Red Horizon (The Martian Fanfiction)

Chapter 50

As Olivia floated into the Hermes' airlock, the stark difference between the small, stripped-down MAV and the comparatively spacious ship enveloped her. The hiss of the airlock pressurizing was a welcome sound, and she felt the tug of gravity slowly returning, pulling them toward the floor as artificial gravity took hold. The sensation was strange, almost foreign, after the weightlessness of space and the long months spent on Mars with its weaker gravity. Her muscles ached, her limbs felt heavier than ever, but the return to the ship they had once called home filled her with a rush of emotions that was impossible to ignore.

She glanced toward Mark, his face etched with the same mixture of relief and exhaustion. He caught her eye and offered her a small, lopsided smile—one that held within it all the unspoken words they had shared in their darkest moments on Mars. They were back. They had done it.

The airlock door hissed open, and Olivia's breath caught in her throat as the sight of their crewmates—Commander Lewis, Martinez, Johansson, and Vogel—came into view. The look on their faces was a mix of disbelief and joy, as if seeing Mark and Olivia in the flesh after all this time was too good to be true.

Commander Lewis stepped forward first, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She hesitated for only a second before pulling both Olivia and Mark into a tight embrace, her arms encircling their bulky EVA suits as if trying to squeeze the months of fear and worry out of them. The embrace was awkward, the suits making it nearly impossible to feel the full contact, but the intent behind it was undeniable. Lewis held on as if she never wanted to let go.

"You did it," Lewis whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "You're really here."

Olivia blinked back her own tears, her chest tight with overwhelming gratitude. "We couldn't have done it without you," she managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lewis pulled back, her hands still resting on their shoulders as she took a deep breath, steadying herself. "I never doubted it for a second," she said, though the raw emotion in her eyes suggested otherwise. "You never stopped fighting, and neither did we."

Before Olivia could respond, Martinez was there, clapping Mark on the back with a rare, genuine grin plastered across his face. "Watney, you stubborn son of a bitch. Took you long enough," he said, his tone teasing, but there was no mistaking the relief in his voice.

Mark let out a breathless chuckle, shaking his head. "Yeah, well, I like to keep people on their toes."

Martinez's grin widened as he turned to Olivia, his hand resting on her arm in a gesture of solidarity. "Glad you both made it. We were starting to worry you'd gotten too comfortable out there on Mars."

Olivia smiled, though her emotions were still running high. "Trust me, there's nothing comfortable about Mars," she said, her voice cracking slightly.

As Martinez moved aside, Johansson stepped forward, her usually stoic demeanor softened by the tears shining in her eyes. Without a word, she reached out and pulled Olivia into a gentle, but firm hug. "You're safe," Johansson whispered, her voice trembling. "You're really safe."

Olivia nodded, her throat too tight to speak. The feeling of being surrounded by her crew, her family, was almost too much to bear. She had dreamed of this moment for so long, had held onto the hope of reunion during the darkest moments of her time on Mars. And now, it was real. They were here. Together.

Vogel, ever the quiet and composed one, stepped up next. His handshake with Mark was firm, though his eyes were misted with unspoken relief. He then turned to Olivia, his expression softening as he offered her a small, sincere nod. "Welcome back," he said in his thick German accent. "We missed you."