Etherium: A Kerbal Space Program Story (Chapter 43: The Final Push, part two)

[DarkOwl57]

I DEMAND THE NEXT CHAPTER!!! YOU SAID YOU HAD CHAPTER 35 READY AND THERE ISN'T EVEN 30 YET!!! WHERE IS IT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!

[TheEpicSquared]

Moar??

[DMSP]

@Draconiator, how's life? I just read the last chapter, and I haven't seen a flying car in ages! Jeb is one helluva pilot.

I hope to continue seeing where this goes.

[Draconiator]

Oh hey sorry RL just kind of took over, I will update every once in a while though.  Starting with...NOW.

[Draconiator]

Yep, RL again.  thing  is I love the way real life is taking me at the moment, and I DID say RL may or may not disrupt Etherium.  I guess it is hapenning, but not to fear!  Here is 30!  And pending if I can get my saves ported over to 1.2 (even better than 1.1), I will continue this.

Now that the full team was together again, focus shifted to finding where this "Elysium" was...and the only clue top brass at KSC had, was the fact the Etherium knew about the KSS Munhat at Duna.  They would need to get around easily, since it looked like they were far too heavy for Duna's gravity.  Indeed, Ike looked like the leading candidate, and after a lively discussion, it was agreed.  "Elysium" must be their name for Ike.

It also was agreed that Jeb would join the crew of the KSS Haydi, since he was adamant about getting revenge on the Etherium.  Although at the moment, Jeb was elsewhere to clear his thoughts before he heads into space again...with the Bolt no less.

He wondered wether or not to report Kerbin Motors to the Kerbin Aviation Administration, but I'm sure they did not think their machine was flightworthy.  But none of that mattered now.  The only thing that mattered to him at the moment was eliminating the Etherium threat, and avenging the crew that had lost their lives aboard the KSS Munhat.  He was pleased to hear that KSC's newest ship built to take on the Etherium was named the KSS Haydi; even in death she would get her revenge.  Jeb smiled.

Suddenly, another one of those drone things materialized in front of Jeb.

But wait...this drone looked different...the one he recovered?  Four?

"HELLO JEBEDIAH KERMAN, I MEAN YOU NO HARM, IT IS ME, UNIT 0400"

FOUR!  Jebediah was extatic.  "Am I glad to see you!  How did you survive the crash?"

"HAYDI PACKAGED ME IN SOME SORT OF SHIPPING MATERIAL.  TENSILE STRENGTH, CONFIRMED."

Jeb laughed.  "How did you know to come here?"

"WHEN WE FIRST MET, I SCANNED YOU, AND CONFIRMED YOUR TENDENCY TO COME HERE TO 'RELAX'.  FURTHERMORE, I WANT TO HELP YOU TERMINATE THE REST OF US."

"Then Four," Jeb suddenly had an idea.  "What do you call 'Elysium'?  Where is that?"

"ELYSIUM IS A PLANET THAT ORBITS A RED MOON, OR THAT IS WHAT WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT."

Jeb showed Four a picture of Ike and Duna.  "Is it these two?"

"AFFIRMATIVE...CONFUSION.  WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT ELYSIUM WAS MUCH BIGGER, AND THE MOON MUCH SMALLER."

"Well," Jeb began... "This planet, your 'Moon', is a planet roughly half the size of Kerbin.  We call it 'Duna'."

"WE IDENTIFIED YOUR SHIP AROUND...DUNA...AND WE TERMINATED IT...AT KERBIN..."

Now Jeb was getting somewhere.  "This moon around Duna?  We call it 'Ike'."

"HOME CONFIRMED; YOUR 'IKE' IS OUR 'ELYSIUM'."

Jeb snapped his fingers.  He suddenly felt accomplished, and he was going to help rid the system of these scourges once and for all!

"JEBEDIAH KERMAN, I MUST TELL YOU SOMETHING."

"What is it, Four?"

