Engineer Rocky is quick to halt his movements.
“I’ll make a chain. A long chain. It’ll take time. You can rest until it’s ready. Okay, question?”
What little energy the human still circulates in his body is suddenly gone, and he goes completely limp under Engineer Rocky’s carapace, the Eridian’s limbs the only thing keeping the fragile alien together. The scientist delegation has been cowering behind the xenonite wall erected in place of the airlock the entire time, their nervous tapping resonating through the top section of the space elevator. They keep nudging each other, but nobody dares utter a chord, not even when the human is back under again.
The one opening the comm lines to Irina and Malcolm have long since fallen quiet, so both of them were able to listen to the interaction, definitely feeling like they were eavesdropping on something personal, private… and sacred.
The lead of the scientist group finally collects herself enough to address the human ship’s longterm Eridian resident. “Engineer Rocky, if I may… Your human companion isn’t the only one to have been beaten down from prolonged space travel. You’ve been holding thrums nonstop ever since you reached the planet’s radio range. We forwarded you the mandatory medical protocol, which we have disregarded for the sake of your human companion's survival. But the thrum has come to the conclusion that you are no longer fit to postpone your own medical and psychological evaluation. Don’t assume we didn’t notice your scars and the… unusual behavioral patterns.”
The atmosphere is buzzing around them, and for a brief second Irina fears there’s a leak from the human ship. But then the lead scientist takes a few tentative steps back and away from the xenonite barrier just in time to avoid Engineer Rocky’s sudden twack on the wall that blinds them for a good second. He is standing like a wild creature, and they are all afraid the exosuit will shake apart around him from the added pressure.
“The mission is not yet over,” Engineer Rocky states, matter of factly. “It will be once our savior is finally safe.”
The lead scientist pulls herself together to approach the xenonite again. “You can’t keep helping your friend in your current condition. If you refuse to do it for your own sake, do it for his.”
“I don’t give a shit about me. Grace saved our entire species. I want him to live.”
The lead scientist steels herself, and that way she is towering over the ‘Hail Mary’s longterm Eridian resident. “This is exactly what we are working towards. Don’t belittle the gratitude we have for the human and our tenacity to figure out a solution. Do you even respect your loved ones, question? Your human companion isn’t the only one suffering from your stubbornness. I heard you have a mate. You’ve been here for many weeks now, and you still haven’t thought about reuniting with them.”
Irina and Malcolm both cower away from the comms. They are pretty sure if they stood too close, the tension emitting from Engineer Rocky’s entire frame would shake them apart.
SCREENING COMPLETED BY MISSION CONTROL
ENGINEER ROCKY: POSIVITELY REVIEWED
FORWARDED TO MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS AND CREW BUILDING EXERCISES