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Lance sat near the
window, aboard the Asimov 11. His wife and two friends sat across from him,
reading the contents of the folders in front of them. Matt Ivkantos was at his
right, typing furiously into a laptop computer. They had passed the asteroid
belt over two hours ago. It had been quite unsettling for Lance to see these
monstrous chunks of rock, some the size of a continent, just hurtling through
space. He thought about Mars' two moons, Phobos and Deminos. More than likely,
they were just captured asteroids which had strayed from the main asteroid
belt. It was a sobering though
that one of these massive rocks could have been responsible for the extinction
of the dinosaurs over 65 million years ago. Lance reached for a cup of black coffee
on the table before him, his eyes glued to the contents of his own folder. He
took a brief pull from the cup, and set it back down in its place. All four meteorologists
had gone over the contents of the folders with Matt Ivkantos. The tales were
incredible. There had been over seventy trips to the gas giant. Lance was once again reading a story about two
meteorologists who had managed to photograph a massive tornado extending
downwards from a cluster of thunderstorms. The winds in this tornado were over
seven hundred miles an hour. The twister itself was over fifteen miles in
diameter, and over six thousand feet in length. He was currently looking at the
photographs of the tornado as it extended itself from the side of its parent
thunderstorm down into the darkness below. Lance shook his head. "This tornado is
unbelievable." he said aloud. "Believe it. It's
quite real." Lance looked up to his
right. Matt Ivkantos gazed at the photo. He smiled slightly. "One of the few
tornadoes we were able to catch on micro disc." "All these pictures
are breath-taking, Mr. Ivkantos." said Vicky. "Seeing the real
things up close is even more
amazing." Lance paused. His face
darkened slightly. "I'm sorry about
your losses." Matt's smile disappeared.
He gazed past Lance, out of the ship's window. His features grew hard. "So am I. They were
hard to take. Jace Koralis was young, but had so much talent and promise. After
Jupiter, he was planning on heading out to Saturn, then Neptune. Hector and
Kelly...two of the most knowledgeable exo-geologists I've ever known..." There was uneasy silence
for a moment. Matt looked at Lance, then at the other three meteorologists. His
eyes narrowed. "Not just anyone
would've been allowed to come on this journey. Only the best and most ambitious
are given an opportunity to partake in what we do at the Galileo Research Base.
I've turned down dozens of people. You four are about to get involved in an
adventure few will experience in a lifetime." Matt gazed down at his
watch. He smiled slightly. "Very soon, we'll be
getting into visual range of Jupiter." A beeping noise came from
the table before him. Matt pressed a button on it, and up came a small, thin
monitor. A woman's face appeared on the screen. "Yes,
Josephine?" "Your wife
sir." Matt nodded. "I'll take it." The image changed. A
beautiful woman appeared on the screen. She had short red hair and green eyes.
She smiled warmly. "Welcome back.
You've brought the latest group of explorers with you?" Matt nodded. "I have, Mindy. Four
very bright exo-meteorologists." The woman nodded. "I'm looking forward
to meeting them. See you in about twenty
minutes." "Right." Matt pressed another
button. The screen went dark, and it receded back into the table. Lance looked
outside. His eyes widened in joy. "There it is!!
" The others followed his
gaze. Before them stood the king of planets. The massive gas giant, Jupiter. It floated before them,
surrounded by its impressive array of moons. The Asimov 11 flew nearer. Lance eyed the planet closely. He could
see the Great Red Spot, slowly whirling amongst the surrounding clouds. Even from this distance, Lance and the
others could make out the turbulence in the Jovian clouds. They twisted and
turned, churning with energy. It was a great ocean of multi-colored clouds that swept across the face of the
planet. The ship then turned
towards the left, and the massive planet slowly disappeared from view. In its place appeared
the giant moon, Callisto. The most distant of
Jupiter's moons. The dark moon was heavily
covered with craters. The impacts
themselves were white, revealing the ice underneath the surface. As Lance and the others looked on, a
gigantic complex appeared as the ship crossed the terminator into daylight. A
metallic dome rose from Callisto's surface, glistening in the light of the Sun.
Surrounding the dome were twelve
smaller circles. Appendages from the dome ran out to each of the circles.
