Stowaway (2021) Movie Script

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.
- Did we take off?
- Hey, sit down.
- Did we take off?
- Sit down or you're gonna pass out.
- Did we...?
- Hey, you're okay.
- Did we take off? No, no, no.
- Listen. You're fine. You're safe. No.
- You're safe. You're fine. Commander!
- No, no. Did we take off? Did we take off?
Okay, let's take deep breaths.
Take deep breaths.
In through your nose,
out through your mouth.
Just like I'm doing. Great. Michael?
It's Michael, right? Michael, I'm Zoe.
I'm a doctor.
I want you to focus
on slowing down your breathing.
Just nice and slow. Okay?
I'm gonna check your stitches.
- Is that okay?
- Stitches?
- Nice and slow. Nice and slow.
- What?
You got injured during the launch
just on your side here.
- Is that okay?
- Uh-huh.
I'm just gonna take a look. Ready?
All good.
Okay.
That's great.
Okay. You're good. You're good.
Just nice and slow.
Slow your heart rate down.
- Okay?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- Great.
- Sorry.
- No. You're okay.
It's okay. Hi. Hi, Michael.
I'm Marina Barnett.
I'm the commander of the ship.
Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?
No. No, I don't mind.
- Do you work for Hyperion?
- Yes.
- I'm a launch support engineer, ma'am.
- Okay.
And do you remember what happened
on the pad?
Uh... Yes. I was, um...
I was, uh...
I was arming the second-stage firing pins,
and I thought I was...
I thought I was buckled in and, um...
- No.
- You've had a concussion. This is normal.
- This is fine.
- I thought I was clipped in.
It's okay if you don't remember.
How long was I...?
How long was I out?
We took off about 12 hours ago.
Twelve hours.
- I need to get back to my sister. Please.
- No.
- She's alone. I gotta get back.
- Michael. I hear you, Michael,
- but we're not going back.
- What do you mean?
- This is a two-year mission. Please.
- I understand.
- I need to get back. Now.
- Michael. Nice and slow.
We're moving too fast.
We don't have enough fuel to turn around.
- I gotta get back home.
- I understand. I do.
Let me go and relay this to Hyperion.
I'm just gonna be a few minutes. Okay?
I'll be right back. Okay?
- Yeah.
- Stay here.
- Yes, commander.
- We're gonna figure this out, okay?
And I just need you to keep breathing
while we figure it out. Okay?
Can you just do that?
Slow that breathing back down.
He's stable.
He just needs some time alone to rest
and process everything.
Copy.
- Do you need a hand?
- No, I'm fine.
Michael.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- Let me give you a hand.
- I'm good.
- You okay?
- All right.
Is that all right?
- Good?
- Yeah.
I'm good. Thanks.
- Yeah?
- Yes.
So, Michael, Hyperion talked
to your sister. She's okay.
They're gonna be hiring her
a full-time guardian
and covering every expense.
Thank you.
These are yours. The mission director
wants to give you some more details
when we're up for live comm tomorrow,
so...
Okay. Um...
Thank you. Uh...
I actually came down here 'cause I had
a couple things I wanted to say.
- Uh... do you mind?
- No, please.
Um...
First off...
I just want to apologize
for that freak-out I had back there.
It was just kind of a shock
to... wake up here.
Thank you.
Of course.
Also, I'm not gonna just sit around.
I know the ship is small
and it's a lot smaller now that I'm here.
And I'm sure there's some grunt work
to be done. And I can learn fast.
I can do... whatever it takes.
Thank you, Michael. I appreciate that.
We're waiting on Hyperion
to tell us what to do next.
But in the meantime, if you're up to it,
perhaps Zoe can run you
through the safety procedures.
Yeah.
Um...
We're sorry you missed the filet mignon,
but... this is the next best thing.
We think it's spaghetti.
I should warn you now that Zoe thinks
she's the in-flight entertainment.
Understood.
You're David Kim, right?
