Chapter Text
Grace grimaced as he took yet another sip from his taumoeba packet. He'd never been able to get used to the squishy, slimy texture, though he'd put in a valiant effort.
They were only a few weeks away from Erid. Rocky had been ecstatic as soon as the planet had popped into view on their telescopes, and he hadn't quite stopped being excited about it.
"Grace find faster route yet, question?" Rocky asks, tapping a claw against the metal floor of his habitat for emphasis. He did that when he had an especially important question.
"Unless you want to navigate the debris up here, we don't have much of a choice," Grace told him, motioning up to the monitors. He leaned back in the pilot's seat and looked up at the telescope, scowling to himself.
A debris field had seemingly appeared out of nowhere in front of them, directly between them and Erid. It wasn't huge, but even small objects could be a pain if the Hail Mary was moving quickly enough—which she would be, that was the whole point.
"Slow down through debris field, faster than divert!" Rocky says sharply, punctuating his statement with a high whistle-tone. "See Erid faster, feed Grace faster!"
Grace frowned, tossing aside his empty taumoeba packet idly. He thought about it for a second before finally suggesting, "Why don't you go grab your radio? We'll call out again and see if we're in range for Erid to hear. I'll check out the debris field, too, see what all this stuff even is."
It wasn't a small debris field by any means, but they were on a route to intercept the largest pieces. Grace couldn't help the pull of scientific curiosity—sue him, but he hadn't really gotten to do any typical astronaut stuff in his time on the Hail Mary.
Sure, they'd figured out a solution for Astrophage, but that was old news (not really, it was still awesome). Right now, he wanted to do some good old fashioned Earth astronaut stuff.
So, as Rocky retrieved the radio, Grace settled in at the telescope and began zooming in on the pieces of debris.
For the most part, they were large, dark pieces of stone. The strange bit, though, was how they were slightly red-tinted. It was interesting, maybe high iron deposits somewhere? Star-generated iron didn't usually appear red, either—it was typically more of a deep gray.
Weird, but definitely interesting. Grace smiled and continued looking through the debris field, until—
Man, that was a weird shaped piece of stone. He frowned and zoomed in on the anomaly, blinking incredulously.
It looked like… a probe, maybe?
"Hey, Rocky," Grace said, mindful not to raise his voice too much. "Got something weird out here. Does Erid send out tiny ships with, uh… scientific instruments? I don't think we have a word for it, yet."
There was a deep thump! as Rocky appeared via his habitat's ladder and the radio in his grip bumped against the xenonite. The Eridian chittered and swore quietly, though Grace was kind enough not to laugh.
"No, Rocky never observe this," Rocky said, though he clambered closer to the edge of the habitat as if he could watch. "Why?"
"This piece of debris, it… I dunno, it kinda looks like an unmanned probe," Grace said, frowning. "Earth has all kinds of these, but they're for research closer to our own solar system… You think one ended up here?"
"Very low chance," Rocky said, but he didn't deny it. "Not impossible… Grace curious, question?"
"Grace very curious, statement," he murmured. "You know, these probes send information back to Earth with radio. Might be able to pick up on something if we get close enough."
"Or Grace just go out and bring it in airlock," Rocky said. His carapace was held high, either proud of himself or daring Grace to argue—knowing him, probably both.
"What? No, this thing might be huge!" Grace said, though his brain immediately tried to disprove that. It didn't look big, it was… maybe the size of a breadbox. He frowned and started playing with the instruments on the console.
"Okay, hold on," he told Rocky, scowling to himself. "It's… only 2 feet long. Not big for a probe."
"Perfect! Grace bring probe on ship, Rocky take apart for study!" Rocky cheered, raising two hands to celebrate.
"In your atmosphere? No way, everything would melt!" Grace shot back with a quick shake of his head. "I'll open it in my atmosphere once we confirm that it's a probe."
At that, Rocky deflated slightly. Then, he chirped. "Rocky observe Grace take apart probe, statement!"
Grace hummed. He glanced back down at the console and let out a quiet sigh through his nose. "Alright, alright… Let's chart an interception course. I want you messing with the radio though, okay? Check if it's putting out any signals."
