Chapter Text
“Sarah, I know this is hard for you right now, but we are working on a game plan to get her home. No one here wants that more than me.” Petra says once Sarah is back in the flight deck. The rest of the crew cleared out per their commanders’ orders.
“I better be involved in every step of that now that we have more reliable communication. There is no excuse to wait a month before telling me anything mission critical again, especially when it comes to her.” Sarah replies sternly.
“Speaking of communication Commander, we have a direct line to Craven right now. We told her that today we were notifying you all of her survival and she has been waiting patiently in the rover.” Petra says with a smile on her face.
“You’ve had direct contact this whole time and let me yell at you instead of talking to her!”
“Well, you did storm out before I had a chance to tell you Sarah.” Petra says with her arms crossed in the most Bellweather ‘I told you so’ tone ever.
Sarah rolled her eyes in response. She takes a deep breath and asks her next question “Let me talk to her first, alone?”
“You do know that everyone involved in this mission can see your messages if they want to? So please don’t say anything I might have to explain to Silver in a briefing later.” Petra says.
“No promises.” Sarah replies with a wink.
~
Tally sits in the rover playing with her watch. It was a gift from her late father when she was young. He was always so supportive of her dreams when she was a kid whether that be the military or Nasa. But he also knew how much her mom could hold a grudge for not listening to her wishes. He had died when she was a teenager and ever since then it was tough to connect with her mom. May Craven never did truly support her dream of going to space. It was almost as dangerous if not more than joining the military. But there was nothing that could change Tally’s mind. And eventually, May accepted that if just to keep peace with her daughter.
After the 20th time of taking the watch band off and putting it back on, she finally got a ding on her computer.
Tally, this is Gail. The crew of the Mycelium have been notified. I am patching you through to Sarah right now. Please be aware that all of Nasa can read these messages.
“Well maybe all of Nasa should mind their own damn business” Tally says to herself, trying not to cry before she has even spoken to Sarah.
Tally can you read me? -S.A.
Tally reads that message on the screen a good five times before she truly believes that she can actually talk to her girlfriend after all this time. It has been a little over a month from when she first got the rover to talk to Nasa directly. Before that communicating with signs and the super old camera from before she was born was definitely a new experience. She had checked her calendar this morning, it was Sol 95. Three months on this planet and she was finally getting to talk to Sarah and she was nervous as hell.
Yes. Yes I can read you. How are you babe?
Tally types in reply. She sends the message without any regard of what Gail but right now, she could care less.
How am I? How are you!? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you have enough food and water to make it through to the rescue mission?
If Tally could see Sarah right now, she knows that she would have tears in her eyes, just like Tally herself. She just can’t believe she finally got everything to work. She only wishes that she could actually see her girlfriends face.
Sarah, as much as I’d like to answer all those questions, please one at a time in your next message ;) I’m fine. The satellite hit me about 50 feet away from you. Next thing I knew, I was awake with an antenna in my abdomen. Tell Rae her training paid off. Oh and I made a potato farm! You would be so proud of this colonizer.
~
Back on the ship, Sarah hasn’t even tried stopping the tears in her eyes. She left her girlfriend to bleed out only 50 feet away from her. There was so much more she could’ve done and she’s known it from the day they took off from the planet.
Tally, I am so so sorry I left you there. I should’ve looked harder, made the decision to wait and leave after we found you whether you were dead or alive. I can never forgive myself for leaving you there and I don’t expect you to anytime soon.
Sarah wanted to turn this ship around and go pick her up but she knew they didn’t have enough fuel to make it back into the atmosphere of Mars, let alone a return trip home. She didn’t even have time to sit in her feelings before a single word popped up on the screen.
Don’t.
I am not and will never ever be mad about this Sarah. You made the right choice and saved the crew. There was only one shot to get off this planet and you had already waited too long. I am alive, I survived and I’m coming home.
Sarah couldn’t help herself but to sob after reading that message. The weight of Tally’s death had been weighing on her so much since they left the planet. She was barely eating, drinking, and never socialized unless it was mission critical. She was only going on because of the mission and she knew Tally would want her to.
We will get you home no matter what that is a promise. I love you baby girl, and I can’t wait to see your beautiful face to say those 3 words to you in person.
~
On Mars, Tally was in a similar state of sobbing, like Sarah. Seeing the love of her life finally say the words, even if they are in text, was enough hope to last her a lifetime.
Later, the whole crew gets to talk to Tally. They all give their apologies and make sure the red head knows that they will be coming back for her as soon as they can. Tally doesn’t think there’s enough tears left in her system after today, but she knows that she is hopeful that she will be able to make it back to Earth whether that be in a few months or with the Fort Salem IV.
Her sisters were the last ones on the messenger before Tally had to do her nightly chores.
Alder said you were a colonizer earlier. What was that supposed to mean?
Tally laughs for the first time in what feels like months. She knows it was a dumb joke just to try and cheer Sarah up. She had talked to Sarah about that before in a couple of late-night pillow talks after a long day of training. Tally was always curious and never stopped imagining the impossible. Guess this one scenario wasn’t so impossible.
I’ve been here for over 3 months now, grown my own food, and have a reliable water source. I am the first colonizer of Mars. They could write books about me!
She continues her conversation with her sisters for another hour before it starts to get dark. She knows that she had better head inside before she ruins her carefully crafted sleep schedule. And in the morning, she’ll start planning her return home.