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2 March 2081

Diego Lopez

The bat drew in a deep breath. Diego Lopez was going in for his approach. He was about to make history by being the first person to reach Jupiter. He was also testing a new interstellar engine for long distance travel. It had taken him fourteen days to reach the largest planet in the solar system.

He had sent a message back to Earth for what felt like ages ago. He was hoping the relays at Mars would make communication faster. He finally heard static coming through. He adjusted the volume as he checked his sensor readings.

“Phantom, this is ground control," came a deep voice, “Make sure your gravity drive is fully functional. Otherwise, you're going to turn to soup when you slingshot around Jupiter. You'll be hitting speeds unknown. Good luck my friend. Hope to hear from you soon."

“Yeah, yeah," Diego said, “You will." He sent them a response, “You'll hear from me soon."

The bat gripped his hands over the yoke. His vessel started to shake as he entered Jupiter's orbit. He took in another deep breath as he reached out and hit a button on his console. It would be a wasted trip if he didn't film this. He pulled back on the steering as his ship shook violently.

He engaged his thrusters as he started to drive against the intense force of Jupiter's gravitational pull. He hoped the gravity drive could handle this. His engine purred behind him as he hit full velocity. He could feel the pressure as he gained more speed as he rounded Jupiter's orbit.

“Speed record smashed..." Diego laughed to himself as his eyes watered.

He pushed his accelerator forward as he shot out of orbit. He took in deep, steady breaths, concentrating on making sure he was doing alright. He could feel the ship start to slow after an hour as his body felt less tense. The gravity drive did it's job. He leaned his head back against his seat as he started to laugh to himself.

He hit the communications button, “Mission successful."

He unbuckled himself and set the ship into autopilot. He popped open a bottle of whiskey and took a swig. A celebration for himself for the fourteen day ride home. He made it halfway through the bottle before his communicator went off. A roar of cheers came through as ground control seemed to have lost their minds. Diego just made history and was paving the way for interstellar travel.

7 February 2082

Kenneth McInnis

Kenneth McInnis is a rather short and scrawny redwolf. A runt in the family. He always had to go the extra mile to prove his worth. He found his path in the world of science. He's currently the leading climatologist on Earth. He invented the systems on Mars that keep the habitations under control and is on the council in converting all power sources to reusable energy on Earth.

He was busy sorting through his files in his office when there was a knock on the door. He was shocked to see a handsome badger in a business suit and a uniformed beast of a gorilla which Ken assumed was perhaps a general judging from everything pinned to him. He pulled off his reading glasses as he stood up.

“Afternoon," Ken has a Scottish accent which barely hangs onto his words, “Something I can help you gentlemen with?"

“Good afternoon Doctor McInnis," the badger held out his hand, “I'm Allen Robinson and this is General Bruce Aldin, we're with the International Space Administration."

Ken shook their hands, “Nice to meet you. The ISA? What is… What is this about? Did something happen on Mars."

Bruce spoke up, “Mars is fine. We're looking for a team of scientists to lead a once in a lifetime mission. You were the first name at the top of the list of chosen candidates."

“I've already done two missions to Mars," said Ken, “And Venus is out of the question."

“Not Venus!" Allen beamed, “We want to invite you to embark on a mission to Europa!"

Ken looked confused, “I...What? Europa?"

Bruce loomed over him, “Europa, Doctor McInnis. A whole new world for you to study. A chance to understand how an entire moon made of ice operates. We'll also be providing your team a drilling machine to dig into the ice with a chance, we hope, to find extraterrestrial life hidden beneath."

“Just think Ken," said Allen, “You can make history happen. Ever since our successful trip to Jupiter last year, we've been hard at work on a new spacecraft that will take you and a team of scientists and engineers across the system to study Europa at length. It's a three month mission."

“This is a lot to take in," said Ken as he rubbed his forehead, “How long until launch?"

“We want to take off before the end of the year," said Allen, “We've already selected the team to operate the ship. We just need our scientists. Except for a molecular biologist. We have that one taken care of already."

