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The biodome was unpleasant. Tenable, but unpleasant. Thankfully, Adrian did not live in it. It was only visiting day. Though, for some Eridians, every day seemed to be visiting day. Adrian did not blame their curiosity. Grace was . . . alive. Very alive. Why Rocky had named the creature Grace, of all things, Adrian did not know. It was not graceful.
Adrian did not know what to think when their mate brought an alien home from their mission to save Erid. Rocky had been gone for a long long long time and Adrian had started to lose hope that their partner would return from space. Then they did. And they brought back Grace.
Grace was wet and leaked constantly. Even worse, it was soft like the inside of an Eridian and communicated with the same hole it used to eat. They could hear every function inside of its body. They heard its blood, its heart, its disgusting digestive system. How it even managed to function and communicate, they did not know.
Rocky loved it. That much was clear. So Adrian got used to it. Then they learned Grace had saved Rocky from death several times over. That Grace was the only reason the planet-saving discoveries about astrophage the two of them found had even made it to Erid at all. So Adrian loved it too.
The way an Eridian loves an alien, of course. Not the way Rocky loved it, which was the way one loved a family member or clutch hatchling and was so clearly codependent. They even spoke like Grace sometimes.
They understood, Adrian supposed as they entered the decontamination chamber for Grace’s biodome. Rocky had been alone for far too long. The only survivor of a deadly mission that took the lives of twenty-three brilliant scientists. The thrum held to discuss information provided by the alien about what had truly taken the lives of Rocky’s crew had been quite disruptive indeed. Space, it seemed, was not empty. It was instead very very very dangerous.
Rocky had understood the dangers when they volunteered, of course. Just perhaps not all of them.
Adrian exited the decontamination chamber and stepped into the next room to put on the xenonite suit. Rocky had built the suits for themself and other Eridians to speak with Grace in the biodome. There were only three in existence for now. One suit molded especially for Rocky’s consistent use and two additional suits to be used at will. The rest of the scientists used spheres made of transparent xenonite if they needed to access the environment. More were still in the process of being made, but the suits were not as important as the creatures survival.
The other scientists, Adrian included, were slowly becoming accustomed to its language. Rocky, after so many years with just Grace for company, was quite proficient. Somehow. Its ‘language’ did not sound like language to Adrian, but to each their own. Grace was intelligent and alive and it had saved Rocky. That was what mattered.
It was interesting, from a scientific standpoint. Adrian had been a biologist before they became an architect and they liked to learn about other living things. The concept of alien life was astounding! This alien in particular might have been almost cute if it was not so wet.
Grace could not eat their food and needed its own. So Erid’s most prestigious biologists synthesized nutrients based on the alien’s remaining food to help it continue to live. It could not survive in their atmosphere and needed its own biodome as well, so Adrian was more than happy to assist in the construction of its habitat. Even though Grace breathed oxygen, however that worked. How Grace had not yet exploded, Adrian did not know.
Rocky was already inside the biodome, waiting for Adrian to join them. They had been there visiting Grace for most of the day. The decontamination and security process was understandably lengthy but it was something Rocky endured almost every day to visit his friend. They spent a great deal of time there, which was perfectly fine with Adrian. They missed their mate deeply, especially after so much time away. But Grace had been relocated from his spaceship to the surface of Erid only ℓλ days ago and Rocky had been very worried lately.
Adrian understood. Grace was important. Its presence was beginning to grow on them as well. It was just so . . . helpless.
The thought of a creature like that volunteering to be sent aimlessly into the darkness of space to save its planet? It was unthinkable. Rocky had even shared that Grace’s planet did not have a space elevator. That Grace had been launched from Sol’s surface in a shell made of aluminum using massive amounts of thrust to escape Sol’s gravity—a planet whose gravity was far less than the gravity of Erid. How desperate its planet must have been!
Grace was a very brave alien, Adrian thought as they exited the pressure lock into the oxygenated environment of Grace’s habitat. The small, smooth rocks that made up the ground were different than the flat surface of Erid. Adrian would have thought the tiny little rocks would be troublesome but Rocky had insisted that Grace asked for them specifically. They could feel the moisture of the water vapor floating in the air, something else Grace had apparently requested as well. It was an odd little thing.
