The steam, which had formed a cloud over a fifty foot radius began to cluster and refreeze. The gravity of the moon, while weak, was still strong enough to pull the ice crystals back to the surface. Connelly held her hands out as the newly formed snowflakes descended.

A chill suddenly shook her body when she realized that the snowflakes looked like the explosive charged particles that had nearly destroyed the Surveyor. She began to imagine what would have happened to the ship if they hadn't been able to clear the cloud. But before her mind could fully commit to the subject, her eyes transmitted new information that took precedence over every other thought in Connelly's mind. The snow and steam had cleared enough that she could see the area the TES sphere had been.

The sphere is gone! she thought.

Connelly took a careful step forward, looking into the newly formed, ten foot wide hole in the ice. Inside was a pool of water, perhaps five feet deep, and below that, beneath the shimmering alien liquid, was the TES sphere, moving steadily downward.

She looked back at Robert and Willard, who wore smiles on their faces. "It's working. TES is working."

*   *   *   *   *

On the trip down from the Surveyor to Europa's surface, Peterson had felt a little apprehensive. He remembered what happened to Benson. The fear in his eyes. The voices he heard before dying. Convulsions. Blindness. Bleeding. All of it in just seconds. But once he had set foot on the moon, he became more relaxed. The beauty of the place usurped all his fears.

Until Choi hit the gas. For three minutes now, she'd been weaving back and forth, dodging ice heaves, taking corners at breakneck speeds, and sending the ATV catapulting in the air as the bounced over rises in the ice.

His immediate protest was met with quick, "Testing the limits of the ATV. Just hold on."

As they headed toward a steep rise in the ice, Peterson decided it would be best to close his eyes. He knew the PMS suit couldn't be torn open and the mask could reseal, but that wouldn't stop an impact from breaking his bones. As they neared the rise, Peterson closed his eyes. He could feel the ATV moving. It's rumbling engine silently shook his torso. Then they hit the steep rise, moving up at rollercoaster speed, Peterson prepared to feel the surface of the moon disappear, and then, maybe a minute later, they would crash back down to the ice and tend to their wounds.

But rather than moving up and out, Peterson suddenly felt himself jam forward into Choi's back. He heard her grunt in his headset. Then they were stopped.

Peterson hopped off the ATV and glared at Choi. "What the hell is wrong with you, Choi? First you try to kill us by driving like a madman and then you try to break my neck by hitting the brakes!"

Choi was motionless.