A/N: a big section of this text comes from the original book and has been edited for this story
"Ares I Hab, come in."
"This is Ares I Hab, Watney speaking."
"Hello, Mark."
"Commander James?"
"Yes, Mark," Alannah replied. "Taylor will be landing the MAV shortly. We will let you know when it is safe to approach."
"I'll be suited up and waiting," Mark answered. "Will comms on Hermes connect with the rover?"
"They should, however…"
"Oh," Mark rushed to cut off the assumption he knew was being made. "I'm not planning on waiting in the rover. I'll be in the Hab according to procedure. I just wanted to know so that I can keep you apprised of my progress with loading the MAV."
"Good idea," the commander responded. "We can run a comms check after the MAV is safely on Mars."
"Yes ma'am."
"Final checks for this shift are complete," Mitch said into his headset.
"Timekeeper."
"Go, flight," said the Timekeeper.
"Time until MAV launch?"
"2 hours, 9 minutes, 40 seconds... mark."
"Copy that. All stations: Flight Director shift change." He took his headset off and rubbed his eyes.
Brendan Hutch took the headset from him and put it on. "All stations, Flight Director is now Brendan Hutch."
"Call me if anything happens," Mitch said. "If not, I'll be back for launch."
"Get some sleep, boss," Brendan said. "Just grab twenty to thirty minutes."
Venkat watched from the observation booth. "Why ask the Timekeeper?" he mumbled. "It's on the huge mission clock on the center screen."
"He's nervous," Annie said. "You don't often see it, but that's what Mitch Henderson looks like when he's nervous. He double and triple checks everything."
"Fair enough," Venkat responded thoughtfully.
"They're camping out on the lawn, by the way," Annie said. "Reporters from all over the world. Our press rooms just don't have enough space. I foolishly thought it wouldn't be quite this big a story. I knew it would still rate headlines but it's much bigger than I expected."
"The media loves drama," he sighed. "It'll be over soon, one way or another."
"What's our role in all this?" Annie said. "If something goes wrong, what can Mission Control do?"
"Nothing," Venkat said. "Not a damned thing."
"Nothing?"
"It's all happening 12 light-minutes away. That means it takes 24 minutes for them to get the answer to any question they ask. The whole launch is 12 minutes long. They're on their own."
"Oh," Annie said. "So we're just observers in all this?"
"Yes," Venkat said. "Sucks, doesn't it?"
"Ares I Hab?"
"This is Watney."
"MAV is in a stable position. It should be cool enough to approach and load in an hour," Taylor reported.
"Systems are all systems nominal?" Mark asked.
"Yes."
"But, I still need to run the diagnostics when I board."
"Yes," Taylor replied. "Good old NASA repetitive tasks."
"For once, I won't complain. I'll let you know when I head to the MAV."
Log entry Sol 1455
This is most likely the last log entry I'll make from the surface of Mars. I'm sitting in the rover looking at my ride back to space. I need to get out and start loading it, but I'm a bit stuck. I want to leave and suddenly I'm a bit afraid. I'm not scared of something going wrong. No, I don't want my parents to have to go through that, but if something happens, something happens. I'm scared to be with people again. I'm scared about leaving what has become familiar, even as many times as this damned planet has tried to kill me, well this planet and my own stupidity. Then again I also want to get the hell out of here. I'm so tired of the never-ending red landscape and never getting to go outside without a spacesuit.
OK, enough overthinking. Time to load up the MAV.
They gathered.
Everywhere on Earth, they gathered.
From Trafalgar Square to Tiananmen Square, from Times Square to Red Square, they watched on giant screens. In offices, they huddled around computer monitors. In bars, they stared silently at the TV in the corner. In homes, they sat breathlessly on their couches, their eyes glued to the story playing out.
In Houston, a couple clutched each other's hands as they watched. The man held his wife gently as she rocked back and forth out of sheer terror. They were surrounded by the Ares III crew and their families who all knew not to disturb the couple but stood ready to answer any questions they might ask.
"Fuel Pressure green," Lawrence's voice said from a billion televisions. "Engine alignment perfect. Communications 5 by 5. We are ready for the preflight checklist, Commander."
"Copy," came Alannah's voice. "CAPCOM"
"Go," Lawrence responded.
"Guidance."
"Go," Lawrence said again.
"Remote Command."
"Go," said Taylor.
"Pilot."
"Go," said Watney from the MAV.
A mild cheer coruscated through the crowds worldwide.
Mitch sat at his station in mission control plugged in next to Brendan Hutch. They monitored everything and were ready to help in any way they could. The communication latency between Hermes and Earth made any such need highly unlikely.
"Telemetry," Alannah's voice said over the speakers.
"Go," Lawrence responded.
"Recovery," Alannah continued.
"Go," replied Pat from the airlock.
"Secondary Recovery."
"Go," said Jack from beside Pat.
"Mission control, this is Hermes Actual," Alannah reported. "We are go for launch and will proceed on schedule. We are T minus four minutes, 10 seconds to launch... mark."
