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00:00The return capsule tore through the clouds, trailing fire.
00:04Five years ago, I launched for Mars.
00:07A six-month mission that stranded me for five years.
00:12Altitude 30,000 feet.
00:14Main suit deployed.
00:15Recovery ship confirms!
00:17The flight control hull erupted in applause.
00:20Hero Reverend Carter is home!
00:23I was pulled from the hatch and saw Ethan Hull, the ground flight director.
00:28The fiancé I'd waited five years for.
00:31Smiling, I reached out to him.
00:33Five years ago, you said you'd marry me when I got back.
00:36Ethan, I'm back.
00:38He didn't take it.
00:40He only said quietly.
00:41Welcome home, Evelyn.
00:43I asked eagerly.
00:44The quarantine's over. Can I see Mom first?
00:48She's waiting for me outside the medical center, isn't she?
00:51I want to tell her I'm back.
00:53This time, I'm really not leaving.
00:55At the start of the mission, the base had announced that
00:57Limited by the relay window, this Mars mission could for now only transmit one way from Mars to Earth.
01:04Earth couldn't send anything back, so I hadn't heard from Earth in a long time.
01:09Ethan said nothing.
01:11My smile slowly frozen.
01:13Why won't you say anything?
01:15He took Mia Vard's hand.
01:17She was the backup mission specialist, and my best friend.
01:21I froze.
01:22Mia?
01:23Why are you standing here?
01:24Mia's eyes reddened.
01:26Evelyn, you've only just gotten back.
01:28Don't get worked up.
01:29There's a lot you don't know yet.
01:30Ethan picked up the microphone.
01:32While Evelyn is back among us, I'd like to announce that Mia and I are engaged.
01:39Camera shutters went off in a storm.
01:41I stared at the ring on his ring finger.
01:43A meteorus iron band.
01:45Sapphire catching the light.
01:47The wedding ring I designed.
01:49Ethan, the whole world is watching.
01:51My voice shook.
01:53So you're wearing my ring to announce you're marrying my best friend?
01:55Ethan's face went cold.
01:57Enough.
01:59You're the one who gave up first.
02:01He turned the tablet to the cameras.
02:03A document popped up.
02:05Renexigation of engagement to Ethan Hale.
02:08Signed, Evelyn Carter.
02:09I stared at that line.
02:11I didn't sign that, Ethan said.
02:14From the third year on, all you sent were mission bulletins.
02:17How was I supposed to believe you?
02:19I contacted you every single day, and I sent my mom birthday wishes.
02:23If the content changed, then someone altered it.
02:25Then pull the comms logs.
02:27Mia grabbed his arm at once.
02:31Evelyn, your mother is already-
02:33Mia!
02:34Ethan cut her off sharply.
02:35I went roged.
02:36What happened to my mom?
02:38She's waiting for me outside the medical center, isn't she?
02:46Ethan avoided my eyes, but Mia leaned so close to my ear that only I could hear.
02:51You don't know yet?
02:52Your mother died three years ago.
02:55My vision went black.
02:56I grabbed the mic stand.
02:59What did you say?
03:01She held my hand the way she used to comfort me,
03:03but her fingertips were ice cold.
03:06At the end, she kept asking why Eve wouldn't write back.
03:10That message?
03:12I'm the one who listened to it for you.
03:14Shut up!
03:14I shoved her away.
03:15I'm going to see my mom!
03:16You're all lying to me!
03:17She couldn't have passed away alone!
03:19Mia sank into Ethan's arms,
03:21tears spilling instantly.
03:23I only wanted to tell her the truth.
03:26Ethan's first instinct was to shield her.
03:28Evelyn, calm down!
03:30I could barely breathe.
03:31Ask her what she just said!
03:32Ask her!
03:33Mia shook her head.
03:34She just found out her mother died.
03:36I don't blame her.
03:37Ethan looked at me, lowering his voice.
03:38She's your best friend.
03:39She'd never hurt you on purpose.
03:41A doctor rushed over and strapped a monitor on me,
03:43but I kept my eyes on Ethan.
03:44She listened to my mom's message in my place!
03:46Ethan, did you hear that?
03:47She knew all along!
03:49Ethan's hand hung in midter,
03:50then settled on my shoulder.
03:51Calm down first.
03:52Don't let the press get more footage.
03:54Before the quarantine door came down,
03:56Mia raised a hand to me through the glass,
03:57her lips mouthing silently.
03:59He believes me now.
04:00I threw myself against the glass.
04:02Ethan, do you really not know?
04:04He stood outside the door, pale.
04:05I knew the comms filtering would condense things,
04:07but I didn't know your mother...
04:08So you knew it had been altered?
04:11I laughed through tears.
04:12You never once asked whether I wanted to hear the real words.
04:15Ethan pressed the medical lockdown button himself.
04:17Evelyn, you need to calm down now.
04:19The red light came on.
04:20In that moment, I understood.
04:21It was never just Mars that had trapped me.
04:24It was this hand of his.
04:25I laughed until I shook.
04:27Mia knows exactly where it hurts.
04:29That's how she cuts the deepest.
04:32The next day, the internet was splumped with footage of me shoving Mia down.
04:36No whisper from her.
04:37No mention of my mother.
04:39Just my face.
04:40Out of control.
04:41Reporters crowded around me.
04:42Commander Carter, do you have violent tendencies?
04:45I asked.
04:46Where's the full video?
04:48Mia stood beside Ethan.
04:49Eyes red.
04:50I don't want to press charges.
04:52She just lost her mother.
04:54It's understandable she can't cope.
04:56And Ethan said,
04:58Mia has been very restrained.
05:00I looked at him.
05:01You know, she leaned in and said something to me.
05:03She was comforting you.
05:05Did you hear that?
05:09He was silent for a beat.
05:13Evelyn, everyone is watching right now.
05:16Don't blow this up any further.
05:18The full surveillance is locked in the PR department.
05:21Mia said,
05:23I'm the one with the access.
05:25But releasing it now would only hurt you.
05:28I laughed.
05:29When you were editing me, you weren't so worried about hurting me.
05:33She lowered her eyes.
05:35Eve, I know you hate me.
05:38But you can't drag the whole mission down with you.
05:40I said,
05:41Stop hiding behind your mission.
05:44The mission never taught you to steal my mother's voice.
05:48Ethan came in,
05:49glanced at Mia's red-rimfed eyes,
05:51then on my clenched fists.
05:53His first words were,
05:54Stop provoking her.
05:57I asked,
05:58Who exactly are you saying that to?
06:01He said nothing.
06:02That noon,
06:04the official account released an edited clip.
06:06Returning hero loses control.
06:08Assaults mission specialist.
06:10I asked Ethan,
06:11Where's the full video?
06:13He turned the tablet face down.
06:16Releasing it would only make things uglier.
06:18I laughed.
06:19Uglier because I was framed.
06:21Or because you've realized you protected the wrong person.
06:27Samuel Vaughn showed up at the review hearing,
06:29Mia's father,
06:30and chairman of the Federal Space Safety Committee.
06:33He slid a psychiatric evaluation request across the table.
06:36Commander Carter,
06:37homecoming trauma needs treatment.
06:39You're in no condition to keep speaking publicly.
06:42Is this treatment?
06:43Or a gag order?
06:44I asked.
06:46The Mars program can't be brought down by one person's private feelings.
06:50Vaughn smiled.
06:52And the time the main oxygen valve was shut off by mistake?
06:56Mia's eyes reddened at once.
06:59Eve, do you have to drag my family into this too?
07:02Vaughn slid another briefing in front of me,
07:04titled Life Support Incident,
07:06Preliminary Official Line.
07:07The first page named the responsible party,
07:10Evelyn Carter,
07:10emotionally and without authorization,
07:12took over the procedure.
07:13The second page, however,
07:14said Mia's younger brother,
07:15while oxygen deflied,
07:16proposed the recovery plan that saved 13 people.
07:23I looked up.
07:24So you're going to pin the accident on me
07:26and turn her brother into the hero?
07:28Mia choked up.
07:29He nearly died in that cabin too.
07:31Eve,
07:32why won't you let even one survivor be?
07:34I sneered.
07:36He shut the main oxygen valve by mistake.
07:39I saved everyone?
07:41The way you tell it,
07:42it sounds like I stole his life.
07:44Ethan frowned.