“Right...Uhm… How many should I get?" Ken asked.

“I guess we have our yes," said Bruce, and he handed Ken his card, “Give us a call when you have your team. We'll accommodate whoever you want to take. This is your show Ken."

Bruce and Allen left Ken standing there open mawed. The badger threw him two thumbs up on the way out the door with a big grin. The wolf felt a bit overwhelmed as he sank into his chair. He looked at the mountain of paperwork and laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, sure," Ken threw up his arms, “Let's do this shit!"

26 February 2082

Marc Lander

“Oi there, two pints mate!" A tall and rather built kangaroo slapped his bills on the counter. He tugged at his goatee as he waited for service.

Marc Lander was at The Galaxies End Pub to meet an old friend. He picked up his pints from the bartender and made his way to a table. He set the drinks down and started to text. He craned his neck to look around. He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and started to chug down one of the pints.

“C'mon mate, w'er the fek are ye?" Marc bounced his legs impatiently as he started in on the second pint.

The short redwolf showed up, “Oi Marc."

“Oi short fuck," Marc stood up and wrapped both his arms tightly around Ken, “It's good te see ye agin."

Ken laughed as he patted the kangaroo on the back, “Come on, sit."

“I got ye a pint, but I drunk it," Marc summoned over two more pints over. He settled into his seat as he stared intently at Ken, his hands clasped around his pint, “Aight, let me get this straight. Ye tol' me over the phone thet ye want me, yer crazy bastard brudder, to travel with ye to Jupiter?"

“That's right," Ken sipped on his pint.

Marc ran a hand through his messy hair, “Shit mate. I thought ye were jokin' until ye tol' me te meet ye here. And it's fekkin true. But mate, Imma a geologist. Why not get a iceologist?"

“I need someone I can depend on," said Ken, “Besides, if we do hit rock, you'll be there for it. And I'm sure there's tons of stuff on the surface for you to study. We'll also need someone to study the probe data. We're hitting as many moons as we can with land rovers. We're also dropping several probes on Ceres when we pass."

“Sounds like ye got the full brief," Marc swigged down his booze, “Whoo. Mate. This wild. I'm down for it. I've done studied all I kin on this planet. And the trip te Mars was fun. Wot's another adventure te some bullshit out of the way place?"

“Thank you Stompy," Ken held up his pint.

Marc clacked his cup to the wolf's, “Thank ye Boomstick."

19 March 2082

Kuga Takeru

A small, brown-furred otter stumbled as he pulled his luggage behind him. He had several poster tubes in his arm as he stumbled trying to move himself along. He pushed his glasses up his nose with one of the tubes. He had never been to the ISA before. The place looked large and confusing. As a physicist, this was an exciting place for him to be.

Kuga approached the front counter which the top of head barely cleared, “Excuse me!"

A large security guard leaned over the counter, “May I help you?"

“Hello sir!," Kuga did his best to bow, “I'm Kuga Takeru. I have a meeting with Commander Robinson."

The guard checked in on the computer, “Yeah, I got you. He's meeting you in room 4F."

“Thank you sir!" Kuga beamed as he bowed again, “Oh...uh...How do I get there?"

The guard pointed, “Just go through the gate, take the elevator to the fourth floor. You'll figure out the rest."

“Oh, ok!" Kuga made his way to the gate as the guard buzzed him through.

Kuga tried to juggle his tubes as he reached out to hit the elevator button. All of them clattered to the floor as he huffed. He hustled to gather all of them back up. Once he had them secure he swung around to grab his luggage. He knocked his bag over with the tubes. Kuga slapped his forehead.

Harvey Caballero

Harvey is a stoic looking dingo. He was well groomed and looked like the proper type. The dingo leaned down and stood the luggage back up for Kuga, “Here you are. Looks like you're having a bad day."

“Oh no sir!" Kuga grinned, “Today is a good day! I get to go to Jupiter!"

“No kidding?" the dingo laughed, “Me too. Harvey Caballero, planetologist." The dingo held out his hand.

