The Saga of Emiko Station - Complete

[Just Jim]

1 hour ago, Kiwa said:

There's no such thing as overkill where microphones are concerned. Looking at the "big names" in KSP YouTube, they all appear to use mics in what looks like the $60-$100 range, and you can always tell when somebody does not

(I'm not a streamer, but ended up using a dedicated mic in that price range for Skype and Teamspeak... because it helps so much when people can actually understand you. Unless you deliberately want to distort your voice, in which case post-processing is probably still better than a cheap mic.)

Good point.  And I was thinking about background music, and how many good videos have gotten into trouble for "borrowing" a song to play in the background of their video, and have it yanked from YouTube for copyright problems.

Soooo... it will take a little planning, but I'm going to go all out and do my own music as well.  My biggest issue is where to set all this stuff up, and getting it connected to the computer.  I have two synthesizers, a Korg M-50 workstation, and Korg kaossilator pro, and between the two I can do some really cool ambient tracks.  I also have a TC Helicon VoiceLive Touch, which can do some amazing things to my voice.  Feel free to google them, you'll understand why I'm excited to do this.  And needless to really say, I have a really good mixer, and a couple nice Korg mics to choose from.  Oh, I also have a Wavedrum, but I'm not sure if I'll be using that or not yet.  And about a dozen flutes... but again, we'll see about them.... maybe.

But everything has been stored away in a closet for the last couple years, and the place I used to set everything up is now my cat Waldo's favorite hangout.  I also have to install my sound gear onto the new computer.  I have both Sony's Soundforge and ACIDStudio, and thankfully I know where these CD's are... lol.  They're more than adequate to handle the computer end of the recordings.  I also downloaded a copy of the Microsoft Moviemaker.  Granted, it's probably not the best video editing package, but it's free, and I've used it before.  

Oh, I should also say, I'm not going to spend all my time just doing videos now.  
I should have the next chapter for this tomorrow.  I just need to blow up a couple things.... 

Edited May 27, 2016 by Just Jim

[Geschosskopf]

6 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Soooo... it will take a little planning, but I'm going to go all out and do my own music as well.

And maybe some flute tutes?  (sorry for the pun, unintentional)

Anyway, glad you're feeling better.  Was your problem caused by hitting a bump at high speed in the M113?  Good luck keeping it under control in the future.

[Just Jim]

Chapter 49
Dresperation

 

Nearly 80 days had passed on Kerbin since Piper and her crew left the site of the strange monolith, and after a grueling drive they were finally closing in on the third great arch. They had done as much research on the monolith as they could, but were no closer to determining it's origin or maker, and so they decided the time had come to move onto exploring the northern polar areas.

 

From the monolith Piper turned north and headed to the polar regions, intent on reaching the north pole. Further and further north they traveled, the landscape getting darker and darker as Kerbin and Kerbol dipped lower and lower towards the horizon, until they finally reached a point they were forced to to stop.

Beyond were jagged and horrific mountains, and deep, dark chasms, and even the intrepid Piper had to admit defeat. They had made it to nearly 83 degrees north latitude, and the Chariot had performed wildly beyond anyone's expectations, but to attempt to go on any further was simply suicide. So with a sigh Piper and the Rocklady climbed out and planted a flag to mark the location, and then turned south again to the far side of the Mun, and [location classified]

Piper lost count of the days as they journeyed southwards, and she discovered a sort of serenity in driving as the kilometers passed by. This was just what she needed to recover from her incident at the last arch, and she began to think ahead to her next encounter.

But as they drew close to the equator once again, Piper found herself entering a great Mun canyon, and focused on the task at hand.

Confidently, Piper tackled the canyon with ease, and once clear, headed west towards her target. The surrounding rock was now nearly bleached white, and was a stark difference from the dark polar areas.  