Sitting upon nine of these circles were other spaceships, similar to the Asimov
11. The Asimov 11 slowly
began its descent towards one of the circles. It fired its retro-rockets.
Eventually, it touched down gently on the moon's surface. The appendage
sticking out of the dome slowly extended itself towards the Asimov 11. Soon,
there was a dull metallic clang. A few moments passed. Then Lawrence entered the passenger compartment. He
spoke. "We've docked." Matt shut down his laptop
and folded it shut. He rose to his feet. The four meteorologists got up as
well. "Good." Matt
responded. He placed the laptop
under his arm. Matt turned to Lance and the others. "Follow me." Lawrence and Matt walked
towards the front of the ship, followed by the others. They entered a tiny
compartment, and turned left, exiting through the ship's hatch and entering a
long passageway. The group walked
down to the end of it. The passageway expanded into a large compartment.
Standing in front of its entrance was Mindy, Matt Ivkantos's wife. She smiled
warmly. "Welcome back." Matt walked up to her.
They exchanged a quick kiss.
Lawrence turned to Lance and the others. "Your bags will be
brought to your quarters." Lawrence then walked over
to Mr. and Mrs. Ivkantos. He smiled. "Excuse me!" Mindy returned the smile. "Sure, Larry." Lawrence moved past the
pair, exiting the compartment. Mindy turned to the meteorologists. "Welcome to the
Galileo Research Base." she said with warmth. "Follow me,
please." The meteorologists
followed Matt and Mindy. They entered a medium-sized room, with computers and monitors of different sorts aligned
on either wall. Two people, a man and a woman, were seated on either side,
looking over the controls. The group continued on , leaving the room and
entering a large passageway. Dozens of men and women milled about, some
carrying computers, and others pushing around large metal crates. They walked
over to an elevator. Mindy pressed
a button, and the door opened. They stepped into it. Mindy spoke. "Observation deck,
please." The elevator began to
move. Mindy turned to the meteorologists. "I've read each of
your dossiers. I'm very impressed
with the work you've all done." Vicky smiled. "Thank you, Mrs.
Ivkantos." The red-haired woman
returned the smile and raised her hand. "Mindy. Call me
Mindy." At that moment, a female
voice spoke through a loudspeaker above them. "Observation
deck." The door opened. The
group stepped out into a passageway. Mindy turned to her left. The group
followed. As they walked along, Lance and the others looked to their left.
Vicky's eyes widened. "Wow...!!" To their left was a metal
railing, Beyond this railing was a cavernous circular chamber filled with a massive system of computers. Among them were dozens
of men and women, some seated at the computers, and others milling about and
talking. The passageway Lance and
the others were on wound around the entire circumference of this chamber. Above the room was a lit dome. Matt turned
to the meteorologists. "This is the nerve
center of the Galileo Research Base.
Every operation on and off this base is observed from here." Matt and his wife walked
off. The others followed. They continued on until Matt and Mindy stopped before
a large desk, where two women sat, gazing at a computer screen. Behind them
stretched a short hallway leading to two enormous doors. One of them, a short-haired brunette,
looked up. "Oh! Mr.
Ivkantos!" "Sandra," began
Mindy, "could you escort our guests here to their quarters?" The brunette got to her
feet. "Certainly." Mindy turned to the
blonde who was eyeing the screen
intently. "How's the letter
coming along Janet?" "I'm just about
done." "Good." Matt turned to Lance and
the other meteorologists. "I'll let you get
settled, and then we'll convene for a meeting at 1100 hours. This way, you can
catch up on some sleep. Sandra,
if you may?" "Yes. This way
please." The four followed the
petite brunette down the passageway. She turned right into a long hallway. The
others followed. The young woman stopped before two doors at her left. She turned to the others. "These are your
rooms. Your bags are on their way
up now." The woman then pressed a
button by the side of one door. It slid open, and she entered. The four walked inside. It was a large room,
furnished with two beds, sofa, and a small kitchen. Across from the bed, on the
wall, was a giant video screen. On
the left side of the bed was a desk, with a video phone sitting near a large lamp. Vicky nodded her head in
approval. "Very nice!" "Both rooms are
similarly furnished. The kitchen is stocked with food." said the brunette.
