Chapter Text
Grace and Rocky’s arrival to the 40 Eridani system was a frantic, ecstatic affair. Rocky sent communications in advance to let his compatriots know of their arrival, and their dire condition. Rocky had lost his entire crew after all, and was bringing home their alien savior who was on death’s doorstep.
So, by the time they arrived, the Eridians had already constructed an orbital platform capable of docking with the Hail Mary, and built, to Grace’s specifications, a Taumoeba breeding facility, ready to receive its inhabitants.
Grace had never expected to make it this far, and he had truly been at peace with it. He was bed-bound by the time they finally docked at Erid, and Rocky refused to leave the Hail Mary without him. Then came Adrian. Grace was over the moon to meet them, and they nearly smothered him and Rocky during their first meeting together. Adrian promised him, in deep resonating tones, that they would ensure his comfort and survival. And somehow, Grace survived.
So, Grace’s habitat is under construction on the surface of Erid. Rocky was building Grace’s house on the beach himself, and Adrian was now the point of contact for habitat conditions and nourishment. Grace suspects they had to pull some strings to be allowed so much access to him, but he doesn’t ask.
Today, months later, Grace is walking the sandy beach along the perimeter of his habitat. It isn’t quite done yet. The lighting is a work in progress, but at a point now that he feels like he is living in a perpetual dusk. He is getting his strength back in Erid’s dense gravity, but food is still a problem. He’s salvaged a few previous samples of human food and plants from the Hail Mary (even donating some of his own tissues), and is helping a team of Eridian chemists and biologists attempt to reverse engineer it into something he can digest. So far, they’ve only been able to supplement his Taumoeba paste with vitamins and minerals. It’s something. Keeps him off the edge. But it just isn’t calorie dense enough to allow him to fully recover.
He sees Adrian waiting for him back at the entrance to the dome. Grace strides over to meet them.
“I have something you will want to see,” they tell him.