Chapter Text
The remaining time it would take to get to Erid was 4 years. Ryland Grace, the Astrophage Expert, and Rocky the Eridian had solved the Petrova Line crisis and were now headed to Erid in order to save Rocky’s planet and hopefully learn if The Beetles made it back to Earth as well. But even with the crisis seemingly solved, Ryland Grace faced another great problem.
Food.
When the Hail Mary first launched, the ship was packed with various seeds that would assist in studying cell growth. Plants such as garlic or thyme were sent because of their anti-microbial properties, and Asian ginseng for its ability to support cell regrowth. It was exactly like Stratt to think of everything the mission could possibly need. Everything except, of course, seeds that humans could survive off of if need be. No apple seeds, no potatoes, no leafy greens, none of that. Because why would Stratt pack that stuff if this were a suicide mission? There’d be no reason.
When Ryland awoke from his coma, he found the seeds and planted them. It wasn’t too long after that he found Rocky, and with their adventures over by Tau Ceti lasting a few months, the seeds began to sprout.
But then, the mission over on Adrian got out of control. The Hail Mary got out of control. Rocky and Ryland almost died. The excessive force of gravity destroyed lots of equipment on the ship, the plants included. Soil and broken terracotta pieces were completely scattered around the place; it was a real pain in the butt to clean up! Really, Ryland sort of pushed everything off to a small corner of the nursery and closed the door permanently since there were more pressing matters to worry about.
And now, Ryland found himself in front of a whiteboard, black Expo marker ink on his hands.
He did the calculations, double-checking and even quadruple-checking his work to make sure the numbers were correct. Sure enough, after a long night of equations and problem solving, Ryland Grace flopped onto the chair in front of his whiteboard. He absentmindedly started to chew on his fingernail, his eyes darting across the board to double-check for the millionth time that he didn’t misplace any numbers. He let his shoulders slump, a sigh leaving his lips, his eyes closing in disappointment.
There wouldn’t be enough food for him to get to Erid. At this rate, he’d run out by year 3.
His foot started to bounce up and down, his hand going to pull at his own hair slightly as he put his head between his knees. He had to accept it. He thought of every possible solution he could think of, hoping he could scrape by if he only ate a meal every other day, or possibly a quarter of a meal every morning. Heck, even eating a quarter of a meal every three days still wouldn’t be enough for him to survive past the third year.
He was going to die. After he just saved Rocky from the astrophage leak in his engine, after just learning he could save Earth and Erid, after accepting his death once before and gaining hope again— Ryland Grace was going to die.
He heard bumping in the distance, knowing Rocky was on his way over to check up on him. He perked up a little in his seat, unsure of how he was going to tell Rocky the bad news.
“Grace not slept in 19 hours. Brain too tired and will make Grace do something stupid, statement.”
Ryland chuckled to himself, appreciating how Rocky always reminded him to take care of himself, even if it was in the most objectively unhelpful way possible.
“Yeah buddy, you’re right. I should probably get to bed soon.” Ryland could feel sleep overtaking him, but how could he rest after finding out he didn’t have enough food to survive the journey to Erid?
Rocky noticed the whiteboard filled with equations. He chirped a little, rolling a bit closer to get a better look. “What Grace solving, question?”
Ryland’s body became stiff for a moment. Should he tell Rocky the truth? Or should he keep it to himself? There could be a possibility that another solution would come down the line…perhaps they’d pass by a planet that was viable like Earth or Erid? Maybe they’d have some food that was safe enough for Ryland to eat? His foot started bouncing up and down again.
“Oh, that’s just—“
Ryland was cut off from a sound coming from the Hail Mary, an alert of another object approaching. Usually the alarm went off if it spotted an asteroid along the pathway, giving ample time for Ryland to adjust course. The scientist got up from his chair, making his way over to the pilot’s seat with Rocky following right behind.
“It is asteroid, question?”
Ryland adjusted his glasses onto his face to get a better look at the monitor. The object in sight didn’t quite seem like it would be an asteroid…so what was it?
“No asteroid, question?” Rocky chirped up again.
“…No, it doesn’t seem like it. But, it’s strange…it’s roughly the size of a very small asteroid but its exterior is relatively smooth…almost seems like it’s shaped like an ellipsoid.”
Ryland got a feeling that he should go see what it was. His hand pressed against the control system, setting a route for the oblong object.
“Grace want to see object, question?”
“I’m curious to know what it is, aren’t you?”
Rocky bounced up and down a little excitedly. “Yes! Grace Rocky do BIG science! Grace Rocky maybe make new discovery again!”
Ryland smiled at Rocky, chuckling as he bounced. “Y’know, if this were a horror movie we would most likely be the first ones to die. We’re not exactly being precautious about this.”
“Humans in movies not like Rocky. Humans squishy. Humans wet and leak.”