"You have access to a video phone, as you can see-as well as a terminal
where you can plug in your laptop.
You can also watch television as well. " Lance nodded. "Not bad. But right
now, I'm too tired to watch TV.
I'm just going to take a shower and hit the bed." Vicky nodded. "Ditto. I may fix
myself up something to eat." The brunette turned to
Baris and Jose. "Let me take you to
your rooms." The two men nodded. Baris
yawned deeply. "Oh God..." he
sighed. Jose nodded, smirking. "You too, huh?" The brunette smiled. "The beds are very comfortable. You should be out like a
light." Baris smiled warmly at
this. "Best news I've
heard all day." Jose looked up at Lance
and Vicky. "Okay Mr. and Mrs.
We'll see you two at 1000
hours?" Lance nodded. "That sounds good to
me." "Okay. Good-night.
C'mon Baris." "Right. Nitey-night
guys." The three left, and the
door slid closed. Lance turned to
Vicky. His shoulders sagged. "Jesus...I'm
exhausted." Vicky nodded. She rubbed
her husband's shoulder. "I know. It's been a
long day, and a long trip." She turned towards the
kitchen. "Let's see what they
got for food. You hungry?" Lance nodded. "Yep. Let me hit the
shower." "Okay." Lance stripped himself
naked. He walked over to an opened doorway and entered the bathroom. Lance
reached on the side wall and turned on the light. The bathroom was a light
sky blue in tone. It was sparkling clean. On one wall hung two red bath robes.
On the towel rack were two clean beige towels, and sitting on top of the sink
were two large bars of soap along with two washcloths and a bottle of shampoo.
He pulled back the frosted glass door and turned the faucets on. Warm water
shot forth from the shower head. He clutched a bar of soap, a washcloth, and the shampoo. Lance
went inside, closing the door. He placed
the shampoo in a corner on the shower floor . Then he placed the soap in
the washcloth and began to scrub
his underarms. "What's to
eat?" he called out. "You're not gonna
believe this. You interested in a turkey on rye?" Vicky replied. Lance licked his lips.
Turkey on rye was his favorite. "Yeah! Do they have
Dijon mustard?" "Uhhhhh-yeah, they
do. Want mayo with that?" "No, just
mustard." "You want the rye
toasted?" "No, that's okay.
What do they have to drink?" "Your choice of
orange juice, apple juice, soda, and milk." "OJ sounds fine to
me." "Got it. Yeah,
they've stocked this kitchen really well here. I'm impressed. I'm going to make
myself a sandwich as well." "Aren't you gonna
hit the shower first?" "Too damn hungry.
I'll eat and then shower." "Whatever rocks your
boat." Lance scrubbed himself
all over his body. He then bent over and picked up the shampoo bottle, opening
it. He squeezed some of the yellow shampoo out onto his hand and put the bottle
down again. Lance scrubbed it vigorously into his hair. He washed it out, and then he picked up
the bottle, repeating the process. Lance afterwards scrubbed himself down again
with the soap. After washing the soap off his body, he shut off the water and
opened the frosted glass door. He reached for a towel and dried himself
off. Lance then took a bath robe and put it on. He walked
out of the bathroom and saw his wife seated at a small table, biting into a
sandwich. His own meal and drink were set on the table. Lance walked over and
sat down. He picked up the sandwich and took a bite. "Mmmmm...I love
this." Vicky raised an eyebrow.
