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Cupio - Chapter 6

Summary: Ryland Grace is learning to adjust to his new life on Erid. He's craving a connection he doesn't understand and can't quite articulate. Romantic feelings are confusing and inconceivable for him, but perhaps another type of relationship will fill the gap he's desiring.

Word Count: 7,322

Divider Credit

Beginning | <- Chapter 5 | Chapter 7 Coming Soon

Ao3 Crosspost

My arms have gotten stronger the last week. Not by much, but just a little. They still feel a bit like jelly, but hey, It's a little easier to sit up using my arms. I think it's improved my core strength as well. I was hesitant about using four pounds of weight to begin with, but it's apparently very effective. I guess there's a reason the U.S. military pushes their recruits so hard during boot camp.

Deep Space and I have built a rapport that can only be described as "frenemies." They no longer need the translator to understand me. I enjoy our banter. It's fun. I've learned that they'll blow a fuse if I intentionally do an exercise wrong and occasionally rage bait them with it. Not too much, of course. I don't want to actually make them upset. It's nice to have someone to talk to. They've even started watching over my sleep after training.

But still, I miss Rocky...He hasn't visited once besides that one time about a week ago. I can't help the tightness in my chest and painful heartbeat when I think about his absence. It makes me feel like I'm suffocating, like there's not enough air in this artificial environment to sustain me.

And Rocky is the only one who can help me breathe.

I scrunch my nose at my own thoughts and stare at the ceiling. That was cringe, wasn't it? But...it's true. I need him to visit again. He promised he would. He said "soon." A week in human time is a heck of a lot of time for Eridians and certainly isn't "soon." Is something wrong, or is he just busy? Who fudging knows. None of the other scientists know. Maybe that's a lie and they're just not telling me, though...

I sigh and wiggle and drag my way to face the tv on my belly. I grab a pillow and rest it under my chin. I wish I could sleep dreamlessly. It sounds nice to just fall unconscious to everything for a while. I could nap until Rocky's back. I can practically feel his claws kneading into my back and sigh, melting into the mattress.

I bounce my foot behind me. At the rate I'm going, I'm gonna end up addicted to screens. Well, moreso, I guess. My time on the Hail Mary probably had some effect on that. Maybe? Whether it did or didn't, my only real source of entertainment being screens right now is proooobably not good for me. I should teach the Eridian scientists how to play card games or something. But then again, that would just be a distraction from their work. Ugh.

I squirm a bit and press my face into the pillow. I just want to function independently. Is that too much to ask for? It is for a dumb, squishy, leaky human body. Once I can do stuff on my own, I'll barely bother them again. Maybe the occasional request if something is awry or I need some form of mental stimulation, but not this...constant surveillance.

I sigh and tap through my movie options. Watched that. Watched that. Watched that. Absolutely not. Eh. Watched that, it was boring. Watched that, it was gore porn, ew. Watched that. Watched that. Ughhhhh. Nothing looks interesting even though I have every movie and tv show ever made when the Hail Mary was launched.

I grumble and turn on Star Trek: Voyager. I've seen it before, but it'll be decent background noise at the very least. I'd love to read a book, but my glasses fell off the nightstand. I could maaaybe get them, but I'd probably also end up with a broken nose from the inevitable tumble. And it would be a waste of time for the scientists for someone to come in just to put them on my face and leave. So I'm stuck with more mind rotting films. Hooray.

I roll onto my back, ignoring the show and just watching the ceiling. I can feel my chest press down heavily and spread an unpleasant exhaustion through my limbs and head. I think my head is gonna explode if I don't do anything interesting soon. There's only so many hours I can pass by sleeping, and that's not a healthy thing to do consistently. My sleep schedule is definitely royally fudged.

Yet still, nothing happens. I'm fed, hydrated, bathed, and given some work outs every day, but other than that...nothing. Movies and shows are uninteresting. Reading is uninteresting. Video games are uninteresting. I don't know what to do. Well...Yes I do. Science. That's what I need to do. I want to test the gravity. I want to learn everything about Eridian biology. I want to do something that involves math and research. Siiiiiggh. Math and research...My two loves. Oh what I'd give for you, math and research.

