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World War K (Conclusion: "The Return": An introduction to The Final Stand, and The Authors Note)


DarkOwl57

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Ooh! Twist! Nice chapter. 

2 hours ago, DarkOwl57 said:

 “Good morning Duna I; how’s it going up there?” Gene’s voice asked. “Pretty good, Gene. I’m just getting the final systems ready for the retro burns while Val stares off into blank space,”

How are they communicating in real time, the signal delay would be about 15mins? :confused:

2 hours ago, DarkOwl57 said:

Meed

Heads up on spelling mistake.

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3 hours ago, DualDesertEagle said:

Not only that, but how can they walk around the ship in zero G? Artificial Gravity?

Si :D

 

17 hours ago, MiffedStarfish said:

How are they communicating in real time, the signal delay would be about 15mins? :confused:

Well considering that they've got special tech like a [REDACTED], a 5 second delay isn't that much

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V

So long, Farewell, and The End

Time: 2100, 5 Days later
Location: Duna I base; 15km from the Grand Canyon


    Val sat and bounced a tiny ball against her room’s wall over and over again; enjoying how much bounce the thing had in the lower gravity of Duna. She was thoroughly defeated by the news, and now she had resigned herself to the fact Jeb wasn’t there. So close.. She thought as she bounced the ball against the wall, extending her arm up a bit to catch it. So. Damn. CLOSE!! She slammed the ball against the wall at full force, and it ricocheted around the room; finally settling in the sink. Val fell into the bed, and stared up at the stark white, metal ceiling. “Knock knock,” Haydi softly whispered, tapping her fist on the doorframe and slowly coming in.
    “You okay?” She asked. Val gave an exasperated sigh and huffed, “Yeah,” and covering her eyes with her arm. “Look, I’m not going to pretend I know how you feel. But it’ll be okay.” Val groaned. “Twenty-Six years. Twenty-Six. This felt like the real thing! I was right there!” Haydi shook her head. “I’m gonna hit the sack. G’night Val.” Haydi walked out of the room, and the door closed behind her. Val grabbed the ball and put it in her pack. As she sat back down into the bed, a tiny screen embedded into the wall turned on, and a small chiming noise rang out from the two speakers on either side. “What now?” Val groaned as she got up. She clicked the tiny screen and it expanded to show Gene, back at the KSC.
    “Hey, Gene,” Val waved, trying to look and sound happy. “How.. Are you doing?” Gene asked. Conversation skills are on point today, Gene, Val snidely thought; biting her tongue to keep from saying it aloud. “Good. What’s up?” No sense in waiting around. Gene looked around, and looked like what he was about to say was either a massive surprise, or almost impossible to say.
    “Val.. How would you feel about becoming the captain of the first ever International Star Fleet?” Val cocked her head. “Pardon?” She asked, genuinely confused. “In a World Kouncil Meeting today, funding was set aside for the planet’s first International Star Fleet vessel. However, we need a Captain. Obviously, you were first pick, and the Kouncil voted in favor. If you don’t accept, we’ve got other candidates, but… You’re the favorite.” Wow… “So what’s the ship?” Val asked.
    “It’s the ISS StarDust, a 100+ crew, 2 million-fund, behemoth of a starship. The thing- Vessel; I’m gonna have fun getting used to that- will have room for multiple light space vessels, 3 medium vessels, and 2 absolutely ginormous docking ports. It’s even got a brand-new tech device; the Warp Drive. It can push the ship above light speed, and it’ll allow you to go from 0 to 1,000,000 in a heartbeat. Don’t worry, you won’t feel a thing. You’ll have perfect accommodations; full control, state-of-the-art facilities, the works. A ship will come and pick you up tomorrow morning, if you accept. If not, it doesn’t matter; it’s got a secondary mission to do on Ike if you don’t accept. There’s one problem though…” Gene looked almost embarrassed. “You will have to stop your search for Jeb..” Val clenched her fist. “I’ve. Been searching. For 26 years. And you just want me to stop?!” She leaped up, and Gene instinctively flinched. “26 years! I’ve toiled, I’ve fought. I’ve begged, I’ve tried. I’ve been through the 7 circles of hell and back, and you want me to stop?! Good night, Gene!” Val shut the connection off, and threw herself into the bed. As if she was going to sleep…

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Time: 1010, The Next day
Location: Duna I base; 15km from the Grand Canyon


