Dead on Mars

Mai Dong slammed onto the Eagle’s hull. The lander, that was moving thanks to its inertia, received a sideways impact making it deviate from its original trajectory, despite the tiny amount of force.

The girl subconsciously grabbed onto the hatch’s handle.

She had taken the risk to lower the pressure in the EVA suit, and reality proved that she had a prescience. After lowering the pressure, the EVA suit wasn’t as bulky as before. It allowed her to conveniently move her hips. As Mai Dong tightly grabbed onto the hatch’s handle with one hand, the lander flew away from the United Space Station along with her. The distance between it and the arm grew.

This lady had failed to latch the rope onto the trailer, but she ended up jumping onto it.

She panted heavily, her body weak.

The jump had expended all her strength. She didn’t even have the strength to raise her arm. Any activity in space would expend several times more strength than it would on Earth.

She was famished. Having starved for several days, with her constantly in a worried and insomniac state, her body and mind were exhausted. In the past twelve hours, she had almost got zero rest. She had been working with Tomcat the entire time. God knew how the lady had managed to last this long. She was only a studious scientist who had never done any physical labor.

The only connection between Mai Dong and the United Space Station was the safety tether. This thin nylon rope was five hundred meters long. The Eagle was flying at about 5 m/s, giving her less than a hundred seconds to cover that five hundred meters.

Mai Dong summoned every ounce of strength as she held onto the handle. Her fingers were sore and numb, but she didn’t dare release her grip. Her helmet was held close to the Eagle’s wall.

Mai Dong had failed to hold onto the other end of the safety tether as it flew out. It was floating not far beside her. The dark red rope was like a thin, warped snake.

The girl struggled to reach out her hand to grab the shackle.

However, the safety tether was as slippery as an eel. Just contact with it sent it floating further away. There was no way to grab it.

Her three attempts failed as the safety tether slowly floated a distance away… Mai Dong turned her head to glance at the United Space Station. The arm was already fifty meters away from her.

The safety tether on her body was only five hundred meters long. Once the lander exceeded this distance, Mai Dong would be dragged back by the rope. She had to latch the second safety rope to the Eagle within a hundred seconds.

The earpiece was silent. Tomcat and Tang Yue both knew it was a critical moment. None of them dared to make a sound, afraid of disturbing her. All they could do was wait for the news with bated breath.

Mai Dong pressed her head against the insides of the helmet. She took deep breaths for a few seconds as she turned to look at the red safety tether.

Ropes that were long and soft objects were complicated when force was exerted on them. They could float in a vacuum as the force exerted on them would pass through their internal structure. Any perturbation would result affect it greatly. Its trajectory was difficult to predict, so Mai Dong didn’t dare waste her strength again after a few consecutive failures. All she could do was rest and wait for an opportunity.

“Miss Mai Dong, take note. You are now 150 meters away from the United Space Station,” Tomcat warned.

Mai Dong nodded.

Just float a little nearer… Just float a little nearer…

Mai Dong tried hard to reach out as the shackle floated a meter beyond her. It twisted without showing any signs of approaching.

“Miss Mai Dong, take note. You are now 200 meters away from the United Space Station.”

Damn it… Float a bit nearer!

Mai Dong was anxious. She could sense that her physical strength was waning. Her limbs were gradually turning sore and limp.

Her final strength was being drained from her body bit by bit.

“Miss Mai Dong, take note. You are now 300 meters away from the United Space Station.” Tomcat’s voice was heavy. “Miss Mai Dong, do you copy?”

“C… opied…”

Mai Dong made another attempt as the safety rope’s shackle floated before her index finger. She failed to grab it.

The safety tether connecting her EVA suit to the United Space Station was gradually being pulled taut. The five-hundred-meter long rope was slowly unfolding in the vacuum.

“Miss Mai Dong, you are now 400 meters away from the United Space Station.” Tomcat was burning with anxiety. “You have at most twenty seconds. Can you latch on?”

The girl was sweating profusely.

