Chapter Text
"Entering dead zone, manual control not advised."
Mary's voice echoed through the ship, making Grace raise his head, glasses hanging off his face. His eyebrows scrunched and he pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose. "Dead zone?" He questioned aloud to the ship.
"No stars detected in the visible distance, one moon detectable at 228 million kilometers, approximately 5 days travel time." Mary stated, the automated voice lacking the empathy Grace would've preferred. No visible stars? That couldn't be right.
Grace stood and found the nearest porthole. Nothing. Empty nothingness. A cold chill went down his spine and he walked to the opposite side of the ship, staring out another window. Still nothing. No light, no stars, no other astronomical entities. Just... nothing.
His mind went to the most probable conclusion. The astrophage had made its way through this area, leaving behind one singular moon. His stomach turned and he thought about his kids and the Earth, his solar system, his entire galaxy. Just... gone. He shook his head and went back to where he'd been sitting, finding Rocky in his hamster ball, probably also curious about this dead zone.
"Mary, set course to the moon you mentioned." Grace ordered, and Mary asked for confirmation. Grace gave it and sat back in his seat, Rocky facing him and probably wondering why Grace wanted to visit this moon. Grace didn't know himself, the order more of a compulsion than anything. He had to see what was on this moon, he could almost feel himself being pulled towards it. He had to know what had happened.
"Why travel to moon, question." Rocky trilled, the computer translating. Grace hesitated before answering, rubbing his face and pushing his glasses into another awkward position.
"I want to know why it's there, with no planets or stars." Grace answered, and Rocky seemed to accept it, not speaking again.
Grace turned away from Rocky. For an alien with no eyes, he sure had a piercing gaze. Grace asked Mary to pull up the course for the moon, and a map appeared on a screen in front of him, an almost parallel line compared to their journey to Erid. A small smile lingered on his face for a moment. It was like he was meant to go to this moon. He didn't know why the thought appeased him.
*
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*
4 days later and only 45 million kilometers left, the radio crackled on.
Grace's head whipped towards the sound, and Rocky stopped in the process of making a Xenonite figurine. Strange sounds came from the speaker, and it seemed like a... distress call?
Grace stood up so fast that his seat almost flipped over and he tripped over to the radio. "Mary, where is the signal coming from?" He asked, and she gave the coordinates of the moon and sourced it to a ship. Grace's heart was practically beating out of his chest. He spun the knobs on the radio to get the signal clearer, and he could make out the words after a little effort.
"C.O.I. Transmission from moon AT-5, if you're hearing this, we're probably dead. If the knowledge we've obtained from this moon is worth it is for you to decide and to risk. If anyone is out there, this is bigger than us, and know that we sacrificed for this cause." The rough and panicked voice of a man came through the speaker, and Grace felt a pang of dread go down his spine, freezing him in place as the message repeated itself. English? There were humans on this ship. What were humans doing out here?
"Rocky think going to moon bad news," Rocky spoke, but Grace's ears were almost deaf to it, "Grace return Mary to course, statement."
Grace considered it. Whatever was on this moon was bad news, he could feel it in his bones. But something about this 'knowledge' called to him. He wanted to know what had happened, and he needed to know if whoever was here was gone for sure. Probably dead wasn't certain, right? Maybe there was still someone there, and the thought of human contact swayed him. Rocky was his best friend, but it wasn't exactly the same as having someone of his species with him.
"We have to see if there's anyone alive, we can't abandon them." Grace said, his voice wavering. Maybe this voyage had changed him, he'd never felt so brave and stupid in his life. Rocky rolled closer to Grace.
"Stupid human, stupid stupid stupid. Dangerous moon, dangerous organisms, danger danger danger-"
"Rocky, I can't abandon them." Grace interrupted, and Rocky quieted at the strained admission. Grace hadn't come this far and sacrificed this much to just abandon whoever could be here, he had to know. Rocky seemed to understand.
