Chapter 30
Sitting at his new glass-topped table, Nick rubbed bleary eyes and picked up his mug of hot chocolate. He took a cautious sip of the scalding drink and rolled it on his tongue. Outside, through the porthole in the rover wall just a short distance away, was the transparent wall of the dome, and beyond that the teaming dark expanse of Europa’s ocean. Except it wasn’t that dark. Lights drifted and swam and pulsed in a rainbow array of colors. It was as if the entire Milky Way had come down and surrounded the dome, and all the stars were living things. It was one of the most beautiful and mesmerizing sights he had ever seen. Even the northern lights over Fairbanks hadn’t compared to this.
Nick put down the mug on an Apollo 11 coaster, thanks to Vibeke and other elves, who had brou
