Installment #13

Chapter 21

The video was split screen with four separate images of the entry hall. There was no sound. It began with the hall empty. The furniture and equipment were in perfect order and there were no signs of the destruction that was all around him.

After a few seconds, the airlock door opened and six figures in enviro-suits entered. The lead figure stopped, produced an instrument of some sort and read the screen. He then put it down and removed his helmet. While the video was not crystal clear, it appeared to be Timothy Lymon, who had been identified in the files as the leader of the restart team.

One by one the other figures removed their helmets. There were two women and the rest men. The brunette was obviously Carla Campbell. They all huddled for a few minutes, and then the group split up into three teams and went in different directions. Carla Campbell and one of the men headed through the right exit from the entry hall and disappeared from view. Within in a few seconds, everyone had left and the hall was again empty.

"JENNI," Adrian interrupted. "Could you please move to the video of the team leaving the station?"

"Of course, Mr. Masters." A few seconds later the video started. It showed six people entering the hall, donning their enviro-suits, and entering the airlock. Again, the furniture and equipment was in perfect order; there were no signs of a struggle of any kind. Once the video ended Adrian asked JENNI to replay it. She obliged. This time he focused on the details. There was something about this video that didn't look right. He couldn't decide what the problem was, but there was clearly something wrong with the video.

If, as the video showed, the restart team had left the station as shown, then why did they disappear? And when did all of the damages occur? It just didn’t make any sense. He plugged his video unit into the comlink and requested that JENNI download the two videos. She obliged. He planned to review the videos later while JENNI wasn't "looking over his shoulder" – so to speak.

He then asked JENNI to put him in touch with Lt. Col. Snyder. Again, there was a long pause. She then responded: "I'm sorry, Mr. Masters, I don't know who you are speaking of."

The soldier standing near him burst out. "What!? What!? What do you mean you don't know who he is. He just left here a couple of minutes ago with Mr. Strong. They were heading for your location."

"I'm sorry, I don't recognize the voice. Who is speaking?", JENNI asked calmly.

"This is Sergeant Holden. I am second in command on this mission. Please scan for life forms outside of the entry hall."

"I don’t detect any life forms. I am sorry."

Adrian felt a cold chill going down his spine. He put his finger to his lips, took the soldier's arm and moved away from the comlink. Adrian whispered, "There is obviously something wrong with JENNI. It probably occurred during the storm. My concern is that we not do anything to cause her to react. Like all the JENNI's she is programmed for self-preservation as a last resort. If she feels that her survival is threatened by us, who knows what she might do."

The soldier leaned even closer and whispered: "So what do you expect me to do?"

"Nothing. Act as if everything is just fine. I am assuming that at least Strong is still alive. Perhaps I'm wrong, but since Strong was one of the two men who created JENNI, I can't imagine that she would do anything to him. Unless, as I just said, she felt that her survival was being threatened. And frankly, I don’t see Strong as being a threat to anyone. So just play along."

Adrian walked calmly back to the comlink. "JENNI," he said calmly, "Do you have a record of Michael Strong coming into the station an hour or so ago?"

"Oh, yes, Mr. Masters. I was so happy to see him and hear his voice again. It had been so long. He was one of my creators. I owe so much to him."

"Exactly, JENNI. You do owe a lot to him. Can you tell me what happened to Mr. Strong after he arrived."

"Of course, he talked to me for a while and then he left and returned to the transport."

"Thank you, JENNI." Adrian walked back to the soldier and said in a whisper: "Did Mr. Strong go back to the transport?"

"No way," the soldier responded. "I have been here the entire time. He left with Lt. Col. Snyder about 30 minutes ago. He has not returned."

"Is there any other exit that he could have used to get back to the transport?"

"None. There is only one way into and one way out of this facility. For security reasons."

Adrian didn't quite know what to do. He wasn't that familiar with computer science. He was working with people. And people were relatively simple creatures. They responded in predictable ways to particular stimuli. Computer systems were much more complicated. And if they suffered some injury or got a virus or other malicious software, no one could even guess what the computer would do. After thinking about it for several minutes, Adrian walked back to the comlink.

"JENNI?"

"Yes, Mr. Masters."

"Could you play back the video of Michael Strong leaving the facility and returning to the transport?"

There was silence; then the familiar four screen video appeared on the screen. It showed Michael Strong walking into the entry hall and walking into the airlock. Adrian felt a strong tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see the Sergeant staring at the screen. Once the video ended, the Sergeant motioned for Adrian to follow him over to the corner.

"Mr. Masters. Did you see that video?"

"Yes. And . . ."

"What do you mean, 'and'. That video was obviously phony. It showed the entry hall empty. The entry hall hasn't be empty since we arrived. There have been at least five grunts here the entire time. JENNI created that video somehow. But why?"

"I have no clue. Obviously, if she could create that video, she could create the prior videos about the restart team. But why?"

"I know why. To cover her tracks. Somehow she's responsible for whatever happened to the restart team. I'm trained to fight enemy soldiers, not a wacko computer system. I have no idea what to do." The sergeant was clearly out of his realm. But so was Adrian.

[Words in this installment = 1,113]
[Total words to date = 21,229]

Installment #12

Chapter 20

Adrian was conflicted. While he sat there holding Maria's hand, he tried to decide whether he should tell the other member's of the team about was Maria had overheard. He doubted whether any other team members were aware of the double-cross he suspected, but he didn't want to take any chances. If someone else was part of the "plan" and found out that he and Maria knew about it, they might be triggered to act prematurely. And Adrian needed all the time he could get to try to figure out what the exact plan was, and how to derail it.

