Stowaway

Attention all flight personnel,

please verify ready to resume count and go for launch.

- LTS? - We're a go.

- TTC? - Go.

- CBC? - Orbit group, go.

BTC.

BTC, your pole is go?

Is that affirmative?

Yes, affirmative. BTC is a go.

- Copy that. OPS? - We're a go.

- Electrical? - Go.

- SRO? - SRO is go. We're clear to launch.

- Guidance? - Go flight.

- Tito? - Kingfisher is ready to launch.

- And CDR? - CDR is go.

Okay. Commander Barnett, on behalf of the Hyperion team

and the millions of people watching around the world, good luck, Godspeed,

and we'll see you back here in two years.

Thank you, Jim. Our thanks to the launch team

and everyone at the MTS program.

The crew is go for launch.

Copy that. We have a go for auto-sequence start.

T-minus-15 seconds. Stand by for terminal count.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six.

We have main engine start.

Three, two, one, zero.

First-stage separation in three, two, one.

Good break. Good break.

Roger roll, MTS.

We should have a good forward link now, MTS.

Copy that. I'm seeing the same thing here.

We're coming up on second-stage separation.

Copy, second-stage separation.

Altitude is 70 kilometers.

One hundred and seventy kilometers downrange.

Hyperion, the main engines are underperforming slightly.

- Copy, main engines underperforming. - Good read.

Stand by. We're consulting flight.

Flip your visors down.

We're past return to landing. Abort complete reaching the end of Oceanic.

Abort?

Hyperion?

That's a negative abort, MTS.

There's enough fuel to handle the discrepancy.

Negative abort.

Copy. Negative abort.

MTS, you're leaving for Mars Transfer Orbit.

Final systems nominal check.

Are we a go?

Go.

Go.

Roger, Hyperion. We're ready. Go for MTO burn.

Roger that. Enjoy the ride, everyone.

MTO in three, two, one.

That's negative return, MTS.

Past max Q.

Main engine cutoff, three, two, one.

We go.

Um...

There she is.

MTS, we're approaching Kingfisher separation.

Copy. Kingfisher separation.

Separation is nominal.

The Kingfisher is auto-docked to the MTS.

- Moving to taxi in now. - Copy that.

MTS, what's the current closure rate?

Closure rate is nominal. Five centimeters per second.

MTS is in free drift.

Hang tight a bit.

Tethered gravity spin is starting. You're a go, Hyperion.

Artificial gravity is climbing.

Looks like we'll hit close to five G's.

Tether's unspooling.

Solar array separation.

TDS nominal and at full speed.

All right. Plugs out.

Thank you for the launch, Jim. See you again at the first check.

Are you kidding me? That was incredible!

- That was incredible! - Okay.

Oh!

- How are you feeling? - I'm good. Good.

Oh...

Let's go.

- I got it. Yeah. - Oh. Thanks.

Oh, God.

Okay, Zoe, you take this one. David, you start working in the back.

- This one? - Copy.

- I'll be in the last wing. - Copy that.

- Hey. - Hey.

- How you feeling? - Uh...

- You need anything? - I'll be all right.

A beer?

So thoughtful.

This will help.

Thanks, Zo.

- Come on, Zo. - What?

- Really? - What are you...? I'm not...

Commander, how did she get Payloads to allow this?

I don't even know anybody at Payloads, so how would I...?

You wasted, what, 800 grams

of your allowable personal effects on these?

Mm-hm.

- You don't even care about the rivalry. - No. But you do, David.

Oh, it's so easy.

Okay.

Five hours down...

two years to go.

As your doctor, I'm telling you to drink that.

"Applicable"? "Applicable"?

- "Applicable" is British. - Is it?

- How do I look? - Stunning.

No. I'm serious. This is a big deal.

You look good. You look fine, seriously. You look good.

Oh. Good.

Uh, yes, we do. We read you loud and clear.

Welcome to MTS-42.

Oh, yeah. We did. Um...

It's not uncommon to experience a few hiccups during the launch,

but due to the preparation and expertise of our ground team,

we had a smooth rendezvous with the MTS Cycler.

That's true. Um...

It's bittersweet.

I've had the honor of participating in two missions to date.

And I couldn't be working with a more talented crew on this,

my final and third mission.

Um... well, it's only been a few hours,

but it's already a life-changing experience.

I'm thrilled to be here.

This isn't where I thought I would end up.

To me, my career was gonna be research on Earth.

You never know where life's gonna take you.

Yes, I applied to the HARP program because I thought

it would be a funny story to be rejected by Hyperion.

But now I realize this is one of those rare opportunities

that could truly give my life meaning beyond anything I could imagine.

Well, space exploration has always led to amazing medical discoveries

that are... applicable to the people on Earth.

Well, uh, the launch was incredible.

It does take a little while to get adjusted to the artificial gravity.

Well, two years is a long time to be away from my wife,

but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I am so grateful to have her support.

My research is integral

to maintaining and sustaining life on Mars long-term.

We are taking the first steps to being able to call Mars a second home.

Uh, no. No, not at all.

I mean, out of the thousands of proposals submitted from university students

and professors all around the world, these two definitely rose to the top.

I'm more than confident in their ability and their training.

I know they can handle anything that comes their way.

Oh, shit.

Oh, shit.

Commander!

Holy shit.

- Are you okay? - Get him off! Get him off!

What is going on?

- Get him off! - Are you okay?

- Is he alive? - Just pull him up.

Get him off.

Stop. Let's get him to the infirmary.

I got him.

- Ready. - Ready? One, two, three.

- Here? - Yeah.

That's good.

- Who the hell is this? - Come on.

- David, put some gloves on. - Copy.

Hold that closed.

- Just hold it as closed as you can. - Wow.

That's great.

The damage is contained to the functional module.

A significant amount of atmospheric O2 vented from the MTS.

There's a breach in the hull. Getting all this?

Good.

Hey, Jim. Who the fuck is on my ship?

Yeah. He's still unconscious, but I mean... is he a threat?

Do we need to, I don't know, find a way

to restrain him or...?

Any idea if he'll wake up?

Honestly, I'm surprised he's still alive.

His name is Michael Adams.

All they know for now is that he's launch support.

- How the hell was he missed? - They're looking into it.

We don't make mistakes like this.

- Did he stow away on purpose? - Hyperion doesn't know that yet.

How are you not screaming in pain right now?

It... hurts.

This is pretty serious.

- How long? - To be safe, six weeks at least.

- CO2 is up 2 percent. - How?

The CDRA is turned off.

We shut down the entire functional module, including life support.

Let's get started on the lithium-hydroxide canisters.

Yeah. Roger.

The breathing masks in the exercise room are attached to the CDRA, as well,

so let's just hold off on exercise till we sort this out.

- Copy. - Copy that, commander.

We're good to go.

Oh, fuck.

Ahh. Jeez.

Hey. Sit down.