"WHILE HAYDI WAS TERMINATED, SHE LIVED FOR APPROXIMATELY 2.3 HOURS AFTER THE CRASH.  HER FINAL REQUEST WAS FOR ME TO DO SOMETHING WE ONLY HAVE DONE IN THE PAST TO REDUCE THE IQ OF IMPORTANT PEOPLE ON A WORLD, ABSORBING THEIR KNOWLEDGE INTO OUR HIVE MIND.  WE HAVE NEVER USED IT ON KERBALS, THANK GOODNESS."

Jeb knew where this was going...

"SHE ASKED ME TO ABSORB ALL OF HER KNOWLEDGE.  ASIDE FROM MY EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE, EVERYTHING HAYDI WAS, EXISTS IN MY MEMORY BANKS CURRENTLY."

Jeb cracked a huge grin.  This was extremely fortunate, now they definately knew where Elysium was, and now they have Haydi back...somewhat.  Now all of Kerbin could fight back.

 

[Draconiator]

When Jeb returned home to KSC, he was suprised to see Four waiting for him outside of the hangar.  He was puzzled - but then remembered.  the Etherium can teleport on a planet, and he was thankful that this particular one was on their side.

Jeb ran to Four. "So, what first?"

"YOU MUST MAKE A DOCKING APPARATUS FOR ME.  THAT WOULD REQUIRE TAKING OFF MY PHLERB, BUT I AM WILLING TO LET YOU FOR THE SAKE OF KERBIN."

Jeb was confused.  What was a "Phlerb"?  But then he figured...that was what he called the engine thing on him.  "Ummmm...is that a private thing for you?"

"DO NOT WORRY, JEBEDIAH KERMAN.  ETHERIUM HAVE NO SUCH WORD, AND NO SUCH CONCEPT."

"But you now have everything Haydi has experienced, do you?"

"AFFIRMATIVE.  BUT I AM TALKING HOW I WAS, AND HOW THEY ARE.  I UNDERSTAND WE ARE COLD, UNCARING...AND UNFORTUNATELY THE REST OF MY RACE WILL NOT CHANGE.  THE HIVE MIND OVER ALL.  EVERYTHING IS DONE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE QUEEN."

Jeb started to seethe.  How could the Etherium think this way?  They are a superior intelligence...how?!

"ELEVATED STRESS LEVELS DETECTED.  YOU WILL GET YOUR CHANCE, JEBEDIAH KERMAN.  FOR NOW, WAIT FOR YOUR ASSIGNED FLIGHT.  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU CREATE THAT DOCKING APPARATUS IN THE INTERIM."

So that is what Jeb did.  He was no engineer, but he could create small things.  This also necessitated a small docking port on Four, so first, he created the docking extender with the help of an overly eager new VAB hire.

But Four looked over it, and decided to design his own apparatus when it was not up to snuff in his opinion.

And then, Jeb got to work slicing Four's...phlerb off, and attaching a docking port in its place.  From there, the VAB crew created the vessel to bring them to the KSS Haydi.

At high noon the next day, a brand new rocket was waiting for them to bring them to the battleship.

Four broke the silence while waiting for launch.  "JEBEDIAH KERMAN, YOUR PROPULSION METHODS ARE VERY CRUDE; I HAVE SCANNED THIS ROCKET."

"Well, we're not as advanced as you."  Jeb found it annoying that Four now had all of Haydi's personality and smarts...she could be quite maddening at times.

"CALCULATIONS INDICATE YOU COULD REACH US IN TERMS OF PROPULSION WITH YOUR CURRENT TECHNOLOGY-."

Jeb cut Four off.  "-at the cost of a few billion Funds.  We do not have that kind of money Four...now be quiet."

It was early evening before they lifted off.

While they both headed to the battleship, Four had something important to say to Jeb...

"JEBEDIAH KERMAN."

"Yes Four?"