"Did you get that, Timekeeper?" Mitch said.
"Affirmative, flight," came the response. "Our clocks are synched with theirs."
"Not that we can do anything," Mitch mumbled, "But at least we'll know what's supposedly happening."
"About four minutes, Mark," Alannah said into her mic. "How are you doing down there?"
"Eager to get up there, Commander," Watney responded.
"We're going to make that happen," Alannah said. "Remember, while you won't be pulling more G's than you have before, your body is not in the same conditionals the last time you launched, and it may be harder. It's ok to pass out. You're in Taylor's hands."
"Tell her to take it easy on me."
"Copy that, MAV," Commander James said.
"Four more minutes," Taylor observed, stretching out her fingers like a pianist preparing to play. "You ready for some flying, Lawrence?"
"Yeah," Lawrence said. "It'll be strange to sysop a launch and stay in zero-g the whole time."
"I hadn't thought of it that way," Taylor replied, "but yeah. I'm not going to be squashed against the back of my seat. Weird."
"T-minus 10," said Lawrence, "9...8..."
"Main engines start," said Taylor.
"7...6...5...mooring clamps released..."
"About 5 seconds, Watney," Alannah said to her headset. "Hang on." "See you in a few,
Commander," Watney radioed back.
"4...3...2..."
Watney lay in the acceleration couch as the MAV rumbled in anticipation of liftoff.
"Hmm," he said to nobody. "I wonder how much longer-"
The MAV launched.
"Velocity 1230 meters per second," Lawrence quickly called out. "Altitude 2300 meters."
"Copy," Taylor said.
"That's high," Alannah said. "Too high and fast."
"I know," Taylor said. "It's like a rocket, and I didn't mean that as a joke or a pun. What the hell is going on?"
"Velocity 1570, altitude 2745," Lawrence said.
"I can't seem to slow it down!" Taylor said.
"Engine power at 90 Lawrence said. "Can you drop it back further?"
"I am but I'm not sure how much it will make a difference. He doesn't have much atmosphere left to slow the MAV down," Taylor answered.
"Watney," Alannah said to her headset. "Watney, do you read? Can you report?"
Watney heard Alannah's voice in the distance. Like someone talking to him through a long tunnel. He vaguely wondered what she wanted. His attention was briefly drawn to the ceiling of the capsule in particular he was distracted by a bolt in one of the bulkheads. It only had five sides. He wondered why NASA decided that bolt needed five sides instead of six. It would require a special wrench to tighten or loosen.
As the MAV flew higher, the atmosphere grew thinner. He was struggling to remember how to breathe when feeling like he weighed six times his normal weight on Earth.
As consciousness slipped away, he wondered where he could get a cool 5-sided bolt like that.
"That's it," Taylor said. "He's out of the atmosphere. He'll be in orbit shortly."
"Will there be a problem with docking?" the commander asked.
"No, I can use the orbital maneuvering system to slow down the MAV."
"Is there enough fuel left for the OMS to slow him down as much as we need?" Alannah asked.
Lawrence reviewed his screen as Taylor continued to pilot the MAV. "If she uses all of the OMS, he may be a bit fast. The docking will be a bit hard, but it shouldn't damage either ship."
"Any ideas what caused the higher-than-expected velocity?" the commander asked.
"My guess and it's only a guess," Taylor replied, "is that the sims didn't accurately account for the difference in weight. He's in orbit. I'm activating the OMS now."
"112 kilometers, 23 meters per second," Lawrence reported.
Alannah floated behind her pilot watching the screen and breathing deeply.
"107 kilometers, 17 meters per second."
"Fuel is dropping fast," Taylor said.
"84 kilometers, 10 meters per second."
"I'm going to run it down to empty," the pilot said. "NASA will just have to figure out a way to get us fuel to refill so we can use the MAV to get back to Earth. I will not lose him or risk Hermes."
"50 kilometers, 4 meters per second, 30 seconds of fuel remaining," Lawrence reported, never taking his eyes off his monitor."
"Almost there, almost there, almost…"
"12 kilometers, 2 meters per second, 10 seconds of fuel remaining."
"I'm going to let it glide and save the remaining fuel for docking," Taylor said.
"One kilometer, 2 meters per second."
"Reactivating OMS, slowing MAV, docking alignment nominal."
"Looks good from here," Pat said from the airlock. "You're right on the mark, pun unintended."
"200 meters and closing."
"Mark," Commander James called. "Mark, can you hear me?"
"I…I hear you," Mark said with a growl. "I think maybe I broke something on the ride up."
"Just relax, you're almost back to Hermes. You'll be docking shortly."
"Good to hear."
"50 meters and closing."
Silence took over the two ships as they came closer and closer. The MAV's docking probe slid into Hermes docking port. Taylor flicked the switch to engage the docking latches.
Mark heard several bangs as the latches took hold and slid the MAV into its final docking position.
"Hard dock achieved," Taylor reported with a huge smile.