While waiting for the OK to enter the station, Adrian had used his communicator to send an encrypted message to a colleague at the mining colony on Io. He hoped that Algon received it, and would be able to help, if needed. Algon had been a wildcatter and a co-worker for many years before he had lost his arm in a horrific accident on Poseidon Colony where a group of disgruntled workers had sabotaged the beryllium processing plant. Algon had been the first into the plant and had been right at ground zero when the bomb went off. No one had thought that he would survive. But modern cyber-surgery had been able to put him back together again, except for that arm. He had a prosthetic installed, but the nerves had never regenerated properly, and his right arm had very limited mobility. Certainly no enough for a wildcatter. As a result, Algon had taken a desk job. They hadn't seen each other for years, but Adrian hoped that their friendship still meant something to Algon.

After what seemed like hours (but was in fact no more than 10 minutes), the grunt came back on the intercom. "Mr. Masters, we have secured the station and it is safe for your people to get to work."

Adrian had almost forgotten their purpose in being there. He had been totally absorbed in thinking about how to defend himself and Maria against whatever Snyder had planned, and hadn't been thinking about why he was hired – to locate any other members of the restart team that might still be alive and to bring back Campbell's daughter, dead or alive. The soldier's voice snapped him back to reality. But he knew that in addition to his original assignment, he had to keep his eyes out for Snyder's other plan – to kill his team once they had completed their job.

Adrian stood up and called to his team, "OK, guys and gals, time to do this. Make sure you have your weapons at hand. Who knows what we may find in there. And we can't depend totally on Snyder and his men to defend us. They have their own priorities. Ours is to get in, find the restart team, and get out."

The team members all strapped on their backpacks and holsters. Adrian had everyone take extra clips of ammunition, just in case. Maria seemed to have pulled it together. Adrian hoped that her experience and toughness would overcome any emotional distress she was suffering. He needed everyone on the team to be at 100%.

They walked down the gangway toward the station entrance. Although the gangway was sealed against the wind, Adrian could still feel the cold, and could smell the ammonia in the atmosphere that had penetrated the seals – albeit in extremely small quantities. He was happy to be through the airlock and into the station.

The place was even worse than the soldier had said. Every piece of furniture and equipment in the entry hall had been destroyed. The multiple burns along the walls and ceiling attested to a hell of a gun battle that had taken place. And there were several large pools of dried blood on the floor. One of the soldiers had already set up a portable testing lab and was running tests on the dried blood. Two other soldiers were standing guard at the exits from the hall. The rest of the soldiers, as well as Mr. Strong, had already left the hall.

Adrian walked over to the soldier working at the portable lab. "Soldier, anything you can tell me?"

The grunt looked up from the screen, smiled at Adrian, and looked back at the display. "Not much. I have tested all of the large blood stains. All of the DNA matches reference samples from members of the restart team. So far, no evidence of any unknowns – like offworld pirates or 'aliens'."

"What about Carla Campbell?", Adrian asked.

"Nothing yet. I have samples from two small areas that will be testing next. I'll let you know."

Adrian walked over to the soldier who appeared to be in charge. "Sergeant, Adrian Masters."

"Good to meet you, sir."

"Do you have a map of the facility?"

The soldier pulled a small projection device from his pocket and hit a button. A holographic blueprint of the site appeared in front of them. The soldier pointed: "We're here. The computer center where Lt. Col. Snyder and Mr. Strong went is here, four floors down in a hardened core area." Adrian scanned the rest of the plans quickly, as he had done on the space station in preparation for the initial meeting. He didn't see anything unusual.

"Sergeant, if you were a young woman looking for a safe place fairly close to here, where would you go."

"Sir?", the soldier responded with a questioning look on his face.

"My primary mission here is to find Carla Campbell, Mr. Campbell's daughter. She was part of the restart team. She wants her back dead or alive. Looking around here, it looks like the restart team was ambushed. Probably on arrival, but perhaps later as they were trying to get away. I'm wondering where a young, frightened civilian might have gone for refuge."

The soldier just shrugged. Adrian continued, "Have you seen any other parts of the facility?"

"Not yet, sir."

"I was just wondering if fighting took place anywhere else but here?"

"That I couldn't tell you, sir."

"Well, have you heard anything from Lt. Col Snyder since he left?"

"Nothing yet."

"Isn't that unusual?"

"Well, let's just say it's not usual. But it's up to the Lt. Col. to make the call. I'm sure he has a good reason for not checking in."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Adrian responded. He wondered whether the soldiers knew what was really going on, or whether they were are in the dark as he was. He suspected the soldier was only told that he was to help secure the facility. The concept of "need to know" would have made it unnecessary to tell the grunts anything beyond what Adrian had been told.

Adrian walked over to a comlink and pressed the button. "JENNI, are you there?" After a long silence, a pleasant, slightly metallic female voice responded: "Yes, I'm here. Who is this?"

"This is Adrian Masters."

"Just a moment please," JENNI said. Then silence. After about 10 seconds, she came back. "Mr. Masters, it is good to meet you. Now that my antenna was repaired I can access the databases again. There is a lot of information about you. You are apparently a very interesting person. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. What can I do for you?"

Adrian was surprised that she was able to access his files so quickly. The antenna was just an interim measure to provide a link with the outside world, but didn't have the bandwidth of a full-sized antenna. Apparently, the speed was sufficient to transfer the data in a couple of seconds. While he was used to working with 'JENNIs' -- as all of the computer networks on virtually all of the Juno Mining sites are called -- he just didn't like having the 'person' (he couldn't get used to the idea of talking to a machine) he was talking to knowing more about him than he knew about her.

"I am heading up a team to find a group of people that came down here about a week ago. What can you tell me about them?"

"Oh, yes. There was a group of people that came here after the storm. It was nice to have someone to talk to after so long."

"Yes, the group of people that were here. What happened to them?"

"What do you mean, 'what happened to them'? They came, we had a number of nice conversations, and then they left," JENNI responded. "And then another group came today. You are with that group?"