07:45Chairman Vaughn is only going by procedure.
07:48You heard that?
07:50They want to write me up
07:51as the one at fault for the accident
07:53and you're defending their procedure?
07:55Director Hale,
07:56no one understands the cost
07:58of the mission's reputation menier than you.
08:00Chairman Vaughn turned to Ethan.
08:03I'll talk to her.
08:04Ethan said under his breath,
08:05Talk me into shutting up?
08:08To talk you out of backing yourself into a corner.
08:10Mia jumped in at once.
08:12Eve,
08:13he really is worried about you.
08:15During the break,
08:16Vaughn took Ethan to the far end of the corridor.
08:18The Federation needs a stable narrative.
08:20Will the public believe a woman
08:21who lost control the moment she got home
08:23or a hero who nearly gave his life?
08:25Ethan was silent a long time,
08:27then said only,
08:27Evelyn saved lives.
08:30Vaughn said mildly,
08:32Saving lives is one thing.
08:34Who deserves to be remembered is another.
08:37I pushed the door open.
08:39So who the public believes
08:40is something you've arranged all along?
08:42Mia moved to her father's side.
08:45Dad, stop.
08:46Eve can't take any of this in right now.
08:49I looked at her.
08:51When you call him dad,
08:52you drop the best friend act fast enough.
08:56Mia released a second video.
08:58This time it was my medical report.
09:00Declining bone density,
09:01radiation over the limit,
09:02and abnormal trauma score.
09:03She wept to the camera.
09:05I'm just worried about Eve.
09:06She didn't used to be like this.
09:07She's my best friend.
09:08I turned off the screen,
09:09my fingers trembling too hard to hold the cup.
09:12Ethan came to me.
09:16I'll find out who leaked the report.
09:18You don't need to look.
09:20You already know the answer.
09:22He avoided my eyes.
09:24Maybe Mia only wanted the doctors to step in.
09:28I shot back.
09:29Was leaking my medical pain for my own good too?
09:32Ethan said quietly,
09:33She's been under a lot of pressure these three years too.
09:36My mother died.
09:37I was trapped for five years.
09:38My credit was stolen.
09:41And the first thing you do
09:43is feel sorry for her stress.
09:45I slammed the report down in front of Ethan.
09:47That's my lung scan,
09:48my bone density,
09:48my psych score.
09:49Who but Mia could get hold of it?
09:50Ethan said,
09:51Her father has medical review access.
09:52I stared at him.
09:53So you know the Vons can reach into my medical records
09:55and you still tell me not to overreact?
09:57Ethan reached for the medical report.
09:59I pinned it down.
10:01Don't.
10:02Every time you clean up after her,
10:03you only smear the dirt in deeper.
10:05He said,
10:06I just don't want you to keep getting attacked.
10:09I pointed at Mia's interview on the screen.
10:11The person attacking me is standing right behind you.
10:14She read my medical history out to the whole world
10:16then cried about how much she loves me.
10:18She really did go to the hospital with your mother.
10:20Ethan said quietly.
10:21I froze.
10:22You knew?
10:22She said your mother didn't want you distracted
10:24and asked her not to tell you.
10:26I laughed until my throat ached.
10:27Did my mom tell her not to tell me
10:28or did she just make you believe that?
10:30Ethan,
10:30you were never this easy to fool.
10:31You only wanted to be on her side.
10:33The corridor screen suddenly switched to a poster.
10:35Heroes of the Vong family,
10:37the miracle of 13 Mars survivors.
10:39And I was relegated to an accident footnote in the corner.
10:42Emotionally unstable since return,
10:44pending evaluation.
10:45I asked Ethan,
10:46Do you see that?
10:48They've already put up the script.
10:49Ethan looked away.
10:50Don't provoke Mia.
10:51She's carrying a lot right now too.
10:53He was just afraid the handle might bruise Mia's hand.
10:56He didn't answer.
10:57Favoritism doesn't always have to be spoken aloud.
11:00Silence is enough.
11:03I pulled up the private communication records.
11:06After the third year,
11:08the birthday wishes I sent my mother
11:09had all been turned into mission status summaries.
11:14So were the messages I'd sent Ethan.
11:17Original,
11:17I almost didn't make it back today,
11:19but I wanted to hear you say you'd wait for me.
11:21Ground version.
11:22Astronaut completed EVM maintenance.
11:24Condition stable.
11:25I pushed the screen toward Ethan.
11:27Is this what you saw?
11:28He went pale.
11:29Mia said you'd shut yourself off,
11:31not up for emotional contact.
11:32So you believed it?
11:34She ran the comms filtering.
11:36And she's your best friend.
11:38I thought she wanted to protect you more than anyone.
11:40I looked at him.
11:41Has it ever occurred to you
11:42that it's precisely because she knows me?
11:44That she knew how to rewrite me
11:45into someone who doesn't love you?
11:47Ethan turned to a receipt from three years back
11:49that read, Astronaut confirms no family contact required.
11:52When I saw this,
11:53I truly thought you didn't want to be disturbed.
11:55You know me best.
11:56Could I ever not want to hear my mother's voice?
11:58His eyes reddened,
11:59but he still made excuses for her.
12:02Maybe she just misjudged it.
12:03One mistake is a mistake.
12:04I said quietly,
12:06three years of it is murder.
12:07The communications center's old backups
12:10turned page by page,
12:11and I saw the 37 messages
12:13I'd written to my mother.
12:15Each one was followed by a cold note,
12:17converted to mission summary.
12:18I pointed at one of them.
12:20Here.
12:21I said I dreamed she was waiting for me
12:23in a hospital hallway.
12:25What did the ground relay to her instead?
12:28Noah pulled up the relayed version.
12:31An astronaut reports good sleep quality.
12:34I closed my eyes,
12:35barely able to stand.
12:37Emi,
12:37but I stepped back.
12:39Stop acting.
12:40When you saw these summaries,
12:41did you ever feel,
12:42even for a second,
12:43that something was wrong?
12:44He said.
12:45Yes.
12:46And?
12:47Mia said deep space missions
12:48can't let emotions eat up the bandwidth.
12:51I opened my eyes.
12:52She speaks,
12:53and you believe.
12:54She broke my voice
12:55into spare parts,
12:57and you praised her
12:58for being professional.
13:00Ethan opened his mouth,
13:01but no words came.
13:03Mia asked me to meet
13:04on the rooftop.
13:05She was still wearing
13:06that moon dust pendant,
13:08the one I'd asked her
13:09to pass on to Ethan
13:09before I left.
13:10Give it back.
13:11I held out my hand.
13:13She smiled.
13:14Ethan says it looks more
13:15like a new beginning on me.
13:16I stared at her.
13:17You're disgusting.
13:19She leaned close to my ear.
13:23Do you know what your mom's
13:24last words were?
13:26She asked the nurse
13:28whether Eve had stopped
13:29wanting her.
13:33Blood rushed straight
13:35to my head.
13:36Mia went on.
13:40I could have told you,
13:42but the accident paperwork
13:43had to be handled
13:44that same day.
13:45I have to look after
13:46the living first.
13:48I slapped her.
13:49The rooftop door
13:50opened at the same moment.
13:52Ethan rushed in
13:53and pulled her behind him.
13:54Evelyn!
13:54Mia sobbed behind him.
13:56Don't blame her.
13:57I shouldn't have
13:58brought up her mother.
13:59Ethan held Mia,
14:00but the first thing
14:01he said was to me.
14:03Apologize.
14:05I froze.
14:07She used my dead mother
14:08to provoke me
14:08and you want me
14:09to apologize?
14:11Mia trembled
14:12as she cried.
14:14It's fine.
14:15I know she hates me.
14:17Ethan gripped her shoulder.
14:20Stop covering for her.
14:24In that moment,
14:25I could barely tell
14:26which of us
14:27had just lost a mother.
14:29The wind on the rooftop
14:31was fierce.
14:33Mia pressed the pendant
14:34to her chest.
14:35After you left,
14:36your mom often had me
14:37over for dinner.
14:38She said seeing me
14:39was like seeing you
14:40still on Earth.
14:41My outstretched hand
14:42froze in midair.
14:43She whispered,
14:44So I'm sad too,
14:45but what's the use
14:46of being sad?
14:47She needed someone
14:48at the end.
14:48I was there.
14:49Ethan needed someone.
14:50I was there too.