- Uh, just David's fine.
- Got it.
So you're in school?
Yeah. Working on my master's
in structural engineering.
Were you working on a proposal
for HARP?
I actually plan on putting
something together for the next mission.
I'm not sure you need to apply anymore.
Yeah. I guess not.
Um... cheers. Welcome to MTS-42.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
I don't know. It really doesn't feel
like he's here on purpose.
Agreed. So, what do we do?
I mean, I think he should keep busy.
I just don't...
I don't think I have anything for him.
Well, maybe I could have him do
some data entry for me.
It'd actually be nice
to have some company.
Yeah, that works.
- What?
- Uh...
You're gonna have to share credit
on whatever you publish.
- It's not about the credit, Zo.
- Okay.
Well, you're a better person than I am,
David Kim.
That's for sure.
- Okay. That's a plan, then?
- It's a plan.
- All right. Oh, yeah.
- Yeah.
Try not to snore too loud tonight.
For the night, when lights are dimmed,
they have to stay dimmed.
- It's a power-consumption thing.
- All right.
And if there's a catastrophic failure
in a single module,
like fire or rapid depressurization...
Watch your head.
...you have to close this hatch.
So bye-bye, David.
This is the magnetic radiation-proofing.
In case there's a solar storm,
come in here.
I realize your first visit
was a little intense,
but this happens to be my favorite spot
on the ship.
Wow.
Pictures don't do it justice.
No. Not at all.
What's your sister's name?
- Ava.
- Yeah.
And it's just the two of you?
- Yeah.
- Mm.
Okay, well, this is Batch 62.
Batch 62.
And we'll start with Row 4.
Row 4.
Row 4A will be...
10.23.
Section B...
What?
I'm sorry.
I've gotta ask.
Like...
what is this?
I mean, what are we listening to?
- What, you don't listen to jazz at all?
- No.
I mean, not really.
Actually, my wife is the one
that got me into jazz, but now I love it.
Hmm.
Section B is...
2.16.
Two point one six.
Yeah. Research can get
a little bit monotonous at times.
You know, especially phycology, but...
these guys, they keep me on my toes.
You know, Sanders, Coltrane, Bird.
Ah. They're like basketball players or...
Yeah, they're basketball players.
No, they're not.
These guys are jazz legends of the '60s.
Right, I knew that. I just... That's...
There. You hear how it's unpredictable?
But it still has rules.
They're generally playing together,
but once in a while,
a player or two will drift off
into their own little groove.
There. You hear it?
No. I don't.
- Okay.
- It's like it sounds like a hot mess.
Oh, well, that's what I like about it.
It's not obvious.
And, I mean, sometimes it can be
a little bit unpleasant.
- But it's pure expression.
- Hmm.
- And it usually finds a balance.
- Nice. I can dig that.
Okay.
Section C, 9.86.
How's it looking in there?
The whole left side came loose.
- Okay, remove the cover.
- Roger.
Carefully.
Copy.
Oh, shit.
- What?
- There must have been a short.
On the desiccant bed?
Yeah.
The whole thing is charred.
Take another picture.
Are we all set?
Hyperion, this is MTS. Come in.
Yes. We have
a damaged life-support assembly.
I need you to inspect
the incoming images of the CDRA.
It's critical that this gets fixed, Jim.
Mission critical.
Yeah. Going off comm.
David, can I speak to you?
- Of course.
- Michael, can you put on David's suit?
Zoe will explain what she needs you to do.
Yeah, sure. Of course.
- Yes, commander?
- Uh...
How much O2 does your rack produce?
I mean, 90 liters a day.
Just a negligible amount.
Is there any way you can get it up to 950?
- Nine fifty?
- Yeah.
No. Not with microgreens.
We're testing food production here,
not scrubbing CO2.
I thought that's what your research
was about.
Yeah, but that's with algae,
and that can only be opened on Mars.
Well, how much oxygen
would your algae produce?
Um...
approximately...
