[A/N: I have fallen in love with is book. I guarantee, one way or another this ff will be finished. Also, happy to take suggestions!]

*can be read as a kind of sequel to the movie, but it will be understood a lot better if you have read the book*

(Set right after Chapter 26 in the book 'The Martian')

Chapter 1

LOG ENTRY: MISSION DAY 687 (2)

A lot of things have changed in the past eighteen months. And by a lot, I mean a lot! Sadly though, not Lewis' taste in music. Three things of mention, no, four. One, Johanssen and Beck are using Johanssen's room and Martinez is in Beck's quarters. When I first got back it got a little complicated. And by a little I do mean a lot, well not a lot if you think about the fact that I, up until several hours ago was stuck on god damn Mars... But still! Beck's quarters double as the "sick bay," which also happens to be the place where Martinez has been camping out since his quarters apparently tried to turn him into a roast. Which leaves me in the awkward position of having to "kick Martinez out." My bad! Okay, number two, Where do we all sleep once I'm out of the "sick bay"? Three, What the hell have they done to my zero-g plants. I mean seriously, I'm grateful for them coming back and well, rescuing me but as I told my crew mates, "first you desert me on a planet, then you practically kill my plants?!" Venting, over. Number four, I have a message from... Drum roll please! The President. Apparently I am a national hero and an inspiration to many! Anyway, that's enough for today, I'm tired, maybe I'll take some more Vicodin for my two broken ribs and catch some shut eye.

...

Beth Johanssen looked out into the vast expanse of stars before her. Normally, she would be breath-taken by them, the mystery, and the unknown. But tonight she was just coffee laden and nodding off everytime she forgot the take a sip from the flask in her hand. "Beth?" a voice behind her asked. "Are you going to sleep in the next few days?" fellow astronaut Chis Beck continued questioningly. "Mhm," Johanssen muttered. Beck sat down beside her and grasped her hand.

"Careful the caffeine is making you grumpy again," he warned.

"Your nerd is starting to show," she retorted back, making a move towards the the door.

"Good," he replied back. "Also, steer clear of my quarters, Mark smells, well..."

"Like cat vomit mixed in with some stink beetle and sweat?" she suggested.

"Pretty much."

...

Venkat Kapoor entered his browser and brought up his email. The man had not received nearly as much sleep since the rescue of astronaut Mark Watney then he would have liked. First that evening, there had been yet another press conference. Then party invitations littered his desk. NASA, of course was throwing once of their own but that was the only one he had attended. Not because he wanted to but, because media relations, i.e. Annie Montrose had insisted, "You nerds need to get out more."

Rich Purnell had been honoured and celebrated throughout the world as 'the hero who found a way to bring them all back,' while the rest of them now worked on their next problem. The Hermes was not fairing well. The tarnishing on the cooling vanes for one. And the malfunctioning heating system was only getting worse.

There was a knock on Kapoor's door. "Dr Kapoor," Teddy Sanders said from the doorway. Kapoor turned his chair in acknowledgement.

"Yes?"

"Go home. Get some sleep."

"Okay, just finishing up some paperwork." Venkat Kapoor said.

Sanders left the room just as Kapoor looked back at his browser and opened the first email, titled 'Status report and Hermes system details.' It was worse than he had previously thought. The chemical baths Dr Beck had been using to clean out some of the important life support filters but doing so had irreparably damaged those parts of the craft. That was problem number one. Problem number two, the parts of the ship that protected against radiation were fairing pretty badly. They were only at about 40% efficiency. Unless the crew could get them to work at at least 70% efficiency, they were screwed.

"Fuck," said Kapoor, as he composed an email to Sanders, Montrose and Henderson.

[A/N: Next part up within the week]