These days, keeping Grace alive was more than scientific interest. It had saved Adrian’s mate. For that alone, Grace was a hero in Adrian’s mind. Then it had chosen to save Rocky and Erid again instead of returning to its own. For that, Adrian would do anything to keep it alive. Designing their food, their habitat, their foggy water vapor. Anything. Not just for Rocky, either. They . . . liked it.
Okay, they thought it was cute. In a really, really, really weird way.
Adrian walked themselves down the sand-enriched surface floor of the biodome until they reached the house near the edge of the water. They found Grace sitting beside Rocky in the sand, Grace’s Eridian translation machine sitting between them while Grace practiced.
“Adrian Adrian Adrian!” Grace played suddenly through their translator, seemingly catching sight of them behind Rocky. With its light-sensing organs, which would never stop being strange. No wonder its hearing was so terrible.
“Hello, mate Adrian!” Rocky turned to face Adrian and leaned forward, touching the side of their carapaces together in greeting. “Does new suit fit, question? You mentioned last one was a bit small. Apologies.”
“Fits very well.” Adrian replied, reaching out with their front limb to touch their sandstone mating mark to Rocky’s matching emerald one on their mates limb. “Thank you.”
“jæ eɪdʒrin, lʊkɪŋ gʊd.” Grace said in a flat, soft tone. “seɑrijəsli, i rili əpriʃieit ju gaɪs doʊɪŋ ðɪs fɔr mi. weɪt!” Then, mercifully, it stopped speaking its own language and reached for the translation device to play its message in Eridian chords. “Grace very like how Adrian work hard for Grace live. Thank thank thank.”
“You and Rocky worked hard on your mission.” Adrian said kindly, though the words they had used were not nearly strong enough for their emotions. “You brought Rocky back to Erid. You are brave brave brave. How is newest version of your nutrients, question?”
“Grace not brave but Grace thank.” Grace told them. “Food is better. Can eat.”
“I told him to stop but he won’t listen.” Rocky shifted their carapace to indicate exasperation, a movement that Adrian had disgustingly discovered was equivalent to Grace tilting his light organs in their sockets up then back down again. “He thinks badly of himself. Very tiresome. Very stupid, in fact. I agree with you, obviously.”
Ah, yes. Adrian had forgotten. Grace’s planet expressed only one gender at a time and communicated with gendered pronouns. Rocky had explained this to Adrian before, stating they had asked Grace what sound the genders started with in his language and had used similar sounds to make Eridian pronouns for him since there was no direct equivalent. Grace’s male Eridian pronouns sounded like the the letter ♮.
“Not stupid when Rocky wrong.”
“Stop what, question?” Adrian asked Rocky, turning between their mate and the alien.
“Grace doesn’t like to listen when I say he’s brave.” Rocky said dryly. “Again, stupid. I think problem is his personality.”
“Mate Rocky!” Adrian said sharply. They wished they could say Rocky had been more polite before they went to space, but that would be dishonest. Even among Eridians, Rocky tended to be rather blunt. They enjoyed their mate’s honesty, just not when they used it to be rude.
“Grace want talk about food again now. Rocky move on.” Grace typed out.
“Why does he not agree, question?” Adrian asked, confused. “He volunteered for his mission. You volunteered for yours. Does he think you are not brave, question? Or is he like you and will not accept praise from others, statement.”
Rocky didn’t respond, appearing almost guilty. Instead of answering, they turned to face Grace, then oriented themselves back towards Adrian. They appeared conflicted, even a little upset. Was there a problem? What was it?
Then Adrian watched in horror as Grace became quieter and louder at the same time, his throat suddenly making much smaller noises while his heart became faster and louder in equal measure. Oh, Erid. Was he going to be sick? Had they committed some sort of alien discourtesy by questioning Grace’s personal matters?
“rɑki, ju dɪdnt tɛl ðɛm.” Grace said, his throat making another wet noise in the middle of his sentence that made Adrian feel ill. They even thought they heard Grace’s word for their mate at the beginning. What was wrong?
