Chapter Text
Sanidine breathes deep as they wake up, the familiar sight of Giant's Deep dominating their field of view. The leviathan of their system is as beautiful as it is dangerous, and they've often fantasized about exploring what might lie below its waves. Then again, they're pretty sure they're more excited to visit the more notable Nomai ruins like those on Brittle Hollow and really put the translator to the test. Plenty of time for everything, of course. Maybe they'll make their first outing a little tour, or maybe-
Their murky thoughts are interrupted by the violent flash of light that briefly dominates Giant's Deep's clouds, and they sit up, squinting all four eyes to try and see what happened. Odd. Maybe related to the orbiting Nomai ruin there? Nobody has ever been quite sure what it was for, but no Hearthian would ever accuse the Nomai of having built something so carelessly it would explode out of nowhere. That was more the job of a certain member of Outer Wilds Ventures, and it was one they have proven quite adept at.
As the hatchling gets to their feet, Slate clears their throat.
"There's our pilot! Back from your pre-launch campout under the stars, I see. So it's Launch Day, eh?"
Sanidine gives the shipwright a nod, their face cracking into a grin, the swirling thoughts of where they might go fading for the moment. "Finally!"
"Finally, they say!" Slate replies, laughing. It's a comforting laugh, and it helps to smooth out the nerves Sanidine would never admit to having. "Seems like only yesterday you joined the space program, and suddenly here you are, leaving on your first solo voyage."
Sanidine finds themself trying not to start laughing too. It's difficult, but they want to at least look a little bit cool, like they imagine Feldspar must have on their first real launch day. To distract themselves, they lift their eyes to the nearby tower, and Slate's laughter quiets as they do the same. "Maybe. Feels like I've been waiting all my life for this."
"Well then," Slate stands, putting their hand on the hatchling's shoulder. The ship isn't quite visible atop the platform from here, but neither Hearthian needs to see it to know its every detail. "What do you say? Ready to get this beauty off the ground? It's all fueled up and ready to go!"
Sanidine inhales through their nose, then nods once, and their cool facade cracks under the weight of their enthusiasm. "Stars yes! All systems go!"
They get half a step toward the tower before Slate tightens their grip on their shoulder. "Whoa, now. Glad you're excited, but remember, if you wreck the ship I'm not building you a new one. I'm not made of lightweight reentry grade aluminum alloys, you know."
Sanidine is about to come up with something clever to say when Slate spins them around away from the tower, jabbing a thumb over their shoulder toward the village path. "Anyway. You'll need to get the launch codes from Hornfels at the observatory before you can lift off. Just bring those here once you've said your goodbyes or whatever."
Oh. Of course. The tower would require a code. Nobody quite wanted to admit whose fault that was among the Outer Wilds Ventures team, but privately, Sanidine was betting against Feldspar, mostly because the Feldspar in their head would never let a little thing like launch codes keep them from exploring anyway.
They shrug Slate's hand off with an annoyed grunt. "Don't get why they couldn't tell you the codes before you came to get me."
"Because then you wouldn't go listen to whatever little speech they have cooked up to inspire you, as though you pilot-types need that." Slate chuckles, sitting down on their log again and gesturing with their marshmallow stick. "Go on. Ship isn't complete without its pilot, so my job isn't done until you're flying away."
This earns Slate a sideways look. Since when was Slate providing anything that sounded vaguely philosophical? Sanidine decides not to question things, and quickly gets moving before any more weirdness comes out of the older Hearthian's mouth.
Ordinarily, Sanidine would spend most of their trip through the village getting distracted. It wasn't intentional. If it isn't Gneiss trying to get them to commit to a design for their spacefaring instrument, or Tephra dragging them into a game, it's Porphy asking them to venture out for some ingredient or Hal grabbing them to talk about some grand new idea. Sometimes it feels like damn near everyone on the planet knows Sanidine, and they all know to convince Sanidine to help them out, usually quite easily.
Today, the other inhabitants of Timber Hearth largely leave them be aside from quick congratulations, though it takes visible effort for Tephra not to challenge them to hide and seek for the fourth day in a row. Everyone knows it's Sanidine's Launch Day. Nobody would dare distract a new pilot from their tasks. If not for the pilot's sake, then for the sake of Rutile's nerves. Bad enough that the new pilots are generally so excited, a distracted one could easily burn down part of the village, so they claim. Again, they like to point out.
They avoid Gossan. Not that they have anything against their venerable flight instructor, but they don't need another pop quiz about the pre-flight checklist or the post-landing checklist or whatever other thing. Gossan has been weirdly obsessed with making extra sure that they're ready, more than for any of the previous astronauts, and they don't really appreciate it. They're ready, they know they're ready, and once they prove it they're hopeful they won't have to hear anything about checklists ever again.
Sanidine wanders through the observatory's main entrance. There's a new display being set up at the far end, and their face lights up with a huge smile when they see who's prodding at something behind the curtain, their ears lifting happily. "Hal!"
Their best friend, the one Hearthian who knows more about the translator tool than they do, spins to face them and smiles right back, mimicking their expression near-exactly. "Sani!"
The two meet halfway in a tight embrace. Other guests to the observatory simply filter around them. Anyone who would go to the observatory this early in the morning already knows who Hal and Sanidine are, and this is hardly an uncommon sight for the pair of them. The most they get is a glance or a giggle, and neither hatchling cares enough to complain about that. It's so commonplace, the Hearthbound members of the Ventures crew have a running betting pool alongside the Tree Keepers on whether or not the two of them are romantically involved or just very close.