"Yes, JENNI, I am with that group. But let's focus on the previous group. What can you tell me about what to them."

"I do not understand your question, Mr. Masters. They came, they stayed here for exactly 23 hours and 37 minutes, and then they left. There is nothing significant to report. They said they were here to evaluate the station. They did so, and left."

"What can you tell me about the battle that obviously took place here in the entry hall? I would think that would have been viewed as 'significant.'"

"What battle," JENNI replied. "I have no record of any battle?"

"JENNI, do you have any video devices operational in the entry hall?"

"Yes, certainly I do. In fact, I can see you right now."

Adrian looked around and saw at least three video cameras all oriented in his direction.

"Good," he replied. "Now, can you scan the entry hall and tell me if anything looks out of the ordinary to you."

He watched the cameras slowly moving from right to left, and then up and down.

"If I might say so, Mr. Masters, the entry hall is a mess. What happened?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out. Can you tell me what happened?"

Silence. Then JENNI said, "I have no memory of anything unusual happening in the entry hall. I have reviewed all of my databases. Nothing looks out of the ordinary. I will send some bots to clean up the entry hall and repair the damaged equipment."

"JENNI, don't worry about cleaning up right now. What I need to know is do you have recordings of what happened during the time the prior group was here?"

"Of course. That is part of my job, to document everything that takes place on Site 209."

"Well then, JENNI, could you please access the videos for the arrival and departure of the prior team?"

"Of course."

". . . And, could you please play back the first five minutes of the arrival and the last three minutes before the departure?"

"Of course. Would you like for me to play them back now?"

"Yes JENNI, now."

[Words in this installment = 1,791]
[Total words to date = 20,116]

Installment #11

Chapter 19

The captain and his crew were absolutely amazing. You would never have known they were fighting a cross wind of 100 miles per hour the way they slid the huge ship in tightly against the entrance to the station. There was still a gap of about 20 feet that the men would have to traverse, but the ship could not have been any better situated. Its location blocked much of the wind, reducing the chance of an accident.

By the time the ship had powered down, Snyder, his crew and Michael Strong were in their environment suits. The ship's crew was able to deploy a cable from the hatch to the entrance to the station. Each of the suits was equipped with a clip that could be hooked directly on the cable, allowing the men to traverse the space between the ship and the station. One of Snyder's team held onto Strong as he made the crossing with his computer under his arm. Two of the crew members carried the crate containing the portable antenna. Once Strong reached the station, the crewman helped Strong connect a communications cable between the computer and the remote port just to the left of the entrance. After several minutes of two fingered typing through the thick gloves, Strong apparently had made contact with JENNI, since the door to the airlock opened and the seven men piled in.

Several more minutes passed. Then everyone heard Snyder's voice over the PA system. "Captain Williams, can you hear me?" They had apparently been successful setting up the antenna, and were in communications with the ship. "Captain Williams?"

After a few seconds, we heard Captain Williams' acknowledgement. After a long pause, Snyder continued.

"We made it in the airlock, and as you can tell, we have been able to set up the antenna. The place is a mess. There apparently was a hell of a battle in here. There are pulse gun trails on the walls and ceiling. We haven't found any bodies yet, but we've see some dried blood. We've secured the entrance, and as soon as you are ready, you can begin unloading the cargo. . . . And when he is ready, Mr. Masters can come in with his crew."

Masters walked to the cockpit and opened the door. "Can I speak to Lt. Colonel Snyder directly Captain?"

Williams handed the headset to Masters. "Lt. Colonel Snyder, this is Adrian Masters. I don't intend to endanger my crew unnecessarily. Are you sure it is safe for us to debark?"

Silence. Then a different voice came on the line. "Sorry sir, the Lt. Colonel has left with Michael Strong and another grunt to head for the control room. I'm Lt. Sloan. I've been left in charge. Contact with JENNI has been intermittent and they think the communications lines may have been damaged in the battle. In the meantime, we have been able to hack into the gangway electronics and will be moving the gangway into place. It may take a little longer than usual, since we have had to jury rig the controls, so please sit tight until we tell you a seal has been achieved and you can enter the airlock without your suits."

Masters gave the headset back to the captain and returned to the viewing room. The gangway was moving slowly and somewhat unsteadily toward the ship. Just above the gangway Masters could see one of the massive robots moving slowly across the canopy formed by the top of the airlock and the roof. That thing was enormous. From the video he's seen back on the space station, the robot looked like a small beetle. But up close the thing was the size of a bus. It had large metallic wheels which looked like gears. The teeth of the gears fit into channels on the roof of the building, allowing for it to move methodically across the room. The channels went back and forth across the entire surface of the roof, so the robots would cover every square inch of the roof. This method of propulsion allows the robots to move continuously without concern that the high winds would dislodge the robot from the roof.

In the front of the robot, there were two large arms, actually booms with large welding machines built into the claws at the end of the antenna. The robots would carefully inspect the roof. If any problems were encountered, the robot could weld down any loose metal plates and fill any cracks or holes. From what he had read, the robots also had the ability to fabricate metallic sheets that could then be welded over large holes in the roof. The machine were built almost entirely of pure, rustproof titanium alloy to resist the corrosive chemicals in the Jovian atmosphere. They were bright and shiny, despite the fact that they had been exposed to the elements for over a decade.

According to information contained in the envelope he had been given, the only times the robots left the roof were for maintenance and repairs or when the winds exceeded 500 miles per hour. They had been safely in their cocoons for most of the time of the superstorm. Apparently, they had made one foray onto the roof during the storm to repair a hold that had been created by some debris. While there had been some concern that they might be blown away, they apparently performed flawlessly.