I could come close
to what you're looking for
under the right conditions,
but all the gear I'd need
was already flown to Mars
on the last unmanned.
What are we up against here?
Did we lose the CDRA?
We don't know for sure yet.
Uh... okay.
Um... what about the backup canisters?
We don't have enough.
Shit, is there anything?
Anything else you can try?
I could try growing them here,
but we would risk
ruining the entire culture.
All right. Uh...
Okay, if I use half of the algae,
it could probably still leave me enough
for a starter culture on Mars.
Okay, good. Just put everything else aside
and focus on that.
Yes, commander. Uh...
I need a little bit
to figure everything out.
Okay, copy.
Oh, and, David?
Zoe and Michael are removing the CDRA.
They don't need to know this yet.
Mm-hm.
- Comm check.
- Yeah. I can hear you.
No. When I say "comm check,"
say "good check."
Okay.
- Comm check?
- Good check.
I'm gonna depressurize
the antechamber.
When we get in there, everything's normal.
There's gonna be no air, but everything's
gonna be normal other than that.
No floating around, just...
- Yeah?
- Yeah, I'm good.
- You're just reading instructions.
- Right.
- What's first?
- Um...
Got to, uh, unscrew the absorbent bed.
It's those screws on the other side.
So, what does this thing do?
It scrubs the carbon dioxide
out of the air.
You take that.
- Ready?
- Yeah, I'm ready.
Here we go.
Careful with that.
Very, very careful.
- Okay.
- Whew.
I will never get used to how
little material is between us and space.
That I know.
When they started adding
a third passenger,
to make up for the weight, they made
the functional module almost half the size
and removed a protective layer
of shielding.
Hey, that's not helpful.
- Just facts.
- Not a helpful thing to say.
It's just facts.
- Oh, I'll take that.
- Yeah.
- You guys okay?
- Yeah.
Okay.
- Michael?
- Mm-hm?
Oh.
Ah, shit.
- You got it?
- Mm-hm.
Yeah, that's great.
Okay, a little pinch here.
Thanks.
I mean, it's literally my job.
Not just for this.
You've just kind of gone out of your way
- to make me feel welcome, so...
- Of course.
Okay. Um... can you take this off?
- My shirt?
- Yeah.
- Can you put your arm up?
- Yeah.
Thank you.
Okay.
- How's it coming?
- We're still wrapping up, but I'm worried.
I'm worried we're only gonna be able
to get to 500, maybe 550 liters a day.
Oh, no. That's good.
That's literally half of what we need.
So let's go ahead
and thaw out the second batch of algae.
No. I'd need to rip up the microgreens
for that.
- Then let's do it.
- Wait a minute, hold on, hold on.
The algae is far from thriving.
It's scrubbing only a fraction of what
I could get if I had the right equipment.
Using the second half of the batch doesn't
necessarily mean it'll double the output.
It's imperative that we try.
Commander,
this can't be something we rely on.
These batches can die at any moment,
and I could lose everything
I need for Mars.
Commander...
this research is years of my life.
We both know how important it is.
Are we sure we want to throw it all away
while we still have a chance
to fix the CDRA?
Um...
There is no chance, David.
It's gone.
Understood.
Ava. Hey. I hope you're treating
the people at Hyperion really nicely,
'cause I heard that they are moving
you closer to school, which is nice.
Really nice.
Make sure you send me some selfies
when you can, okay?
I'm really getting my groove here.
I thought at first
I was probably gonna be a burden
to, you know, the crew and everyone here,
but they're actually putting me to work.
I hate that it happened this way.
But I'm thinking
that this might actually turn out
to be best for me
and for us in the long run.
Correct. Unfortunately,
none of the second batch survived.
That was my fear.
You sure?
And why is the climb up
not an option again?
Okay, you've got to level with me, Jim.
Is there...?
Is there any way I can take his place?
Because Hyperion can orbit the capsule
around Mars
and send up a pilot from the colony.
