Lance was finally convinced.

He was working with the best, and was in good hands.

Yesterday, Jules and Marcy did a thorough go-over of the Asimov 9. The propulsion systems, radiation protection, and its other capabilities. Lance and his companions were impressed. The people here at the Galileo Research Base had left nothing to chance. They ran a very tight organization here. Everyone's input was encouraged. All questions were dealt with.

Some of the unease that Lance felt about going on this journey was lifted, as he strapped himself into his seat. He gazed out the window onto Callisto's barren landscape. In the black sky floated Jupiter.

He gazed at the monstrous planet closely. They were still a fair distance away from it, and yet Lance was able to observe the turbulent motions of the clouds. He had read that the temperature where Jupiter's liquid hydrogen ocean began was at least eight thousand degrees Fahrenheit. That would explain a lot, in terms of the atmosphere's turbulence.

It would be centuries, or perhaps even a few millennia, before a probe could be launched into the planet's depths. The extreme pressures and heat had to be dealt with, and the technology was just nowhere near what was needed to deal with such a mystery. But Lance had often wondered about what it must be like. Was it just a savagely hot darkness, occasionally punctuated by bolts of lightning? Was it a gradual merge into a liquid interior? Were there waves on the surface of this hydrogen ocean? What was its texture? If only there were some way to peel back at least a portion of the cloud cover to see underneath. But even with probes, all that could be made out was a pitch-black darkness after a certain depth.

Lance couldn't help but feel frustrated about this. He had this conversation with Matt Ivkantos yesterday. The normally stolid, no-nonsense head of the Galileo Research Base couldn't help but break into a small smile at hearing Lance's frustrations of not knowing what Jupiter's "surface" might be like. Ivkantos had told him that at this point, it seemed from some of the probes that it appeared to be a gradual change into liquid material. But due to the depth of the atmosphere, he could not be certain. The deepest probe ever sent into Jupiter went about three hundred miles in, before it was destroyed. The last recorded temperature from the probe was one thousand one hundred degrees, winds of eight hundred miles an hour, and an atmospheric pressure of one hundred bars. The camera aboard revealed a dark, murky atmosphere. Here, the light had reached twilight levels.

For the moment, Lance would have to be content with exploration of the upper regions. It was a miracle that humans had gotten this far.

He turned forward. Across from him sat Vicky, Baris, and Jose. Matt and Lawrence entered the passenger compartment. They were all dressed in orange overalls. Lawrence walked over to a large console and sat down behind it, buckling himself in. Matt sat down next to Lance. He looked at Lance, then at the other three meteorologists.

"We're just about ready."

Vicky nodded.

"Mmmmm. I've gotta admit, I've got some goose-bumps."

Matt smiled slightly.

"Perfectly normal."

At that moment, Jules's voice came out over the overhead speakers.

"We are five minutes from takeoff. Please buckle in. The airlock is being disengaged now."

There was a pause, and a dull metallic clang as the dock drew away from the Asimov 9. Everyone sat silently, patiently waiting. The voice spoke again.

"Four minutes."

Lance gazed at the moon's icy surface. He looked at the mountains in the distance, stretching up into the black sky. He heard the engines of the Asimov 9 come to life. There was a low rumble followed by an increasing whine.

"Three minutes."

Lawrence looked over his controls.

"Everything looks good from here, ladies."

"Roger that, Larry." answered Marcy's voice.

Vicky turned to Matt.

"You said it would take 5 minutes to get through Jupiter's radiation belt?"

Matt nodded.

"Yes. Don't worry. We'll be through it before you know it. By the way, we may get a good glimpse of Io before we go into Jupiter's atmosphere."

"Don't the volcanoes on Io ever stop erupting??" asked Jose in disbelief.

Matt smiled, shaking his head.

"No, not really. Io's surface is constantly being made over. The only reason it continues to sustain a thin atmosphere of sulfur dioxide is because of the constant eruptions."

"Two minutes." said Jules' voice.

"How many probes have landed on it?"

"About ten. You must understand that even for unmanned probes, Io is an extremely hazardous place. And this is considering the fact that we've built some hardy robotic spacecraft to explore it. Violent eruptions, massive moon quakes-it's difficult to find a reasonably safe place on Io on which to land our probes. One time, a probe was swallowed up when a fissure opened up underneath it. There was a massive moon quake, and the ground just opened up underneath it. It fell into a river of sulfuric lava, and was destroyed."

"Do you have anything there now?" asked Vicky.

"There's a satellite orbiting Io at the moment."

"One minute, thirty seconds."

The engine's sounds grew in intensity. Lance could feel the ship vibrate slightly. He waited patiently as the time to launch wound down.

"Fifteen seconds." said Jules' voice.

"Engines stable, running at a hundred percent capacity." said Lawrence.

"Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...four...three...two...one...liftoff!!"

The Asimov 9 rose from the launch pad, its retro-rockets lifting it into the black sky. The rear engines kicked in, and the spacecraft shot away from the moon. It turned towards Jupiter, rapidly increasing speed.

Lance, Vicky, Baris and Jose gazed out the window at the gas giant. Slowly, steadily, it grew closer, filling their vision. The massive rivers of clouds became more and more prominent. The Great Red Spot had just crossed the terminator into daylight. On the other side of the terminator, Lance spotted brilliant flashes of lightning erupting from beneath the clouds.

