AN: The prompt for this story is "A story set on another planet." Written for the week of June 3-9.
This is going to be a lot more lighthearted than the last one. I love space and science, but this is not going to be entirely accurate for time and plot reasons. Also no Caroline/Bonnie romance or Elijah/Elena romance in this, I chose them because they think they'd be good at working together and they all have to be good at trusting each other. Romance would complicate the mission anyway. I'm aiming for a Scully/Mulder vibe of trust and respect while being in love with each other.
Also I know Mars is not good for human habitation and the fact that according to the awesome people at NASA that "...you will have to spend 3-4 months at Mars before you can begin your return trip. All in all, your trip to Mars would take about 21 months: 9 months to get there, 3 months there, and 9 months to get back. With our current rocket technology, there is no way around this. The long duration of trip has several , you have to bring enough food, water, clothes, and medical supplies for the crew in addition to all the scientific instruments you will want to take. You also have to bring all that fuel! In addition, if you are in space for nine months, you will need a lot of shielding to protect you from the radiation of the Sun. Water, and cement make good shielding but they are very heavy. All together, it is estimated that for a crew of six, you would need to 3 million pounds of supplies! The Shuttle can lift about 50,000 pounds into space, so it would take 60 shuttle launches to get all your supplies into space." So uh, this will not be scientifically accurate please don't hate me. Also they totally do have wifi on board and a way to charge their electronics. Totally. I don't know where the hell this went.
It's a rush, voices in their ears, the sensation of going too fast all combine as they soar into the air. It's completely unlike anything else, her years of working towards this job and the years of months for this project, it's all been leading up to this moment and for a second she looks over at her partner in this, and speaks.
"You okay, Mikaelson?" She calls, it's loud with the engines and the fact they are flying through the layers of the atmosphere after all.
"I'm perfect, Gilbert." He calls back, even though there's only a few feet between them. There are two others with them, in a different part of the structure strapped in going through the same thing. He hears Elena laugh and the team back on Earth asks how they're doing. Elena answers before he can.
"According to Mikaelson, he's perfect." She jokes and they hear a few chuckles from Mission Control.
"No, we're okay so far. Still moving at the speed we need." Elena informs them, it's going to be a long nine months of traveling in space before they can even get to Mars, but at least the anxious excitement in her veins is starting to fade, They're in space, they made it. They've all worked so hard to get to this point that it just feels like victory. There's not much to do but make sure the ship stays on auto pilot after they're sure they're on the right course.
Elijah finds her floating, staring out one of the windows with a blank expression.
"Elena." He says, and she turns her head to look at him, as he moves to float next to her.
"Elijah." She acknowledges.
"What are you thinking about?" He wonders and she laughs.
"It's funny, I was thinking about our house." She tells him and he lets out a laugh too. They split the mortgage of a house near their workplace, it's so easy to do and neither of them want to live alone. Neither of them are dating anyone either, they've been close for years. It just makes sense.
"Finn will visit every so often to make sure it's fine." He reminds her and she sighs.
"Nine months is a long time to wait." She says and Elijah knows what she means.
"We've wait much longer for less." He reminds her and she nods.
"I know." She says and he asks her if she wants him to leave her alone. She shakes her head.
They stay there in silence for a few moments before either of them speak again.
"Do you want to watch Star Wars?" She asks, and he laughs.
"I'm just kidding. I like Star Trek better." Elena says and Elijah continues laughing.
They do end up watching science fiction shows and movies. It's fun and cringeworthy as a scientist, so much of it is inaccurate, but she and Elijah watch a lot of it in the months they wait to arrive. Caroline and Bonnie watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and occasionally Elijah and Elena join them for a few episodes.
"I can't believe at this point we're getting paid to watch Netflix and check on the ship." Caroline says and Elena laughs.
"You're not wrong." Bonnie admits as she selects the next episode. Elijah laughs at some of the bad special effects from the show and Caroline floats into the space, and looks put out.
"What's wrong Care?" Elena asks.
"It is really hard to dance in space." Caroline pouts and the others laugh. They've seen videos of others singing and doing ridiculous things in space, Caroline's hoping to make one.
"I'm sure you'll get it someday. We do have quite a while for you to work on it." Elijah tells her and she smiles.
"Thank you, Elijah. What season are we on?" Caroline asks as Buffy stakes a vampire on the screen.
"Season four." Bonnie answers and Caroline grins.
They're on season five when Caroline asks what they all think they'd be if they were in the universe of Buffy and her friends.
"Elijah would be a vampire. Like a good vampire but-" Bonnie begins.
"No way." Elijah retorts and Elena lets out a giggle.
"I'd be a vampire slayer or a witch." Bonnie decides aloud.
"Oh shit, watch out Elijah." Caroline jokes before she and Elena burst out laughing.
