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Chapter 1 - Doomed Chapter 2 - Time's a tickin' Chapter 3 - Around the fleet Chapter 4 - Moment of drama Chapter 5 - The Green in the black Chapter 6 - Spanner in the works Chapter 7 - One down Chapter 8 - Two to go Chapter 9 - Thumbs Up Chapter 10 - Val's down Chapter 11 - Static Chapter 12 - Snappy Dresser Chapter 13 - Field Trip Chapter 14 - The Box Chapter 15 - Siren Song Chapter 16 - The Hatch Chapter 17 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Chapter 1 – Doomed The results were in, there could be no doubt. The mystics had read their tea leaves and run for the hills. The scientists had studied the data, run simulations and run for the hills. The talking heads had listened to the mystics and the scientists, then grabbed their microphones... and run for the hills. Emergency statement: Regarding recent discovery and the way forward. The discovery made just a few days ago has been a shock to everyone on Kerbin. Comet Tiddles (named after the late Dr Tiddles Kerman) is on a collision course with our world and the results will be devastating. In just 42 days our encounter with Tiddles will result in a firestorm of destruction, the likes of which we have never seen. The surface of Kerbin will be rendered a lifeless ball of rock, leaving us but one option if we wish to preserve something of our species. We must make a new life on another world and that world is Laythe. This will not be a new beginning for us all, only a select few. But those selected will carry with them the seeds of our species’ future and our hopes. Dr Stranlow Kerman: Chairman - Kerbal Institute for Astronautics (KIA) Year 976 Day 329. Laythe Orientation and Survival Techniques (LOST) - Mission summary The Team The LOST team will be composed of three member of each of the following disciplines · Pilots – As much as we'd prefer not to send any of these thrill seeking jokers, we had to give the team at least some chance of finding its way to Laythe. · Scientists – The original plan was to send three members of KSC management (they were insisting due to the whole apocalypse thing) instead of a scientific team. We resolved that issue using a tasty looking cake, a storage closet and duct tape. · Engineers – These will be responsible for mining minerals from the surface of Laythe and processing them into materials for the colonists. We had hoped to send more scientists instead (specifically the senior members of the KIA), but the engineers wouldn’t give us details on the techniques they use to get the converter units so productive, so we’re stuck with sending them. The vehicles Four vehicles will carry the members of the LOST team to Laythe, three of them controlled directly by a pilot, while one will follow autonomously. This last vehicle really complicated the mission, but we didn’t want the scientists and engineers complaining about the pilots having an extra player for games night. · The lifter – A vehicle capable of flying from the surface of Laythe to orbit and back again. We don’t know what use this will have to a team of colonists, scraching out a new life on the surface, but the pilots insisted we give them “a ride” worthy of their skills. · The Plant – The mining and processing plant will supply the needs of the colonists. Engineers are pretty territorial, so the pilot and scientist members of the team have been warned to keep their hands off it. · The Lab – A fully equipped research laboratory on wheels, that will allow the scientists to gather samples from their new home and find out if there are any surprises to reveal. However we suspect it’s just a pretty standard hunk of rock, with some gas wrapped round it. The scientist members of the team want it to go on record that it is not “a school bus”. · The Hab – A module providing accommodation for the colonists, as well as a common area for the three parts of the team to interact. Corners of equipment have been covered with cushioning materials and all surfaces easy clean, in case of disagreements on the colony becoming a little heated. In addition to these four vehicles, attached to the lifter on its journey to Laythe, will be two rover vehicles. The pilots have “called dibs” on these, as these are “real rides” and not “a school bus”. The Schedule With just 42 days until all of us on Kerbin must answer to the Kraken, there will be no time to lose preparing the four vehicles for departure to Laythe. Careful design, testing and manufacture; concepts which the KIA has adhered to strictly in it 162 missions (9 fully successful); will need to be replaced. The new order of the day will be grabbing what we have from stores, slapping it together and hoping it works. Launch of all four vehicles from the KSC will be in 19 days, with departure from Kerbin orbit to Laythe 1 day later. With the use of the new F-12 series Complex Harmonic Endothermic Atomic Transductive engines, journey time to Laythe will be only 21 days. This will allow the colonists a few hours to enjoy life on the surface of their new home, before their old one bites the big one. Should the accuracy of the predicted time of our impending doom be off just a smidge (orbital mechanics is hard after all), additional supplies and possibly colonists may be dispatched to the LOST team. Good luck and may the Kraken be with you. Jerman Kerman: Mission Director