14:50You were on Mars.
14:51You couldn't give anything.
14:52I gritted my teeth.
14:53You traded your company
14:54for everything I had
14:55and now you want me
14:56to thank you?
14:57A flicker of cold
14:58finally showed
14:59in Mia's eyes.
15:00Eve, you're always like this.
15:01Everyone's supposed
15:02to wait for you,
15:03believe you,
15:04worship you,
15:04but people on Earth
15:05get tired too.
15:06The door swung open.
15:07Ethan rushed in
15:08and saw only my raised hand.
15:10Mia didn't dodge.
15:11It was as if she'd been
15:12waiting for the slap
15:13to land.
15:14Mia took an old set
15:15of keys from her bag
15:16and set them gently
15:17on the table.
15:18In her final days,
15:20I was the one
15:20who opened that door
15:21for her.
15:21She said,
15:22She even wrote down
15:23the apple pie recipe
15:24for me.
15:24My fingertips went cold.
15:26That's the key
15:27to my home.
15:30She smiled faintly.
15:33You weren't on Earth.
15:35Somebody had to hold on
15:36to a lot of things
15:37for you.
15:38Ethan looked
15:38and looked at
15:39like I was a stranger.
15:42You really frightened me now.
15:46I asked Ethan,
15:47You really knew
15:48nothing at all?
15:49He was silent
15:50a long while.
15:51Then finally said,
15:53In the third year,
15:55I got a comms anomaly alert.
15:58Something in my chest
15:59went cold.
16:00And then,
16:01Mia said it was a system
16:02transcomputing glitch.
16:03She'd handle it.
16:04And you didn't
16:05double-checked?
16:06He whispered.
16:08Everything you sent back
16:09then was just
16:10confirmation receipts.
16:12Mia waited with me
16:13every day.
16:14I didn't want
16:15to doubt her anymore.
16:16You didn't want
16:17to doubt her,
16:18so you doubted me instead.
16:21I thought you'd
16:22really changed.
16:23Ethan looked at me
16:24in anguish.
16:25It's not that you
16:26couldn't see the cracks.
16:28You just chose to stand
16:29on the warmer side.
16:31I asked him,
16:32If there were no evidence
16:33today,
16:34would you still think
16:34I was being impossible?
16:36Ethan didn't answer.
16:37Silence was the answer.
16:39I nodded.
16:40It's not Mia
16:41you fell in love with.
16:42It's the version
16:43of you she comforted.
16:44The one who never
16:45had to face
16:45his own betrayal.
16:47Noah pulled up
16:47the rooftop footage.
16:48Image only.
16:50No sound.
16:50Mia stood behind Ethan,
16:52face buried in her hands,
16:53shoulders heaving.
16:55I said,
16:56She brought up
16:57my mother first.
16:58Ethan looked
16:59at the silent footage.
17:01I didn't hear it.
17:02So you decided
17:03I was guilty?
17:04He shut his eyes
17:05in pain.
17:06I only saw you hit her.
17:08You saw my hand,
17:09but not her handing
17:10over the knife
17:11because you didn't
17:12want to look.
17:13I nodded.
17:15Mia suddenly cried out.
17:17Eve,
17:18how do you want me
17:18to prove I meant
17:19no harm?
17:19Should I cut my own
17:20heart open and show you?
17:21I looked at her coldly.
17:24No need.
17:25Your heart,
17:26I misjudged your heart
17:27three years ago.
17:27I don't want to look again.
17:29Mia showed the bruise
17:30on her wrist
17:30to the cameras.
17:31Stop filming her.
17:32She's just in too much pain.
17:34The reporter's cameras
17:35only pressed closer.
17:36I knew she was saving me
17:38and that every time she did,
17:39it was like finding
17:40a new accusation onto me.
17:43He went pale,
17:44but I didn't cry anymore.
17:46Mia had already
17:47wringed a layer
17:47of tears out of me.
17:50I went back
17:51to my mother's old home.
17:53A neighbor handed me
17:54an iron box.
17:55Before your mother passed,
17:56she said to give this
17:57to Eve when she came back.
17:59The box held
18:00an apple pie recipe,
18:01a hospital wristband,
18:03and a voice recorder.
18:04My mother's voice
18:05came through.
18:06Eve,
18:06mom doesn't blame you.
18:08So far away,
18:09it must have been
18:10hard on you too.
18:11I knelt on the floor,
18:13my breath like it was
18:14being squeezed out of me.
18:16Miss Carter,
18:17the call request
18:17was rejected again.
18:18In the second clip,
18:20the nurse said,
18:20my mother said softly,
18:23Is she very busy?
18:25Then don't rush her.
18:27Clutching the recorder,
18:29I finally cried
18:29until I lost my voice.
18:31This wasn't the composed
18:33weeping of a mission.
18:33It was being hollowed
18:35out completely.
18:37I called out for mom
18:38over and over,
18:39but no one in the house
18:40ever answered again.
18:42I sent Ethan the recording
18:43with a single line,
18:44This is the protection
18:45you talked about.
18:46He called.
18:47I didn't pick up.
18:48A long while later,
18:49he sent a message.
18:50I'll look into it.
18:51The screen lit
18:53and went dark.
18:54I didn't reply.
18:55What should have been
18:56checked three years ago
18:57now felt like
18:58incense ash
18:59arriving too late.
19:00That night,
19:01Ethan kept watch
19:01outside my hospital room.
19:03When I woke,
19:04he was in the chair,
19:05a creased old photo
19:06in his hand.
19:07It was me,
19:08him,
19:08and Mia.
19:09Before the Mars mission,
19:10Mia had taken the photo,
19:12insisting on crowding
19:13into the frame,
19:14saying it only counted
19:15with all three of us.
19:16The two of you
19:17were really close back then.
19:20So she knew exactly
19:21where to strike.
19:23Ethan said,
19:25I always thought
19:25she was holding things
19:26together down here for you.
19:28I said,
19:29Of course she held it together.
19:31I looked out the window.
19:33Holding up your guilt,
19:34holding up the Vaughn's glory,
19:36and holding up the line
19:37no one answered
19:37as my mother lay dying.
19:39In the rehab center lobby,
19:41the hero promo film
19:43played on a loop.
19:44The voiceover said,
19:45Some break down
19:46in a disaster.
19:47Others save everyone.
19:49I stood before the screen
19:50and heard a nurse
19:51behind me whisper,
19:52Isn't she the one
19:53who nearly got
19:54the whole crew killed?
19:56Ethan hurried over.
19:57His first instinct
19:58wasn't to shut off the screen
20:00but to block my face.
20:02Don't look.
20:05I pushed him aside.
20:06What good
20:07does blocking me do?
20:09They've already
20:10strung me up.
20:11That night,
20:12I didn't sleep.
20:12By dawn,
20:13I had only one thought.
20:14I wanted Mia
20:15to give back
20:16every word she'd stolen.
20:20Mia made her third move.
20:22She sent the media
20:23a photo of me
20:24collapsing on my knees
20:25outside my mother's
20:27old home,
20:28captioned,
20:29Returning Heroes
20:30Trauma Worsens.
20:32Chairman Vars
20:32promptly filed
20:33to reopen
20:34my psychiatric evaluation.
20:35Ethan came to me
20:36at the hospital.
20:37Cooperate with
20:38the assessment first.
20:38Don't hand them ammunition.
20:40Who's them?
20:41Mia?
20:41Her father?
20:42You too?
20:43I'm trying to help you.
20:44Every time you help me,
20:45you happen to help her
20:45steady the knife.
20:46The lights in the evaluation
20:48room were glaring.
20:49The doctor asked,
20:51Do you believe
20:52Mia Vard deliberately
20:53harmed you?
20:53I said,
20:55I don't think so.
20:56I know so.
20:58Outside the door,
20:59Mia normered.
21:00She's hostile
21:01towards everyone now.
21:02It isn't safe.
21:03I laughed.
21:05Listen to that,
21:06she's at it again.
21:07Drive me mad,
21:08then prove I'm mad.
21:09The doctor handed over
21:10a temporary
21:10invotinary observation order
21:12filed by Mia Vaughn,
21:14reviewed and signed
21:15Ethan Hale.
21:17I looked up at Ethan.
21:19You signed this?
21:21Ethan's throat bobbed.
21:22I just want the doctors
21:23to protect you first.