"I WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGIZE FOR MY FELLOW ETHERIUM'S ACTIONS, BUT WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY.  FOR MILLENIA, WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT CARBON-BASED SPECIES WERE COLD, UNCARING...AND THAT IS WHAT I THOUGHT AT FIRST ABOUT YOUR KIND.  BUT WHEN HAYDI TAUGHT ME...AND I FELT MY LINK TO THE HIVE SEVERED...I REALIZED YOU ARE NOT AT ALL WHAT I HAD HEARD.  I DO NOT WISH TO CALL THEM "FELLOW" ANY LONGER, BUT THE OTHER ETHERIUMS WILL KILL YOU IF YOU GIVE THEM A CHANCE...BE CAREFUL, JEBEDIAH KERMAN."

Jeb knew that Four was sincere, and let a few tears fall.  There was NOTHING Kerbals couldn't do, he thought.  And they would take the fight straight to the Etherium home base.  It would be a huge victory.

Edited October 23, 2016 by Draconiator

[DMSP]

So, are we nearer to the end or the beginning here? And is Haydi going to make a comeback as an AI?

Excellent chapters as always!

[Draconiator]

Thank you!  Nearing the end of the story, but pending RL, lots of shtuff to come.

[DarkOwl57]

On 10/23/2016 at 4:55 PM, Draconiator said:

Oh hey sorry RL just kind of took over, I will update every once in a while though.  Starting with...NOW.

YYYAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY

HE'S ALIVE!!!!!!!

[DarkOwl57]

On 10/23/2016 at 5:44 PM, Draconiator said:

Thank you!  Nearing the end of the story, but pending RL, lots of shtuff to come.

Could Haydi come back as like a memory chip in Four or something? It could be like Star Wars where Leia is a hologram.

Just a thought.

[DarkOwl57]

On 4/17/2016 at 2:55 PM, Draconiator said:

FUN FACT about this chapter - I did not know about Vessel Mover back then, so this is how I moved that rover set piece.  NOTHING WILL GET IN THE WAY OF MY STORY, RARGH!

 

 

*Cue the funny yet dramatic music*

[Draconiator]

Hey thank you all for sticking with me through this...the KSP community is INDEED one of the greatest I have ever come across on the vast Interwebz...and KSP itself is amazing...I feel like another one!  WHO WANTS ANOTHER ONE!!!!

 

When they arrived at Kerbin's flagship the KSS Haydi, Jeb instructed Four what to do.

"Okay.  See that docking port on top, near the turret?  You dock there.  I'll dock at the one opposite that, underneath."

"AFFIRMATIVE, JEBEDIAH KERMAN"

"And you can warn me if you see anything suspicious."

And they both undocked, so they could board the Haydi.

"Four, this is Jeb, I am now on the bridge.  We gave the Haydi tons of memory in her computer so you could utilize it.  Are you able to transfer yourself?  If you are, do so, then undock your body."

"AFFIRMATIVE."

Jeb saw computer activity indicative of a massive amount of data flooding the memory module.  When it stopped, he knew Four was aboard.  He then detected an undocking event, which was Four undocking his now useless robot body with the docking extender, which immediately deorbited itself.

Jeb himself undocked his capsule.  He would need to return to it on completion of the mission.

"TRANSFER COMPLETE, JEBEDIAH KERMAN.  IT IS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM MY OLD HOUSING."

"That's because this is a warship.  Us Kerbals are peace-lovers, but rub us the wrong way..."

Trabelle laid in a course for the Duna system.  "I'm showing 306 days, Captain Jeb.  What if they attack Kerbin in the meantime?"

But Jeb knew without a doubt that Kerbin was secured, safe.  Nothing would happen while they were gone.  Kerbin was safe.  The attempted takeover was thwarted, and now they knew where the Elysium Homeworld was, and would eliminate the threat once and for all.

"Don't you worry Trabelle, Kerbin is for Kerbals again.  Even those darned Reds."  

Trabelle smiled when she saw Jeb smile, and she was certain the Haydi would perform as expected.  Justice must be done, and they would deal it out once they got to Ike.  And when the window came, the Haydi lit her engines for the trip to the Duna system.