Several hours later they reached the crater of the third great arch, and Piper brought the Chariot around slowly to a somewhat shallow slope on the western edge of the crater, and just as they expected, they spied a floating rock near the crater's rim. After what Frannie had suggested about the Rocks themselves not being the source of the strange visions, Piper had started to become suspicious of them, and decided to leave the rock until after they had investigated the arch itself.

As she drew close to it, Piper thought to herself that this arch looked darker, more menacing, then dismissed it as just her imagination. But this time she would be more careful, and take precautions before she got close.

Once they had stopped, the three climbed out of the Chariot to stretch their legs, and looked up at the massive structure. They had now gone over 1350 kilometers, and nearly 2/3's around the Mun, and Piper was confident they would make it the rest of the way with ease.

"So what now?" Frannie asked.

Piper looked up at the arch, and it was several seconds before she responded. "For now we focus on maintenance and refueling the Chariot, then enjoy some snacks and sack time. Tomorrow the Rocklady and I will attempt to recreate what happened at the last arch."

Frannie gasped, but Piper cut her off. "I need answers. I need to know what I saw!"  

But then she turned to Frannie with a smile. "Don't worry, this time I won't go alone. I'll take the doodlebug, and the Rocklady can accompany me. The doodlebug can be programmed to pilot itself back to the chariot in case of emergency, so we'll be OK this time."

Piper looked back at the arch and whispered softly to herself. "I need to know what I saw......"

 

*          *          *

 

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to anyone, the Dresperado had just entered Kerbol's SOI, and the crew was preparing a somewhat harebrained, and quite possibly suicidal, attempt to achieve orbit.  

It was Carlenna's idea actually. Mathematically, they had only about half the liquid fuel they needed to achieve orbit. But they also had a vast store of mono-propellant, as well as a decent amount of oxidizer, and perhaps, just perhaps, if that could be converted into a usable liquid fuel, they would have, in theory, more than enough to make orbit. But while the ship's Convert-O-Tron was made to convert ore into fuel, it was never intended to convert one fuel into another, and to Kuzz's knowledge it had never attempted.

But seeing no other option, Captain Kuzz gave the crew the go-ahead, and Carlenna and Geschosskopf, along with Theo, spent most of the journey back to Kerbin modifying the Convert-O-Tron and transforming mono-propellant and oxidizer into a workable liquid fuel.  

Most of the time Geschosskopf could be heard muttering to himself, "It's going to explode..."  

But during entire conversion process, nothing blew up, and the crew was starting to think they might just make it.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the Dresperado entered Kerbin space, and Kuzz plotted an orbital circularization maneuver, crossed his fingers, and began counting down.

"Three... two.... one..... engage main engines!"

For several minutes the engines performed beautifully, and it seemed they were going to make it, until Carlenna screamed above the roar, "We're getting a temperature spike in the central... OMG.... Fire... Fire in the cargo bay!!!"

Withing seconds the entire ship began to overheat, and Captain Kuzzter howled into his microphone, "Carlenna, Get out of there!!!"

But by now the entire cargo bay was engulfed in flames, and Carlenna was right in the center of it... and Kuzz feared she might already be gone.

Then the doomed Dresperado shuddered violently, and with a defining roar the entire rear section blew itself apart!

Inside what was left of the cabin, the crew sat shocked and dazed, all except Captain Kuzz, who was now bellowing into his microphone. "Carlenna... Carlenna Kerman, can you hear me? Carlenna Kerman, please respond.... CARLENNA!!!!!"

But the crew received no reply, and fearing the worst, looked at each other with dread.

Nervously Theo unstrapped himself from his seat and and peered out the back window, then recoiled in horror. "Oh no..... noooo........"

"Captain.... It's gone. The whole back of the ship is just... gone."

Unable to control himself, Theo began to sob. "And... and Carlenna... Oh, Captain.... Carlenna is gone as well!"

 

 

The Saga of Emiko Station is far, far from over.....

Go to Chapter 50
Return to Index

Edited December 7, 2019 by Just Jim
typical screw-ups... lol...