Ryland can’t help but let out a snort and shake his head a little before coming to humanity’s defense. “Alright, but that’s not fair—Eridian’s literally have body armor! We’re not even comparing apples to apples!”
“But Grace Rocky not apples.”
Ryland rolls his eyes, his smile still on his face. “Well if this thing just so happens to carry the first Eridian natural predator, you’re on your own.”
As the Hail Mary approached the foreign object, Ryland looked out the small window to study what was in front him. “Can you see this, Rocky?”
“Object not clear. Rocky must get closer, statement.”
Ryland adjusted the controls, pushing the ship a little more forward until they were right next to the mysterious ellipsoid.
The object looked like it was made of metal, some kind of man-made material. It was round and looked severely damaged with red stains, dents, and scratches covering the entire surface. On one end, it looked like there was some sort of mechanical device, almost like a camera.
“…It looks like some kind of ship,” Ryland said.
“Other life here for astrophage problem, question?”
“Maybe! I mean, if you and I were both searching for a solution, then statistically someone else could be trying to do the same.”
“Rocky Grace make new discovery again!” the Eridian chirped, his legs making him turn in excited circles.
Ryland looked out the window again, his eyebrows furrowing.
“I dunno, Rocky…whatever this thing is, it looks pretty banged up. If there’s anyone inside, I’m not sure they survived the journey.”
“Grace go look inside!”
“I’m not even sure there’s a way in! We’d need to build a tube to connect to the ship too.”
“Rocky make Grace xenonite knife to cut inside!” The alien scurried off quickly to his lab like an excited puppy. “Rocky Grace do big science! Make big discovery again!”
Ryland couldn’t help but feel excited too. Could you blame him? It was already a miracle that he found Rocky in the first place, and now they may find evidence of another alien life form??? Or even better yet—there may be food inside. If there was some sort of life form piloting the ship, they’d need some kind of energy to stay alive. Maybe it would be safe for human consumption?
He followed Rocky as he made his way to the lab, the two of them working together to create a tube to connect the mystery ship to the Hail Mary.
A few hours passed. Ryland put on his EVA suit and made his way to the control room again to get as close as possible to the other ship. After a bit of a struggle, and a bit of criticism from Rocky about how bad Ryland’s piloting skills still were, the two were able to connect the xenonite tube to create a pathway down to the mysterious ship’s hull.
They walked down the dark tube, getting closer and closer to the damaged ship. What looked like red stains earlier on the hull seemed more like….red goo…? It looked exactly like the color of blood.
Ryland’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard a very excited Rocky say “Rocky detect life inside!”
“You do?! You’re able to sense someone in there?!”
“Yes, Rocky now close enough to detect inside! Rocky Grace find more life in space!” Rocky sang in excitement.
Ryland’s heart raced in excitement too. More alien life out in space? Man, he was already the luckiest human alive to be able to discover Rocky, but now he may have discovered another new life form? However, his excitement was abruptly interrupted by another thought.
“But how are we supposed to get them out? We have no idea what kind of atmosphere they live in.…” Ryland stood there thinking.
Rocky scuttled a bit closer to the vessel. He was silent a moment.
“Life inside look similar to Grace.”
“What?!”
“Rocky see same thing when Rocky look at Grace.”
“There’s a human in there?! But that shouldn’t even be possible, Rocky! We’re too far out into space for there to be another human here!“
Ryland stepped closer to the ship, examining it as best he could.
“Huh.” Ryland said to himself.
“There is problem, question?”
“No…it’s just the hull seems to be made out of steel. That’s man-made, we have the same thing on Earth...”
Ryland thought about it a little longer.
“I mean I suppose it’s possible for them to be out here if Earth decided to send another ship immediately after they sent me, but that wouldn’t make any sense! This thing doesn’t even look anything like a spaceship!”
“Grace ask too many question! Grace cut inside now!”
Rocky was clearly getting frustrated. Ryland couldn’t blame him. But this was something they had to be very careful about! If Rocky was wrong about there being a human inside, Ryland didn’t want to cut a hole in the ship and risk killing whoever was in there.
No…no…that wasn’t right. Rocky was incredibly intelligent; Ryland trusted him with his entire life. Rocky had the ability to see through walls. He could sense Ryland’s nervous system easily! If Rocky said the life form looked the same as him, then Ryland would trust him.
“Ok ok, you’re right. Let’s get in there.” Ryland took out the xenoknife. He stabbed the steel hull and cut through it as if it were butter, cutting a decent-sized hole to fit through.
Slowly, cautiously, Ryland and Rocky made their way inside the hole. The floor was covered in that red goo Ryland noticed earlier. It was incredibly dark inside, but the sparks flying out of the broken machinery certainly helped for a moment. The ship wasn’t very big in the first place, so it didn’t take long to explore everything. On the far side of the ship lay a lifeless-looking figure.