"That was the sweetest sound I've heard in a long time," Mark said gruffly, tears of relief filling his eyes.
"It is a pretty great sound," Taylor replied with matching tears.
"Hang on, Mark," Alannah said. "Pat will be in to get you in just a moment. Don't move until he unbuckles you."
"Yes, Commander."
"Detaching docking probe," Pat reported. "Entering MAV."
"Storing docking probe," said Jack.
"Visual on Watney."
"Visual on Aarends."
Pat grinned. "How you doin' man?"
"I'm off that damned planet. I'm amazing and in pain," Mark replied.
"Ok you just let me handle things," Pat said.
Mark nodded as his fellow mechanical engineer carefully released the seat restraints. Pat took hold of Mark's hands and gave the gentlest of pulls to get the other man up and floating. He then turned them around so that he could brace himself with his feet under the edges of Mark's seat. He flattened Watney out into a prone position.
"Jack, be ready. I'm sending Watney through feet first."
"Got it," Jack responded.
"Mark, don't move. Let us move you," Pat said.
Once all three men were in the airlock. Jack opened the airlock door.
"He's all yours Marianne," Jack told the doctor who was floating just outside the airlock.
"Thank you, gentlemen."
Once the airlock door was again closed with all three men onboard Hermes proper, Pat reported to the Commander. "Mark's on board and headed with the doctor to the med bay."
Alannah's voice echoed across the world: "Houston, this is Hermes Actual. Seven crew safely aboard."
The control room exploded with applause. Leaping from their seats, they cheered, hugged, and cried. The same scene played out all over the world in parks, bars, civic centers, living rooms, classrooms, and offices.
The couple in Houston clutched each other in sheer relief. They quickly became the center of a large group hug with all of the Ares III crew and their families.
Mitch slowly pulled off his headset and turned to face the VIP room. Through the glass, he saw various well-suited men and women cheering wildly. He looked at Venkat and let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Venkat put his head in his hands and whispered "Thank the gods."
Melody lifted the blue folder from her lap and stood. "Annie will be wanting me in the press room."
"Guess you don't need the red folder today," Venkat said.
"Honestly, I didn't make one." As she walked out she added "Good work, Venk. Now on to the rest of the mission so we can get them all home."
Log entry Mission Day 1611
That "1611" caught me off guard for a minute. On Hermes, we track time by mission days. It may be Sol 1455 down on Mars, but it's Mission Day 1611 up here. And you know what? It doesn't matter what time it is on Mars cause I'M NOT THERE!
I'm really not on Mars anymore. I can tell because there's no gravity and there are other humans around, although they'll be leaving soon. That's good, because I need time to adjust.
If this were a movie, everyone would have been in the airlock and there would have been high-fives all around. But it didn't pan out that way. Pat and Jack first got me out of the MAV and then out of the airlock. Marianne floated me to the med bay. We have a med bay now. I guess they decided the gym didn't need to be an entire module of the wheel so they turned about a third of it into the med bay. I wonder why it took them so long. For my previous mission and the two prior missions, the doctor's quarters also served double duty as the med bay. It makes more sense to have a separate room for that. Maybe they made the change just for me. I hope not, but then again if it means someone is ill and needs to be cared for, then Marianne doesn't have to do it in her room. There's no gravity, so she braced me into the portable x-ray machine and checked me out. I have two broken ribs. Apparently, my body couldn't handle the Gs on the ride up. I'm weaker than I thought. Well, that and they tell me the MAV reached a higher velocity than expected. I'm going to blame that on my body deteriorating. I know it has. I can tell my muscles aren't what they once were. I have a lot of work to do over the next year.
Anyway, Marianne sent me to shower, always an interesting experience in zero G. Then she wrapped my ribs. I'm supposed to take it easy and not rotate the ship up beyond Mars's gravity levels while they're gone. I'm also not supposed to empty my MAV. Pat and Jack got my personal stuff, what little I brought back, and put it in my new room. The samples will wait until they return.
I've seen everyone but only one or two at a time. I think they're trying not to overwhelm me, and I appreciate it.
I found my new room. It feels tiny, then again I've been living alone in a Hab for four years, anything would feel tiny after that. I'm pretty sure it's the same size or slightly bigger than the rooms in the living quarters module though.
I'm in clean clothes, new clothes for the first time in ages. I tried to ration the clothes from my supply probe. I tried to stretch out wearing them for as long as I could so I'd have new clothes for longer, but I eventually caved. It's been at least a year since I've had anything new to wear. So, I'm once again in clean clothes and it feels amazing. I'll be sleeping on clean new sheets when I spin up again and in a clean new sleeping bag before that.
Alannah, um Commander James, just called. They're leaving. I'm going to go sit in the cockpit while they do so I can spin up after they land and get the "stay" command from Mission Control.
Log entry Mission Day 1611 (2)
I'm alone again but only for thirty-one days.
A/N I now have the story in my docs completely written and edited so I'm going to keep posting every few days with the hope that it will be all posted by New Year's Eve