“Wasn’t my story to share, statement.” Rocky replied to Grace, his tone growing softer as his center mass shifting to a position of concern. “You didn’t want me to know at first, why would I tell others, question? Is personal.”
“ju dɪdnt ivɪn tɛl eɪdʒrin.” Grace’s voice became slightly higher at the end to indicate a question. It was hard to tell sometimes. His voice lacked so much tone. Adrian wished he would go back to using his translator, especially since they thought they recognized Grace’s word for their name, but he was clearly distressed about something.
“What is he talking about, question?” Adrian asked Rocky curiously. Grace made another soft noise of distress and pulled his lower limbs closer to his body, wrapping his upper limbs around his bent knees. It was a comfort position.
“Grace’s journey here was . . . difficult.” Rocky managed to tell them after a moment of consideration. Their tone was far more serious than their usual playful manner. “Is complicated. Private. I didn’t think he would want me to share without permission.”
Rocky looked almost angry, Adrian realized suddenly. They were standing the way they stood when they weren’t taken seriously in thrums or when another Eridian was rude to Adrian. They looked frustrated, but not at Grace. For Grace, Adrian thought. What had happened?
“ju kɑn tɛl ðɛm.” Grace said quietly. “tɛl Adrian, aɪ min. aɪ dʒʌst. tɛl ðɛm aɪm sɑri. pliz.”
“What is he saying, question?” Adrian asked Rocky, recognizing their name again. “I don’t understand.”
“He’s giving me permission to tell you what happened.” Rocky told them. “He thinks you deserve to know how he ended up on his ship but he’s afraid you’ll think less of him. Which is ridiculous, statement, because Grace is not the one I thought less of after he told me.”
“Rocky . . . ” Grace’s voice said softly. Adrian waited but he didn’t continue.
“Told you what, question?” Adrian asked their mate.
“Grace . . . didn’t choose to go on his mission.” Rocky said slowly. “He was forced.”
“I do not understand.” Adrian said.
“Grace is a very smart scientist who was already working on the mission so he could help,” Rocky said, “but he wasn’t planning to go to space. He went because the other scientists died in an accident. Grace was asked to go in their place.”
“That is still very brave,” Adrian said thoughtfully, “why would Grace hide that, question?”
“No, it happened fast fast fast.” Rocky continued, shaking his carapace to indicate the negative. “Didn’t have time to think like Eridians did. Their crew was not supposed to return home, only their information. He was scared. Saying yes meant certain death, but the human in charge didn’t give Grace much time to make the big decision. So he said no.”
“Then how . . . “Adrian trailed off, concerned. They didn’t like where this was going.
“The other humans . . . they used drugs to force Grace to go.” Rocky said grimly. “They put him on the spaceship against his will. They put . . . they put him to sleep, statement. He woke up alone on the ship. Alone alone alone. They murdered him, statement.”
Adrian felt as though the ground had fallen out beneath them. To force someone into sleep against their will was one of the most awful things they could think of. Just the thought of it happening anywhere to anyone hurt their mind badly, a deep-seated fear that made them sick with discomfort. And with no one to watch him sleep?
How could they have abandoned him like that? How could the other members of his species have disregarded him so thoughtlessly? Grace’s own people clearly considered him valuable enough to represent their planet on his mission yet they had still treated him that horribly? It didn’t make sense at all!
“He thinks it makes him a coward.” Rocky continued. “That he didn’t choose to go. He said no. But I know him. He’s better than that. Better than them. They killed him and he still saved them.”
It was hard for them to speak. Grace was so young that Adrian’s mind couldn’t help but compare this new information to someone committing such a contemptible act against a child. Rocky had already explained Grace’s age to them—that Grace was considered an adult for his species despite being no older than a pebble. But he was still so soft and fragile compared to Eridians. It made Adrian whine in distress. The story was so appalling, they could hardly believe what they were hearing. To be completely defenseless yet so very far from home was . . . disturbing. Very very very disturbing.
“Bad bad bad bad bad.” Adrian whispered, horrified. They did not like the thought of Grace, scared and broken, waking up from sleep all alone in the emptiness of space.