As he spoke, there was a gentle crackle from the radio. He turned to look with wide eyes.
"Rocky adjust frequency now!" Rocky chirped, turning the dials on the device. "What sound we look for?"
Grace grinned and moved closer to the xenonite tunnel. "Should be a bunch of ones and zeros. The fact that we're getting anything is pretty cool!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Rocky said. He kept fiddling with the dials, poking around idly until—
There was a steady sound of static, and the faintest sound. Grace quirked a brow and asked curiously, "What's that in the background…?"
Then, there was a louder sound. "Th' f'ck…?"
Grace and Rocky went still. He blinked incredulously, looking over at Rocky, before quickly clearing his throat.
"Uh, hello…? Is someone there?"
"Wh't' d'ya w'nt…?" The voice mumbled, barely intelligible. Grace recoiled, his jaw dropping open.
"How is human transmit signal through probe, question?!" Rocky asked sharply, his tone rising in pitch. "Voice is human, confirmation?"
"I- yeah, they sound human," Grace said numbly. He heard another confused sound from the other end and he raised his voice. "Uh, sorry- this is Doctor Ryland Grace, of the Hail Mary. Are you- er, do you copy?"
"Do I-" There was another grumble, but this time, they sounded confused. "Do I copy? What the hell… Is- is Ava still alive? She said she was coming to get the data, she…"
"We don't- uh, I don't know who that is," Grace said, more confused than ever. "I'm sorry, we just- we found a probe here, in- in deep space, near the Eridani system. That's how we're talking to you, I think."
By his side, Rocky let out a low note. "How probe hear radio signal from other human, question??"
"Why is there- what's up with the music?" The voice asked, their pitch higher. "I- never mind, I don't care. Just… are you guys here to get me, or not?!"
"Here to get you?" Grace repeated, running a hand through his hair. "No, we're- okay, let's try this again. Hi, I'm Grace-"
"Rocky here, too!"
"Right- hi, I'm Grace, and the singing that you're hearing is my friend, Rocky," Grace clarified, shooting a nod to the Eridian in question. "What's your name?"
There was a long pause. Then, a quiet, "I'm gettin' really sick of this… Simon. I'm Simon. I don't know if you're trying to mess with me, but I'm really not in the mood for it. Too much has happened."
"I promise, we're being serious," Grace said quickly, frowning to himself. "We're on a path to intersect with this probe, here… Like I said before, we think your radio signal is transmitting through this probe."
"That's- I really don't think radio works like that." Simon sounded a bit annoyed, if anything. "What kind of ship are you guys on…? I'm not really- y'know, familiar with the C.O.I. fleet."
This guy just got weirder and weirder. Grace didn't really mean to judge, but still—something wasn't right. It felt like they were being punked, somehow.
"Uh, we're a research vessel, en route to Erid- of the Eridani system, if you're familiar," Grace said. "Look, we're a few minutes away from this probe- we're gonna try to grab it and see how it's picking up your signal. Can you sit tight for a few minutes?"
"Don't leave," Simon said suddenly, his voice sounding worried. "If- if you can hear me, then you're close enough, I guess- but I- I really need help. Don't go, please."
"Oh, no, we're not-" Grace winced, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "We're not leaving, okay? We'll keep you on the line, I just need to mess with the ship's navigation."
"Okay…"
Grace quickly started typing at the console, configuring their course to stop just before the probe. He frowned, taking note of the angle of their approach.
"Looks like we're going to approach on the wrong side for a spacewalk. Need to adjust the course a bit…"
"Grace, Rocky want speak with Simon," Rocky suddenly said, tapping against the xenonite separating them. "Grace go find portable Earth-thinking machine, statement."
"It can't wait?" Grace asked, but he obliged. He moved towards the ladder and called out, "Simon, I'll be right back! Rocky's gonna stay here with you and sing a little so there's still someone on the line, okay?"
He didn't wait for a response. For one, he didn't have time—if he was going to make a course to the probe, he needed to be quick. He maneuvered down to the lab and started searching.
It didn't take long to find the translation laptop. It was sitting in a cabinet near the newly fixed taumoeba breeding tanks, crammed between two crumpled up shirts—in his defense, he'd been in a rush to clean one day after Rocky had woken up from his sleep cycle.
