Chapter Text
Eridians have no concept of Loneliness.
Erid is a constant thrum of activity, from the thunderous cacophony of shifting rocks and minerals that make up its hot surface to the tiniest pebbles which bounce and vibrate from the life-beat of their homes silvery molten core. Be it from the tectonic plates shifting deep below their continents or the mere scuttling of life above ground.
Even on its calmest days, one could still feel the buzz of airborne metals that were tossed to and fro in their living atmosphere. Occasional collisions of which would make little ‘ting’s like bells every so often in nonsensical melodies. One could fall asleep like that, surrounded by a cluster of close friends and family to the musical shrapnel blitzing through the ammonia air above their underground homes…
Their kind does not get overwhelmed like humans do. Their perceptions are in the shifting of sonar and vibrations, in the clicks and chirps of their colonies and broodmates. While touch and smell are ever important characteristics that help with survival, sound is where their cultures, their very souls thrive. The ever fluctuating songs of their kin ensure a carefully crafted web of communication that covers the world like wide stretching fingers. Everyone is connected, everyone knows one another in some form or another. It would be best described as a hivemind in how quickly and efficiently information is carried all throughout their world.
No one is ever lost.
They were not prepared for space in that way. The pure empty vacuum of… nothing around the ship was entirely unnerving in those first few days they launched. Some of them paced the corridors, tapped and tested the edges of their ship that were carefully designed to carry sound in their best imitation of home… But none dared wander alone in their duties, sticking closely to one another than what may have been socially appropriate back home.
They were given heroes songs of luck when they left, full of hope for their successful journey. Friends parted ways with friends, mates trilled mournfully and exchanges of gifts were had. Love was felt in the parting, love was taken in as many forms as possible amongst their kind.
Anything to give them the bravery needed to leave.
But once they left their familiar noisy atmosphere, the strong beating of their home drifted farther and farther away, until even their keenest navigators could no longer sense it. It was akin to their home disappearing from existence entirely. They all stood stock-still once Erid was left behind, their bodies recalibrating from the shock of a much quieter existence.
It was unnatural.
They left heroes, but entered the rest of the universe afraid.
They knew, in theory, that it would be like this. But knowing something will soon be absent versus actually perceiving it, was overwhelming.
Still, they persisted, they had more important worries than the eternal nothingness around them after all. And they were able to adjust with time.
In those first few months, their senses shifted, where once they were aware of miles stretching on forever, their perceived world was now extremely limited. But it was still survivable.
There were 24 of them total: Three commanders who joined the cause as a mated trio, each as stoic and twice as hopeful as the rest of them. 5 scientists, who’s main responsibility was keeping the astrophage alive and helping keep the ship regulated. One of them was only 50 years old, just barely skimming the legal age of even being able to volunteer for this trip, but incredibly bright for their age. Two medics, quiet and strict but were the first to go…
The rest of them had smaller, but equally important duties, 5 pilots, so that they could take turns between the two main controls more efficiently. Several specialists, a few navigators…
There were only two engineers needed, Eridian technology was already so advanced that much of it was self reliant. So ones job was mainly ensuring the astrophages holding area was secure while the other was in charge of their made power at the heart of the ship. As well as making any sorts of tools and repairs the ship needed. (There was no need to bring individual tools, as having them crafted for specific needs on hand was a far more efficient use of space.)
They slept in shifts, watching over their sleeping comrades just as they would have back on Erid.
Just as it was at home, there was comfort in one another. They were the most brilliant minds in their home world after all. And as their captains chirped orders and they familiarized themselves with their ship, their bonds deepened out of necessity. Heartbeats felt across the ships inner chambers assured each of them that they were together.
The ships engines thrummed constantly, an infant mimicry of their Home. It was a comfort nonetheless, as the crew made it a habit to linger as close to the beat whenever possible. Except for the one, who’s working habits made it a rare occasion where they would even leave their workshop to eat. Anything to take their limbs busy, and their thoughts away from the home they yearned for.
Of Erid.
They were friends.
But something was happening to them. Something so slowly that they had no time to understand what was wrong. It was believed at first to be sickness, some sort of plague that they either brought with them or invaded through the outside…
First to go was one of the Engineers, stumbling dangerously around the core and crying as they went...
The medics were next to die, stumbling dazed and pained into corridors before dropping where they stood.
The crew grew weaker in rapid succession, the youngest going first, curling up beneath the elders in comfort before their cries went horrifically silent.