Sure enough, Ryland saw an arm and a leg. They definitely looked human. It looked like a man.
The two approached the body, Ryland squatting down to get a closer look. As his face got closer, he moved to brush the hair covering the figure’s face. Their eyes were closed; clearly, they were passed out.
Woah.
Ryland’s heart began to race.
There was another human right in front of him. He hadn’t seen another human being in 5 years. He felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes. Another human!
“Why Grace leaking, question?”
Ryland couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh as he shook his head.
“I’m…I’m happy, Rocky. I haven’t seen another human in a very long time! They might be able to tell me if they know what happened with Earth!”
Rocky sang excitedly, tapping his feet in a happy burst of energy.
Ryland studied the figure’s face. It was a weird feeling…something as simple as seeing another human’s features brought him such incredible ease. And truthfully, he had to admit that the figure wasn’t bad looking either.
Suddenly, Ryland saw the figure shift. Their eyelids fluttering open as they looked up at him. Ryland could hear them croak out a few words.
“….mmm? An angel…?”
Ryland bent down closer, taking off his helmet to hear better.
“You’re an angel…?” The figure spoke out again, their hand very weakly reaching up to touch Ryland’s face.
Ryland froze for a moment, unsure of what to say or what to do. His cheeks flushed a little as he felt the man touch his face.
“I’m an angel…?” Ryland managed to ask.
“I must be dead…I have to be. I wouldn’t be seeing an angel if I were alive.” the figure continued to speak.
Ryland took the man’s hand into his own, putting on the most comforting voice he possibly could. “No, no! You’re not dead at all! You’re very much alive!” He gave the man a hopeful smile.
Immediately, Ryland realized this was the wrong thing to say. The look in the man’s eyes shifted to something dark. He looked…angry…scared.
Before Ryland could even think, the figure pounced on him, their hand wrapping around his neck.
“I already did what you asked. I’m not going back!! You can’t make me! I’m not gonna let you break our deal again!”
Ryland’s hands clawed at his neck, trying his best to pull the man’s fingers away so he could breathe. His feet were kicking, hoping to find some kind of leverage to help him get out of this hold, but to no avail. All he could see were those dark brown eyes staring down at him with a fury he had never seen before. It shook him to his core.
It didn’t take long for Rocky to push the man off of Ryland, standing defensively in between the two. Ryland managed to scramble away, coughing and heaving in the process. His mind was fuzzy; there was saliva dripping from his mouth as he caught his breath—everything was just fine a moment ago!
The man looked confused too, not expecting to get pushed by some 370lbs object that sent him flying across the vessel. He looked up for a minute to see what pushed him, only to be met with an Eldritch Horror™. He scrambled back against the wall, looking terrified.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!”
“Bad bad bad! Rocky protect Grace!”
Ryland managed to sit up after catching his breath. “Rocky, wait—“ he called out weakly, his hand still clutching his neck in pain.
This person was very clearly NOT taking things well. He pushed his back against the wall of the vessel, trying his best to stand with wobbly legs. His eyes darted back and forth between Ryland and Rocky, readying himself to fight for his life—though he had nothing to defend himself with.
As this person stood, Ryland could now visibly see that this man was actively bleeding from his left arm. It looked very injured; it didn’t look like he was able to use it either—which would explain why this man choked Ryland out with only one arm.
Jeez, he was able to choke Ryland using only one arm? How strong was this guy?
“Wait, you’re injured!” Ryland called out to the man.
For a moment, the man’s eyes flickered over to his bloodied arm. Clearly the adrenaline hadn’t worn off yet because he acted as if it was no big deal. Still, he stood his ground against Ryland and Rocky.
“Yeah? Injured or not, I’m still not gonna let you take me. You and whatever that thing is can fuck right off! I did my end of the deal, and I’m not gonna let you send me back!” the man growled.
Ryland’s eyebrows furrowed, confused by what the man was talking about, but it really didn’t matter. This guy was clearly injured, delusional, and needed immediate medical attention. But by the look of things, he probably wasn’t going to come willingly.
“Rocky, I’m gonna grab a sedative from Armando. You stay here and make sure he doesn’t go anywhere.”
“Yes, Rocky stay here and protect Grace!”
The man, hearing all this, proceeded to panic even further. He threw around a whirlwind of curse words Rocky did not understand….in which Ryland would not be explaining later either.
Ryland got up and ran to Armando as fast as he could, the robot giving him a small glass vial and a syringe.
Ryland’s heart clenched as he ran back into the vessel, still hearing the man curse and yell angrily. It brought back memories of him and Stratt. The day Ryland was pinned down to the ground and stuck with a syringe—the same thing he was about to do to this man. An innocent man. A man who was scared and injured, lashing out like a wild animal. The memories made Ryland begin to tear up again.
