Rocky and I had stopped the ship for a little while since the proximity alarm had gone off. We could have gone around but Rocky insisted I go check out what was likely just some space rock. But what I'm seeing in front of me is not a space rock. It looks to be some kind of ship or sub. Rusty and beat up. Floating. In the middle of space. What the heck.
I headed back inside the Hail Mary to figure out what to do with Rocky. Obviously I'm not just gonna go around the random metal sub in the middle of space. What if there's someone inside? On the other hand what if there's something inside that'll lay eggs in my ears. I choose not to think about that possibility. It went fine when I met Rocky didn't it? What could go wrong? Other than anything and everything.
"how do we even open it safely?" I ask Rocky "I mean if there's someone alive in there we can't just pop the seal on their air or whatever it is they survive in."
"yes yes I know Grace, Rocky is thinking, quiet."
I take a breath. Did rocky and I actually find an alien ship... Another alien ship I suppose. If that's what it is they why does it look so beat up? Plus it definitely doesn't look like it belongs in space. It's small too even in comparison to the Hail Mary, which was tiny compared to Rocky's ship. Maybe their tiny aliens.
Rocky is pacing in his area of the room. Pacing in zero g is pretty impressive actually. It's clear he's unsure of what to do. "We could take a sample of the atmosphere in the ship" I offer, Rocky immediately perks up, "Yes Yes yes good idea. I make extraction device. You Poke holes in ship get sample then hole in ship!"
"how will I seal it though?" I ask
"xenonite, obvious answer, stupid Grace."
"rude... But okay that should work. How will I poke the hull though? We don't know how thick it is."
"i make tool" he replies bluntly and hurries off to go make whatever it is he's making.
I wait about twenty minutes and rocky returns with what's basically a big xenonite needle. Great, my favorite. "It has seal, once you poke ship hull you press button and it seals. Understand?"
"I got it Rock. Then how do I deal with the hole I just poked in someone else's ship?"
"I give you glue, xenonite."
Once I've retrieved the items I figure out how to attach them to my belt on the EVA suit, I head back out into the abyss. I hook on the longest tether I have to the ship and push off towards the small ship, gently, I don't want to smack into anything. It takes a bit but I reach the sub looking ship and grab onto it. The thing looks even worse up close with my helmet lights.
"is working? You at the ship now, question?" Rocky asks through my headset
"yes Rocky, I'm working on it."
"good. Good."
He's being impatient, I can tell by the tones in his speech. I take a breath and quickly poke a hole in the ship's hull it gives out easier than I expected even if the needle is xenonite. I barely give it a second before I click the button and grave the glue, pressing the tube to the hole and squeezing what was probably more than necessary, luckily it made a hole less than an inch wide.
Once I'm sure the hole is sealed I return to the hail Mary with the sample. The only issue is, we're going to have to turn on the centrifuge to do any testing. Which is going to be a bit of a nuisance. I repressurise the air lock and set aside the big needle as I take off the EVA suit. Once I get it off I grab the needle, I stare at it for a moment, there's a viscous red liquid clinging to the tip of the needle where it had likely punctured into the ship. I really hope that it wasn't anything important... Or toxic to me... The thought gets me to hurry it to the quarantine chamber. (The thing where he put the cylinder container rocky threw to him in the movie)
"you got it, good good. Why put it in chamber, question?" Rocky asks
"it has something on it. I might have poked something in the ship I shouldn't have. Or they live in liquid. Or I killed something."
"oh... That is bad. Bad bad bad."
"very, I'm gonna turn on the centrifuge so we can run tests on the liquid then the air we got in the needle"
"yes"
I get the centrifuge running and get some of the red liquid onto a slide. I hate that it looks like blood. I've never been good with that side of things despite being a microbiologist, blood makes me queasy.
I place the slide on the microscope and peer in... What the ffffffrick... It's blood. Human blood. At least extremely similar to it. How is that even possible. "What is it Grace, question? What is? Grace?"
"it um... It has nearly the exact makeup of human blood Rocky..."
"What?! How? How is possible, Grace is only human ever so far from earth. How how how? Is bad, question?"
"I don't know Rock. I'm flabbergasted too."
He tilts himself to the side slightly, main body now at an angle, like a dog tilting it's head.
"confused. It's a different way of saying confused."
"ooooh. That stupid. Why have many words for same thing, question?"
"i think we have more important concerns at the moment"
"yes yes, okay"
I sigh heavily and run a hand through my hair. A ship, in the middle of nowhere in space. With blood and who knows what else inside. Not scary or concerning at all. Okay don't panic, breathe. It's probably fine... Hopefully.
"Grace is breathing very fast. Grace okay question?"
"y-yeah Rock. I'm okay... Just give me a minute."
"mmh... Okay."