21:25Every time you hurt me,
21:26you call it protecting me.
21:28Mia stood behind him,
21:29tears clinging to her lashes.
21:32Eve, I'm really scared
21:33something will happen to you.
21:35I looked at her.
21:37Are you afraid
21:38something will happen to me?
21:39Or afraid I still have
21:40the strength to speak?
21:41Ethan frowned.
21:43Enough!
21:43Stop pushing her!
21:47The doctor asked me
21:48to surrender my comms device.
21:50Citing the need
21:51to remove triggers,
21:52I took off the wristband
21:53and set it on the table.
21:55Fine.
21:56But put this on the record too.
21:58I looked at the one-way glass.
22:00Let the record show
22:01who's provoking whom today.
22:03Don't let them edit it again.
22:05His first glance
22:06still went to Mia.
22:08In that moment,
22:09I was too tired
22:10even to be disappointed.
22:14Noah West found me.
22:16He'd been the mission psychologist,
22:18one of the few still willing
22:19to look at the raw records.
22:20He handed me a backup.
22:23After the third year,
22:24your psych logs were tampered with.
22:26I opened the file
22:27and saw Mia's signature
22:28on the request.
22:29Recommendation,
22:30flag Evelyn Carter
22:31as high trauma risk,
22:32early retrieval not advised.
22:34I said,
22:35On whose authority?
22:36She used temporary clearance
22:37granted by Vaughn's office.
22:40Her father.
22:41And there's the black box.
22:43The raw in-cabbage footage
22:44from those six hours
22:46of the oxygen valve accident
22:47was sealed.
22:48I asked,
22:49can you unlock it?
22:50Yes.
22:53But you'll have to hold up
22:54through the next hearing.
22:55Noah asked,
22:56Do you still trust Ethan?
22:59I shook my head.
23:01I trust that he'll feel guilty.
23:03I don't trust that he'll
23:04take my side first.
23:06Then don't hand him the evidence.
23:08I gripped the backup drive.
23:10This time,
23:11no one chooses for me.
23:12Noah tucked the backup
23:13under the bottom
23:14of the first aid kit.
23:15They'll search your place.
23:16They'll search mine too.
23:18I asked,
23:19Why are you helping me?
23:22He said,
23:23Because when you saved me
23:24on Mars,
23:25you didn't ask me
23:26which side I was on.
23:28I was quiet a long time,
23:29then said suddenly,
23:31Ethan was one of the 13.
23:33Noah nodded.
23:34He was at ground command.
23:35He heard you call his name
23:36when you restarted
23:37life support by hand.
23:38I went still.
23:40Only then did I realize
23:41that at the brink of death,
23:43I'd still thought of him.
23:44Yet the first hand he took
23:46when he got back to Earth
23:47was Mia's.
23:48I asked Noah,
23:49and if I lose.
23:53He pushed the backup disc
23:55into my palm.
23:57Then at least you'd lose
23:58with the truth.
24:00Not the version
24:01they wrote for you.
24:03I looked at my mother's
24:04voice recorder.
24:08I'll hold on.
24:09They broke me once.
24:11There won't be a second time.
24:15Mia forged a threatening email.
24:17The sender was me.
24:18It read,
24:19I'm going to destroy
24:20that commendation
24:21and bring down the viance.
24:22Ethan brought me the email,
24:24his voice low.
24:25Did you send this?
24:26I looked at him.
24:27The fact that you even
24:28have to ask
24:29means you already
24:30half believe it.
24:32I only want to confirm.
24:33Did you confirm
24:34my messages?
24:35Did you confirm
24:36my mother's calls?
24:37Mia stood behind him
24:38and said softly,
24:39Eve,
24:40I don't want to call
24:41the police.
24:41I laughed.
24:43How generous of you.
24:45Ethan frowned.
24:46Don't talk like that.
24:47She forged the email
24:49and you're telling me
24:49to watch my tone?
24:52The technicians
24:53quickly proved
24:54the email
24:55hadn't come
24:55from my terminal.
24:57Ethan saw the results
24:58and went pale.
24:59Why would Mia
24:59go this far?
25:00I said,
25:02You're finally asking why.
25:03He looked up.
25:04I went on.
25:05A pity it's not my pain
25:07you're asking about.
25:08It's how she got bad enough
25:09that even you
25:09can't keep explaining
25:10her away.
25:11Ethan put the results
25:12of the analysis
25:13of the forged mail
25:14on the table
25:15and the sound
25:15was light.
25:16The source points
25:17to Vaughn's office.
25:19I asked,
25:20Are you going
25:20to turn it in?
25:21He hesitated
25:22for half a second.
25:26In that half second,
25:27I already knew
25:28the answer.
25:30I need to confirm
25:31whether it was
25:31Mia herself.
25:32He said.
25:33I laughed.
25:34When were you
25:35ever this rigorous
25:36with me?
25:37One edited clip
25:38was enough for you
25:39to tell me
25:39to calm down,
25:40but one forged email
25:42lands on her
25:42and suddenly you need
25:44to verify the source.
25:45Ethan's face
25:46went gray.
25:47Evelyn,
25:47I'm not trying
25:47to cover for her.
25:48I pushed the file back.
25:50You are.
25:51You just don't dare
25:52say it so self-rightlessly
25:53anymore.
25:54Ethan said nothing.
25:55A flicker of satisfaction
25:57crossed Mia's eyes.
25:58What she's best at
25:59isn't lying.
26:00It's getting Ethan
26:01to keep her lies
26:02looking respectable.
26:05Mia came to me
26:06the night before the hearing.
26:07No makeup,
26:08looking genuinely
26:09worn out.
26:10She said,
26:11We used to be friends.
26:13Don't let this
26:14spiral past the point
26:15of no return.
26:16I said,
26:17Friends don't rewrite
26:18my messages.
26:20I only made the choice
26:21you never dared to.
26:22Gave up my mother
26:23for me,
26:24lost me Ethan,
26:25handed my credit
26:25to your family.
26:26Mia's eyes went cold.
26:28You've already had it all.
26:29The mission,
26:31the glory,
26:31Ethan.
26:32Why can't someone else
26:33win for once?
26:34By trampling me
26:36into a madwoman
26:36to win?
26:37She leaned in.
26:39Withdraw the charges
26:39tomorrow
26:40and I can make
26:41Ethan turn back
26:42to you.
26:43I said,
26:45Keep it.
26:47Anything you've touched
26:48I find filthy.
26:49Mia paused at the door
26:50before leaving.
26:51Eve,
26:52you used to share
26:52everything with me.
26:53Dresses,
26:54scholarships,
26:55interviews,
26:55why not this time?
26:56I said,
26:57Because this time
26:58what you want to split
26:58is my mother's life,
26:59my innocence,
27:00and the 13 people
27:01I saved.
27:02Mia's face
27:03finally darkened.
27:04Then don't blame me.
27:05Mia asked to meet me
27:06at the old training hall.
27:07A photo hung there
27:09from the first time
27:09we passed centrifuge training
27:11with her beside me,
27:12smiling even wider
27:13than I was.
27:14She touched the edge
27:15of the photo.
27:17I was so proud
27:18of you back then,
27:19but later everyone
27:20only saw you.
27:21No one saw me.
27:22I said,
27:23So you stole?
27:26I'm just taking back
27:27a little of the attention
27:28that should have been mine.
27:30She looked back at me.
27:32You have the talent.
27:33You have Ethan.
27:34You have your mom.
27:35After you left Earth,
27:36somebody had to look
27:37after them.
27:38I said quietly,
27:40Caring for someone
27:41isn't owning them.
27:42She smiled.
27:43Easy for you to say.
27:44You played hero on Mars
27:46while I sat on Earth
27:46listening to your mother
27:47cough until she couldn't sleep.
27:49Eve,
27:49what gives you the right
27:50to take it all back
27:51the moment you return?
27:52Mia stared at the old photo,
27:54then suddenly said,
27:55My brother is one
27:56first class commendation away
27:57and the Varns
27:57keep all their funding.
27:59I said,
28:00So you used my life
28:01as a stepping stone?
28:02For the first time,
28:04she stopped pretending.
28:05Eve,
28:05you've already got too much.
28:06Why can't you share a little?
28:08I said,
28:08word by word.
28:09Because it isn't a cake.
28:11It's 13 lives I saved.
28:14Hatred finally surfaced in Mia.