The ship continued to throttle towards the moon, the air feeling thicker than usual as the message repeated over and over. Barely there sounds played in the background of the audio, liquid sloshing and terrified voices, setting the tone for their destination.
*
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*
"Approaching moon, conducting surface scan." Mary stated over the speakers, and Grace started, suddenly awoken from his (unintended) nap. He pushed his glasses back into place from where they'd been lopsided on his face and rubbed his eyes before getting up. Mary's voice came again, "Surface scan completed, ship located. Atmosphere composed of mostly carbon, ocean covering the moon. Liquid seems to be human blood. Prepare to dock with ship, Dr. Grace?"
Grace stared at the speakers incredulously before looking out at the moon, the surface a strange, red tint. An ocean made of human blood? How? His insides seemed to shrivel, his gut telling him to turn back now before he got himself killed. But he already came this far, and he had this feeling that there was something here for him. "Prepare to dock, Mary."
The ship started to descend through the atmosphere and Grace and Rocky strapped themselves in. Or in Rocky's case, hunkered down in his Xenonite structures. The ship shook violently as they entered the atmosphere and came into contact with the less than enjoyable weather. The windows were soon tinted red with the mist hanging in the air, and the dread didn't leave Grace's body. The Hail Mary docked onto the mysterious ship with a loud bang and the grinding of old metal, and the shaking settled for the most part. Grace got up and headed for the airlock that was now attached to the other ship.
He got his space suit on, unsure of the conditions inside the other ship, and Rocky rolled his way over as well. Once he was suited up, he pulled the lever to open the airlock, stepping inside and closing it behind Rocky and himself. He opened the second door and found that the other ship didn't quite have the power to open their side of the airlock. He ended up having to leave the airlock to find a crowbar to pry the door open, messing up his dramatic moment.
He got the door to open, metal grinding and squealing and loud enough to hurt his ears. The inside of the ship was dark, emergency lights filling the area with red light. Grace almost turned around when he registered just how insanely creepy this was. But he was stubborn enough to keep going, and also didn't want Rocky to think he was a total wimp.
He turned the flashlight attached to his head on, and started to walk inside, heart pounding so hard that he could hear it. The red lights weren't the only thing making area look so... bloody. The ocean had made its mark inside apparently. There were strange growths on the floor and the walls, and he could imagine how strong the smell of iron would be if he had his helmet off. The hall that Rocky and him were in seemed to stretch forever, but he finally came across what seemed to be the control room. These doors had to be pried open too, and he almost wished he hadn't been able to open them at all.
In the corner of the room, or, what used to be the corner, there was a massive hole. He stared out into the dark horizon, the blood ocean glinting eerily in the light of the ships. He tore his gaze from the ocean and looked around the room. It seemed to him that waves of blood had crashed into the room, drenching the area in the viscous liquid. Bodies were scattered, the growths he had noticed before seemed to grow into what previously were people, and he could almost see the pumping of blood, as if it were alive. He very suddenly felt sick, but swallowed it down. He couldn't believe that he had decided to come here, what was he even thinking?
He stepped further into the room, trying very hard to avoid the bodies and growths. Bad luck struck, and he stepped on one of the people, bone crunching beneath his boot. In his shock, he tripped and fell onto another person. He was face-to-face with the disfigured head, sharp teeth growing out of what used to be the forehead and growths mottling the rest of the features. He had to hold back a scream and puke, and was lucky enough to be able to do both as he stood up and quickly got away from the bodies and to the computers embedded in the wall. They obviously didn't turn on, and he sighed, looking back at where Rocky was waiting at the entrance of the room. Rocky wasn't even risking stepping into the mess of the room.
As he turned his head back to the computers, his eyes caught something. There was a flashing light in the corner of the room. He immediately went over to it, and found the body of someone clutching onto a box. He gagged as he pulled the box away from the body, the arms pulling in ways they shouldn't, but finally letting go of the box. He wiped and cut away the grime and discovered it was a black box. The knowledge. It was in this, he just knew it. He quickly stood up and turned to Rocky, hefting the box and hurrying over to the alien, wanting to get the fuck out of this place.