    “What’s up?” Haydi asked as the SSTO sat on the refueling pad. Val sighed and stared at the ship. “Nothing. Didn’t sleep at all last night.” Haydi nodded. “So I heard. What were you talking to Gene about?” Val shook her head. “He was offering me a position aboard a new starship. It’s the perfect job. Great pay, captain of my own ship, almost perfect living quarters… It’s got everything and some more. It’s a dream job.” Val looked out at the ship. “But?” Haydi asked. “I’ve got to give up my search for Jeb.” Haydi again nodded. “So that’s what you were mad about..” The two were silent for a while. “What’re you going to choose?”
    “On one hand, I’ve got the dream job, dream position, dream everything. On the other, I’ve got a search that has turned up all dead-ends for the entirety of the search.” Haydi frowned. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but in the short time that I did know Jeb, I learned a lot. And if what I remember is correct, I think that he’ll let us know when he wants to be found.” Val slowly nodded as if that made any sense at all. The ship fired up the first engine out of four.
    “I.. I think I’ll go. No point staying down here anymore. You’re right; Jeb will let us know when he wants.. eventually.” Val turned and stared at Haydi. “So this is it?” Haydi asked as Val picked up her bag. “I.. I guess it is,” She answered. “I’m gonna really miss you,” She sniffed as tears began to well up for no reason at all. “It’s okay. Just.. Do what feels right for you.” She and Val hugged. Then, Val began walking towards the plane, which was warming up and preparing for takeoff. Val stepped up onto the ramp, and at the top, she turned; tears in her eyes.
    “Go-…. Goodbye, Haydi,” Val choked out as she stepped up into the cabin, a couple tears rolling down her face. Haydi shook her head. “Don’t say goodbye!” Val laughed. “Why not?” Haydi rolled her eyes as if to say “Duh” and replied “Goodbye seems too formal. Until we meet again?” Val smiled. “Until we meet again then.” She stepped into the cabin and the door closed with a hiss. Val threw her bag into the overhead bin, and buckled into her seat in the lonely cabin. Then, the craft lurched forward a bit as the electric motors drove it towards the “runway”, which was a small flat patch of ground. Val stared out the window as she saw Duna I slowly retreat. Then, the plane shot forward; 4 engines all chomping at the bit to fling the plane up into the air. Val felt her spine compress a bit as the plane leaped up into the sky. It flew up, and up, and up. Off into the future. And maybe, Val thought naively, just that little bit closer to Jeb.


The End

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Goodbye everyone..

 

Conclusion

I

The Return; an introduction to The Final Stand

Time: Unknown, A little over 25 Years Later
Location: Dres Outpost #2865B


    The single shot rang out in the pressurized space, and Red dropped his broken gun. “Causing trouble?” I shouted down to him and his 2 henchkerbs who were staring up at me angrily. “Get outta here,” Red shouted, pointing at me. “How about.. No?” I replied with probably a bit too much snark. “The way I see it,” I jumped off the roof and floated down using the EVA pack. “I’ve got 3 guns. And you’ve got none. So skedaddle.” I cocked the gun. “Or else.” Red growled, and stormed off. “This isn’t the last of this!” He yelled, before leaving through the airlock. I sighed, and looked at the pilot of the cargo ship who was in the fetal position. “Alrighty, son, let’s get up.” I pulled him up, which was pretty easy in the low gravity. “Thank you sir!” The pilot breathed. “What’s your name?” Hhhmmm… I cocked my head and brushed an imaginary mustache.
    “No-one’s ever asked me that,” I whispered. “How about… ‘The Lone Ranger’? I’ve always considered myself a bit of a ranger myself after all.” Without waiting for a response, I began rummaging in the cargo hold for my stash. “Guns, guns, guns, ammo… Where the heck is my food?” I threw cartridges of phaser ammo over my shoulder, which the pilot deftly caught with one hand; jumping up for a few of them. “Here we go!” I lifted up the package filled with food, and balanced it over my shoulder. “You coming?” I asked the pilot, who was waiting in stunned silence. “Uh.. sure,” He replied, still surprised at what had just happened. “Well, let’s go!”

    15 minutes later, I had sliced open the food box with a horribly old pocket knife, and was pawing through the contents. “Here.” I threw him a package like a frisbee, and it floated right into his hands. “So what’re you doing here?” The pilot sat down. “The old pilot got the Jool System route. I, being a lowly private, got thrown into a cargo ship and here I am.” The pilot extended his hands out like “What can you do?” And I smirked.
    “I remember my days, back at the old KSC. Us privates and corporals were deemed expendable..” I saw the pilot’s eyebrows jump inquisitively for a split second, but he covered it well. “50 years I've been up here,” I continued, looking around. “50 long, hard years.” I nodded, and the pilot remained silent. A couple of minutes later, the pilot’s radio crackled to life.
    “Danny! Danny! Come in Danny! Report back to base at once; you need to sign off on the forms.” The kid burst up; flying into the air and almost hitting his head on the ceiling. “Thank you for everything, sir,” The pilot said, shaking my hand. As he was about to pop out the air lock door, I called out, “Wait!” He stopped, and turned.
    “When you get back, deliver this message; tell it to everyone. Tell them… Tell them ‘Jebediah Kerman has returned.’”

