Chapter Text
Grace leaned back in bed. "Mary, set lights for night mode."
"Adjusting lights. Good night, Dr. Grace."
♬Good night, Mary. Good night, Grace. Good night, Adrian.♬
"G'night, Rock. Night, Mary. Night, Ad—"
♬Yes, good night, everyone. Now please sleep.♬ Adrian interrupted. She was settled on a nest in the Eridian section of the ship.
Grace snuggled Rocky's warm arm and closed his eyes as the dormitory lights dimmed to the bare minimum. They were one year into their six year journey to Alpha Centauri A and had settled into a nice routine. Grace sighed contentedly, feeling sleep tug at the edges of his mind. He was extremely comfortable, his mates at his side. He…
A flash!
He sat up sharply. "Did anyone else see that?"
♬Cannot see.♬ Rocky replied immediately.
Grace huffed. "That's not… Whatever." He laid back down.
♬What did you see, question?♬ Adrian asked.
"Like… Like a weird blue flash. It's gone now though."
♬It is probably from your brain beginning dreams early.♬
"Maybe. G'night."
♬Good night. Sleep well. We will watch.♬
Cells swam and squirmed on the slide. Grace strained his eyes. "Now to introduce the cold oxygen…" He mumbled. He had sequestered himself in the lab, filling it with Eridian atmosphere for his experiments, which required turning the data corridors/ladders into makeshift airlocks. He was fine, having gotten Armando to hook him up to supplemental oxygen. He blasted the cell sample with a puff of air, watching how the cells reacted. He leaned in, pressing his face into the microscope's eyepiece.
"Mary, turn off lab lights please."
The lights around him dimmed until they were gone, leaving only the microscope illuminated. The cells slowed their movements. "C'mon, live…" He grumbled. "Please…"
A pale, bright light suddenly streaked across his vision, startling him so badly that he fell off his stool from jerking away. "What the fudge was that???"
♬Grace? Are you okay, question?♬ Rocky hurried into the lab using the Eridian tunnels. He stopped at Grace's side.
"I'm okay." Grace stood, rubbing his sore tailbone.
♬What happened, question?♬
"I don't know. My eyes bugged out or something."
Rocky shrieked, sounding like a car horn run through a shredder.
Grace clapped his hands onto his ears. "Woah! Buddy! Rock! Shhh!"
Rocky reluctantly quieted down, but only marginally. ♬Your eyes are broken, question???♬
"I don't… I don't think so?? Maybe it's a migraine aura? I've never had a migraine before."
♬Get Armando to check you.♬
"That's the plan. Let's at least see if the cells survived." He turned and peered into the microscope eyepiece. "Aw danggit. Ughhh… Why do they keep dying???" He threw up his arms in frustration.
♬Eridians do not handle genetic modification as well as humans.♬
"Clearly…"
"Your eyes are perfectly healthy, Dr. Grace." Mary reported, using Armando to inspect his retina and the like. She pulled the arms away and turned off the otoscope, which in this case was doubling as ophthalmology equipment.
Grace blinked, recovering from being blinded by her inspections. "But now I feel like I'm seeing those lights constantly. Hm, maybe not constantly. But definitely more often. Ever since I saw that first one a few months ago, I keep seeing them. I think. They're kinda hard to spot most of the time unless it's dark or I'm really focusing on it."
"How often do you see them?"
"Maybe once every ten minutes or so. It's not consistent."
"And one startled you?"
"I don't know, it was just extra bright."
♬Maybe it is visual snow syndrome.♬ Adrian suggested, sitting near Grace in her xenonite suit.
"No, that looks different. I don't remember seeing anything like this on Erid."
♬What about Earth, question?♬ Rocky paced around the room, fiddling with his claws. He was tempted to turn off the ship's 2Gs of acceleration just to pace more effectively in three dimensions. Maybe it would help him think.
"I don't remember anything like that happening on Earth, besides the usual sunspots or whatever. It's not particularly— Cheese and crackers!" He suddenly jerked back and held up his hand to protect himself.
Adrian stood. ♬Grace, my harmony, are you okay, question?♬
He blinked a few times and settled back into a normal posture, still visibly- or audibly- tense. "Yeah. I just got one that looked like it was coming at me. I'm fine."
Mary hummed in thought. "I have a hypothesis…"
"Yeah?"
Perhaps you are experiencing cosmic ray visual phenomena."
"What's that?"
"The direct cause is unknown, but the leading theory is that cosmic rays randomly go through the eye and generate a signal interpreted by the brain as light. Or they produce Cherenkov radiation from passing through the vitreous humor in the eye."
♬Radiation???? I thought we were protected!♬ Rocky screeched and keened, curling up into a ball.
Grace crouched down next to him on the floor. He took two of the Eridian's hands. "Rocky. Buddy. We're safe." ♫Safe, safe, safe. Love you.♫ Grace hummed and whistled comforting words.
Adrian joined in. ♬All is well. We are here for you.♬
Gradually, Rocky simmered down. He hesitantly sung, entwining his melody with theirs. ♬Safe… Yes, thank you. But what about the astrophage, question?♬
"The… Oh shoot. Mary, how are our astrophage levels?"
"Engine fuel is at expected levels. Live crew cabin insulation has been reduced by eighty percent."
"How did they die…?"
"Unknown. Shutting down engines to replenish insulation. Prepare for microgravity in five minutes."
"Well there goes my experiment…" Grace huffed.
"Insulation restored." Mary announced.
Grace, Rocky, and Adrian were floating in the Don't Go Crazy room, pretending to be swimming underwater. Rocky was in the middle of a crab impression when Mary made her announcement.
♬Good, good, good!♬
"Oooh a tasty crab!" Grace yanked on Rocky's arm and bit it, careful not to actually use his teeth.
Rocky yelped in disgust and pulled his arm away, inciting uncontrollable laughter from Adrian.
"Prepare for acceleration."
"Mary! Wait—!" Grace yelled right as the gravity sensation kicked in, sending him falling towards the open systems corridor. "AHHHHH!"
Rocky managed to catch him by the ankle halfway down and stop their descent, three of his claws gripping the ladder rungs. ♬Clumsy, clumsy.♬
"That was NOT my fault! Aaaand I dropped my glasses. Great… At least I don't see the weird lights anymore."
♬I will get your glasses.♬ Adrian spoke up. ♬You need to wear them more securely.♬
"Yes, mom…"
She giggled and climbed down the ladder to retrieve them.