From what I've gathered about the Eridians, both on the Hail Mary and here on Erid - although who knows what all I can trust about what Rocky told me - the Eridians do share quite a few of the same organs as humans while also having many, many differences. I huff and wiggle my way up to the head of the bed to grab my tablet off the nightstand and open it. Their carapaces are strong and thick, made of inorganic material that protects their organic insides. Their muscles and nerves are also not organic. The muscles are a spongy material that runs on steam power and their nerves...I still need to research more on. I think they're just there to pick up vibrations. Even their brains aren't organic. They're crystals that send vibrations and...some other sorts of signals. I need to just research their neurology in general. It's literally worlds away from human neurology.

Then there's the organic stuff. They have a stomach, hearts, an energy sac absolutely loaded with waaayyy more ATP than any living thing should be able to hold, and a reproductive organ that produces eggs once a mating cycle non-sexually. Aaaand that's all I know. Pleaaaassseeee just let me learn more. I beg of anyone who will listen. How can they hold that much energy without dying? How does their egg cycle work? Do they produce them every cycle, or us it stimulated by some outside force? It would make sense if its similar to the human menstrual cycle and an unused egg is just discarded...But I never saw Rocky lay any eggs. So maybe that means they have to be stimulated by an outside force? Perhaps there's some mating ritual that's the equivalent of foreplay to prepare mates for producing offspring?

And what about all their other unknown organs? The stomach digests, obviously, but does anything else assist or work afterwards? Do they have glands releasing things such as biles to break down certain food bonds? Are there organs that do things I can't even comprehend?

"Grace!"

I flinch and nearly fling my stylus off the bed. When I turn around, Adrian is standing at the door. I sit up quickly and rest the tablet out of the way. I haven't seen them since their last visit. This is odd.

"Oh, hello! Um...How can I help you?" I ask. I fidget with my fingers.

They make a low sound. "Scientists have large thrum. Taumoeba working, but they have theories and questions to improve it and make it better."

I blink and smile. "Oh. That sounds fantastic. There's probably some sort of way to improve it to work fast-"

"Grace needed at committee, statement."

I blink again and tilt my head a little. "I...What?"

"Grace needed at science committee. Adrian take Grace. Not far."

I smile more and sit up straighter. "A science committee? I...Wow...Thank you! I'm hono-"

Adrian turns around and steps from the room. I frown a bit. Rude. It must be really important if they didn't even bother to let me finish. A scientific conference...Oh, how I've missed those. Sure, my last one was...less than ideal, but look at me now! I'm the first human to ever attend a conference with alien life! Take that, bitches!

I smirk and lean forward to try to peek around the door. I feel myself teeter a bit too far and slump down onto my face with an "oof!" Agh...My neck and back. Right, right. Relax. I wiggle my way onto my side and look up again. "Sunlight" filters from the living room window into my room. For the first time in ages, I feel wide awake. My heart flutters and twists gleefully.

Taumoeba, huh? Well, that's certainly my specialty at this point. I already have a bit of an idea of what do do. The easiest solution would be to breed them to replicate faster. That way, they can attack the Astrophage in higher numbers. However, that would be difficult to do in this type of single-cell organism. Amoebas actually split incredibly quickly on their own through binary fission to create two daughter cells, meaning there's one more cell than before each cycle, and Taumoeba is no different. Just another show of how accurate the panspermia theory is now. Probably. I'd have to check genetic markers again.

If the Eridians maintain their own Taumoeba cultures in the perfect environment, they could have trillions of the little guys incredibly quickly. They would need to keep them in the ideal heat with plenty of food. I'm sure they're already doing that, of course. If they keep it ideal, each cell will replicate between thirty minutes to an hour. However...getting them to increase their baseline replication speed will me difficult. They'll have to be carefully selected and placed aside in another culture based on their speeds and then the scientists will have to adjust the environment in accordance to what makes them split faster. It's unfortunate they can't be bred sexually like other certain types of amoebas. I've always found that easier than tweaking the environment. Sexual organisms can just be grabbed and placed together. One minor error in culture environment will ruin the entire batch for species with binary fission.

I frown. It'll be difficult for this to actually work. Potentially the only real solution will be for them to breed as much as possible and continue sending it to space. The conditions here and in the vacuum will be too different for the cells to continue replication at their fastest rate.

I'm brought back to reality from the sound of footsteps returning to my room. Adrian rumbles. "Mobilization ready, statement," they say flatly. "May Adrian carry Grace to it, question?"

I nod a little and push the quilt off my lap. "Of course. What is it?"

"Is similar to human wheelchair. Dome around it with air conditioner inside for oxygen recycling and cooling." They lift me up bridal style without difficulty in their front arms. I go slightly red from the proximity. I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that they could squish me like a bug right now if they wanted to.