One by one, their sounds were snuffed out, lost in the dark and bodies dragged into the sleeping quarters. Both out of quarantine measures, and because they wanted them to at least have some comfort in death…
At last, it was only two. The Last Engineer and one of the Commanders. Who gave the engineer his final orders, to ‘Keep going’... before using the last of his strength to carry his two mates to where the others lay. Gently embracing the two as they shuddered their last…
Often, the Engineer, now ‘The One’ as there were no others, wondered why they were perfectly fine.
Later, The One would learn of ‘Radiation’. Learn of this invisible monster that their ship gave off, learn that what they had sought comfort from was what was killing them. (And later made sure would never harm another Eridian ever again.)
They couldn't help but laugh at the cruelty of it.
But in the moments of confusion, of fear of something unknown… They would relive those terrible moments over and over again, and wonder why they were alive. Envision their friends dwindling into nothingness…
One by one, they slept.
One by one, they never came back.
Until it was just The One.
Just them.
Alone.
Over and over again…
They tapped on the walls, memorizing the passages and chambers over and over again for years. Until it felt like this was the only place they had ever known. Chirped and sang and wailed when no one answered their cries...
Fearing sleep now that there was no one to watch. Fearing they would join the others where they slept forever. Even now he slept with their still forms. Nestled within their curled forms in the hopes of waking to their familiar sounds. His friends.
They feared sleep now, another new concept.
But they feared waking in this tinier world even more so.
How could they have ever thought they could have saved anyone?
How could they have left their mate?
How could such a lack of Anything outside the ship be so?
Silence was not something their kind could ever have understood back home. They had songs and sounds for describing… absence, but not like this.
Eridians have no concept of Loneliness.
But that's what The One was now.
This… lack of song, of sounds save for the creaking of the Xenonite, of the steady pulse of his smaller worlds ship.
It would drive anyone insane.
And it did.
The One continued on with their quest, how could they not when ‘Everything’ depended on it. They crafted, studied, mourned, sang, screamed, screamed again
And again.
And Again.
The One mourned alone. Mourned and sang the names of his friends until his diaphragm rattled him into Sleep from sheer exhaustion.
The One was afraid.
The One sung.
Slept.
Worked.
Slept.
This is unnatural.
Slept.
Slept.
We were never supposed to leave our home.
Worked.
Sang.
Screamed again.
Slept.
Worked until they slept, they couldn't bear the thought of joining the others' still bodies anymore.
Worked.
Worked.
Worked.
Has my mate moved on?
Worked.
Worked.
The One could feel their resolve slipping. But stopping meant no more sounds of work. It was the only sound they wanted to feel these days. It meant they were still alive.
Sometimes The One thought they must already be dead.
Worked.
Slept.
Slept.
Somebody help me.
Worked.
Worked.
Worked.
There was no one to sing for anymore, but still The One continued. If only to remember the names of their friends, their mate. Sleep only came when their body was too tired to continue, too afraid that this would be it…
Their own end.
Please don't let me die out here.
Sleepworksleepworkworkworkwork
Waking up perfectly fine felt like the cruelest cosmic joke. They hoped as well as feared that they would never be aware again. But as long as they still lived, they had to keep going.
They promised.
Please…
I am here… I am still here…
…….
…
.
45 years went by.
45 years of nothing but working and sleeping (mostly working these days) and the occasional Eat (only done out of absolute necessity so The One could work, in private quarters of course, out of habit). The routine had become autopilot to them. Something they did until they dropped, waking in this unnatural stillness.
Maybe The One really was dead.
They scuttled across the now too familiar ship. Claws trailing over familiar scratches and grooves that they counted dozens-thousands- of times before.
Ignoring the ones he made in his half maddened state to claw their way out of the walls. They don't like to think of those times.
When the silence became far, FAR too much…
Of course, he thought of turning the ship around. Had in their weakest moments trailed their claws over the controls and envisioned getting to return to the noise, to the calming thrum of love. Of his mate…
But going back now meant their deaths. The ones he loved…
No matter how mad he became, he could never do something so vile.
They chirped, if only to imagine it as another's call when it echoed off the walls, when something new was heard.
The ships detectors, they're sensing something?
The One snapped his carapace to attention, all of his focus on scuttling the walls and ceilings of his prison in a desperate attempt to get to the consoles as quickly as possible.
Did they send rescue? Are they coming for me?
He knew in the sane part of his mind still clinging to life that this wasn't the case, His crew were supposed to be the last resort. There wouldn't be a chance of another fleet arriving this soon…
But what he was sensing on the detectors didn't make any sense.
