Chapter Text
"Grace and Rocky save stars."
Except that us not true, is it.
Scientifically speaking, they will save two of them. If the Beetles make it to Earth unharmed. If they make it to Erid without the Taumoeba eating through the fuselage. If. So absolute best-case scenario, flawless execution, mission success, that's two stars saved out of more than 100 billion of them being slowly eaten alive by the Astrophage.
And four months into the journey home through the continuously dimming universe, it's all that Grace can think about.
It's probably the survivor’s guilt, he figures after another sleepless night. And he should definitively talk to a professional about it. It's just that the only two conversation partners he has are a rock alien whose crew member losses outnumber his by 2 to the power of 4.5236 and a medicinal robot whose idea of a psych eval would be to make him solve that very equation. Besides, there is only so many times the words "leaky space blob" can be hurled at a man's head before it starts bruising his ego at least a little bit, and he doesn't think he could get through the explanation without hysterical sobbing.
So, Grace does what he does best next to teaching basic physics and putting on a pretty solid karaoke rendition of Winds of Change, thank you very much Rocky – he starts to research.
✦✧✦
"What Grace holding question."
"What do you think it is, pal? Describe it for me." Grace holds the sextant up above his head and turns it around slowly. Rocky's echolocation works best when unobstructed by his body, and they have been trying to get the words for complex shapes added to the translation computer. Everything is a learning opportunity when you are the only middle school teacher in a 17-parsec radius.
"Wedge-shaped frame statement. Rocky can see no problem. What purpose question?"
Well, they will need to work on classroom manners.
"It's a sextant. It’s used to measure angles to verify positions. It works like - hmmm. It doesn't really make sense from your point of view, I guess, but there is mirrors in the instrument that allow me to compare to images and measure the angle between two objects. I use it to calculate our distance to the star."
"Grace not trust board computer question? Rocky know where we are. Mary and Blip-A are on course. T minus 2 years to Erid. Grace not worry."
The melody between the computerized sounds so gentle. Like calming down a spooked child with a lullaby after a nightmare. It's sweet, how much Rocky wants him to feel safe. The feeling is mutual.
"No, gosh no, I am not worried. It's just something to fill the time. And it helps me practice my astronav. Keeps my mind busy, you know?"
"Rocky not know. Rocky always busy. Rocky build Taumoeba tank. Rocky watch Grace make Taumoeba. Rocky monitor ship vitals. Rocky watch Grace sleep. Much to do in space as captain."
Grace nearly drops the sextant on his face.
"Captain?! We have been over this, man. I'm the captain. You are the first officer. What is this, mutiny?"
"Rocky not know that word."
Grace scoffs. "Rocky better not need it."
He explains it to him anyway.
✦✧✦
It becomes part of the routine. Wake up. Look after the Taumoeba. Teach Rocky about Earth flora and fauna (he is very partial to arachnids. Go figure.) Try to learn Rocky's language to prepare for life on Erid. Eat. Check if the stars are still there. Rinse and repeat. Just a part of the daily rituals of hurling through space with his alien best friend.
That is, until one of the stars is actually gone.
"L 98-59 should be visible to the naked eye, but it has completely vanished. I checked the coordinates four times. The star is freaking gone."
Grace voices shakes while he announces his findings to Rocky. He doesn't know why the discovery fills him with so much dread. 98-59 was a red dwarf to begin with – nothing more than a light snack to the Astrophage. Still. Four planets in close orbit. One in the habitable zone. And he doesn’t even believe in that goldilocks zone hogwash, so as far as he knows, that’s four planets missing their sun. Oh God.
"Grace is upset statement."
Understatement of the century. Fish on a stick, why is it so hard to breathe suddenly? He needs to lie down. He needs to redo the calculations. He needs to make sure.
"Do you think-" he tries to swallow around the dry lump that had formed in his throat. "Do you think there was life? On those planets?"
As an astrobiologist, this used to be his dream come true. Eridians, Astrophages, Taumoebas. A universe teeming with life beyond terrestrial organisms.
But that was before he was stuffed into a spaceship against his will in midst of the universe dying. Shifts in perspective and all that.
"Rocky does not know. Can run biosignature scans on Mary, but route would need go be changed. Fuel level is enough to go. Grace wants to go check? Question."
Grace rubs his eyes to – he doesn’t even know. Calm himself. Distract himself. Keep himself from crying. Usually, a biosignature reading would not require close proximity. But it would require the planets transiting the star for atmospheric readings, which is, well, hard to do without a star left. It's just so freaking unfair, all of this.
“Yeah, buddy, I think that would be good. Let’s just make sure.” There is no doubt that Rocky hears his voice shake, but he graciously does not bring it up and launches straight into action instead, puttering along the panels of his enclosure as he gets Mary ready for the first ever close proximity SETI mission.
“Rocky will prepare new flight path. Grace prepare instruments for hyperspectral imaging and thermal imaging. Grace make sure instruments work statement”
Bossy as always, that rock.
✦✧✦
Grace stares down at L 59-98 d in wonder.
The deep red-brown surface seems to glow from within, a dark red broken by volcanic ash clouds of white swirling above the surface, illuminated glowing cracks where the magma breaks through the ocean of sulphur. It’s beautiful in the way only the furthest corners of the universe get to be. He does the best to describe it to Rocky, who has settled in his ball next to him in the Copula, listening intently.
“Last planet we give name of Rocky mate. Now Grace turn to name planet. Something that Grace loves. What does Grace want to name planet question”
Now that’s a good question. ‘You don’t even have a dog’, Eva Stratt had said to him before she sacrificed him to the universe. And she wasn’t wrong. What did he love? Relationships had never been his forte. Too abrasive, to head in the clouds, too much to handle. Something like that. At least no one was crying their eyes out at home. Whoops, not the kind of mood you want to bring to a naming ceremony. Pop culture references have not led him the wrong way yet, he figures.
“Mustafar. Looks about right.” He can’t wait to explain the concept of a light saber to Rocky. If he plays his cards right, maybe he can even get away with convincing him Jedis exist for about two minutes until his heartrate rats him out. Grace is just about to launch into an impassioned explanation of the galaxy far, far away when the board computer chimes in with the results of their readings.
»Low-light imaging detects recurring point sources in sulphur surface not associated with lightning, aurora, magma flow, or reflected light.«
Reflective rocks under the surface? He starts scribbling down the luminescence readings appearing on the screen.
»High-resolution imaging shows repeated linear wakes crossing regions at constant speed, with no corresponding wind, current, or surface object.«
What the flying fudge could that possibly imply. Before he can even process that, the last reading comes through and makes him knock over the white board.
»Radio receiver detects narrowband emissions from the planet’s ocean regions with repeating modulation and frequency stability inconsistent with natural sources. Determining frequency. Stand by.«
Neither Rocky nor Grace dare to make a noise, staring at each other as the scanning static runs through the channels that have been quiet for more than a decade before a weak-signal transmission breaks through. It’s garbled by the distance, crackled with static and interference, but clearly, horrifyingly, comprehensible English.
“Not everyone gets to… be saved … ……… … What are you talking …… … about? You said …… … you'd ……… get me out of here! … … …… … That was the deal!”
Grace vomits into the trash can.