Chapter Text
“Grace scared, question?” Rocky’s voice is calm, gentle and compassionate. Rocky’s real voice, not the computer TTS.
Grace looks up from the control panel. Rocky is resting on the second pilot chair, in his newest ‘EVA’ suit that is almost transparent on him and for which Grace is eternally grateful to Adrian, who designed this version. Not only does it have all the features and safety measures the Eridian need to survive in the human atmosphere, but it is also almost invisible.
Simply perfect.
“Yes,” Grace admits. “I am scared.” He never had issues with admitting to this feeling.
Nonetheless, he presses ‘Enter’ to send out his credentials.
“I also scared,” Rocky ‘nods’, leaning against him. The ‘EVA’ suit is suitable even for hugging. “Earth people unknown and irrational”.
Grace smiles, because, somehow, it’s easier to be scared in company. Especially in such a company.
For a long moment, he just enjoys being again so close to– Earth. It’s still home and it feels like home and he wants it to stay this way. It is possible to have two homes, right? Even if he is not welcome on one of these? He doesn’t really care, because thirty years have passed on Earth, so probably nobody even remembers him anymore.
Still, Earth is home. Statement.
He sighs and reaches for the radio, using what they found about NASA’s communication channels and frequencies. This classified information and their algorithms were also ‘pirated’ by Eva and he is grateful that he has the option to contact the space agency directly. There was a time when he wondered if they still existed, though strongly believing it was so, but Rocky and him intercepted NASA’s satellite communications with Mars (Mars?!) and from what Rocky could decipher (thank you Eva!), they are still alive and kicking. Though NASA seems to be in some bizarre situation that Grace still hasn’t figured out. Yes, colonizing Mars is a natural next step in exploring their Solar System, but something really worrisome is happening there.
He could have been monitoring any radio signals as much as it was possible, but he has no means to filter through the sheer amount of data they were receiving from virtually everywhere on Earth, and Mary was not designed to establish contact with anybody upon return, for obvious reasons. Also, not all transmitters and wave lengths carry enough energy to get so far into space and to still make any sense.
Nonetheless, Rocky figured out how to make it work with the NASA signal (‘Easy reading top-secret humans, statement.’), as he always does (I love you, Rocky!).
After waiting for the required amount of time, Grace turns on the radio again and he sighs.
“Time go,” Rocky ‘smiles’ reassuringly.
“Time go.”
Grace is not anxious anymore. During his journey, he’s been through all stages of anxiety three times already and now, he’s just curious and resigned to his fate.
He’s also really scared and excited on some profound level, which he concludes it’s only normal, considering he is going to contact another human being for the first time in an undetermined amount of time. He can’t count it properly, no matter how much he would like to know the answer.
He is prepared for being ‘not welcome anymore on Earth’ and he can live with this. He’s been for years and he knows that this is just how things are with him and his infamous history. In a way he’s detached from what has happened before the launch and he’s had all the therapy that he could have asked for on Erid (sometimes even all the therapy he hasn’t asked for!) and being virtually flooded with unconditional love and support for years, sharing a family with the most wonderful people in the known and unknown universe, gave him a protection stronger than xenonite.
He is not stupid, though, he knows that when he will actually have to face the hatred, it will become clear how much he is immune, but Rocky is his rock and Grace never hesitates to lean on him.
Rocky adjusts the settings on the transmitters and he nods.
There’re two reasons Grace’s here and both reasons unfortunately require him personally, so he couldn’t have delegated this task to anybody else, even if he wanted to.
One reason is getting actual food; food that he might be able to grow on Erid and one that would increase his standard of living considerably. He’s not complaining, he has virtually everything there (and more!), but he would have done almost anything for a cup of real coffee. Or hot chocolate. Or... He shakes his head at such thoughts. Not relevant right now.
The second reason is establishing real-time communication between Erid and Earth, so both these planets may begin diplomatic relations, and– well, and something. He doesn’t look further than this point in time.
The Eridian figured out how to communicate in real time with virtually any place in the universe (using human knowledge, useful, useful, useful!) but it still requires getting the transmitter and receiver to the place where it will be used.
Thus, Grace traveling to Earth, because the actual Eridian delegation shall arrive here next year and Grace is supposed to return home with them.
Still, he needs to take the first step, which is sending a message.
“This is Dr. Captain Ryland Grace reporting from the Hail Mary,” he says, trying to sound ‘normal’. “We have just crossed the boundary of the Solar System and we are within radio communication range. The estimated time of arrival is 20 days. Over.”
He leaves the line open for receive, readying himself for almost nine hours of waiting. Though, ‘waiting’ is much of an exaggeration. Before he expects to get any answer, or more like ‘hopes’ to get one, he has scheduled two intermediate online science classes on Erid, and a movie night with Adrian and other scientists traveling onboard the Blip-Earth.
“Thank you, Grace,” Rocky says and Grace can ‘feel’ everything that he is thanking him for.
He is making the first contact (or maybe a second one?) possible and as easy as it may get for the Eridian, but his friends know how much it cost him and how scared he really is coming back home.
“Just don’t go anywhere, okay?” Grace asks, adjusting his glasses. Their ‘inside joke’ question.
“Never leave you,” Rocky states firmly.
“Yeah.” Something that was buried deep, deep, deep inside Grace’s soul has just fluttered and the feeling leaves him– startled.
“Safe,” Rocky whispers.
Grace nods. Yes. Safe.
Not at all because there actually are shields on the Hail Mary this time.