But food would have to wait. The slime coating, which was beginning to chill his extremities needed to be washed away. Willard stepped into the small bathroom, dropped his boxers into the sink and slid into the shower. He rested his head on the shower stall wall and sighed.

Reaching down, Willard took hold of the shower knob and turned on just the hot. There was a pause as air was noisily forced from the unused pipes. Willard rolled his eyes and thought about the shower in his Moab, Utah apartment. He'd stayed in Moab for two years, working at a gas station and mountain biking on the weekends. That was the beginning of his love for all things extreme, but no one else in Utah was—

His mind cleared with the realization that he was awake. And that meant he was in orbit around Europa, a moon of Jupiter—in space!

He was about to let out a victory cheer when the telltale pops and gurgling noises of approaching water caught his attention. It burst from the shower head and coated Willard's body.

He let out a scream and struggled to shield himself from the jet of water, shouting, "Cold! Cold!"

*   *   *   *   *

Connelly reclined in her chair positioned on the side of a very long, oval table. The chair, which was vaguely shaped like a clamshell felt strangely comfortable. Peterson and Choi sat across from her, while Robert was to her right and Captain Harris was seated at the head of the table. All were freshly showered and had completed the three month journey in perfect health.

Peterson shifted in his chair. "Should someone go look for him?"

Robert nodded. "Maybe his impact chair malfunctioned?"

"Unlikely," Choi said. "All systems are green across the board. His chair deactivated with the others."

Robert twisted his lips in thought. "Ethan has been known to take long showers."

"Malfunctioning chair or long shower," Harris said, "It doesn't change the fact that we have a schedule to keep."

Connelly sighed. "I'll go find him." Connelly stood and turned to the entryway.

The doors slid open and Willard walked in wearing a blue bathrobe and a white towel wrapped around his head. "Doesn't this billion dollar spaceship have hot water?"

"Of course." Harris said. "Why?"

"I prefer my drinking water ice cold, and my shower molten hot. The showers here—not hot. Very cold." Ethan took the empty seat to the right of Robert.

Connelly sat back down. "Mine was fine."

Choi made eye contact with Willard. "Maybe someone thought you needed a cold shower?" She smiled sarcastically.

"Was that a joke?" Willard said. "You joke? And, by the way, I haven't forgotten that trick you played before we left."

Robert turned to Willard. "What trick?"

Willard took a deep breath. "I was having trouble getting into—"

"Gentlemen." Harris's voice was calm but firm. "We have more important things than cold showers to talk about."