jelly

"In other news, the Hail Mary, a spaceship specially designed for intergalactic space travel had been launched from Kazhakstan in an attempt to solve the growing Astrophage problem. According to our sources, aboard the ship is a three-man crew: the captain, Commander Yáo Li-Jie, the engineer, Olesya Ilyukhina, and the scientist, Dr Ryland Grace—"

No. Colt must've heard that wrong. He got up from the bed and briskly walked to the common area, Jean-Claude right alongside him. The news report had all three crewmates' photos up on the screen, and much to Colt's horror, his own face stared back at him. Jody stood next to him, completely frozen as she tried to comprehend what was going on.

"According to the head of the Petrova Taskforce, Ms Eva Stratt, the trip to the distant star Tau Ceti is a one-way trip, and the crew will be sending their findings via probes back to Earth. Their bravery will not be forgotten, and they will be regarded as heroes. Let us all wish them the very best on their journey…"

"No, no! You don't get it!" Grace cried out, a short bitter laugh escaping his lips. "I am not getting on the Hail Mary. I am going to my brother. I have to. They're calling him a murderer. My brother is not a murderer."

"Your brother is dead, Dr Grace. What good would it do?"

The utter lack of sympathy knocked the wind out of his lungs.

Those were the roles they occupied in each other's lives. Colt did the stupid, reckless shit, and Ryland always made sure to steer him away from accidentally breaking his neck. He operated on instinct, while his brother operated on logic.

And Ryland was incredibly smart. Like, getting a PhD in his mid-twenties kind of smart. Nothing short of a genius. Colt knew that between the both of them, Ryland would get further in life, and he was perfectly fine with that; his brother deserved it more than anyone else in the world.