Mai Dong stared intently at the floating shackle. It floated to a distance two meters away but was yanked back by the safety tether, resulting in it slowly floating back. The shackle oscillated in this manner, each trip taking about twenty seconds. At its furthest, it was about two meters away from Mai Dong, but at its nearest, it was half a meter away.

“Miss Mai Dong, you have ten seconds!”

Mai Dong counted silently in her head as the shackle was beginning to move back towards her.

“Miss Mai Dong, you have eight seconds!”

The girl’s attention was fully on the tiny gadget. It was a metallic fastener, and behind it was a long rope.

“Miss Mai Dong, you have six seconds!”

Mai Dong took a deep breath.

Instantly, there was silence as Tomcat suddenly became distant.

The shackle floating closest to Mai Dong and was preparing to float backward.

The girl slightly released her grip of the hatch’s handle, extending her reach by two centimeters. Right on the heels of that, Mai Dong reached out her hand with all her might, clasping the shackle firmly in her hand!

Mai Dong yanked the shackle and turned around to latch it onto the Eagle’s handle. With a click, it was secured!

The safety tether suddenly tightened!

“Mr. Cat—!” Mai Dong shouted at the top of her voice. It was a hysterical shout.

“Roger that!” F*cking asshole! Eagle, come back—!”

Tomcat jumped up as it slammed onto the button.

The girl was exhausted. She could no longer grab onto the lander. The latter’s flight had reached the limit of the safety tether as the straightened rope pulled the Eagle back.

Mai Dong watched as the lander slowly moved further as she silently lay inside her EVA suit and floated in the vacuum. She was just too tired. All sound had distanced from her, and her body seemed to melt into the surrounding void. All that was left was her consciousness.

A baffling sense of tranquility and warmth slowly inundated her as though she had returned to the origins of life—she was back in her mother’s womb as a fetus.

To the Universe, humans might forever be infants who had yet to open their eyes in the amniotic sac.

Through the glass visor, Mai Dong saw the resplendent stars that filled the sky.

…

Kunlun Station.

There was dead silence in the hall.

Tomcat sat in front of the work desk, motionless. Its proverbial heart was in its mouth. It had initiated the reeling in of the safety tether, but it was still a question if the safety tether was able to pull the Eagle back. In theory, the safety tether could withstand more than ten tonnes of pull. It had the strength to stop an eight-wheeler, but theory was theory. No one dared to say with certainty before the outcome became reality. In theory, the chances of a bug appearing in the Eagle’s computer was one in ten thousand.

The United Space Station’s motor was spinning as it reeled in the safety tether. At the instant Mai Dong had shackled down the Eagle, it had exerted immense tension on the thin rope. The rope’s elasticity and ductility reached a maximum. The two-centimeter-thick safety tether was pulled and was now only a few millimeters thick.

The lander was decelerated because of the rope’s pull, and as the rope was attached to the emergency hatch’s handle, the force wasn’t directed upwards.

The Eagle began to tumble from the sudden yank.

This is the final stage. As long as the safety tether survived until the lander decelerated to zero speed, the Eagle would be brought back.

Seconds ticked down on the clock.

There was silence through the transmission frequency.

Tomcat was praying inwardly, praying that the rope wasn’t as much a loser as the crappy computer onboard the Eagle. It prayed that the Eagle and Mai Dong could return safely.

The screen indicated that the motor was working fine, but the motor was unable to sense the situation of the safety tether. It could pull back Mai Dong and the Eagle, but it could very well pull back a torn piece of rope as well.

After an unknown period of time, there was a rustling sound from the earpiece. Tomcat jolted to attention as it realized that it had been in a dazed system breakdown.

Following that, Mai Dong’s weak voice sounded.

“Mr… Mr. Cat?”

“Yes, I’m listening.” Tomcat’s expression grew heavier.

“W… We…” Mai Dong smiled. Her face was very pale, but she was overjoyed. Tears began to stream out of her eyes as she shook her head. Crystalline teardrops floated inside the helmet, reflecting the resplendent sunlight.

“We got it.”