Song: Immortals by Fall Out Boy
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3rd Person POV
The sun rose in the sky that morning, erupting in a wave of reds and oranges. The seven members of the Ares III stood together on the roof of their hotel. Nerves were high the night before, no one could sleep. A sense of pride and accomplishment settled upon the seven, even though they haven't done anything spectacular yet. The rooftop was in complete silence but yet everyone understood each other perfectly. Today was their last few hours on Earth for a while, and once they reach Mars, they would change history. That's a pretty big responsibility. Every person on this mission will go down in history, children would learn about this mission and the seven of them for centuries. The thought of that settled on the group and a couple of them gave an involuntary shudder..
What would happen if they screwed up this mission?
Every plan has a flaw, even an extremely well thought-out plan from NASA. What would happen if the flaw becomes a life-or-death situation If anyone dies on this mission, it would take a huge toll on the crew, not to mention the families- who would have to bury an empty casket.
The sunrise let out its last rays of red before returning to its normal shade of blue. One by one the crew left the roof and went back to their rooms to spend time with their family before the launch. Soon only the Watneys were left up there. Charlie and Mark sat next to each other in complete silence until Mark finally spoke up.
"Are you sure you can do this, Charlie?" He asked her, "No one would think any less of you if you backed out." Charlie looked over at him and sent a look that made him be thankful that looks couldn't kill.
"I signed up for a reason, Mark," She defended herself, " I passed all of the tests, both mental and physical, so I have every right to be on this mission. I am not going to throw away a once in a lifetime opportunity just because of a little anxiety!"
Mark rose an eyebrow, "A little anxiety? Charlie! That's like saying disco music isn't bad!"
"Disco isn't that bad-"
"Are you crazy?" Mark yelled. Before she could respond, Chris Beck was back on the roof.
"Lewis wants a meeting with the crew before the launch," He stopped short of holding out his hand for Charlie up at the sight of Mark's face. She rolled her eyes and got up from the ground, leaving both Mark and Chris on the roof in confusion.
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Time is a delicate thing. If you waste it, you find yourself wanting more. If you use it wisely, you find yourself with more than enough. But however you use it, time always leads up to something great, whether it's your wedding day, having a baby, getting into your dream school, or achieving your dreams of doing something amazing. For the seven members of the Ares III, going to Mars was their great thing . For some of them, the thrill of getting married and/or having kids already happened, making this trip a close second or third. For the rest of the crew, this mission to Mars would be the best thing that has ever happened to them.
For Chris Beck, it was the latter of the two. All his life, he trained and learnt to be a doctor and an astronaut, and when the Ares II portion or the Ares missions started- it was like heaven for him. The chance to go into space and onto Mars for a whole month is a million to one chance for somebody. So when the time came for the launch, he was nervous as hell.
For Charlie Watney, it was a mixture of the two. She had already experienced the thrill/pain of having a child- even without the marriage beforehand. But she wanted to be something more than just a single mother. She wanted to do something amazing. So she became an astronaut.
They both knew the basics of what was going to happen and thought that nothing would surprise them. What they didn't expect, was for them to fall in love.
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The rocket shook as the engine started up. The seven pushed buttons and flipped switches as needed.
"T-minus 10 minutes and counting."
Five out of the seven completed what they needed to do and let the pilots, Martinez and Lewis, do what they had to.
"T-minus 5 minutes and counting."
If you were to look at them during this moment, you would think that they were fearless. But if you were to really look at them, you would see the fear and the nervousness that was really going on.
"T-minus 1 minute and counting."
Hands interlocked with one another as their final minute on Earth (for a long time) passed by impossibly slow.
"TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN, SIX, FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE. LIFTOFF."
The rocket launched into the atmosphere where it would stay in orbit for a few days before interception with the Hermes. The seemingly small occurrence was enough for all the world to celebrate, even though the real mission had only begun.
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AUTHORS NOTE
IM SO SO SO SO SO SORRY THAT THIS IS SOOOOOO LATE.
AND THAT ITS SO SHORT
CAN YOU FORGIVE ME?
COMMENT, VOTE, AND SHARE IF YOU ENJOYED.
(oh and ARIJASDFBNFANF 2.47k reads?!?!?!? 87 votes??!!?!?! you guys are the best, i love you.)
-Courtney
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FanfictionCharlie Watney is one of a kind. She's not your typical girl. She's an engineer, an astronaut, and a self-proclaimed nerd. When the offer of going to Mars on the Ares 3, she immediately takes the job- despite her parents protests. She then finds out...
