But while he might have spent those years developing almost a desperation for company, his brain still spent them adjusting to not having anyone around to deal with. And unadjusting, once a situation has improved, is one of those things the human brain is notorious for having difficulty with. So sometimes, Mark gets overwhelmed. Sometimes he gets to the point where he absolutely cannot stand the thought of having another human being in his sights.
The people who actually know him and care about him are very aware of this. So they know that when it is time for him to go up to his little cabin in the mountains alone for a week, that is what he is doing. Nobody offers to go with him. If his brain turns around and his finds himself in desperate need of company halfway through the week, he'll call, and his family and friends and the entourage he really tries to keep to a minimal size even make sure there'll always be someone who could get to him within a couple of hours, and someone who can stay on the screen with him until then.
It varies whether he needs the entire week to himself completely or not. Sometimes, after a day or so, he'll send a general text around saying he's open for visitors, although often he'll ask if they only come if there's something they really need to talk to him about. This time, he does so, with that cavet. When Martinez immediately texts back that he needs to talk, Mark ends up seriously worried someone they both know might have cancer or something.
(Later, he will learn that Martinez withstood considerable pressure to contact him during the twelve hours before then. He really does love the guy.)
He's pretty good and braced for company again when the knock comes on his door. "Can I hug you, man?" Martinez asks when he answers it, and wow, he looks frazzled. Mark's good with that; in fact, he pulls him into one. They hold each other for longer than either initially thought they would.
Eventually they go in and settle down with drinks. "I'm gonna need 'em for this one," Martinez says. "I'm afraid I'm here on behalf of NASA. They've got a favor to ask of you."
Mark thinks about that for a moment. "You know I'll do whatever they want if it doesn't endanger my mental health. Shoot."
"So, this is going to take a little explaining. And of course it actually started with their need to rescue you. You may recall that in return for their probe, China made NASA promise they'd include a Chinese astronaut on the crew of the Ares V. It was a promise NASA was happy to make, of course, and they probably even viewed as a very good idea anyway at the time. But of course, China really did make it sound like they'd let NASA chose which Chinese astronaut."
"They didn't stick to that part?" Mark sighs.
"For the record, I get the impression the CNSA people genuinely wanted to," says Martinez. "I mean, they get it. They understand that NASA has to choose whoever fits best with whom. But who's going to get to be the first Chinese taikonaut on Mars? I suppose it was inevitable the politicians were going to get involved.
Honestly, it might have been better if they'd done it earlier. But they actually waited until NASA had chosen one guy, and they sent the paperwork for CNSA to sign off on, and that was when the CNSA was apparently told no, they had to insist NASA instead take this different guy who someone high up in the government wanted. He doesn't even seem to be a bad guy; they've forbidden me to tell you who he is, but I met him, and he seems okay. Feel really sorry for the other guy, though. Talk about the most crushing event of you life."
The two of them take a moment to drink, and to look at each other in commiseration. Mark wonders if Martinez was forbidden to name him, too, or if he just thinks it kinder to him not to. Whoever he is, he's probably better off not having to spend the rest of his life with everyone in their little community looking at him with pity in their eyes.
"And meanwhile, China ended up not being the only country getting a quota spot on the crew. You've probably heard a bit by now about how badly the Russians also want one of their own on Mars. And yeah, there was no way that was happening on the first three missions, but it's been a few more years now, the country's been on very good behavior lately, and apparently NASA decided that it might be time. I've heard some claims of money being involved, but nothing with any real evidence, so...
And here I am allowed to name names, because you're going to have to know them anyway. You've heard, I'm sure, of Evgeni Vodranov?"
"All too much." They've all heard stories of Vodranov, the young and handsome Russian cosmonaut who also spent part of his life in the U.S., and has managed to be an asshole in both typical Russian and typical American ways. The next detail of this is obvious, but still Mark asks in disbelief, "They seriously didn't choose him for the mission, did they?"
Martinez shrugs. "I definitely would've ruled him out for something this long based on personality, but I don't know, apparently they failed to. Although while I'm not allowed to name even our commander, I will say that if they left it up to him, like they left the question of Aldrin up to Armstrong back in the day, he might have okayed it; he's that sort of guy. Obviously, it must have helped that back when they had the first Chinese guy on the crew, his skillset was the one that matched..."
"Except now it doesn't anymore, and they've had to replace him?" Mark successfully guesses.
"Got it. They actually got off pretty lucky, I suppose, in that they only had to switch him out to make it work, in favor of Aliona Nelidin."
Mark's heard of her, too, though more vaguely. The main thing he knows about her is that she's young, and very recently out of training; she probably was selected largely for the reason Martinez just stated. But Vodranov isn't that much older, and he finds himself saying, "Please don't tell me he's mad because he got switched out for a woman."
"I don't actually know why he's mad," says Martinez. "I haven't seen him since they told him. I don't think he needs to be, though. I think being switched out at all is more than enough for him. In any case, he's definitely very, very mad. Mad enough, that he's threatening to go public with everything."
"Oh shit." It was bad enough when word got out that NASA has promised the spot on the Ares V to the Chinese, and there at least they'd had the excuse of rescuing him, one that had allowed them to get away with a lot. If the U.S. right-wing pundits, especially those who were still openly sympathetic to Russia, got their hands on the information that China's space brass had decided members of the Ares crew (who exactly in China was at fault would be irrelevant)...the government might even be pressured into conducting an inquiry over it. It would be ugly.