I'm carried out into the living room. New place! It's gorgeous! The window takes up the entire wall in a triangle shape, there's a coffee table, there's a little chair, there's- Aaaaand we went right past it. Darn. I wanted at least a little more of a look before we go out. I look back ahead to see a little kitchen area next to the living room, separated by a wall. It's small and lacks most essentials like a fridge or stove, but it's obvious what it is based on the counter layout. Hopefully I'll get to use it someday. On a wall parallel to the kitchen is a door. The front door. It has to be.

I smile when Adrian opens the door and steps out then blink in surprise. I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. We're inside a fairly small xenonite glass enclosure. There's little light. What does shine is coming from the right in the direction that the living room is at. That must mean they only set up lighting where they new I would be at for now. That makes sense. Outside the glass is just pure darkness. I can see a tiny bit of an earthy ground a few inches beyond, but that's it. I swallow and curl up a little.

I flinch as I'm suddenly set down. Oh. I'm in the dome wheelchair thing. I was so focused on everything else that I didn't even notice it, I guess. It's not very large. It's just big enough to give me about a foot of wiggle room on each side. I'm leaning against a cushioned seat that helps with the pressure on my spine. At my feet is a whirring filter. That must be my oxygen source. Eridians, don't fail me now.

Adrian closes up the top of the dome. The filter hisses to life. They start pushing behind it towards the glass in front of us. I feel my skin prickle and hear my heart in my ears.

"U-um, is there any way I could get a flashlight or something?" I ask. "It's uh...Reallyyyy dark out there. I can't see anything."

Adrian seems to consider a moment before speaking. "What is new word, question?" they chirp. "Is not in translator."

I blink. Oh. I guess they wouldn't know unless already told. Odd that it's not in the translator. I guess I never bothered adding it when I explained it to Rocky who knows how long ago. "It's a handheld device that emits light. It'll help me see," I tell them.

"Oh. Ok. Adrian will get 'fleshlight' for Grace."

I widen my eyes and nearly choke on my own spit. "Ah! Um, 'flashlight!' Not...Not 'fleshlight!'" I splutter.

They make an inquisitive sound, probably because of my admittedly childish reaction. "Oh. Understand. 'Flashlight.' Apology."

"It's fine..."

They step into my home again. They'll, uh...figure it out. I think I caught a glimpse of Armando in the living room, so maybe Mary is also downloaded somewhere and can help. Oh man, if Mary is in there and I didn't know all this time, that would be really freaking annoying.

I look out at the dark world beyond the glass. I knew it was going to be dark here. The atmosphere is waaayyyy thicker than Earth's to the point that sunlight doesn't even filter through. The only thing the star Erididani even contributes to the planet is heat. It's quite good for the Eridians current evolutionary stage, but it's awful for me. It looks...scary, is the only word I can think of. The dark has always been spooky, but knowing there's nothing but darkness across the entire planet makes my heart thump faster.

I turn around to see Adrian returning holding a flashlight. They open the top of the dome and drop it in for me. I prop it up on my lap and face it outwards.

"Thank you," I say, trying to sound cheery.

"Mhm," they reply.

They close the top hatch again and make sure it's sealed before pushing the entire contraption forward again. A part of the glass wall surrounding my home opens up as a door. We head inside a new room. It's very small and just barely fits both of us. I think Adrian might be pressed up against one side. The doorway closes again and hissing sounds fill the air. They must be depressurizing and repressurizing it with Erid's air. I've grown quite fond of airlocks in the last five years.

Once the air is filled with Erid's, the door in front of us opens. I turn on my flashlight. There's nothing but rock ahead along with a couple tent-like structures and various tools I don't recognize. A small, pale green Eridian skitters forward and trills at Adrian. I strain my ears, but they're both speaking in pitches I can't understand. I frown. Either it's important, or they just don't want me to hear for some other reason. It's a bit rude, but I suppose Stratt gave me the same treatment all the time. I should be used to it.

The little Eridian that I've decided is now named Beetle helps Adrian shed the xenonite suit. I lean forward a little to get a better look at them now that the glass isn't in the way. They're gorgeous. Their greens and golds shine brilliantly under my flashlight and their carapace seems to be smooth. I wonder if the roughness of Eridian shell is any sort of beauty standard in their culture? Because if it is, they must be a super model.

Adrian makes a fast, angry gesture with a hand. Beetle squeaks and shrinks back a bit before skittering off in the direction they pointed. I flinch a bit from the movement and shrink down in my seat. They're quite terrifying when they want to be. They turn towards me with a low rumble. It sounds like Rocky's annoyed clicking in a deeper octave.

