Mission record, Ares IV

Numerous log entries were kept in the mission record kept aboard the Ares IV. They were recorded by Lieutenant John Kelly.

In 2376, these mission records were found by Seven of Nine, who played them while she was aboard the Ares. (VOY: "One Small Step")

Entries

• "...and I can't get a fix on my position. But I'm alive and the CM seems to be intact. I'm inside this whatever it is."

• "What I've gotten myself into. It's very calm, like I'm in the eye of a hurricane. It's a little spooky but the way I figure it. If there's a way in, there's got to be a way out. I'm gonna fire up the spectral imager before I initiate another engine burn, collect as much data as I can. Jeannie, I may not be bringing you back the Mars rock, but I promise you, I'm going to do everything I can to get home."

• "Ares Four, mission record, October 23rd. I'm starting to feel like Jonah. How long was he in the belly of that whale? Three days? I got him beat by a day or two already. The EM interference is disrupting communications and LIDAR, and I can't see the stars. There's no way I can get a fix on my position. If this thing's moving as fast as it was when it pulled me in I could be a long way from Mars by now. The imager's been working overtime cataloging all the matter in here, but a lot of it defies analysis. I think we're going to need to make room on the periodic table. Where the hell am I? Power levels have dropped another 15 percent since my last systems check. I think I just saw another spacecraft. Either that or all this dehydrated food has gone to my head.

• "I've got it. The hull's made of some kind of alloy. I can't make heads or tails of it. I shouldn't have been so dismissive. I remember giving Kumagawa a hard time when she claimed she saw a UFO over the Gulf. I told her it was a meteor or another piece of Mir. I guess I owe you an apology, Rose."

• "Ares Four, mission record, October 25th. It's been a nice place to visit but I'm ready to come home. I've prepped the ion drive, channeled all the power from the thruster reserves into the main tank. I have enough fuel for one last engine burn. Wish me luck. Ignition sequence, 5, 4, 3, 2. I'm losing pitch control. Gyros aren't responding. Power failure. I've got to abort. I'm not going to make it."

• "All systems go. Watch me Dad, I'm flying. Boom. Bad landing. Call a Med Evac team. Ha! John Kelly's first flight, not exactly A-OK. Remember that, Dad? Jumped off the roof with a parachute made of blankets. I guess I didn't calculate the aerodynamics. Of course, I was only six. I guess this is John Kelly's last flight. This time I can't blame it on pilot error. This time no regrets."

• "Oh, what I've seen proves we were right to come out here. We're not alone, I know that now. The module's losing power. I'm taking life support off line. Rerouting whatever's left to the imager. Keep it running as long as possible. Mission Control, Dad, whoever finds this, do me a favor. Take all the data I've collected. Put it to good use. I hope you don't look at this as a failure. I don't. Actually, I do have one regret. I never found out who won the World Series. I'm tired. I can't..."