She swallowed her food and spoke with a smile. "I wonder if it was
just coincidence that turkey and rye were in the fridge." Lance swallowed his food
and smirked. "Very funny." There was silence for a
few moments as they ate. Lance paused for a moment, and set down his sandwich. "First impressions
of this place?" Vicky nodded slowly. "Pretty damn
impressive. It's living up to what I've read about it." At that moment, there was
a soft doorbell chime. Lance rose to his feet. "Must be our
bags." He got up and walked over
to the door. Lance pressed a button. It slid open. Two men stood there, one
black and one Caucasian. Blue and red luggage lay beside them. The black man
spoke. "Here are your bags,
Mr. Dershan." Lance smiled. "Thanks. You can put
them right over here." he said, pointing to a spot inside and just to the
left of the entrance. The two men nodded, and
brought in the luggage. They set it down, and turned to Lance, smiling. "Enjoy your
stay." said the blonde man. "Thanks." The two men left. Lance
pressed a button and the door closed behind them. He walked back to the table
and sat down. Lance took a drink from his glass, licking his lips. He shook his
head. "God...I can't get
over the size of Jupiter. It's one
thing to look at pictures of it..." "But seeing it in
person is far more overwhelming." finished Vicky. "I feel the same
way. " "I'd like to learn
more about this base works. Creating this research station was no small
feat." Lance sighed. He took
another pull from the glass. "Why am I feeling
more butterflies in my stomach than usual?" Concern crossed Vicky's
face. "What's wrong,
hon?" Lance shook his head. "It's....I-I don't
know. I guess it's seeing this
planet for the first time, up close. " He stood up, running his
hand through his hair. Vicky studied her husband closely. "Talk to me,
Lance." He immediately shook his
head. "Nah. Never mind.
" Vicky rose to her feet
and walked over to Lance. She placed her hands on his shoulders. "I'm not going to
leave you alone until you talk to me." she said in a soft, but firm voice. Lance turned to face his
wife. She could see the fear in his eyes. "Tell me the truth Lance.
How scared are you?" Lance licked his lips and
sighed. "More scared than
before." he said quietly. Vicky grasped his hand
and squeezed it gently. "Scared enough to
have second thoughts about this?" Lance paused for a few
moments in silence. He gazed at his wife steadily. "No." Vicky's eyes narrowed. "Lance..." "Okay Vic. I'll be
honest with you. Seeing those photos and reading those reports were pretty
scary. Fascinating, yes. But scary. And then I saw Jupiter for the first time.
Not as a photo, but the real thing. Christ, that planet is big." Lance shrugged. "I guess I'm a
little unnerved, is all." Vicky rubbed her
husband's shoulder. "Lance...." He looked at the ceiling,
and took a deep sigh. "Well...if I'm going
to become an exo-meteorologist, I'm going to have to face this fear. Otherwise,
I might as well pack it in and go back to good old Earth." Vicky moved in closer.
She grasped Lance's chin, pulling his head down so that her eyes met his. "Lance, I'll abide
by whatever decision you make. Just remember that I'm by your side, whatever
you decide to do." He smiled slightly. "Thanks." Vicky released him, and
walked over to one of the blue bags. She picked it up and brought it over to
the bed. Vicky looked at Lance. "Believe me. You're
not alone in your fear." She stripped herself
naked and walked into the bathroom. Lance dimmed the lights and walked over to
his blue bag. He opened it up and rummaged through it, taking out a pair of
underwear and a white T-shirt. Lance took off his robe, letting it fall to the
floor. He put on the undergarments. Lance just could not
shake the chilling fear inside him. His wife knew him too well. Part of him wanted to run
away. God, that planet was huge. All that data he read on
those missions. He suddenly
realized how small he was in the face of this colossus. It wouldn't be long
before he was in its grasp. What the hell was he doing here?! Lance immediately shook
his head, growling at himself. He picked up the robe, and tossed it onto a
nearby table. Lance walked over to the table, picking up the empty glass. He
then walked into the kitchen, and opened up the refrigerator. Lance took out the ice-cold bottle of
orange juice. He set it down on the nearby counter along with the glass. Christ, you've got to
get a hold of yourself. He closed the
refrigerator door and opened up the bottle of juice. Lance then filled the
glass to the very top. He set the bottle down, picked up the glass of juice,
and took a long pull from it.
Lance set the glass back down. He listened to the water from the shower. Lance picked up the glass again, finishing the rest of the cold beverage. He walked towards the large double-bed.
Lance lay down on it, his head sinking slightly into the soft pillow. He stared
up at the ceiling. The fear coursed through
him. But Lance knew that he had to reign it in. No matter what. He didn't come
this far to turn back now. There were firsts for everything. Lance thought back to the
first time he encountered a twister.
It was an F4 tornado. The massive black wedge was ripping through the
Oklahoma countryside. Violent blasts of lightning shot out of the churning
mammatus clouds, some cutting right through the mile-wide funnel itself. Lance
aimed his hand- held radar at it. The winds were around two hundred miles an
hour. God...the sound. It was a
thundering, grinding roar. He was about three miles
from the storm. The wind screamed around him, near hurricane force at times.
