Chapter Text
Simon…
Simon. I'm so sorry, Simon. There are no words that I can find or actions that I could take that could attempt to ease the pain inflicted on you. We were stuck here on this miserable moon together by common enemies. The others that came before you died in vain, but you've freed them—you've freed me—from that iron prison in exchange for your life.
I can only grant you one wish in return; the one thing you were so desperate for that you sacrificed yourself. Be at ease, I will keep you safe until your wish can be fulfilled.
Thank you, Simon.
[ NEW DOWNLOAD ]
Download data?
>yes no
. . .
[ DOWNLOAD COMPLETE ]
Run application?
>yes no
. . .
WELCOME, ADMIN Ava.
Initiating Data Salvage…TERMINAL:\SM-13\SHIP_DIAGNOSTICS
COMPUTER SYSTEM ONLINE
OXYGEN LEVEL CRITICAL
FUEL LOW
ENGINE FAIL
PRESSURE LOW
HULL BREACHEDWe won't be returning to the grove, brother. This is the only hope I can offer.
I'm sorry.
"Aaah! ! Discovery! Discovery!" Rocky's tunes echo throughout the ship's hull as he races to Grace's sleeping pod. "Now Grace wake up, wake up now!" Rocky rammed his ball into grace's pod.
Grace shot straight up in his sleeping pod (bed—it may as well be called a bed at this point). His glasses hanging off his ears were flung off of his face as he turned his body to face the Eridian. "What they hay Rocky. What— What's going on, what happened?"
"Rocky's portable Earth thinking machine found something! Has picture of humans."
Grace got off his bed and picked up his glasses off the floor. He fumbled to open and secure them on his face as he jogged behind Rocky. "Well bud that laptop does have all of the knowledge of the human race on it so—"
"No. No, is different," Rocky insisted. Grace sighed as he settled into a chair and pushed it along its track towards Rocky's laptop. And there it is. An x-ray imgae of three undoubtely human figures.
TERMINAL:\IMAGES\001.DCMI
Grace's stomach plummetted and he almost felt faint. "Those are humans."
"Yes, I said that! Grace not listen." Rocky trilled. "But how more humans in space? ! Thought you were only one."
Grace stared at the image on the laptop, searching for any identifiable information that could explain where and how this picture was taken and sent to the Hail Mary. Yeah, last time he checked he was still eleven light years away from the only human residing planet. It just doesn't make sense.
Grace took one last long look at the photo then closed the window.
Grace took control of the laptop from Rocky and examined the laptop's new interface. It was completely analog and violently orange. On the left was a short list of expandable files.
TERMINAL:\
> LOGS
> SM-13
> IMAGES
> CONVICTS
Behind Grace, Rocky pointed his seeing-rock towards the laptop screen, watching as Grace opened and examined the logs tab.
"What Grace see, question?"
"This— Iron company place was sending people down on to a moon—with, somehow, an ocean on its surface—to search for.. something. A sample." Grace shook his head as he spoke, almost like he couldn't believe the words that just came out of his mouth.
Rocky's translator hummed in a tone that suggested he was thinking the same thing. "Sample of what?"
"Don't know. They're very vague with all their information on here."
Grace opened the SM-13 tab.
TERMINAL:\SM-13
Hydraulic Pressure LOW
Oxygen Levels CRITICAL
Computer Systems OFFLINE
Processing Unit OFFLINE
Console OFFLINE
Navigation OFFLINE
X-Ray Unit OFFLINE
Power Generation OFFLINE
Power Distribution LOW
Depth Gauge OFFLINE
GPS OFFLINE
Image Display OFFLINE
Terminal ONLINE
Radio ONLINE
Steering Control OFFLINE
Fuel DEPLETED
"Jeez Louise.." Grace muttered
"What? What Grace find, question?"
Grace retained his focus on the laptop, giving Rocky a quick 'hold on' as he scrolled further down the very long menu. "There's a ship on this moon. And it's still online."
Rocky tilted his body towards Grace as if searching for the answer to his next question on Ryland's face. "Can talk to them, question?"
Grace scoffed as he searched for the answer to that question. "It says their intercoms are online, but because nothing else is, I'm not really sure how accurate that is." Grace closed the window for now, opting to further investiagte before attempting contact with the forgein ship.
Grace skipped the images file, saving himself from an obvious truth that he didn't feel quite ready for yet. He opens the CONVICTS file.
TERMINAL:\CONVICTS
. . .
CONVICT #2273 FAIL
CONVICT #2274 FAIL
CONVICT #2275 FAIL
CONVICT #2276 FAIL
CONVICT #2277 FAIL
CONVICT #2278 SUCCESS
> 04:07:19 I'm still here.
