ah, in reverse, and we learn that the mission restored light, thus earning you bonus points. :P

Great start to a sci-fi story with some familiar themes about isolation, home, and the down side of the adventurous spirit.

Thank you, both! I wanted to start something in the middle of the story in the grand tradition of the Spaceman Spiff strips from Calvin & Hobbes. Those strips inevitably started with the protagonist (crash) landing in the middle of some crazy planet into some sort of misadventure.

Well done, sir. A fine entry into the challenge and a good starter for a bunch of prequels and sequels!

I love the departure from the mundane here. Very nice look at what’s going through the pilot’s head after some bad experiences.

Ya, a lot can be done with this – and I love scifi – so i may just have to participate in a sequel here..

I immediately thought of Spaceman Spiff! You have quite a way with words.

A poignant window looking out into a larger story. Great work!

Very interesting that Mars is apparently the center of human civilization now, and Earth only has “a few colonies back there”. Makes me want to learn more about this setting: did some terrible catastrophe wipe out all life on Earth?

wow this is a good story Jason i like how we gain so much insight about this whole scenario in so few words awesome.