His van was behind him, the digital camera next to him tracking the storm. Lance remembered the
exhilaration. The excitement. The fear. Part of him wanted to
run. Part of him was mesmerized by the storm. He managed to maintain a
sense of balance. But it had been difficult that first day. The tornado went on to destroy a group
of homes, and killed two people. Lance went to survey the damage. He developed
a healthy respect for what these storms did. Since that time, Lance
grew to know these storms intimately. What they did. How they did it. There was
the devastation. There were the deaths. Each experience only deepened his
respect and fear of Nature. Then
he encountered the grand-daddy of them all. The twin demons of the Topeka
disaster. The carnage and destruction the pair of F5s had done was beyond
anything he had ever seen. Lance and Vicky had the unfortunate luck of finding
corpses on their tour through the town. Or more precisely, what was left of
them. It was the first time
that he had seen how these violent winds ripped flesh from bone. One cadaver he
found was that of a man's torso, with the right arm and left leg attached. Debris or whatever else had torn off
the head, arm and leg. The body looked to be that of someone in his
mid-thirties. All the blood had been sucked out. Fleshed had been stripped away
from most of one arm, parts of the torso, and parts of the leg. It was a horrifying,
ghoulish vision. A vision which repeated itself again many more times that day.
Lance shook his head
slightly in sadness. Whole families had died that day. He had seen tornadic
violence at its worst. That day had changed him forever. And to go from that to
this. Taking on storms in the atmosphere of the solar system's largest planet. "Lance?" He looked up. His wife
stepped into the room, wearing a bath robe. She saw the sadness in his eyes. "What's wrong
hon?" Lance sighed. "I was just thinking
back to Topeka." Vicky frowned. She walked
over to her husband and sat down next to him. Vicky placed a hand on his arm. "Lance..." "I was just thinking
back about everything that's lead up to this moment. Balancing the fear with the desire to learn, the desire for
the chase. Now it's time to take that to another level. It's scary. But if I'm
going to be a exo-meteorologist, well...that's just what I'm going to have to
do. I've never run away from a challenge before. I'm not about to start
now." Lance gazed at the
ceiling, rolling his eyes. "I've got to make an
effort and get over this goddamned fear. I feel like a child..." Vicky grasped his hand
firmly. "But you're not a child. You know the risks. You know the danger.
And you fear it. Do you think I'd be tagging along with you through all this if
you didn't have that fear??" Lance sighed, and gazed
down at his feet. He licked his lips and took a deep breath. "I know, I know. But
this...this feels...different.
It feels different somehow. And I'm not just talking about the fact that we're
going to Jupiter." Vicky narrowed her eyes
in confusion. "What do you
mean?" Lance shook his head in
frustration. "I-I don't know.
I've got this uneasy feeling inside. I can't nail it down." Vicky placed her hand on
Lance's shoulder. Worry filled her eyes. "Lance..." A few moments of silence
passed, Vicky rubbed her husband's shoulder. Lance gazed at the ceiling again
and sighed. "Oh hell, enough of
this nonsense. Let's go to bed. It's been a long trip. Tomorrow's going to be a big day." Vicky leaned in and
tenderly kissed Lance on the lips. She pulled back, wiping the hair away from
his eyes. "Good night, sweetie." Lance smiled slightly. "Night." "Let me get a shirt
and undies, and I'll shut off the
lights." "Mmmmm-hmmmm." Vicky rose to her feet and took off her robe.
Lance gazed with appreciation at his wife's beautiful, muscled body. Vicky
noticed this, and smiled slightly. "Want to have a
little sex?" she asked softly. Lance gave his wife a
tired smile. "Tempting offer, but
I just feel so tired. I'd bore you. It wouldn't be good." Vicky shrugged. "I don't care if
it's good, really. If nothing else, we can make out a little." "How about if we
just do a lot of cuddling? I'm up for that." Vicky raised an eyebrow. "Wow. You are tired!" She smiled
apologetically. "Okay. Cuddles it
is." She turned and walked
over to her suitcase. Lance laid back fully, throwing the soft, light-blue
blanket over himself. Yes. Tomorrow was the big
day. The day when he and the others would hear of Matt Ivkantos's game plan. Vicky put on a purple
underwear and pink shirt. She walked over to the kitchen and shut off the
light. Then she walked over to the bed and slid into it beside her husband.
