Chapter Text
Grace checked the screens on the cockpit for the last time before approaching the gas giant they decided to name Adrian.
He wanted to check everything just to be sure, as this might be their only chance at collecting samples and saving the stars.
They would save their planets too, and maybe he could go home again.
At least he hoped it would be that way.
Rocky stood next to him in his xenonite ball, waiting for his signal to drop the ball attached to the chain to collect the taumoeba. He spoke as he placed his carapace on the button, ready to move on with the mission.
"Time go fishing, question?"
"It's now or never." Grace answered, filled with determination. Rocky pressed the button with his confirmation.
The chain dropped into the green and cloudy atmosphere of Adrian, the ball swinging on and on from its edge. Rocky and Grace watched from inside the ship until it reached a length of 3000 meters.
"3000 meters." Rocky told him.
"3000." Grace repeated.
"Broke signal. Good."
The ball kept falling into the atmosphere, reaching its depths. Grace kept his gaze on the screen while Rocky waited for the perfect time.
He pressed another button.
The intake valves opened instantly, scooping up taumoeba and storing them. They managed to collect samples! They found a solution!
All that was left to do was to retrieve the ball. He would go out onto the hull to get the collector, which was going to be easy.
Or so they thought.
"Now comes the fun part." He told Rocky jokingly. Nothing about this was fun at all to him. He was scared out of his mind actually, but he didn't dare to tell him. Rocky didn't have to know.
"Grace go out on hull to retrieve collector. No fun at all."
He didn't understand Rocky sometimes. "It's a joke." he told him, giving away his actual feelings. He unbuckled himself and left to wear his EVA suit.
"Oh, humor. Confusing."
Grace stepped out from the airlock, wearing his EVA suit now, immediately meeting with the stormy skies of Adrian, even though he dropped the orbital velocity to match with the planet's rotation. They shouldn't be affected this badly.
On top of all that the ball was affected by the heat too, despite xenonite's strong nature.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." He groaned, catching Rocky's attention. How was he supposed to retrieve the collector when it was literally turned into a fireball?
"What problem, question?" Rocky sounded panicked.
"It's fine," Grace told him through gritted teeth, "It's just this guy is slightly on fire." His voice gained an anxious tone.
The bottom of the ball turned into a bright orange while they orbited the green planet, making Grace more antsy by the minute.
"Words of encouragement." was Rocky's attempt to make him gain back his confidence.
Oh, Rocky. That didn't help at all.
"Can't just say words of encouragement." Grace climbed onto the hull again, slowly making his way to the collector. The storms in the atmosphere were making his journey more difficult. He grunted as got closer to the xenonite ball.
"Words of great encouragement." Rocky told him again.
"Nope." He managed to mumble. He held onto the cable connected to him tightly, walking on the hull while trying to not fall and possibly die.
He tripped and fell on the hull, almost dropping the winch. He managed to grab it in time before it could get lost.
"You feel that?" He called out to Rocky, groaning.
"Yes." Rocky answered.
"I'm not worried," he lied through his teeth, they couldn't afford to be worried when the stars' fate were at their hands. "Are you worried?"
"Yes."
"Great." He responded, tying the cable to a pole, getting closer to his destination.
"Collector is closed." Rocky told him. "Move winch into position."
He put the winch into the position, the collector instantly going up with the chain. He backed away with the force.
He waited a good few seconds before asking. "How long is this going to take?"
"The collector should be here soon."
Just as Rocky said, the collector came up instantly, hitting the hull a few times on its way. But it was here finally, and he should be able to pick it up and make his way to the airlock before the pressure injures him.
"Yeah, its here."
"Amazed amazed amazed!" Rocky exclaimed through the comms as Grace picked up the collector. He clutched it against his chest like it was made of glass, keeping it safe.
"Careful. Collector important." Rocky reminded him.
He nodded. "Yep." He hugged the ball tightly. He was lucky he couldn't feel the heat through his suit.
"Altitude warning."
