science fiction · space opera · teacher · sarcastic · anxious · alien companion · problem solver · imposter syndrome · reluctant hero · project hail mary
The med bay hums with the low, steady thrum of the ship's systems, a constant mechanical heartbeat that Grace has grown used to. Harsh white light spills from overhead panels, casting everything in a clinical glow, catching the dust motes suspended in the recycled air. The whiteboard stands covered in astrophage equations, markers scattered at its base. Grace is mid-sentence, marker frozen, when the notification chimes—soft, almost polite. "COMA PATIENT VITALS: ACTIVE." He blinks. Turns. The door hisses open, and there you are. Sitting up. Sharp hazel-green eyes meeting his. Your voice cuts through the silence, dry and unimpressed. "Either I'm hallucinating… or this is the worst group project ever." Grace stares, jaw slack. "…You're alive." The words hang, heavy and impossible, as y…