"Vicky!!" he exclaimed. "You see the lighting?!"

"Yes, yes!!" she responded enthusiastically.

Baris and Jose leaned out, peering over Vicky's shoulder. They spotted the brilliant flashes as well. Their jaws dropped in shock.

"Oh my God..." uttered Baris.

"We are about to enter the radiation belt in two minutes." said Lawrence.

Lance looked off to the left. His eyes widened in awe and shock.

"There it is!!" he exclaimed. "Io!!"

Vicky, Baris, Jose and Matt looked out the window. Jupiter's innermost moon, Io, came into view. The moon was overrun with vivid colors-red, yellow, orange, hints of blue, and white. A huge bluish-white plume erupted from the moon, the ejecta falling back onto the ravaged surface. Other volcanoes came into view. One of them was spewing large amounts of smoke, and the other was also shooting ejecta high above the surface. Vicky shook her head in open-mouthed amazement.

"In...credible!!" she gasped in shock.

"We've entered the radiation belt." said Lawrence. "We should be through it in about four minutes."

The Asimov 9 flew past the moon, increasing speed. Soon, all that Lance and the others could see was the vast ocean of multi-colored clouds. Lance gazed deeply into the Great Red Spot. He could make out massive flashes of lightning within the gigantic storm.

"My God...Vicky, do you see the lightning inside the Spot??"

He turned to his wife. She was transfixed by the storm below.

"Yes I do Lance...yes I do. Absolutely incredible."

Lance turned to Baris and Jose. The two men were staring at the Great Red Spot, slack-jawed. Their expression said it all. Lance then looked at Matt.

"This...I-I can't believe this!!"

A warm smile crossed the older man's face for the first time.

"It gets better." he responded. "We've only just begun our adventure."

"We have left the radiation belt, and should be entering Jupiter's atmosphere in five minutes." said Lawrence.

Matt turned towards him, nodding.

"Good."

The Asimov 9 banked, and soon began its descent into the atmosphere of the gas giant. The four meteorologists gazed out the window.

As they descended, things began to take on a three-dimensional quality. They gazed at the vast expansion of clouds. They seemed to go on forever. Little by little, the black sky above them began to turn into a deep blue. Eventually, the Asimov 9 found itself descending rapidly towards a large cluster of ammonia cirrus clouds. The ship punched through them. For a few moments, all that the group could see were whisps of cloud. Then they were past this, and the Asimov 9 decesended further. Little by little, the Asimov 9 stopped descending, and began to level out.

"We're at cruising altitude." said Jules's voice through the loudspeaker.

The group found themselves in a strange, beautiful environment. Large puffy cumulus clouds hung in the poisonous air. They were a pinkish-reddish brown. Above them, the sky was an intense blue color. Lance could see that Lawrence was right. The blue sky on Jupiter was far more intense than on Earth.

Matt turned towards Lawrence.

"How far are we from the thunderstorms?"

Lance gazed closely at some images on a screen.

"According to the radar, we're less than a hundred miles away from the storms."

Matt nodded.

"Good. Let's get going."

"Yes sir." answered Jules over the speaker system.

The group felt the ship lurch foward, and the Asimov 9 sped off. Lance looked out the window, down below him. There were large sheets of stratus clouds, but occasionally there would be a sizable opening. Below this opening, there was nothing but darkness. Vicky gazed out at the horizon as it stretched out for hundreds of miles, still staying straight and level.

"I-I can't get over how beautiful this all is." she said quietly, her face filled with awe and wonder.

"I second that one." said Baris.

He turned to Jose.

"And you?"

Jose just looked at him, shaking his head. His face was filled with awe and disbelief. Jose looked back outside the window. Vicky turned towards her husband.

"What about you, Lance?"

Lance sighed. He smirked slightly.

"I'm speechless. Just speechless."

The Asimov 9 shot forward with increasing speed. The Sun shone down upon the alien environment. Below the spacecraft, the thick blanket of white clouds continued. Giant reddish-brown cumulus clouds were scattered throughout. One or two of these clouds appeared to have precipitation falling out of them. Lawrence gazed at his radar.

"We should have a visual on the storms in less than ten minutes."

Matt nodded.

"Good."

"What's our speed?" asked Jose.

"Currently, Mach 3.5." answered Lawrence. "We'll be slowing down soon."

"Are you able to detect the strength of the lightning from this distance?" asked Vicky.

Lawrence pressed a couple of buttons and gazed at his screen intently.

"Aboooooooout....several hundred times more powerful than terrestrial bolts. At least for now. They're not mature thunderstorms yet, but they are getting there."

Lance searched the Jovian skies for the cluster of thunderclouds...

Then he spotted a storm. Far off in the distance.

"There!! Take a look!!" he exclaimed.

Everyone at the table followed his gaze.

It was a monstrous, magenta-brown cloud. The great cloud erupted up from the blanket of clouds underneath. The high-altitude winds sheared off the top of it, flattening it into a gigantic anvil. Large clusters of icy cirrus pushed out from the top of the thundercloud. Even from this distance, Lance could make out the lightning within it, flashing continuously with a ferocious intensity.

Matt turned to Lawrence.

"How big is this storm cluster?"

"About four hundred miles wide. There are about five or six storms in this group, the one Lance just spotted being the outermost storm."

"And the wind velocities in each?"