28:17Then I'll make everyone believe
28:19you don't even remember
28:20what you said.
28:23At the first hearing,
28:24Mia sat in a white dress,
28:26every inch the victim.
28:27She said,
28:28Evelyn is my best friend.
28:30Everything I did
28:31was for psychological safety.
28:32The panel asked Ethan,
28:34Do you believe Mia
28:35acted with malice?
28:36I looked at him.
28:38Ethan's throat moved.
28:39No obvious malice.
28:41She really has been carrying
28:42the communications pressure.
28:43The whole room went silent.
28:45And then I laughed.
28:47I took off the ring
28:48and set it on the table.
28:50Ethan,
28:51the engagement is off.
28:53Ethan's expression cracked.
28:55Evelyn,
28:56this isn't the time for that.
28:57Then when?
28:59After you've finished
29:00testifying for her?
29:01After they've ruled me insane?
29:04Mia cried.
29:08I never meant to take you away.
29:11At the stand,
29:12I pushed the ring forward.
29:14Ethan reached for it.
29:15I pinned the document down.
29:17Don't touch it.
29:18It's evidence now.
29:19Proof that you wore my promise
29:21to marry my best friend.
29:22Mia paled.
29:23Chairman Vaughn frowned.
29:25Personal matters shouldn't interfere
29:26with a mission investigation.
29:27I looked at him.
29:29Where was that fairness
29:30when your daughter
29:31was interfering with my whole life?
29:32The hearing officer asked Ethan.
29:34In the three years
29:35before her return,
29:36did you receive
29:37filtered communications?
29:38Ethan glanced at me,
29:40then said,
29:41Yes.
29:42Did you notice
29:43that personal content
29:44had been reduced to summaries?
29:45He gripped the edge
29:46of the table.
29:47I did.
29:47The color drained
29:48from Mia's face.
29:49She whispered,
29:50Ethan.
29:51He swallowed hard,
29:52but still said,
29:53I didn't press it.
29:54Mia told me
29:55it was to keep
29:55the mission stable.
29:56I sat across from him,
29:57my fingertips slowly going cold.
29:59The truth was closer
30:00than I'd thought.
30:00It wasn't that he knew nothing.
30:02He just chose
30:02the easy belief every time.
30:04I placed the ring
30:05in the evidence tray.
30:06I said,
30:06This is my wedding ring
30:07and the first piece of evidence
30:08of Ethan's favoritism
30:09toward Mia.
30:10Ethan went pale.
30:12I looked at him.
30:14You wore it
30:14to announce your engagement,
30:16wore it to sign my psych eval,
30:17wore it to make me
30:18apologize to her.
30:19Mia's eyes reddened.
30:21Do you have to drag
30:22personal feelings in here?
30:24I said,
30:26It wasn't personal
30:27when you stole my life.
30:29I looked at her.
30:30You didn't steal a man.
30:32You stole my life.
30:35The next day,
30:37Noah recovered
30:37part of the black box.
30:39In the footage,
30:39the main oxygen valve
30:40was tripped by accident
30:42and the oxygen pressure
30:43for all 13 crew
30:44dropped at once.
30:45I dragged my injured leg
30:46towards the manual valve
30:47and rasped,
30:49Log the operator,
30:50Evelyn Carter.
30:51The ground summary,
30:52however,
30:53claimed,
30:54A Vaughn family engineer
30:55proposed the recovery plan,
30:57which Evelyn assisted
30:58in carrying out.
31:00Noah said,
31:02This isn't an error.
31:04It's credit theft.
31:06I stared at the screen.
31:08Release it tomorrow.
31:10He asked,
31:12Can you hold up?
31:15I said,
31:16My mom waited
31:17three years for me.
31:18The least I can do
31:19is hold up for one day.
31:20At the next day's hearing,
31:22the black box footage
31:23went up on the big screen
31:25with the live media feed
31:27patched in at the same time.
31:29Ethan's voice
31:29came over the old channel.
31:31Evelyn,
31:32can you hear me?
31:33Don't push yourself.
31:34On the recording,
31:35I let out a laugh,
31:37breathing hard.
31:38Director Hale,
31:39lose the weepy voice.
31:41I'm not dead yet.
31:43In the footage,
31:44my palm was sliced open
31:46by the metal,
31:47beads of blood drifting
31:48in the zero-gravity cabin.
31:50I said,
31:50Log it.
31:51The rescue was carried
31:52by Evelyn Carter.
31:54Don't rewrite me again.
31:56A second later,
31:57the falsified summary
31:58floated up
31:59on the right side
32:00of the screen.
32:01The room erupted.
32:03I turned to Mia.
32:04You wanted a hero,
32:05didn't you?
32:06Now let everyone see
32:07who wrote that hero
32:08into being.
32:10The color drained
32:11from Mia's face,
32:12bit by bit.
32:13Ethan,
32:14standing by the witness stand,
32:15said quietly at last,
32:17The original record
32:18is genuine.
32:19Then who approved
32:20the hero campaign
32:21before this?
32:22For the first time,
32:23Chairman Vorne
32:24didn't answer right away.
32:26I looked at the camera.
32:27Don't worry.
32:28The comms records
32:30are still to come.
32:31I didn't look at him.
32:32Proof this late
32:33only proves
32:33how blind he'd been.
32:36The video played
32:37at the hearing.
32:38The color drained
32:39of Mia's face.
32:40Chairman Vorne
32:40rose at once.
32:41Unverified material
32:42can't be admitted
32:43as evidence.
32:44Noah handed over
32:45the verification report.
32:46Original time stance
32:47intact, unedited.
32:48A panel member
32:48turned to Ethan.
32:49Director Hale,
32:50did you receive
32:51a comms anomaly alert
32:52three years ago?
32:52Ethan's fingers clenched.
32:55Mia watched him,
32:56tears already brimming.
32:58He was silent
32:59a long while.
33:01Yes.
33:02I looked at him.
33:03Why didn't you pursue it?
33:04Ethan's voice was horny.
33:06Mia said she'd handle it.
33:07I chose to believe her.
33:08Below the stand,
33:09Mia shook her head
33:09as if pleading with him.
33:10Ethan saw it.
33:11So did I.
33:12I could almost predict
33:12his hesitation.
33:13Sure enough,
33:14he shut his eyes
33:14before going on.
33:15I had no proof
33:16that Mia was innocent
33:16yet I kept telling
33:17Evelyn to calm down.
33:18That was my failure
33:19and my favoritism.
33:20When Mia was asked to speak,
33:21she still looked
33:22to Ethan first.
33:23That look was all
33:24too familiar.
33:24Every time she'd
33:25caused trouble before,
33:26she'd look at me like that,
33:27waiting for me
33:27to clean it up.
33:28Ethan didn't move.
33:30She finally panicked.
33:32I was only filtering
33:33the comms by procedure.
33:34Ethan signed off too.
33:35Why is it suddenly
33:36all my fault?
33:37The color left
33:38Ethan's face.
33:38I looked at him.
33:40I looked at him.
33:40She's right.
33:40You signed.
33:42The room went still.
33:44Ethan rose slowly.
33:46Yes, I signed.
33:48But I signed what I believed
33:49was mission procedure,
33:50not burying a mother's
33:52dying words for her.
33:53Mia cried out.
33:54So now you're cutting
33:55yourself out of this?
33:56He said quietly.
33:58I can't cut myself out.
34:00I'm just finally admitting
34:01that I'm guilty too.
34:02Choice.
34:03The word finally left his mouth.
34:04So what had hurt me
34:05was never just the deception.
34:06It was his choice.
34:10Ethan began investigating Mia.
34:14He dug up old access chains,
34:17emails, sign-off sheets,
34:20seeing page by page
34:22the cracks he'd missed.
34:24He came to me, eyes red.
34:28She deceived me.
34:31I said.
34:32No.
34:33She fed you a lie
34:35you were happy to swallow.
34:38He went rogered.
34:40She said I didn't want
34:41to come back.
34:41You believed her.
34:44She said I was unstable.
34:46You believed her.
34:47She said it was all
34:48for my own good
34:49and you believed that too.
34:51Ethan said under his breath.
34:53I was just so lonely.
34:54I looked at him.
34:55So you used my pain
34:57to fill your loneliness?
34:59His tears fell.
35:02Eve, I'm sorry.