Having nothing else to do, Masters watched the robot slowly lumber across the roof, stopping every few minutes to weld something, and then resuming it slow journey, eventually taking it out of site into the perennial clouds. Once that entertainment had ended, Masters looked around the room. Most of the crew were busying themselves double checking their gear. Only Maria was laying down with her eyes closed. Adrian walked over to her and placed his hand on her beautiful brown hair. She opened her eyes and looked at him. She reached up and took his hand in hers.

[Word count in this installment = 1,009]
[Total count to date = 18,325]

Installment #10

Chapter 18

Adrian finished the file. Maria had calmed down enough for her to freshen herself up so they could leave the cabin and join the rest of the crew in the viewing room. Snyder gave them a weird look as they entered the room. Adrian couldn't tell if Snyder was surprised that they were together, curious, or angry. Adrian tried to ignore it.

"Well, how close are we to touchdown?" Adrian asked, of no one in particular.

"We have about two hours left," Snyder responded. "The captain has encountered significant turbulence, so he has had to make a wide curve to come up from behind the direction of the superstorm. He thinks that will give us the smoothest approach."

"Lt. Colonel, what is the game plan once we land?," Adrian asked. Everyone who had been looking out the viewing port, turned and faced Snyder. Obviously, that was a question on everyone's mind.

"Well, once we land, my men and I will enter the station first. We will check the life support system and for any other obvious dangers. Mr. Strong will need to accompany us, since he will need to tap into the computer system through the external remote port and instruct JENNI to open the airlock. Normally, the captain would do so as he approached the station, but because the antenna is broken, we can't communicate with JENNI except by a direct connection. Mr. Strong will need to suit up. Since we can't communication with JENNI, she won't be deploying the gangway, so the transport will be pulled as close as possible to the entrance, and a cable will be stretched from the ship to the entrance. Everyone will need to be attached to the cable to avoid being blown away. It is not the best option, but it is our only option. Once contact is established with JENNI, she will deploy the gangway, and the rest of you can enter the station without suiting up."

"Once we are in the station, we will be offloading the portable antenna first. Once that is operational, we will have communications with both the ship and the orbital station and things should move forward much more quickly. After the cargo is unloaded, the ship will return to the station and await our call."

"OK," Adrian continued. "That sounds good as far as it goes. But then what? What if we encounter hostile forces? What if there is an airborne pathogen? What if, what if. I am not used to going into a location with absolutely no idea what I may encounter. Generally I know exactly what the problem is, and the only unknown is how we are going to solve it – whether it's a mine collapse, an oil well blowout, a hazardous waste spill. This is the first time I have been asked to take in a team blind. And it, frankly, scares the hell out of me."

"I wish I had the luxury of knowing what I was going to encounter when I went on a mission," Snyder replied. "Generally, I have no idea what the danger is, where it may come from, and whether I will survive. That's just part of my job."

"Well, that's not generally part of my job, or that of my team," Adrian stated, more forcefully. "I am not going to permit any of my team to enter the site until I am convinced that we are not in mortal danger." Turning to Professor Nordhoff, Adrian continued. "And it would be extremely useful to all of us, if we knew what information was provided to Professor Nordhoff' by Mr. Campbell," pointing to the envelope sitting next to the professor, "as well as what you and the professor have been discussing so intently since we left the orbital station."

The professor started to reply, but was cut off by the wave of Snyder's hand. "Unfortunately, Mr. Masters, Mr. Campbell has found it necessary to compartmentalize certain information for security purposes. You have been provided certain information, I have been provided particular information, and Professor Nordhoff has been provided with other information. That's just the way Campbell is. If you had worked for him as many times as I have, you just get used to it."

"In my book, the less information each of us has, the more at risk we all are. The more information we have, the safer we are," Adrian said. "If I had known we would be working blind, I wouldn't have agreed to this mission. Is there anything more you can tell us?"

"Nothing I can think of," Snyder said dismissively. Just then there was a discernible change in speed. "Let's just get ready for the landing."

All eyes turned to the viewing screens. Everything looked the same as it had for some time now. White clouds in all directions. From a distance, the Jovian clouds were multicolored – pinks, blues and whites. But up close all was white. Weird. Good things for sophisticate navigation systems. Otherwise, there would be no way even an experienced pilot could find the mining station.

"Ladies and gentlemen," said the captain's voice over the PA system, "we have begun our initial approach to Site 209. Please take your seats and fasten your restraints, this is going to be a bit rough." Just as he finished the sentence, there was a jolt that had everyone staggering forward. The captain wasn't kidding. They are moved quickly to the nearest seat and tightened the restraint as much as possible. The next 10 minutes were not pretty. Everthing that was not tied down was jumping around the floor like oil on a hot skillet.

To take his mind off the turbulence, Adrian stared at the screen, trying to discern the station from the white clouds. Several times he thought he saw a dark spot, which could have been the station, but the spot quickly disappeared. And then, there it was. It was enormous, generally grey in color, but with sections that were dark blue and rust brown. It was build in a generally circular configuration, sort of like the proverbial "flying saucers" that 20th Century authors thought were extraterrestrials. In all of the time that there's been space travel, no one has run into any "little green men" or grey creatures, or any of the other creatures that sci-fi authors had imagined alien beings would look like.

As far as we could tell, human beings are the only intelligent life in the universe – or at least in our arm of the Milky Way galaxy. No creatures, no evidence that any intelligent life has ever lived or visited all of the worlds that humans had visited. Somewhat disappointing to those who had hoped to tap into advanced alien intelligence that could have jump started human knowledge. Instead, we have had to go it alone – making all the mistake that humans are bound to make along the way.

But we had come a long way. No one could have imagined that humans would be able to visit, let alone build a permanent (or at least permanent, so far) base on Jupiter. And who could have imagined a frozen shell surrounding Jupiter that could support such a base? And who could have believed that humans could have built a base that could withstanding the severity of the Jovian superstorm? But there it was, still intact. And in a few minutes, the transport would be landing. And, got willing, in a few hours the base would be secured and the transport (and his team) would be heading back, significantly richer.