"♪♩♩ is going ahead to tell committee that Grace Adrian are here," they growl.

I nod a little and grip my flashlight like a lifeline as I'm pushed forward. Once we get a little further, the light shines enough to reveal what looks like a cliff face. We're heading for a large entrance in it. It's probably about ten feet tall and seven feet wide. As we go in, I shine the flashlight around to get a good look. The entrance opens into a short hallway with rough stone walls. Some sort of carvings are all over it. Stories, perhaps? Art? Instructions? Random doodles that people put on them? I'm not sure. They're quite beautiful, though.

Ahead of us is a large hatch made of thick, opaque xenonite. They're pushed open when my "wheelchair" bumps into it. The room we go into is massive. It looks like an auditorium. The ceiling is high, probably standing at about fifty feet, rounded, and smooth. The floor is laid out in several layers going down like stairs. Wrong. Like seating. Eridians of all shapes and sizes sit along the steps. They whisper amongst themselves, a couple pointing at me. The middle of the room is wide open with space for at least ten humans to stand. The far side of the dome has a higher stand with two other stands on either side, slightly shorter than the highest one. At the top is a rough grey figure. On either side of them are smoky black and brilliant red figures, the black on the left and the red on the right.

I'm pushed down with a thud at every step down towards the middle. My hands tremble a bit around my flashlight. I'm stopped on the bottom step in front of the floor. I look around a bit then blink and grin. Rocky is sitting next to me! He's so close I could practically touch him!

"Rocky!" I whisper. I place my fist against the glass. He tilts a bit towards me in acknowledgment but otherwise doesn't move. My smile drops a bit and I place my hand back in my lap. I feel some heat rise in my face. This is serious. There's no time to be excited to see my friend. But it's been so long! He could've at least returned the fist bump!

Adrian goes and sits on the other side of him. They accidentally bump against his leg and they both quickly jolt away from each other. Huh.

"Savior Grace," the highest Eridian trills. "We are glad you are here today. Many thanks from all of Erid for your service."

There's a pause. I blink before clearing my throat and replying. I mentally curse at the crack in my voice. "Y-yes, thank you for having me. It was a pleasure to work alongside Rocky to find the solution to the Astrophage problem." Public speaking skills, don't fail me now.

"Savior Rocky has been of great help with Astrophage and your home." They sound a bit dismissive. I frown.

"♬♬♩ assumes Adrian has told Savior Grace why she is here today, question?" they ask. Ugh..."she..."

"Yes, they did," I answer. There is a bit of a stir around me. Rocky stiffens and leans towards me.

"Savior Grace refer to all but Rocky as 'he' in company," he whispers. "Is most polite. Only call Rocky 'they.'"

I scrunch my face and sink in on myself a little. Great. First meeting and I already messed up formalities. That must be my answer to everything before. Pronouns are status titles. Same as "ma'am" or "sir" or "zir."

"S-sorry..." I start. "He gave me the run down. You want me to join in helping with Taumoeba research to make it attack Astrophage faster?"

"Hm. Research is going well on our own," they reply. I frown a little. Darn. "Scientists want Savior Grace's opinions. You are celebrated scientist in molecular biology, yes?"

I swallow and look down. "Um..." Darn it, how do I explain without making myself look bad...I continue slowly. "I have a lot of experience and knowledge in my field. I was a jerk when I was younger and lost a lot of respect, but I've come to understand how to handle different opinions so that I can work with others to come to accurate conclusions about science."

It reaalllyyyy feels like I'm at an interview right now. A few Eridians mumble amongst themselves. I shift a little.

The grey Eridian - I'm gonna call them "Creek" - taps a foot on their seat. Everyone quiets down again. They're very quiet compared to the average science conference on Earth.

"Past not matter. Savior Grace help now, statement" they chirp.

I nod and look up. "Where do we start? Replication speed?"

They...he gestures at me. I continue. "Well, they're amoebas that breed through binary fission, which means there's only so much we can do." I tap my feet in front of me. "If their ideal conditions are found, and I mean the most ideal they could possibly be, then the strongest Taumoeba could be selected and placed in those conditions to split faster. Their baseline replication can be sped up, but it will reach its peak at some point and won't be able to go faster."

Creek taps some claws and shifts back and forth a little. "Scientists already know. ♬♫♬?"

