My Mother Tongue is Repentance
Part 1: A Rock, an Angel, and A Middle School Science Teacher Walk Into A Spaceship
Description: On their way back to Erid, Rocky and Grace are alerted of a new blip! A tear in reality and time deposits a new companion aboard their ship but their new stranger seems to not share their perspective or enthusiasm. Maybe this tale will not end happy, or maybe, their way ward angel will find his absolution in the company of mortals.
Content: Ryland Grace (Project Hail Mary) x Millions Knives (Trigun), eventual angst, mostly quirky bullshit rn, slightly ooc, 1st person pov: Ryland Grace. Takes place post Trimax and on the way to Erid
Authors Notes: I need y'all to remember that this is my dream house so everything is slightly ooc. I've also had to write this like 3 times now because I kept closing Tumblr without saving. This also follows my head cannon I wrote about WAYYYY back where human dependant plants are still genetically engineered BUT they are made using observations and samples of naturally occuring plants which is what drops off Knives at the Hail Mary. She probably won't appear again but just an explanation for this diva. ALSO! If Rocky's dialogue is not written the same way as the book, I apologize, I fear I'm listening to the audiobook and currently do not have a visual reference. Cross posted on AO3
"Blip C is approaching." the feminine yet sterile voice of the ship rang out. Which we would've paid more attention to had Rocky and I not been already staring at space freaking ripping itself apart in front of us.
It was possibly one of the most beautiful and horrifying sights I have ever seen. Hues of blues, purples, and pinks, outlined the blinding white edges of the tear in a way that mimicked one of NASA's galaxy photographs. The rift didn't seem to have any gravity, or if it did, whatever tore this hole was localizing it enough for us to not be pulled in. The Hail Mary's alarms weren't blaring either so Rocky and I came to the silent conclusion of maybe we should just... watch... this all play out.
Twenty or so minutes ticked by. The hole got a little bigger then stopped. It's a promising sign really, means Rocky and I wouldn't have to solve another world ending crisis any time soon, or at least to the best of our knowledge we wouldn't. God I hope we don't. Ive had enough of that for one life time, scratch that, one Eridian life time and even then that's not enough.
"Grace look, statement."
I turned my head back towards the window and- dear lord- something is pulling itself through the hole. The thing was massive, just the part pulled through the hole was about the size of Rockeys ship. My jaw was slacked as I watched two delicate hands pull the hole open a little wider and shove the top half of its body through. It looked humanish at first. A feminine face, upper torso, and hair floating in the vast expanse of space. But then the feathers and multiple appendages; including but not limited to dozens of wings and masses that looked like the cross between a fetus and rotisserie chicken all emerging from its- her back. She was slightly translucent and looked as if she might be made of the stars themselves. She turned her head towards the Hail Mary and eyes are darker than the cosmos we floated in stared back.
Oh shit she's staring at us.
"What Rocky Grace do, question." Rocky spoke in an attempt at a hushed voice.
"I have no clue bud." I replied, frozen in terror.
She tilted her head side to side. Gosh she was amazing but I'm seriously trying not to crap myself right now.
After what seemed to be a moment of contemplation, a smile curled at her lips and she pulled a long arm through the hole. She reached out towards the Hail Mary with her fist loosely closed and then just... Stopped.
"What?" I asked no one particularly, still baffled by what was happening.
"Maybe being is trying to hand Grace and Rocky something, question." Rocky cut in, sharp as always.
I snapped my head down to look at him
"What could that thing possibly want to give us??? How would we even collect it??"
Rocky shrugged to the first question then answered, "Grace go outside."
Oh. I had forgotten about that while trying to wrap my head around this whole situation.
"Yea... Yea okay." Was all I responded. I know it's probably an extraordinarily stupid idea but what else are we supposed to do?
After a few minutes I got into the EVA suit and floated out to meet our reality ripping new friend. She seemed pleased then brought her hand closer, pausing momentarily when I flinched. She opened her palm and gently nudged what or rather who, she was holding towards me.
I caught the figure before he drifted off and once they were securely in my arms, she nodded and disappeared back through the hole again.
Just before the rift closed I got a nagging itch in my mind and the intrusive phrase:
Take care of our brother, star saviors
I floated there dumb founded for a minute before crackling came through my coms.
"Grace okay, question."
"Yea buddy, returning to you now."
"Quick quick quick."
"Im coming as quick as I can!"
Well. The person that the reality ripping being gave us looks to be human. Visually speaking, he's a young man who's probably in his late twenties. He's so pale I thought he might have just been a corpse handed off to us to deal with. I suppose that would be rather rude though of the mind bending, larger than life, reality ripping being that vaugly resembles a biblically acurate-
"Holy moly I think we just met God."
