Harris focused all his energy on understanding his surroundings and situation. He was in the control center still. Peterson had left him for dead. Harris could see the blood stain on the floor. The wound on the back of his head was crusted over. He squinted. Something wasn't right.
Focus…
I'm floating, he realized
Artificial gravity was out.
Harris stretched his legs up and away. He connected gently with the ceiling and glided towards the floor. He latched onto a chair and dragged himself over to the command console, where all the ship's systems could be attended to. Fearing sabotage, Harris ran a preliminary status check. There was no internal damage to any of the ships systems, though several were shut down or malfunctioning. What caught Harris's eye were the external sensors. They were lit up like the Los Angeles Lights Festival.
The hull was taking a pummeling.
Harris worked the manual controls for the ceiling, turning it clear without the need for one of the remotes. The view was beautiful at first glimpse, but it quickly turned sickening as Harris remembered what he was seeing.
A plume of charged particles spread out before the Surveyor. He knew in that instant that he was in the middle of a frappe-thick cloud of the little bombs. He had no doubt that the thousands of mini explosions wracking the hull pushed the ship out of a stationary orbit. He had yet to determine how long the Surveyor had been falling and how far. The answers to those questions would tell him if he would live or die in the next few minutes.
He sent his query to the computer. As he waited the few seconds it took the system to work the thousands of variables affecting the ship, he did his best to block out the screaming alarm, which pulsed in synchronized beats along with the pain in his skull. When he saw the text flash on the screen, he got the one answer he didn't expect: results unknown.
What the computer was telling him was, you can get out of this if you do absolutely everything right. Under normal circumstances, Harris would feel confident in his training and knowledge, but in his current condition…. As Harris rubbed his hand over his head, an automatic reflex, he felt the thick glob of dried blood on the back of his head. The wound made him think of his humanity, of his crew—they were in danger too. They were his responsibility. He was the captain. If he died, they all died.
"Not acceptable," he said.
He had just minutes to formulate and implement a plan. Step one, shut off the damn alarm.
In ten seconds, he had the alarm system shut down. As the lights ceased flashing and the alarm went silent, his mind did the one thing he couldn't afford it to do, went blank.
* * * * *
Choi's arms shook like she was performing a handstand during a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. She had the ATV pegged to full speed and was cruising across the rough Europian terrain. Even without the sample trailer, which she had left behind, the ATV held sufficient weight to keep it planted firmly on the moon's surface. But at her current speed, even the weight of the modified four-wheeler would do little to keep her on the ground for long.
Rounding a spire of ice, Choi eased up on the throttle. The turn was tight, and for a moment she rode on two wheels, skirting the edge of danger like a carnival trick car. She moved her weight to the opposite side, knowing that if she fell over sideways the ATV might come down on top of her. All four wheels returned to the ice, just in time. A wall of ice, too steep to climb, blocked her path. Worse than that, the area was full of ruby red Europhids.
Choi hammered the brakes. The wheels caught, but the vehicle's speed was too great. The ATV slid into the Europhid coated area, plowing a red smeared path as it skidded over the ice. After ten seconds of sliding, the ATV came to a stop. With a quick jerking motion, Choi looked at her surroundings. She searched for Peterson, watching for an ambush. It never came.
She noticed the Europhids again. They had closed in around her, moving so subtly that she hadn't noticed their approach. She had no intention of repeating the bloodletting that allowed her to escape the cave. Her nose still stung and breathing was difficult through her congested nostrils.
Choi revved the engine in an attempt to frighten the Europhids, but it had little effect. Choi then realized that the roaring engine made no noise at all while in the vacuum of space. As the Europhids continued inching forward, propelled by unseen rows on phalanges on their underside, Choi realized there was another way she could use the ATV against them.
Squeezing the front brakes, Choi locked the front wheels in place. With her other hand, she twisted the throttle to full, sending the back tires into a mad spin. Vibrations from the wheels swirling across the frozen ice reverberated up Choi's spine and into her skull. She knew the tires would do much worse to the Europhids.
With a quick jerk, Choi turned the handle bars of the ATV. The vehicle spun around, its back end swinging out, while its two front tires spun in a rigid circle. As the ATV came around it caught the edge of the approaching Europhids, shredding and splattering them across the others. The violent act seemed to spur the others into action.
The Europhids sprang forward all at once, leaping up in the low gravity, and descending towards Choi.
Leaning to the side to maintain her balance, Choi saw the incoming assault and smiled. She knew the flaccid creatures didn't stand a chance. As the first wave hit, a geyser of crimson guts exploded into the low atmosphere like a brilliant firecracker. Choi was slightly surprised to see the Europhids continuing their fruitless assault. They kept coming—a constant barrage of rubber flesh spewed up and around, like frogs in an open blender.
As the ATV continued its shredding revolutions, Choi noticed that each consecutive spin had less power. She was slowing down. She tried twisting the throttle, but it was at full speed. Choi glanced down at her rear wheels and noticed a mash of red flesh and oozing innards gumming up the axles.
