Venkat Kapoor sighed as he leaned back on to his chair—problems just kept arising everywhere it seemed. He looked at the team of doctors in front of him, Mitch Henderson at on his left while on his right, JPL's Bruce Ng was on the television, perched on his own desk.
He turned to the JPL director. "Is it possible? Can the booster handle the extra weight? Is there even space for another person?"
"We have the vehicle ready for Ares IV, we could take some of it apart and attach it to the booster along with the supplies…" Bruce looked down at his paper, wrote some things and looked up. "It can be done. We'd need to add supplies for another person, then a bit more for redundancy. Then of course, there would be the medical supplies needed, but that should take up too much space since there still should be enough on Hermes. The fuel on the Taiyang Shen was meant to reach Mars, but since we'll be using it for a resupply near Earth, if we tweak it slightly, then it is possible to add more load."
Teddy looked down, sighing. "We can't risk another person."
"If we don't, then Mark Watney's rescue will be in vain—he'll die before he can even get back to Earth." Mitch looked at Teddy, his jaw clenched slightly. "We need to send another doctor."
Annie Montrose was silent, already coming up with a statement. Mark Watney was going to need all the medical help he could get on the 211 days trip back home, and Flight Surgeon Chris Beck would not be enough.
Teddy spoke after a moment of poignant silence. His gaze swept across the group of doctors, and then to Mitch and Venkat. "If we did this, it needs to be completely voluntary."
Mitch nodded. "Of course. But astronauts are a noble bunch, they wouldn't hesitate."
"Is there anyone even qualified at this point?" Teddy said. "With the proper astronaut training and medical expertise."
Mitch smiled, glancing at Venkat for a moment. "I've got just the person."
Eleanora Hutchison, or Eli, walked the corridors of NASA, heading to the conference room she had been told to head to immediately. She had been at home, reading and watching some reruns of Hannibal. She had rounds in a couple of hours at a hospital nearby, and she hoped that the meeting she was being called into wouldn't take too much time. At the moment, Eli couldn't fathom what could possibly be the reason for this.
For the past couple of months, NASA had been completely focused on bringing Mark Watney home, and everything else pretty much fell into the background. Astronaut training, however, did still continue, but talks of the Ares 4 and 5 missions were put on hold, at least until after Mark Watney came home. In a little over a month, the Hermes would be doing the gravity assist and would be heading back to Mars to intercept with Watney.
She approached the door, raising her hand to gently but firmly knock on the door before entering. Venkat Kapoor sat on the end closer to the television, beside him was Mitch Henderson, and beside him was Annie Montrose. Across from them were two men and one woman, all wearing business attire. Her gaze then settled on Teddy Sanders who was looking out the window of the conference room, which faced the parking lot and a small park.
Eli looked at Venkat, her usual stoic expression on. "Good afternoon, sir." She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She stood up straight, hands linked in front of her and her feet shoulder width apart.
Mitch Henderson stood up. "Everyone, as you may know, this is Eli Hutchison, who's participating on the Ares IV mission." He went around the table, coming up to shake her hand, as everyone in the room ended up doing.
"The flight surgeon for Ares 4, correct?" Teddy Sanders asked as he went back to his own seat.
"Yes, sir." Eli nodded, resuming her previous position.
Venkat Kapoor spoke next. "Can you tell us about your training? Academically speaking until now?"
Eli's face contorted to one of confusion for just a moment before she quickly recovered. "I obtained my bachelor's degree at the University of Pennsylvania, then my medical's at Harvard University, going on to intern and become a resident at…" She expounded on her studies, talking about her specialty in trauma surgery, emergency medicine and nutrition. Her training at NASA included aerospace medicine, just like Flight Surgeon for Ares 3, Chris Beck.
Eli had no idea what was going on—she was confused. The ensuing questions they threw at her all sounded like… like this was a job interview. She felt as if she had to pitch herself to the whole room.
"Alright, thanks, Eli," Mitch said, smiling kindly at her. "Could you wait outside please? And let Dr. Shields in while you're at it."
Eli simply nodded as she did what she was told. She stepped outside to see the aforementioned Ares missions' flight psychologist in the hallway. Eli motioned for Dr. Shields to enter the room, and she smiled and nodded as she entered, closing the door behind her.
Eli stood there, stunned and confused at what just occurred.
That was… odd.
"Will she be agreeable to the team?" Teddy asked Irene Shields, who now sat beside the medical doctors. "Personality conflicts? How well does she handle stress?" He paused before continuing with the most important question. "Can she make the trip?"
