About a year on route to Erid, Rocky starts to feel strange. It turns out Rocky’s emotional state calming down significantly after 40+ years of high stress, combined with his close relationship with Grace helping him feel safe and needed, results in Rocky’s reproductive system kicking in and decided now is the perfect time to lay a clutch of eggs.
Rocky panics once he realizes what’s happening only a few days before he’ll need to lay them. He’s never layed a cluch before without Adrian there, and currently the only other being here is an alien! Yes, Grace is Rocky’s alien, but still!
Laying a cluch alone is very difficult on a Eridian. Logically, the eggs are not viable on their own without their mates own eggs present to potentially fuse with. But emotionally, for the days after laying them, those are Rocky’s Eggs.
Scientifically, the time it takes for the parental instincts to recede almost always a line with the length of time a single egg has the potential to fuse.
Rocky is so embarrassed, and Grace tries to be supportive of his friend even if he feels way out of his depth. Grace sticks close and fills the partner roll as best as he can. He helps distract Rocky from discomfort or pain with movies and documentaries. Then helps Rocky keep watch over the eggs, and Rocky too when he finally sleeps. Rocky is very delicate and protective with the eggs and it’s so incredible to see as a human.
Then, it’s the last day left before the eggs will fail. Rocky is very mixed emotionally, as he looks over the five eggs carefully placed around him. He just wants this to be over with and yet he feels this deep melancholy at the thought of none of his eggs fusing.
Grace offers to stay up with Rocky until he’s ready to let go of them, but Rocky insist that Grace should finally get some sleep instead. Grace agrees, but only gets about three hours before Rocky is panicking and demanding Grace wake up NOW.
Grace falls out of bed and stumbles over himself to get to Rocky and see what’s wrong.
One egg is now significantly larger and has changed texture.
Two of Rocky’s own eggs have fused into one! Fully asexual reproduction! Grace the scientist is delighted and thinking about the potential variables that caused this (the radiation exposure is a big one), while Grace the man is horrified because now there’s gonna be a Baby Eridian on the Hail Mary!
Rocky is in shock. His parental instincts are overdrive, while he also sits in horror that he has to explain a pebble to Adrian. How can he explain this? What if they think he’s been unfaithful?? Has this ever happened to humans???
Scientifically speaking, no, they can not. But Ryland Grace, acting captain of the Hail Mary, can think of one story in human culture.