"Shit," Choi said as she realized what was happening. If the internal workings of the ATV got any more gummed up, it might not run at all. The Europhids weren't attacking, they were stalling.
Buying time.
For Peterson.
Choi eased up on the gas and slid to a stop. The Europhids immediately went for the wheels, clinging to them like blood starved leeches. Choi threw the ATV into reverse and hit the throttle. The wheels spun in the opposite direction, sending a spray of Europhid remains into the air. The ATV lurched backwards, plowing through the crowd of Europhids.
Satisfied that enough of the gelatinous creatures had been dislodged from the axles, Choi shifted into drive and launched forward. In fifteen seconds she was at top speed. In twenty she had cleared the remaining Europhids, swerving onto clear ice. As the remaining red ooze cleared from the ATV's system, Choi felt a jolt as the vehicle's speed jumped.
With clenched fingers, Choi worked her way around the wall of ice that had blocked her original approach. Feeling like a pin ball, Choi dodged in and out of ice heaves, bounced over small rises and spun around sharp corners. She was running a one woman race and had no idea if she winning.
A clearing opened up in front of her, allowing the ATV to reach higher and higher speeds. Choi realized too late that the clearing was actually a massive ice sheet that had long ago lifted from the flat surface of Europa and refrozen at an angle. Her rapid approach to the edge, which dropped thirty feet straight down, made it impossible for her to stop in time. If she attempted a stop she would simply topple over the edge and land in an uncontrolled crash.
She did the only thing she could; held on tight.
For the second time in her life, Choi felt what it was like to fly; only this time, the solid ATV beneath her body gave her a slight measure of relief. If she were able to land wheels down, the ATV would absorb the brunt of the impact.
At the height of her long arc over the ice, Choi was able to see TES in the distance. Even in the dim light cast by the sun's reflection on Ganymede, TES was easy to make out. Its solid black surface stood out in stark contrast against the pure white ice.
&nb
sp; Choi nearly let go of the ATV as she saw Peterson. He was a hundred yards from TES and closing fast. If she didn't intercept him in time, the TES crew didn't stand a chance. Choi kept the ATV's wheels spinning at full speed. All she had to do was control the landing and she'd be able to continue the chase without missing a beat.
I can do this, she thought, as the ATV began descending towards the surface.
"Round two, Peterson," Choi said. "Round two."
* * * * *
Peterson—the real Peterson—realized he'd become a consciousness without a body. The things he'd seen—that he'd watched his own hands do—he could never have done. After losing control of his bodily functions, he had watched helplessly as he clubbed Harris and left him for dead. He could only observe as he appropriated a lander, stalked Choi and ultimately attacked her.
The long minutes as he hauled Choi's motionless body to a hole in the ice were among the most torturous of his life. He had no idea what had become of her since he shoved her inside and watched her be swallowed down.
It was the Europhids. All of it.
He couldn't begin to comprehend how they'd rendered his mind inert or how they were controlling his limbs, but they were. And that's what kept him from going insane. Blaming the Europhids gave him direction, focus, something to think about other than the horrific deeds he had done. What he wanted, more than anything, more than regaining control of his body, was revenge.
Revenge for Harris.
Revenge for Choi.
Revenge for whatever the Europhids would do with his body next.
He would kill every last one of the little shits until they were wiped off the face of Europa.
"That is why you must be destroyed."
The voice had returned. Peterson clearly remembered his previous encounter with the voice that claimed to be God. He knew it wasn't true. God wasn't a fucking red cucumber.
"You're not God," Peterson said inside his mind.
"No?"
"No."
"Than who?"
"Europhids."
"A ridiculous name. I am God."
"Why bother speaking to me?"
"To understand."
"God understands everything."
The silence that followed inside Peterson's consciousness could have lasted seconds or minutes. In his current state, time had lost all meaning for Peterson. A deep sense of discomfort filled his thoughts, distracting him. It wasn't painful, but the feeling of dread generated within his psyche was intense. Knowing he was under some form of attack, Peterson stubbornly pressed on. "God does not need this body. God does not need me to kill. And God does not fear anything."
"I am not afraid of you."
"I felt your fear…before you went through decon…you stopped. You were afraid."
"I see all there is to see. I know all there is to know. I have power to do all I please. You are insignificant to me. I am—"
"Delusional."
"Silence!"
"You silence me." Peterson had no voice. The mocking tone of his thoughts could not be concealed. The Europhids could not silence him. Apparently, they could control his body and chain his will, but they could not delete him entirely. "You have seen my thoughts. My memories. You now know that I come from a planet far from here. You know there are billions of others, just like me. You know that you are not God."
Again, the silence in Peterson's mind lasted for several moments. When the voice returned it was softer, less rigid. "I am not. I am we. We are billions too."
A breakthrough! Peterson allowed a tinge of relief to build.
"We understand God now…saw God in your mind…the limitless power…. We have always been defined that way. We were…confused. But you have brought us clarity. You would destroy us. Decontamination must be accomplished."