Every Kerbal who had been affected by this was aboard, Mactop, Magi...Melgun...even Mosa, who did not stop hitting on Jeb even now.  In fact, Jeb's determination only seemed to make things worse as every chance she got, she'd hang around outside of his quarters hoping for some "alone time" with him.

It was a tense journey full of frayed nerves, but right on schedule they were in the Duna system.  Next stop: Ike, and whatever awaited them there...they were sure the Haydi was up to snuff; even Four was ready.

"CLOSING IN ON ELYSIUM,  AFFIRMATIVE.  ALL KSS HAYDI PERSONNEL, TO YOUR HARDPOINTS."

Jeb was confused.  "What?"

"TO WHATEVER YOU CALL YOUR HARDPOINTS, CORRECTION."

Jeb took the intercom.  "He meant 'battlestations'.  And may Kerblord be with us all."

 

Endgame is getting closer...what will happen?

[DarkOwl57]

OOOOOOHHHHHHH I LOVE IT!!!

Oh, and I have a question for you @Draconiator; Can I use Haydi as a character in my story? I am currently writing a war story (Using inter continental warfare; not interplanetary) that is going to be a sequel to the first story I wrote. Basically, Jeb (Now in his thirties and coming out of retirement) is going to be recruited by the NSKSA (National States of Kerbin Surveillance Agency (I know; So original..... not)) and is going to be recruited by a young pilot named Haydi. (I know, still un-origional...). My plan is this: Jeb is going to rescue POW's and Rebels out of prison camps with the help of Haydi. On his last required mission (He has to do 5 before being allowed to not continue. (It was his choice btw)) Haydi is going to find a piece of tech which is a sub-sentient computer system, named 'Four'. (I'm really stretching the plagiarism limit aren't I?) Then, on their miraculous escape, Haydi's going to be shot down, and Four's going to be on the plane, but live. Then, a few chapters later, Four's going to appear at the KSC, and have Haydi permanently stored in his memory banks as a hologram, so she and Jeb can still have conversation.

It's okay if you aren't okay with this, (I could just change the names,) But I would really like it if you could give me some tips on how to do this whole thing.

Thanks,

Darkowl57

[DarkOwl57]

18 hours ago, Draconiator said:

Endgame is getting closer...what will happen?

*Dramatic music*

[Draconiator]

6 hours ago, DarkOwl57 said:

OOOOOOHHHHHHH I LOVE IT!!!

Oh, and I have a question for you @Draconiator; Can I use Haydi as a character in my story? I am currently writing a war story (Using inter continental warfare; not interplanetary) that is going to be a sequel to the first story I wrote. Basically, Jeb (Now in his thirties and coming out of retirement) is going to be recruited by the NSKSA (National States of Kerbin Surveillance Agency (I know; So original..... not)) and is going to be recruited by a young pilot named Haydi. (I know, still un-origional...). My plan is this: Jeb is going to rescue POW's and Rebels out of prison camps with the help of Haydi. On his last required mission (He has to do 5 before being allowed to not continue. (It was his choice btw)) Haydi is going to find a piece of tech which is a sub-sentient computer system, named 'Four'. (I'm really stretching the plagiarism limit aren't I?) Then, on their miraculous escape, Haydi's going to be shot down, and Four's going to be on the plane, but live. Then, a few chapters later, Four's going to appear at the KSC, and have Haydi permanently stored in his memory banks as a hologram, so she and Jeb can still have conversation.

It's okay if you aren't okay with this, (I could just change the names,) But I would really like it if you could give me some tips on how to do this whole thing.

Thanks,

Darkowl57

Welll, I myself got the idea for a malevolent AI from Just Jim, I just went a different route with it.  I also completely made Four look different from Thompberry to avoid this kind of thing.  Change the names if you want to do this, except for Haydi, you can use her, it makes sense.  Can't wait to see what you do with her!