Grace paused in his steps though, something in his chest nagging at him. His eyes looked back out to the ocean, his mind taking the backseat to the feeling he had. He searched the waters, or the blood to be more accurate, and saw something odd. There was something floating, just a few meters from the ship. He squinted his eyes and tilted his head, his body moving on autopilot to get closer to the edge.
The thing on the surface looked... human?
The nagging in his chest got worse. There was someone out there.
He had to get them out.
God, it was the worst feeling. He just wanted to leave, but he couldn't make himself leave this person. He knew that they were probably dead, but something told him that that wasn't true.
"What Grace doing, question." Rocky called, obviously wanting to get out of here too.
Grace looked back at him, black box still clutched to his chest. "There's someone out there, go get the spare chain we have." Grace said, looking back out, almost in a trance. Rocky hesitated before turning and rolling back to the Hail Mary.
He returned with the chain wrapped around his ball, the only way he could think of to transport it. Grace hadn't registered the time passing, laser-focused on the person somehow still just floating out there. Grace retrieved the chain from Rocky and left the black box with him, attaching the crowbar to the chain to act as a fishing hook. He threw the chain out once he got back to the edge, missing by a larger margin than he'd like to admit to, and pulled the length back. He had to try a few times before the chain actually snagged on the person, and he almost shouted in triumph. It was probably better to stay quiet though, he didn't know what was out here, and what could've made this hole in the ship. He pulled and dragged the person across the surface of the ocean towards the boat, and was surprised at how well they were floating. The closer they got, the more Grace noticed about them; their features were hard to make out, and he only realized they were missing an arm when they were almost under the ship. The moment he noticed, he knew time was of the essence. He struggled to get the crowbar to catch on the persons clothes, but when he finally did, he heaved and pulled on the chain, determined to get them out.
Maybe it was adrenaline, maybe it was sheer will, but he was somehow able to pull the person over and onto the edge, despite how heavy they were while coated in thick blood. The second they were up, he dropped the chain and grabbed onto the person, pulling them further aboard. It was hard to make out where they ended and the blood began, clots had formed practically everywhere, and he could only tell that this person was probably male, had long hair, and had only one arm, recently amputated. Grace wasn't able to tell if they were alive or not, especially not through the clunky suit, and so he made the decision to bring them aboard. He'd figure it out soon enough, and this might be his only chance to save them. Maybe his only chance to interact with another person ever again. He was going off the strong gut feeling he had, completely against any logic, but he really couldn't fight it.
He somehow managed to get the person onto his back, carrying them piggyback, and trudged over to Rocky. Grace picked up the black box by the handle and started to make his way back, Rocky anxiously scurrying back to the ship. He didn't even question Grace's choice in carrying this person, just wanting to get out of here too.
Grace got through the airlock and shut it behind him, the ship filtering air back into the area. The second door opened and he went to the medical bay as quickly as he could, leaving a massive trail of blood through the ship. Armando took over as Grace got the person onto the medical table, and somehow miraculously found a pulse. It should've been impossible, but a blood ocean didn't seem possible either.
"Mary, get us the fudge out of here please." Grace said, the Hail Mary quickly pulling away from the other ship and raising into the sky. Grace went to the nearest window, looking down at the ship that was slowly getting smaller.
Then, a massive form breached, worm-like and horrible, knocking into the mysterious ship and taking it down into the depths. Grace practically jumped out of his skin, a very unmanly squeak leaving his throat, quickly realizing what could have happened if he had dawdled even a few minutes longer. He scrambled away from the glass and went to get out of his suit, and get it and everything else clean of the blood. He needed every trace of contamination gone, his skin was practically crawling.
The Hail Mary left the atmosphere, continuing on their original journey to Erid, with one extra person on board, a miracle living.