Chapter Text
Stratt sat in her office, hands clasped with her forehead resting on her knuckles. The mission was still a go, even with the original crew dead. Ryland was on the Hail Mary, the ship launching an hour ago. His school badge, his phone, and his beanie sat on her desk, her eyes never leaving them. The image of Grace dodging the doctors in fear replayed in her head over and over.
He had been terrified, rightfully so. He was basically forced on a death mission that he wasn’t prepared nor trained for to save a whole planet.
Her mind instantly went back to the trolley problem she learned about in college. Would you let a trolley run over five people to save one person, or let it run over one person to save five people?
Would you force one man into space to save a whole planet, or let half the planet die for one man?
Stratt let out a sigh and stood from her desk, standing at the window where she watched Grace run for his life.
His life, which he shared with no one. Like she said, he had no family, not even a dog. At the end of the day, he had no one to fight for.
The sound of something vibrating made Stratt flinch. Her head turned to her desk. What the hell -?
The air went cold when she saw Grace's phone vibrating.
Someone was calling.
Slowly, she walked to her desk and picked up the phone, and read the caller ID.
Colt.
Who was this? The name hadn't been familiar. Surely Grace would have mentioned a Colt if he was important to him.
She pressed the green answer button.
"Hello?" She spoke.
"Oh! Uh - hi? Is Ryland around? Tell him it's his brother, Colt. He may not want to talk to me, but just tell him I called."
Stratt's stomach twisted uncomfortably. This could not be real.
Brother? Ryland never mentioned a brother.
"I'm afraid Doctor Grace won't get your message."
There was silence. Stratt could sense the confusion over the line.
"What do you mean? Who is this?"
Stratt takes a steady breath. "This is Eva Stratt, Petrova Task Force leader for the United Nations."
"Oookayyy..." Colt slowly says, followed by an uneasy short laugh. "I would like to talk to my brother now. Please give him the phone."
"He's not here."
The words felt heavy in the German woman's mouth. How do you tell someone you sent their brother on a death mission?
"Lady, if Ryland put you up to this, tell him it's funny while it lasted," Colt's tone became confused and demanding. "Riddle me this - If he's not there, how do you have his phone? Let. Me. Talk. To. Ryland."
Stratt closed her eyes in an attempt to hold back the tears. Through her whole career, through finding ways to save billions of people...
This was the hardest thing she's had to do.
"As of an hour ago, Doctor Ryland Grace was sent aboard the Hail Mary to save the Earth from the currently dying Sun, which would cause the earth to freeze. We would lose a third of the population if it wasn't for your brother's sacrifice."
Silence followed again, this time more tense. She almost expected him to hang up.
"My brother wouldn't do something so stupid." The words came quietly yet firm with accusation.
"Your brother did something courageous - " Stratt says, a tear freed itself down her cheek and to her chin.
"Fuck that!" Colt exclaimed, his voice breaking. "What did you government assholes do to my brother?!"
"I'll have one of my men mail you Doctor Grace's things. I am so sorry for your loss."
Eva pulled the phone from her ear, not hearing what Colt said before hanging up. She collapsed on her chair. More tears stream down Stratt's face. The usually poised, distinguished woman who could ruin careers with just one word was silently weeping.
—
Colt sat in Jody's trailer after a shower in silence. All day, his and Ryland's argument that morning had been haunting him. Even while he was trying to do stuntwork, his mind replayed the moment like a broken record.
“Tom isn't good for you!” Ryland says. His hands were crossed like a disapproving dad, which in this case he might as well be.
“How do you know what's good for me?!” Ryland scoffed, his own hands on his hips. Very teacher of him. In any other situation it would have made Colt laugh. “You're not my Dad!”
“No, but I'm your brother, and its my job to look after you!”
“Does my happiness not mean anything to you?!” Ryland gestures his hands frustratingly. Why was Colt being such a fudging jerk about this?!
“Not if you're marrying Tom Ryder!” Colt was on the verge of full blown screaming. Thank God Jody was out on set with Tom making sure things were ready for shooting. Colt took a few steps towards Ryland, almost face to face. “I forbid this Ryland -”
“You can't forbid me! I'm an adult!”
“I'm the oldest! What I say goes!”
Frustrated tears well in the younger twin's eyes.“I hate you, Colt!”
