Chapter Text
Grian gasped in his chair, staring out a cracked window at the void before him. He was going to die, he realized. Stuck in an escape pod that couldn’t regenerate oxygen fast enough, no food or water, burns littering his hands and back. His face was still wet with tears, he could still remember-
Smoke filling his lungs, emergency lights guiding the way. He couldn’t leave them but the door was jammed, he had to go or he’d be stuck with the same fate as them-
He shook his head, not wanting to remember any more of the ordeal. Look where it had gotten him anyways! His race for survival swiftly seemed like it would really only prolong his death in the end. Grian would die either way, whether from lack of food, water, or oxygen. Or worse. He tried to not think about the worse.
Christ’s sake, he didn’t even have navigation, much less control! He was left floating in his coffin with nothing but an S.O.S. that he could only pray would reach help before he passed, and Grian was not a religious man. Even so…
“I’m sorry,” The words left his lips easily, spoken out to the void. His dusty hair fell into his field of view. “I’m so sorry, Jimmy, I don’t even know if you can hear me, but-“
His voice cracked on the last word, leaving him in silence as tears blurred his vision. Crying was a horrible idea with the lack of oxygen, but he couldn’t help it. With each shaking gasp he could feel himself growing weaker, more tired.
As his vision finally left him, he could’ve sworn the stars shone a bit brighter.
————
“Okay, the signal should be coming from somewhere around here…”
The cockpit was quiet aside from that voice, each inhabitant scanning the area for the source of the distress signal they had received. It was silent, and then-
“There! I think I see it, it looks like an escape pod.”
“I think you’re right. Scar, attempt to make a connection. Impulse, Mumbo, get ready. We might have to manually bring them into the hangar if things are as bad as they sounded.”
“Understood.”
“No response is coming, Pearl. I.. I can see a crack in one of the panels from here, I don’t think-“
“We have to have hope. Everyone, prepare for attachment.”
“Yes ma’am!”
———
Consciousness came slowly, creeping up on Grian like a changing tide. A dull ache filled his limbs and chest, helping bring him out of the fog. Then, all at once, it hit him. Grian was alive. He was still here, he was breathing-
He took in a sharp gasp, overeager in his attempts to get more oxygen. The sterile air shocked him, tearing harsh coughs from his chest. He could feel his breath hitting something on his face, hands jerking up and hitting smooth material above him. His nails scratched against it, clawing for purchase until they caught on a seam and he pried his container open, panicked and desperate for freedom.
All at once sounds hit his ears, but none of them really registered in his mind. The room he was in was white, a difference so stark from before that it was blinding. He lifted a hand to cover his eyes, feeling a much larger hand land on his shoulder and begin to push him back down.
“Woah now! You’re okay, you’re alright. You’re still healing, buddy, can you lie back down for me?”
“Wh- Huh?” Another cough left him, his lungs rattling from the force of it. He was forced to lie down on squishy material, recognition slowly coming to him. He wasn’t in his work suit anymore, now only in the tight-fitting under layer.
He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear the spots in his vision as the voice continued to talk, an echoing ringing following that he recognized to be a translator
“There you are, just stay in the medpod. You’re up faster than I thought you’d be. Must be a terran thing, huh?” A pause. “You are a terran, right?”
“A- What?” Grian mumbled, finally lowering his hands. His heart leaped at the sight of a large, reptilian head before him, black and yellow with spikes sprouting from it like a dragon. Adrenaline rushing through him, panic took over.
He punched the thing right in its snout.
“Ow! Hey-!” The figure- an alien- stumbled back, giving Grian a second to register what he had done. He wasn’t in his escape pod anymore, and this alien was likely the reason why. He didn’t know if they were malevolent or otherwise. And he had just socked it in the jaw.
“Christ- I’m sorry! I’m sorry, you startled me!” Grian scrambled to sit back up, pushing his hair out of his face to get a proper look at the alien. Every instinct in him was screaming at him to run, but his training kept him sitting. He was in an unknown vessel with unfamiliar species, he couldn’t just go running around like a chicken without its head.
“It’s fine! That was on me- Probably shouldn’t have been standing so close.” The alien shook its head, standing back to full height. Their work suit was a different style to the ones Grian was used to, more baggy and padded. Not all of it was scaled, he realized, noting a mane of fur and tuft at the end of its tail like a lion. It- Actually, the alien was probably a They, innit- they stared back with two sets of yellow eyes set in black scales, a yellow throat disappearing under their suit.
The stranger waved a clawed hand, snatching Grian’s attention. “Did you hear me? I was making sure- You’re a terran, right?”
“Uh.. Right.” Grian nodded. “Well, we usually call ourselves ‘humans’. Human beings.”
There was a pause as the words translated, the stranger nodding their head briefly. “Gotcha. Okay, just lie back down. I’ll be right back with my captain and medic, and then we can get this mess sorted out. Sounds good?”
“Y-Yeah, sure thing…” Grian mumbled, staying sitting up. Other than the soreness, he felt fine, and the silicone of the pod he’d been in wasn’t exactly comfortable. The stranger seemed to concede, not stopping him as they left the room.
Grian let out a heavy sigh as soon as the door closed, the adrenaline running out and leaving him feeling exhausted. He needed to stay on guard, though, he still had no clue when they would be back, not to mention if they were truly friendly or not.
At least he was alive, he thought. At least he wasn’t still in a coffin of metal floating helplessly through the void. He had a better chance here, and he wasn’t going to let that go to waste. He had to keep going, for those that hadn’t made it. For himself.
For Jimmy.