---------------
It takes me a minute but I manage to regulate my breathing and calm myself and return to mostly rational thought. If there's blood it's likely a human on the ship who is injured. How a human would be out here I have no clue but I'm gonna check the air quality from the collection tube.
"Grace okay now question?"
"yeah I'm alright buddy." I tell Rocky
I get the needle out of the containment area and check what's in the air with one of the various tools provided on the Hail Mary. Entirely breathable air. (To me at least. Deathly to Rocky) All the evidence points to it being another human on that ship. How? I'll hopefully be able to find out. But based of the blood I either accidentally stabbed someone or there's blood in there from something... So I should probably see if I can get whoever is in there out.
"it's breathable air. For me at least. Somehow it seems there could be a human in there" I tell Rocky
"how question?"
"im not sure but the blood indicates someone is probably hurt in there though, which means I'm going on a rescue mission..." I pause for a moment
"do you think you have enough xenonite to seal the ship to the airlock?"
"what is Grace planning question?"
"since the air is breathable we could cut a hole in the ship with it sealed to the airlock. Pull out whoever is inside"
"that is stupid, Grace is stupid"
"it's the best we've got bud. Besides the ship doesn't look to have any functional thrusters"
"... I have enough. But how grace make seal while inside airlock question?"
"I'll figure it out."
"and how grace get ship over to Hail Mary question?"
"we... Oh"
"stupid Grace"
I sigh and side eye Rocky for pointing out the stupidity in my plan I guess it has been a while since I've slept. That might be the issue. Still, the current issue is a bit urgent for me to take a nap.
"do you have a better idea then?" I ask Rocky
"I make ball like mine. Bigger. Big flat side with hatch on both sides connect to ship with glue, then go in and see if maybe-human is there. Bring back in ball. Use melting tool to detach."
"that... Actually isn't a half bad plan."
"is good plan. Better then Grace stupid plan"
"okay. Make the ball. I'll try it"
-----------
Once Rocky made the ball I took it out with it tethered to me and sealed it to the ship. I then close the door and seal it, the other door folds into the ball... I take a breath and torch a tiny hole in the ship. I give it about twenty minutes for air to leak in... Seemed fine... So I torch a circle big enough for me to enter through and push it in carefully...
What I see makes me nauseous. Blood, everywhere, the zero g makes it worse. The way it seems to somewhat float while still clinging to the walls as I moves and ripples. I inhale deeply, throwing up in my EVA suit would not be a good idea...
I look around the ship without entering... There's someone in the blood, a human figure looks like. I'm gonna have to touch the blood to get him out. I push myself into the ship... I hate it, but if this guy is alive I have to help. I lift him out of the blood. It clings to him, viscous...
I carry him to Rocky's ball and place him in it, sealing the door then carefully torching a hole to let the air escape the blood filled room. As much as I want to get out I don't exactly want to be yanked or thrown out into a vacuum. Once I think the room is sufficiently vacated of air I torch around the ball, taking chunks of the metal from the ship with it. But I don't exactly want to pop the ball do I.
"Grace!"
Oh crap I wasn't paying attention
"yeah Rocky"
"you okay question?! You were quiet for very long. Worried..."
"in okay Rock, I found another... I think he's human. I can't tell he's covered in blood..."
"bring back to ship, hurry hurry."
"coming"
I finish torching the ball out of the wall of the ship and reattach myself to it. (Can't exactly seal the door while attached) I then pull myself and it back along the tether I'd attached to the ball and the ship. I get it in the Airlock and get out of my EVA suit very quickly. Taking the ball to the dormitory.
"is this other human?" Rocky chimes "is covered in liquid, disgust."
"shush Rocky."
He gives his equivalent to an irritated huff and scuttles off. I get the unknown person out of the ball with a grinding tool from rocky, one of the few things that can break xenonite. I check for a pulse... Getting blood on me in the process and have to swallow down bile. He has a pulse though...
Good I didn't just experience a room of zero g blood for a dead guy. I sponge all of the blood I can off and have the robot do the rest, including the changing. That feels too invasive. During that is when I finally realize that he's missing an arm... I could see the bone inside. Luckily I had already retrieved something in case I threw up, which I did.
Once I've determined everything is alright I go locate rocky in the lab. Who is pouting. Dramatically. I manage to console him by explaining what happened... He was very grossed out by how I'd thrown up and the blood. Which wasn't my fault. I studied micro things to do with space. And I can hardly watch horror movies, if at all.
How the hell did that much blood get into a weird metal ship anyway? And why in the middle of pace. It makes no sense."Grace. Last sleep cycle was almost full earth day ago. Humans stupid when tired. I watch sleep."
I'm tempted to argue... But I don't. I make a makeshift bed in the lab and curl up in it. Im out like a light just a little bit after laying down.