It might even trigger war within NASA itself. Mark's never known all the details, but everyone's known there's been tension in the organization ever since they first did what they had to do to survive the 2020s, and both too many employees who hate working with the Russians and too many employees who hate working with the Chinese. The first group is big enough NASA might only be able to get away with having a Russian cosmonaut on the crew if they weren't sure she'd been picked because she was Russian, and this story would put that beyond a doubt.
Honestly, he thinks, how could NASA have been so stupid as to even consider Vodranov for this? He would have done nothing but exacerbate the anti-Russian sentiment within the organization. They've arguably gotten lucky they've been obliged to replace him with a young and, he believes, photogenic woman, who might just be able to make herself likable to them.
"Yeah," Martinez was saying in agreement. "And his bosses aren't too happy about this either. As far as they're concerned, if some upstart space power like China must bully the U.S., it should at least not be at their expense. I think that we're still taking a Russian to Mars is helping with that a little, but it might even be making some of them angrier, that China got to pick theirs and now they didn't, and probably some of them are sexist pigs, too, who are mad we're going with the young woman. At least they're not likely to go public themselves, for multiple reasons, but they might not try too hard to stop Vodranov. At least not without some favors."
"And so that's what they need from me?" Mark asks. "How much do they need me to do?"
"Well, then, just bad news first," says Martinez, "they don't know yet. But to follow that up with the worse news, the one thing I'm sure you going to have to do is do a meet and greet with Vodranov. You know you're his personal hero."
"Of course I am." Mark's long used to being the personal hero to a lot of people, young, budding astronauts especially. Vodranov won't even be the first one of them he's met whose shown themselves to be a terrible person. He won't even be the first one of them he's felt the need to make nice with.
Still, this one might be a much harder task than usual. "If they expect me to directly talk him out of going to the media about all this..." he starts.
"I hope not," says Martinez. "I really do. I would think the whole world would know better than to expect that of you." He grins, and Mark manages to grin back.
"I do know it can't be just him, either," said Martinez, "because of course we're going to need the Russians to pay for all this. They'll be happy for it to be you flying there and talking to their trainees. You can do your normal routine for that. Somewhere in it, Vodranov will show up. Have lunch with him, nod and commiserate with whatever he says, hope he doesn't say anything truly offensive about Nelidin-yes, the reason I was allowed to tell you her name is because he probably would anyway. If their officials invite you anywhere, say yes. That's probably for you to make nice with whoever else you have to make nice with. They won't dare take you anywhere dangerous, you know that."
That, at least, is true. "Well," Mark says, "I've made nice with the space barons. And I've made nice with Russians and Chinese, too, though the majority of those haven't been bad people. If it spares NASA and especially the next Ares crew a huge headache, I can make nice with Evgeni Vodranov."
"Thanks, man." Martinez might have slumped a little in his relief. "I don't know exactly when they'll need you. There's probably someone on the phone or screen or whatever with the Russians right now making arrangements, but it's gotta take at least a few days. You'll be able to finish your vacation out. But it's going to have to be before they announce the crew, obviously."
"That's still sometime next month?"
"Maybe more near the end of it," Martinez shrugs. "They're not yet admitting all this switching out is going to delay it, but I gotta think it will at least a little. As I said, I've met my new Chinese crewmate, and he's already started the testing, and Nelidin will as soon as she's in Houston; she might be on that plane right now."
Hearing that made Mark decide something else. "I think I'd like to set a condition on this. I want to meet your crewmates, too, before the announcement. I know it probably would've happened later anyway, but if I have to deal with those people..."
"Fair enough," says Martinez. "And I'm sure they can manage that. Especially since I know the commander and our fifth person will be really excited about it, and hell, our two newcomers probably will be, too."
He's smiling, so Mark is, too. Until he then says, "I don't suppose...if it would comfort the Chinese guy who got booted?"
"I'm pretty sure it wouldn't. Sorry, man."
Mark suspected as much. He takes another, long drink from his glass. "You want to stay here with me, for the rest of the week? I'm getting the feeling this has been a very stressful few days for you, hasn't it?"
"Oh, man..." Martinez actually chuckles. "I'm not completely sure NASA will allow the whole time, but...let me sleep on it here? I haven't really gotten to sleep properly in a day and a half, even."
On hearing that, Mark promptly says, "Okay, you're staying here the entire time. NASA can do without you for that long, if they're going to want me for almost certainly longer. Also, given the company they're about to force me into, they owe me yours."
He knows it's the right call when he sees Martinez's relieved smile. "Thank you," he says. "So...you want to do a group call with the others while we're here? I'm afraid we can't tell them about all this yet either, though I imagine Johannson's going to meet with Nelidin at some point. She can brace her for all the stuff the rest of us didn't have to deal with."
"Maybe on our last day here," says Mark, and he feels himself smile, truly smile, for the first time since he got Martinez's first text. "Though what a story we'll have to tell all of them when we're all together in person again." They're not sure that'll actually happens before Martinez flies away for years again, but they're certainly going to try. And they will tell them everything, then. Neither NASA nor anybody else gets the right to interfere with that.