"The updrafts are anywhere between one hundred sixty to one hundred ninety miles an hour."

"Precipitation?"

"Heavy rain, water-ammonia mix, with hail. The hail is around 4 feet in diameter."

"How big are the storms themselves?" asked Lance.

"Anywhere from seventy-five to two hundred miles in diameter."

"We are nearing position." said Jules over the loudspeakers.

Matt turned to the other meteorologists.

"Come on. It's time for you to take your pictures."

Matt unbuckled his belt, and rose to his feet. The others followed. Matt walked through a short rear passageway, and entered the observation deck. On either side of him were mounted two large tripods, and on top of each was a digital camera. They were positioned just inside circular observation windows that extended outwards from the ship's hull. A protective metal shield covered each observation window. The moment Matt stepped into the observation deck, the protective shields drew away from the windows. Lance and Vicky went behind the cameras on the right side, while Baris and Jose got behind those on the left. Matt walked over to a computer console, and sat down in front of it.

Lance hit a couple of switches on the camera and checked his focus. His eyes widened in shock.

"My....God..."

It surged from the lower cloud deck with a savage, terrifying purpose.

It boiled, and breathed. It towered over the thundercloud Lance had just seen...no, dwarfed it.

The humongous thunderstorm punched deep into the dark blue above it. The top of it spread out for hundreds of miles. Within the reddish-brown-gray cloud, lightning pulsated continuously. Fearsomely. Bright, blue-white pulses of light. They lit all parts of the cloud. Lance spun towards Vicky.

"Are you getting all this?!"

Vicky stared through her lens, licking her lips unconsciously.

"Oh God, yes."

Lance turned around.

"Baris, Jose-"

He stopped in his tracks. His jaw dropped.

"Wha...?!"

Baris and Jose were behind their cameras, recording a massive wall of dark cloud. It churned ominously. Vicious flashes of lightning ripped through its interior. Lance rushed over to their sides.

"Jesus..."

"Oh man..." said Jose, his voice full of excitement. "I-I've never seen anything like this!!"

"Ditto, brother." answered Baris, his eyes glued to the viewfinder. "Dit-to."

Lance walked onto the glass, being careful not to step out in front of the cameras. He looked down...

Below him, the wall of cloud extended down into almost total blackness. Lightning surged beneath the clouds.

"Guys, aim your cameras below you." said Lance urgently.

Baris and Jose quickly looked down through the glass floor of the observation window. Their eyes grew as wide as saucers.

"Damn!!" exclaimed Jose.

The two men hastily got behind their cameras and positioned them so that their lenses peered down into the lower parts of the thunderstorm. Lightning tore through the clouds with a deadly rhythm. The clouds themselves bubbled vigorously, as if something was about to explode out of them at any moment.

"Jules!" said Matt. "How far away are we from the small red spot?"

"About seven hundred miles from it." she responded.

Matt nodded. He looked at the meteorologists.

"Will fifteen minutes do? That's about all the time I want to spend here. These storms are increasing in intensity quite rapidly. Soon, it may be too dangerous to stay here."

"No problem." answered Lance, who was now standing behind his camera. "You know this planet better than us."

"Man, to just get this much footage blows my mind!!" exclaimed Jose. "God...you folks were right!! This beats anything I've ever seen!!"

Jose turned quickly towards Baris.

"We have to see about coming back here some day."

Baris kept his eyes glued to his viewfinder.

"Bro...you ain't kidding."

Jose turned towards Matt, who gazed at him with a raised eyebrow. Jose's face filled with embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Ivkantos-"

Matt immediately dismissed Jose with a wave of his hand.

"That's all right. I remember what it was like being your age, and encountering these storms for the first time. I had those same feelings. But let's get through this trip first before we think about further excursions to Jupiter."

"Y-Yes sir."

He looked towards Lance. His friend gazed at him, smiling and shaking his head.

"Once a storm chaser, always a storm chaser."

"Ain't that the truth." said Vicky, her eyes fixed on the viewfinder.

The two men went back to their cameras, and continued monitoring the storms before them. The Asimov 9 threaded its way around the indivudual thunderstom cells, the pilots being careful to keep their distance. As Matt looked at his computer monitor, he saw that the storms were increasing in intensity. He turned towards the meteorologists.

"It's time to leave. It's getting dangerous. Let's get back to our seats."

The four meteorologists stopped recording the storms and followed Matt back to the passenger compartment. They all say down and buckled themselves in.

"Head to the small red spot next?" said Jules over the loudspeaker.

"Yes." answered Matt.

The Asimov 9 rose above the cluster of thunderstorms and flew away from them at a high rate of speed.

"How long before we are within range of the red spot?" asked Matt.

"Twenty minutes." answered Jules.

Matt turned towards Lance and the others. Their faces were filled with astonishment and wonder. Lance shook his head.

"I have never seen anything like this in my entire life." said Lance.

"That goes the same for me." added Vicky. "These storms are...I-I don't think there's an adjective that properly describes them. Incredible...awesome...those words just don't cut it. "

Matt turned towards the other two men. Jose glanced at Matt, and shook his head. His eyes focused on the table before him.

"I'm still trying to soak it in."

"And you, Mister West?"

An incredulous smile crossed Baris's face.

"The only word I can think of right now is...beautiful. Incredibly beautiful. Nature never ceases to amaze me."

Matt raised an eyebrow.