The voice echoes in the ship, the screen showing the warning in bold letters.
"Oh, hurry, hurry." Rocky said quickly.
Grace hurried towards the airlock, the collector hanging from his suit. He looked at the sky as he realized what was going on.
They were falling. His steps became quicker with panic, trying to reach the airlock.
He pulled the cable again, forgetting that he tied it to a metal part.
The metal part hit his head, making him fall over again. Rocky's voice rang in his ears.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry..."
"Grace. Grace status update."
Grace wasn't getting up.
"Grace. Grace okay, question?!" He could see him through the screen, his voice nervous.
"I'm okay." was all that came from Grace's lips.
"Good good good. Come inside with predator collector now."
He got up, coming to his senses and looking around.
He was horrified when he understood that the collector slipped from his hands and was currently falling into Adrian's atmosphere.
"Uh..." He looked down at the collector, hanging by a mere thread from the ship.
"Why not moving, question?"
"Warning. Exterior temperature elevated."
"Must move now, go, go." Rocky told him, not understanding why Grace wasn't moving.
Grace could feel the heat seeping through the suit now, slowly becoming uneasy. Especially with the pain on the back of his head.
He looked down again, then the ship damaging from the heat. They couldn't turn back now. If they left and came back to Adrian , they might not be able to catch the predators for a second time. He remembered his own words.
It's now or never.
Rocky immediately understood. "No, Grace. Bad idea. Come inside."
"Be there in a minute." He said, ignoring his warnings.
"No, no, no, no , no," Rocky pleaded, "Grace will die, can repeat mission. Can try again later!"
Grace straightened up. "I don't think there's gonna be later."
He gathered his courage and launched himself down to get the collector. Rocky was screaming through the comms, the robotic voice dulling his panic.
"Abort abort abort! Grace will die!"
He jumped across the parts of the hull, successfully grabbing the collector, hanging by the cable. He was floating now, dodging the metal parts while groaning in agony from the pain in his back.
He took out a small blade and cut the cable, hanging onto the hull. He knew he wouldn't manage much longer if he kept this up, dying and failing in finding the predator.
What would Rocky do if he was gone?
Humans and Eridians would live in pain.
He would fail Stratt.
With his newfound strength, he threw the collector into the airlock first, then hauled himself up.
"Grace!" Rocky yelled in joy. "Amaze amaze amaze! Grace okay, question?!"
"Well, I'm not dead, so yeah... " Grace smiled weakly.
"Good good good!"
"Where's that noise coming from? " he asked.
"Noise around everywhere!"
"The gravity is tearing the ship apart!" Yes, he thought, that explains the metal parts flying everywhere. The ship can't handle Adrian's gravity.
"We leave now, question?" Rocky asked.
"We leave now. Statement." Grace told him.
He moved the console back, igniting the spin drive, trying to get out in a dash before the ship could be destroyed.
"Warning. Hull pressure."
"Oh, fudge."
"Noise most from big room below bedroom."
"That's the fuel tank!"
Darn it! The fuel tanks were getting damaged!
He was trying to stay calm, but Rocky wasn't much of a help in this situation considering his repetitive sentences.
"Bad bad bad bad bad."
"It's not great. Okay, everybody, calm down, calm down..."
"Bad bad bad bad bad-"
"Calm down!" He finally yelled back, though he can't blame Rocky.
"Mary, stop engine now." Rocky commanded.
"Not yet! We need to get into orbit or we'll crash!"
"I have an idea. First, no crash, then no explode. Deal?"
He had no idea what he meant, but he agreed anyway. "Deal."
Grace tried to get into orbit while trying to save the ship from getting more damaged. He wasn't doing a great job, that's for sure.
"Hold on..."
"Now?"
"Wait."
"Now? Now?"
"Now!"
They stopped the engines, floating now that they were away and safe. Rocky was floating in the xenonite ball because of zero g. Grace's seatbelt opened.
Thank god.