35:04Ethan said.
35:05I'll make it up to you.
35:07I laughed.
35:08Make it up?
35:10Can you make my mom
35:11answer that call?
35:12Can you make me have known
35:13three years ago
35:14that she was gone?
35:15He looked drained
35:16of all strength.
35:17No.
35:17I nodded.
35:18And don't dress up
35:19compensation as love.
35:21Ethan brought an old
35:22insulated box.
35:23Apple pie, he said.
35:25Made from my mother's recipe.
35:28When the box opened,
35:29the sweetness wafted out,
35:31but my stomach turned sour.
35:33He said.
35:34I remember this was
35:35your favorite.
35:36I looked at the
35:37not quite pretty pie.
35:38What I loved was
35:39the one my mom made.
35:41Not one you recreated
35:43out of guilt.
35:47His fingers froze.
35:50I'm sorry.
35:52I pushed the box back.
35:54Stop knocking on my door
35:55with those words.
35:56Ethan, every time you come,
35:58I have to remember
35:59all over again
36:00how you stood outside
36:01that door and listened
36:02to her call me crazy.
36:03He hugged the box
36:04back to his chest,
36:05like a man holding
36:06a funeral that had
36:07come too late.
36:09Ethan lingered at the door
36:10a long time,
36:11then finally asked.
36:15Can I still call you Eve?
36:17I said.
36:18Don't use that name.
36:19It sounds like the old me.
36:21The one who'd still
36:22wait for you.
36:23I felt nothing.
36:25Sorry is too cheap.
36:27Too cheap to buy back
36:28even my mother's
36:29last phone call.
36:37The full call
36:38was restored
36:39before the third
36:39round of hearings.
36:42My mother lay
36:43in the hospital bed,
36:44her voice as faint
36:45as a breeze.
36:46Eve,
36:47if you can hear me,
36:49mom doesn't blame you.
36:51The nurse asked,
36:52Do you want to put in
36:53another request?
36:54Mother smiled.
36:55Never mind.
36:56She's doing important work.
36:57Don't distract her.
36:59A moment later,
37:00the system displayed
37:01the outcome.
37:01Family critically ill,
37:02not mission essential.
37:04Processed by Mia Varn.
37:05I finally broke,
37:06crouching down
37:06with a hand over my mouth.
37:08Ethan tried to stable me.
37:09I shoved him away.
37:10Don't touch me.
37:11He knelt in front of me,
37:12his voice breaking.
37:13I didn't know
37:14she'd buried even this.
37:15After the recording ended,
37:17only the faint hum
37:18of instruments
37:18was left in the hall.
37:20Mia kept her head down,
37:21afraid to look at me.
37:23I looked at her.
37:25You heard it all,
37:26didn't you?
37:26Maya's lips trembled.
37:27I said,
37:28You heard my mother say
37:29she didn't blame me
37:29and then you buried
37:30those words yourself
37:31for three years.
37:32When the full message
37:32played a second time,
37:34I suddenly caught my mother
37:34coughing in the background.
37:36Faint,
37:36yet it seemed to travel
37:37three years
37:38to slam into my chest.
37:39She said,
37:40As a child,
37:40she dreaded coming home
37:41to an empty house.
37:43Please tell her.
37:43Mom never blamed her.
37:45My knees gave out.
37:46Noah moved to help.
37:47I shook my head
37:47and knelt on the cold floor,
37:49burying my face in my hands.
37:50Mia finally cried.
37:51I was scared too.
37:52The Vons were already
37:53carrying the blame
37:53for the accident.
37:54I couldn't let the mission
37:55take another hit.
37:55I looked up.
37:57So my mother was supposed
37:58to die quietly
37:59to keep things tidy for you?
38:01She couldn't answer.
38:02Ethan started to say my name.
38:03I turned to him.
38:04You heard it too.
38:04She spent her last breath
38:05making excuses for me
38:06and you used her gentleness
38:08as a gag.
38:08The system displayed
38:10one more line of records.
38:11Next of kin
38:11critical condition request
38:13processed by Mia Vaughn.
38:14Non-mission essential review.
38:15Signed off by Ethan Hale.
38:17The blood drained
38:17from Ethan's face
38:18in an instant.
38:19I looked at him.
38:20You said you didn't know,
38:21but it's your name
38:23sitting under my mother's
38:24last phone call.
38:24He opened his mouth
38:25but couldn't get out
38:26a single word.
38:27I looked up at him.
38:29You're crying now
38:29because it's finally
38:30your turn to hurt.
38:37She couldn't answer.
38:38Ethan started to say my name.
38:39I turned to him.
38:40You heard it too.
38:41She spent her last breath
38:42making excuses for me
38:43and you used her gentleness
38:44as a gag.
38:44The system displayed
38:45one line of records.
38:46Next of skid critical
38:46essential line review.
38:47Non-mission off by Ethan Hale.
38:49The blood drained
38:49from Ethan's face
38:50in an instant.
38:51I looked at him.
38:52Sensing Ethan waver,
38:54Mia stormed into his office.
38:56She sobbed.
38:57Now you destroy me for her?
39:00Ethan, who was by your side
39:02these three years?
39:04Ethan didn't pull her
39:05into his arms
39:06the way he used to.
39:07Something shifted
39:08in Mia's eyes.
39:10My father can have you
39:11removed from the
39:12flight control chair
39:13for good.
39:14Ethan said quietly.
39:16So all these years
39:17this is how you've
39:18kept everyone quiet?
39:19I'm protecting you.
39:21Those were words
39:22he'd once said for her
39:23countless times.
39:24I stood outside the door
39:25and heard a long
39:26silence inside.
39:28Ethan said at last.
39:29I'll testify.
39:30Mia laughed.
39:31You think she'll
39:31forgive you?
39:32You just lost with me
39:33and now you want to
39:34beg your way back to her?
39:35When Ethan came out
39:36I didn't hide.
39:38We looked at each other
39:39across the corridor.
39:40He said
39:41I won't shield her
39:42this time.
39:43I said
39:44you're saying it too late.
39:46His eyes reddened.
39:47It's not that you
39:48should let go
39:49because she's no longer
39:50worth protecting.
39:51It's that from the
39:52very start
39:53I should never have
39:54been put on trial
39:55alongside her.
39:58Even as he was
39:59led away
40:00Chairman Vaughn
40:01kept his composure.
40:03Commander Carter
40:04politics isn't as
40:05simple as you think.
40:06I said
40:07I know
40:07you call your lies
40:08politics
40:09your favorness
40:10stability
40:10and a mother's
40:12death
40:12not mission
40:13essential.
40:13He turned to
40:14Ethan
40:14Will you really
40:15stand by
40:16and watch her
40:16tear down
40:17the whole system?
40:18Ethan stepped
40:18to my side
40:19and this time
40:20he didn't hesitate.
40:21What's being torn
40:22down isn't the
40:22system
40:23it's the hands
40:24you hid inside it.
40:25I didn't thank him.
40:26Taking my side
40:27this late
40:27was like oxygen
40:28arriving too late.
40:29It can save a life
40:30but it can't prove
40:31the suffocation
40:32never happened.
40:33When I heard
40:34those words
40:34there was no relief
40:35in my chest
40:36only a fatigue
40:36that had come
40:37too late.
40:38Someone had
40:38finally stood
40:39on my side
40:40yet could no
40:41longer pull me
40:41out of those
40:42three years
40:42of darkness.
40:44This time
40:44she was half right.
40:48At the second
40:48hearing
40:49Ethan took the
40:50witness stand.
40:51He said
40:52I knew
40:53the comms
40:53were anomalous
40:54and that
40:55Mia had
40:55excessive access.
40:56I didn't pursue it.
40:58The committee
40:58asked
40:58Why?
40:59Ethan looked
41:00at me
41:00his eyes
41:01bloodshot.
41:01Because I
41:02favored her
41:02because she
41:03stayed with me
41:04comforted me
41:05made me believe
41:05I was the one
41:06who'd been
41:06abandoned.
41:07Mia said
41:07Ethan
41:08and he went
41:08on
41:09I enjoyed
41:09that version.
41:10It made
41:11my betrayal
41:12less ugly.
41:12The room
41:13erupted.
41:13I stayed
41:14calm.
41:15Truth
41:15this late
41:15is like
41:16medicine
41:16too late.
