[ WP ] NASA finally sends a manned mission to Europa , but while investigating a crevice in the ice , they find a crashed Voyager 1 . So if Voyager 1 crashed on Europa ... what has been transmitting signals to Earth all this time ?

Captain Kennelly stepped back, breathing hitched. His increased oxygen intake rendered a beep from his suit as it successfully monitored and corrected his levels. Voyager 1 was lying peacefully in front of him, though he knew its descent to the surface of Europa would have been far from smooth. The jagged scar Voyager 1 had made on the icy plateau had been noticeable from space, so it had made sense to land as close as possible to explore the impact site. But nothing could have prepared him to see the now famous Voyager 1 lying half-embedded in the ice, and clearly destroyed by something other than her plummet to Europa. 
 
 ‘ Oh my god. Let me see it.' It was the much younger Astronaut, Patton, stepping in front of him and kneeling in front of Voyager ’ s antenna. Being a technical observation officer, communications were Patton ’ s speciality. There wasn ’ t a system she couldn ’ t fix on Earth, but Europa ’ s environment was not something they had ever encountered before, even with all the data Voyager 1 had previously sent them. If it had been Voyager 1 at all. A chill swept over Kennelly ’ s shoulders, and he swung round to watch the two Chinese astronauts who were inspecting Voyager ’ s debris. They seemed unaware of the unfolding situation. And if they did, they were keeping mum. He turned his eyes to the sky, knowing that even now Voyager 1 was supposedly making its way through interstellar space. 
 
 ‘ Captain… this is definitely Voyager 1. ’ 
 
 ‘ And the antenna? I ’ m getting a weak signal. ’ 
 
 Patton looked up at him. ‘ Um… it ’ s dead. But… something ’ s still transmitting just north of us. I noticed the signal earlier, I thought perhaps Voyager ’ s antenna had been thrown to a distance when it crashed… but… it ’ s all here. ’ Patton ’ s hands were clearly shaking as she swept her hand along the antenna ’ s severely damaged parabolic dish. 
 
 Kennelly nodded. ‘ I noticed the signal too. ’ 
 
 Patton shook her head. ‘ I do n't understand what's happening. It looks like Voyager's been dead for a while. It may have transmitted at first, but not for long. ’ She swallowed sharply. ‘ Shit. I mean, that ’ s impossible, if Voyager 1 had crashed, NASA would have known. They ’ ve been receiving a signal from Voyager 1 for like… forever. It ’ s… just not possible. ’ Patton was stammering by this stage, a gathering of sweat completely defying her suits anti-humidity measures and settling over her forehead. While Kennelly had experienced an initial swell of apprehension, he had refused to be afraid. They were here for a reason, and this was it. 
 
'Whatever happened to Voyager 1, it happened here. ’ 
 
 ‘ But… voyager ’ s way out there in space! ’ 
 
 ‘ It clearly isn ’ t. ’ 
 
 Patton huffed angrily. ‘ Maybe this is another Voyager, one that NASA didn ’ t want us to know about. Maybe… maybe we shouldn ’ t tell the crew on Orbiter 1 about this. ’ 
 
 Kennelly ignored Patton ’ s suggestions and turned back to the other members of his team. ‘ Li and Zhang return to base. Patton, we need to trace that signal. ’ 
 
 Patton stood up, staring at him with wide eyes ‘ Are you kidding me? I have no idea what could be sending that signal! We have to get the hell out of here! ’ 
 
 Kennelly only allowed himself to feel a brief surge of sympathy for Patton. She was younger than the rest of them and had only joined NASA the year before. He knew exactly why his first technical observer had backed out of the mission, which is probably why NASA had decided to keep Patton in the dark. 
 
 ‘ There ’ s no going anywhere Patton, you know that. It was always going to be a one-way mission. Do you really want to go to sleep at base knowing there is an unknown signal being transmitted from only a few kilometres away? We have to find it, immediately. ’ 
 
 Patton chewed her lip, eyes sweeping over the mangled wreck of Voyager 1. ‘ Shit. What the hell am I even doing here? ’ 
 
 ‘ Captain Kennelly, we ’ re are returning to base, as requested. ’ The ever polite Li and Zhang bowed in Kennelly ’ s direction before heading back out of the impact zone. Patton watched them depart with a longing look before swinging back to Kennelly with a scowl. 
 
