Chapter Text
Grace sat on the floor quietly, the metal cold against his back. He sighed quietly, smiling, and slowly got up, stretching as he walked around the ship, his gaze drifting through the different machines. He crouched down, reaching to grab their calendar from one of the drawers. His fingertips grazed the plastic, reaching for the marker that was attached to the thin border.
He walked up to the surface of Rocky’s enclosure, pressing his back against it as he slid down, sitting on the floor once again. Just a few seconds later, he heard footsteps coming towards him. The corners of Grace’s mouth lifted involuntarily as Rocky approached him, standing behind him.
“Is crossing time up, question?” He said, his limbs leaning back slightly as he sat on the floor by Grace, his body pressed up against the glass. Grace laughed quietly, taking off the marker’s cap with his left hand. “It is indeed, bud.”
His hand danced across the whiteboard that had served them as a calendar so far, until it arrived at the last number that hadn’t been crossed off yet. One hundred.
Grace smiled upon seeing the number, before guiding the marker as it crossed off the number before them, the black ink shining under the white, almost medical lights of the ship. Grace would’ve been lying if he had stated that they didn’t bother him just a little bit every now and then. In the end, he had always considered himself to be more of a dimmed-light kind of person. But they would do for now. Especially after crossing off the number, the weight of their presence felt heavier somehow.
Only a hundred days before they were finally on Erid. Before he could finally walk peacefully, without stumbling with the metal steps.
Grace sighed quietly.
It hadn’t been that bad so far, really. While it was true that it did get a bit lonely sometimes, he had everything he could’ve needed. He had enough rations to last him until their trip was done, which meant he wouldn’t have to suffer from starvation until they were able to land. He had Rocky, who was way more than enough company when he needed to talk to someone, even if he didn’t understand human emotions half of the time, (he still tried to make Grace feel as happy as possible), and he still had some of the Harry Potter movies left to watch, which meant he had enough entertainment until then. It wasn’t that he was the biggest Harry Potter fan, far from it. And he also had plenty of other films to watch. But after having had to explain what the concept of “magic” consisted of in films and media to Rocky, he had mentally challenged himself to watch the whole saga.
In the end, things were okay. He hadn’t had that many human connections back on Earth, which meant he didn’t have to spend time grieving the loss of those. Sure, he had his students, but apart from the classroom, he had no other connections to them (better leave it that way, he told himself). He had had some of the team members back then, but none of them really knew Ryland. All they could’ve ever gotten was a glimpse of Dr. Grace. The one that worked amongst them in most of the planning, and… The one who hadn’t hesitated to go on that trip once the idea had been proposed to him.
He breathed in, closing his eyes. He had wondered to that very day: had they ever gotten the truth? As to why he was put in the coma before the rest. Why he didn’t appear in the final crew pictures. Why, when the ship was preparing to board… His things were packed for him at the last minute, unlike the rest of the crew?
He still wondered who had done it to that day. But well, he couldn’t complain. Having comfortable clothes to sleep and work in was wonderful, even better considering that a big part of them were actually his. He could’ve been given some other clothes that maybe weren’t even his size, so he couldn’t complain. And the compact coffee powder still got him through some days.
“Is Grace okay, question?” He heard after a few seconds. He opened his eyes again, his gaze drifting behind him. Rocky was still there, now standing upright before him. Grace smiled quietly, nodding. “Yup. All good, rock.” He spoke, his fist gently bumping against the glass. Rocky followed him. He couldn’t help but let out an amused laugh.
“Why humans think so much, question?” Rocky spoke, lowering his arm as he settled back down, next to Grace again. Grace looked at him, his gaze drifting through Rocky’s limbs, just watching him.
“I don’t know. Happens to the best of us, I guess.” He said, his voice as soft as ever.
“Too much think common human thing.” Rocky stated, making a small noise as he did. “Grace think too much, statement.”
+
“Yeah. You could say that. But you have never met another human, bud. Don’t get too ahead of yourself. There’s probably someone way worse than me out there.” Grace chuckled, the back of his head returning to pressing against the glass. He lifted his left hand, wiping his eyes slowly.
“Grace leaking again.”
Grace giggled softly, sighing. “I know, rock. I know.”