“Oh a pleasure! I'm Doctor Kuga Takeru, physicist!" Kuga shook hands with him and bowed, “I hope we work well together."

“I'm sure we will," Harvey smiled.

The elevator chimed and Harvey held the door open for the otter. He was extremely thankful. Harvey swung his duffel bag over his shoulder and joined Kuga. The both of them rode up to the fourth floor and managed to find meeting room F with ease. Harvey knocked on the door.

Allen Robinson

The door swung open and Allen Robinson greeted them, “Ah gentlemen! Please come in!"

Kuga set his stuff down on a chair and bounced over to Ken, “Ahhh! Friend Ken! It's so good to see you again!"

Ken gave Kuga a hug, “Good to see you too! And you Harvey. How were your flights?"

“Better than the flight to Mars," said Harvey, “And now you have us booked for what could possibly be our last trip."

“Dun be a downer mate," Marc piped in, “Ye know ye like the danger."

“You old drunk," Harvey gave Marc a right proper bro hug, “If I knew you'd actually show up, I would have stayed home."

“Yer a bish," Marc laughed, “Oi! Allen Commander, let's get our proper briefin."

Allen laughed, “I forgot how informal you civilians can be."

“He means nothing by it," said Ken, “He was dropped on his head a few too many times."

“On'y in the fights I lost," Marc joked.

Allen held out his hands, “Grab a seat gentlemen. We have a lot to go over."

The badger turned off the lights and stood in front of a wall screen as he used his phone to turn it on, “Alright. A big official welcome to Project Europa. We invited Ken to get together his best team of scientists for this mission. The four of you will embark on a three month journey with our team of the best pilots and engineers. You'll also be joined by Doctor Thorn, he's worked in the field serving at a MASH unit and has his doctorate in molecular biology."

“Ken will be heading the mission on the ground. We are fully confident in him and you, his team. The ISA will provide you with all the tools you need for your mission. We'll be depending on you to relay to us what you need for your research."

“Wot's the price limit?" Marc asked.

“I mean," Allen laughed, “We've already spent ten billion on this project. Anything you'd probably need will be pocket change. We have an open budget and many investors that want to see this through."

“That's a lot riding on such a small team," said Harvey, “And not even one you picked yourselves."

“Doctor McInnis proved himself to be worthy of his position," said Allen, “I wouldn't expect him to make a bad decision. You all also have positive reports across the board. Takeru has been on five missions, two of them to Mars through Japan's personal space program. Lander made some incredible discoveries on Mars and laid in the foot work for all the teams that came after him. And you yourself have been to the Moon and Mars, and you spent time on the Venus orbital station studying the atmosphere. I don't see any reason why I would object to such a team."

“Fair enough," Harvey nodded.

“Come on," said Allen as he headed for the door, “Let's go meet more of the team. We can discuss more of the project as we go. A slideshow only shows so much and it's probably better to just show you everything in person."

The Engineers

The five of them entered a very large workshop. There were schematics tacked onto several bulletin boards and computer screens were covered in sticky notes. There was a short and massively muscled raccoon yelling in German at a rough looking coyote with an unkempt beard and a massive tiger whose arms were easily as thick as watermelons.

The raccoon let out a frustrated sigh and continued in English, “This here." He pointed at one of the schematics, “This is dumb. The Nova doesn't need to be pretty. It needs to be practical."

“Well, I agree with Hugo," said the coyote, “It's home for three months. Shouldn't it be pretty?"

The raccoon dragged his face down, “Nein. It's extra work for no reason. We've already overworked the team."

The coyote went to argue again but Hugo, the tiger, cut him off, “No Bruno. Just drop it. Magnus is right. We can just buy decorations at Party Palace."

Magnus puffed up and let out a sigh that indicated he had been putting up with Bruno and Hugo for a long time. Magnus crumpled up the schematic and threw it into a trash can. As he walked away the coyote pulled it out of the trash can and taped it back onto the bulletin board.

“Allen!" Bruno waved to him, “Welcome to the hall of hell."

