Imagine working your whole life and getting a chance to be the first person to set foot on Mars(which you earned) and then the incompetent piece of shit who broke his own ship, bolts off the ship and tries to steal a historic honor from you.
I swear, that man would find himself looking like Arnold in Total Recall shortly after that!
It was a total dick move on his part, but worth it for the image of him and Poole fighting their way down the ramp (while the rest of the world thought they were stepping onto Mars together).
That part didn't seem very realistic. You don't just bolt out the door on Mars. And if you're rescued by another ship (space or sailing or whatever), you are bound to obey the captain, or you end up in the brig. Any astronaut from any nation would know better than to ignore the chain of command, for the safety of all.
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