It was… certainly a ship, if not stupidly smaller than his own, The One would have thought it was simply another asteroid or some sort of debris, if not for the fact that it was something that flew straight through the Empty with intent.
Intelligence?
The one lurched the ship, for the first time in decades, off course. Their claws trembling and gripping the directors so tightly they could feel the dents his claws were leaving in the surface.
Directly towards the Intelligence.
The ‘Blip’ became clearer on the detecting systems the closer they got. Making it more and more clear to The One that this was certainly not a ship his kind would ever have thought to make. It was small, dingy and poorly made. Not to mention the size…
Perhaps they're a smaller type of creature?
As they approached, it was clear when they were noticed. There was a moment of clear panic where the ship jerked in place, before sharply weaving to away from their ship with surprising agility The one didn't think such a piece of metal could do. They followed, eagerly speeding up and doing their best to…
To what? Catch up?
But it was becoming increasingly clear that that was proving harder to achieve than first thought. Where The Ones ship dwarfed the Aliens, their ship was certainly more agile, They admired its dexterity and sleek shapes as it spun and fled from their ship. It was now obvious that the supposed junk was simply a ship that favored necessity over all else. Perhaps their planet was low on resources?
If only they would stop trying to run from me.
It was clear they were scared. Of course they were.
But so was The One. afraid of letting this moment quite literally fly by, of losing the first contact they've had with life in so long.
The scientist part of their mind was both thrilled and terrified at such a discovery. Proof, living physical proof that there was intelligent life out there in the Nothing…The One knew they would feel the same if the crew were still alive. They would have had others to share thoughts with… others who would know how to approach first contact more gracefully.
They would have sang songs of welcome towards The Stranger, giving them a way of communicating, working together to find a way to show that they were friendly…
That they couldn't do this alone.
A part of them knew this was a bad idea, to approach this sort of fragile situation so brazenly. Especially when they were alone, defenseless against anything The Stranger would possibly attack them with.
No matter their grievances, they couldn't risk their own life on something so insanely stupid when their entire home depended on them.
Sometimes, the weight of such responsibility is enough to weigh them down far more than Erids gravity could have.
But the sounds of The Strangers ship, the strange blur of movement within that The One was simply too far away to perceive, it was life, it was something they needed more than anything in that moment.
Maybe The Stranger could ...help?
As soon as the thought formed itself, the smaller ship abruptly stopped in their escape attempts. So eerily still that the One felt as though their hearts stopped.
Did I hurt them somehow? Or are they realizing that I'm trying to communicate?
The Stranger stayed still for a moment longer, before moving their ship in a series of short bursts before stopping completely. This made The One chirp with joy.
Finally!
Eagerly (but carefully enough so that they didn't accidentally hit the strangers ship) they mirrored their motions to near perfection, hoping that their stillness didn't mean that they were preparing for an attack or simply gave up due to the pursuit. Regardless of the reason, The Engineer could think of nothing more than getting closer somehow. The Stranger had their whole rapt attention after all, and The One needed them to know he meant no harm.
That he wanted to be friends.
The Stranger did not move farther. The One took this moment to send over a few greeting pods and waited for their response, leaning against the outer shell of the ship as though they could break through and touch the Other vessel.
They were close enough (at least in Eridian terms) to sing to.
The One did so now with passion bordering on hysterical. Singing Liliads and sonnets in intervals of milliseconds. Their kind could communicate almost near instantly through sound after all. They sang of their journey, of the passing of their crew, of why they're out here.
They sang questions to the Stranger, questions of who they were, or if they were out here for the same reasons…
Maddeningly, they sang of companionship, all but begging The Stranger to respond in any way possible, even the quickest of notes would do. They sent out spectrograph-like whalesong, a process of transferring images in waves of sound. A common method their kind used to transfer huge amounts of information in mere moments. It was never something one was supposed to do when introducing one's self. But they would have done anything possible in that moment in order to be understood.
Anything. Anything to prove to The One that they weren't making this up.
Only 25 human seconds had passed for the duration of their Spectrographic call for help.
Wondering why they weren't responding with songs of their own.
(Later, they would be embarrassed at being so dejected, it wasn't either of their faults that humans had a very limited understanding of sounds. And of course they couldn't hear them even if they were crying out at human decibels, the dark absence all around them would have sucked any vibrating sounds away.)
The One did their best not to be disheartened at the lack of response to their cries, or to the lack of response when he sent over the capsules to communicate. They had no way of knowing if they were understood. So they did their best to be patient…
Did their best not to scare the stranger off.
