Back End of the Moon

Part 1

The landing on the moon's surface had gone smoothly. It was about the only thing that had gone right for Vega in the past few months. The blackened and rocky ground crunched underneath her boots as she left the familiarity of the shuttle pod and headed toward the domes of the most remote outpost on Adrina. The outdated domes standing like relics of the pasts against the purple sky.

The gas giant was visible of her left shoulder, the swirling yellow and orange particles seemed to almost sparkle in the sun light. The path ahead was boarded with small succulents flowering with large orange flowers that appear to blend in with the very planet that the moon rotated.

In other circumstance Vega would have relished the unfiltered light cast by the red giant sun and would have taken her time to enjoy that rustic scenery for as long as the exposure to the radiation would allow.

'Attention Rebel, come in Rebel,' came the familiar voice into her earpiece.

Vega took off the landing helmet allowing her brown shoulder length her to spill out from underneath. She placed her hand on her ear to activate the long range communication. 'Fairly certain I told you never to call me that.'

Mac chuckled at his own joke, 'gotta get them in while you're not here to beat me up.'

Vega struggled slightly as she carried her helmet under the same arm as she carried her bag weighed down by her tools. 'You seem to forget that I have a long memory,' she said as the communication device began to crackle slightly. "Mac, Mac you there?'

'Yeah I can hear you. Just!'

'Jeeze this really is the end of the world if these coms don't even work.' Vega began to huff slightly as the path began to incline, the rounded top of the two connected domes just visible.

'You right there V?' asked Mac, 'I can hear you huffing and puffing and here I was thinking you were fit.'

'It's a bit different walking on terrain than it is sauntering around a space ship, which you'd know if you ever left the Capricornious,' she quipped.

'Oh well I never, I can't believe you would say that to me,' he said clearly feigning shock, 'I most certainly do not saunter, I wouldn't even have the faintest idea how.'

'Please, you saunter with the best of them,' Vega said smiling, Mac always had the knack of putting her as ease; he was also just about the only person who could temper her anger.

Each step she took only increased the feeling of dread. The purple tinged sky was clear; the sun rays were unfiltered in their intensity and Vega could feel sweat forming on her brow. From experience Vega know that any more than 10 minutes in these conditions would prove deadly.

'Mac just promise my something,' Vega said. She could see the whole complex before her now, it was bigger than it had seemed. The two domes where made of crisscrossed iron and glass, between them was a large metal structure. From experience Vega knew that it would contain rat maze like corridors and small poky rooms.

'Name it.'

'Everyday, before Adrina's sunset find a way to talk, from the stories I've heard about this place I have a feeling I'll need to talk to someone sane.'

'Cross my heart.'

Vega let out a steadying a breath as she approached the curved metal door of the base, readying herself to withstand what she was sure would be an annoying few days. 'Well here goes nothing, over and out,' she said.

'Over and out, I'll keep the chocolate ready for when you return.'

As the coms went silent Vega pressed the bottom the intercom pad to the left of the door, 'Vega Silva, Solar maintenance.'

She waited for a few seconds, there was no response, 'Hello, anyone there?' Seconds passed, again there was no response. She peered through one on the triangular glass windows of the dome, in all directions all she could see was fields of wheat almost ready to be harvested.

For a split second she thought about turning back and seeking shelter in the shuttle when suddenly the iron door slid open, startling Vega. Behind the door stood a middle aged women who was leant against the door frame. She gazed over Vega, eyebrow cocked.

'You're not here to fix the solar generator are you?' she asked refusing to move from blocking the entry.

'That would be me,' said Vega, extending out an all too hopeful hand.

The woman shook her greying hair, and turned down the darked hallway muttering 'we're doomed' underneath her breath.

Vega's hand dropped to her side, she peeked around the door to see a long passage that ran the length of the metal structure. I was dimly lit by round flicker lights at regular intervals. Clearly Vega was more unpopular than she realised to the powers that be on the Capricornious.

'Well are you coming on not?' shouted the woman without turning around. Vega had to rush to catch up predicting, probably all too accurately, that the women wouldn't wait for her.

The curved grey metal hallway was a comforting reminder of home. It was much cooler in the shelter, the intensity of the outside was insulated against. Vega only just catching up with her welcomer in time as she turned to open one of the doors midway down the hallway. Vega's bag knocked against her shin as she stopped abruptly.

'So what do you do here?' Vega asked.

The lady turned her head slightly and shook a metal flask that she had retrieved from her pocket, 'water purification specialist, she said as the door slid open.

They stepped into what was obviously the control centre of the station to the left side of the room sat the computerised systems management. There were several large screens lined up against the wall and the panels underneath emitted a suspicious whirring sound. The technology here was decades old.

There were several doors on the far side of the wall and Vega found herself wondering where each would led, the impulsive side of her natured almost daring her to discover for self. The women had continued to walk without acknowledging Vega, she climbed to few steps up to the railed platform on the right hand side of the room. Beyond the platform was glass panelled room that Vega supposed was an office.

'Mechanics here,' yelled the women once she reached the top, pausing only to take another swig of her flask before she disappeared out of the room once more. Vega stood dumbstruck in the middle of the room, deciding whether or not the hightail it back to her shuttle or to hunt down the women in order to correct her on Vega's actual job title.