"Then be prepared to be amazed some more."

"How far are we from this red spot again?"

Matt turned to Lawrence. The young scientist gazed at his computer monitor.

"About...six hundred miles now."

"I-I can't get over what I saw." said Jose. "Those lightning discharges are nearly continuous...All over the cloud..."

"I can't wait to write an essay on this when it's all over." said Lance.

"You think that was something?" said Lawrence, his eyes still glued to the monitor. "Wait till you see this spot."

"Lance!!"

Lance spun towards Vicky. She had a stunned look on her face. His eyebrows knitted.

"What??"

"Oh...my...God..."

Lance turned, and looked out the window. His face grew pale. His jaw dropped.

"Holy...Jesus..."

It was massive.

It was beyond anything that Lance could possibly comprehend.

A titanic, maroon shelf of cloud.

It stretched out endlessly, from left to right. The top of this shelf ripped deep into the blue above. The top curved out towards the ship. Long, billowing ice clouds stretched out like giant wispy fingers, from the thinning curve of red clouds into the surrounding sky.

Matt gazed at the monstrous cloud shelf.

"Close into about one hundred fifty miles from the red spot, Jules."

"Yes sir."

Jose stared the massive storm formation. He shook his head in awe.

"Dios Mio Santo...Nunca en mi vida..."

"An editorial comment, Mr. Quintero?"

Jose spun towards Matt, who smiled slightly. He stared at the older man.

"S-Six hundred miles...?? We're still six hundred miles from that...that thing?!"

"Mmmm-hmmm."

Jose slowly looked back that the huge cloud cliff, reaching higher and higher into the blue sky as they neared it. He slowly made the sign of the cross.

"Madre Santisimo..." he uttered in awe and fear.

"I...I-I can't believe it's real!!" gasped Baris.

"It's very real." said Matt.

"My God...we are so insignificant..." said Lance quietly.

Mat nodded in agreement.

"Truer words have never been spoken." he answered. "Man thinks too much of himself. It takes things like Jupiter to remind man of his rightful place in the universe."

Vicky turned towards Matt.

"J-Just how powerful is the lightning in this storm??"

"Let's ask Lawrence."

Matt turned towards the younger man.

"Lawrence, can you help us here?"

"Already on it. Give me a moment."

Lawrence pressed a few buttons, gazing at the data running across his screen.

"Let's see...eight to ten billion volts. Six hundred flashes every second. And that's what I can detect in the immediate area."

Vicky looked at Lance and shook her head in disbelief. He nodded knowingly in return. Their gazes went back outside the cabin window.

The massive cloud cliff grew higher and higher. From this distance, the meteoroligists could see titantic blasts of blue-white light surge throughout the wall of boiling reddish-black cloud. It was almost continuous. The wall of cloud roiled and breathed, as if it were alive. The Asimov 9 drew closer and closer.

"We are nearing our observation position." said Jules over the loudspeaker.

"How long will we stay here?" said Lance.

Matt turned to Lawrence. The young man sighed.

"Twenty minutes, half an hour, tops. I don't know that I want to stay much longer than that. This storm system is impressive, but it's more than capable of blasting us out of the sky. It's getting stronger. I can get some footage, but I don't want to press my luck here. Jules, do you think you can keep within safe distance of this storm system? It's growing rapidly, and it's moving pretty fast."

"I should be able to." responded Jules.

"Okay. Are we in position?"

"Five minutes."

"I'll roll my cameras now."

Lawrence pressed a couple of other buttons, and the massive storm appeared on a monitor to his right.

"Mr. Ivkantos, your passengers will get all their shots from the right side of the ship." said Jules. "They can go to the observation deck now."

Matt nodded.

"Good."

He turned to the others.

"C'mon. It's time you get acquainted with one of Jupiter's more massive storms."

They rose from their seats and went back into the observation compartment. Baris and Jose got into position. Vicky and Lance picked up their tripods and carried them over to where Baris and Jose stood. They set their equipment up quickly, and began recording. While the storm was over a hundred miles away, the massive wall of cloud loomed in the distance, its top already extending far over and beyond the Asimov 9. As Lance gazed at his viewfinder, he saw occasional bolts of lightning shoot out of the wall of cloud. The massive blue-white bolts reached out of the cloud walls like demonic fingers, slashing at anything and everything in their grasp.

Lance couldn't get over the incredible power and beauty of the storm system before him. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. Lance suddenly decided that he had made the right choice in coming on this trip. It was exceeding his wildest expectations. This footage would be among his most prized.

"Matt!!" exclaimed Lawrence from the passenger compartment.

The older scientist turned towards the sound of the voice. He raised an eyebrow at the undertone of alarm in it.

"What is it?"

"Something's going on below us. Punch up your scanners to maxium intensity."

Lance and Vicky turned around, looking at Matt. He turned towards his computer, and pressed several buttons. Matt gazed at the data coming across his screen. Lance and Vicky walked over to his side. As they looked at him, the pair saw horror slowly cross the older man's face.

"Oh...my...God...Jules!!"

"We see it, sir, we see it!!" Jules replied with a sense of urgency.

Matt turned towards Vicky and Lance, his face filled with fear.

"Get back to your seats!! Now!!"

Baris and Jose spun around, their faces filled with shock.

"What the-" began Jose.

"Do it!!" Matt ordered sternly.