But I... How can I...?
How do you expect me to...?
Yeah. Okay, well, I...
I need you to walk me
through every option.
Every single possibility.
Uh... I, uh...
I, um...
There's no easy way to say this. Um...
The carbon-dioxide scrubber
is damaged permanently.
The lithium-hydroxide canisters were only
ever meant to be a temporary solution.
We only have enough oxygen on board
for two people.
I've asked David
to accelerate his research.
He's managed to get his algae
to produce enough for one more.
So... Um...
What are you saying?
We can't make it to Mars
with Michael on board.
We'll end up asphyxiating
on carbon dioxide
a few weeks before we land.
I mean...
this ship.
Yeah, it was overbuilt for two.
And Hyperion started to take a chance
pushing it to three,
but it just can't handle four.
Okay.
I've been thinking about this.
And all we gotta do
is get to the colony on Mars, right?
Then CO2 isn't the issue.
We could just vent it out
and lower the atmospheric pressure.
What we need is oxygen. I don't know,
we could use the pre-breathing
oxygen cylinders. Or water.
We could just split oxygen out of that.
We don't have enough.
That would buy him days, not months.
Um, maybe a resupply mission?
If it was unmanned?
We're moving too fast for a resupply.
The Kingfisher's
the biggest rocket they can build.
Okay, but there's a giant tank up there
that was full of liquid oxygen
for the launch.
There must be something left.
Well, there's no way to tell from here.
We can't just reel in the tethers
with the Kingfisher attached.
Okay, so we climb up and check.
Climb the tether? All the way?
- That's 450 meters.
- It wouldn't be full...
Look, Michael was on board
when we launched,
so he used up extra oxygen and fuel.
Okay? We barely had enough
to make it to here.
Climbing up would mean
risking damaging the solar panels,
severing the power cables,
even falling off the ship.
Hyperion looked into it.
It's just I can't risk both of your lives
for the possibility
that you could save him.
There must be something we can do.
Anything.
Guys, this is not a call for a solution.
The entirety of Hyperion is down there
trying to figure this out.
I'm only telling you because I need you
to be mentally prepared
for what's gonna happen.
So how much time does he have left?
Uh...
I'll talk to him today. I'll...
- give him a few days.
- No, um, hold on.
You're gonna talk to him today? What...?
What are we gonna do,
ask him to walk out of the airlock?
I mean, okay.
Exactly how much time do we have
before it's too late?
Technically, 20 days.
Okay. Then we should take that time.
No, we need as much
of that margin of error as possible
- in case anything else happens.
- Margin of error?
What hypothetical situation could be worse
than the one we're in right now?
Worst-case scenario is he still dies,
but we die along with him.
- How?
- What's left of the algae
is hanging on by a thread as it is.
So you're fine just giving up on a person
because the risk...?
Zoe, realistically,
every day he's still here,
it's a danger to all of us.
I am telling you,
Hyperion has anyone with a PhD down there
- trying to work this out.
- And they're not here!
And maybe we can think
of something that they haven't!
They built the ship.
They have one-to-one replicas of the MTS.
They know every inch of this place.
- They didn't know Michael was in here.
- Come on, Zoe. That's not the same thing.
Twenty days? Commander, I mean...
if there's really nothing we can do,
we have to take someone's life.
Is it unreasonable to just take that time
and make sure we've gone over everything?
Ten days. That's it.
- Commander, with all...
- No. We can spare ten days.
Okay. Okay.
Um, and what do we tell Michael
in the meantime?
Look, we were chosen to be here.
We've been trained psychologically
and otherwise.
He hasn't.
He can't contribute to any of this
in any meaningful way,
so I think the best course of action
is to just keep this between us.
- Understood?
- Yes, commander.
David?
Yes.
Understood.
So how is your new assignment coming?
It's fine.
Okay.
Jim? For their sanity,
they need to try this.
What are you talking about?
The mission is shot!
