Jupiter's Floating Continent

Jupiter's Floating Continent

Ganz watches the Argo leaving Mars.  His XO speculates that they're getting help . . . from . .  somewhere.

Venture is piloting the Argo when it starts . . . doing things.  Sandor detects vibrates and tells Venture to slow down.  Orion sees something going on in the engine room.  Venture loses control of the ship.  Nova detects an extra-strong gravity force.  Avatar realizes that it's Jupiter's gravity well.  Huh.  The approach Jupiter.  Sandor doesn't know if the ship can fly in the Jovian atmosphere, but Orion says the engines aren't strong enough to fight the gravity.  Venture struggles to keep the ship out of a gas cloud.  Nova picks up something huge and flying.

On infrared video they see . . .  nothing.  Gas clouds are too dense.  Wildstar wants to shoot it, but Avatar hold him back--and they see a massive floating continent.  They set down on it, giving Orion a chance to see what's wrong with the engine.  They land in a jungle.

Gantz on the Pluto base suspects that they've detected his fighter base on the floating continent.  He orders the base commander to find the exact landing site of the Argo.

IQ9 is floating around amidst the liquified gas and subtropical plants, but sees no other signs of life.  Orion, meanwhile is optimistic about their repair chances.

The fighter base on Jupiter gets orders to search for the Argo.  They launch a fighter.  Nova picks it up on radar.  Wildstar launches his fighter to "check it out."  He and the Gamilon pilot get into a dogfight.  Wildstar takes a hit on the wing and plunges into the jungle.  He pulls out of his dive behind the Gamilon fighter and, well, misses, but the Gamilon fighter peels away.  Gantz decides they have to use missiles to destroy the Argo.  Venture is confident they can escape the gravity of Jupiter, while the Gamilon base launches a missile barrage at them.

Orion completes repairs and Avatar orders a test firing.  The test is successful--and Nova picks up the incoming missiles.  They launch just in time to escape the missiles.  Wildstar wants to go after the Gamilon base, but Avatar wants to simply get out of the way. Avatar orders all of the department heads to assemble.  He and and Wildstar want to try to hit the Gamilon base with the wave motion gun, despite objections from Sandor.  Avatar shows us a diagram of the wave motion gun, explaining how the entire ship becomes the weapon.  And it takes a while for the WHOLE SHIP to recharge.

The Gamilon troops on the floating continent evacuate their base.

Avatar powers up the wave motion gun.  Wildstar fires.  (It requires them all to put goggles on before the gun fires).  The wave motion gun obliterates the continent, and the Gamilons evacuating report that they've gotten clear just in time . . .  or have they?

The ship starts to sink into Jupiter's atmosphere, but then Venture pulls them out.

They escape, and Sandor is puzzled that the wave motion gun was so powerful.  Avatar gives us our moral for today (great power to be used with care), and Gantz freaks out about the power of the Star Force's weapons.

There are only 361 days left.