Above Europa

A/N: For the Sci-Fi contest to write a short story based off Europa. Hope you enjoy it!

I gaze at the moon. It's beautiful. Too beautiful. A beautiful place to die.
There is no hope for the Starlight Voyager. Separated from the other ships, and with no supplies remaining, we locked onto the nearest place, in the minuscule hope that it would be inhabited, and that we would be granted safe dockage. But there are no people, human or otherwise, on Europa, moon of Jupiter. It is desolate, a cracked and charred ice surface, pale, marred with streaks of blood red.
The ship will crash. We do not have enough fuel to kickstart the engine out of lockdown, or contact the others. Today is the day we all die.
Next to me, Professor Jon Addams also stares down at the frozen place. He lightly touches my hand, and I lean my head on his shoulder. This voyage built up our relationship, brought us together, and now it's going to tear us apart at the cruel hands of death.
I am yanked out of my musings, and away from the window, by Evan. Evan cooks, or at least he did, until we ran out of even the dried and frozen food. That was two days ago. Since then, he's been making himself useful running errands for the others.
"Merida!" he pants, and it's clear he's run the whole length of the spaceship to find me. He wipes sweat off his brow with a checked handkerchief as he gives the message. "Merida, you've got to come! Anya thinks we might have detected some sort of life forms!"
My heart leaps. Anya is our captain, and if she's detected life, it's my job, as head of communications, to establish contact and request landing. If they are sentient, that is. If not, Evan has given me false hope. I sweep my dark hair into a ponytail and raise my eyebrows.
"Come on!"
Jon gives me one last smile, and resumes his watch on the window. It hurts to let go of his hand. But even as we run back the way Evan came, I am reminded there is not much time.

"Forty minutes to impact. Forty minutes and counting."

Anya LeStrade is fiddling with buttons. Which is either a very good sign, or a very bad sign. I rush to her side, placing my hands lightly on the control deck. "What shall I do?"
Her head snaps up. "Great, Merida," she indicates to a screen that shows a heat scan of Europa. "Right. You see that, there? We think those must be some kind of creature. Hopefully you can get in touch and pull out some names that will let us land. Hopefully," she indicates to some red shapes on the surface. I nod curtly and hurry to the communications bay, thoughts buzzing through my head. Is this going to save us? Will they let us land? Do they even obey Galactic Law? And what are those creatures? I studied for this mission but there have never been any known aliens out in these moons of Jupiter. I shrug and get to work, leaning over a large screen, angled on a tilt so I can reach it easily.

"Thirty five minutes to impact. Thirty five minutes and counting."

I swear at the distracting voiceover, and get back to work.
The heat scan pops up, and I zoom in on the areas that indicate life. It's strange, like they inhabit only the red cracks on the surface.
"Where are you? Come on.....annnndddd..... There we go!"
I locate a radio signal, sending waves out towards the Starlight Voyager, and tap into it, pressing the correct on screen switches that will allow me to send down a message. I lean over and speak into the microphone, my voice clearly wavering.
"By order of galactic law number 42, the Earth exploration ship Starlight Voyager requests safe dockage and refuel from the inhabitants of Europa, sixth moon of Jupiter,"
The whole ship seems to hold its breath in that silence. I think of Jon, down by the window, waiting to die, and repeat my request. This time, we get an answer.
A strange crackly noise drifts through the speakers, interspersed with strange guttural hissing. I shudder, and turn on the translator. Block letters appear up on the screen, and I read them quickly, stepping back with a hand over my thudding heart.
We...do not...abide by your...worthless laws...for we are...the Vescaguis and we...bow to...none. For we...are the Vescaguis and we...are......hungry!
As soon as the last letter appears, a loud, sibilant noise sounds from the rock below. The whole ship rocks as if grabbed by some strange force. I scream, flung backwards onto the floor, grabbing for the table. But that is also sliding downwards, and I'm shrieking as we toss and turn. It's like a plane hitting turbulence, but ten thousand hundred times worse. And as if to add to the chaos, an automated voice speaks over my shouts for help.