Before he could speak again, his thoughts were cut off by May’s voice, loud against the silence that surrounded them.
“Blip-D detected.”
Grace sat up, his eyebrows furrowing as his back separated from the glass.
“Blip-D?”
“Blip-D detected.”
“What do you mean Blip-D? There is no Blip-D-”
“Blip-D detected.”
Grace’s eyes widened, his hand landing on the ground as he pushed upwards, standing up, his knees cracking as he did so. He let out a small groan, huffing out a quiet laugh, before his expression became serious again. He walked towards the console quickly, looking at the screens, his face going from confusion to pure shock.
“What wrong? Is ship broken, question?” Rocky spoke up, moving as he could through his space to reach Grace. Grace just leaned back on his seat, his eyes wide as he stared at the screen. “No, rock it’s… It’s another ship. Another ship’s out there.” He uttered out, his hand slightly shaking as he gripped the seat, swallowing back saliva.
“That… that makes no sense. Did the Eridians on your team plan any sort of back-up plan while you were there?” His head turned towards Rocky, eyes wide as he stared at him.
“No. Rocky not know about different plan.” He spoke, looking as uneasy as Grace felt, in his own way.
Grace let out a shaky sigh, before straightening up once again, walking towards a different part of the ship. Rocky followed suit, as he could.
He walked to the small window on the ship, looking out, his eyes widening even more, if that was possible. His irises were clear as the sky, their color dimming as he gazed out into space. Another ship.
“Has human reinforcement plan arrived, question?” Rocky said, doing his little excited motion as he did so.
“No… It’s impossible, Rocky… We didn’t even have enough astrophage for a trip back, let alone sending another one… And if that was even the case, it would make no sense for it to be able to know our location.” His eyes narrowed, focusing on the ship before them. And the realisation struck him.
“That isn’t a ship, rock.” He murmured. “It’s… It’s a submarine.”
“What is “submarine”?”
“Well, for starters, something that’s definitely not meant to be in space.” He walked back to the console as he spoke, sitting on the pilot’s seat as he strapped in. “It’s like a ship, but for ocean diving, you know?”
“Rocky understand.” He spoke, walking towards Grace.
“That means it cannot be here. What I’m trying to say it’s that it’s DEFINITELY not built for space. So it cannot drive on its own, like ours. So it must just be… floating. Out here.” Grace looked at the buttons.
“And that one… It looks… Rusty. Used. It’s got a bump in the front, like it hit something, you know…?” He said, starting to drive towards it. “It… doesn’t have any windows, so I can’t see in, but… There could be something in there. What it could be, I've got no idea, but…”
The Hail Mary approached the foreign object slowly, as Grace observed it, feeling that same confusion he had felt when he first discovered that Rocky’s message was made out of Xenon. Nothing made sense, and nothing was actively trying to make it.
He observed the submarine, eyes dancing across it.
“It’s got a trap door. On the top.” He looked at Rocky, breathing in. “It looks sealed… But it’s got a hook. I’m sure I could force it open…” He spoke. “Okay, buddy. I’m gonna need two hooks. If we can secure it, then I could go out there and attempt to force it open. Could you make that for me?” His eyes were determined as he said so, but the fear behind them was undeniable.
“Yes, Rocky make.” Rocky said, leaning forward slightly before leaving, walking towards another room. Grace breathed out quietly, balling one of his hands into fist as he closed his eyes for a second, before opening them again, walking towards where his space suit was stored.
After a few minutes, Grace had closed up his suit, and proceeded to tie himself up for a leap towards the submarine, which was now just a few meters away from them.
“Do you have those done, buddy?” He spoke through the helmet, a low groan escaping from his throat as he struggled with the rope.
“Yes, hooks finished.” Rocky tapped on the glass, giving the second hook its final details. When Grace had finally managed to get the rope ready, he walked towards Rocky’s enclosure. Rocky gave him the hooks through the small compartment that was set up between both of their respective areas, and Grace took them quickly, tying one of them to another rope. When he had that one ready, he walked towards the trapdoor, before slowly opening it, looking outside. Before them, the submarine stood. It was a sight. Grace swallowed, before noticing.
