Chapter Text
A foggy false sky provided the perfect scene for one to enjoy their morning coffee… well, simulated coffee. Though brewed in a coffee pot, the "beans" used were just an illusion of the real thing. A pretty spot-on illusion nonetheless.
Grace stood by the window, sipping from his mug and staring out at yet another spot-on illusion: the sky.
A completely free day; no class, no meetings, no lab experiments where he was the test subject. Nothing but an open schedule.
Back on Earth, that sort of thing was something beautiful and something that was cherished. Here though? It was a curse. A sentence to a day where a large chunk of it would be spent wondering how to pass the time.
Grace sighed. Well, might as well start now, he thought, trying to come up with possible activities to keep him busy.
He could go for a walk. It was always nice to smell the fresh air and enjoy the carefully manufactured scenery. Yes… that was something he'd probably do at one point or another today, but it couldn't take up his whole day.
He could… watch some movies? However… it'd be pretty boring with no one but Armando for company. Rocky and Adrian had plans together today, so they wouldn't be available. He also reckoned none of the other Eridians he knew would be up for it.
Grace shook his head. Well, guess it'd been a hot minute since he'd binged for some hours playing a video game. That was surely something that could occupy his-
Without warning, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble. He paused and looked down at it, brows furrowed. Was there some construction project he hadn't been-
A high-pitched yelp tore out of him when the trembling spread to everything else and became more of a violent quake. The force knocked him off his feet. He cried out as he fell to the floor, coffee mug shattering and spilling hot liquid that bounced and jiggled upon the ground like everything else.
Grace stayed low to the ground, clinging to it like a lifeline. He looked around wildly, his heart going from calm to hysterical in half a second. What in the-
A thunderous boom struck his ears. His hands flew up to cover them, wincing at the violent sound that tore through the air. What's happening?!
He squeezed his eyes shut. Years of teaching earthquake drills to students came back to him in that moment. He covered his head and neck; there was no time to duck under a desk or table. Since when did Erid get-
Everything stilled. Everything fell silent.
Grace cracked open his eyes and slowly uncovered his head. He meekly peered at his surroundings. Furniture lay strewn about, some simply a little off from where they were before, some tipped over. The walls all seemed intact, and there were no bits of ceiling littering the floor, just a bunch of knick-knacks, many of which now lay broken.
He gingerly rose, shaking as he got to his feet.
Everything now stood eerily still, as if trying to make up for the violent shaking. Speaking of which: why did no one ever tell him Erid got earthquakes?! Or- Eridquakes? Because that had to be what that was. What else could it have been?
Grace tiptoed over to his front door, carefully side-stepping any broken bits. Peering out the window, there didn't seem to be any damage to the bio dome. The screens were still projecting the sky, and waves still crashed onto the beach.
"Ooookay…" he mumbled to himself, pleased to see that his own mini-world hadn't been irreparably damaged. Perhaps the Eridians had built it to easily withstand the planet's tremors… he was still going with the theory that all of this was normal and just something he hadn't been warned about.
Alright. Yes. That was the theory he was going with. This was all totally normal for Erid, and he should just… go about his day. He turned and looked around the room, grimacing. Well, at least he had something to do now: clean up.
He sighed, crouching down and sweeping into his hand the broken pieces of a painted pot a student back on Earth had made him. Guess that was another new project for him: reassembling anything broken the best he could. He stared at the pieces, his heart aching at the sight. The student, Millie, had gifted it to him on Teacher Appreciation Day, with the words: "Best Teacher Ever" on it.
Grace winced, looking across the floor at all the other clutter. How many of his sentimental belongings had been damaged? He'd better get to-
A series of harsh knocks on the door behind him made him just about jump out of his skin. He stood up so fast it hurt his back. The knocking didn't stop for a second; it just kept going. Grace pocketed the broken pot shards and opened the door.
"GRACE!"
A familiar, five-legged creature bounded forward and pounced onto him. Grace yelped as Rocky slammed into him. He flailed for balance but ended up with his rear on the floor for the second time this morning.
"Rock, what the-"
The Eridian skittered all around him, his carapace moving every which way as he circled, "Grace okay?! Grace hurt?!"
"Jeez, calm down, pal." Grace wrenched his foot away from Rocky, who had picked it up and begun inspecting it. "I'm fine. A little shaken, but fine."
"Grace sure? Home is a mess! Bad bad bad!"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He insisted, getting to his feet. Rocky held up two of his limbs with claws open, as if preparing to catch him if he fell. "Could have warned me, though."
"Warn Grace about what, question?"
Grace chuckled, gesturing around him, "That you guys also had tectonic plate movements… or something similar."
Rocky tilted his carapace, "No understand. What is Grace talking about, question?"
"The shaking!" he exclaimed, "We had these things we called Earthquakes back on Earth, which shook the ground. I wasn't aware Erid also had its own version of those."
Rocky fell silent for a moment before responding, "Erid has no such thing."
Grace stilled, giving Rocky a perplexed look. "What?" He looked helplessly around the room. "Then what caused all that shaking?"
Rocky trembled a little. "Unidentified object crashing caused impact. I hurried over to make sure Grace not hurt by rumbling."
He blinked, shaking his head as if that'd help him process what the Eridian had said. "I'm… I'm sorry. Did you say unidentified object? Like… like a UFO?"
"A what, question?"
"An unidentified fly- Rocky, are you telling me something crash-landed here? On Erid? From space?"
The Eridian thought for a moment. "We are unsure if the object came from space. Adrian and Eridian scientists are investigating now."
Grace's mouth fell open. Holy cow! Was this really happening?! Was he dreaming or something? Was this some sort of prank?
"S-so you're telling me there is an unidentified object that just appeared nearby?"
"Yes. So close to Bio Dome, I worried for Grace's safety."
His eyes widened even more. "Oh- oh my gosh, oh my gosh! This is awesome!" he cried. "Can I go and see it? Please, can I go and see it?"
To his dismay, Rocky shook his carapace. "No. Is not safe for squishy human. It is still unknown what it is."
Grace pouted, "Okay, well… once it's less unknown, can I check it out?"
Rocky thought for a moment. "Maybe. If safe for Grace."
He pumped his fist. "Yes!" he hissed.
The Eridian peered around him at his wrecked home, chirping solemnly, "I help clean. Home dirty, dirty, dirty."
Grace nodded, "Okay, thanks. How about you start with getting all the furniture back into its proper place, and I'll clean the floors?"
Rocky nodded his carapace, a gesture he adapted for Grace's benefit, "Yes, yes, yes. We will get done in-"
Another round of frantic pounding struck the door, just as crazed, if not more so than Rocky's. Grace raised a brow, approaching and opening the door cautiously in case another Eridian burst in like Rocky had.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, seeing the tall, turquoise Eridian, "Adrian. What are-"
"Grace must come quick!" they shouted, legs flexing up and down in anticipation, "Grace must come see!"
He held up his hands, "Whoa whoa, slow down. Come and see what?"
Adrian eagerly pointed behind them with their leg furthest from him, "Life!"
His eyes widened, "Oh my- seriously? another new-"
The Eridian shook their carapace, "No no, no understand! Life is like Grace!"
He gave them a confused look, "Like me, but how-" then it clicked. His mouth fell open. He stared dumbfounded at Adrian, "Like me… like…"
"Human life."