We have a...
We have a five-month trip there,
plus the trip back.
I still need this crew
to be able to perform critical tasks.
No, they cannot do that
if they are devastated by guilt.
Well, I'm taking the ten days.
Commander, it's been three days.
Is Hyperion still trying
to figure something out?
Yep.
Go ahead.
Wouldn't they already know
if there were some way to save him?
I know how you feel,
but it's not the directive at the moment.
We're endangering ourselves.
The longer we take, the harder it'll be
when we're forced to take the final step.
- Put your arm up.
- Sure.
I was in an apartment fire.
I was, um...
I was 9 years old.
I guess it had happened
in the place below us.
And I was sharing a room with Ava.
She was...
just a baby.
It got pretty bad in there.
Just before our dad managed to...
get us out.
That's brave.
Mm-hm.
Yeah.
Then, um...
he didn't make it?
Nah.
Ava and I,
we bounced around a lot after that.
Yeah. But we always stuck together.
She gave me this bracelet.
Sweet.
Yeah. That's me.
And that's her.
That's cute.
You know I actually became
her legal guardian?
That's why it's like so hard
for me to not be there for her.
Can you talk?
Hey.
Yeah, sure, man.
I have something very difficult
to tell you.
Okay.
The CDRA is destroyed beyond repair.
And even with every safety measure
we have,
there is no way for all of us to survive.
We've known for three days now.
Hyperion has had people working around
the clock on the problem since then.
Zoe, the commander and I...
we tried everything we could
to figure out a way.
But mathematically...
with you here...
everyone on board would suffocate
before we ever made it to Mars.
Every day you're with us
presents a danger to the crew...
and to the entire mission.
Look, I have to be honest, I, uh...
I was explicitly forbidden
to tell you any of this.
Why?
Zoe convinced Barnett to exhaust
our safety margins to try and save you.
To try and figure something out.
Isn't there anything we can figure out?
- Is there?
- No.
Hyperion would already know by now.
This would be painless.
And you would just fall asleep.
I'm sorry, Michael.
Hey, Ava.
I know this transition
hasn't been the easiest for you.
And as hard as it is for me to know that,
I gotta face the fact
that I'm not gonna be there
with you every step of the way.
But you're tough.
Tougher than I'll ever be.
You know, I met
some really incredible people here.
I mean, they're smart...
caring...
driven.
They're the best at what they do.
And I see so much of you in them.
I gotta go, but, um...
...I love you.
Michael?
Are you okay?
Michael?
You don't have to do this.
There's nothing else to do.
We don't know that.
Look, I know you fought for me, okay?
But this is different.
This is...
It's hopeless, you know?
It isn't.
Can I tell you something?
This happened like 12 years ago.
I had this summer job.
I was supposed to be just keeping an eye
on this beach.
I wasn't a lifeguard. Just a watch.
'Cause there were signs all over the sand
that said "No swimming."
I mean, they said "Danger: no swimming."
So, I just thought
I was gonna read all day.
And...
uh, there were these drunk guys that would
always hang out by this bonfire nearby.
And I see a guy in the water.
And his buddies won't wake up
and they're passed out on the sand,
and he's just...
quietly drowning...
by himself out there.
And immediately I call it in,
and I don't get a response.
And...
I mean, the tides are strong.
And I jump in, and when I get to him
I'm already exhausted.
And I'm trying to keep his head
above the water.
And I'm there for five minutes,
and I'm in longer and longer.
Then I start to lose him.
And...
suddenly I feel myself being pulled up.
And somebody's grabbed both of us
before he slipped away.
And they just row us to the beach,
and that's it.
How did you know someone was coming?
I didn't.
I didn't.
We've got some time.
And that's a last resort.
I'm not giving up on you.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- What did you do, David?
- Zoe.
- What the hell did you do?
- Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did Michael...?
No, he didn't fucking kill himself, David!
That's what you wanted, isn't it?
- That's...
