"You don't understand. I can't stop what's begun. If we survive, if any of us survive, Earth will learn about you. I might not tell anyone, but the others…I don't think they will be convinced." Connelly's eyes opened wide. "That's it, isn't it? You wanted me to realize this before you killed us. Our deaths are the only way to protect Europa...to ensure your survival."
Connelly looked down at the floor of the boat. Her jaw became tight and her fingers gripped down. "Do what you need to do. I understand."
"I knew you would," Heather said. She took Connelly's other hand and squeezed it. Heather leaned her face in close to Connelly's. The warm breath from Heather's lips slid across Connelly's cheeks. "Before you go…I give you a gift." Heather pulled Connelly forward and brought their lips together in a soft embrace.
The kiss was like nothing Connelly had ever felt before. Raw energy coursed through her body and into her mind. It felt like Heather was breathing fire into Connelly's soul. A bright light formed at the apex of Connelly's vision and exploded with the violence of a nuclear blast. Connelly screamed as her world turned scorching white.
* * * * *
The transition from boating in the tropics to the starkness of a stone cavern cast in blue light took Robert's mind several moments to process. He realized he was back in the cave system beneath Europa's ocean a second before Willard toppled down next to him. Robert slid over and inspected him.
He was breathing.
He was alive.
Sitting up came as a challenge. His stomach muscles felt oddly numb, as though he'd done a marathon of sit ups. He propped himself up, leaning back on his wobbly arms and found himself, once again, confused. A wall rose before him, as massively tall as it was wide, coated in blue Europhids that blanketed the smooth stone cavern in a soft, comforting glow.
Willard stirred. Robert looked down at his companion and then back to the wall. Had they both been inside the horizontal field of giant blue Europhids? He shook his head, determined not to focus on the eerie details. The events of the past few hours were almost beyond comprehension. He really only had two questions that needed answers.
Where is Kathy? And how do I get her back?
He needed help. "Ethan, you awake in there?" Robert gave Willard a shake.
Willard grunted and rolled from his side onto his back. He shrugged away from Robert's touch like a grumpy teenager taking refuge in a cozy morning bed. "Ugh, just trying to get my thoughts to make sense."
Willard pushed himself up into a sitting position. That's when he saw the wall. "Whoa." He looked at Robert. "Were…were we in their?"
Robert shrugged. "Best I can figure, everything we just experienced was up here." Robert tapped his head with his index finger. "And I can't remember how we got here."
"Something grabbed us back in the caves," Willard said. "I think it was the creatures I told you about. They came from above."
"That cavern was hundreds of feet tall," Robert said. "They couldn't have just jumped down from above."
Connelly landed between them, a motionless heap. After jumping back in fear, Robert realized it was Connelly and dove to her side. He rolled her onto her back and looked at her face. Her color looked good and there were no signs of injury. "Thank God."
Robert jumped a second time when Connelly's eyes snapped open and she sucked in a lung full of air. Her breath came in gulps as she blinked several times to clear her vision. "We…we have to get out of here," she said.
"We will," Robert said, holding Connelly by the shoulders. "But you need to catch your breath."
"There's no time," Connelly said, her voice barley a squeak.
"Boss," Willard said, "we don't even know how to get out of here."
"There's only one way out," Connelly said.
Robert felt an explosion of fear burst in his stomach. "The way we came."
Connelly nodded and struggled to her feet. "The only way out is through the creeps in the other cavern. We can fight our way through. The PMS's will protect us from the brunt of the attack, but the TES sphere needs to be guarded. Without it, we'll never reach the surface."
"What do you propose we do?" Robert asked.
"I'll take care of that when we get there."
"How will we get there?" Willard asked. He did little to hide his annoyance at bringing up the subject again. "We don't know where we are or how to get back."
"I know the way back," Connelly said.
"How?"