A large cobalt Eridian to the left and a few steps above me stands and trills. "Ideal conditions have been met. Taumoeba are breeding at max rate, statement," they say. "♬♫♬ know much, but not sure how to make better. Taumoeba work now, but will slow replication in space."

I frown. Of course they already know that. They've probably studied these more than I ever did in five years and also used my logs about it.

"Could a lab be built in space to breed them in the environment they'll be living in?" I ask. "That could help them be able to adapt to withstand the conditions they'll be in once they're released."

Silly, perhaps, since they were in space around the Planet Adrian's atmosphere too. But Erid's is a little heavier than their home planet. And Eridani is a bit bigger than their home star as well. The poor things need proper resistance to heat and pressure.

Creek gestures to...Cobalt. Why not.

"...Cobalt...believes could work. A small team could come examine and see if changes are made, statement," they say slowly.

I smile and perk up a bit. Now we're getting somewhere. "And genetic engineering. Changes could be made to speed RNA transcription so that new DNA can be created faster. That'll allow the cell to be split at a quicker rate."

"Genetic...engineering, question?" Cobalt squeaks.

I blink and glance around. I can recognize a few tones as being confused. Ohhh...What? They're this advanced and don't know what that is?

"Yeah...Genetic engineering. It's when someone intervenes to change the genes in something to make it do something else," I explain. "In this case - and I didn't find the specific gene for this - a gene in the Taumoeba could be tweaked to encourage the RNA polymerase to unzip and transcribe the DNA strands into RNA strands faster.

"And this altered gene would not harm deoxyribonucleic acids or function, question?" an Eridian next to Cobalt asks.

I tap my fingers on my flashlight in thought. It definitely would if it's not done correctly, and they'd lose some in the research for it, but they also have so much that it wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Some would be harmed. Whatever you're testing on would likely just die. Or it would replicate and then the daughter cells would die. Pretty much anything could happen that result in death. It may not be possible as well. Other organelles would suffer from the stress of transcription. Unless ATP is created faster, it's possible the cell wouldn't even be able to have enough energy to even transcript every nucleotide and the cell would be unable to create what it needs to split."

"Understand."

Creek wiggles left and right. "Much, much time would be wasted in learning this. It take many years for basic elements to be understood. Even longer for microscopic life forms," they growl.

That...kind of makes sense? I'm not entirely sure how a blind species was able to discover the exact number of atoms in the elements to begin with. But then again, they're probably confused how humans managed to discover the fundamentals without good hearing. Learning how life works, a thing that even scientists on Earth are still trying to fully understand, must have been an absolutely grueling experience.

"Savior Rocky," Creek calls. Rocky sits up straighter. "You will be head of space lab construction. Design good good good environment for scientists and Taumoeba. Make sure none leak."

"Understood," Rocky mumbles. He shrinks back down in his seat. His legs fold against himself and rise above his carapace at the middle joints. I frown and rest a shaky hand against the bottom of the glass by him. He doesn't react. Adrian moves a claw a bit closer to them, but they both just shift away from each other after a second. I frown deeper and look between the two before turning my attention back to Creek.

"So what happens if it doesn't work?" I ask. "It's possible all the samples in that lab would just die."

Creek waves a dismissive hand. "Scientists either try new method or leave it. Taumoeba do their job either way. Faster just better."

I scowl a bit and lean against my seat more heavily. Giving up...There's probably other important things for them to focus on, but this is the future of a star, for goodness sake. And not just that. This is the future of science! The future of everything we thought we knew about life! This is a life form that can live and thrive in space! It doesn't just go dormant like tardigrades can to survive, they actively eat and reproduce and evolve. This us a life form that can function without oxygen, in a freezing environment, with little to no water to absorb. Hell, technically my thesis was right! Taumoeba does better with water, but it can live perfectly fine without!

"Moving on to the next matter." I flinch as Creek taps his legs against the smooth rock under him. "Taumoeba is highly adaptive species that has been proven to attack most life forms smaller than itself or weaker than itself. If Taumoeba bred well, it could help with disease."

I tilt my head. So they are doing more with it. As they should. Medicine, huh? I think I've heard of a few experiments on Earth testing with amoebas to see if they can be used to aid in bacterial illnesses. Non-parasitic ones, of course. I think they've helped with studying cancer as well? I'd have to look into it. I can't remember all the details of my speed reads.

A dark brown Eridian next to me stands. On their other side is Sandstone. I give them a small wave and they return it. The Eridian wiggles a bit, shifting its carapace to make an uncomfortable scraping sound .