- You had no right
to disclose anything.
And you had no right to go into my lab
and steal my medication
for something like this!
- I was trying to protect us.
- Barnett gave us ten days!
Yes.
And using all that time
is putting us at risk.
What don't you get about this, Zoe?
We are already doing everything we can
to try and save him.
There's nothing else.
I'm just trying to salvage what's left
of this mission, and that includes you!
Michael...
Michael died the moment we took off.
You wanted to get rid of him. You weren't
even trying to figure this out.
Not even trying?
I destroyed all of my research!
This! This right here!
This is the only thing
keeping us alive right now.
My last three years of training
are now meaningless.
My next two years of experimentation
are gone!
You of all people should know
how much this work means to me.
And I gave it all up to try and save him!
And what the hell have you done, Zoe?
What have you done?
How do we know
if there's enough oxygen up there?
We don't.
But we're out of options.
So, these are what we use
to climb the tethers.
Clamp it on and get some leverage.
You have to keep pressure...
on the handle as you're pulling up,
otherwise it'll just slide down.
You wanna try it?
I know it's counterintuitive,
but you have to lift this leg
with this arm.
Right side, then, yeah.
Yeah. You're gonna be feeling
less and less gravity
the closer you get to the solar panels.
So, when you climb the tethers,
- it'll get easier the higher you go, okay?
- Okay.
It's okay. It's okay, it's okay.
You're okay.
Start over. Let's reset.
Let's start over. We got it.
- I got it, I got it. I got it.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
- Do you wanna just reset?
- No.
Oh!
Fuck!
- Are you okay?
- Yeah, I'm good! I'm good!
Commander.
I understand that your duty
is to protect your crew
and the risk that you've taken
by giving Michael more time.
But he...
We were all put in this situation.
We have to be willing to expend
more than just resources.
I know that climbing the tether
puts us at risk, but...
I think we should put ourselves at risk.
I wouldn't be able to live with myself
if I didn't try everything I could
to save his life.
And, David?
I need you to help me.
Michael can't be the one
to climb the tether. He tried.
- What do you mean, he...?
- Michael knows.
- David, I'm... I know...
- I'll do it.
What, you'll do it? Just like that?
We need enough oxygen for two.
Once you're up there,
you'll need to tap the lox tank
and transfer as much as you can
into the canisters.
You're not gonna know how much is in there
until you connect the gauge.
Each of the canisters holds enough
for one person,
so obviously, the hope
is that there will be enough for two.
Now, when you pierce the tank,
the connection's not gonna be perfect.
So make sure any oxygen that's leaking out
is pointed towards the back.
Guys? Listen.
You two never trained
for anything with this much complexity.
So, keep your cool.
Overcommunicate.
And take your time.
Do not rush.
Michael?
- I want you to know that what I...
- It's okay.
We're good.
- EV1, comm check.
- Good check.
- EV2, comm check.
- Good check.
Good. You're gonna be feeling
full gravity on the roof.
A little over 200 meters
to the solar panels,
but the higher you go,
the less gravity you'll feel.
Roger.
Do not touch the tether
with the clamps
that's carrying the power down
from the solar panels.
Loud and clear.
Don't climb the power tethers.
Wow, the spinning
is so much worse out here.
You gonna be okay?
Yeah. Yeah.
I'll just focus on the tether.
Hold on, Zo. I need a break.
Status check?
We're good. It's starting to get easier.
Theoretically.
Speak for yourself.
Try not to use your upper body
so much, okay?
Okay.
MTS.
We've reached the halfway point.
Copy, EV2. You're coming into view now.
So just take your time.
Take it really easy here.
It's critical to stay away
from the photovoltaic panels.
We could lose power to the entire ship.
Permanently.
Roger.
I'm good. David, are you ready?
Ready.
Just let go. I'll pull you in.
You all good?
I'm good.
MTS. We're headed down
to the Kingfisher now.
Copy that.
Okay, now hook yourself back in,
before you're moving too fast.
