Red Horizon (The Martian Fanfiction)

Chapter 51

As the airlock door hissed shut behind them, Olivia felt the tension in her chest build, constricting her breath with the mounting pressure of the moment. She floated in her EVA suit, weightless but heavy with exhaustion, her body aching from the long journey and the damage done by months of survival on Mars. The sound of her breath echoed loudly in her helmet, the only thing grounding her as her crew, her family, gathered around.

The moment the airlock fully cycled, Beck was in motion. His usual warmth and humor were replaced by the focused professionalism of a doctor in crisis mode. Even before Olivia could fully process her surroundings, she could feel his eyes on her, assessing her condition with that same keen precision that had saved countless lives.

"Let's get you both out of these suits," Beck said, his voice firm yet gentle as he floated toward her.

She swallowed, her throat tight with more than just thirst. It felt surreal to be here, floating among the people she had thought about constantly during those lonely days on Mars. But the joy of reunion was quickly tempered by the sharp awareness of how fragile her body had become. She knew how bad it was—she'd felt it in every step, every shift of her injured leg. But having her crew, her family, see her like this... it was something else entirely.

Mark was already floating nearby, his own suit being undone, but his first words were for her. "Take care of her first," he said, his voice full of concern and guilt. "We did what we could to keep her as healthy as possible, but..."

But nothing could have prepared them for what they had been through. Olivia knew that. Mars had taken everything from them—every ounce of strength, every bit of comfort—and turned survival into a constant battle. She had fought as hard as she could, but her body had borne the brunt of that fight. And now, she was about to reveal the full extent of what that fight had cost her.

Beck's hands moved deftly, undoing the clasps of her suit with practiced efficiency. As the layers of her EVA suit began to peel away, Olivia braced herself. She could feel the crew's eyes on her, their concern palpable in the small space. Her heart raced, her mind spinning with a mixture of dread and relief. Dread at the thought of them seeing her like this—so broken, so weak—and relief that the burden of hiding it was finally about to be lifted.

As the suit came away, the cold air of the Hermes felt like a shock against her skin, so different from the suffocating atmosphere of the EVA suit. Her leg throbbed painfully, but it was nothing compared to the anxiety twisting in her gut.

The gasps came almost immediately.

Olivia didn't have to look to know what they saw. Her body, wasted away from months of inadequate nutrition and relentless hardship, was a shadow of its former self. Her once-strong limbs were now thin, almost skeletal, her skin pale and stretched over bones that jutted out unnaturally. Dark circles hollowed her eyes, and the sunken features of her face told the story of months of deprivation and exhaustion. But worst of all was her leg.

She hadn't dared look too closely at it herself in weeks, afraid of what she might see. Now, as Beck and the others gently worked to remove the rest of her suit, she could feel the collective shock that rippled through the crew when they saw the damage. Her leg, once neatly bandaged, was now a swollen, discolored mess of old scars, fresh bruises, and inflamed tissue. It hadn't healed—not properly. And the journey had only made it worse.

"Damn..." Martinez's voice was barely above a whisper, but the horror in it was unmistakable. She could feel the weight of his eyes on her, the shock and concern that radiated from him.

Lewis was hovering nearby, her usual calm demeanor cracking as she took in the sight before her. "We should've gotten to you sooner," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. There was guilt there—deep, painful guilt that Olivia could hear in every word.