[Word count this installment = 1,269]
[Total word count = 17,316]

Installment #9

Chapter 17

Adrian could never get over the sheer size of transport ships nowadays. When he started, the cargo ships were small, cramped and anything but luxurious. Some of the smaller ones only had a pressurized crew cabins, meaning that any passengers were required to wear environment suits during the entire trip. That made the trips hell, particularly the longer one where you had to sit for hours, or sometimes days. And the gymnastics that you had to go through to go to the bathroom. He didn't want to think about it.

But this ship was nice. Huge, but nice. The passenger module could easily hold 50 or more. As a result, each passenger on today's trip had his or her own cabin, although he expected that most of them would spend the majority of the voyage in the forward observation module where they would have a panoramic view of the planet, the swirling clouds, and eventually the mining site. Although the trip was only a few tens of thousands of miles "as the crow flies," it would take up to five hours due to the prevailing winds and the turbulence remaining in the atmosphere due to the recent passage of "The Red Spot."

Adrian settled into his cabin to finish prepping for the mission. He had scanned all of the papers before the meeting on the space station, but wanted to read them in detail before landing. He was curious about the selection of personnel for his team. He could see why Campbell had assigned Maria and Gill. And even Michael Strong. But Professor Nordhoff was still a mystery to him. If the mission was simply to rescue the restart team and deal with the probable scenarios identified by Snyder, why a cryo-chemist, who hadn't been off of Earth for decades. While cryo-chemistry was an interesting field, and one that was beginning to have some applications in chemical refineries and pharmaceutical companies, he could see no application on an off-world mining site that simply extracted chemicals from the Jovian atmosphere and shipped them elsewhere for refining and purification.

Adrian reviewed the blueprints for the site carefully. There were no chemical labs anywhere on the site. The only thing that even came close was the infirmary, which had a testing bay for any worker who came down with something, and there was a single operating room for more serious problems like appendicitis or heart attack, serious injuries or even psychological problems. But nothing that could be used for cryo-chemistry.

Adrian then open the folder on Carla Campbell. She was the prize that this mission was all about. While her father cared about the mining site, the corporate insurance could replace anything damaged by the storm. But nothing could compensate for the loss of his daughter. It seemed strange that he would send his only daughter on what could have been, and indeed turned out to be, a very dangerous mission. There were plenty of safer places he could have sent her and still given her valuable experience. The fact that he sent her to Site 209 seemed to be the kind of reckless choice someone like Campbell would not make. There seemed to be something more to it than the explanation given. He would make a mental note of that and see if he could get any further information from Snyder, whose duty first and foremost was to rescue Carla. Somewhere far down the priority list was safeguarding he and the rest of his team. Adrian was just hoping that the safeguarding of his team thing was not too far down on Snyder's list.

Things just did not add up. On all of his prior missions, things made sense. His duties were well defined, there were no seemingly extraneous, unresolvable issues that caused him pause. This one was different. Was it because this was his last mission and he was being overly cautious, or had the years just made him naturally suspicious of things that wouldn't have bothered a younger wildcatter?

Just then a knock on the cabin door startled Adrian. He opened the door and Maria was standing there. "May I come in?" she asked.

He stood there for a second, not knowing if this was such a good idea, considering where they had left things the last time they were together. But he was trying to put those problems behind him, so he invited her in.

She closed the door and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Is this place bugged?" she asked.

He hadn't really thought about it until that moment, but realized that it might be. "I don't know," he whispered back to her. So let's assume this it is." If the cabin was under surveillance it could be aural or visual, or both. While the Galactic Code prohibited eavesdropping on passengers on a commercial flight, since this was a chartered flight, he was not sure the law even applied. So he thought, better safe than sorry. He motioned Maria over to a corner of the room where they could be relatively secluded, and took a pen and pad of paper with him.

When Maria and he were having their "fling," they had developed a synthetic code that they could use to communicate to each other without fear of their messages being read. One of the many things they had had in common was their love of languages. They had both studied linguistics in high school (and she had continued her studies in college). And, as a result they had been able to develop this synthetic code that they were fairly certain others would not be able to easily decrypt without a significant effort.

"Klankz qua zi? (What is it?)," he wrote on the pad.

"Crozeenq elpanazm perdersvld (Things just don’t add up)," she said. And she continued in code: "I overheard the professor and that soldier talking just now. I didn't hear it all, but I did hear Snyder say 'Don't worry about it, Campbell has it all under control. Your bonus is as good as in your bank account right now.' The next part was garbled, but then I distinctly heard him say 'I'll take care of the rest of them once they've done their job.' . . . I'm scared."

Adrian thought for a moment. The statement was ambiguous, since "take care of" could mean that Snyder was going to make sure everyone got their bonus, but added to the inconsistencies he already had identified, it made him increasingly uneasy about what they were getting themselves into. He shared with Maria his own misgivings about what was going on. That only made he more upset. She was now shaking and her code-writing was getting more difficult to read: "What can we do?"

Adrian took up the pen and wrote: "I know we have had our problems in the past, but we need to stick together, whatever is going on. You can hate me later, after this is all over, but there is no time for that now. OK?"

Maria took the pen. "I don't hate you, Adrian. And even if I did, I need you now. I don't know who else I can trust."

"We can't trust anyone else. We have to assume that whatever is going on here, they are all in on it. Although I doubt that Michael Strong or Sam Gill are part of this – they are too far down on the totem pole. But I think we must assume the worst," Adrian wrote. "If we need to discuss this further, we should speak in code. Assume that Campbell has eyes and ears everywhere – both on the ship and at the site."

They hugged. She was shaking and curled up in Adrian's massive arms. He just held her. It felt good. His mind was racing. What was going on here? How was he going to get out alive if he had no idea what he was walking into? He stretched out his free arm and grabbed the envelope. Whatever was going on, he thought there might be some clues in the file.

