Gavin Murdock was on watch below, when the Nova sliced into the upper strata of Jupiter's atmosphere. She dived in at a slant on the opposite side of the planet for Jovopolis and was quickly smothered from view by the thick translucent air.
To the early astronomers, Jupiter had appeared enormous although it was only about a third denser than water. But the Huygen expedition in the first years of interplanetary travel had resolved the enigma. Jupiter consisted of a small solid core surrounded by an intensive and very dense atmosphere. The force of gravity at the surface was only between two and three times that on Terra.
Nominally, Jupiter was a colony of the Terran empire. But every attempt at settlement had proved disastrous. Today Jovopolis was an outpost, consisting of rotting shacks, a trading post, and one modern structure which housed the Huygen Memorial Institute of Science. Even the interplanetary patrol had made no attempt to install a permanent base. The officers and men lived in their ship while they were assigned to the station.
The Nova began to settle Jove-ward. Gavin never left the bridge televisor, pulling switches, relaying orders to the jetman and master mechanic as the clumsy monster performed the ticklish job of landing.
Villanowski, who had been routed out of his bunk by the landing alarm, paced back and forth the length of the engine room, his eyes everywhere. He didn't interfere, though.
Then the Nova struck with a bump which threw the chief engineer to his hands and knees.
He scrambled up, brushing off his shorts. "Nice landing." He patted Gavin's shoulder. "Nice landing."
It was a nice landing. Gavin's bony freckled features relaxed. Broken ankles, bruises and sprains were only too frequent when setting a ship down without the benefit of spaceways.
"How long will it take us to load?"
"Five days," Villanowski replied. "Jovian time."