Robert squinted to adjust to the new light. Last time they had been on Europa's surface, the area had been well lit by the distant sun and reflected light from Jupiter's gaseous surface. But now they were on the dark side of Jupiter, where all light was blotted out by the massive nearby planet. The portion of space that Jupiter's body consumed was now solid black. Robert couldn't remember a more empty sky. It was haunting. The only proof that something existed in the black space was the occasional flash of lightning from one of Jupiter's storms, a phenomenon not visible on the lit side.

Robert brought his attention back to the sphere as it locked silently into position. Connelly turned to Willard, who had been working the cranes from the control panel on the other side of the chasm. He was starkly illuminated in the spotlights shining from the TES panels.  "Nicely done. Go ahead and pop the hatch."

Willard nodded and worked the controls. The upper glass half of the sphere glided open like a clam shell. It stopped at a ninety degree angle. Robert motioned to the open sphere with both hands. "Your chariot awaits."

Connelly stepped inside without a word. Robert wondered if she was feeling the same mix of nervousness, excitement and trepidation. Robert stepped up into the sphere and scanned the interior. It was just as he remembered. Four comfortable-looking chairs sat in the center of the sphere, two facing one direction, two facing the other.  The floor was a flat, metal panel, three and a half feet down so that the glass and metal merged at waist level. Three thin stairs leading to the floor marked the only break in computer consoles around the circumference of the sphere's interior. It reminded Robert of a futuristic, alien escape pod.

As soon as Robert took his seat and buckled in next to Connelly, he signaled to Willard with an upturned thumb. "Lock us in."

The hatch slid closed over them. As the sphere's cabin pressurized, Robert became aware of a slight hiss. His heart began to thrum as he thought his suit had sprung a leak, but he quickly realized that with the return of pressurization, also came the return of sound. The hiss was just the cabin being pressurized. But his momentary panic attack was enough to reveal his emotional state. He was on edge. And the ride down to Europa's ocean was going to be a very long elevator ride, ending beneath countless feet of ice. Robert began counting in his head.

One…two…three…

"Start the oxygen feed," Connelly instructed.

"You got it." Willard's voice still rang clear through the sphere's thick outer shell. Through the glass, Robert could see Willard twisting a knob on the side of the TES control panel. A rush of air brushed across Robert's body, though he couldn't feel its coolness through his suit.