In one of the corners, three small droplets of blood were leaking out from the inside, and into the rusty iron that made up the outside. Grace’s breath hitched. Whatever was inside was bleeding out.
His hand moved towards the hook he had tied to the rope, before pulling on it. “Alright.” He spoke shakily, taking a breath. He had to convince himself that this could even work before it began to work in the first place.
“Words of great encouragement.” Rocky said, his fingers moving slightly.
Grace looked back at him, giggling before he looked at the submarine once again. “Thank you, Rocky.” He said.
Grace kneeled, his knees gracing against the border of the trapdoor as he gripped the rope, gathering his force before throwing it towards the submarine. The hook failed to latch onto the submarine, instead hitting the metal before it fell down. Grace groaned, gritting his teeth, but his hands caught the rope quickly.
He attempted it a second time, and the hook finally latched onto one of the metal pipes on the outside of the submarine.
Rocky cheered, letting out a small melody as he did. Grace smiled happily, before looking back down at his own hands. “Okay…” He breathed out. “Okay. I’m right on it.”
He began to pull, letting out a small groan at the amount of force as he stood up, before he was able to reach one of their machines, tying the rope so that it held the submarine within their reach. He pressed one of the buttons, and the machine began to pull on the rope with an amount of force that Grace (or any normal human, for that matter) would have never had. Soon enough, the submarine was pulled tight against them. Grace smiled, closing the trapdoor as he could.
He breathed in, cracking his neck as he breathed out. Grace grabbed the other hook that Rocky had given him, tying it to a small piece of leftover rope. When he had finished the knot, he walked towards the trapdoor.
The submarine was now just underneath the opening, pulled tight, its own trapdoor now within reach in just a few steps. Grace tied the rope that was holding his own suit to one of the machines inside the ship before stepping out, to make sure he could travel on the outside of the submarine without floating away. Once he had that done, he was finally able to step out, the small piece of rope tied to the hook in his left hand. He closed the trapdoor again, sighing.
He walked slowly, observing the submarine beneath his feet. Grace breathed out shakily. It looked old, unlike something that would be used in this day and age. Let alone be sent into space- how that was possible, he had no idea. But the only thing he knew is that it would make no sense for this thing to come from Earth.
But if it didn’t come from Earth… Where did this submarine come from? Was it from another species they weren’t aware of yet? Grace had no idea. Neither did Rocky, who was almost pressed up against the glass, observing Grace to make sure nothing went wrong.
Grace took the hook in his fingers, hooking it onto the trapdoor on the top of the submarine. The hook stayed in place. His hands travelled down, taking a hold of the rope attached to it, before he began to pull.
The muscles in his arms tightened as he pulled, his teeth pressing against his bottom lip. Whoever had sealed that had made it so it was REALLY hard to open. After a few seconds, he let go from the force, breathing heavily.
“It’s… sealed really strongly. I don’t know what they did, but they did it nicely, that's for sure.” He spoke up loudly, looking back at Rocky as he scoffed. He grabbed the rope and began to pull again. After a few seconds, and an amount of force Grace had never used before (he didn’t even know he was able to do that) the trapdoor was pulled wide open. Grace stumbled back, hitting his leg on the metal. He groaned, the rope falling from his hand.
“Fu- Fudge…” He spoke quietly, his hand coming to his left thigh, to the part that had taken the impact. “Well, there goes that…” He said as he watched the piece of rope fly away.
“Is Grace okay, question?” Rocky spoke from the ship, tapping on the glass, barely audible to Grace due to the distance between them. “Yeah, I’m all good, pal…” He murmured. “Just a small hit, probably just some bruises…” He laughed, before his eyes drifted back up, his heart stopping as they did. His eyes widened.
A hand. A human hand.
Grace scrambled back quickly, his breathing heavy in his chest as he did. He stood up, his hand gripping the outside of the Hail Mary for balance. He stood there speechless for a few seconds, just staring at the trembling hand. It was big, dirty. Soaked in blood. Rocky let out a high-pitched loud noise from behind him, his limbs moving quickly. After staring at it for what felt like an eternity, Grace realised he had opened a literal gateway to space for the submarine, so he needed to get this human into the ship as quickly as possible before they choked due to the lack of oxygen.
