FOUR MONTHS SINCE MARS DEPARTURE
EXT. HERMES - PRESENT - SPACE
The Hermes was making its way back to Earth.
Commander Lewis was staring out at the star field.
"Commander Lewis..." Johanssen called.
INT. HERMES - FLIGHT DECK - SPACE
Lewis was alone, in a secluded console of the ship. She keyed the console and said, "Go ahead."
Johanssen said over the radio, "Data dump is almost complete."
"Copy. Coming to you."
INT. HERMES - CORRIDOR - SPACE
Lewis floated towards the Semicone-A ladder. Martinez beat her there. As he floated up the ladder, Lewis said, "You're in a hurry."
"My son turned three yesterday," Martinez replied. "Should be some pics of the party."
As they made their way down the ladder, the centripetal force from the rotating craft created artificial gravity. Halfway down, they had to put their hands on the ladder.
INT. HERMES - REC ROOM - SPACE
Lewis and Martinez entered the rec room. The others were already present.
"All right, we've got a batch of personals," Johanssen said. "Dispatching them to your laptops... I don't need to read Vogel's weird German fetish emails..."
"They are telemetry updates," Vogel told her.
"Whatever does it for you. We've got a system update, I'll take care of that and... huh. There's a voice message. Addressed to the whole crew."
Lewis shrugged. "Play it."
Johanssen opened the message and hit play.
Mitch spoke. "Hermes, this is Mitch Henderson. I have some news. There's no subtle way to put this: Mark Watney and Darcie Beck are still alive." The news hit the crew like a freight train. "I know that's a surprise. And I know you'll have a lot of questions. Here are the basics: they're alive and healthy. We found out two months ago and decided not to tell you. I was strongly against that decision. We're telling you know because we finally have communication with them and a viable rescue plan. We'll give you a full write up of what happened, but it's not your fault. Mark and Darcie stress that every time it comes up. Beck, Darcie tells you not to blame yourself for what happened and that she loves you. Take some time to absorb this. Your science schedules are cleared for tomorrow. Send all the questions you want and we'll answer them. Henderson out."
For a moment, the group sat in stunned silence.
"They're... They're alive?" Martinez asked.
Vogel cracked a smile. "Watney and Beck live."
Beck started to laugh, relief pouring out of him. "Holy shit. Commander. They're alive! She's alive!" He smiled, happy he didn't have to break the news to their son or his wife's parents.
Lewis was still in shock and her words were barely a whisper. "I left them behind."
"Commander... It wasn't..." Johanssen began.
"We all left together," Beck said in a pained voice.
"You were following orders," Lewis told him. "I left them behind."
The group traded glances, but no one knew what to say.
Without another word, Lewis turned and left the room.
YOU ARE READING
Space Odyssey
Science FictionDarcie is chosen for and sent on a mission, alongside others, for, what feels to her, as a once in a lifetime opportunity. While she and her husband don't want to leave their young son behind, they know he's in good hands. But when the mission goe...
