A/N: Good day! So, here's the next chapter :) Thank you so much for those that reviewed, it means so much!


"Commander, there's a video message from CAPCOM." Beth Johanssen said over the mic. "Addressed to you."

Melissa Lewis looked at Johanssen, who was at her station and nodded. "I'll take it in my quarters." The Commander quickly stood and made her way to the ladder, going up, grabbing a handle and transferring to another ladder that led to the crew's quarters. As she slid down, she quickly had to grip on to the ladder as centripetal force made its power known to her and she had to use the last couple of rungs to make it.

Once in her quarters, she sat on the chair in front of the monitor and said unto her mic. "Put it through."

Immediately, the face of Mitch Henderson and Venkat Kapoor appeared on the screen. They were close enough to Earth that communication had just about a two-minute delay. Henderson wore the headset. "Good day, Commander Lewis. It's Mitch Henderson, and beside me is Venkat Kapoor, if the video isn't clear. Anyway, the medical team here has assessed Mark Watney's condition given Mars' atmosphere and the circumstances regarding his current situation. In response to that report, we've decided to add to your crew members."

Melissa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she drew herself nearer to the monitor, sliding to the edge of the seat as she listened carefully to the message as they expounded on the reasons for the addition. Although this would mean that another life was in danger, if NASA was the one making this decision, she was sure that it was thought through.

"Her name is Eleanora Hutchison, and she's the Flight Surgeon for Ares 4. We'll be establishing a link soon to build rapport so that integration will be easier." Mitch paused, then continued as if he remembered something. "Oh, right, we also sent you her file. Godspeed, Commander."


"…and so she'll be a part of this crew for 533 days. I trust you'll all make her feel welcome," Melissa smiled as she flashed Hutchison's file on the screen in the Rec room. "Her name's Eleanora Hutchison, file name says she's called Eli. Flight surgeon, EVA specialist and the biochemist of the Ares 4 mission."

The crew's eyes flickered to Chris for a moment, and the doctor simply looked at the screen with Hutchison's file. Of course, Chris felt as if NASA was disregarding his abilities, and he let it made known with a frown.

Melissa, ever the observant commander, noticed it quickly. She'd sort that out in a bit.

"Beck, you know her?" The Commander asked as she placed the remote down on the table in front of her.

They were in the Rec, seated around the table—the glaring emptiness of the sixth chair not nearly as apparent as the past couple of months.

Chris exhaled a breath. "Yeah, we had parts of our EVA and aerospace medicine training together, we were chosen two batches apart." He paused, remembering the tall and lean doctor. He was nodding slowly. "She's, uh, a good choice. Has a master's degree in both nutrition and biochemistry." All Ares missions astronauts were exceptionally intelligent and well-studied, but now that he saw her file, he was fairly surprised by how relatively young she was, she was just a little older than Johanssen.

"Okay. I get it and everything, but logistically speaking, there is a problem here," Beth spoke. "How are we going to fit seven people on a ship designed for six?" Aside from that, everything was kind of made for six people—their dining table had specifically six chairs. The command room had six chairs as well. An even number was just easier to deal with, easier to balance.

Melissa nodded. "NASA hasn't specifically said anything about that, so I assume they leave that to us."

Rick leaned back on his chair, grinning. "And, luckily, we're among the smartest people in the world."

Melissa leaned forward on her chair, her elbows on the table. "On the trip back to Mars, she'll be in Watney's room. So we have about nine months to figure out sleeping arrangements," Melissa said.

"What about science experiments, Commander?" Alexander asked.

Melissa shook her head. "In general, because of our extended stay, NASA doesn't really have any experiments scheduled. However, you all can go ahead and continue to log your experiments." Doing nothing was maddening, and they'd all need to be kept occupied by some sort of routine or task. In fact, she'd go ahead and ask NASA for a schedule.

After a few moments of silence, wherein the crew absorbed the information, Melissa once more spoke up. "They'll be establishing a communication link soon, most likely a video communication to start building rapport. I'd imagine that would be a routine until we have Hutchison on board." She scanned each of them, making eye-contact. Once she went full circle, she smiled. "Alright, you can go back to your private times."

The crew all stood, all making their way to the ladder. It was just about time for them to head to sleep.

