Chapter Text
Rocky didn’t understand dreams. I couldn’t really blame the guy, I imagine it’s probably really difficult for someone who goes effectively comatose to grasp the idea of them.
”Human brain make things happen in sleep, question?”
“Uhh, not exactly. We can’t really ‘make things happen,’ our brains just…imagine things happening.”
”Oh. So…” Tap, tap, on the floor. ”Brain see fake world, question?”
“...kinda?”
”But no can do things there.”
“Well, we can do things, we just can’t make things happen in the real world while we dream. Our dream-selves can do lots of things.”
”Humans become new selves when dream, question?!”
“Ok, I think we’re getting a little in the weeds here…”
I don’t think he ever really got it. At any rate, if I wasn’t able to properly describe a dream, how on Earth could I hope to explain that I was currently looking directly at Eva Stratt on the Hail Mary? I thought talking about dreaming was hard? That’d be cheese and potatoes compared to this. My eyes were wide open, my weakened lungs hardly daring to breathe. Stratt’s eyes were trained only on mine, awakening a deep unnerving sense of threat to whatever primal part of my brain could register it that way. Her eyes almost seemed to glow against the darkened room.
I’d just awoken from a hazy non-dream, having fallen asleep on Rocky-watching duty. He never minded anymore, understanding that I needed more rest nowadays than before. Oh, how I wish he was awake right now, even if it would lead to another convoluted discussion about abstract human concepts. One of my fingers twitched, shocking me slightly after having gone so still. I shook my head slightly, the room swimming in response, refocusing to find myself yet again alone. I slowly and shakily let out the breath I was holding, thoroughly uncomfortable.
“Mary? Water, please,” I rasped.
I sat up as ARMando handed me the pouch, still straining my eyes to see in every dark nook.
“Mary, lights on,” I said.
The lights gently brightened, showing nothing but the usual interior walls I was so used to by now. That didn’t bode well. Almost as though awoken by the lights as well, I heard Rocky begin to stir.
“‘Mornin, pal,” I said.
”Good morning, Grace,” he replied, shaking his carapace from side to side. I had figured out that was the same as me rubbing the sleep from my eyes. ”Grace sleep well, question?”
“As well as I can,” I said.
Rocky moved to his xenonite suit, making his way to the airlock that led to my side of the ship. ”Grace eat, question?”
“Not yet,” I said, standing on unsteady legs. “I just woke up.”
I followed Rocky to the galley, unhappily grabbing a hearty dose of Taumoeba. Knocking it back quickly, I fought past the gag.
”103,680 seconds until Grace Rocky reach Erid,” Rocky said. ”103,680 seconds until Grace Rocky home.”
Home.
That’s right.
We’re both going home.
“You abandoned your home.”
My neck ached from how quickly I turned my head.
“What?”
“Grace…not hear Rocky?” Rocky asked hesitantly.
“I-” I paused, searching for Stratt and, as usual, finding nothing. “N-nothing, Rocks,” I said. “I’m-, I heard you.”
Rocky tilted in my direction. “Grace ok, question?”
I gritted my teeth. “Just preparing to gear up for living on a new planet,” I said, the humor falling a bit flat. Not my finest work. Rocky didn’t look convinced, and he didn’t even have a face.
“I’m really ok,” I assured.
“Grace will say if Grace not ok, statement.” Rocky tapped on the floor twice, firmly. He left no room for argument.
“Yessir,” I said, saluting him.
He gave me as much of a stare as a rock could. He tapped twice once more for emphasis before making his way up to the cockpit. I went through the grueling task of getting ready for the next few hours of wakefulness, really trying not to focus on how red the water ran after brushing my teeth as gently as possible. Scurvy really was nothing to scoff at, my ever-weeping scar from Rocky’s claws a constant reminder that my body was on very, very thin ice. My bony fingers gripped the sink as I took in my appearance. This wasn’t the greatest first impression for a new species.