Peterson wanted to shout out a rebuke, but he felt neither his lungs nor his jaw. In an instant he felt the connection with the other consciousness fade away. It had broken off the dialogue. Refocused on its grim task. Decontamination. The Europhids were intelligent, he knew that, but their grasp of reason held a little to be desired.
As Peterson's mind filtered through the conversation, he became aware of his new surrounding. While distracted by the voice, he had failed to pay attention to what his still functioning eyes were seeing. Spread out before him, like a futuristic chip and dip plate was TES. The sphere was still lowered beneath the ice and he was steadily approaching the control panel.
Peterson's mind convulsed. The others would share the same fate as Harris and Choi, and their deaths would be on his hands. Pushing his will with all the determination he could render, Peterson attempted to will control of his body back to himself. The attempt was fruitless.
The only response he received echoed through his mind.
It was the voice again.
Laughing.
CHAPTER 29 -- BLUE
As anxiety welled within her, Connelly found herself reacting in a way she never had before. Her body fell limp. She was helpless as a rag doll in a laundry dryer. She could feel her body being pulled through a series of tunnels. The entire trip was masked in darkness as the creature that had taken her kept a firm grasp on her face plate.
The only hint that she was experiencing severe anxiety was her thought process. She recognized the rapid thought transitions, moving from one horrid topic to the next, seeing every gruesome detail of friends' deaths, imaginary dangers and painful memories exaggerated to the point of hysteria. But she felt no pain in her chest. Her throat never closed.
This anxiety attack was something new. Something she had never experienced or even heard of before. She wasn't sure if it was the extraordinary circumstances that had brought on the attack or the unusual stress of the last few days, but something was affecting her mind in a wildly different way.
Catatonic anxiety.
In many ways, what she experienced seemed a welcome change to the panic she normally felt. This was more subdued. A motionless lump would be hard pressed to make a fool of itself; like she had earlier, when she had turned into a sobbing, hysterical harpy in front of Robert and Willard.
For the first time since her attack began, she felt pain. It streaked across her chest like a razor's edge. And then it was gone.
As though waking from a dream, Connelly's world transformed. A brilliant blue light filled her eyes. After the long minutes of darkness it was like staring into a brilliant azure star. She clenched her eyes shut as her body hovered in mid air for a moment. Then she collapsed onto what felt like a thick rug.
Her first glimpse of the surreal new surroundings left Connelly feeling oddly far from home. True, she had never been further from home, but she couldn't find a single Earthly reference to describe what she was seeing. The floor, which she saw first, was thickly padded with sunflower yellow filaments that looked like billions of bright caterpillars standing on end. The growth covered every inch of the chamber's floor, like wall to wall carpeting.
It was the walls of the room that caught and held her attention next. Every inch of every wall, minus the three exits, was coated in gently undulating Europhids. But these Europhids were unlike any she had seen. They were immense, four foot long rods of gelatinous flesh. Their size alone wasn't what impressed Connelly the most, it was their color. Each Europhid radiated a cerulean glow. The blue coloration varied from organism to organism, giving the walls a varied and stunning texture. "Comfortable" was the only word Connelly could think of to describe the walls. She wanted to crawl into them and fall asleep.
As though a drain had been pulled on Connelly's anxiety reserves, she felt swirls of tension slide down her body and exit through her toes. She felt her muscles relax to the point of not being to hold her torso away from the floor.
The draining anxiety became dammed up instantly when Connelly caught a glimmer of shifting light in the glow of her head lamp. A subtle shift of color that appeared and then faded away again.
She was not alone.
The hu
nched creature that brought her here had lingered, remaining cloaked.
Connelly believed her thoughts must be an open book to the creatures as one by one, ten of the hulks shimmered into view. Their long appendages were folded down in a nonthreatening way and their eyes glowed with the same blue light as the Europhids coating the walls. They stood still and silent, like guardian statues. But Connelly knew better. They were brutishly strong and agile. She would be dead already if they desired. Her PMS may protect her from lacerations, but they could just as easily pummel her to death. She understood it would be effortless for the creatures. So why were they delaying? What did bringing her here accomplish?
Without thinking about communication problems that inherently existed between species that developed on different worlds, Connelly spoke rhetorically. "What do you want with me?"
The creatures remained motionless, silhouetted by the blue light emanating from the Europhid walls.
Connelly pushed herself onto her knees, waiting for some kind of attack. "Why am I here?" she asked.
Two of the creatures moved, causing Connelly to shirk away. They were going to pounce. This was it…
But they simply stood to either side, opening a path to a section of the Europhid wall. Then they were motionless again.
Connelly stood to her feet and looked around. The creatures stood all around her. It was clear they wanted her to move through the open space, to walk towards the wall, but why? Lacking options or the means to plead her case, Connelly moved slowly towards the wall. She stopped a foot away, looking into the glimmering blue flesh of the fragile Europhids.
A smile crept onto her face. She took another step forward, peering at the internal workings of the translucent Europhids.
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