"Beck, can I talk to you for a moment?" Melissa said, closing the screen, then placing the remote securely back in its hold by the screen.

Obediently, Chris hung back, and he and the Commander waited until the crew all left. The Commander looked him in the eye.

"I know you're feeling wronged, but they aren't doubting your abilities here, Chris. Nobody is." Melissa gaze was sharp. "We all just need to acknowledge that Mark needs more help than we can give. With Watney's foreseen condition, the trip home is dangerous and potentially fatal."

Chris sighed as he leaned his head back, momentarily, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes, then dragging them down his face. He then looked at the Commander again. "I do get it, Commander. It's just an initial reaction, I guess."

Melissa nodded. "I understand the frustration, Beck. Just remember not to hold on to that."

Chris smiled. "I won't, Commander." He looked at the glass window momentarily, showing the vast vacuum of space outside. "I was actually just thinking of Watney's condition, and I think NASA's right to send another doctor. He'll need all the real-time, actual care." He chuckled lightly, shaking his head. "Mars is a shit-place to get stranded in."

The Commander let out a small laugh, shaking her head as she looked down. Once she looked up a moment later, her smile was still in place. "Mark's condition will be yours and Hutchison's top priority. I trust any personal conflicts won't get in the way?"

"Yes, Commander," the flight surgeon answered resolutely. She didn't really need to remind him.

"Good," Melissa said. She then jerked her head towards the stairs. "Now, off with you."


"Mother of God," Eli whispered as she splashed water on her face with the bottle Wesley, the NASA assigned trainer, gave her.

She was now doing 10 kilometer runs every 2 days, and maybe she was exaggerating, but she was pretty sure she was going to explode soon. It wasn't the runs that were exhausting, it was centrifuge, the vacuum, and the simulations—the runs were the easy part. In about two hours, after an ice bath, she was going to don an EVA suit and go ahead into the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL), which was basically scuba diving with an EVA suit.

After an initial physical, they had quickly flown her to Johnson Space Center to begin the intense training. Her past couple of days was filled with 10 kilometer runs, NBL simulations, aerospace medicine drills, centrifuge rides, psych meetings and video communication with the Ares 3 crew. The night was the weirdest, and yet slightly most comforting of all.

The room they had placed her in was completely silent—nothing could be heard from the outside. She'd placed her ear on the door for several minutes once she was unnerved enough. The vent on the ceiling was absolutely silent. When she'd brought it up in a psych meeting on the third day, they'd told her it was so that she'd get used to the silence of space—which made sense. So on the fourth night, she saw the silence as a slight comfort. One of the tests she was missing in her cram intensive training was the isolation test, which they just didn't have time for.

"Come on, doc, Kira's ready for your ice bath," Wesley ordered, handing her another bottle of water, which she drank in one go.

Eli nodded, resigned to her training—complaining was going to do nothing but waste the precious air she was trying to get back into her lungs right now. Might as well savor the stuff now before she had go where it was limited. The intensive training was to last three weeks, with the last couple of days before the launch devoted to letting her body rest and recover, fixing up loose ends and saying her goodbyes to her family. Then about three days before the launch, she'd be flying to China—she had to go at least three days early so that she wouldn't be tired from the trip, but with her intensive training, the flight wouldn't even be a thing.

She squealed as she entered the ice bath, eyes closed and jaw clenched. She heard the click from Kira's stopwatch, and she closed her eyes, thinking of the kind of shit Mark Watney was going through so she'd feel bad enough to be able to go through her own hell.

"Alright." Kira alerted her of the time, and helped her get out of the ice bath. The woman then handed her a bathrobe to put over her skin-tight training suit. "You have EVA training in an hour and a half. Wesley will meet you in the dining hall for a quick snack, then off to the NBL you go."

Eli nodded, letting the heat of the shower rooms—because that was where they were—warm her up. The suit would dry in a few minutes. Her dark brown hair wasn't wet because she it tied into a low bun, resting on the top of her neck—which, just a tip, was better to do because it wouldn't interfere with the headgear of an EVA suit. She switched the wet robe for a dry one so she could go out and head into the dining hall. Some of the Astronaut Candidates, or AsCans for short, looked at her in what Eli could only describe as wonder.