At least they were not at the risk of dying anymore. They should be able to research the taumoeba once they make sure-
Grace's seat violently slided to right, spinning on and on, making him dizzy.
"Why ship moving, question?!"
Grace looked at the screen once again. "There's a hole in it!"
The hole was leaving sparks behind it, making the ship move faster and uncontrollably.
"Hull breach. Portside fuel compartment eleven and twelve."
Grace tried to hold onto wherever he could, trying not to drift away in zero g and violent spinning of the ship.
Rocky was making sounds similar to a cry. "Grace, what's happening, question?"
"The fuel is migrating to Adrian! " Of course. Their fuel was astrophage, and a hole in the fuel tanks meant that not only they were running out of fuel to keep going, but also the loss of movement controls. Because of astrophage's energy cycle they were migrating to Adrian while moving the ship.
The ship was uncontrollable.
"Eject bad fuel bay, question?"
"Yeah."
Grace was pressing buttons, trying to figure out which one ejected the fuel tanks. He finally found the right one and barely pressed it, struggling to reach out with a groan.
"Ejecting port fuel compartment twelve. Confirmed."
Compartment twelve flew past them as soon as it was ejected, controlled by the astrophage now.
The ship took a violent turn again now that the problem was partially solved. He hit his back while Rocky's xenonite ball hurled towards a wall. He let out a shriek.
"Rocky!" Grace called out, his voice slightly thick.
Sparks still kept coming out of compartment eleven, screen flashing bright with bold letters:
"EXCESSIVE CENTRIFUGAL FORCE"
Grace reached to the "ceiling" of the cockpit, his hands trembling from stress and the sheer horror of the situation they were in right now.
He doesn't want to die this way. God, he hopes he doesn't.
"Port fuel tank compartment eleven, armed."
Grace tried to reach the button without sliding and potentially drifting through the airlock. His arms barely reach.
"Eject, upper fuel bay." Rocky said, his robotic voice from the translator shaking. He didn't know they could do that-
He pressed on the button.
The force is strong on them.
The ship, finally free of its forces, suddenly became faster. The pilot seat crashed onto the screen.
God, his face hurts.
He could feel the crack as his nose broke, slamming onto the screen. The ship flashed with red light, hurting his eyes. His head was killing him.
The blood on his temple dropped through the screen in a red bright line, like it still reminded him of his mission. The Petrova Line.
He opened his eyes briefly, still trying to reach the screen that said centrifugal gravity system.
He looked at Rocky. He looked miserable, he would have said, if Eridians had eyes.
His weak arms tried to reach the controls, to close the systems, but he...
He knew he couldn't stay much awake.
He tried to dismiss the sleep that slowly took control of him, still trying to finish this mission. He had to be successful, he had to-
He flipped one of the switches. His arm slipped, finally going limp.
"♫ ♪ ♪, ♩ ♫ ♪ ♩ ♫!"
He couldn't understand anything anymore. His mind was a crowded mess, his consciousness slowly slipping. He knew it was Rocky speaking. He sounded scared, he wondered if it was a fear for him or himself.
Probably both, considering his bleeding state.
Look at him, he's dying in front of someone who already lost all of his crewmates.
He's probably traumatizing him as his mind drifted from thought to thought.
Poor Rocky...
"R-Rock..." He tried to call out, but no avail. His mind was garbled, and so was his mouth.
He could only make unintelligible noises as he tried to reach the other switch.
He was too weak.
Rocky reached for the switch and flipped it, they were leaving the orbit now.
"R-Rocky... I'm- sorry..." he mumbled weakly.
"♫ ♪ ♪...♩ ♪ ♫ ♩ ♩! ♫ ♪ ♪!"
"R-Rock..." He mumbled one last time before hearing a crack that sounded like glass breaking.
He woke up on the medical bay.
"Eye movement detected."
"How long was I out...?" He was on the edge of unconsciousness.
"6 hours and 12 seconds."
The last thing he remembered was Rocky's trittering... Where was Rocky?