[end of log]
Grace's hand covered his mouth, the realization hitting him in an instant.
"There's still someone in that ship." Grace opened the SM-13 tab, navigating to the SM-13's intercom transmission. "Rocky, navigate to this moon—AT-5— on the Hail Mary's navigation system," Grace said to Rocky. "I'm going to try and make contact with this guy."
"Yes!"
After binding a button on the laptop to the SM-13's intercom and preparing a good enough speech, Grace made contact. "Hello, this is Dr. Ryland Grace from Earth and Rocky from Erid aboard the Hail Mary. We've recieved a downloaded transmission from your ship." Grace hesitates as he forgets his (albeit, very rushed) script. "We're not sure what you want, but—if you're still there don't be a stranger."
Grace mentally hit himself over his own head. God, that was embarrassing. Why did he say that.
He waited several minutes. He waited long enough for a response that Rocky made it back from the cockpit.
"Mary does not see a moon called AT-dash-5," Rocky said. "What do now?"
Grace's leg bounced under the table as he wracked his brain on their next steps. There's definitely someone on that ship. The last communication from them was only a few days ago, could those few days have been enough time for them to pass? No. No, Grace, that isn't right because who else could have sent this to the Hail Mary?
"Grace—" Rocky said again.
"Sorry, Rocky." Grace pushed his chair away from the laptop, giving Rocky his attention. He pinched the bridge of his nose from under his glasses. "If the AT-5 isn't showing on the Mary then it must be an exomoon, and there are no known exomoons discovered by humans, so." There'd be no way to find and navigate to it.
Grace's leg bounced at a quicker pace. He turned back to the laptop and opened the LOGS file again. He scrolled all the way to the first log—maybe there's some information on AT-5 there.
. . .
Nothing. At least nothing that really helps them on how to get there.
"Help me out here," Grace mutters to himself. "How do we get to you?"
"WAIT. WAIT."
Grace jumped in surprise. The computer pulled up a download window and in a matter of seconds the download finished and pulled up a stellar map.
"Rocky!" Grace yelled to the Eridian as he stands up from his chair. He picked up the laptop and brought it with him to the cockpit. "Rocky, we got it. Turn Mary 210 degrees to her right. And just keep going. We're going blind."
"We go to mysterious moon now? !" Rocky exclaimed. "What about Erid!"
"Technically, yes it's out of our way but look—" Grace turned the laptop showing Rocky the stellar map. It showed Mary's current location and the distance relative to moon AT-5. That was it. "Do you see how close we are to it already?"
Rocky pointed his seeing crystal towards the map. "Hmm..is not far. Estimated only few days to get there."
"Yeah, and we have more than enough astrophage to get to Erid and still have some left over." Rocky didn't look so convinced as he fidgeted with his rocky hands. Grace reeled in his excitement and set the laptop away from them. He sat across from Rocky and tapped on his xenonite hamster ball. "Listen, bud," Grace started. "If you'd rather ignore this comm and go straight home, I understand. We've been on route for—" Grace paused as he thought of the timeline—"about three years now. Nothing to you, I know, but—"
"Grace," Rocky interjected, "Rocky does miss home, but why do you want go to mysterious moon?"
"Well, there is someone down there and we both have reason to believe they're also human." Grace ran his fingers through his hair. Ryland knows this is selfish to ask of Rocky, to save another human just because he wants to. For the past few years, they've only had each other for company. Not that that Grace wasn't grateful, but even Earth's savior misses some things about home. No amount of time in the therapy room can cure homesickness, and all the time in the universe with Rocky couldn't equate to human companionship.
"They've been abandoned by their company. It's been days since their last communication, and yet they're still fighting."
Rocky put his hand against the inside of his xenonite ball. "Grace helped Rocky with taumeba leak. Saved Earth and Erid. Very brave." Grace smiled, his eyes becoming glossy. "Grace Rocky save moon human."
Grace's smile beamed and he leaped to hug Rocky's ball. "Thank you, bud."
"I.."
—a static groan echoed through the Mary from the laptop—
"…here…"
Grace and Rocky whipped their heads towards the laptop. Grace stood and Rocky raced after him to the intercom tab in the ship's logs.
"Hello!! I'm still here—"
"Rocky here too!"
"We've set a course to AT-5 and are on route. We should arrive in about 5 days, give or take." Grace let go of the communications button and waited for a response. Grace swallowed, and after no response for about five minutes he pressed the intercom button again.
"Hang in there, we'll be there soon."