Annie Montrose had announced the addition to the team the very next day after they had told her, when they were sure of her decision. Her picture and some other information was released and quickly made its way to all over, so the AsCans had no trouble recognizing her. They actually even spoke to her, which was generally not unwelcome, because company was pretty awesome when intensive training was this… intense. It helped her relax, and it helped her be able to practice whatever social skills she possessed.

She spotted Wesley, the tall, bulky African-American in training gear. He was in his mid-forties, ex-military, and he was assigned to keep her fit through the intensive training.

"Here you go, doc," Wesley motioned to the shoddy-looking sandwich on a tray he was carrying. "Enough energy for the NBL."

She took it like a champ and ate away, resting then heading to the NBL after. After the NBL it would be the gym, then the centrifuge. Her days of physical exertion were interrupted by days of mental taxation, where they drilled her on aerospace medicine, doing some simulations in vacuo, and other situations. They also gave her a list of possible medical issues that would arise from Mark Watney's condition, and they gave her many things to read.

Much later, after a grueling centrifuge simulation, she sat back in her room. Getting herself to look even slightly presentable to the Ares 3 crew was such a chore, but one she went through anyway because she wanted to make a good impression—she'd be with them for a year and a half, and that time would be even longer when people hated each other. Transmission was at 8 PM Washington, DC time, so that meant 7 PM for JFC.

She had gotten back to her room near 6 PM, and by 6:30 she was ready for the transmission. She was wearing sweat pants and a hoodie, with her hair in a ponytail. She sat in front of the monitor in her room, which just had a bed, a closet, a cushioned chair with wheels and a desk, with a monitor mounted on the wall just above it. She placed the headset on and pressed the button that would tell NASA she was ready for the transmission.

Her talk with the crew started the night of her arrival, where she met the whole crew. The following nights, she spoke with them individually, one person per night, starting with the Commander, then going down the chain. Tonight was her turn to speak with Beth, and she was excited to speak to the System Operator of the Ares 3 mission. They were close in age, and, if anything, she was hoping that she'd be able to at least get close to Beth, if nobody else. NASA was requiring at least a 30-minute transmission. Though they weren't watching the videos, transmission time was being monitored.

While waiting for the transmission to begin, she decided to read and send some emails, some were from family and friends—she was required to hand over her phone—and some were from subscriptions on medical journals, regarding some papers she wrote.


Beth sat on her monitor, waiting for the signal to patch through. It was 8 PM—at least back in NASA headquarters, Washington, DC—and she was sort of excited to get to know Eli Hutchison, the newest addition to the crew. The transmission delay was less than a minute, so near real-time.

Finally, the signal was patched through and she found herself face to face with… a woman sleeping. Eli had her head leaning on the headrest of her chair, and Beth could hear the steady breathing of the doctor. Beth smiled, shaking her head as she leaned back on her chair.

Transmission time had to be at least 30 minutes. Instead of waking Eli up, Beth leaned back on her chair and took her laptop, resuming Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie—the woman was amazing. Her headset was still on, and she read with the sound of Eli's breathing as her background.

She was nearing the end of her novel when she heard an "Oh, my God." Beth quickly looked up.

"I'm so sorry!" Eli apologized, her brows furrowed. "It was just supposed to be a ten-minute nap."

"It's fine," Beth smiled. "I'm assuming NASA's really grilling you before the launch." She paused, for a moment, unsure what to say. "Besides, I got to read a bit more on my novel, so it's alright."

"Oh, uh, what were you reading?" Eli asked.

Surprisingly, Beth had a relatively easy time talking to Eli, they talked about books for it all, kind of having a hard time switching topics. Awkward pauses were relatively few and far between, so that was a good thing—a good start, she'd say. They had lost about twenty minutes of required transmission time, and they even extended ten minutes over before Beth decided that Eli should get some sleep, she had been yawning and her eyes were drooping. NASA was really doing a number on her.

As the transmission ended, Beth decided that for first impressions, Eli didn't do so bad.


A/N: There it is! I just wanted to show a bit of the intensive training (I had to research a bit of it, and I'm not entirely sure of the accuracy of it :/) Next chapter, we'll get to the launch. 'Til next time!