Connelly spun around, taking in their surroundings. A smear of debris caught her eye. She could see a mass of black twisted metal that used to be TES's three cranes. A loose string of cable was stretched out over the ice like an oil pipeline. Connelly imagined that the sphere had been punted like a kick ball when Surveyor struck it, dragging the cable out behind it. All that was left intact of TES were the three diamond shaped panels and the melted hole that led into the Europian ocean.

"She's gone," Connelly said.

A moment later, Connelly felt Robert's hand on her shoulder. "We can build her again," he said.

Connelly looked up into his kind eyes. "No…we can't."

"Found it!" Choi said, and before explaining herself, began hopping into the distance. "The lander's still intact. We have six minutes to get within range of her shielding or we're going to wish Surveyor had landed on top of us."

*   *   *   *   *

The run back to the lander took only two minutes. Choi had just about left them all in the dust as Willard and Robert dragged Peterson between them. Half way across the ice, Connelly picked Peterson up by the legs and the three of them lugged him to the lander. By the time they arrived, out of breath and twisted with discomfort from the growing nausea, Choi was in the command seat, prepping for take off.

Connelly sat down next to Choi as Willard and Robert strapped Peterson in and took their seats. With the effects of radiation exposure wearing off, Connelly focused on her annoyance. "Where were you?" she said to Choi. "We could have used your help with Michael."

Choi worked the controls. The lander's hatch slid closed and the internal atmosphere and pressure adjusted. Choi removed her helmet and turned to Connelly.

With a brief gasp, Connelly sat back in her chair. "What happened to you?" Choi's face was covered in small lesions that looked like burnt flesh. "I spent a few minutes in the open radiation earlier. You had six minutes…I had three."

Connelly frowned. "Sorry."

"I'll be fine with some treatment," Choi said. "Right now, we need to get back to Surveyor, assess the damage and get the hell off this ice ball."

Connelly was constantly amazed by Choi's control in the face of impossible odds. Since Connelly's alteration by the blue Europhids, she'd discovered that same level of control within herself, but with Choi, it was natural.