"Taumoeba react well to ♬♪♩♫♩ bacteria," they trill. "It not like it at first, but quickly adapted to eat it. The only problem is they are slow and target other prey first."

I furrow my brow. I'll probably never get to know that bacteria's name unless I give it an English name. Stupid translation errors.

Creek trills lowly. "Bad bad. Target needs to be ♬♪♩♫♩. How changes made, question?"

"Taumoeba not accustomed to ♬♪♩♫♩ bacteria. It is not attracted to molecules released from it at the same degree as other prey. ♪♪♫ and Sandstone believe selective breeding will yield desired results."

There's some excited chirps around the auditorium. Whatever this disease is, it must be pretty awful. I thiiiiink I sat in on a medical conference once out of curiosity back in my early days of research? I could be mixing it up with something else. But I do remember that everyone was very excited over pretty much everything. Some things are the same across galaxies, I suppose.

"Savior Grace, what could genetic engineering do for Taumoeba medical research, question?" the brown Eridian asks. I'll call him...Clay.

"O-oh, well...I don't really have much knowledge on the topic. I know the basics of how genetic engineering works, of course, but I'm not sure for medical work," I say. "I guess...finding a gene to adjust what molecules it needs for survival could work? If it's changed so that its chemical receptors are specialized for whatever the bacteria releases, it could be more likely to target it."

"Hmm...Selective breeding sound easier, statement."

"Probably. Both would take a while to perfect, but if it's an emergency, then selective breeding would be the way to go initially before genes could be altered later to make it more precise."

Creek makes a small jazz hands gesture. So he can be happy. "Very very good," he trills. "But how might quick adaptation affect Eridians, question? Amoebas are predatory."

I jump in before Clay or Sandstone can answer. "Amoebas can adapt to end up becoming parasitic towards the person they're supposed to help. They're opportunistic. If they become accustomed to another organism's cells, they may attack them."

I feel goosebumps rise on my arms. If what I'm saying holds true of Taumoeba, then I could end up with a brain eating or gut eating parasite that's nearly impossible to eradicate. But it has been so much time since I started it...Maybe they wouldn't.

I'm surprised by Adrian's deep, melodic voice trilling next to me. "Shell Shed primarily infects the bonds between organic and inorganic materials," they say. "If Taumoeba is effective against ♬♪♩♫♩, it will save many people. If it evolves, it will be even more dangerous than Shell Shed."

I shudder a bit. "Shell Shed." That's what they're talking about. Rocky mentioned it on the way here, probably about two years ago. It's one of the biggest killers on the planet and little can be done to stop it. The carapace slowly loosens and falls piece by piece from the rest of the body until there's nothing left but the organic insides, leaving the infected vulnerable to other pathogens and predators. Those that get it are quarantined and left to die unless they're selected for experimental treatment. It sounds a lot like how leprosy was treated centuries ago before effective treatments were created. And it functions similarly between humans and Eridians. Leprosy...

"Are there any antibiotic treatments that work against Shell Shed?" I ask. "Not just one, but a mix of different ones?"

Sandstone coos lowly. "Nothing. All treatments are ineffective. Antibiotics have been tried for centuries, statement."

Drat. Also, duh. Of course they have. Taumoeba could possibly be the last option they have. I...Ugh. I'm useless here...

"Ok, so nothing works, Taumoeba is the last option, but there's a fear of it adapting to attack Eridian cells instead of the bacteria," I say slowly. "But the thing is, I've been eating it for four or five Earth years now and still haven't had any negative side effects."

"Situation different though," Clay trills. "Savior Grace eating and digesting. Taumoeba not eaten or digested in Shell Shed cure. It is placed in infected areas to kill bacteria."

"Yes, I know. But the point is that it's highly adaptive and still hasn't changed to attack any of my cells. If even one remains in my system, it would eventually adapt to harm me. But it hasn't done that."

There's a short pause before Sandstone speaks. "Perhaps shows resistance. But there would be no chance of Taumoeba dying in Eridians unless intervention kills them. Most die in Savior Grace."

I clench my jaw and sit up straighter. "You're not listening. Something is different. Something is blocking them from attacking me. I don't know what. Maybe there's a gene in human DNA that prevents it. Maybe I'm just unbelievably lucky. But something is protecting me.

"I'm terrified of the idea of Taumoeba adapting to eat me alive, but given the fact that it took a mere couple of months to break free of xenonite containment before, that means they change very quickly. I ate it for five years. Five. Years. And never once has it adapted to attack me."