41:17It proves
41:17the wound
41:17is real
41:18but it
41:18can't make
41:19it heal.
41:19Ethan
41:19stepped down
41:20and started
41:20to call
41:20out to me.
41:21After the
41:21hearing
41:21Ethan
41:22caught up
41:22with me
41:22in the
41:23hallway.
41:23Evelyn
41:24it was
41:24always
41:25you
41:25I
41:25loved.
41:25You
41:26loved me
41:26but you
41:26put me
41:26as tears
41:27ahead of my
41:27evidence.
41:28Ethan
41:28your love
41:28is so good
41:29at waiting
41:29in line
41:30that my
41:30turn never
41:30comes.
41:31Ethan
41:31chased me
41:32to the
41:32parking lot
41:33rain soaking
41:33his shoulders.
41:34He said
41:36I know
41:36you won't
41:37forgive me
41:38but from
41:38today
41:39I want
41:39to stand
41:40behind you.
41:40I turned
41:41back
41:41holding my
41:41umbrella.
41:42You stood
41:42behind me
41:42before
41:43too.
41:43His eyes
41:44lit up
41:44then dimmed
41:45just as
41:45fast.
41:46I said
41:46the difference
41:46is back
41:47then I
41:47thought you'd
41:47catch me.
41:48Later I
41:49realized you
41:49stood there
41:49just to see
41:50whether I'd
41:50hit Mia.
41:51The rain
41:51was loud
41:52but he
41:52seemed to
41:52catch every
41:53word.
41:53Evelyn.
41:54He said
41:55have I
41:56really lost
41:56you?
41:57Not now.
41:57I said
41:58you lost
41:59me the
41:59first time
41:59you made
42:00me apologize
42:00to her.
42:01He took
42:01two steps
42:02after me
42:02then stopped
42:03as if he'd
42:03finally understood
42:04that catching
42:04up wasn't the
42:05same as winning
42:06me back.
42:06Rain ran
42:07off his jaw
42:07and for the
42:08first time
42:08he didn't
42:09try to explain
42:10himself.
42:10I walked
42:10past him
42:11and didn't
42:12stop.
42:14Temp
42:14adjourned.
42:15I followed
42:16the staff
42:16back through
42:17the corridor
42:17and into
42:18the hall.
42:19Mia was
42:19already seated
42:20in the witness
42:20stand.
42:21Her eyes
42:22fixed anxiously
42:23on the doorway.
42:24Still waiting
42:25for Ethan
42:26to come to
42:26her rescue.
42:27She jabbed
42:28a finger
42:28at me.
42:28I only
42:29made her
42:29look unstable.
42:30Once she
42:31loses control
42:32every piece
42:33of evidence
42:34gets doubted.
42:34What's wrong
42:35with that?
42:36I said
42:36so that whisper
42:37back at the
42:38start was deliberate.
42:40She laughed
42:41until she
42:41shook.
42:43Your mother
42:43is your weak
42:44spot.
42:45So is
42:45Ethan.
42:46I know
42:47you far
42:47too well.
42:50Ethan
42:50went pale.
42:52Mia said
42:53my brother
42:54made one
42:55mistake
42:55but you
42:56had to
42:56make the
42:56whole world
42:57remember it.
42:58The Vaunts
42:58can't be only
42:59the people
42:59who erred.
43:00We needed
43:01a hero
43:01too.
43:02I looked
43:03at her
43:03so you
43:03took my
43:04mother,
43:05my love,
43:06my credit,
43:07all to
43:07pave your
43:08family's
43:08road.
43:09At last
43:10she had
43:10nothing
43:10to say.
43:11As she
43:12was led
43:12away,
43:13Mia
43:13suddenly
43:14turned
43:14back.
43:15So what
43:16if you
43:16win?
43:16Your
43:17mother
43:17won't
43:17come
43:17back
43:18and
43:18Ethan's
43:18tainted
43:19now
43:19too.
43:20I said
43:20I'm
43:21not doing
43:21this
43:22to beat
43:22you.
43:23I'm
43:23doing
43:23it
43:24to
43:24prove
43:24you
43:24can't
43:25rewrite
43:25a
43:25living
43:25person
43:26out
43:26of
43:26existence.
43:30Mia's
43:30final
43:31statement
43:31was made
43:32public.
43:32She
43:32sat
43:33in the
43:33interrogation
43:33room,
43:34her
43:34makeup
43:34ruined,
43:35yet her
43:35back still
43:36straight.
43:36She said
43:37I don't
43:39Evelyn has
43:39won everything
43:40since we
43:40were children.
43:41She has
43:41no idea
43:42what losing
43:42feels like.
43:43The
43:43investigator
43:43asked.
43:44So you
43:45tampered
43:45with her
43:46communications
43:46with her
43:47mother?
43:48Mia was
43:48silent a
43:49long time,
43:50then suddenly
43:50laughed.
43:53She
43:54trusted me
43:54too much.
43:56The spare
43:56key was
43:57in my
43:57hands,
43:58the next
43:58of kin
43:58access was
43:59in my
43:59hands,
44:00and Ethan
44:00was at
44:01my side.
44:01In my
44:02place,
44:02wouldn't
44:02you have
44:03been
44:03tempted?
44:03The
44:04video
44:04stopped
44:04there.
44:05Ethan
44:06stood
44:06before the
44:07screen as
44:07if he'd
44:08been slapped
44:08in front
44:09of everyone.
44:10I turned
44:11it off.
44:11Now you
44:12know,
44:12it wasn't
44:13a one-time
44:14lapse in
44:15judgment.
44:15I know.
44:16No.
44:16I said,
44:18you knew a
44:19little all
44:19along.
44:21You just
44:21liked the
44:22gray area,
44:23where that
44:24little bit
44:24still wasn't
44:25enough to
44:25condemn her.
44:26This time,
44:27Ethan didn't
44:28shield her.
44:28He just
44:29stood there,
44:30as if he'd
44:31finally seen
44:31that what
44:32he'd been
44:32protecting all
44:33along was
44:34a knife.
44:36Samuel
44:36Vaughn
44:37was formally
44:37placed under
44:38investigation.
44:39The evidence
44:40showed he'd
44:40used his
44:40high office
44:41to lock
44:41down the
44:42black box,
44:43interfere with
44:43the first-class
44:44commendation
44:44ruling,
44:45suppress next-of-kin
44:45communications,
44:47and push for a
44:47psychiatric
44:48evaluation of
44:49me.
44:49Mia was
44:50suspended,
44:50and the
44:50entire
44:51commendation
44:51file was
44:52reopened
44:52for review.
44:53Vaughn
44:53the elder
44:54was cornered
44:54by reporters
44:55outside the
44:56committee.
44:56For the
44:56first time,
44:57the once
44:58untouchable
44:59man was
44:59forced back
45:00by the
45:00camera flashes.
45:01A reporter
45:02pressed,
45:02Mr. Chairman,
45:03did you
45:03personally
45:03approve the
45:04hero campaign
45:04and the
45:05shifting of
45:05blame?
45:05He didn't
45:06answer.
45:06The media
45:07began to
45:07change their
45:08tune,
45:08calling me
45:08the true
45:09rescuer
45:09of the
45:10Mars
45:10project.
45:10I gave
45:10no
45:11interviews.
45:11I just
45:12went to
45:12my mother's
45:12grave.
45:13The
45:13headstone
45:14was clean,
45:14an apple
45:15pie set
45:15beside it.
45:16I crouched
45:17down.
45:17Mom,
45:18I'm sorry.
45:19I came
45:20home too
45:20late.
45:20At the
45:21grave,
45:21I finally
45:22played the
45:22full call.
45:23The wind
45:24was soft,
45:24and so was
45:25my mother's
45:25voice on
45:26the recording.
45:27I said,
45:29Mom,
45:29I'm home.
45:30This time
45:30I'm really
45:31not leaving.
45:32I cried
45:32until I
45:32couldn't
45:33stand.
45:33Noah kept
45:34his distance
45:34and didn't
45:35rush me.
45:35The wind
45:36moved through
45:36the cemetery
45:37and it was
45:38as if I'd
45:39finally crashed
45:40back to
45:40Earth from
45:40the far
45:41side of
45:41Mars.
45:43This time
45:44no one
45:44could edit
45:45out my
45:45crying,
45:46and no one
45:47could rewrite
45:48my grief
45:48into a
45:49mission summary.