"Who is God, question." Rockys question pulls me away from my train of thought and back to the present. Oops, must've said that out loud.
I give him an exasperated look, "I'm gonna need to rain check that one."
Rocky gives me an exaggerated sigh movement but doesn't press.
My attention is turned back to the man. When I retrieved him his features were obscured by a mostly opaque thin membrane. Lucky for us the membrane melted upon coming into contact with room temperature. Upon analysis the membrane was, of course, water. Because why wouldn't it be. Despite my personal grudges against the compound, Rocky and I both concluded it must've been keeping the stranger alive while he was in the care of the erm... Angel. Let's just call it an angel for now because I'm not willing to unpack any further implications of a higher being right now.
The man the angel brought us is in fact alive though! Vitals taken by the ship confirmed that and he has no surface or internal injuries. The membrane was unfortunately his only cover so we have currently draped the sheet I used as a toga at the start of this endeavor as a covering for modesty. I felt rude to poke around to see if he and I have any anatomical differences so I am operating under the base assumption that he is also human, at least until he wakes up and proves otherwise. He has jet black hair with a sharp facial structure, a little mole near his right eye, and the most lucious eyelashes I have ever seen. It's damn near unfair how gorgeous our new companion is. Wait. New companion.
I groan and shove my face into my hands. Now we get to figure out survival with another mouth to feed. Maybe we will get lucky! Maybe he doesn't need to eat! Wait no, don't be stupid, everything needs to eat! That's how we got into the mess in the first place.
I must've slipped off into the blissful ignorance of dream land because I am woken up by loud banging, screaming, and hissing.
"Grace! New Human wake up! Chase Rocky!" Rocky scuttled around in his ball while the stranger staggered around agitated and violently swinging his arms around. He has his teeth bared, sharpened canines catching on the synthetic led lights, his fingers curled into a claw like motion, and he kept moving his shoulders in a way that seemed like he was used to having more limbs. His violent outburst turned to a distressed violent outburst.
"Woah! Hey! Hey calm down man!" I shout putting my hands up. Rocky rolls behind my legs and the stranger whips his head towards me. His blind panic stops for a moment and his shoulders slump. His eyes, the most brilliant blue I have ever seen, quickly scan me over. Recognition flickers in his gaze but is promptly overshadowed by disappointment, anger, and fear.
He looses his balance and I step forward to catch him. Instead, he catches himself on the wall and shoots me a nasty look. He instead clumsily moves over to the far corner where he curls into himself but keeps his sharp eyes trained on Rocky and I.
The room is so quiet you could hear a pin drop but I take a breath.
"Uhm hello." I nervously speak, careful not to move. He doesn't say anything.
"Uhm I'm not sure if you can even understand me but you're probably wondering where you are and who we are. I'm Ryland Grace, this is Rocky, you're currently aboard the Hail Mary. Do you remember how you got here?" Stupid question, of course he doesn't, he was unconscious for crying out loud!
He doesn't answer.
"Right um, let's start with something easier, do you have a name?" Way to go Grace you're operating under the assumption that this guy can even understand you.
I lower my hands and pinch the bridge of my nose with a sigh. I turn towards Rocky who is still standing alert behind me. What a nightmare this is all devolving into.
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and turned back to the stranger. He stood, well as much as you can in zero gravity but the way he composed himself told me that he was used to some sort of weightlessness. He straightened out and stood with his chest puffed out and chin held high. He commanded the same sort of respect I'd only ever seen in Stratt; unfortunately, the man before me was bare naked so some of the effect was lost.
Then, to my utter bafflement he finally spoke instead of hissing or growling. His speech was an incredibly odd and discerning variation of English. Most of the words were in fact what I assume to be an American variation of English; however, pronunciations, uses, and even entire phrases seemed to be pulled directly from other languages. Immediately I could recognize what seemed to be a heavy French and Japanese influence in his words. The way he spoke was domineering and, for lack of a better term, posh. But all wrapped together in the frankly bizarre bow of a thick western drawl. Listening to him speak was like hearing Dolly Parton give a presidential address while also slipping seamlessly between a handful of other languages. It sounded wrong like a pale imitation of real human communication but I chucked that thought away for later.
"I am Millions Knives but you can call me Lord Knives."
I snickered at that. Oh COME ON! Millions Knives? Gosh this is turning out to be one strange day.
I catch myself before any other noises of amusement could leave me. If looks could kill I would be skewered by the glare he sent me.
Composing myself I grab the sheet from his bed and hand it back to the stranger- Knives- with a nervous smile. Rocky still shifts wearily behind me, muttering "bad, bad, bad" and other phrases we have yet to translate.
"Well anyways, welcome aboard the Hail Mary, Knives."