[Kerbart]

You're supposed to write these stories alone, yanno... Obviously you're getting help from George R. R. Martin...

[Just Jim]

2 minutes ago, Kerbart said:

You're supposed to write these stories alone, yanno... Obviously you're getting help from George R. R. Martin...

I had to google him, and wow... really?  I am so honored!!!  Thank you!   

[Kerbart]

Amazing job on those Mun flag plants by the way. I shudder when I think on how much work it took!

 

[SpaceplaneAddict]

You're not supposed to break me and my emotions! WHY?!

*Determination!

[Andem]

Quick.... Someone call a persistomancer!

[Just Jim]

38 minutes ago, Kerbart said:

Amazing job on those Mun flag plants by the way. I shudder when I think on how much work it took!

 

Thanks!  They're planted every 22km, or 10 miles, and I have gone over 1350km so far. And with the new computer it's been really fun. I can get between 66 and 88km per hour, depending on the terrain, in both real and game time, so it's gone quickly. The bigger time killer is having to stop and refuel.  If I had used infinite fuel I'd probably be done by now.

I'll show the route from other angles later, but right now I'm trying not to give away exactly where the arch is. It's bad enough I'm showing them at all, so I'm trying really hard not to spoil all the fun and give away their exact locations.

37 minutes ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

You're not supposed to break me and my emotions! WHY?!

*Determination!

It's my job......  

13 minutes ago, Andem said:

Quick.... Someone call a persistomancer!

Not sure if you can get one on a weekend...  

Edited May 28, 2016 by Just Jim

[max_creative]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! 

Maybe she just fell of and next chapter we will find her clinging to the hatch? And they find out when they attempt to slow down with a mun assist and get a hatch obstructed message? Maybe? Hopefully? 

In the words of @SpaceplaneAddict, *Determination

[KerbalOmmex]

What exactly did you use to blow up the Desperado @Just Jim?

[HebaruSan]

4 hours ago, Just Jim said:

So did they finish enough of the burn, or are they now on an escape trajectory past Kerbin with no engines?? You've got me hankerin' for a look at their map screen!

[spacebrick3]

Where do all the floating rocks come from? I feel that it can't be natural that there's one by every arch...

[Just Jim]

 

9 hours ago, KerbalOmmex said:

What exactly did you use to blow up the Desperado @Just Jim?

There are several extra types of engines countersunk deep into the Dresperado's hull at different points; everything from little sparks to 2 big mainsails. Each set is action keyed to a different number, so I can activate them in sequence.  
To get the glowing red hot shots use alt-F12 and turn off the overheating so it will heat up the ship but not explode.  
Then turn overheating back on, double check you have a good backup, and let the ka-booming begin!  It's quite fun, actually.

 

6 hours ago, spacebrick3 said:

Where do all the floating rocks come from? I feel that it can't be natural that there's one by every arch...

In terms of the game itself, there seem to quite a lot near certain crater edges, and I'm getting really good at spotting them from a distance. 
In terms of the story, Piper is starting to think like you are.... there is something very odd about all this.... 

 

8 hours ago, HebaruSan said:

So did they finish enough of the burn, or are they now on an escape trajectory past Kerbin with no engines?? You've got me hankerin' for a look at their map screen!

Yes, just barely.  Here's the map of where the wreckage ended up.

 

11 hours ago, max_creative said:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! 

Maybe she just fell of and next chapter we will find her clinging to the hatch? And they find out when they attempt to slow down with a mun assist and get a hatch obstructed message? Maybe? Hopefully? 

Stay tuned....  

[KerbalOmmex]

On 5/26/2016 at 7:07 AM, Just Jim said:

 

49 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

 

Yes, just barely.  Here's the map of where the wreckage ended up.

 

Stay tuned....  

 

Hmmm... 77k km is 9k km short of the SOI boundary (86k km) So they captured rather well... Unless their cloaking equipment is destroyed or damaged too.... 