45:49Ethan stood
45:50at a distance,
45:51never coming
45:52closer.
45:53After a
45:54long while,
45:54he set an
45:55umbrella down
45:56by the
45:56roadside and
45:57stepped back
45:57into the
45:58rain.
45:58Noah asked,
45:59Want me to
46:00tell him to
46:00leave?
46:01I shook my
46:01head.
46:02No, let him
46:03stand there.
46:04Some of that
46:05cold, he's
46:05earned.
46:06I laid that
46:07belated honor
46:07notice at her
46:08grave, unopened.
46:10More than any
46:10medal, I wanted
46:12her to know.
46:13I hadn't
46:14forgotten the
46:15way home,
46:17and that I
46:18never truly
46:18abandoned her.
46:21Ethan came to
46:22the cemetery
46:23too.
46:24He didn't
46:24come close,
46:25he just stood
46:26far off.
46:27Later, he
46:28handed me a
46:28letter.
46:29It read,
46:30I owe your
46:31mother an
46:31explanation,
46:32and I owe
46:32you my
46:33trust.
46:33I finished
46:34reading, folded
46:35the letter, and
46:36handed it back
46:36to him.
46:37He said,
46:38I'll wait for
46:38you.
46:39I said,
46:40Don't.
46:40His eyes
46:41reddened.
46:41I really do
46:42love you.
46:45When you
46:45should have
46:45loved me most,
46:46you chose to
46:47believe Mia.
46:48It was as if
46:48those words nailed
46:49him in place.
46:50I went on.
46:52It's not me you're
46:52chasing now.
46:53It's the possibility
46:54that I might
46:55still forgive you.
46:57Ethan said,
46:59I'll resign.
47:00I looked at him.
47:00Resigning isn't a
47:01sacrifice.
47:02I don't need you to
47:03destroy yourself to
47:04prove your love.
47:05He whispered,
47:06What else can I do?
47:07I answered,
47:08Live and remember.
47:10Remember how you
47:10didn't believe me.
47:15Ethan began compiling
47:16all the evidence
47:17into a public file.
47:18With every document
47:19he added,
47:20he emailed me.
47:21Only the facts,
47:22never the longing.
47:23I didn't reply,
47:24but I read every one.
47:25Not because I still
47:26loved him,
47:27but because I needed
47:27to confirm he'd
47:28finally learned to
47:29respect the truth.
47:31One night,
47:32he sent a final
47:32message.
47:33I'll hand Mia over
47:34to the investigation
47:35team,
47:36and I won't plead
47:37for any leniency
47:37for her again.
47:40I sent back
47:41one line.
47:42This is what you
47:43owe the truth,
47:44not me.
47:45A few minutes
47:46later,
47:47he replied,
47:47I know.
47:49The second line
47:50came much later,
47:51but I still owe you
47:51a lifetime.
47:52I turned off the screen.
47:54This time,
47:54I didn't soften,
47:55and I didn't look back.
48:00That night,
48:01I dreamed of the
48:01return capsom
48:02tearing through
48:02the atmosphere.
48:04The flames were bright.
48:05I no longer looked
48:06toward the command
48:07station.
48:08I only heard
48:09my own voice.
48:09Return procedure
48:10nominal.
48:11Ethan bowed his head
48:13and, at last,
48:14stopped pleading.
48:15I knew the burning
48:16had truly begun.
48:17He'd finally understood.
48:19He had no right
48:20to rush in
48:21and put out the fire.
48:24The Mars program's
48:25old systems
48:25were in crisis again.
48:27The orbital station
48:28had lost attitude control,
48:29and someone fluent
48:30in the old manual
48:31protocols was needed
48:32to take over remotely.
48:33The deputy administrator
48:34said to me,
48:34Commander Carter,
48:35you can refuse.
48:37Ethan rushed
48:38into the control room.
48:40Her body can't take him.
48:41I looked at the red alert
48:42on the screen.
48:43This time,
48:44no one is forcing me
48:45to stay.
48:45Ethan's voice shook.
48:47Evelyn,
48:47it's my choice.
48:48He finally stepped back
48:50to the flight control desk
48:51and stopped deciding
48:52for me.
48:53When the link came up,
48:55he said,
48:56Private channel,
48:57triple backed up.
48:59No one can alter it.
49:00I watched the data stream.
49:01Do your job.
49:02At the most dangerous
49:03point of the rescue,
49:05Ethan's voice came
49:06through the headset.
49:07I trust your judgment.
49:08I stared at the
49:09spinning orbital map,
49:10my fingertips unnervingly stable.
49:12I'd waited three years
49:14to hear that line.
49:15Hearing it now,
49:16I only felt it had
49:17finally clicked into place,
49:18like a screw
49:19that arrived too late.
49:20When the new crisis hit,
49:22everyone turned to me.
49:23The same people
49:24who'd once called me
49:24emotionally unstable
49:25now waited for my orders.
49:26I said,
49:27Thruster 3 to manual.
49:29Life support to the backup loop.
49:30Don't wait for ground approval.
49:32Someone hesitated.
49:33After the Vaughn case,
49:34procedural review is strict.
49:36I looked at him.
49:37Procedure exists to save lives,
49:39not to make the living
49:40wait to die.
49:41In the headset,
49:41Ethan didn't cut in.
49:42He just lit up
49:43every open permission
49:44for me one by one.
49:45His message appeared
49:46on the screen.
49:47You command.
49:48I'll stay out of the way.
49:49I didn't reply.
49:50But in that moment,
49:51I knew he'd finally learned
49:53the most basic thing
49:54about love.
49:55Don't make the decisions
49:56for me.
49:57This time,
49:58he didn't speak of love
49:59or beg forgiveness.
50:00He just kept verifying
50:01the comes link
50:02over and over.
50:03Trust that came too late
50:04no longer traded
50:05for my turning back.
50:08After the rescue succeeded,
50:10the Mars program's files
50:11were re-exaliated.
50:12My name was restored
50:13to the first-class
50:13commendation record,
50:14and that mistake
50:15was written back
50:16into the accident report.
50:17Mia was prosecuted
50:18for tampering with communications,
50:19leakering private medical data,
50:21and facifying mission records.
50:22Vaughn the Elder fell,
50:23and several officials
50:24were suspended.
50:25Ethan resigned
50:27as flight director.
50:28He returned
50:29the Moondust pendant to me.
50:30There was no ring
50:31in the box.
50:34He said,
50:36I'm not asking you
50:37to come back.
50:40I only want to return
50:41what's yours.
50:43I took the pendant.
50:46Then this is where it ends.
50:49The light in his eyes shattered.
50:54I'll wait,
50:55however long it takes.
50:58Life has its return windows too.
51:02Once you miss one,
51:04you shouldn't keep
51:04trapping each other.
51:10A year later,
51:12I was promoted
51:13to head of deep space
51:14mission training.
51:15At the ceremony,
51:17the host read out my name.
51:19Evelyn Carter,
51:21lead operator
51:22behind the full crew survival
51:24of the Mars mission.
51:28As the applause rose,
51:30I didn't look at Ethan.
51:35I looked at the row
51:36of young astronauts
51:37in the training center.
51:39They would fly further
51:41than I ever had,
51:42and I would teach them
51:44that no mission
51:44is worth the cost
51:46of silencing
51:46a single voice.
51:48After the ceremony,
51:49someone asked me,
51:50Commander Carter,
51:50do you still want
51:51to go back to space?
51:53I looked up
51:54at the launch tower.
51:55Of course,
51:56but next time,
51:57it won't be to return
51:57to anyone's side.
51:59Press asked where
51:59accept Ethan's apology.
52:00He can apologize,
52:01and I can choose
52:02not to accept it.
52:03Do you still believe
52:03in love?
52:04Someone else asked.
52:06I looked out the window
52:07at the young trainees.
52:09I do.
52:10But love shouldn't demand
52:12that someone stay silent,
52:14and it shouldn't dress up
52:15favoritism as protection.
52:17Ethan stood at the edge
52:18of the crowd.
52:19Hearing that,
52:19he slowly lowered his head.
52:21I didn't look away
52:22from his gaze.
52:23I simply closed my hand
52:24around the pendant.
52:25It wasn't a relic
52:26of an old love.
52:27It was the self
52:28I reclaimed from their lies.
52:29I'm going back for myself.
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