 

 

 

 

 

The Author’s note (From your author (duh))

 

 

    So here we are. We started this crazy adventure 5 months and 4 days (Or 128 days) ago (As I type this on November 9th, 2017). It’s been a whole heap of fun, you know. We’ve had our ups (I think we all loved those first few chapters with the veterans (I know I did!)), and we’ve had our downs (Chapters 12-14 were rough for me to type; I can just imagine how it felt for y’all to read it!). We’ve had comedy (Jim tripping over his suit), and of course, we’ve had some of the best fighting I think I’ve ever written. Going into this, I had so many ideas. All summer, I had been waiting; plotting, writing, scheming. And then came the time to write.. And I’m not gonna lie to you, I forgot every last idea I had created for myself the second I made the title page. But somehow, through thick and thin, I’ve done it. I’ve drawn inspiration from a host of sources; M*A*S*H being one of the key contributors. Next up is Quora. Now yeah, that makes 0 sense. But I’m subscribed to the War/Military forum. And let me tell you, some of the stories there will make you almost die from laughter. Third is also an unlikely area; my school. Friends, family, friends close enough to be family- all of them have helped me through the journey. Thanks for the fun.
    So now onto my schedule. School’s beating me up, but I *Believe* that working on Life at the Top and The Final Stand can work. I’ll try to make the post for LATT (Life at the Top) as soon as possible, or LATTer! Haha.. Get it? LATTer? Later? Aw fine, forget it. Anyways, so I'm changing things up. But this isn’t Life at the Top, and this is the authors note. So, thank you for the ride.. And I’ll see you later. Take care everyone. And goodbye Until we meet again. 

 


CREDITS


Written by: Forum User DarkOwl57
Produced by: Forum User DarkOwl57
With Help from: Forum User Just Jim


Cast
Valentina Kerman as Herself
Haydi Kerman as Herself
Maxxy Kerman as Herself
Forum User adsii1970 as Tarkin Kerman
Forum User Just Jim as Jim Kerman
Forum User Just Jim as Thompberry Kerman
Gene Kerman as Himself
Patrick B. Kerman as Himself
Hans Kerman as Himself
Meg Kerman as Herself
Christina Kerman as Herself
Wernher Von Kerman as Himself
Maximus Kerman as Subunit 0400; “Four”
Amanda Kerman as Herself
Lilly Kerman as Herself
Daisy Kerman as Herself
Sandra Kerman as “Madame President”
Willie Kerman as DualD Kerman
Angelo Kerman as Himself
Piper Kerman as Herself
Emiko Kerman as Herself
Chibi Kerman as Herself
Forum User Triop as Triop Kerman
Bryson Buckley as Bryson “Buck” Kerman
Dr. Sidney F. Kerman as Himself
Dewey Kerman as Himself
Shepcas Kerman as Himself
Vanessa Kerman as Herself
Sanson Kerman as Himself

Special thanks to the following for helping us in the making of this glorious story

@Just Jim

@adsii1970

@Triop

@DualDesertEagle

Just Jim studios
The Bahmuto City PD
The Bahmuto City FD
Bahmuto City mayors office
The UK National Guard
The KSC
And finally, all you readers. Thank you for watching. Goodbye.

Edited by DarkOwl57
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It's been one hell of a great story, but I'd hoped for a little more. It ended surprisingly quickly.

 

That said, I'm just as anxious to start reading The Final Stand (in which I hope u'll find some use for DualD Kerman again :D) as I was / am for every single new chapter of this or Emiko Station!

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2 hours ago, Mukita12 said:

Next stop what is it @DarkOwl57?

I was actually just about to make a straw poll on next stop :P I can't really decide. On one hand, I've got the story that I've got tons of material for, and something that personally I'd love to do as a writer in the form of Life At The Top. On the other, I've got the story that I've been promising for almost a year now, with little to no material, but it is the finale of this war series. I just really can't decide to be perfectly honest with y'all. I want to do LATT, because I think it would be a fun break from the beat-em-up, Micheal Bay explosions. But I want to follow up on promises I've made...

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Final bits of trivia for y'all here:

 

WWK Stats


Average words per chapter: 1,434.866666666666667 WPC
Total Words: 43,046 words
Total Chapters (Including epilogues and the note): 30
Date Started: July 4th, 2017
Date completed: November 9th, 2017
Most-used plane: F-22 Raptor
Most used Ship: Kraken Class Battleship
Most used ground vehicle: Artillery Gun (Legit, that’s what I named it)
Most used vehicle overall: F-22 Raptor
Author’s Favorite Character: Either Paddy or Val; Paddy for the accent, Val for the piloting.
Favorite Chapter: Epilogue III; To Duna. (I may have used Shadows of the Kraken as inspiration for the launch sequence, but most of it was from me and my memories of Apollo 13.)
Least Favorite Chapter: The 12-14 combo. Writing that felt like running head-first into a brick wall. Repeatedly. With the Hulk pushing me into said wall.

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