 ‘ I don ’ t care if you ’ re the Captain. We ’ re alone out here, cut off from Earth completely. Well not completely, but you know what I mean. I don ’ t have to go with you. ’ 
 
 ‘ But you will. I know why you came here. You ’ re curious, just like me. You wouldn ’ t have accepted the mission otherwise. ’ Kennelly said the words as calmly as possible, watching the array of conflicting emotions fly across Patton ’ s face. 
 
 Patton breathed in deeply. ‘ God I don ’ t want to do this… fine I ’ ll go with you. But I have to tell you that we ’ ll be losing a direct line to Orbiter 1 soon. ’ 
 
 ‘ Time? ’ 
 
 ‘ Just under 25 minutes. ’ 
 
 ‘ That should be plenty of time. ’ Kennelly smiled over at Patton, who finally relinquished her scowl. ‘ That ’ s better. You ready to go now? ’ 
 
 Patton nodded and looked down at her computer. ‘ It ’ s definitely North. I think I can lead us there successfully… if you ’ re sure about this? ’ 
 
 ‘ Yes. ’ Kennelly smiled and the two of them climbed their way over Voyager 1 and headed off across the icy plateau. 
 
 -- - 
 
 Half an hour later they reached the source of the signal. Patton ’ s computer was signalling to a spot a few meters in front of them. At first, she could see nothing but black sky and the endless icy horizon. But as they took a few more steps, she finally saw a large icy crevasse appear out of nowhere in front of them. It almost looked like a water canal. Could it be true? 
 
 ‘ Wow, sir look! ’ 
 
 The two of them moved closer to the ledge, peering down into the darkness. Patton thought she saw a strange blinking light and… 
 
 ‘ Oh my god, I think something ’ s down there! ’ 
 
 Kennelly was eerily quiet, and Patton whirled around. But she was too late. Kennelly hit her suit hard – on the back. She screamed as she was thrown backwards onto the ground. A clear liquid was oozing from her oxygen unit and when she tried to move she realised it had frozen instantly to the ice shelf – with her along with it. 
 
 ‘ Kennelly! What are you doing! ’ 
 
 Kennelly stared down at her, his eyes darker than she remembered. And then he turned and left her. She watched him helplessly, hearing the warning hiss of escaping oxygen. Her vision blurred and turned to darkness. 
 
 -- - 
 
 ‘ Are you there Patton? What do you see?' Kennelly's strained voice crackled into Patton's ear and she woke up with a start. She took a deep breath, remembering Kennelly ’ s attack and that she was frozen to the ground, alone... something moved in the corner of her eye and she quickly squeezed her eyes shut with a frightened gasp. 
 
 ‘ Sir… I ’ m losing oxygen. I ’ m going to die.' Patton wanted to scream, to cry, to move. But she was frozen to the ground. Kennelly had continued on back to base without her, leaving her alone on the desolate icy plateau and howling winds. And there was something… alive… behind her crawling out of the icy canal. The signal was still emitting from somewhere deep underneath her and she could hear it beeping periodically from her computer. 
 
 ‘ I ’ m sorry but I had no choice.' Kennelly ’ s voice was getting weaker as he moved further away. She was so alone, so afraid. 
 
 ‘ Why? Why did you do this to me! Come back, please! Don ’ t leave me, please don ’ t leave me. ’ 
 
 More crackling and hissing interrupted Kennelly ’ s voice. What was he trying to say? Patton still had her eyes closed. She refused to open them, she was terrified of what she might see. She heard a noise to her right, and something nudged her arm. 
 
 ‘ Sir! Please! Oh God. I ’ m fucking bait!' 
 
 ‘ Calm down. You'll be fine.' 
 
'No, I wo n't! What we found was n't even Voyager 1 was it? It was another voyager... ’ 
 
'Yes, you're right. But that does n't matter anymore. Just make sure you keep recording images until... ’ Kennelly ’ s voice died again and Patton cursed. Kennelly had turned her camera on and was probably even now transmitting the images he was receiving back to base. He ’ d betrayed her, all of them. 
 
 ‘ Sir, until… what? ’ Something nudged her arm again, and she gritted her teeth to swallow the burst of adrenaline-fuelled fear. 
 
 ‘ Until you can ’ t anymore. ’ Kennelly ’ s voice echoed into her helmet, loud and clear. And then she knew, he wasn ’ t coming back. 
 
 Patton opened her eyes, her breathing escalating into a howling screech. 
 