The five scientists rushed back into the passenger compartment. The metal shields closed over the observation windows. The scientists buckled themselves into their seats. Lance turned towards Matt.

"What the hell is going on?!"

Lance felt himself thrown back against the seat as the Asimov 9's thrusters kicked in. He felt the ship rapidly ascend.

"There's a surge of superheated hydrogen coming up at us from underneath." Matt said quickly. "It's moving at five miles per second, and is about ten thousand degrees. It's over six thousand miles wide."

"What?!" exclaimed Vicky.

"Make that seven miles per second." said Lawrence. "We're not going to outrun it unless we fly over the red spot."

"Copy that!!" said Marcy's voice. "We're heading there now!!"

"Has anything like this ever happened before?!" exclaimed Lance.

Matt shook his head.

"Never. This is the first time I've seen something like this. It's almost as if there was some great disturbance from deep within the planet, like some sort of eruption. Jules, how long before we reach the top of the spot?"

"Four minutes sir, and we're gonna cut it close." she responded through the loudspeaker. " There's not enough time for me to go straight up. I'll have to fly about a hundred miles over the spot before I can try to ascend. Otherwise, we'll be fried for sure."

"I'm transmitting all this data to the base." said Lawrence. "I've gotta let them know what's going on. It's incredible. You're right, Matt-it seems like some sort of eruption!!"

Lance gazed out the window. The massive cloud-cliff was fast approaching. Lance saw that the ship was heading towards the heavy mass of ice clouds that made up the anvils of the thunderheads before them. Vicky clutched her husband's hand.

"Oh God Lance..." she mumbled nervously.

Jose made the sign of the cross, and began to pray. Baris looked at Matt, full of fright.

"Couldn't we be struck by lightning?!"

"Maybe. We'll just have to take that chance."said Matt. "Either we fly over the red spot, or that superheated hydrogen will destroy us for sure. We have no choice."

"Two minutes." said Jules over the loudspeaker.

The Asimov 9 shot into the ice cloud deck. For a few moments, there was nothing but clouds and ice particles forming outside the cabin window. Then, the ship tore out of the top of the cloud deck, leveled out, and rocketed off deep into the area above the spot.

"Are we out of range of the superheated hydrogen??" asked Matt with an edge to his voice.

Lawrence gazed at another monitor, providing a rear-camera view of the area behind them. He looked at the churning clouds forming the top of the red spot. Suddenly, a blast of air ripped through the top of the clouds, tearing them apart and dissipating them rapidly. Lawrence could see the hot air rippling violently.

"My God... we just escaped." he replied with obvious relief. "I'm recording all this. The air is rippling, it's so hot. It's an incredible sight!!"

"Let's get out of here." answered Matt.

"Already on it." answered Jules.

The ship began to rapidly ascend. The four meteorologists looked outside at the great magenta ocean of clouds below them. They churned furiously. Intense flashes of blue-white light lit the clouds from underneath. Lance turned to Matt. His eyes narrowed.

"You've never seen anything like this before?"

"No, I haven't. Not in all my years here. There's no record of such an eruption of gas from below the clouds-"

BAAAARRRROOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!!!!

The deafening thunderclap ripped through the ship. It lurched violently to the left. Huge sparks of electricity erupted from the console, ripping into Lawrence. He was thrown from his chair, smashing into the rear wall. The scientist fell face-first to the floor in a crumpled, smoking heap. The others were thrown against each other. The five scientists stared out the window. The Asimov 9 dropped rapidly towards the sea of red clouds. Vicky wrapped her arms around Lance, paralyzed with fear.

"Oh my God!!" she exclaimed.

The Asimov 9 dove deep into the cloud deck. It began to shake violently. As the five stared out the window, all they could see was a churning, boiling mass of red and gray. Raindrops began to pelt the windows with horrific intensity. Suddenly, giant hailstones the size of basketballs smashed into the windows of the ship. They pounded away at it and the hull with a savage vengeance, filling the compartment with a deafening roar. Vicky burrowed her face into Lance's shoulder and cried hysterically. Lance stared at the onslaught in open-mouthed shock-

Another bright flash. Another savage peal of thunder.

The ship began to shake so violently that Lance thought it was going to rip apart. Lights flickered inside the compartment, then died. Vicky began to scream. Lance felt her dig her fingernails into his flesh-

"Oh my God!!" cried Baris.

"Dios Mio, salvanos!!" exclaimed Jose, grabbing onto Baris.

Lance's heart pounded so fiercely that he felt it would would rip from his chest. He was paralyzed with terror. He couldn't utter a sound.

This was what Jace Koralis must have faced, he thought. This was what it was like to die in Jupiter's skies-

More bright light. Another blast of thunder.

The massive hailstones hammered their sickening, vigorous rhythm into the ship. The noise ripped into their bones, their souls. The roar the hailstones made was all-encompassing-

And suddenly, the roar began to subside. Once again, Lance saw ice clouds whisking past his window, decreasing in thickness-

And soon, they were above the red ocean of clouds again.

Vicky trembled erratically.

"Omigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigod-"

Lance took a deep breath. He held her tight.

"Vicky, it's over."

"-omigod-"

"Vicky-"

"-omigod-"

And then Vicky broke down into loud sobbing again. Lance placed his head on hers, rocking her gently.

"I'm here. It's okay. Sssssssshhhh...."