Irene looked at her charts and folders. "Eli's worked under high stress conditions, since she's gone to high conflict areas, treating military and civilian personnel. She's intelligent, and can be quite resourceful with materials on hand. She exhibits a flexibility in her practice." She paused, scanning through a page. "Compatibility-wise, she should be able to fit into the social dynamics of the crew—she's quiet and stoic, and is the type to support what or who she believes is right."
"Won't her quietness be an obstacle to communication?"
Irene shook her head. "At first it was perceived as so, but when we observed her over a longer period of time…"
The NASA psychologist expounded on the Ares 4 flight surgeon, making sure to also speak about her other quirks. What kept her stable, and what made her angry.
"Any perceived personality conflicts? Why wasn't she chosen for Ares 3 if she's been here just as long as Chris Beck?"
Irene nodded. "She was not chosen because she's methodical, reserved and can be critical when asked. The one she'd most likely have conflicts with is Mark Watney—but if her goal is to treat him, she should do alright."
Teddy made eye-contact with both Mitch and Venkat. Eli Hutchison was not as well trained as the Ares III crew. If they were to do this, she would just have a little less than a month for the intensive training, and even less than that to be prepared. This was a gamble.
They asked Irene more questions, and once satisfied with the answers, they once again called Eli in.
Eli now stood at the other end of the table, right in front of the television as she faced the higher-ups of NASA, who could easily fire her, or worse scrap her from the Ares IV mission entirely. A trickle of nervousness had seeped into her while she had waited in the hallway, but she reminded herself that this was NASA, and that they were logical and perfectly reasonable. With the reminder that this was most probably just a checkup on the Ares 4 crew, Eli's nervousness shrank away. But now as she stood in front of the high ranks, she couldn't help but feel it come back.
"Ms. Hutchison, I'm sure you're aware that we've decided to send the Hermes back to Mars to intercept with Mark Watney," the Director of NASA started.
Eli answered immediately. "Yes, sir." But what exactly did that have to do with Eli?
Teddy then looked at the group of people beside Dr. Shields, the group of doctors. The man nearest to her decided to speak. "By the time of the rescue, Mark Watney would've been in Mars for eighteen months, medical issues are simply a matter of fact. He most likely has malnutrition, scurvy, low bone density, several possible heart conditions…" as he continued the medical team's assessment, Eli found herself nodding.
Living on Mars took a toll on the human body, even with sufficient supplies, NASA wouldn't risk more than 31 sols on the surface of Mars, it just wasn't good for the body. In Mark Watney's case, Eli couldn't even begin to fathom the psychological trauma a man in near isolation would develop.
After the medical assessment, Venkat Kapoor spoke up. "So, we've decided to send another doctor over."
Eli immediately realized what she was here for.
At the understanding that crossed Eli's face, Venkat continued. "The mission requires you 533 days in space. There isn't much need for science experiments, but once Mark Watney has been rescued, you are tasked to meticulously log his condition for further studies on the effect of space travel and the stay on Mars on the human body. After the intercept with Mars, your main priority is getting him healthy enough for descent into Earth gravity."
There were a few moments of silence before she answered. "Sir, Chris Beck is one of the most capable flight surgeons I have met, and a damn great doctor. I can't say I completely understand why a secondary flight surgeon is needed."
"Chris Beck could use the help. You have some of what he lacks, and vice versa. Combined, your skills will provide sufficient care for Mark Watney. Together it will be both your tasks to make sure Watney will have sound constitution to make it back on Earth safely." Mitch was the one who answered. "Constant consultations with NASA will take up half the time, and we just don't have enough time for that. Watney needs optimal care, real-time."
There was a long silence, and then Teddy Sanders spoke.
"We'll need your reply by tomorrow, any later than that and it'll be too late."
Eli didn't need until tomorrow. A man needed her help. Outer space or not, her mind was decided. "I'll go."
"You have until tomorrow, 9 A.M. to think through your decision," Teddy Sanders said as he stood up. "If your decision stands, then your crash course on intensive training begins tomorrow."
The next morning, Eleanora Hutchison arrived on time and in her training gear.
A/N: Hello! Well, this is one of those fanfics. I was really interested in looking into the return journey home, but I also wanted to add some stuff to it, you know? So, hear that idea is. I just watched and read The Martian, and I have to say, I'm pretty obsessed. It was beautiful, and, more importantly, scientifically accurate, which is very, very important to me, you know? This fic, for the most part, will try to be as scientifically accurate as possible, I guess, except for this part because I am not a physicist nor do I work for NASA (ha. I wish). Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this fic!