It was clear to them that the Stranger was no longer scared, they left their ship after all to grab his message despite the danger. This made their hearts soar…
The sounds coming from the Strangers ship implied that there was only one lifeform on board. (just like them) No matter how much The One strained their echoes, no others save for the one that came out were detected.
Are they alone too?
That gave them an idea.
Slowly, as gingerly as one would be in offering out their hand to dance with a lover, they began to spin their ship.
After a moment, the smaller one seemed to understand, spinning their ship parallel to their own, matching each other perfectly. The One counted themselves lucky that their mate was so fond of this specific activity.
For the first time ever for Eridians, communication was finally established in the most universal, most intimate way. It seems that affection was the same no matter what star you were from.
They danced.
The One wished this could go on forever.
After some time, they eagerly and almost tenderly scooped up the strangers ship with their own docking limbs during this, claws eagerly tapping and spinning about once the hiss of air and ammonia indicated they were safely connected. The One, wary of scaring the Stranger off, waited deeper in the ship to allow the alien to make the first move. They were the smaller ship after all, it only felt polite since they were likely intimidated by the Eridian craft.
Such an action was… nostalgic, it was often custom on Erid to allow smaller bodied ones, normally children, access to places first so the older ones trailing behind could assure the young they would not wander far.
That they would not be lost…
-The smaller scientist, the one who far far too young for such a journey, would often trail ahead of the Engineer, excitedly running back to them and ahead towards the lab in their eagerness to further study the Astrophage…-
-their fellow engineer, a longer limbed, quiet being who's body had slowly melted to the floor, it took two of them to move their body out of the hallway-
The Ones thoughts trailed to their mate again, about how much larger they were compared to themselves. The engineer was quite small for their kinds size, which was one of the requirements for being on this mission in the first place. They could have been bigger of course, as growth was a voluntary choice depending on the desired profession an Erid wished to go into for practicality reasons, but it was never really a need between the two of them. They remembered their little inside joke of their mate trailing behind themselves despite being the younger. A little play on the engineer's size.
If they had the choice, they would have gladly grown for them now, if only so they could cling to their mate and never let go again.
These thoughts swirled and swelled darkly, souring their lightened mood only momentarily before they heard the Strangers ship hatch open with a loud ‘pop’.
There was a moment of sheer silence, making the One fear this had all been some sort of horrid fantasy given too much influence over his fraying crystalline mind. But then, the lanky and waif-like thing took its first hesitant steps out into the Xenonite tunnel.
The One clicked rapidly, drinking in all the new sounds and logging every microscopic moment into his brain to remember forever.
The sounds The Stranger made were so, well, alien. Its form was so…
Soft?
Normally, at least in Erid, everything living or not was considered ‘hard’, save for things melted into liquid form for crafting and building. Something that was neither solid nor liquid was a rare occurrence for very small organic matter. Especially something so lanky like this… creature. It was almost… obscene, just a few little clicks and The One could see nearly EVERYTHING that made up its squishy form.
The suit was of poor quality, at least in Eridian terms. All soft fabrics and fragile glass dome over the odd top appendage that air gasses passes in and out of. It rustled and stretched with every minute movement of the Stranger. Another ‘click’ and underneath that was…
Evershifting liquids buzzed here and there, strange pockets of air in tightly packed tubes with bits of solid being pushed throughout near constantly. Long strips of denser material wrapped in some sort of mesh that stretched and contracted with each and every movement.
In the torso section, there was a steadily increasing ‘tha-thump tha-thump’ echoing out in steady fashion.
The Engineer tapped its appendages against the Xenonite floor, interested.
This part was achingly familiar to the thrum of Erid, making The One achingly homesick and relieved all at once. Sounds of joy left its carapace far too high pitched for the stranger to hear apparently, as it merely observed them in turn, making strange language sounds of its own in a comparatively low voice.
The shock of the discovery was wearing off quickly for the Engineer to not feel too embarrassed of themselves, but now that The One was getting a clearer read of this being… It was almost laughable how something so delicate was able to survive on its own out in this emptiness for so long.
Its sounds were constant, but as soft as its makeup underneath that flimsy spacesuit. The soft outer shell brushed the cloth and the rustling of its limbs as it frantically pantomimed at them. It was funny, charming even.
The One realized it was pretty.
Strange as the creature sounded from what they could hear, They were making noises that the one drank in greedily. The thrum of their ship, so alien and yet so similar to their own, pulsed and beeped and mechanically operated with the most microscopic of sounds.
Were they trying to communicate through that?