[Word count this installment = 1,355]
[Total word cound = 16,047]

Installment #8

Chapter 15

Snyder walked up and interrupted their conversation.

"Mr. Masters," Snyder started, handing Adrian a clipboard he was carrying, which had a large stack of papers straining against the clip, "here is the manifest of the supplies you specified in the subspace communications that you sent on your way here. Please check it over to see if everything is accounted for. If so, please initial here, here and here," Snyder pointed at three underlined blanks clearly marked 'Initial here.'"

Adrian frankly didn’t remember exactly what he had requested. However, he didn't want Snyder to know that he was a bit hung over when he sent the transmission. So, he carefully read the page of the manifest simultaneously racking his brain to recall what he had asked for, and whether the list was complete – or even intelligible. He was surprised that the list seemed to be comprehensive, and it even made sense for the task at hand. Perhaps he hadn't been as hung over as he thought, or maybe he can function even when a bit under the weather.

Either way, the list looked complete. He couldn't think of anything missing. The list was divided into three sections. The first were the tools that he traditionally took with him on every job. He had learned over the years that it was impossible to anticipate exactly what tools would be needed for a particular job, so he had established a comprehensive list of tools that were versatile enough to cover virtually every eventuality. If he found himself in need of a particular tool that was not part of his "toolbox," he could always improvise. These include various drugs, antidotes for poisons, radiation, and biological hazards.

The second section included those specialized tools he imagined he would need for this particular job. He wasn't trying to put out an oil fire, like on Andreas 3; nor did he imagine he would be dealing with man-eating plants, like on Scarternian; or with a minefield as on Regula 2a. Unfortunately, it was easier to decide what he was not likely to run into than to predict what he might run into. He had thought of space pirates even before talking to Snyder, since those scumballs where a problem everywhere. That is why he had asked Campbell to provide a contingent of grunts to protect his team. Beyond that, he had thought of a whole slew of possibilities, which led him to make a somewhat eclectic list of tools and protective gear.

The third section included testing gear, lab equipment and autopsy supplies that would permit his team to (hopefully) track down or diagnose any unknown conditions, ailments or diseases that may have befallen the restart team.

It looked like it was all there, so he initialed the form with a flourish and handed the clipboard back to Snyder. When he turned to resume his conversation with Strong, he was gone.

Chapter 16

Two men across the dock were having what appeared to be an argument. Both Professor Nordhoff and Mr. Gill had been on prior missions with Adrian, but he hadn't seen them for quite some time and, frankly, didn't understand why they would have been chosen for a rescue mission such as this.

Professor Martin Nordhoff had been one of these kids that drop out of college to "see the world," or in this case, see the solar system. He had been a young, impetuous boy when Adrian had first met him on Io. Martin didn't do well in a structured educational environment. While Adrian didn't know all of the details, Martin had apparently been "asked" to take a leave of absence from his undergraduate chemical engineering studies at MIT. There was something about an explosion in one of the lab that Martin either caused or was somehow involved in. Several people were injured, including Martin. Fortunately, no one was killed. So his parents had shipped him off to Io to work on one of the mining operations. Adrian had been called in due to, what else, an explosion in the mine. It could have just been a coincidence, but Adrian was suspicious anyway. They never got to the cause of the explosion, but Martin returned to Earth shortly thereafter.

But despite his youth and recklessness, he had impressed Adrian. A few months later, Martin contacted him and asked him for a job. Adrian was wary, but Martin had won him over with his charm and obvious intelligence. He had been a good worker and earned Adrian's respect – which wasn't something given lightly to anyone. He had stayed with the company for several years before returning to his studies. But Adrian remembered him, and as Martin worked his way through the ranks to a full professorship in cryo-chemistry, Adrian had seen articles on this "whiz kid" who was revolutionizing low-temperature chemistry. What he was doing here was hard to imagine.

"Professor Nordhoff, so good to see you," Adrian said as he strode up to the pair. "Whatever brings you to Jupiter?"

"A good question. Matt Campbell asked that I join your group. He was a bit vague on why, but when Mr. Campbell asks you something, you do it."

"What would motivate a highly regarded professor, with tenure at a prestigious university, to risk life and limb to come way out here," Adrian asked curiously.

"Money," Martin responded, matter-of-factly. "You see, Juno Mining has been funding my research for the last decade. He established the chair at the university, built the building my lab occupies, and provides millions in research grants each year. The university would have closed the cryo labs years ago but for Juno. So, as a practical matter, Campbell owns me. He has asked little from me in the last ten years, except to keep him apprised of my research results. So, when he personally called to ask that I join your little expedition here, I couldn't say no – literally, I couldn't say no. I wanted to, but I couldn't. And, it is good to get out of the lab for a change. I haven't been on an adventure like this since we worked together almost 20 years ago."

"Well," Adrian replied, "I would take a lab job anytime over this. Living out of a duffel bag and not knowing where your next paycheck is coming from gets really old afterwhile. The idea of a steady job, getting to go home every night to a wife and family – those are things that I find more appealing every day."

"Stability is not all that it is cracked up to be," Martin replied.

Adrian reached into his backpack and pulled out a thick envelope made of nanopaper with the same security device attached to it that was on Adrian's envelope. "Here," Adrian said, handing Martin the envelope, "Campbell asked that I give this to you once we were boarding the transport. You know how the security device works?"

"Yes," Martin replied, "Campbell is fond of security, even when it is not necessary. Thanks." Martin walked over to a corner of the dock and opened the envelope.

Adrian then turned to Sam Gill. "And what's your story, Sam? Why are you here?"

"Same as the professor, money," Gill responded somewhat defensively. "I have a bit of a gambling habit, and money's been short. This gig will help to replenish the back account, at least for a while."

