Dan, the Pink Vespa, and the Moon in the Shadow of Heracles, chapter 1

on the routine scientific exploration of a moon of a planet of a far off star, astronaut Dan makes a startling discovery. inspired by a dream that was inspired by falling asleep while watching the Science Channel.


jettisoned from the pea-pod, the landing unit coasts toward the atmosphere. Dan sleeps soundly. buffeted by thermals, the tiny capsule shakes and rocks. Dan snorts and shifts his head to the other side, continuing his slumber. the chute deploys, jerking the capsule to a sudden slow. Dan dreams of driving his car into a rubber wall. as the vessel lands on three gangly legs and rights itself by adjusting leg heights in accordance with the data supplied by the electronic levels (making sure to cross reference with physical levels for additional safety), Dan looks like a blissful baby save for his ratty beard.

the computer checks and double checks all life support and essential functions. satisfied that everything is fully functional the computer initiates the wakeup cycle. stimulants pump into the IV to neutralize the narcotics that had given Dan the sleep of angels. the landing cycle is not completely automated, as the crew aboard the Peapod control some functions and checks manually, but without the need for Dans interaction at this point there's no sense in him being awake should something go terribly wrong. but now he must awaken. "GOOD DAY, SUNSHINE..." blares over the com at the precise moment the stimulants take effect, and micro-moments prior to Dan sitting bolt upright as though someone had inserted a cattle prod into his ass. he checks, just to be sure, then rubs his eyes and peers out the window. the landscape is desert, but Dan knows that there are patches of water scattered across this foreign globe. of course it cannot support human life. too much radiation from the gas giant it orbits. this is purely a mission of scientific research.

the good folks of the Peapod wish him the best as they shoot off to the next moon of Heracles to implant another researcher. they will be back in a week to pick up Dan. fully suited, Dan stands up and performs all the necessary checks to ensure that the computers confidence is justified. then with nothing better to do he opens the hatch and steps outside. opening another hatch on the side of his craft he removes and assembles the Personal Surface Conveyance Vehicle, Mark II. the PSCV, or "space chopper" as the guys in mission control lovingly call it. in testing it was decided that a motorcycle would give the astronauts the greatest maneuverability and adaptability to various terrain while also being light enough to be hefted over terrain that it cannot pass on it's own power. owing to the bulk of the space suits, however, a motorcycle in the strictest sense was impractical, so the engineers accounted for this in the final design. consequently it was really more of a scooter. though oversized compared to earthly motor-scooters, an astronaut in full suit cuts a silhouette of a gorilla riding it. thus Dans preferred alternative acronym, "Pretty, Sweet and Cuddly Vespa".

he rides his pretty Vespa due east, following the photographic map piped into his visor as an overlay. the sky is purple-pink (making his Vespa pick up a hint of the pink hue on it's white shell) as Dan heads towards a line of orange hills that his data assures him is shrouding a blue-green lake. this was the choicest of all the seven visitable moons as the turquoise water strongly suggested primitive life. the cuddly Vespa made good time and he was over the hill before he knew it. straight ahead he saw the water. it's emerald hue when viewed on the horizon confirmed the prevailing wisdom that the turquoise color was the result of a shallow lake bed rather than a calcium rich composition. he guns his sweet Vespa for the shoreline.

parked at the shore, dan pulls a plastic bag from a compartment on the Vespas left side and secures it to the ground with a stake. the stake has a built in beacon so that an automated helicopter which landed minutes prior to his own capsule can easily find it and pick it up to be hauled to the Material Extraction Container, a pilotless rocket designed to haul samples to the Peapod, thus sparing the astronauts the added risk of cargo. clumsily Dan kneels down by the shore, and with a small skimmer scrapes up loose silt and stones from the brine. if there is algae in this water, the stones will have collected a great deal of it. he places the skimmer and it's contents into the bag. he sees no fish, but should there be microscopic organisms he plunges a jar into the water and affixes a lid. this also is placed into the bag.

he gives himself a moment to take in the beauty of his surroundings. the crest of Heracles peeks out just over the horizon to the northwest, like a suspended sickle. and to the south misty clouds of vapor drift aimlessly over the landscape. though broad daylight, he sees Apollo (named, out of tradition, not for the god, but for the NASA program, as this was designated the first moon of this system to be visited) to the southeast, and wonders what his colleague Julia might be finding there. he waves at it, and imagines perhaps that she might be waving back at him too. he makes a mental note to tell her about it when he gets back to his capsule tonight and takes time to chat over the small network with his brothers and sisters of the seven moons.

on the horizon directly below the visage of Apollo Dan spies a strange glint, as if the sun were reflecting off a piece of glass or metal. confirming on his map that that is not in fact where the MEC landed, he mounts his pretty pink Vespa and heads along the shore around the lake for it.

continued in chapter 2