[Just Jim]

7 minutes ago, KerbalOmmex said:

Hmmm... 77k km is 9k km short of the SOI boundary (86k km) So they captured rather well... Unless their cloaking equipment is destroyed or damaged too.... 

Let's say the force of the blast gave them that last little nudge they needed to circularize the orbit.....  but like you point out, they are really close to the boundary, and hopefully won't drift....

And I'm afraid it's hard to say at this point what still works... 

Edited May 28, 2016 by Just Jim

[Just Jim]

50 chapters.... who would have dreamed?
Let's make this one special....

 

Chapter 50
A Ghost of the Past

 

As Kerbol rose over the eastern edge of the Mun Arch crater, Piper and the Rocklady boarded the Doodlebug while Frannie Kerman watched nervously. She did not like that they were attempting another landing on an Arch, but Piper was the captain, and she was determined to see this thru, so Frannie stayed silent and promised to assist if and however she could.

"Remember," Piper called down to Frannie, the autopilot is already programmed.  At any sign of trouble, all I need to do is hit the emergency button, and the Doodlebug will automatically return to the Chariot. There is a secondary button in the cockpit for you. Any sign of trouble and I want you to bring us back, understood?"

"Understood, ma'am," Frannie replied before climbing back into the Chariot. "Good luck."

After she checked the Rocklady's safety harness, Piper undocked the Doodlebug, climbed up to find a flat area, and in just a few seconds expertly set it down onto the great Arch.  

Once landed, Piper looked over at the Rocklady and said, "Before I was lying down, and I think I fell asleep...."

Suddenly, without warning, everything went black, and for several seconds neither Piper or the Rocklady could see a thing. Then as fast as it happened, their vision cleared, and they found themselves somewhere..... empty... desolate..... dead.... and horribly, horribly cold.

Piper looked up at Kerbol, if it was Kerbol, and knew it was much too small. If this was their solar system, then she couldn't begin to guess where. Dres? Eeloo? Perhaps even distand Sarnus? It was so terribly cold and dark, like frozen sand or ash. And not a rock or boulder as far as she could see, other than what they seemed be perched on. 

Suddenly Piper felt goosebumps cover her. "What.... what are we on top of?"

Instantly she lifted the Doodlebug up and spun it around, and gasped. "It can't be...."

Slowly Piper set the Doodlebug down and stared in wonder and revulsion. Something inside her was sickened at the sight of the dead thing, and she had to suppress an almost primal instinct to flee this place. But instead she forced herself to look upon the dead thing in front of her.

"Is that..." she whispered to the Rocklady, "Is that a Kraken?"

"I believe so, child..." the Rocklady answered, equally awed and revolted at the bloated corpse.

"How.... where... I don't understand...."

But before Piper could finish, everything went black again. This time, when their vision returned, the two found themselves in space looking down on Kerbin.

As Piper watched, Kerbin seemed to become smaller and smaller, and suddenly a feeling of dread overcame her... "I remember this..."

Frozen with fear, Piper watched as the very space around her world... changed.... and something too terrible for words began to materialize in front of them.

Now she remembered the nightmare on the last arch... the thousands of twisting, slimy, tentacles engulfing her, immobilizing her... pinning her down and drawing her in closer and closer to some sort of unspeakable mouth...

And then she realized with horror that she was trapped in same nightmare, only time she was not the intended victim.... the true victim was her home world!!!! Unable to bear it any longer, Piper tore herself from the nightmarish image in front of her, and screaming she slammed the Doodlebug's Emergency Autopilot switch....

And beside her, the Rocklady prayed and prayed that it was all just a dream.

 

*          *          *

 

As Kerbol set over the Explodium Sea, Harfield Kerman sat and sighed in loneliness.

