A shadow hovering behind a nearby spire of ice caught her attention. The shape looked darker than the view of space behind. It was absorbing the ambient starlight. Choi's mind struggled to comprehend what she was seeing. Was there really something there? Or was this an illusion exaggerated by her theories of other surface dwelling creatures?

Just before Choi dismissed the shadow as nothing, it moved.

She became rigid, focusing her eyes on the ice spire. She didn't know if she should move or not. Was she in danger? Would the creature attack? Choi had no idea. Alien creatures larger than a microbe were not within her field of expertise.

The black shape moved again, this time shifting forward. Choi eased herself toward the ATV. If she had to flee, she wanted to do it fast, not bumbling on her feet. She knew she'd make an easy target to anything accustomed to low gravity. Choi slid on to the seat and gripped the ignition key, ready to speed away at a moment's notice.

The creature inched forward. It stood on two feet, but appeared hunched and its movements were jerky, strange. Choi struggled to see into the dark and noted that the creature also had two arms. It was humanoid…a completely unrealistic evolutionary adaptation, Choi realized.

This was not a local.

Then who?

She didn't have to wait long for an answer.

The figure stepped into the light. Choi saw the face of Peterson staring back at her through his PMS mask. She couldn't read the expression on his face; it made no sense, like a newborn baby attempting to figure out how to use its facial muscles. And his eyes. They were blood red.

Choi's apprehension didn't fade at the sight of her crewmate. She realized that his presence here was completely unsanctioned by Harris, which meant something had gone very wrong on the Surveyor.

Suddenly, Peterson stood up very straight and smiled wide. "I saw you kick that Europhid," he said, shaking his head. "That wasn't a very nice thing to do."

*   *   *   *   *

Cold bit at Willard's body. He was covered by a layer of thermal underwear, a jumpsuit and the PMS, but it wasn't the temperature making him cold. Temperature-wise, the water was warmer than the gripping cold of space. It was the stark loneliness he felt. As a child he had often wondered what it would be like to fall down a bottomless pit. He'd seen several cartoon characters suffer the fate, but could never quite capture what it might feel like—an endless fall.

The barren walls of ice that surrounded Willard as he swam straight down through the TES hole held little interest. He was sure Robert and Connelly had discussed the different layers, which passed every few feet, marked by a slight change in ice color. But to him, this was a boring and lonely descent.

Not for long, he thought.