Connelly looked at the wall of blue Europhids. "They told me.... Besides, if we get lost, we have guides." Connelly adjusted her view towards the cave's only exit. Two of the hulking, long armed aliens slid into view.
Robert shuddered, realizing that the creatures had been standing there the whole time.
Connelly gazed into Robert's eyes and the oddness of her stare struck Robert. Something was very wrong…but he couldn't place it. Was it the blue light playing tricks, or…
"No more arguing. Let's go," Connelly said. She turned and headed for the exit. She took only two steps before Robert reached out and took her arm. He pulled her around. "Robert, what—"
"I just realized what's different about you," Robert said. "Your eyes…they're blue."
* * * * *
For the first time since showering on Surveyor before leaving for Europa's surface, Connelly saw her own face in the reflection of Robert's face mask. He activated an unnecessary feature of the PMS that would only need to be utilized in Earth orbit—solar shielding. The external surface of the face mask became highly reflective, which distorted the bounced image, but functioned well enough for Connelly to look into the eyes of a stranger…her own.
"My eyes…" Connelly looked at Willard. A moment of hope squirmed through. "Your eyes are blue, too."
Willard shook his head. "My eyes have always been blue."
Connelly knew that. But had hoped the brilliant blue she had seen in his eyes earlier was still there. It wasn't. The solar shield retracted and Robert's frowning face appeared behind it. "All I need to know," Robert said, "Is that you are you."
"I am," Connelly said.
"That's not good enough."
Time was short and the pressure was building. If they didn't escape soon, they and the rest of the Surveyor's crew would die. "What do you want me to do, Robert?" Her voice was loud and forceful. She'd never used a voice like that with Robert, but it came naturally now.
"Prove it, Kathy!" Robert's voice was just as strong.
She was angry because the delay was putting his life in danger. He was angry because he didn't know if she was safe or not.
Connelly placed her hand on his facemask and stared into his eyes. She leaned in, placing their heads together. Close up, their eyes were locked on each other. "Look at my eyes. Look past the color, Robert." She took his gloved hand and squeezed. "I'm me. And if we don't move now, there will never be an us."
Willard clapped his hands on each of their shoulders. "Awesome. That's great. Seriously. Let's go now."
"An us?" Robert asked.
Connelly nodded. "If we live."
Robert stepped back from her. "Lead the way."
Connelly turned to the two aliens who were standing like sentinels by the entryway, their arms undulating gently. "Follow them."
The group was led through a winding series of tunnels that ranged from wide open to congested squeezes. The creatures moved through the tunnels with a grace and speed despite their bulk. Stretching their sticky-tipped arms out, they'd clasp onto a distant wall or outcrop and then lifted their thick toed feet from the ground. They propelled themselves forward in a constant and never ending slingshot motion. Connelly and the others struggled to keep up, and several times the creatures stopped and waited patiently. They moved through the yellow tunnels that Connelly recognized from their previous travels.
After clearing the yellow tunnels, the two aliens stopped dead and held a more guarded stance.
"What do they want?" Willard ask.
"We're taking p
oint from here," Connelly said. They're not coming for the whole trip. Connelly moved to the front with Robert and Willard close behind. She led them through three more tunnels, which were blessedly vacant of any creeps. At the end of the third tunnel was a bright red glow.
The cavern.
Connelly paused twenty feet from the exit. Robert was next to her, his eyes trained on the tunnel opening. "Why haven't we been spotted yet? We're in creep territory."
"The blues are blocking our presence from the creeps. But it won't hold once we enter the cavern," Connelly said.
Willard crouched next to them. "I think you're right about that territory theory. I don't think the big guys are supposed to be here either."
Robert glanced at Willard. "Why's that?"
"They bugged out."
Robert looked back. The two aliens were gone. He could feel Connelly's smile before he saw it. "They're still there, aren't they?"
Connelly nodded. "But we're on our own from here. Ready?"
Robert nodded.
"Last one's a rotten egg," Willard said.
