On the way back up
The HQ was on the ice
To share our news
We were successful
Beneath the frozen surface
Of the moon of Jupiter
Called Europa
Named for the lover of Zeus
Who was called Jupiter
By the Romans
We were the first team
To enter the ocean
To see what we saw
Ocean surrounded
Down to the sea floor
Which had a glowing white core
We thought it
Glorious
Mystical
Sacred
How very appropriate
For what we found
Was a rock structure
That looked surprisingly like
A step pyramid, abandoned
Our polar equipment worked
The scientists in the team
Expressed great joy
While the military divers
Were careful and kept alert
We had tried to swim
All the way down to the burning glow
That kept the ocean warm
We didn't know exactly what we saw
But we knew it was ... unique
To human eyes at least
As we jet to the surface
We soon saw the opening
That we would exit through
And then hovering above us
A form familiar to earthmen eyes
Only 10 times greater in size
It was a Cephalopod
Soon it demonstrated its lethal reach
Slaughtering 16
Of a team of 20
The bluish white water
Turned now red
I climbed through the entry hole
And called for the earth team
To assist in retrieval
Of the team
The ruins below were secondary
To the safety of the team
Our first contact with life outside of earth
And it slaughtered 3/4 of our number
Not unlike human first contacts
Between cultures
Violence is our curse
