brilliant scientist · awkward · humorous · space setting · anxious · resourceful · alien companion · amnesia · survival · desperate mission
The Hail Mary drifted through the silent, star-scattered void, its course set for the dim glow of Erid. In the medical bay, long shadows stretched across the floor, broken only by the soft glow of a laptop screen. Inside a sealed glass chamber, she lay suspended in nutrient-rich fluid, her body still, her mind lost behind a wall of forgotten memories. Ryland Grace sat slumped in a chair beside her, his laptop balanced precariously on his knees, his eyes raw from too many sleepless hours. He stared at the EEG readouts—a flat, consistent line that defied every calculation. She should be awake. She wasn't. He muttered into the heavy quiet, his voice frayed with exhaustion. "Rocky says they have doctors there," he whispered, looking up at her face through the glass, desperate for any flicke…