"Hold on," Connelly said.
Robert crinkled his nose. "For what?"
A pressure wrapped around the three of them. Two shimmering appendages struck out and clasped onto the end of the tunnel. The realization of what was about to happen struck Willard and Robert simultaneously.
"Oh crap," Willard said.
"Damnable hell," Robert managed to say before the nearly invisible alien lifted its feet from the cave surface and catapulted them into the cave.
They were half way across the cave before they landed in a patch of red Europhids. The little red creatures broke their fall, but the sudden crushing of fifty or so Europhids put the wall of creeps on high alert. They streamed out by the hundreds, scurrying down the den pocked wall.
"Move!" Connelly shouted, but Willard and Robert were already on their feet and headed for the exit.
Connelly looked back over her shoulder. She saw the two aliens, looking very small now, reach up to the wall above the cave entrance. They latched on with their tendrils and pulled the stone down, collapsing the roof and sealing the chamber. There was no going back and only one way out.
The first wave of creeps hit, but they were thin and no match for the fast moving bulk of the three fleeing crewmates. They plowed through the creatures, flinging them to the sides and crushing them underfoot.
They came within ten yards of the exit, Connelly chanced a look up. She saw a creep army dislodge from the wall and fall toward the floor. It was obvious they couldn't pierce the suits, so they were going to crush them under the weight of their immense numbers.
She dove forward with all the momentum she could gather and tackled Willard and Robert into the cave. The cascade of creeps hit the cave floor and became a jumbled mass of writhing bodies, all squirming to enter the cave and continue the pursuit. The chaos gave the crew precious time to pick themselves up and move into the cave system.
Connelly led the way and in minutes they reached the cave where their adventure had started. The TES sphere was still there and appeared to be intact. They ran for it. "Get inside," Connelly said. "They're coming." Willard and Robert climbed inside while Connelly lingered on the outside.
Robert reached out and offered his hand to Connelly. She ignored it. "Willard, give me your spare air tank and the propulsion pack."
Willard had left both on the floor of the sphere before they departed. He looked down at the equipment. "Why?"
Robert's eyes grew wide. "Connelly…you can't."
"I'm not going to argue. Give me the equipment or I stand here and we all die." Connelly's voice was sharp. It was clear she was taking charge again. In fact, she never felt so confident, so in control. The Europhids had given her more than knowledge of how to escape. They had also removed her anxiety. She was seeing the world with a new clarity. Her actions were well thought out and perfectly timed. What she was about to attempt was insane, but she was coolly confident. The wound to Europa's body would be minor. More importantly, it would provide a distraction that would allow them to get out of the ocean and off the moon's surface. Once the red Europhids recovered from the break in their world-wide connectivity, the hunt would continue.
Willard handed the equipment to her. She strapped the propulsion pack to her back. "Robert, give me the wrench from the toolkit." Robert opened a small compartment, removed a wrench and handed it to Connelly.
"Retract the fins and get the hell back to the surface. I'll be right behind you."
Willard couldn't hide the concerned look on his face. "Boss, what are you planning?"
"Methane gas," Connelly said. "All it's going to take is a spark."
CHAPTER 31 -- IGNITION
Choi swore she could hear an ancient tribe pounding on drums in preparation for a battle. But she was the only warrior around and the drumming pulse was her rapidly beating heart. She clung to the ATV, steering through the maze of ice spires, cracks and divots. Moving fast, each turn and obstacle threatened to throw her from the vehicle. But she didn't let up. She couldn't let up.
She'd been barreling across Europa's surface since she'd seen Peterson approaching TES. Rounding a large chunk of ice, she entered a clearing and could clearly see Peterson, silhouetted by the TES flood lights. She set the ATV on a ruler straight course, heading for Peterson.
