Chapter Text
"Blip D Detected," Rang out Mary's robotic voice. Grace looking up from his current 'don't go crazy' project he started for the trip to Erid.
"Comet, Question?" Trills Rocky loud enough for Grace to hear from where Rocky is further in the Hail Mary. He's gotten almost completely fluent in Eridian, only not understanding words here and there that never came up.
"I don't know, bud, let me check." Grace didn't think they were close enough to any solar systems to get comets? But, maybe he just wasn't paying attention to where they were at. He had been hyper focused on his current project after all.
Climbing into the pilot seat Grace pulls up the exterior hull camera. Furrowing his brows and fixing his glasses into place on his nose he squints at the screen.
"Hey, Rocky... I don't think this is a comet." Grace says, not taking his eyes away from the screen. It looks like a.. submarine? It looks covered in some sort of red crystals? What is a submarine doing in space? And this far away from earth? Is there other intelligent lifeforms in a nearby solar system? He needs his whiteboard to write all these down.
Rocky skitters into the control room. "Not comet, what, question?"
Grace turns to look at Rocky, "It looks like a submarine."
"What that, question?" Right, they haven't translated submarine yet. Why would they need to? They're in space.
"It's like a ship that's built to go under water." Grace explained, to which Rocky made an understanding movement with his carapace.
"On Erid is called ♪♫♫♪♫, statement." Grace nods, mentally filing away the notes. "When Grace last sleep, question?"
Grace frowns, looking at Rocky confused. "Why?"
"Submarine in space stupid. When Grace last sleep, question?" Rocky insists.
Grace sighs and leans back in the pilot seat. "If you don't believe me grab your light gun!"
"Not 'light gun'! Is Eridian camera!" Rocky trills, annoyed as he goes to grab it.
After a few minutes Rocky came back with his Eridian camera, pointing it at the screen and staring. After a long pause he let's out the Eridian equivalent to a 'hm...'.
"That human submarine, statement," Rocky admits.
Grace wants to explore it. He knows it isn't a good idea. That they should just continue to Erid. But, when has his curiosity ever heeded his brains warnings? "We're stopping to look inside. Statement"
Rocky let out an exclamation of suprise. "What. Grace what, question? Statement."
"We're-"
"Rocky hear. Rocky think Grace stupid, Statement." Rocky scolded him. Which he should've seen coming.
Grace pouts, "Don't tell me you're not curious, Rock'!"
"Rocky curious, not dumb. Submarine maybe dangerous, Statement."
"It's out in space! There is a very low chance that it even works, let alone something dangerous being in it!" Which is a tiny lie, Grace honestly doesn't know. How is he suppose to know the probability of a situation like this?
"Fine. Grace Rocky get submarine, statement." Rocky relents.
Grace cheers, throwing his hands up.
˚ ✦ . . 🪐 ˚ . . ✦ . ˚ 🌒 . ✦ 🌍 . ˚ * ✦ . . ✦ . ˚ .
Once Grace maneuvers Mary into position and attaches the submarine with xenonite glue to the outside of the airlock, he grabs the astrophage powered torch Rocky made him. He slowly cuts a hole in the submarine, freezing when something starts leaking out.
Grace stares at the red liquid slowly leaking out of the cut he made. Was... that blood? And is that the frozen liquid on the outside of the submarine..?
Grace gets jolted from his thoughts when Rocky bangs on the airlock from inside the ship.
"Heartbeat in submarine, statement!!" Rocky says frantically. Whether more scared for whatevers heartbeat it is or of the dangers of what the heartbeat is coming from, Grace doesn't know.
However, that doesn't stop his heart from dropping and quickly finishing the hole. Practically throwing it open, he scans the inside. Trying not to vomit about the amount of blood, especially the blood gushing out past his legs.
Then movement catches Grace's eye. It was a man, he thinks, it's hard to tell when said man is drenched in blood. The man(?) scrambles towards him. Grace instinctively taking a step back.
"You came back for me.." The man croaks. "Please, I'll do whatever you want me to do! Just please don't send me back! There is something down there!" He pleads.
When he tries to stand up though he goes limp. Fainting right into the pool of blood. From the blood loss is Grace's best guess, this blood is definitely not all his. But the state of his arm, or err.. whats left of it, can't be anything but new.
So, despite Grace's churning stomach, he picks the man up. He's not going to let the first human he's seen in, too long, die.