Connelly let out a scream, but it caught in her throat as she felt her feet leave the floor. She was yanked up and continued to rise for what seemed a full minute. During that time, trapped in the darkness, limbs dangling helplessly, Connelly felt her anxiety return. But this time it was masked by the cancerous despair. She'd failed Robert and Willard. And she was about to share in their morbid fate.

IMMUNE SYSTEM

CHAPTER 28 -- TOPSIDE

A flashing yellow hell greeted Harris as he came to, hours later. Wailing electronic screams rang in his ears like tortured souls. The stench of smoke and blood assaulted his nose. He really was in hell. Hadn't he lived a good life? If a child dropped a toy, he'd pick it up. If an old woman needed help carrying groceries, he'd help. He'd been a regular Boy Scout all his life, but he ended up heading south for the long winter?

Someone began shouting at him as he floated free, feeling neither floor beneath or ceiling above. The words were just beyond him, meshed with a loud rumbling—the fiery embers of Hades being stoked. Harris gritted his teeth as he began to sort through the chaos. The voice droned on. Insistent and toneless. Electronic…

The devil is a robot, Harris thought.

The ridiculousness of the thought snapped Harris into a fully aware state. The voice sounded clear, "WARNING…ORBIT FAILING…WARNING…"

The warning systems on the Surveyor were designed in tiers, increasing in severity with every passing minute. It began with a flashing light. This was followed by a text message on all the ships video screens. The text on the screen would then begin flashing, accompanied by a loud beep. The beeping would become a loud wailing throughout the ship. Anyone onboard would be hard pressed to ignore it. And finally, the ship's computerized voice would announce exactly what was going wrong, repeating over and over, until the situation was averted, the system was reset, or the entire crew and ship had been destroyed. The fact that the voice was chanting the same message over and over again meant that whatever had happened to the Surveyor occurred several minutes ago, at least.

"WARNING…ORBIT FAILING…WARNING…" The ship repeated. Harris bit down harder as the message sunk in. The Surveyor was headed towards Europa's surface. They were going to crash.

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.