He snagged the laptop and quickly moved back up to the command room. As soon as he got close enough, Rocky waved him closer with an excited chirp.
"Grace let Rocky talk to new human now!"
"Yep, here you go, buddy," Grace said, opening the laptop. "Alright, Simon, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, I hear you," Simon called out, though he sounded a bit quieter. Still, the radio signal sounded crisp, so they were definitely doing something right. "You said that the music is your crewmate, right? Why is he doing that…?"
"Oh, right," Grace said, smiling to himself. "I forgot, sorry! Uh, Rocky is an alien. He's an Eridian, specifically- that's why we're going to Erid, it's his home planet. He communicates with those chords, see?"
There was a long pause. After a while, there was a quiet, "What the hell…?"
"I'm not explaining this well," Grace said. "Uh, Rocky, you take over. I need to get us situated here."
"Hello, new human friend!" Rocky chirped into the radio's receiver, his words quickly translated by the laptop. "Rocky is here. We approach probe soon!"
"Why haven't you been talking the whole time…?" Grace heard Simon ask. He smiled and let the two converse as he charted their course.
He still wasn't great at piloting the ship, but he was pretty earnestly trying. Maneuvering a vehicle in the full 3 dimensions of space wasn't like driving a car—though to be totally honest, he wasn't a great driver, either.
"Rocky not have laptop for translation, Grace have that," Rocky explained, tapping his claws against the xenonite as he spoke. "Laptop not survive in Rocky atmosphere, so we keep it in Grace atmosphere."
"You have two atmospheres on your ship??" Simon asked, sounding impressed. "How the hell…? What, do you guys have two separate life support systems?"
"Yes! Simon very smart, good good good!" Rocky said sharply, his song high-pitched. "What is Simon purpose, question?"
"Dude, we've had this conversation- when you phrase it like that, it sounds mean!" Grace groaned from his position by the console. "Simon, he's trying to ask what your job is. Forgive him, he's not trying to be mean."
"Rocky not mean! Rocky ask clear, concise question!" Rocky said sharply, stomping an arm against the floor. "But yes, Simon answer question now, statement."
"My purpose… Right now, my purpose is to collect data, I guess," Simon said quietly. "I used to be… I guess that doesn't matter anymore."
"You can tell us, if you want," Grace said absentmindedly, finally bringing the ship into the right configuration. He carefully pressed forward on the ship's controls until the airlock was a few meters from the mysterious probe.
He was ready to go, but he wanted to wait for Simon to finish first. That felt polite.
"…It really doesn't matter. You guys aren't real, anyways," Simon said quietly, letting out a humorless laugh. "More hallucinations… Can't even die right, can I?"
Oh. Yeah, Simon definitely needed help. Well, maybe Erid had therapists.
"Just… sit tight, okay?" Grace finally said, his heart in his throat. "I'm gonna go grab the probe. Rocky, same frequency as always. Can you patch Simon through to my suit?"
"Yes, easy. Will stay with Simon, be safe!" Rocky said quickly, his carapace giving a quick wiggle. Grace was mostly sure that it was a 'good luck' wiggle—he was still working on the unspoken parts of Eridian speech.
Grace gave him a sharp nod and turned to go out the airlock.
As always, it didn't take long to get into the Orlan EVA suit. He'd barely finished fastening the back when he heard the quiet hiss of static over his internal comms.
"Rocky to Grace, Grace hear me, question?"
"Yep, I hear you, buddy! Is Simon on the line, too?"
"I'm here," Simon said quietly.
"Alright, here we go," Grace said, almost talking to himself as he depressurized the airlock. With another button, the outer airlock door slid open and he rechecked the tension on his tether.
With that, he peered outside and located the probe.
"I've got eyes on the probe!" Grace said with a smile. He was internally relieved—he wouldn't have to go back to maneuvering the ship and endure Rocky's teasing for being a bad pilot. "It's… Huh. It's kind of a weird shape for a probe."
"What is weird about probe, question?" Rocky's voice rang out over the comms, and he shrugged.
