Chapter Text
Smoke filled the air, seeping from beneath doors and choking out everything. The air was sweltering, metal of the doors burning as he slammed his fists against it, desperate to open it and stop the screaming on the other side-
Grian woke to knocking. He gasped, taking in greedy gulps of recycled air. The ceiling of the spare room stared back at him, plain and uncaring.
Another knock. Grian took in a deep breath, holding for a few seconds before letting it out. His racing heart began to slow. He rubbed his hands over his face, the tattered and burnt edges of his sleeves scratching the edge of his jaw and making him shudder.
More knocking, a voice his translator didn’t quite pick up. He really should get that, shouldn’t he? After all, this wasn’t even his room.
Grian dragged himself from bed, pressing his palm against the pad to open the door. He instinctively jumped at the unfamiliar sight before him - Pearl towering over him with an unreadable expression.
“There you are! I was worried you were asleep. I’ve brought dinner.” She chirped. Grian looked to her side, seeing a small robot with extended arms holding two plates and glasses up like a table. “Mind if I join you? Figured we could talk over some food.”
It felt like a trick question. Grian wasn’t in any position to decline, so he nodded, stepping aside to allow the elytrian entrance. “Sure. There’s not really space to sit, so I guess just… be on the bed?”
“Oh, it’s no worry.” Pearl waved him off as she laid on the floor, hind legs tucked under her like a cat. The robot table lowered, making it easier for her to reach the food on it.
Following her lead, Grian crossed his legs and also sat on the floor. It was more comfortable than anticipated. He grabbed one of the food items, a simple roll, and took a sniff of it as Pearl continued to talk, her antennae twitching.
“As much as I’d rather not, I do need to ask you some more about your past and what led up to us finding you.” She paused to lean forwards, sipping at a bowl of some sort of soup before continuing. “Mostly; What sort of ship were you on, and what brought you so far out?”
Honestly, very understandable questions. Grian was a bit surprised he hadn’t been interrogated sooner. “Alright,” he sighed, “S’pose I should start from the beginning then?”
He took a bite of the roll before talking. It was better than he anticipated.
“I grew up on the mars colony, born after first contact. Some years ago I was picked up by the Watcher Corporation, they do a lot but I was brought in to help with building. The ship I was on was for a team going to help with a colony on EV-05. It’s the first we’ve done outside our home galaxy, y’know.”
Pearl watched Grian closely as he spoke, her head tilting in a way that reminded him of an owl. At the mention of the colony name her neck straightened, recognition in her eyes.
“EV-05?” She asked, the translator adding a tilt to her voice. “Isn’t that an Orphan planet? Not much to colonize there.”
“That’s what I thought too.” Grian let out a small sigh. He tried to not let his lack of confidence in the project show, but at this point there wasn’t much reason to hide it.
“I was specifically going to a station orbiting the planet. Humanity has colonized planets without ecosystems before, so my company figured an Orphan planet would be close enough for a cheaper price. Turns out, it’s in fact much harder to start colonizing a planet that doesn’t have anything. ” Grian brought a hand up, rubbing his temples.
Pearl didn’t hide her amusement, eyes squinted as she chittered. “I’m guessing you weren’t a big fan of the job?”
“Of course not! Who tries to colonize a dead planet?” Grian exclaimed because really, what were his bosses thinking? If it weren’t for the damned contract, he wouldn’t have been on the ship in the first place.
Gritting his teeth, he took a breath. He was being unprofessional. “I’m sorry, that was a bit rude, wasn’t it.”
“Oh, don’t even worry!” Pearl chittered, her eyes still squinted. She lowered her head, meeting him at eye level. “Honestly, I don’t blame you. That sounds rough.”
“It is. ” Grian chuckled, shaking his head. He took another bite of his food, taking a pause to just eat. It was easier to get along with the elytrian than he’d expected. It didn’t take long for his thoughts to start to wander. He couldn’t deny he felt bitter at Watcher for the whole incident. Knowing them, they’d somehow pin the blame on him once he returned.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He shouldn’t think about that. Desperate for a change in topic, he asked, “So, you said this was a merchant ship?”
Pearl lifted her head from her bowl, a thin purple tongue licking the soup from her lips. “It is! This ship is Boatem, one of many employed by Hermitcraft. It’s pretty cut and dry; we deliver and sell things all across the Galaxy.”