"Elena would be a slayer or a witch." Bonnie ignores Caroline's comment and Elijah's look at their laughter. Elijah's dirty look makes them laugh even harder.
"I could see Caroline as any of those options." Elena says after she's gotten all of her laughter out and Caroline fakes indignation.
"I can't imagine being a vampire. Drinking blood would be so gross." She says in a matter of fact tone and Elijah snorts.
"As a fellow member of the fictional undead I think I can safely say we'd have bigger things to worry about." Elijah says dryly and Elena and Bonnie laugh.
They check on the plants and machines and each other, with Mission Control but it's still a lot of free time even with actual work and working out. Elena writes in her journal, Elijah video calls his siblings, Bonnie reads and Caroline checks in on her mom then watches whatever she wants.
"Are you still trying to find the right song for your future viral video?" Bonnie asks. Caroline sighs and nods.
"I am." She admits and Elijah and Elena float over.
"We found the perfect song." Elena grins at Caroline and she knows she won't be dancing solo.
It's not inappropriate dancing, they're just dancing for fun to the best of their ability to the fast paced pop song, Elena pretends to sing along and so does Caroline. Elijah told Elena that she totally owes him for this because his brothers are going to be ruthless when they see it but she promises to do return the favor someday and he knows she's going to keep that promise.
Their team at Mission Control laughs their asses off when they get the video, they promise to edit it and send it back before posting it, clean up the sound and visuals first, and Caroline has the biggest grin for a week before they get it back.
"Can we post it?" One of their PR people asks and Caroline grins.
"Absolutely." She replies and then she waits. The video hits a couple million views in the time Caroline watches a few episodes of a new show.
It's so odd to see it, after so long. Mars is dusty, red orange and brighter than Elena imagined. They're all strapped in, anticipation in their veins and muscles, Elena tries not to blink, she wants to capture how it felt exactly for her journal and science. It's indescribable, and she forgets how to speak as they soar through the atmosphere, they almost hit the ground but Elijah guides the ship to stay above the ground, and then she helps him land the ship.
"Time to suit up." Elijah says.
It's exciting for the first few minutes of course, of course that's exciting, Mission Control is thrilled they even reached the planet, but all of their experience and time and work has led to this. They're the first people on Mars, and they're to check on the machines there and their to-do list keeps them busy. Or at least the to-do list is supposed to keep them busy, but they still watch Buffy and work out and have free time.
They do rock paper scissors for it, but Elena wins and she and Jeremy are the first siblings to ever video call on different planets. They'll always have a place in the record books.
Every day on Mars is for the record books technically, but Elena wants it over when they run out of freeze dried ice cream.
"We're dooooomed." Caroline tells Mission Control dramatically, drawing out the second word.
The woman in charge at the moment laughs and Caroline pretends to scowl.
"I'm glad you think this is funny, because this is an absolute travesty." Caroline exclaims and Elena lets a laugh escape.
"How many days do we have until we need to leave?" Bonnie asks and Mission Control responds.
"A week." A man tells them and Elena cheers. Three months on Mars have gone quickly, but there's still the nine month trip back.
"I think Caroline's going to buy an entire grocery store worth of food when we get back." Elena tells Elijah and he laughs.
"What do you want to do when we get back?" Elijah inquires and she smiles.
"Why? Are you gonna help me with my list?" She teases and he nods.
"I'd love to." He doesn't mean to say love but it slips out and they're aware of the tension that's always there, but they both know they can't go there, not now, maybe not ever and especially not on Mars.
"I hope you like funnel cakes and movies and concerts." Elena responds and a smirk grows on his lips.
"Maybe I do." He answers. She smiles at him.
It's a blur of a week, double checking samples and supplies and working out. Caroline starts them all on a new dorky science fiction show and then they have to leave the red, hot and dusty planet. Elena misses rain and clouds, and adds them to the list of things she wants to experience when they get home.
Leaving Mars is nice, but once they're in open space again, she remembers why she had felt so thrilled by being on a planet. Mars was a change of scenery, now they're in the ship for nine more months. Elena thinks she might kiss the dirt when they get back home. Elijah reminds her that there will be photographs if she does, international reporters will be there for the landing, she does not need global humiliation. Plus Jeremy would hold that over her for ages and so would his family.
"You're right." Elena sighs.
"I know." Elijah says and she sighs again.
"I hate it when you're right." Elena tells him, and he laughs.
It's a long way home, they have to watch Buffy again at Caroline's insistence and their viral video has a billion views.
It's amazing, and Elena knows she'll never feel a thrill quite like this again as they reenter Earth's atmosphere. There's going to be tests and physical therapy and talking to interviewers and other scientists and family and friends, but Elena's just happy to be home.
She and Elijah will tackle her list, their list technically, he added a few things, do all of it and go home.
Until then they smile for the cameras with Caroline and Bonnie.