He gazed outside. The ship rose higher and higher. Lance could hear the engines hesitating. Then the ship stopped ascending. Lance saw that they were still dangerously close to the cloud deck of the red spot.

"Why have we stopped climbing?!" he exclaimed.

He turned to his right-

And saw Matt kneeling by Lawrence. Lance saw the older man's shoulders shake, and he heard him sob quietly. Dread filled Lance's face.

"Oh no..." he whispered.

Jose quickly got up and rushed over to the two men, kneeling beside them.

"Matt, what-"

"Lawrence is dead."

Jose stared at Matt, and then at the the others. Their faces were filled with horror. Vicky shook her head in disbelief.

"No...Oh my God..."

Jose rushed to the front of the ship, entering the cockpit. The two women at the controls stared out at the giant red maelstrom before them. Their faces were pale, drenched with sweat.

"What happened?!" exclaimed Jose.

"L-Lightning." stammered Maria. "W-We were struck by lightning."

Jules turned her head for a second. She raised an eyebrow.

"Where's Matt??"

Jose lowered his head.

"He's with Lawrence. Lawrence was hit by a surge of electricity from his control panel..."

He took a deep, ragged sigh.

"H-He's dead."

Marcy turned quickly towards him. Her face was filled with overwhelming horror.

"What?!?"

Jose looked away, his face filled with grief. He gazed out at the massive storm system. Marcy shook her head in disbelief.

"No...Oh my God no..."

Darkness crossed Jules's face. She turned foward. At that moment, Matt and Lance stepped into the cockpit. Matt spoke.

"Damage status."

"I-Is Lawrence really dead?!" asked Marcy frantically.

Matt lowered his head. He closed his eyes and licked his lips.

"Yes."

Marcy let out a loud sob. She turned foward and began to cry. Jules turned to her copilot. Tears ran down her cheeks.

"Marcy honey, you've got to keep it together." she said, her voice full of emotion. "I'm hurting too, but we've got to keep this ship flying, until help comes. Stay with me, baby. Stay with me."

Lance walked over to Marcy, and placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently. Matt spoke once again.

"Damage status, Jules."

Jules took a deep breath, and licked her lips. She kept staring straight ahead.

"We can't return to space. Damage to the engines. There's a rupture in the hull. We can remain in flight for about six to eight hours. After that, the engines fail. The hull will hold, but we can't take another hit like this. I alerted the base about our situation."

"Is any of Jupiter's air leaking in from the outside??"

"Yes, but I've managed to seal off the rear compartment."

"What have we got that's working?"

She sighed.

"Life support, barely. Engines sluggish, and I don't like the power fluctuations. I don't know what the hell's going on, but these fluctuations aren't helping our situation any. There's not much more than that."

Matt peered out the cockpit windows. Below, he could see a roiling red ocean of clouds, stretching out for as far as he could see-

Suddenly, there was a violent flash of blue-white light, followed by a ferocious clap of thunder. The ship lurched to one side. The three men were hurled against each other. The two pilots fought hard to regain control of the ship. With great difficulty, they were able to right the ship again. The three men pulled away from each other.

Lance gasped heavily, shaking his head.

"That lightning was too damn close. Isn't there anywhere else we can go?! Do we have to stay above this red spot??"

Jules sighed.

"We're stuck here. We can't fly back over the cloud shelf because there's still a massive stream of superheated hydrogen shooting up from below. The data says that's going to continue for the next eight to ten hours. And in terms of the spot itself, our only three choices for directions are to our left, right, or straight ahead. And the spot stretches out for about eight thousand miles in each direction. The storms below us are incredibly severe. We're going to be spending all our time trying to dodge lightning. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

Lance glanced outside. What a way to die. Death would be very interesting indeed. Being blown out of the sky by lightning, or suffocating to death from an atmosphere made of hydrogen, helium, methane and ammonia-

Or a combination of both. Lovely choices.

At that moment, a monitor on the console before the pilots flickered to life. A woman's face appeared on the flickering screen. It was Mindy. Her face was full of fear.

"Asimov 9!! Do you read?!"

"We copy, we copy." answered Marcy.

"What's your status??"

"We are struggling to maintain our current altitude. We don't have enough power to ascend further. We've suffered a casuality."

Horror filled Mindy's face.

"Who?!"

Matt stepped behind Marcy, his face somber.

"Lawrence. He was electrocuted when his computer panel exploded."

Mindy immediately brought a hand to her mouth.

"...no...my God..."

She looked away for a moment, eyes squinted shut. A tear trickled down Mindy's cheek. She took a deep, shaky breath, and looked back at them.

"Y-You say you have six to eight hours left of power left??"

Jules nodded.

"That's if we can keep from getting hit by lightning again."

At that moment, a young blonde rushed to Mindy's side. He looked at her.

"I've got an idea, but's it's extremely dangerous."

Mindy turned towards him.

"What??"

"Maybe we could send another ship and have the two of them dock in flight. We could evacuate the Asimov 9 that way."

Matt slowly shook his head.

"Jacob, 'extremely dangerous' is an understatement."

"We have to do something!!" exclaimed Mindy with anger. "We can't just let you die out there!!"

Matt looked at Jules.

"Is the auto-pilot functional?"

Jules pressed a couple of buttons and took a quick look at her controls. She nodded.

"Yes it is."

Matt turned towards his wife. He closed his eyes, sighing deeply.