"I dunno, it's… It just not really shaped like a probe," Grace said, squinting. Sure enough, it looked more like a tiny ship—it even had a little window on the front. And… a propellor on the back? He reached out to grab it—
"Shit-!" He heard Simon shout over his comms, and he jumped. He scrambled to hold the probe closer, and he heard the man grunt—and the distinct clang! of something soft hitting metal.
"Simon? Simon, are you okay?!" Grace asked sharply, going still as he listened. The man wasn't responding, why wasn't he responding??
"Fuck, something- I think something hit the ship," Simon said, and there was a sound like creaking metal. "God… Fuck, I thought I was safe…"
"We'll find you, Simon," Grace said, frowning. He tucked the probe under one arm and pulled on his tether to get back inside the airlock, his lips thinned with worry. "Rocky, I've got the probe, I'm bringing it aboard now."
He heard more grunting and swearing from Simon's end, but he had to ignore it. The sooner he got the probe aboard, the sooner they'd be able to figure out Simon's location.
He entered the airlock and quickly shut the doors. With that, he re-pressurized the small room and waited for his suit's readings to show an equalized pressure. After a few moments, he started unfastening the suit.
"Okay, I'm bringing it into the lab," Grace said, finally pulling his gloves off. He stowed the suit in its compartment and hastily grabbed the probe. Then, he paused.
The probe wasn't painted red, he realized—it was covered in dried, red blood. It was crusted on so thickly, he'd barely been able to make out the little thing's finer details…
Like the tiny vents on the bottom of the probe, or the little ladder on the side of it.
He went still, his chest going cold. The pieces were falling into place, and he didn't like what he was seeing. He opened the inner airlock door and approached Rocky's radio setup, where the Eridian sat awaiting him.
"Simon, I need you to do me a favor," Grace said quietly, careful to keep his voice low. He had a weird feeling… "We need to calibrate the volume on our end. Can you- can you knock on the wall a few times or something?"
Rocky let out a quiet, curious whistle, and he shook his head. He pointed down to the probe under his arm and held a finger to his lips.
Clink, clink, clink!
His stomach swooped. Rocky recoiled at the sound, but before he could say anything, there was another crackle from the radio.
"Is that all you needed?" Simon asked, his voice gruff.
"Just, hold on a second," Grace said into the radio and turned to Rocky. "Can you… You can see inside the, uh, the probe, right?"
Rocky's carapace bobbed up and down. "Yes, Rocky see. Why does Earth probe have small person-"
"Ah, hold on, Simon, we're picking up some interference," Grace said quietly, shaking his head at Rocky. "Uh… Hey, out of curiosity, Simon, how tall are you…?"
"What? Why is that important?" Simon asked, sounding confused. Then, a bit quieter, he said, "I don't know, maybe 5' 9". Again, why?"
"And… your ship, what- is it a submarine?" Grace asked quietly, eyeing the propellor on the back of the 'probe.' He swallowed, genuinely starting to get nervous for the man.
"…How did you know that…?" Simon sounded worried. "I didn't- you didn't know anything about me, and you didn't know about Ava- you couldn't possibly know about the ship."
"Simon, I…" Grace carefully turned the probe until he could look into the tiny window in the front. It was completely blacked out, seemingly by something on the inside of the vessel. "I need you to open the window and just- look outside. Please."
Rocky twitched and shuffled nervously. "Grace have bad idea, statement."
"You're starting to freak me out," Simon said, his voice soft over the radio. "…If this is another trick, I- I need you to kill me quick, alright? Please."
"You- no, no, Simon, you're safe," Grace said, but the man wasn't listening.
"Promise me. If I open this window and- and something bad happens, you won't make me suffer. Please, I'm- it doesn't feel like I'm asking for much."
After a while, Grace finally nodded.
"I promise. You're safe, though, I swear to god."
After a long moment, there was a little flash of movement from the front of the probe—no, the submarine.
The little dark covering over the window vanished, and it was replaced by a tiny, pale face.
As soon as their eyes met, Grace's stomach dropped.
"Hi," he whispered, leaning just a bit closer. He couldn't help himself, he had to see…
Simon's only response was a horrified whimper. Oh.
Oh, fuck.