Gill was known as a good "utility" man in the business. He could do pretty much anything. He wasn't an expert at anything, but his versatility often came in handy when something unexpected popped up. Gill could do everything from construction to demolition. He had been a soldier in a past life, before his gambling ended up getting him drummed out of the corp. So he knew his way around guns as well. In the military he had been part of the constructions corps, so he could jury rig virtually anything. Adrian had been reminded of Gill some years ago when he was on Calcitram 4. One Saturday night he had been sans date and decided to go to a cinema that showed "classic television." That night they showed several episodes of a quaint show called "McGyver." The character could make a weapon out of spaghetti. It reminded him of Gill.

"Any idea why you're here," Adrian asked.

"Nope. The agency just said it was a good job, good pay, little risk and the possibility of a big payday. That's all I had to hear."

Adrian was somewhat uneasy about Gill's presence. Compulsive gamblers had a tendency to take unreasonable risks, not just at the tables, but in their lives as well. And broke, compulsive gamblers were even worse. Adrian didn't need someone around that was going to take risks, since that would expose everyone to greater risks as well. But he couldn't really kick him off the team at this point. He might come in useful. And anyway, Campbell had hand picked him. Adrian would just have to keep an eye on him.

Just then a group of men, dressed in uniforms, walked down the dock. This was obviously the flight crew. Their job was relatively straightforward. Take the team to the mine site, make sure they were in, and then come back when called later. They didn't leave the transport, didn't get involved in whatever was planned, and basically would do nothing to endanger themselves or their ship. The captain strode up to Snyder and spoke to him briefly, looked through the manifest, scanned the passengers standing around the gangway, and turned and headed into the ship with his rest of his cres.

Snyder walked to the center of the dock and spoke loudly. "Ladies and gentlemen, the flight crew has arrived. There are a couple crates left to be loaded and then we need to get aboard for an on-time departure to Site 209. Any questions?" Not waiting for any, Snyder walked to the gangway, signaled to his team and walked down the gangway.

The members of Adrian's group followed. Adrian hung back and waited for Nordhoff to catch up to him. "Well, professor, what did our benefactor have to say?" nodding to the envelope.

"Nothing that I can share with you, Adrian. Just some tests that he wants me to run when we get to the station. I don't think they have much to do with the rescue mission at all, so it looks like the best thing I can do is stay out of your way while you secure the site, locate any survivors and restart the station again."

Martin clutched the envelope tightly under his arm, and walked down the gangway with Adrian.

[Word count this installment = 1,789]
[Total word count = 14,692]

Installment #7

Chapter 13

". . . the most probable scenario is that the storm caused a weakness in the shell of the station, and while the restart team was inside, there was a catastrophic loss of pressure killing them instantly," Snyder continued. "The simulation sets that as a 17.3% possibility. The next most probable scenario is that the team is still alive (or at least some of them are) but they have been unable communicate with the outside world. That was set at 12.1%. From there the percentages drop significantly. It is possible that a group of space pirates came in just slightly ahead or behind the storm – when our ability to detect them was severely impaired by interference by the storm. That is always a danger, considering the amount of valuable equipment sitting unguarded at the station. If they came before the storm, they could have loaded their ship with loot and sat tight until the storm subsided, making their escape before the restart team arrived. A similar scenario also involves space pirates who were still at the station when the restart team arrived and killed the team before making their escape either in their own ship or the restart team's ship. It is also possible that the space pirates were stranded at the station due to problems with their ship and may still be there. The remaining scenarios are so remote that they can be disregarded."

"Whew," Adrian responded, somewhat sarcastically. "The computers must have been working overtime to come up with that list."

"You may scoff, Mr. Masters, but we want to have as much information as possible before we go in. We are prepared for every one of those scenarios," Snyder responded, waiving his arm toward the mass of equipment still sitting on the dock.

Adrian saw Maria approached, and turned toward her. Snyder did the same. "Maria, I would like to introduce you to Lt. Colonel James Snyder. He's been briefing me on what we might expect to encounter once we get to Site 209."

"Very pleased to meet you, Lt. Colonel," Maria said, looking Snyder up and down. "It looks like we will be in capable hands."

Snyder stiffened, as if responding to an "attention" command from a superior. "Yes, ma'am, you will be." There was an awkward silence.

"Maria is a crackerjack structural engineer. If there are any problems with the facility's infrastructure, she's the one to take care of it," Adrian interjected. "We have had the pleasure of working on a rescue mission before, and her advice was invaluable in the success of that mission." Adrian didn't tell him that only 6 of the 22 miners were recovered alive. But that little detail didn't seem necessary or relevant to the matter at hand.

"Oh, Adrian, you are too kind," she said, as sweetly as she could muster. His voice brought back all of the bad feelings she had suppressed. Her stomach was churning, and she could feel a bit of vomit in her throat. Damn, she thought to herself, I can't let him affect he this way.

"I need to check out the gear I requisitioned for the trip," she said, looking deep into Snyder's eyes, "do you think you could help me find my crates?"

"Certainly, ma'am," Snyder responded. The two of them walked toward the dwindling pile of crates just to the left of the gangway.

Adrian thought Snyder was full of crap. Those scenarios were absurd. Based upon his years of experience as a wildcatter, he could think of a half dozen possibilities that were significantly more probable than anything Snyder's computers had come up with. That concerned him. But Snyder and his men were just there to provide security. Adrian was ultimately in charge of the mission. So, Snyder could spend his time looking for space pirates, or little green men for all Adrian cared, as long as Snyder did what he was told.

It was always hard to bring military men on a civilian mission. They always wanted to turn it into a battleground, rather than a simple rescue. He would need to take Snyder aside during the trip to Site 209 to make sure Snyder understood his role in this scenario.