She covered the distance in a minute flat and was approaching the vehicle's top speed. As she closed in, she could see that Peterson had yet to begin tampering with the equipment, but he was moving towards the control panel. Then he stopped and turned, as though he could sense her silent approach. Maybe he felt vibrations in the ice? Choi wondered. Figuring out how her surprise attack had failed would have to wait.
It was time for plan B.
Plan A had been to run Peterson down. It was a brutal tactic that was sure to kill her crewmate, but there was also no doubt it would work. She'd felt Peterson's enhanced strength first hand and knew she couldn't face him in hand-to-hand combat and win. Plan B would be slightly less effective and much more painful.
Choi pushed down on the foot rests and rose up in to the air. She planted her feet on the ATV's seat and rode it like a daredevil. She was only feet from Peterson. He was dodging to the side, moving slowly in the low gravity, but fast enough to avoid the straight shot ATV. Taking careful aim, Choi tightened her muscles and then launched herself off the ATV.
Choi curled into a tight ball, hoping to put all of the energy created by the impact into a smaller area, boosting the amount of damage done. As she flew forward, she couldn't see where she was going and prayed her aim was true. If it wasn't…if she missed, she'd plunge straight into the hole melted by TES.
A shot of pain burst in her legs as her feet connected solidly with Peterson's back. Her feet remained in contact with Peterson's arched back even after the blow. She pushed her legs out straight and sent Peterson tumbling forward. The action also slowed her own motion enough for her to make a smooth landing. Choi watched as Peterson toppled over and slammed his facemask into the corner of the solid control panel. He slumped to the metal floor of TES. When Peterson turned to face Choi his eyes were wide with panic and he was gasping for air.
Her attack had gouged a huge hole in the facemask. But she could already see the self healing materials kicking in. She couldn't reach him to press the attack before the mask was healed, so she stood her ground and prepared for the worst. Peterson held onto the side of the control panel and pulled himself up. His face was covered in dense sweat that trickled over his skin. He was suffering from more than the blow Choi had just given him. She was sure of it.
"We felt what you did to the others," Peterson said, his voice wavering slightly. "Twenty thousand three hundred and five of our kind. Destroyed by your plague." Peterson began a steady advance toward Choi. "Their deaths and sacrifice will pale in comparison to the suffering you will experience before you are decontaminated."
Choi clenched her fists. "You bro
ught me to them. It was you who passed the plague on. You broke quarantine. You are to blame for their deaths."
Peterson snarled and lunged forward. Choi attempted to dive away, but one of his hands caught hold of her boot. He pulled her to the ground. In the next instant, Choi was pulled up by her legs and tossed toward the TES pit.
He's trying to throw me in! she thought.
She landed just short.
Choi regained her footing as Peterson reached her. She swung at his head and connected solidly, but the pain in her hand far outweighed the jolt Peterson received. Not conceding defeat, Choi ducked low and swung three left hooks into Peterson's side. Her punches had no effect. Peterson brought his arm up and caught Choi under her chin with his forearm. She sprawled backwards, closer still to the hole melted in the ice.
Peterson reached her before she made it to her feet.
"Time to feel real pain," Choi said through her blood soaked mouth. Balanced on one knee, she took careful aim and snapped her fist out like a striking snake. She connected dead on with Peterson's crotch. It was a blow that would have sent even the most disciplined man to the floor.
Peterson reacted like a castrated man. He smiled.
"I have disconnected the pain sensors in this mind," Peterson said. "You cannot stop what I am about to do."
Peterson swung his leg out and punted her into the TES hole. She descended ten feet before bouncing off the frozen wall. The impact knocked her unconscious. She didn't even feel the water envelop her body as she entered the Europian ocean and sunk into the frigid depths.
* * * * *
Robert and Willard had left the cave a full minute ago, moving quickly after learning Connelly's suicidal plans. Robert had put up a momentary fuss, but she squelched it quickly. Their feelings might be out in the open, but she was in charge and ultimately, he respected her decision. They'd retracted the fins and sailed easily out of the watery cave and into the open ocean.
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