He walked towards the trapdoor as quickly as he could, his right hand grabbing the hand. The texture of the stranger’s hand was rough underneath the layer of blood that soaked it. How could a human be bleeding this much? It would be practically impossible for someone to be alive after such a loss of blood, but that hand had latched onto the metal border by itself, which meant that there had to be some life still left in there, and once again, Grace wasn’t looking for common sense in this situation.
He pulled upwards. The person was pretty heavy, and with the strain on his arms after having had to force that trapdoor open, Grace couldn’t deny that his biceps were screaming at him for some rest, but he managed to pull the person up.
It was a man. His hair was slightly long, completely soaked in that same blood-like red liquid. Grace didn’t even know if he should call it blood anymore. The amount that the man was covered in was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. He closed the trapdoor quickly, before looking back at him. He was barely standing up, his face covered by his soaked hair, missing an arm, and beginning to choke due to the lack of oxygen.
Grace’s breath hitched upon seeing the man’s wounds, but he carried him towards the ship as quickly as he could, opening the Hail Mary’s trapdoor quickly before pushing the man in as he could, stepping in and closing it behind himself, his breathing heavy.
The man coughed, taking air into his lungs. He lifted himself as he could, pressing an elbow against the cold metal floor before his arm gave out, falling onto his face. Grace took his helmet off, letting out a shaky sigh as he left it on the ground. He barely registered what was happening around himself, his head screaming at him after the effort. Once he finally came back to his senses, he heard Rocky’s voice, his ears ringing slightly.
“What is creature, question?!” Rocky spoke loudly, his hands tapping against the wall as he walked away quickly, stepping onto his ball. When Grace looked back down, his light blue eyes met dark, the face soaked in blood staring back at him in fear. The stranger scrambled back, his breathing heavy as his hands shook.
“Woah-” Grace attempted to force a smile, his expression as light as ever. He kneeled down, sliding his arms and upper half out of his suit. “Hey, it’s okay pal, are you-”
Grace’s eyes widened as he stared at the condition the man before him was in, clothes half ripped. His right arm was covered in some kind of wounds, seemingly exposed skin, but also infected with something he couldn’t exactly point out, and his left arm was… well, gone.
“O-okay… Armando! Please come here-” Grace spoke shakily, staring at his wounds. The robot moved, standing next to them.
“P-Please…” The stranger muttered lowly, his voice deep, strained.
Grace swallowed, sighing. He didn’t care anymore. Couldn’t bring himself to it.
He leaned forward, grabbing the stranger in his arms, lifting him. But before he could manage to stand up, the man pulled Grace down, his arm latching onto Grace’s neck, sobbing. Grace breathed in, lifting him.
“Hey, it’s okay, man. My name is Ryland, I am not going to hurt you, you don’t have to be afr-” His eyes widened, staring at the teeth that framed the man’s face. Sharp. Unlike anything he’d ever seen before. Let alone human.
The man shook in his arms, staring at him, eyes wide. “Please don’t send me into…” He sobbed, gripping Grace’s shirt, the blood soaking into the dark fabric.
“I-I’m not going to send you…” Grace frowned, confused as he looked at him. “I’m not sending you anywhere. You’re-”
He gripped Grace’s neck again, almost strangling him. “Just help me, p-please…” He sobbed, shaking with incredible force against Grace’s chest, before the man went limp. Grace stared at him, glasses half crooked as his heartbeat raced. “What the…”
“Human hurt, question? What wrong? Is Grace okay? Creature hurt Grace, statement.” Rocky came behind him, bumping his ball against Grace’s back. Grace looked at the stranger, speechless, before lifting the man that had passed out in his arms.
“I’m perfectly fine, it’s his blood, buddy, not mine…” He looked at Rocky, before handing the man to Armando, who took him, carrying the man towards the med room. Grace breathed shakily.
“What the fuck…” He spoke, looking down at his hands, still tingling slightly with what had been someone’s touch before. He had no idea about what had happened just then, but the only thing he knew was that Rocky would have a lot of questions in the next few days. And Grace couldn’t blame him. Hell, he probably had even more questions than Rocky.