I pause, letting it sink in. I might be setting myself up as an experimental lab animal, but I need to get the idea across for them. I could help save thousands.

"Something in me could hold the secret to protection from Taumoeba. Hell, maybe it's not unique to me. Maybe your species has it too. You need to proceed with caution because it could easily become an outbreak if it becomes parasitic, but maybe it could be the answer you're looking for."

There's some excited chittering throughout the room. Sandstone and Clay look hesitant. I nod at them. "Just try. But uh...Yeah, please be careful. Seriously."

My ears ring a bit and my pulse throbs in them. I don't even entirely know what I just said...I just said it. It was probably incredibly stupid, too. I could be setting up their species for failure, heck, maybe even extinction, if my theory is wrong. What if there isn't a resistance gene in me? What if I'm just lucky? What if my cells are just better made to destroy any harmful Taumoeba? I mean, my immune system is much stronger...But maybe that is a good thing. I could be used as reference for it. They could...ugh...take some white blood cells from me to potentially make a kill switch medication against dangerous Taumoeba. Anything is possible this early into medical development.

Creek bangs a foot on the ground a few times. Everyone quiets down. Sandstone gives me a little thumbs up, which I return with a smile.

"Much much much research still needed for Taumoeba," Creek chirps. "Thrum will be held tonight for all scientists on Astrophage project. Engineers tomorrow morning, and medical team tomorrow night. Don't be late."

I look around the room. Some wiggle excitedly, others grumble. Rocky droops a bit and Adrian remains emotionless. I frown and lean against the glass. My friend leans towards me a tiny bit. Adrian makes a low sound and Rocky leans away again. Huh.

"Meeting dismissed. Make it to thrums on time," Creek calls. People scatter. Some move quickly, others hang around to chat with each other. Sandstone waves as he leaves. I wave back.

Adrian comes up behind me to drag my "wheelchair" up the steps so we can leave. I turn my head to the side so I can give them a small smile. "Thank you for the help, Adrian. I really appreciate it."

"Hm..." they grumble. "Welcome."

Rocky hangs back, chirping with who I assume is one of his friends. My smile drops a bit. Would it be rude to interrupt? Yes. Do I care right now? No.

"Rocky!" I call. He looks up. "Join us? It's been a while..."

There's a second of hesitation before he taps his friend and climbs up after us. "Sorry, Savior Grace. Rocky very busy lately," he chirps.

I raise an eyebrow and grin. "You don't need to call me that, Rock. It's weird."

"Professional company. Is polite."

"Oh." I think back to my error with Adrian before. "So I'm assuming pronouns are honorifics here? 'She' is for superiors, 'he' inferiors, and 'they' for equals?"

Rocky chirps. "Yes yes. Exactly."

I gape a bit. I've been calling Rocky my inferior...for years now? Why didn't he tell me? And...Wait a minute, he's been calling me inferior too!

"Rock, you didn't tell me that I've been referring to you as less than me all this time? And you called me your inferior too?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

He wiggles back and forth as he walks. "Apology, apology. Rocky confused at first but got used to it," he trills.

I sigh. "It's fine. I prefer how it is anyway. Ack, but I'll refer to you as 'they!'"

My friend giggles and raps the glass around me with a claw. "No, no. Rocky prefer Savior Grace use 'he.' Sounds normal now, statement."

"Oh...Ok." I sink into my seat and sigh. I have got to be the most culturally insensitive person ever. What a wonderful first impression I've made. And I called Adrian's mate 'he' in front of them over and over.

I turn to Adrian. "Do you mind if I still refer to you with 'they?' I don't want to be superior to you."

They shift a bit while pushing me towards the exit doors. "It's fine. Call me whatever you want," they say. I nod slowly and look ahead again.

Ordinarily, going outside again would be great. Stepping into the sunlight after a long day of meetings is one of the best feelings in the world. But here we are in complete and utter darkness. I look around a little to see what's on the opposite side of where we came from. There's the tents and tools a little ways away, of course, and a little to the right of it appears to be a drop. We're probably in a mountainous region then considering we just came from a carved cave in a mountainside. I wonder how that affects their progress on my home? I guess it doesn't matter anyway since I can't exactly go out on my own, but it's still interesting.

I shake my head to clear my thoughts and smile and look down at Rocky. "You don't have your meeting until tomorrow, so how about you and Adrian join me? Just to hang out for a while," I ask. I feel my heart thump excitedly and my stomach twist with glee.