Allen laughed as he shook hands with Bruno and Hugo, “Having another one of his days is he?"

“He'll feel better after he gets the Spider operational," said Hugo, “We just keep sticking up schematics for the Nova to annoy him."

“Stop distracting him," Allen pointed at the both of them, “We need to get everything finished. Bruno, Hugo, allow me to introduce the science team."

Bruno and Hugo warmly welcomed the science team. Despite the two of them annoying Magnus, they both seemed to be happy. They were also dedicated. The two of them showed off bits and pieces of the Nova they were most excited about. The four of them were interested to know more.

Magnus came back over “Was ist das?"

“Magnus, come on over," said Allen, “Meet the rest of the team."

Magnus shook hands with all of them. It was like shaking hands with a bear trap. Unlike what they had walked in on, the raccoon was polite, just very passionate about his work. He was curious about all four of them and asked many questions about their professions.

When he was finished bombarding them with inquiries, he nodded, “You picked a good team Ken."

“Thanks," Ken smiled, “I wouldn't trade these guys for anyone else."

“You're too nice!" Kuga laughed, “Now, I must ask. Magnus, What is this Spider?"

Magnus lit up, “It's my best project. Komm und sie bitte."

The raccoon led them into the largest warehouse any of them had ever seen. There was grinding and whirring and clanking as they walked between massive structures where teams of people were hard at work assembling parts for the ship. Magnus broke away from all the noise and led them down a narrow hall into a much smaller warehouse.

The raccoon threw up his arms, “This is the Spider! It walks, it flies, and it drills!"

In the middle of the room was a spacecraft sitting on top of eight massive hydraulic legs. Beneath the spider was a giant drill. Magnus broke out into an explanation of how the Spider worked.

“This is our craft for landing on Europa," the raccoon walked under the machine, “The legs and drill tuck in for flight. The legs also allow us to land wherever we want on the surface. The gyroscopics automatically adjust for the ship's position when it lands, keeping it in a level position. There's an easy in and out hatch here at the back with a drop down ramp. The drill is top end. It's made of tungsten carbide coated in synthetic diamond. There's two spares onboard in case we somehow break one."

“Wow, mate," Marc was impressed, “Ye did a fine damn job."

“It's taken us years to design it," said Magnus, “It was planned for mining on Mars, but this mission has taken precedence."

“I can't wait to see it in action," said Ken.

“Unfortunately we've been having issues with the hydraulics seizing up on the legs and the main engine cuts off after thirty minutes because it's running too hot," Magnus sighed, “It has been incredibly frustrating. But not to worry. I will dedicate every waking hour to make sure the Nova and the Spider are fully operational."

“We have to force him off to bed almost every day," said Allen.

“If I let the team down, I've let myself down," replied Magnus.

“As long as you do your best, you won't let anyone down!" Kuga piped in.

“Thank you for the confidence," said Magnus.

The Helmsmen

Allen led them away from the warehouses and back into the depths of the ISA. They entered a room with a surveillance deck. Beneath the deck was an exact duplicate of the Nova cockpit. There were two short guys below going over the controls with a giant book held between the two of them. One was a fennec fox with bright, golden fur, and a long goatee cinched with a rubber band. The other was a scruffy looking but well built weasel.

“How's it going gentlemen?" Allen asked as he leaned against the railing.

“Going good boss," said the fennec with a deep western accent.

“This manual is well detailed," said the weasel, an Australian accent clear in his words, “Not too different from the other ships we've flown."

“Those fellas are Errol and Hyperion," said Allen, “They've both flown twelve delivery missions each to Mars. They're the best we have."

Errol and Hyperion dropped their book and clambered up the stairs.

“I didn't realize we had guests! You guys must be the science squad!" the fennec shook their hands, “I'm Hyperion. You can call me Lightning."

“And I'm Errol," said the weasel as he followed the fennec, “You can call me Thunder." They went through yet another round of introductions.

“We're the fastest pilots in the solar system," Hyperion wagged his tail.

“Hence the names," Errol grinned.

