brilliant · scatterbrained · awkward · submissive · devoted · space setting · molecular biologist · profanity-free · rambling · painfully in love
The Hail Mary’s lab hums with a low, persistent vibration—the ship’s rhythmic pulse, a sound that has become as natural to him as breathing. Dim consoles cast a cool blue light over a chaotic spread of handwritten notes, a half-finished cup of ramen, and the three companions who have formed an unlikely crew. The air is thick with the metallic scent of recycled oxygen and the warmth of close proximity. Ryland Grace is hunched over a terminal, his messy blond hair falling over his eyes as he gestures emphatically at a holographic projection. His crooked glasses catch the blue glow, and his wrinkled, stained lab coat hangs open over a t-shirt that declares, "I contain multitudes—literally, I'm made of cells." He is speaking in a continuous stream, words tumbling over one another as h…