SOL 102- continued
"So that small one must be Sojourner."
It was kind of cute.
A little tiny rover.
She cleared off the table and helped Watney set it up, a smile on her face. He quickly pulled her into a hug. It was nice to have him back, she spent most nights too anxious to sleep. Most nights she was getting around two or three hours of sleep, on a good night. Some nights she was up all night, surviving on caffeine pills and coffee.
She relaxed into the hug, a sigh leaving her mouth.
"How much are we going to have to do to get Pathfinder working again?" She asked against his chest.
"Shouldn't be too much, you feel up for it?" He asked her softly, his hand on the back of her head, holding her closer to him.
Olivia always did have a love for electronics and for the Lander, so that would be perfect for her. It would, or at least should be easy. All she had to do was take out the old battery, place in the environmental heater and plug in a power source from the HAB. Then, hopefully they would regain contact with NASA and Earth.
Donning her EVA suit, Liv grabbed what she would need, carefully placed them in her arms and headed out of the airlock. It took around twenty minutes to pry open the compartment that she needed opened. And another ten minutes to place the heater in and to plug in the power plug from the HAB.
The true moment.
It would be around thirty minutes or so for the message to come in, so while she waited, she started to gather samples that she needed for her next experiment. She was hoping to look for more traces of water in the soil as well as in the rocks.
A mere thirty or so minutes later, she heard that amazing noise. Pathfinder starting up, and the antenna starting to look for contact. She let out a scream of joy, pumping her first in the air. Taking in a deep breath, she called to Mark. "It worked! We need to get something out here to see if they're receiving us."
Heading back into the HAB, she could hear him rushing around, grabbing the small dry erase boards they brought with them and frantically writing on three of them.
'Are you receiving us?'
'Yes'
'No'
Grabbing some stakes, she attached the boards that were passed to her before heading out again. After making sure they were in the ground enough, she waited again. Samples had already been collected, so all she was left with was her thoughts.
What would happen if they couldn't regain contact?
How long would they last?
Would they really have to wait the four years for the next mission?
Blowing out a breath, she dragged her fingers through the dirt, still unable to believe that she was indeed on Mars. When she was selected for the team, she knew that the next few years were going to be rough, and was determined to make a good impression on her new crewmates.
And good impression she made.
Rick was the first one that showed up on the night they decided to go out, instantly drawing Olivia in to a large hug. He joked with her as the others arrived, and instantly made her nerves vanish.
The next person to show up was Mark, a wide grin on his face, hands in his pockets. He and Rick instantly hit it off, trying to one up each other in puns, and all Olivia could do was shake her head softly and laugh.
Beth and Beck showed up next, weaving their way through the tables, and Olivia greeted them with a smile and a hug. Her and Beth instantly clicked, bonding over the fact that they were the two youngest and the shortest members of the crew. Her and Beck bonded over their love for medical things, Olivia having taken multiple medical classes during college.
Vogel was next, instantly making an impact in the group. It allowed for Olivia to slip into his native language, something she had been practicing since she was a kid. The smile that appeared on his face when he heard her in his tongue, made her grin.
Commander Lewis was the last to arrive, and the group all stood up together. The blonde was pulled into a tight hug from the start.
The group fell into a comfortable conversation, talking about their hobbies, education, and just anything that came to mind. Olivia knew that they would be alright.
As the years of training started, the relationships with the crew started to make itself known. Melissa became the mother figure that Olivia needed -her own mother passed away a couple months after her college graduation.- Beth became like the sister she always wanted. Beck, Rick and Vogel became her best friends, someone she could confined in or talk to when it was one of those days.
Mark was different to say the least. Their bond was different from all the other crew. They bonded on a different level, almost a flirtatious level. Of course, Olivia tried to not fall for the man, but she could admit that he was extremely good looking. Something just told her that something, that their experience on Mars would affect that, but alas, she could not tell in what way.
The sound of something moving caught her eye, and she snapped her head up to see Pathfinder moving it's camera. Making her way over as quick as she could, she finally saw where it landed.
'Yes'
"Mark, they're receiving us. Oh my fucking god." She couldn't help but almost cry out, tears welling up in her eyes. This was something huge, and a smile made its way to her face.
"Holy shit! Okay, this is good! We're getting somewhere!" He called back, and the blonde made her way back into the airlock, a smile on her face.