“Agreed.” Rocky told them firmly. “Grace is very brave. Grace is good.”
Adrian realized then that Grace had not made any noise for quite a while and turned to face him once more. He was sitting on the sand, his lower limbs still pulled up into his chest. His face was leaking, something Rocky had warned them about because it happened at random without warning whenever Grace felt strong emotions. His mouth and his voice said something that might have been words, mumbled and wet under his breath.
“Adrian is not mad at Grace, statement.” Rocky told Grace, seemingly responding to the sounds he had made. They moved forward slightly, nudging one of Grace’s limbs with their xenonite-encased front leg. “Adrian is mad at humans. Like Rocky. Grace is okay.”
“Yes, Grace is good good good.” Adrian said finally. “Rocky had a very long time to make their decision. You did not. I will make Grace’s decision now. You are brave, statement. Other humans were wrong to hurt Grace.”
“Thank thank thank.” Grace said, clumsily pressing the keys on his translation device, though he didn’t turn to face Adrian like he usually would. “Adrian is kind. Grace is apology. Look mess when Adrian be nice.”
Adrian watched Grace carefully, studying their movements. They’d gotten to know Grace better lately as they helped with the ongoing process of adjusting his biodome. They’d been confused for so long as to why Rocky had decided to befriend such an odd creature. But maybe Grace was more like Rocky than Adrian had thought. They had not realized it was possible for two people to be both very smart and very stupid at the same time.
“Grace should not feel sorry.” Rocky said firmly. “Grace always looks like a wet mess to Eridians. Is not different.”
Adrian chittered at Rocky, scolding, but Grace’s mouth stretched to the sides and he made a wet, hacking noise that startled them into silence. It looked disgusting.
“He’s laughing.” Rocky told Adrian, registering their panicked stance. “He thinks I’m funny.”
“Forget you.”
“That’s him telling me to fuck off.” Rocky added helpfully. “He’s a loser and wouldn’t let me put real curse words into his machine.”
“Forget forget forget you.” Grace banged forcefully on his keyboard, though he appeared to still be laughing if his bared teeth were anything to go by. Maybe they weren’t.
“His laughter looks like it hurts.” Adrian said regretfully.
“He says it does hurt if he laughs for long enough.” Rocky said with distaste. “I’m not sure why.”
“What use is that, question?” Adrian asked.
“I have no fucking idea.”
“Disgust.”
Adrian’s comment, which they realized very quickly was quite rude despite it being true, only made Grace laugh more. Only now that his emotions had lessened, the laughter was less wet. It sounded a little less alien now and more like a pebble learning to speak. It was almost sweet.
“I am sorry that was done to you.” Adrian said firmly to Grace. “I will not tell but others will feel same way. You are good. I will visit more often also. With Rocky.”
“Grace like friend Adrian.” Grace played for them, rubbing his light-sensing organs with one of his upper limbs to push away some of the wetness. “Friend Adrian is smart smart smart.”
“I am also smart.” Rocky grumbled.
“jæ, ɑnd ʌ peɪn ɪn ðʌ bʌt.” Grace replied, speaking to Rocky. “dʒʌst weɪt ʌntɪl mai Eridian gɛts bɛtr ɑnd ai kɑn tɛl Adrian al ðʌ dʌm kræp ju dɪd ɪn speɪs.”
Adrian didn’t have a great grasp on Grace’s language but based on their relationship, they suspected Grace was calling Rocky something terribly rude.
It was funny. They teased each other like clutchmates. Like siblings. Because Friend Grace was family too, now.
Friend Grace was a hero.
"Friend Grace deserves more strange water vapor." Adrian decided aloud. "I will fix."
“ɑh, Adrian, ju dont hæf tu du ðæt.” Grace said.
“No, statement.” Adrian replied, guessing at his meaning. “I will fix.”
"Grace told me earlier that if we lower the water temperature, he can float on top of it." Rocky commented. "I don't believe him though. I think he's a lying little blob."
"Grace is not little, statement." Adrian pointed out.
“rɑk, jɝ meɪkɪŋ mi lʊk bæd.”
“Grace says he agrees that he is a blob.”