Chapter 14

Michael Strong, the computer whiz, was pacing back and forth in front of the gangway. Adrian walked over to him. "Your first trip to Site 209, Mr. Strong."

Strong looked up at him. Adrian could see from his eyes that he was scared. "Yes. In fact, this is my first trip to any mining site. I usually do my work from my computer lab at Juno's headquarters on Earth. I don't like to travel. And I certainly don't like to go somewhere where there might be danger."

"So, why did you agree to come?"

"Because my partner was with the restart team. We have been together for over a decade – both professionally and personally. I love him and would be devastated if anything happened to him. Besides, Mr. Campbell asked me to come. There were obviously some problems with the communications from the site, and that means that JENNI might have been damaged in the storm. JENNI is essential to the safe operation of the station, and my partner and I know JENNI better than anyone. If there is anything wrong with her, we are the ones most capable of fixing her."

"You speak of JENNI as if she is a person. I find that a bit odd," Adrian said.

"Well, I've worked on JENNI and her progeny most of my career. She was the first totally self-contained system ever placed in a mining station. She had to be because of the storm that was known to be inevitable when the station was opened a decade ago. The smooth running and low maintenance characteristics of JENNI lead Juno Mining to adopt the system for all of its subsequent mining facilities, even though none of them faced the same storm situation as Site 209. JENNI has been my companion; some even call her my 'mistress', for all of those years. So I guess I do think of her as a 'person'. She has a female voice, and some claim she has a female temperament, although I don't see it. She is a computer system, no more and no less. She does what she was programmed to do. And she does it efficiently and without error."

"Tell me more about JENNI's role on Site 209," Adrian asked.

"Well . . .," Strong began, collecting his thoughts. "Let me give you an overview of the facility and how JENNI controls every aspect of it. JENNI is much more than simply a computer. She is a neural network tied into every facet of the facility. She automatically controls the entire environment in which the workers operate. She controls the heating, cooling, atmosphere, fire suppression systems and all of the mining equipment. She monitors every aspect of the facility to make sure there are no problems. The facility is operating in a very harsh environment. On a calm day the outside winds are blowing upwards of 100 miles per hour, with gusts up to 250 miles per hour. The outside temperature is at least -200 centigrade and often lower, and the atmosphere blanketing the facility consists of a caustic chemical soup pressing down on the surface of the station at more than 5000 psi."

"The station is located approximately 10,000 miles under what we see as the 'surface' of Jupiter. As you know from your elementary astronomy class in high school, Jupiter is a giant ball of gases. There is no solid, rocky surface like on the inner planets like Earth and Mars. However, because of the enormous pressure and cold temperatures associated with the giant gas cloud that makes up Jupiter, there is a boundary line where the gases are compressed to form a frozen mass. The facility was built at that boundary."

"While the frozen surface is quite thick, it not all that strong and could not support the enormous weight of the mining facility. If the facility had been built directly on the frozen surface, it would have sunk beneath the surface and its weight would have caused it to sink slowly toward the center of the planet. So the facility was designed to float slightly above the frozen surface. There are a dozen anchors securely embedded in the frozen surface and connected to the facility by super-strong composite cables. The station itself is aerodynamically designed to hover just above the surface. There are small 'wings' over which the constant winds blow, creating lift and keeping the facility from actually touching the frozen surface. JENNI constantly monitors the elevation and adjusts these wings to keep the station between one and four centimeters above the surface. If JENNI ever stops operating, the station will either pull away from the anchors and tumble across the frozen surface or sink through the surface and disappear forever – or both."

"As Ms. Winchester indicated, JENNI also controls a small army of robots that maintain the facility. While the main purpose of the robots was to keep the station in tact and operational during the storm, it made sense to have them do the maintenance all the time. There are robots of all sizes and all types operational at the facility. The largest ones are those that you saw in the video from the transport. Those big boys weigh 30-50 tons each. They move slowly across the roof of the facility, testing, prodding and repairing any holes or cracks that might endanger the facility. When the winds get about 250 miles per hour they will go to cocoons built into the roof where they can hunker down and wait for the winds to die down. During those times there are smaller robots on the inside of the station that check the ceilings for any problems. They can't make big repairs, but can make small emergency repairs until the big boys can come out of hiding."

"Inside the station there are a variety of robots that do everything from maintaining the pipes and wiring, to cooking the crew's food, painting, unclogging toilets and even providing entertainment for the crew. All under the control of JENNI."

"And what if JENNI should crash? Or lose power?," Adrian asked.

"Well," Strong continued, "JENNI is actually identical twins. There is an identical backup system that simply monitors what the main system is doing, ready to step in at any time in case the main system has a problem. It's like a relief pitcher in baseball."

"Yeah," Adrian retorted, "but if the relief pitcher has a bad arm, people generally don't die."

Michael Strong laughed, a geeky, wheezy sort of laugh – if you could actually call it a laugh. "True, Mr. Masters. Thankfully, we have never had an instance where the main system has gone down on any of our JENNI's, so we haven't had to test the backup system in actual use. Of course, we have tested it extensively in the lab, and have switched over to the back up JENNI's on occasion when it has been necessary to do routine maintenance on the main unit. But since both units are identical, and perform identically, the back up unit is not likely to have a 'bad day' like your hypothetical pitcher. And there is no indication that the main JENNI on Site 209 has had any problems – ever."

"But," Adrian chimed in, "we don't really know what is going on right now, do we?"

"True. We don't. But not because there is anything wrong with JENNI, but because the antenna does not seem to be working properly – probably due to the storm – and as a result we can't communicate with JENNI. But I'll be able to take care of that as soon as we get to the facility. I have a new antenna in one of the crates onboard the transport. I can plug it into an auxiliary jack once we are inside the facility, and voila, we will have communications with the outside world again."

[Word count this installment = 2,025]
[Total word count = 12,903]