He had lost count of how many days he had been exiled to Eve, as he spent his time studying the surrounding area, and salvaging what he could from the Chariot wreckage. But the latter was mostly as lost cause. Thompberry had been quite thorough in destroying anything of value, and in the end Harfield was only able to salvage enough to cobble together what he jokingly named his porch. He had been quite disappointed to find the large Chariot antenna smashed beyond repair, but at least it provided some shade from Eve's brutal afternoons.

It was so very beautiful, but Harfield felt empty without Jandolin, and for the thousandth time, he wished for her to be with him. But he knew she was millions of kilometers away, and with a sigh, he got up to prepare for nightfall.

But when he turned back to his base, Harfield was surprised to spot what appeared to be some sort of plume of gas rising from a nearby boulder.

Excited, he ran as fast as he could towards the plume. It was well known Eve was geologically active, but this would the first direct evidence of any such activity, and the scientist in Harfield was eager for something... anything... new to observe and study.

But as he grew near, Harfield was puzzled to see the ground around the strange boulder begin to glow first a deep violet, then a brilliant red, and finally gold. And with a huge roar, smoke and flame began to billow from the boulder!

"How odd..." Harfield thought, "This is not how I expected to go mad...."

For quite a while the boulder seemed engulfed in flame and smoke, eventually becoming so bright it was hard for Harfield to see the boulder itself... Or the strange figure that was now emerging from within it!!!!!!

In a flash, the flames and smoke stopped, and the glowing began to subside, and Harfield cautiously approached the still figure now standing quietly in front of the boulder.

"OK," He thought to himself, "Now I know I've gone mad..."

The figure was clearly Kerban, and incredibly beautiful. But Harfield was completely devoted to Jandolin, and frowned.

"If I'm hallucinating, then why aren't you Jandolin? Who are you?"

But the strange kerbette just stood and stared silently.

"Can you here me?" Harfield asked. "Are you alright?"

But still she stood in silence, apparently oblivious to anything and everything around her.

Unsure what to do, or if he was even still sane, or perhaps dreaming, Harfield turned and walked several paces towards his base, then turned back towards the strange kerbette, and was pleased to see her follow him. But as she drew near, she stopped and stood quietly and stared into the distance.

Hoping she would continue, Harfield turned and continued to his base, and sure enough, his beautiful hallucination followed not far behind. Once he reached the camp, he did a quick scan of his science equipment, and was somewhat surprised at what he found. The test equipment did, in fact, show some startling evidence that something had just recently occurred. And his mystery goo was cowering in the bottom of it's tank in a most unusual way.

"I'll have to check this in the morning." Harfield said, then climbed down and looked at the stranger. "For now, I suppose I would be a rude host if I didn't at least offer you some snacks. Will you join me?"

And much to his surprise, she followed him inside.

But once inside she just sat and stared like before, and didn't object or even seem to notice when Harfield ran a medical scan on her. In the cabin light he could see her more clearly, and he realized she wasn't just beautiful, she was absolutely stunning. But she also seemed somehow familiar. It was odd. Even if this impossible hallucination was real, Harfield was sure they had never met. Yet something... something about her seemed very, very familiar.

"Well," he said with a smile, "You don't appear injured. In fact, you seem in remarkable shape."

But she just sat and stared and said nothing.

"OK," Harfield smiled again, "If you're not going to say anything, then I will. My name is Harfield Kerman. I am married to the lovely Jandolin Kerman, and we live with our two children in a place called Emiko Station, high over Kerbin....."

And for the next few hours Harfield sat and talked to the strange kerbette... or hallucination... or whatever she was. It really didn't matter much to Harfield, even if this was all a dream, it felt good to talk to some, anyone, even if she was some sort of beautiful mute. But the hour grew late, and Harfield eventually grew tired, and reached over to dim the cabin lights.

"You are welcome to stay, if you like." Harfield yawned. "Pleasant dreams, pretty hallucination"

When Harfield woke the next morning, the strange kerbette was gone. "Yup, Harfield old kerb, you've got space madness for sure."