MTS, we're on the Kingfisher.
Great. Great to hear it, EV1.
One, two, three.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
You're good.
Okay, I'm heading down the Kingfisher now.
You got this, Zo.
You all right, Zo?
Fine.
I'm fine, I'm fine.
Okay.
All right. I'm inside.
Okay. You're looking for
the liquid-oxygen pipe toward the back.
- I see it.
- Great.
Walk me through every step.
Wilco.
Tapping into the line now.
Copy.
Okay. Connection's in.
Okay. How good is the seal?
It's definitely not a hundred percent.
It's hard to tell
how much we're losing by sight.
Let's just lose
as little as possible.
Roger. I'm ready to check
how much oxygen we've got up here.
We're at 250.
We have enough
to fill up at least one cylinder.
Copy that. Good so far.
Come on.
MTS.
We've got more than enough oxygen up here.
It's climbing.
Oh, fucking A.
- Yes!
- Still climbing.
Okay, stay focused.
We've gotta get these cylinders filled.
David, send the first one down.
Copy. Coming down.
On the way.
You enjoying the view
up there, David?
Not funny, Zoe.
Okay.
The first cylinder's full.
I'm uncoupling it now.
Still got plenty of oxygen left
in the big tank.
Ready when you are.
- Coming out.
- Okay.
MTS, we have the first cylinder.
Great. Copy that.
Second cylinder is on its way.
How's it going in there, Zoe?
The tank's still leaking,
but it's all good.
Second canister filling up.
It look... What...? What's going on?
We're getting a solar storm warning.
Abort, EV1! Abort, EV2!
Oh, God.
How much time do we have?
Twenty minutes.
Zoe! Come on! Let's go!
No. We can't just leave this here.
This is the oxygen for Michael.
There isn't enough time.
You're gonna have to leave it.
It's a coronal mass ejection.
The radiation is just gonna be deadly.
You need to head back right now!
Zoe, come on!
- Zoe!
- Yeah, I'm coming!
Come on, Zoe. We gotta go.
I'm out. I'm climbing.
Oh, Jesus.
- Okay. Let me clip you in.
- All right.
- Okay.
- Good?
I'm heading up.
Right.
Yeah.
Shit.
Zoe? David? Status check.
We're about a quarter
of the way back to the MTS.
I'm dying here, Zo.
- It's gonna start getting easier. Come on.
- Eight minutes to go.
- Michael.
- Yeah?
- Close the shutters.
- Got it.
Stay back there.
How far are you two?
About to cross the solar array.
Go ahead.
I'll be right behind you.
Oh, shit.
Zoe?
Shit. Zoe, can you hear me?
I can't slow down.
Clip back in! Clip back into
the tether! Zoe, you're moving too fast!
- I can't. I can't!
- Clip back in!
Zoe?
- Zoe?
- David. David.
- Get back.
- David, it's gone.
David, it's gone!
Come on. Let's go. Let's go. I got you.
Get up. Okay.
Let's go.
Look.
We've still got a full tank
leaking up there.
We're gonna lose it.
If we can get to it...
the three of us can still make it.
Right now, the storm is lethal out there.
Maybe we can wait it out.
How long is the storm gonna last?
Uh...
Hours.
I can go.
Michael...
Why do you want to, mate?
You don't have the trainings.
If you don't make it back,
one of us dies too.
- I'm willing.
- I'll go.
I can do it.
I can do it.
Yeah.
I can do this.
- Wait.
- David.
I can't let you do this.
So make it back home...
go have a kid...
and send them to Yale, okay?
Wait. Zoe, I...
- No, Zoe.
- I know.
- I'm so sorry.
- I know. I know.
- I wish I could do it.
- I know.
I know.
I applied to the HARP program
because I thought
it would be a funny story
to get rejected by Hyperion.
But now I realize that
this is one of those rare opportunities
that could truly give my life meaning
beyond anything I could imagine.