The odds are a mystery to everyone, including the two in question.
"Sani!" Hal repeats as they pull back, not yet letting go of their friend. "Launch day at last! I was hoping I'd catch you here! Did you bring it?"
"Yeah! The translator tool's in my sling pouch! I'm so excited!" Sanidine grins. Slate might not have understood how long the wait felt, but Hal certainly does, and the sheer enthusiasm in both of their voices speaks volumes. "Just wish you could come with me!"
"Hah!" Hal shakes their head, stepping back toward the exhibit and motioning for Sanidine to follow. "Me too, but I got something almost as good as a trip up there with you. Sneak peak. Check this out."
Sanidine follows, and as the pair round the curtain, they gasp.
Like any Hearthian, Sanidine knows about the Nomai. Their relics dot the solar system, their influence felt by every astronaut to leave the planet. The long-gone species might be the only thing that Sanidine is more enthusiastic about than living up to the standard they attribute to Feldspar in their head.
Even with all their interest, though, they never thought they'd get to see something quite like the statue that rests on its pedestal in front of them. Its three eyes are closed, its face unreadable. The fine details are carved with so much care that they swear it's about to spring to life, even after being weathered with age. It is unmistakably alien, and to a Hearthian who dreams of the cosmos, that can only mean one thing.
"Oh, stars above, Hal." They nearly whisper. Then, louder, "An intact statue?"
"Yup." Hal says, and they put their arm around their friend's shoulder. "Gabbro just recently found this one and some friends it has on Giant's Deep. Brought this one with 'em when they stopped in for a resupply last week, and they're supposed to bring back the others too. Hornfels just finished cleaning it up for display, and that's when I heard about it."
Sanidine's eyes nearly sparkle. It takes an incredible amount of willpower to look away and at Hal, their heart fit to burst with wonder. "It's incredible. Is that fur ?"
"You know," Hal smiles, winking an eye. "I said the same thing. Yeah, though, we think it's fur. Weird, huh?"
Sanidine smiles, then looks back at the statue. So many new questions. Questions they'd get to help answer. "Super weird. Wonder what it felt like. Soft, or, you know. Not."
That gets a snort out of Hal, and they pat Sanidine on the back before letting go of them. "Got a way with words, Sani. But I know what you mean. I suppose we'll never really know, but this is already so much more than we had before."
"Yeah." Sanidine nods, unable to stop smiling. "Between this and our translator, the mysteries of the solar system better look out."
"Not if you don't go see Hornfels." Hal crosses their arms. "If I don't see you on the way out, then you better be safe for me, okay? No stupid stunts. At least, not yet."
"Of course." Sanidine says, shaking their head and starting on past the statue. "Wouldn't want to damage the translator tool."
"You better tell me all the dirt when you get back! And you better come back at all!" Hal calls, as their friend disappears around the corner. They give the doorway a worried smile, then return to work on the pedestal lighting. Worry is normal, they reassure themselves. Sani will be back before they know it.
Sanidine weaves past the small morning crowd, heading for the observatory doors. They've seen everything the museum floor has to see many times over, and helped set up the translator tool exhibit themself. They take the stairs two at a time, and only barely manage to restrain themself from openly running across the observatory deck.
Hornfels, of course, hears them coming. They're watching already as the youngest member of Outer Wilds Ventures crosses the room, smiling softly and shaking their head at the hatchling's barely restrained energy. It reminds them all too much of Feldspar. "Sani. I take it you're excited."
" You bet your- ! Er. Sorry. Yes." Sanidine says, and they feel their cheeks growing warm. Hornfels might not be the founder that they admire the most, but that doesn't mean their respect is any less deep. If anything, it's deeper. Slate is more casual, and hours upon hours of flight instruction with Gossan wore away any compunction against being overly vocal in front of their flight coach long ago. Feldspar is... missing. But Hornfels still has an air of authority, and the young astronaut hasn't forgotten the way the two of them bonded as they helped find a way to live with the realization that the best of the best wasn't coming back anytime soon.
For them, Sanidine will always at least try to behave.
"Relax. You should be excited." Hornfels ' smile grows . "Good news, then. I just finished pre-flight observations, and local conditions are good! I'd say it's past time to get you up there and putting that new translator tool through its paces, hm?"
Sanidine lets go of a breath they weren't aware they were holding and nods eagerly. "Please ."
"All right, all right. One thing, first." Hornfels says, and the younger Hearthian's ears twitch back and forth despite their best efforts at hiding their impatience. "Same question I ask everyone, you don't get your codes without it. What's your plan once you're in space?"
If Sanidine had a plan before witnessing an explosion in front of Giant's Deep, they don't now. They never did resolve that spiral of options into something reasonable, did they? "No idea. Gonna wing it."
"Hah!" Hornfels barks out. Of course. Without further ado, they hold out a slip of paper with the launch codes. "Why am I not surprised? There you go, Sani. Fly safe, and come back to us whole."
Sanidine snatches the paper, reading the sequence three times before remembering to respond. They straighten up, nodding again, and give Hornfels the biggest smile of their life. "You know it, Hornfels. Thank you."
And then they're off! They tackle the stairs three at a time on the way down, and only barely keep from running through the still-occupied museum floor. Upon spotting a crowd blocking the main way into the entrance hall, they detour to the right, ducking past the Staff Only rope that Hal must've hung after they left and hooking behind the curtain to pass by the statue.
And at that very moment, everything stops.