With a long sigh he climbed out of his seat and set off outside to check the test equipment, and try to determine if it had all been a dream after all.

But when he got outside, to his surprise, and no small delight, he spied the strange kerbette atop the base, watching Kerbol rise over the hills.

Quickly he climbed up and joined her. But when he reached the top, he was quite startled when she began to speak!

"Eve...." she said in a hoarse, raspy whisper. "Eve..."

"Yes," Harfield answered with a grin. "Yes, this is Eve! You remember!"

Then she turned towards him, and for the first time, looked directly at Harfield, and tried to speak again. 

"Eve.... Kerbin......  Har.... field.... Harfield.... Ker...man.... Emiko..."

Then she scowled, and it became clear to Harfield she was struggling to form words.

"It's OK... slow down... It's OK." Harfield said gently.

Smiling, Harfield continued. "You are correct, We are on Eve, but Kerbin is our real home. And yes, my name is Harfield Kerman, and I live on Emiko Station..."

But the woman scowled and shook her head in frustration. "No..... understanding.... names.....  Harfield.... Emiko!"

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you mean...... wait.... I..... no......... no........ you... you...... you can't be....."

As Harfield's voice drifted off into stunned silence, and his blood turned to ice, he realized he did, in fact, recognize this woman. But how? How could it be her, after all these decades? And here, now, on Eve? Surely he was going insane... or was he? Whatever the case, he recognized her completely now. How could he have missed it? He had seen her face hundreds of times, mostly plastered on the walls of Valentina Kerman's quarters!  

And by the gods... the resemblance was remarkable...

He couldn't speak, he could barely think.... how could this be anything but space-madness?

"Name," she said, pointing at him, "Harfield Ker-man."

"Yes," he whispered, scarcely able to breath.

Then she pointed at herself, and smiled. "Name.... Emiko..... Emiko Ker-man." 

 

The Saga of Emiko Station is far, far from over......

(Additional Cthulhu/Kraken artwork designed by me)

Go to Chapter 51
Return to Index

Edited December 7, 2019 by Just Jim

[Geschosskopf]

Poor Emiko.  What did she do in life to warrant an afterlife on Eve?

Ghosts, spirits, horrific visions, and disasters.  Keep it coming!  And sorry about breaking Kuzz's rocket.  I blame Theo

 

[SpaceplaneAddict]

Emiko Kerman, a ghost from the past... should be enough to keep Harfield from going insane!

*Determination.

[Andem]

Emiko Kerman tears herself free from the cold, soulless maw of the Kraken! Happy 50th, everyone!

[spacebrick3]

Love the new porch! Did you create it in @Brotoro fashion, where you construct in in the VAB with parts and then HyperEdit it over?

[Just Jim]

9 hours ago, Andem said:

Emiko Kerman tears herself free from the cold, soulless maw of the Kraken!   Happy 50th, everyone!

I invite you.... all of you..... to go back and read the very last part of chapter 1...   

 

6 hours ago, spacebrick3 said:

Love the new porch! Did you create it in @Brotoro fashion, where you construct in in the VAB with parts and then HyperEdit it over?

In this case, yes, I had to.  My only other option was to try and build something with a mod like KAS, which I'm not currently using.
I also used HE early on when I was making the building scaffolding.  It's the only way I know of to make something like that work.

[Kerbart]

15 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

I invite you.... all of you..... to go back and read the very last part of chapter 1...   

Spoiler

 

“ The Saga of Emiko Station is far, far from over...”

 

I know what you mean though... but I didn’t have to reread the end of chapter one for that

[Just Jim]

16 minutes ago, Kerbart said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

“ The Saga of Emiko Station is far, far from over...”

 

 

 

 

I know what you mean though... but I didn’t have to reread the end of chapter one for that

No... the paragraph before that!!!

[Ultimate Steve]

Yes! The paragraph before that!!! I had completely forgotten about that... now I guess I need to spend a few hours re-reading everything.