He took in a deep breath, blocking out the man’s threats as he filled the syringe with the sedative. Finally, he looked up at the other man.
“I’m so sorry—I really, really don’t want to do this…” Ryland said apologetically. “Rocky, I’ll need you to hold him down gently.”
Following Ryland’s instructions, Rocky pushed the man up against the wall with his ball, tight enough so that his feet couldn’t move. The man’s free arm still swatted at Ryland.
“You don’t want to do it?! THEN DON’T DO IT, YOU MOTHER FUCKER!!!” the man yelled.
“You’re injured, and I know you’ll never come with us otherwise! I’m sorry! I’m so so sorry—!” Ryland could feel tears start to fall down his cheeks as he choked on his words.
Ryland stepped beside Rocky, eventually getting a hold of the man’s free hand and restraining it so he couldn’t keep swatting at the two of them. Ryland raised the syringe to Simon’s neck, injecting the sedative into his skin. “I’m really so sorry, but we’re here to help you. I promise.”
“YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! DON’T TAKE ME!! I DON’T WANT TO DIE! I WANT TO LIVE, PLEASE!” the man’s threats turned to pleas.
It only took a few seconds for the man to calm down, his eyes rolling into the back of his head before he started to slump down the side of the wall. Ryland had to catch him so his head didn’t hit anything, but boy was this guy heavy. He was literally all muscle.
As best they could, Ryland and Rocky (but mostly Ryland) dragged the man into the Hail Mary and over to Armando. They eventually got him onto Ilyukhina’s old bed so the robot could take a look at the man’s injuries. It had been quiet for a little bit until Rocky broke the silence.
“Human try to hurt Grace! Rocky hate human.”
Ryland let out a little sigh as he watched Armando inspect the new passenger.
“He didn’t mean it, Rocky. He was confused. When humans get injured and lose a lot of blood, our brains can get a little….stupid in a way.”
“Stupid like when Grace not sleep, question?”
Ryland’s lip jutted out a little as his head nodded. “Mmmmyeah kinda. But maybe more like when I was injured and took those painkillers, remember? I couldn’t think straight and made some pretty dumb decisions because my brain was so confused.”
“Yes, Rocky remember! Grace experiment sealed off taumoeba! And Grace leave taumoeba out in lab! Grace bad bad bad, very stupid, statement.”
Ryland closed his eyes and gave a small nod, his lips in a tight line. He felt a pang of embarrassment and guilt as Rocky spoke. “Yeah, I didn’t make the smartest decisions at that time. So just think of this situation like me on painkillers—that guy seemed to be extremely stressed out, his brain probably wasn’t thinking rationally, and that’s why he attacked me.”
Rocky didn’t respond, seemingly thinking deeply about what Ryland had said.
“Just…let’s see how he reacts when he wakes up, Rock. Seemed like he had a lot of injuries, so maybe he’ll be calmer when he wakes up.”
Rocky turned around and curled within himself as he sat on the ground, almost exactly like a cat would do when trying to find a comfortable spot to lay down. His carapace faced the bed where the new human was being examined.
“…Rocky watch human sleep.”
Ryland knew this was Rocky’s way of saying he would give the new human another chance. He reached his hand over and patted Rocky’s dome in appreciation. His eyes wandered to look at the new passenger.
He looked completely different in here than he did in that dark vessel. Ryland could see the man’s features more clearly—long wavy black hair, a prominent nose, scars on his face and arms, and very big muscles. It was now perfectly clear as to why Ryland was so easily overpowered by this man, especially with all that adrenaline pumping through his body.
“DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT COMPLETE,” Ryland heard Armando say.
“What are his injuries?”
“SUBJECT HAS SEVERE ABRASIONS COVERING 30% OF THE BODY. SUBJECT HAS SUSTAINED A NASAL FRACTURE. SUBJECT HAS SUSTAINED 2 CLAVICLE FRACTURES. SUBJECT HAS SUSTAINED SEVERE LACERATIONS TO THE LEFT ARM, AS WELL AS A RADIAL FRACTURE. AMPUTATION OF THE LEFT ARM IS NEEDED.”
Ryland just nodded. I mean, really, what was he supposed to do? He was no doctor, he wasn’t sure how to help this man. He took a step back, turning around to leave the room as Armando prepped the new passenger for surgery.
Ryland’s head was spinning with a million questions in mind as he walked towards the control room. What was this guy’s name? Where did he come from? What the heck happened on that ship to leave him so beaten and bloodied?
But there was an even bigger question on Ryland’s mind. One glaringly obvious problem that he didn’t want to think about….
How were they supposed to survive with the already limited food supply?
He shook his head a little, opting to focus on whether or not the man would even survive surgery. All he could do for now was wait and see if the new passenger woke up.