Ouch. Colt felt a pang of guilt at being told he was hated. As soon as it came it was gone, replaced by resignation.
“Yeah, well... if that's what I get for caring then so be it! Marry that asshole, see if I care! Don't expect me to be at the wedding!”
The memory made Colt cringe. He sits forward, rests his elbows on his knees, and buries his face in his hands. He had been such an ass this morning. Ryland had been so happy that Tom proposed, and Colt let his protectiveness get in the way of him celebrating his brother's win.
Wiping at his mouth, Colt pulled out his phone.
8:22PM.
Jody and Tom should be done filming soon and Ryland on his way from his sciencey stuff. As interesting as it was, the cool stuff Ryland did didn't make a lick of sense to him.
But that didn't mean he still wasn't proud of his baby bro.
Sighing, he tapped the contacts button and scrolled until he found Rylands' name. As much as he wanted to talk and apologize face to face, he wanted to tell him he was sorry ASAP.
The phone rang. Colt stood and began pacing until the line picked up.
"Hello?" A feminine voice says.
Colt froze in surprise, expecting his brother's 'Hey, Colt.'
"Oh! Uh - hi? Is Ryland around? Tell him it's his brother, Colt. He may not want to talk to me, but just tell him I called."
There was a brief pause. Something about it caused a pit of dread to settle at the bottom of Colt's stomach. Who was this lady answering his brother's phone?
"I'm afraid Doctor Grace won't get your message," the woman spoke, her voice soft and resolute.
Colt's brows furrow in confusion. What does that mean? Why wouldn't Ryland get his message? What the hell was going on?
"What do you mean? Who is this?" Colt demanded, hand on his hip. Something didn't sit right, and with it involving Ryland, Colt was on edge.
There was a soft shaky breath over the line, as if the woman was trying not to cry. "This is Eva Stratt, Petrova Task Force leader for the United Nations."
Oh... Colt's heard Ryland say that name before. She was his... boss, if that's the right word? Colt rubbed his forehead in agitation.
"Oookayyy..." he breathes an airy laugh. "I would like to talk to my brother now. Please give him the phone."
Another moment of tense silence before the woman, Stratt, spoke again.
"He's not here."
Colt breathes in through his nose, clenching his fist and smacking it against his forehead. This woman is starting to piss him off. Ryland had to be playing a joke. That's the only explanation Colt's brain could come up with. He's getting him back for this morning.
"Lady, if Ryland put you up to this, tell him it's funny while it lasted," Colt made gestures to emphasize his words, as if she was here to see them. "Riddle me this - If he's not there, how do you have his phone? Let. Me. Talk. To. Ryland."
Once again, the line went quiet, except when the woman spoke, her voice quivered like she was trying not to cry. The pit in Colt's stomach twists.
"As of an hour ago, Doctor Ryland Grace was sent aboard the Hail Mary to save the Earth from the currently dying Sun, which would cause the Earth to freeze. We would lose a third of the population if it wasn't for your brother's sacrifice."
Save. Earth. Sacrifice. Ryland.
Colt felt the room spin. He wanted to laugh, to get the joke. He desperately wanted the woman to laugh, say 'gotcha!' and hand Ryland the phone. But this isn't a joke, and Colt knew it.
When he spoke, it came tense and quiet. "My brother wouldn't do something so stupid."
He wouldn't. He knew his brother was a coward in the best and worst way. Ryland preferred consistency and predictability. He was never spontaneous.
He never kept things from Colt.
He gripped the phone in his hand, his other hand still on his hip. He hadn't changed pose in minutes. He barely heard Stratt when she spoke
"Your brother did something courageous - " the woman's voice echoed in Colt's ears. She was definitely on the verge of crying.
But Colt didn't care. Somehow, he knew she did this. This... this woman took his brother away.“Fuck that!" Colt found himself raising his voice. The room went blurry, his eyes holding unshed tears. "What did you government assholes do to my brother?!"
"I'll have one of my men mail you Doctor Grace's things. I am so sorry for your loss."
"FUCK YOU!" Colt screamed into the phone.
The lady had hung up. Colt collapsed to the trailer floor on his behind, phone in hand. His broken sobs are the only sound in the trailer.
What had they done to Ryland?