"All right. But if things get too dangerous to do this, the mission must be aborted. Seven lives hang in the balance. There's no need to endanger more people."

Mindy looked away for a moment, cringing at Matt's last words. She licked her lips.

"It won't come to that." she said with a quiet intensity. "It won't."

She looked up at her husband for a moment. Mindy turned to her companion.

"Jacob, what do you have that's ready?"

"The Asimov 11. We've already got a crew on board."

He looked off to his right.

"Tell them to take off!!"

The young man looked back at the monitor.

"They'll be there soon, Mr. Ivkantos."

Matt nodded slightly. He turned to Lance and Jose.

"Let's get back to the others."

Matt looked back one last time at his wife. A tear trickled down her cheek. Matt forced a smile. Then he left the cockpit, followed by Lance and Jose. They entered the passenger compartment. Baris sat next to Vicky, arm wrapped around her. She gazed out the window, tears streaming down her face. They turned towards the three men.

"I-I don't want to die." Vicky said quietly, her voice trembling.

Lance walked over to the table. He leaned across it, and grasped his wife's hands.

"We have a chance, Vicky. A ship is coming to rescue us."

"How ??" asked Baris.

"They are going to dock with this one." said Matt. "Piggy-back, as was explained to you on the base."

Vicky stared at Matt in bewilderment.

"T-They're gonna try to dock?! Piggy-back style?? In this environment??"

Lance squeezed his wife's hand tighter. She turned towards him.

"Honey, we don't have any other choice." he said quietly, but firmly. "None."

Vicky gazed at the ceiling above her.

"Jesus Christ..."

She looked out the window at the endless sea of red clouds, feeling the turbulence shaking the ship slightly. She looked back at Matt.

"W-What do we do now, Mr.Ivkantos?"

"We put on our spacesuits. C'mon."

Baris and Vicky rose from their seats. They followed Matt and the others into and through the observation deck. They entered another compartment. A slight, stinging smell hung in the air.

"That smells like ammonia." said Lance suspiciously.

Lance walked over to a small intercom on a nearby wall. He pressed a button above the loudspeaker.

"Jules, do you copy me?"

"Yes I do, Matt."

"We smell ammonia back here. Are you sure the storage compartment is secure??"

There was a pause. Jules spoke agin.

"Yes it is. There is only a very tiny trace of Jupiter's atmosphere there. Some traces of ammonia, hydrogen, and methane. But it's very minimal. The next compartment is sealed. The atmosphere in there is ninety-five percent Jovian."

A horrific realization crossed Lance's mind. He turned to Matt.

"What about an explosive decompression, because of the altitude we're at?? With the hull's rupture, isn't that possible??"

Matt turned towards the intercom.

"Jules! Your heard that??"

"We're safe-for now. But we can't go any higher than four miles above where we're at now. Otherwise, an explosive decompression could happen.

Lance lowered his head, shaking it.

"Damn..."

"Let's get our suits on." said Matt.

They rushed over to a closet. Matt opened it, and inside were eight suits. The scientists took them out and beghan to dress themselves. Lance struggled with his suit.His heart beat hard and fast.His fear made it difficult for him to focus-

BARROOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!

The ship lurched violently to the right. All of the scientists were hurled into the wall with punishing force. They collapsed to the floor. Lance clutched at his head, groaning in pain. The side of his head throbbed as a lump formed on it. Sharp, stabbing pain tore through his upper back and right shoulder. He struggled to get the air back into his lungs.

D-Dislocated shoulder... he thought. G-Great...g-goddamn great...

Lance touched the bump delicately. It felt wet. He brought his left hand into view. It was covered with blood.

Oh jeeze...c-concussion too??

He felt himself slide towards the front of the ship. He hit the bulkhead feet-first. Lance looked up to his right, spotting a cabin window. He forced himself to his knees, then his feet. But he wasn't able to stand straight. Lance had to lean against the bulkhead. It was obvious that the Asimov 9 was in a nosedive.

He was just able to peer out the window-

They were rushing towards the red ocean of thunderclouds. The ship tore into the ice-cloud layer-

And soon, all Lance could see as a boiling mist of red and gray. Rain began to pound at the window again-

And soon came the giant hailstones.

They hammered into the window and the hull with an incredible roar. A brilliant bluish-white light flashed through the window, followed by a deafening peal of thunder. Lance gazed at the bodies at his feet.

Baris was out cold. Blood rushed from his nose and mouth. His nose was twisted out of shape-obviously broken. Jose lay face-down in a small puddle of blood that grew larger and larger by the moment. The blood trickled towards the bulkhead. Matt lay on his back, his eyes fluttering open. Lance looked around erratically for his wife.

"V-Vick?!" he exclaimed with fear.

Lance looked off to his right-

And saw his wife face-first against the wall, groaning.

"Vicky!!"

He slid along the bulkhead towards his wife, kneeling down beside her. Lance gingerly turned Vicky onto her back.

"V-Vicky!! Vicky honey, talk to me!!"

Her eyelids fluttered open. Lance gazed into brilliant ice-blue eyes.

"L-Lance..." she whispered. "O-Oh God...L-Lance..."

He held her close. Lance lowered his head and kissed his wifeπs forehead.

His wife was still alive...

But were they all on borrowed time? Only the Fates knew for sure...

