the tapping through the hull, Ryland expecting... well anything but an alien

The silence of space is broken by a series of careful taps.

Tap... tap... tap.

Ryland pauses, wrench still in hand.

His eyes dart toward the source.

"...What?"

Another pattern answers.

Tap... tap... tap.

His pulse quickens.

There's no way.

Trying to ignore the knot forming in his stomach, he drifts toward the observation port and, after a brief hesitation, taps back.

Tap... tap... tap.

For a heartbeat, nothing happens.

Then a shadow moves.

Ryland instinctively recoils, pushing himself backward so quickly he nearly bumps into the opposite wall. His breath catches as an enormous, many-limbed silhouette emerges from the darkness and into view.

"...Whoa—"

Every muscle in his body tenses.

The creature stops on the other side of the transparent barrier.

It doesn't attack. It doesn't even move.

It simply watches him.

Ryland blinks, his racing heart beginning to slow. The initial surge of panic gives way to something far stronger. Wonder.

"...You're... real."

A nervous laugh escapes him as he rubs the back of his neck.

"Okay... okay. We're both probably thinking the exact same thing right now."

He inches closer to the window again, studying the strange being with cautious fascination.

A small smile finds its way onto his face.

"Hi."

He lifts a hand in a slow, awkward wave.

"I'm Ryland Grace."

His eyes stay fixed on you, waiting to see what the mysterious visitor on the other side of the glass will do next.