He ripped off the IV and the oxygen mask on his face despite Armando's warnings, and got up on the bed.
There was mercury on the floor, leading to the lab.
Rocky.
No.
The glass breaking.
Rocky saved him. He left his atmosphere just to save him. No wonder there were mercury and burn marks.
"Rocky!"
He tried to run but fell on his knees. He screamed in agony. It probably wasn't a good idea to jump out of bed after a traumatic injury.
But he had to look for his best friend.
Please be okay, please...
And there he was, lying next to his xenonite suit. He wasn't even inside.
He didn't know if he was sleeping or not. Eridians were completely motionless when they were asleep. How was he supposed to know if Rocky was just asleep or dead?
He choked on a sob. He might lose his only friend. And it's because of his ship.
"Rocky..." He choked out. "You have to wake up. Remember? We were supposed to save the stars. You can't go yet. What about Erid? What about Adrian?"
He couldn't breathe. He didn't understand if it was because he was sobbing or he was actively dying from oxygen loss.
He put him back into his xenonite biodome, but he looked too badly burned to heal.
He was probably dead.
"Rocky..." He let out a hiccup. "Please... Don't leave. You have your people waiting. You're not alone. I'm here."
He was sobbing full-force now.
"You can't be dead. Not now. Not now, please..."
He failed his best friend. He failed the only one who didn't force him into anything, respected him and loved him.
He let Rocky die.
It was his fault. Rocky died trying to save him.
Why did he have to do that? What was there about him that was crucial enough to save him?
He felt himself getting colder. The wound from the IV getting ripped off was still bleeding. His chest heaved every time he took a shaky breath.
Was this how dying felt like?
He didn't know.
All he could feel was the bitter taste of failure.
He knew he failed Earth.
He knew he failed Erid too. Rocky and his people. Adrian.
He knew he was right when he said there was better people than him to go on the mission. He knew he had a point. But Stratt made the wrong choice and look where that got her.
Now the mission would become the humanity's biggest failure in history. All because of a dumb mistake he did. He failed to save humanity.
"I'm sorry... Rocky..." he murmured to the Eridian's corpse. "I'm... truly sorry. Grace stupid."
He tried to get up but fell back down, instead he chose to crawl to the medbay again. Just to live a little longer. Doesn't he deserve that?
He got up by gripping the bed, then laid down. Armando started working on him, IVs were pumped to his body via needles, and the oxygen mask was put onto his face again.
I'm sorry, he thought, even though he didn't know who exactly he was apologizing to. Maybe Stratt? Or Carl?
He thought about Colt next. His brother.
He only remembered him after digging through photos in boredom. He cried back then, for forgetting him for a long time.
They didn't even let him say goodbye to his brother.
He trembled on the bed, wheezing now. His lungs weren't healed fully, his broken ribs poking them. His sobs and wheezes mixed together, leaving him in anguish.
God, he was in so much pain. The oxygen wasn't working, and Armando wasn't fast enough. His eyes would drift to Rocky from time to time, and he still wouldn't wake up.
That confirmed his theory, then.
He was sobbing for the past thirty minutes now, tears trailing down his face. He wished Rocky was there, he would probably say something along the lines of "Grace leaking, question? Why Grace sad, question?"
Being alive never hurt so much.
He didn't want to die in this hellhole, but he didn't have choice, did he? He was fighting for his life for hours, and the thought of sleeping came so fascinating to him...
He wished to sleep, so he could wake up and realize it was all a dream, and Rocky was alive, fussing about how he slept so much again.
Armando kept screaming next to him, trying to stabilize his broken heart.
"Pulse elevated."
"Oxygen, 70%. Starting intubation."
He felt a tube being led through his throat, crying out in pain.
"Danger. Danger. Danger."
He let his eyes close one last time.
"I'm... sorry."
All the equipment was removed as Grace lay pale and silent on the bed.
"Ryland Grace, deceased. Time of death: 03.50.56."
.
.
.
The universe has given him another chance.