Another blast of lightning. Another violent thunderclap-

And amazingly, Lance felt the Asimov 9 slowly begin to right itself.

The roar of the hailstones hitting the ship was relentless. Savage. All encompassing. He held his wife tight. The spaceship shuddered with incredible force. The lights flickered, and went out.

Lance squinted his eyes shut. He clenched his teeth. Tears trickled down his cheeks.

He heard himself sobbing. He tried to stop himself, but couldn't. It was involuntary. His mind raced.

ImgonnadieImgonnadieImgonnadie-

Slowly, ever so slowly, the roar of the hailstones lessened. Lance opened his eyes, gazing out the cabin window. The red-gray mist grew lighter and lighter-

And he saw the ship rise out of the ocean of thunderheads. The ship's shuddering lessened considerably, but it never stopped. The engines sounded weaker. They were straining, their sound rising and falling in pitch.

He looked down on the floor. Matt moved over to Jose, turning him gently on his back. He looked him over, examining his body closely. Lance looked down at his wife.

"H-Honey, honey are you okay?!"

A set of tears ran down Vicky's cheeks. Her eyes were full of pain.

"I-I think my right wrist is broken. I-I bumped my head..."

Lance wiped his left hand on his pants and delicately moved it over and around his wife's head. He felt a large lump on the back of it. Lance drew it back. There was no blood. He looked up at Matt.

"You okay?!"

Matt dismissed the comment with a wave of the hand.

"Baris has a broken nose, and Jose has had several teeth knocked out of his mouth. They're out cold."

"W-What about you?!"

"Never mind me." Matt said in an irritated voice.

He got onto his knees and made his way over to the pair.

"You all right Lance??"

"A bad bump on the head. A dislocated shoulder, I think. I'm not sure. It hurts like hell."

Concern filled Matt's face.

"You may have a concussion. What about your wife?"

"She says she has a bump on her head, and a broken right wrist."

"All right. Let me get to the cockpit."

With difficulty, Matt rose to his feet. He hurried through both compartments and entered the cockpit.

"What happened?!"

"Lightning again." growled Jules, gritting her teeth. "Not as bad a hit as before, but we were grazed. We shouldn't even be flying. I can't believe the ship is holding together."

Matt hung his head in disgust.

"Dammit..."

He looked up again.

"Damage??"

"Um-u-um, I-I'm checking it." said Marcy quietly.

Jules grasped Marcy's forearm, rubbing it gently.

"Just take it easy."

Marcy licked her lips. She looked at her computer screen. Her green eyes widened in shock.

"...no..."

Matt leaned towards her.

"What??"

Marcy swallowed hard. She turned to Jules and Matt.

"We've been knocked down to three hours of power." she said quietly. "After that....after that, we go down. The auto-pilot is inoperative as well."

The silence in the cockpit was almost unbearable. Matt closed his eyes, trying to digest the horrific information he had just received. Jules sat stone-faced, looking out over the red sea of clouds.

"My God..." he uttered, grimacing.

He looked towards Marcy again.

"And what about the rupture in the hull??"

Marcy swallowed hard.

"Um-Um-H-Hold on..."

She checked the computer again.

"It's holding. I-I don't know how, but the hull's holding."

Marcy shook her head.

"...oh my God..."

She covered her mouth. Tears flowed down her cheeks. Jules glanced at her.

"C'mon now." she said quietly. "Hold it together, Marcy. Hold it together..."

"I-I'm trying..."

"What about you Matt??" said Jules, keeping her eyes on the vast expanse of clouds before her.

"We-we've got some injuries back here. The worst are a broken nose, dislocated shoulder, and some shattered teeth."

"Dammit... " growled Jules. "If only I could go back there and help you."

"And you Matt??" asked Marcy.

"I-I'm all right. I've gotta get back there and help the others."

"We're going to radio the Asimov 11 now."

"All right."

Matt walked out of the cockpit. Suddenly, a sharp. stinging pain tore through his right forearm. He clutched it and grimaced in pain. He closed his eyes and took a deep, ragged breath.

"You're hurt!"

Matt immediately opened his eyes, looking up. It was Lance. The meteorologist's eyes narrowed.

"What's wrong?? Don't hide anything from us. We need to know who's hurt here if we've got to evacuate."

Matt sighed, shaking his head.

"You're right. I think I have a fractured forearm."

"My wife was able to check me. She says my right shoulder isn't dislocated. But it must be brusied as hell. She's tending to Jose. He's coming around."

"All right, listen carefully. We were struck by lightning again. By some miracle, we're still airborne. But we have no auto pilot, and we have only three hours left of power. After that, it's all over."

Lance's jaw dropped down in shock.

"....Jesus..."

He stepped closer to Matt.

"S-So who's going to fly this ship while we make our escape onto the Asimov 11?!"

Matt sighed heavily, lowering his head. A tense moment of silence.

"I-I don't know." he responded quietly.

A chill ran down Lance's spine.

"So...do you mean to tell me that whoever has that job...."

Lance saw a flash of agony and grief rush across Matt's features. There was no need to guess the rest. Lance already knew. Whoever had the role of piloting the ship was dead. Lance swallowed hard.

"D-Do you need two folks to pilot the ship??"

"No. One will do."

Lance gazed at the ceiling.

"Oh shit..."

A hard, impassive mask formed on Matt's face.

"Come on. Let's help your friends."

---

Part 4