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[Aardvark]

The descent was rough, the lander plunging through thick, broiling clouds of various chemicals. The pilot of the lander, experienced in simulations, but unnerved at being literally plunged into the thick of it, was trying his utmost to keep the small craft under control. Billions of dollars worth of technology predicted that this would be the calmest time and place to attempt to penetrate the gas giant's atmosphere, but he wondered whether or not the craft would hold it together. His crew, two scientists, were strapped in, holding on for dear life as another updraught rocked the ship. Scanners were totally blind here, the pilot was going on instinct and the reports from the few unmanned probes they'd shot into the atmosphere over the years. He pushed the craft downward, narrowly avoiding a methane pocket. Suddenly, the shaking stopped. The vessel was calm.

 

The first deep probes of Jupiter uncovered something fascinating to a mankind just taking their first strides off their home planet. For years, the giant had been thought of as nothing more than a gravity well in space, it's only use being it's surrounding moons. Then a malfunctioning mineral probe, caught in the gravity of the planet, was sucked into one of the many maelstroms in the planet's atmosphere. Although the company was disappointed with the loss of such expensive equipment, it's last few transmissions provided something astounding. At first the report was dismissed as a malfunction and sat in the archives for months, until the inquest into the incident finally got underway. The investigative team, not as chemically savvy as the science team who initially read the report, took the transmission to an independent research firm for analysis. The result of this? A 10 year mineral expedition on a planet made of gas. The probe had crashed into solid rock.

 

The calm had been reported by one of the hardier probes. Kilometres of thick outer atmosphere covering an ocean of hydrogen. The currents of this ocean were strong, due to the immense size of the planet, but nothing compared to what they'd just gone through. The pilot, who had been guiding the craft in freefall from orbit, flicked on the specially designed turbines and steered the craft toward the recorded location of the island. The craft was built on a revolutionary design, using the hardest substances known to man, the strongest construction techniques and overseen by the greatest minds of the time. It was, in essence, a space sub. A craft designed to go from total vacuum to liquid. Deep into liquid. Deep into a liquid that required immense pressure to remain a liquid. They'd tested it in all sorts of situations, but nothing could actually compare to a dip in a sea of hydrogen.

 

All sorts of theories abounded when news of this discovery became public. Of course, there were the naysayers, the people who just could not accept the possibility of actual rock on that planet. They demanded the entire program be aborted, the waste of resources being an insult to them and science as a whole. Those who believed the reports tossed around ideas such as concentrations of silica and carbon during the planet's formation congealing at various points on the planet's surface. Others suspected beneath Jupiter's atmosphere a structure similar to Earth, with continents and oceans. A few extremists even suggested the possibility of life. But the most widely accepted explanation at this point was the one from the head scientist of the program. His theory was a simple one. It'd been known that Jupiter's size traps incoming meteors and comets. His theory was that the debris from these bodies had come to a single point on the planet's surface, because of the way the various storms and atmospheric currents seemed to move. The island itself was in the middle of a maelstrom smaller than the famed Red Spot, but still easily bigger than Earth. Computer simulations had confirmed this a strong possibility.

 

In the sea of hydrogen, the scanners could work once more. They'd been designed for this. Although they only had a short range, using the magnetic field of the planet itself, they could guide the craft to the suspected location. The pilot was only really there because computers couldn't be trusted to make it through the hellish layer above. He turned to see what the two scientists were doing. They'd both unstrapped themselves and were preparing their equipment. The pilot thought them insane for volunteering for this one, but he did admire their courage. The plan, at least as far as he knew, was to surface near the island, a becalmed area within the eye of the maelstrom, where the two scientists would disembark in heavy environment suits to survey this island. Already, plans for a research station were being created, pending positive results from this expedition. His only question was why didn't he just drop through the eye. This question was dismissed quickly.

 

A blip ahead. Something solid. The island!. He couldn't see it, no viewports, but the scanners showed it was ahead. And it was large. It was huge. Initial indications were hinting at a landmass the size of the moon. The two scientists were ecstatic as they poured over the information coming in. They were already in their suits and ready to go, chattering excitedly to eachother over their radios. The pilot stayed silent. He had an uneasy feeling about this. And he'd been left with quite a responsibility.

 

The craft surfaced almost next to the island. Although much calmer, the storm was still quite violent here. The two scientists would have some trouble, but they were already prepared for it. They'd both gone over their final checklists and had entered the airlock, which was pressurising. The pilot sat back and watched the screens. Outside looked like hell. Deep orange air, thick as soup. He couldn't see through it. Radar, sonar, infrared, UV and X-ray probes made up for this lack of vision. On his screen, he had the lay of the land, stretching a couple hundred meters from him. It was surprisingly smooth, but he'd been told to expect that. Erosive forces or something. So the scientists wouldn't have as hard a time as he thought. But the final instructions to given to him really were quite worrying.

 

Due to atmospheric conditions, he wouldn't have any clear communication with either of the scientists, once they moved beyond range. This didn't worry him, as long as they were back on schedule, he was fine. All he had to do was monitor their vital signs. If something happened, he had to find out what, send out a distress rocket and go out and help. That's the last thing he wanted. He still regretted even signing on for this mission.

 

Hours passed, the scientists lived. Then something unexpected happened. He wasn't sure if he'd seen the screen right, but it looked like another vessel was descending toward the island fast. Too fast. He zoomed in on it Sleek design, no sign of life or any air-filled compartments, radioactive... he gulped. There was no way for those scientists to know a nuclear device was about to hit them. He watched helplessly as the missile hit the island. Then his scope went blank. All vital signs from the scientists were lost.

 

He had to get off this rock and fast. Whoever fired that knew where they were, where to fire and probably knew he would survive in the ship designed to withstand pressure greater than the centre of the sun. Still, he had no time to worry about that. He had his skin to save. Enabling the gravitic repulsors, he felt the craft lurch upward. Then it shot up. He was pinned down in his seat as the full force of the planet's gravity expelled him out of the hellish atmosphere....

 

... Into hell. He was in the middle of a space battle. Familiar corporate fighters were engaging a group of unknown hostiles. No markings on the hostile ships, but familiar designs. He shook his head. Probably a rival corporation. Ever since the governments lost control, it had been law of the gun. He disabled the repulsor and was about to switch on the space drives when he saw something that almost made him puke. The vital signs from the two scientists. Weak, from this distance, but still alive. He had to go back.