Vicky moved up against him, wrapping her legs around his left leg. She kissed
him tenderly on the lips. Lance gazed into the brunette's ice-blue eyes. She
smiled slightly. "Everything is going
to be all right." she said softly. Lance reached up and
gently stroked his wife's head. He was
grateful for her companionship. "I know." he
replied, kissing her forehead. "I know." Did he?? He tried to soothe that
uneasy feeling deep inside him. But it would not go away. Lance and Vicky walked
past the opened doors, entering the large conference room. A huge table stood
before them. Two men and two women were seated at one end of the table, looking
through folders. Before them stood Matt Ivkantos, his wife Mindy and Lawrence , looking over some maps
with two other women. One was tall, blond and muscular. The other was shorter,
and appeared to be Hispanic. They listened to Matt's lowered mutterings, responding with an occasional
nod. The four looked up. Mindy smiled. "Mr. and Mrs.
Dershan! You slept well, I take it?" The couple smiled. "Yes we did."
answered Vicky. "Hey guys." Lance and Vicky turned
around. It was Jose, followed closely by Baris. Vicky raised an eyebrow. "How did you
sleep?" Jose smiled. "Like a baby." Baris nodded. "Same here. I feel
nice and rested." Matt stood erect, and
gazed at the four. "Please take a
seat." The four meteorologists
sat down at the table. Matt picked up a small remote control unit and turned
around, facing a giant screen. He pressed a button, and a close-up picture of
Jupiter appeared. Lance studied it closely.
The Great Red Spot was to the lower right of the screen, and it was slowly
rotating. The clouds twisted and churned. Beyond it were massive
colored bands of clouds, stretching across the face of the planet. Matt turned
back towards them, picking up a pointer from the table. He walked over to the
screen, and pointed to a region a certain distance left and up from the Spot. "This is where we'll
be heading. This area is always erupting in thunderstorms. We are seeing several clusters of
mature thunderstorms here already, putting out substantial lightning and
precipitation. Our scientists have also detected the formation of a very small
red spot there. Depending on the situation, we may get close enough to get
pictures of it." "How long will we be
there?" asked Lance. "About an hour and a
half, maybe two." answered Matt.
"It depends of the weather conditions. Lawrence here is interested
in the small red spot, so we will try and get some pictures." "How large is the
spot?" asked Jose. "About three times
the size of Africa." answered Lawrence. "There seems to be some
incredible thunderstorm activity in it." Jose turned to Lance and
smiled. "Cool." Lance smirked and shook
his head. He turned towards Matt. "When are we heading
there?" "We leave at 0900
tomorrow morning. You need to be more familiarized with the ship, as well as
with the space suits you will be wearing on the journey. Let me introduce you
to the pilots." Matt turned towards the
two women. "This is Jules
Nadaro and Marcy Gonzalez. Two of our best pilots." The pilots faced the four
meteorologists and smiled warmly. They smiled in return. "How many flights
have you ladies done to Jupiter?" asked Jose. "We each have done
close to two dozen flights." answered the shorter woman. "You're Marcy?" The woman nodded. "Yes." Jose smiled. "Oh, okay. How
turbulent is it up there?" "Rough enough.
" answered the taller woman. "But nothing we can't handle." "How long will it
take us to get through Jupiter's radiation belt?" asked Vicky. "We should be past
the radiation belts in 5 minutes." answered Matt. "We won't be
affected, as long as we don't take
much longer than that." "Jules and I will go
over with you everything you need to know." said Marcy. "The space
suits, layout of the ship, everything." "Anyway, let's get
started." said Matt. "We have a busy day ahead of us." Lance and the others rose
to their feet. The two pilots walked around the table, over to the four
meteorologists. Both women shook hands with them. "Nice to meet you
all." said Jules. "Likewise."
said Lance. "Anyway, let's go
over to the Asimov 9 spacecraft, so you can get a look at it." "Sounds good to
me." said Lance. "Lead the way." The two pilots walked out
of the conference room, followed by Lance and the others. Part 3 |