Chapter Text
Ryland Grace:
There are certain things that science just can't answer. One of them being why the fudge a submarine is in the middle of space.
Obviously Grace and Rocky went to investigate when the Eridian astrologists reported something unusual floating around in their solar system. They boarded the Hail Mary and set off the figure out what it was. A small part of Grace hoped—maybe even dreamed—that it was a communication system from Earth. Perhaps Eva Stratt had created some sort of design to check in with him, send him something as a thank you, or even just confirm that the Taumoeba made it to Earth and in return, their solar system was saved. He would be a hero if he wasn't already—not that he needed the conformation anyways. He was a hero to the Eridians and that was enough for him.
It was soon understood that the object was nothing of the sort. Even if it had been from Earth, it was in such terrible condition that there was no way any life on Earth would be able to live, nor would any technology last the trip to Erid.
Somehow, Grace was still proven wrong—at least about the life form.
Rocky went crazy as they approached the substance-soaked submarine. The translator Grace still kept on out of habit on the ship even had trouble keeping up with his outbursts.
"Heartbeat in ship, statement!" Rocky's voice called out when they got close enough. "Heartbeat in ship like Grace heartbeat! Grace find more human, question? Grace find mate, question?"
"Rocky! Rocky, we don't know for sure what's in there," Grace said, attempting to calm down his rapid-fire questions. "Besides, are you sure it's a human heartbeat? That… thing is beat up all around and covered in a substance that looks scarily like blood. Let's hold our horses on the human statement, okay?"
"Rocky no understand sentence, statement."
Grace sighed, rubbing his hands over his sleep-deprived face. At night, his thoughts have been plagued by what could possible be in this damn submarine-ship thingy. Safe to say he hasn't sleep much since they departed Erid. "It just means let's slow down on our theories. Also, humans don't mate with people they just meet, okay. Let's get that in that thick head of yours." He knocked on Rocky's confinement like he would his forehead if their skin could touch.
Rocky made a singing noise. "Rocky's head very thick. Grace head squishy and weak, statement."
"Thanks bud," Grace replied, giving him a thumbs up, to which he gave his upside-down thumbs up. Walking over to the window in the control room, Grace observed the object backed only by the light of distant stars. His mind raced at the thought of what—or who—could be in there, just barely getting by if what Rocky stated about the heartbeat is true.
But there was no way it could be, right?
A couple of hours later, they were within a quick flick of the controls to be in touching distance with the now-clearly-a-submarine-in-space submarine. Grace still couldn't wrap his head around it—the poor makeshift quality of the design, the fact that it was in space when it should be in water, not to mention the eerily similar blood-like substance that coated the outside of the welded metal. Part of him hoped that there was something alive in there because then, perhaps, he could get answers to the questions piling in his head—
"Why spaceship ugly, question?"
—and so Rocky could get answers to his.
"I don't know buddy," Grace replied, kneeling to his level as they stared out the window at the beat-up thing. "But if that thing was made by humans, it shouldn't even be in space to begin with."
Rocky looked between Grace and the window. "Where should ship be if not space, question?"
"In an ocean, possibly the farthest away from space as you could get."
He tapped his many legs in disgust. "Rocky no like human ocean. Too cold."
"Yeah, well," Grace began, adjusting his glasses, "that's one of the many differences between us."
"So what should Rocky Grace do to help, question?" Rocky wondered, rolling around to follow Grace as he made his way to the lab.
Scratching his head to think, Grace squinted to assess the situation outside of the Hail Mary's walls. "The problem is, if we open up the submarine in space, whatever or whoever is inside won't be able to survive in space—obviously. That is assuming they're still alive in the-"
"Human alive, statement."
"So we have to figure out a way to-"
"Rocky connect Grace ship to ugly ship, question?" He circled around Grace as the man thought about it for a moment.
"Would that work?" he asked, a small hint of excitement making its way in his voice.
Rocky paused and faced Grace. "Rocky did it to our ships. Why not other ship?"
A second ticked by. Then another.
"Alright!" Grace held his hands up, swiftly making his way to the control room. "Rocky, get going on that connection tunnel thing. I will get us as close as possible to the submarine. Sound good?" Making a fist with his hand, he bumped it against Rocky's ball.
"Fist me," Rocky replied, meeting his hand with his own fist.
Grace gave a defeated sigh. "One day you'll get it right."
It didn't take long for Rocky to finish the makeshift tunnel to the submarine. They quickly ran into another problem though—it was welded shut. They had no way inside. Thankfully, due to Rocky's quick thinking and expertise in engineering, he had tools on hand strong enough to cut through the thick metal that formed the base.
Grace did notice, as they slowly made their way through the tunnel towards the submarine, that there were numbers painted on the side. SM-13. Something told him that that was important, but for what, he didn't know just yet.
"Heartbeat get louder," Rocky stated as more sparks came off of the box he was cutting, just big enough for Grace to fit through. Grace suddenly found his throat dry, but swallowed down the swirling feeling in his stomach. What if this disembodied heartbeat out in the middle of space on a spacecraft NOT designed for space is nice? What if they are like Rocky? Focusing on the positives did little to help him ignore the blaring warning signs as the last incision was connected and a box-like shape was cut from the submarine, landing with a thud in the tunnel.
Blood began pouring out of the hole. Thick, crimson red blood, pouring out of a space submarine. If it hadn't been for the sharp intake of breath audible from the inside of the ship, Grace would've turned around and immediately set off away from this hellish monstrosity in the middle of nowhere. But that breath—and curse his dumb mind for twisting things like this—sounded hopeful.
"Well," Grace started, "I guess I'll go first." To which Rocky replied with an exaggerated nod.
Taking a deep, regretful breath himself, he crawled inside, feeling disgusted at the way the blood seeped up his space suit like it was trying to crawl inside. He was suddenly very glad he decided to put it on.
Inside, if it was even possible, it looked worse. It was almost unrecognizable as a submarine as blood coated every wall, ceiling, and a good two feet of the floor. Something that Grace could only consider blood plants or bacteria or… something not human was being formed in the places where the blood conglomerated most. He held out a hand to stop Rocky before he tried to climb in himself.
"I want you to stay outside for this one," he whispered.
Rocky tapped his feet with frustration. "Why, question?"
"It's just…" he struggled for words. "I don't want this blood or whatever it is to get on your ball. Seeing what it's done to the inside of this ship, I don't want that happening to your only form of transportation in my ship, okay?"
He hesitated for a moment, but eventually relented from the opening. "Just let Rocky know if Grace in trouble."
"Okay," Grace whispered, raising to a stand inside of the submarine. His eye immediately caught onto something that clearly was what Rocky claimed had a heartbeat. And frankly, Grace wasn't sure how that heart would still be beating. Nonetheless, he knows his own spiked at the sight of—
"Why Grace heart speed up, question?" Rocky asked from outside.
Grace couldn't answer, finding his mouth not cooperating with his voice.
Inside this space submarine covered in a substance that was clearly blood, was a man no taller than him, with dark, shoulder length hair, a missing left arm, and one half of his mouth split open with sharp teeth where normal ones should be.
The scariest part was that he was clearly breathing… and staring at him through half open eyes.