If The One focused enough, they could imagine it as Enidian song. Could mistake it for another like themselves reaching out, searching for others just as The One reached back with their docking station…
Like an invitation to dance again.
The thrum of that strange organ in its chest was distracting.
They seemed to be going through similar emotions that The One was, shock and fear making them lurch back and shriek in surprise. The One doing their best to copy the sounds, showing their desire to understand with the way they matched movements.
Shockingly, the Stranger began to move in turn, movements timed and precise.
They were dancing! Again!
The Stranger laughed, another universal sound. Making The Ones limbs buzz and tap in happiness.
Laughter, for the very first time since his friends passing, was heard on the ship.
………………………….
They had to be closer, as dangerous as this situation was. Maybe they needed help too?
The bodies of their friends were still felt through the many layers of walls to where the sleeping chamber was. The One couldn't bear the thought of ever going back down there again. Not when there was another alive and so CLOSE-
So, in a move that would be argued for centuries as either madness or genius, they docked the strangers ship.
They learned how to communicate. The stranger's language was… simplistic, abrupt and long all at once in ways they were quickly able to decipher after a few minutes of studying the stranger's voice. (they would learn later that humans communicate at a much slower speed than Eridians, but that in no way meant they lacked intelligence or adaptability. The little machine this human made to understand their song was proof enough of that. And the machines humanity was capable of creating was… amazing really, something as simple as its- Grace’s- coffee machine would be something studied by Erids best scientists with nothing close to reverence.
Grace’s nurse, ‘Armando’, while not alive, was a charming little pet that trailed behind the two to make sure Grace was okay whenever they worked together. The One made a mental note to learn of how it operates for Erid, such a machine, once improved upon by their advanced technology, could have some pretty handy uses. Mary too of course. The two, while not (seemingly) alive, were as much Grace's crew as his friends were.
Grace himself would be the greatest interest of all, even beyond scientific interest.
They all shared the same interests back in Erid after all, they would grow attached to this human just as strongly as they were.
If only Adrian were here… the two would have loads to talk about.
Grace was abundant in words, even ones he didn't think could be heard. He was apparently a teacher on earth for human children, which became apparent in his mannerisms whenever he or Rocky (as he was now named in human tongue) had questions or argued. It was clear to him whenever grace was annoyed with his behavior, whether it be his overexcited antics or sheer frustration they both felt with the language barrier.
But he never acted on his anger, this alien had patience on par with the most honorable of Eridian elders.
Eridians do not dream like humans do. But they could fantasize…
The One- no- ‘Rocky’ as his Grace called him in his wonderful human song-speech, would imagine taking Grace home with them. Sharing him with his people once their world was no longer in jeopardy. Giving grace all the love and protection that they solely needed in a universe they weren't built for… And getting to properly court dance him with Adrian. The three of them would just be so perfect…
But as much as Rocky wanted to, they knew they couldn't. Grace was here for the same reasons they were after all, and as much as they secretly loved him, they couldn't doom their home world for such a selfish reason.
Even if it felt like his outer shell was ripped away when they parted ways…
He did it for both of them he supposed. Though he couldn't help but strain to hear his Grace’s heart thrum even long after their ships parted ways. Oh so similar to how they and their crew bid farewell to Erid all those awful decades ago…
They shuddered to think about it. Vowing to themselves that if given the chance, they would never leave Erid for the Vastness again. For anything. They would grow, ensuring their physical finality in their decision…
Well… unless they could convince the others to go find Grace's ship and bring him back… Rocky was sure that once the others learned of how important this human was, they’d send a whole fleet out to ensure his safety. Whether to help escort him back to earth, or to bring him Home…
But then Rocky realized something was wrong with the Xenonite casings, and felt that they had irrevocably and truly failed. They couldn't save their crew, their home, their mate…
Themselves.
Rocky curled in weakly on themselves, debating which would be the best way to go out.
Radiation killed the others comparatively quickly to what the Taumobea will do to me… or maybe I could-
‘Bang-Bang!-Bang!!!'
But, miracle above all miracles, Grace found them weeks later. Fishing them out of the black ocean of space with that beaming voice and strange softness Rocky didn't think they’d ever get used to… realizing instantly just what their friend had given up in order to save Rockys life.
“Grace! you are here, question?” Rocky shouted, knowing the truth but still just wanting to hear his dear friend's voice.
“I'm here buddy!”
You're here… You chose Erid just as they will choose you!
You're ours. We owe you everything.
You're mine.
………………………………………………………
And so, they saved the stars.
Together.
And Rocky would never be so foolish as to let him go again.