Not allowing myself to fall into that particular rabbit hole, I slowly followed Rocky. Slumping in the pilot’s chair, I found myself looking out the window as if it would look any different than the past couple of years. I wondered what Erid would look like. Would it have rings like Saturn? Maybe it would be some kind of bright color, like orange. I would ask Rocky, but something told me he wouldn’t know what color his home planet was. I wonder how big it really is.
You abandoned your home.
I closed my eyes, settling further down in the chair, curling up as much as I could. Rocky’s carapace-tight suit allowed him to take over the controls when needed, so I was comfortable to rest where he could both watch me and keep an “eye” out for incoming transmissions from Erid. Well, I guess I was never really comfortable anymore, but I found myself preferring to sleep where Rocky could watch, and if that meant the pilot’s chair, then I’d squeeze into a ball if I had to.
I snuggled into the Good Fortune Quilt, my thoughts drifting between Erid and nothingness. Just as I felt myself finally falling into some semblance of sleep, I was interrupted by excited, high-pitched chirping.
“Grace! Grace! Is Erid!”
I readjusted the glasses over my eyes. “Erid?” I asked, trying to catch up.
“On radio!” Rocky cried. “Erid! Is home!”
“Shit!” I think this instance called for a proper swear.
___-___-___
The next handful of days were a complete blur. Rocky took over the main work, communicating with Erid and explaining a tremendously abbreviated version of the past four and a half years, while I packed some of the extreme-essentials when not asleep. He explained that we would still have access to Mary after going planetside, so I only had to prepare what I deemed absolutely necessary for myself.
Apparently the Eridians had already gotten together a Grace Team. Their primary goal was creating a livable habitat for me. Then they would tackle the food issue. As much as I almost wished they would reprioritize the two plans, I did understand that having somewhere that I could safely breathe and move and live was the most important thing to nail down. But golly, it would be nice for some solid food soon.
By the time we reached Erid itself, I was jittery with anticipation. Looking out the window, finally, I saw something different than the endless expanse of stars. I was staring out at one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. Erid was a deep, rich blue, interspersed with lighter bands of teal and cyan. It did, in fact, have a large ring that reflected the same ocean-esque colors. It seemed to glow against the darkness of space. We had gone zero-G about a day ago, and the tears in my eyes couldn’t fall. I shook my head to rid myself of them, watching as the liquid reflected the royal blues.
“Grace see Erid, question?”
I turned to see Rocky holding one of his little claw-holds next to me, “looking” out the window with me.
“Yeah, bud,” I said. “I see Erid.”
“...is beautiful, question?”
“Rocky…” I began. “I wish you could see this; really see it. It’s so blue.”
Rocky chirped out a pleased response. “Will listen to Grace talk about Erid lots later.”
“Grace will talk, talk, talk,” I agreed.
“Grace always talk, talk, talk,” Rocky said, leaning against my arm gently. I did the same to him. We floated there together, looking out at home. As much as I would’ve loved to stay there forever, there were things that had to be finalized. Rocky had been doing great work relaying information to and from Erid, but I was now responsible for collecting samples of what would need to be engineered for my survival. Locating a box that would be large enough, I started with a pack of the coma slurry that I’d saved for this purpose. Looking down at it, as disgusting as it might have been, I longed for it. I had ARMando supply me with a pack of multivitamins as well, again not ingested for this very situation. After handing the box off to Rocky to prepare for transport, I tasked myself with general cleaning and tidying.
Even after docking, I wouldn’t be able to leave Mary just yet. I might as well not live in a pig-sty while I waited for the Eridians to finish my living chamber. I kept my ears open as I organized, trying to decipher the conversation, but Rocky was speaking far too quickly for me to grasp much. I made out words like “human,” “crew,” and “quickly,” but beyond that, it was too complex for me to tell. Rocky seemed pleased when he ended communication and came back to me, though, so I couldn’t be too terribly worried.
Within a day, the Hail Mary found herself docked above Erid. The Eridians had a massive elevator-type structure that reached from the surface up into space. Rocky explained that it had come in handy when building the Blip-A. The little kid in me wanted to ask him everything about it and examine and sample everything I could get my hands on, but I knew I would have more time later. Now, it was time-go on official contact.