“Them and Captain Lopez are your best bets for getting to Jupiter and back in one piece," said Allen, “The three finest pilots we could ask for."

“It's a shame we can't break his speed record with the Nova," Hyperion pouted, “That dude got the opportunity of a lifetime."

“Well, maybe when you get back, we can discuss sending you two out on your own conquest," said Allen, “But Diego did almost pass out when he hit those speeds. Even with the gravity drive. I'm not sure how much we can improve it."

“We know," said Errol, “We're still young though. Hit us up in a decade."

The Captain and The Navigator

“Sorry for all the walking," said Allen.

“It's fine mate," said Marc, “This is mah daily routine."

Allen laughed, “Well, what say we get dinner and call it a day for now? We have a great cafeteria."

“Oh yes!" Kuga bounced up and down, “Airline food is not all that great. I can go for something that does not taste like cardboard."

Allen brought them into the cafeteria. It was like any cafeteria. Large and packed. There's at least a hundred people in the room. Allen took them through the line. Harvey was hesitant with most of the food, but Marc piled his tray high with what could arguably be heart stopping foods.

“Ye guys don't do beer, do ye?" Marc asked.

“Actually, we do," Allen shot his thumb over at some coolers.

“Oh mate," Marc grinned, “Ye've made dis man happy."

After Marc settled on two beers, Allen led them over to an occupied table. A large, muscular bat with a mohawk and pointed goatee was sitting there. Next to him was a fit wolverine with a scruffy beard. They both stood up as Allen approached.

“Commander, good to see you," said the wolverine, “Joining us?"

“Of course!" Allen grinned, the badger motioned to the four scientists, “I've brought the final members of your team."

“I'm your navigator, Commander Rasul Malouf," the wolverine shook all their hands.

“A pleasure," said Ken, “We look forward to working with you. Uh.. This is Marc, my righthand mate, geologist. Kuga, the best physicist I know. Harvey, the driving force behind planetology. And I'm Ken, your climatologist."

The captain shook their hands, “Captain Diego Lopez. Your captain."

“You are very big!" Kuga grinned, “Big and tough. But please take it easy on me. I'm very small and fragile."

Diego laughed, “No promises small fry. We've got a lot of training to do. I hope you're all ready."

Marc popped one of his beers open, “Oh we're ready cap'n. Jes ye wait and see. I may look like somethin ye find in a back alley, but this ain't none of our ferst mission."

“Good," Diego nodded, “This is gonna be a one shot kind of deal. So, I'm going to need to know I can depend on everyone onboard."

“Don't worry," said Ken, “We're just as determined as you."

“So, Cookie," Allen turned to Rasul, “Have you checked out the new navigation system?"

“Ah, no, not yet," he said, “I've been calculating the best time for us to launch on paper. I've also been mapping out the surface of Europa to get our best destinations for drilling and research. There's a lot for me to go over."

“Well, when you get a chance, they need your approval to install," said Allen.

“Right, sorry," Rasul sighed, “This has just been so much work in so little time. I'm still catching up."

“Don't overwork yourself," the badger gave him a stern look, “You know we value your health first. If you need a breather, just set all your stuff down and take a breather. You can come back to it. We have several months before launch. You've already calculated a good window for us to launch in December. You don't need to get it down to the millisecond. Your work so far has been phenomenal."

“Thank you sir," said Rasul, “I'm just overthinking the whole mission. I did the same with Mars. It means so much to me to be part of these historic experiences."

“Don't crumble Cookie," Diego gave him a reassuring pat on the back, “You're going to do just fine. I'm with you every step of the way."

“Ok, I have to know!" Kuga piped in, “Why do they call you Cookie?"

Diego laughed, “It's a tragic but hilarious tale in Rasul's life."

Rasul rolled his eyes, “I feel like I should just write a book about this for how many times I get asked. So, there I was. My third mission. Space debris tore through the middle of the ship. Everyone onboard gets to the escape pods. I grab a food pack and water and get into the pod. For three days, I'm floating through space and waiting for rescue. And what is in the damn food pack? Cookies. I ate cookies for three days to survive. I was so sick from all the sugar, but damn I was hungry."

