The Doctors (Chris Beck)(EDITING/ON HOLD)

Chapter 2

As I finish replying to the Medical Department Director, I hear the lab door open, and Gomez speaks up.

"Your twelve o'clock is here, Dr. Moran," he addresses me. I get up from my desk, stretching out my arms, and walk into the main lab. There stands a group of five people, who vary in heights, gender, and appearances.

My crew.

"Welcome to the Chemistry Department. I'm Dr. Katherine Moran," I smile warmly, trying to appear as cheerful as possibly without completely freaking out.

"Moran, it's good to see you again," Commander Melissa Lewis says.

"You as well, Commander," I reply, shaking her hand.

"Hello, I'm Mark Watney. Botanist and mechanical engineer for Ares III. It's nice to meet you, Dr. Moran," a shorter man with medium brown hair shakes my hand.

"Rick Martinez, pilot," a man of Hispanic-looking descent approaches me next.

"Beth Johanssen, system operations," a short red-head speaks up from behind the pair of males. She smiles as I flash a smile whilst shaking her hand. "It's great to have another woman on board."

The last crew member finally pipes up, walking over to me. He is a few inches taller than me, even in these heels. He has the most piercing blue eyes I've ever seen, and his dark brown hair is neatly styled.

"Dr. Chris Beck, flight surgeon. It's nice to finally meet you, Dr. Moran," he half-smiles, as he takes my hand, and gently presses his lips to my knuckles. I'm pretty sure my cheeks flare up.

"Oh, Beck's making a move," Watney almost squeals.

"Hey, Beck. No flirting with my chemist," Commander Lewis scolds him gently. I grin, laughing it off as both Beck and I try to regain our composure.

"Please, come into my office," I chauffeur them into my office, as I glance at my lab assistants, still typing away furiously. I turn to my office, following my crew in. They're all sat in the various chairs I have scattered around the room.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all. As I said, I'm Dr. Katherine Moran," I begin introducing myself. "I will be the chemist and navigations specialist on the Ares III mission. I'm from Phoenix, Arizona, and got my doctorates in Chemistry and Astrophysics from Arizona State University. I like traveling, chemistry, stargazing, songs with a good beat, and fast cars... Is this sounding too much like a dating profile?"

Watney breaks into laughter at my final remark. I see Commander Lewis attempt to hide a smile, and Beck is just grinning like a madman. I feel as though I've made a pretty good first impression. Now, for the rest of our meeting...

We discuss our backgrounds, and I file away as many details about them as possible. I try to do this whenever I meet new people, because then, the next time I see them, I can strike up a conversation out of the blue. Beth enjoys video games and The Beatles, whilst Lewis prefers anything from the 70s. Watney enjoys plants (sometimes more than people), and always tries to get everyone in a good mood, whilst Martinez can only make a witty comeback once in a while. And then there's Beck, who likes a little bit of everything, and plans on only bringing medical journals to keep himself occupied during down time.

Before we realize it, time has flown, and Gomez is politely reminding me of my next appointment.

"Dr. Moran, it's currently 12:50, and you have an appointment at 1 with the engineers regarding a test drive," Watney is courteously interrupted by the AI, and I finally notice how long the six of us had been getting to know each other.

"Thank you, Gomez. Tell them I'm on my way," I address him as I stand up from my seat. The others follow my lead. "I am so sorry, but I have another appointment that requires my attention, so I must be on my way."

"Of course, Moran," Commander Lewis acknowledges, as she begins to head towards the door of my office. The others begin to say their goodbyes to me, before I speak up again.

"You know, I don't think the engineers will make a fuss if I have some company join me," I mention as I throw my lab coat over my chair and grab my ID, aviators, and cell phone. "I'm sure they'd like to show off a new work to the Ares III crew."

"What do you mean?" Beth asks, as the rest of the crew stops.

"Long story short, the engineers were bored in between missions, and I happened to have an older Mustang in storage that I had been meaning to upgrade. Word got to me, and I mentioned the work I hadn't had time for. I got a notification earlier this morning that they were finished, and wanted my opinion before I got the car back," I smirk. "If you have time, I'm headed to the test track to take it for a spin."

A chorus of various approvals replied, and I lead them out of my office, and the lab, to the elevators. With all six of us crowded into a lift, we headed down to the ground floor, and out of secondary exit, where some of the agency's golf carts were stored.

Martinez and I drove the two carts of crew members to the test track, which was just down a paved path north of the main building. A few minutes later, and we had parked the carts, then loading into the engineers' "home base" at the test track. To those who didn't know what it was, it would look like a fortified, single-apartment sized building on the edge of a NASCAR track.

Among the crowd of engineers, I spot a taller man with blond hair, his glasses pushed up to the bridge of his nose. He's looking over the shoulder of one of his subordinates, double checking calculations, when he turns, and spots me.

"Katherine!" he exclaims, swiftly striding over to our group.

"Hey, Thomas," I greet, as we shake hands. He then notices the group behind me. "Thomas, this is the Ares III crew. They were interested in observing today's test."

"Of course, of course. The more the merrier," he says. "My assistant is bringing the car over now, so we should be running through final checks in less than five minutes. "

"Lovely," I acknowledge, turning to the crew behind me. They're all in awe at the building housed next to the track. "Everyone, this is Thomas Evans. He's one of the project managers in the engineering department, and a close friend of mine."

The usual greetings are exchanged, before the honking of a horn is heard through the glass wall that overlooks the track. Most of the building's gaze is drawn to the sleek, metallic red Mustang that just pulled up in front. I look on in awe, as do many others. My look of shock finally turns into one of desire, as I see what I'll be testing today.

"That's what your testing?" Martinez says in awe.

"It appears so," I grin.

"I know you have a soft spot for fast cars. I was able to add quite a few more horses under the hood," Thomas says. "So, you ready?"

"Oh hell, yes."

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IT'S ANOTHER CHAPTER!!! Wow, alright then. I feel so bad that I'm updating so slowly, because since I last posted, I've had tennis team tryouts, and team practice, which take up so much time. To anyone who has read to this point, I thank you so much, and I ask that you continue to keep this book in your library, as I should (hopefully) be able to update more often when I go on break in a few weeks.

All my love,

TheSongBird17