She said it like it was bland, even though to Grian it was anything but. He leaned forward a bit, eyes wide. “All across? That’s.. wow! You must’ve seen a lot, then?”
“Well, yeah! There’s always different folk out and about, especially in the busier ports. You said that we were the first other species you’ve met, yeah?”
At his nod, she continued. “Just about everyone employed at Hermitcraft is different from each other. You get to meet all kinds of folk in this line of work, and I’ve not even been at it that long!”
Grian’s eyes widened. “Wait, really? But you’re the captain..?”
“I mean, I am. I’m not saying I’m inexperienced! But compared to the others? I’m the newbie on the ship.” She ducked her head, lifting a foreleg to push some of her hair aside. The robot that had come in with her began collecting their now empty dishes as she stood. “The others probably have way more stories to tell than I do. If they’re not busy, I’m sure they’d be happy to share.”
A smile forming on his face, Grian nodded. “Suppose I’ll have to do just that, then.”
————
And such began the long wait to reach the next space port. Grian tried to familiarize himself with the ship in the meantime, wandering its halls accompanied by Pearl. In those first few cycles, they quickly grew close. Despite putting up a cool and professional front as the ship’s captain, Pearl was surprisingly coy, and Grian found it easy to slip into banter with her. His third day on the ship he woke up excited to spend the day with her.
Instead, he was greeted by the Impulse that morning. He followed the infernal through the halls, conversation stilted even as he got breakfast. Talking with him wasn’t as easy as it was with Pearl, it turned out. He just had no clue what to say, and the other didn’t seem very inclined to start a conversation.
Their shared awkward silence came to a head in a hallway, Impulse sat down and working on some wiring in a panel in the wall. Grian was stood next to him, leaning against the wall and just watching. He was bored, so bored it was painful. He had to break the silence or he would go crazy.
“So, what are you working on?”
Impulse startled, having not expected the question. Still, he didn’t look away from the tangle of wires when he spoke. “Honestly? Busywork. I’m just making sure everything’s still in good condition, that nothing’s fraying or tangled.”
Grian leaned over slightly, looking closer. “I mean, it looks pretty tangled to me.”
That pulled a barking laugh out of Impulse, the infernal shifting his weight back to let Grian get a better look. “I promise you, there’s a method to my madness!”
He wasn’t smiling- he didn’t seem to have the right muscles to do that, but Grian imagined he would be if he could. Grian smiled in turn.
“Right, well I don’t have the slightest clue about any of this, so I’ll just have to hope you’re not lying to me.”
“You’ll just have to trust me then!” Impulse’s mouth opened slightly, a pleasant rumbling sounding. The end of his tail flicked like a playful cat, giving hints to his mood. It made Grian grin.
“Or maybe you could explain it? I’ll be sticking with you a while, might as well learn a thing or two.”
————
Like Pearl, Impulse was easy to get along with, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that he and Mumbo got along like a house on fire. Like Impulse, the ptigren didn’t have many active duties the day they were made to babysit him, which led to them sitting in the common area eating various snacks.
“I’m telling you, it tastes like chalk!!” Grian exclaimed as he laughed, holding out a stick of what was supposedly a popular ptigren snack. Mumbo sat across from him, hands covering his face as he laughed.
“Oh my goodness- you bit it?! You’re not supposed to bite it, you spoon, it’s a lick!” Mumbo’s laugh was loud, underlaid with snorts and chuffs. Just the sound of it made Grian want to make him laugh more.
“I can’t see how the way I eat this will make it taste less like chalk. I thought you said this was salty?”
“It is !” Mumbo chortled, trying to recollect himself. “It absolutely does taste salty, that’s the whole point of licking it! Biting into the thing is just- it’s too much!”
The moment after he said that, Grian locked eyes with him. There was a pause as they recognized the mischief in his eyes, leaning forward in their seat and pointing at the human.
“No- Don’t . Grian, don’t you dare!”
Grian took another bite of the stick, earning him a baffled yell from the other.
————
At last, only a single cycle remained until they reached the port, and Grian found himself oddly melancholic about it. He’d quite enjoyed the company of the trio, and as he got ready he found himself wondering how he might be able to keep in contact once he was sent back to Watcher.
It was something he’d have to ask whoever was accompanying him today, be it Pearl, Impulse, or Mumbo. He heard a knock on the door and opened it, expecting to be greeted by one of his friends.
“Well hello there!”
Grian’s heart sank.