“Needless to say, all escape pods are equipped with seven day rations now," said Allen, “We only need one Cookie in our life."

“There's also one cookie in each ration," Diego chuckled.

“Alright, I'm going to go check out the navigation system," said Rasul, Allen raised an eyebrow, “And then I'm going to bed. It was nice meeting you all. Papa Grande, you take care and I'll see you in the morning."

Kuga leaned in as Rasul left, “Ok. Another question. What is a Papa Grande?"

Diego chuckled, “It means big daddy."

“Oh," Kuga nodded, “It's because you're big and you're his daddy?"

“Kuga," Ken laughed as he ruffled up the otters headfur, “It's just a fun nickname."

“Ok then!" Kuga nodded, “Then we become friends and I too will call you Papa Grande."

Diego smirked, “Well, I hope we all can get along. I'm a bit rough around the edges."

Allen leaned on the table, “Oh, you're not that bad. You're just a cocky jerk sometimes. Otherwise you're damn decent."

“Alright, I'm gonna go hit the rec room," Diego stood up, “Commander, team. I'll see you guys later."

The bat left them to finish up their lunch. Allen went into more tales about the ISA. He also talked more about the Nova and how far along construction was. From what they could tell, their timeline was well ahead of schedule. Allen checked his watch as they finished up their meal.

“Time flies when you're having fun," the badger chuckled, “Let's go get your stuff from the office, and I'll show you guys where you'll be living."

They made their way back across the facility and back into meeting room 4F. Harvey helped Kuga with his poster tubes so the otter didn't have to struggle. Allen didn't take them too far from the office building. He checked them in at a desk and printed them out identification cards.

“Alright, these will allow you access to any room in the ISA, and it will unlock your personal flat," Allen passed them out, “Let me show you your room."

“One room huh?" Marc asked.

“Space is tight around here," said Allen as he walked them down a long hallway and into an elevator, “Every room has two bunkbeds, a bathroom, and a living room. All other accommodations are open twenty four seven. This includes the gym, the rec rooms, the cafeteria, movie theater, and the bowling alley."

“Bowling alley?" Harvey laughed, “Little bit of everything I guess."

“There's three thousand employees here," said Allen as he stopped outside of room seventy five, “We'd rather keep them happy and provide as close a normal life as we can. Most contractors get stationed here two months to five years at a time."

“I guess that's the price of progression," said Harvey.

Allen opened their room up and invited them in, “Here we go."

The living room was cozy and had a wide window view of the coastal plain outside. A t.v. hung from the ceiling in front of two couches. There were two doors on the opposite side. One led to the bathroom which had a full size jacuzzi tub. And the other two a double set of bunk beds.

“Ohh!" Kuga jumped up the ladder to a top bunk, “I claim this one!"

“Good," Harvey laughed as he sat on the bottom, “The less climbing I do, the better."

“Guess ye haf te snuggle up with me Ken," Marc teased.

“Alright gentlemen," Allen gave them all two thumbs up, “Get settled in and get some z's. I'll see you all in the morning. We'll be checking in with Doctor Thorn along with the rest of the team to make sure you're all in one piece."

“Sounds good," said Ken, “Thanks for showing us around, commander."

“Call me Allen!" the badger waved goodbye as he left them to settle in.

“Oh my!" Kuga cried out.

Marc had already stripped himself down to nothing, “Oh mate, Imma need a shower and some good sleep."

“I have never seen a kangaroo's personal area," Kuga leaned over the edge of his bed, “How do you function with the balls being over the top?"

Marc laughed, “This is gonna be a fun trip wit ye Kuga. I kin feel et already."

“Go take your shower you animal," Harvey slapped him on the ass, “I get next."

Ken started to unpack as he waited for the shower to open up. He was glad he picked the team he did. They got along and he really couldn't see himself with another squad. He hoped he and them would mix fine with the rest of the team. Only time would tell.