There's a moment of silence only broken by tapping feet and trilling of other Eridians nearby. Rocky speaks slowly. "We can make some time. Yes Adrian, question?"

They respond stiffly. "Sure. A little time. Savior Grace seem restless."

Hmm...They can stay then? I don't like the tension in the air. It's hard to decipher. Stress must be getting to everyone. Rocky has never said no or pulled away from touch unless he was really annoyed. Maybe it's just unprofessional to touch mates in public like I theorized before? Maybe?

I'm snapped from my thoughts at the sound of hissing. Oh. We're already in the airlock. Adrian and Rocky got into their xenonite suits really quick.

I sigh in relief at the sight of light. It stings my eyes a little bit even out here, but it's a sting I appreciate. Adrian stops pushing and opens the top of my dome, lifting me out. I take a deep breath of the fresher air and sigh.

"You guys outdid yourselves here," I chuckle.

"Science team and engineering team very talented, statement," they reply. Their tone takes on a slightly sharp tinge as they walk to the front door of my home. "Even if they spend all their time working."

Rocky follows behind with a few stomps. "Yes. Engineers work very hard. Harder than earth team," he trills.

The grip around me tightens a bit. I stiffen and look up. There's no face to see, but I can still see the irritation across Adrian's blank features.

"Right. Earth team all lazy and pointless," they growl. "No point in proper environment, right, question? Grace perfectly fine in house."

"Adrian refer to him as 'Savior Grace,'" Rocky growls back. "Is proper term for his position."

I shift a little uncomfortably. Great...What the hell am I supposed to do in this position.

"I, um...Would prefer just 'Grace,'" I mumble.

"'Savior Grace' and 'him' in same sentence." Adrian makes a scoff sound. "Bad bad bad grammar."

"Like Adrian never make mistake," Rocky grumbles back.

"Not dumb pebble mistake."

Rocky growls and stomps ahead to my bedroom. I look up at Adrian and then back at him. I would love to get out of this situation...I've been dragged into one too many fights by friends wanting me to help back home- Back on Earth.

Adrian follows and gently sets me in bed sitting up. They help rest the quilt across my lap and then turn to Rocky again.

"There. Happy, question?" they ask with a harsh chirp.

My friend wiggles side to side. "Oh, good job. Basic task done. Amaze amaze, sarcasm," he snaps.

"At least Adrian does basic tasks! Rocky do nothing but sleep sleep sleep! Adrian get home? Rocky sleeps! Adrian leaves? Rocky sleeps! Adrian need help? Rocky sleeps!"

"Rocky busy with many tasks! Astrophage help and biodome help!"

"Oh, sure! Rocky help everyone but Adrian!"

I scrunch my face and clench my jaw. Shit. My ears ring from the high pitch shrieking. I shakily go to cover them, feeling my eyes prickle with tears. Do I...Do I help? This isn't mine to get involved in, but I...I don't want them to fight...But if I join in, I'll just end up taking sides. That'll only make the situation worse.

Adrian points at me. "If Rocky want to keep watching pet, then Rocky keep watching! Adrian going home, statement! Locking door!"

They stomp towards the door. Rocky shrinks back before skittering after them a few steps. "Wait! My love, please!" he trills. "Rocky sorry!"

The door slams shut. Rocky sinks to a sit, joints risen above his carapace. I bite my lip and uncover my ears. I was right...I am a problem. I'm distracting them from bigger problems. Astrophage should be the priority, but here I am, dependent and useless.

I press a fist to my mouth. I can feel hot waves spilling through my chest and face, threatening to drop tears from my eyes. I take a slow, deep breath and close my eyes.

"Rocky...I'm sorry," I whisper. "I never meant for this. I knew I was an inconvenience, but I-I didn't think it was this bad..."

"Grace no need to apologize," he responds with a quite warble. "Rocky is bad mate. Bad bad bad."

I crack my eyes open to look at him. Steam is fogging his suit. "Rocky, sorry...Need to find Adrian, statement..."

"Of course. Go ahead. They need you."

Rocky practically drags himself to the door and opens it, stepping out slowly. The bottom of him scrapes the floor.

I look down at my lap. My hands are trembling. This is all my fault. If I weren't so needy, if I weren't so helpless, none of this would have happened. Maybe they would be happy without the worry of whether I'm doing alright or not.

I let out a shaky sigh and press a face to my hand. Get it together, Ryland...I lean back against the pillows and stare ahead. I'll just...Exist. No fussing, no complaining. I'll just exist here.

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