[DarkOwl57]

1 hour ago, Draconiator said:

Welll, I myself got the idea for a malevolent AI from Just Jim, I just went a different route with it.  I also completely made Four look different from Thompberry to avoid this kind of thing.  Change the names if you want to do this, except for Haydi, you can use her, it makes sense.  Can't wait to see what you do with her!

So Four's name changes, but everything else stays the same? Cause if so, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I have no inspiration in school, so I need to use everything I have at my disposal.

[DarkOwl57]

On 4/14/2016 at 1:52 PM, Draconiator said:

"We see you Returner.  Speed 2,300 kilometers a second, Over."

Ummm... According to my calculations, 2300 km/s would be around 5,144,953.5 miles per hour.... That's one hell of a heat shield...

[Draconiator]

On 10/26/2016 at 6:26 PM, DarkOwl57 said:

So Four's name changes, but everything else stays the same? Cause if so, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I have no inspiration in school, so I need to use everything I have at my disposal.

I can accept that    But if you make a title page please link to this one and mentioned how you got the inspiration,  I'm so happy to have inspired someone else like Jim inspired me!

[DarkOwl57]

11 minutes ago, Draconiator said:

I can accept that    But if you make a title page please link to this one and mentioned how you got the inspiration,  I'm so happy to have inspired someone else like Jim inspired me!

You've done waaaaayyyyy more than inspire me; You've like....... Done so much I can't put it into words atm.

Edited October 28, 2016 by DarkOwl57

[DarkOwl57]

aaaaannnnnnddddd...... He's gone.....

[Draconiator]

Announcement time! 

 

It seems that with 1.2, a mod I need is no longer compatible, so I can't use anything that uses any mod I had...HOWEVER, I can still write that into the story, I would just have to rebuild some ships, and edit others.  but it WILL be done.  no matter how long it takes, Etherium WILL be finished.  Oh, and I may show off my new Minmus base in the epilog heheh.

Okay, without spoiling anything, I have tried a mod I need and it does NOT work, so been toying around with the idea of building a stock representation of this important thing.  Would you all be okay with this?  I know I could just use that mod anyway just for looks, but another mod I need would be Vessel Mover if I were to go that route.  Same thing for the former route.  Just throwing a line out there...I need help behind the scenes here.  lol

Edited November 2, 2016 by Draconiator

[DMSP]

2 hours ago, Draconiator said:

Announcement time! 

 

It seems that with 1.2, a mod I need is no longer compatible, so I can't use anything that uses any mod I had...HOWEVER, I can still write that into the story, I would just have to rebuild some ships, and edit others.  but it WILL be done.  no matter how long it takes, Etherium WILL be finished.  Oh, and I may show off my new Minmus base in the epilog heheh.

Okay, without spoiling anything, I have tried a mod I need and it does NOT work, so been toying around with the idea of building a stock representation of this important thing.  Would you all be okay with this?  I know I could just use that mod anyway just for looks, but another mod I need would be Vessel Mover if I were to go that route.  Same thing for the former route.  Just throwing a line out there...I need help behind the scenes here.  lol

Yeah, I'm sure we're all fine! I hope 1.2 spares your saves!

[DarkOwl57]

17 hours ago, Draconiator said:

Announcement time! 

 

It seems that with 1.2, a mod I need is no longer compatible, so I can't use anything that uses any mod I had...HOWEVER, I can still write that into the story, I would just have to rebuild some ships, and edit others.  but it WILL be done.  no matter how long it takes, Etherium WILL be finished.  Oh, and I may show off my new Minmus base in the epilog heheh.

Okay, without spoiling anything, I have tried a mod I need and it does NOT work, so been toying around with the idea of building a stock representation of this important thing.  Would you all be okay with this?  I know I could just use that mod anyway just for looks, but another mod I need would be Vessel Mover if I were to go that route.  Same thing for the former route.  Just throwing a line out there...I need help behind the scenes here.  lol

You could go back to 1.1.3;  It's what I use to get BDArmoury. Just go to steam and Right-click. Then press properties, and go to betas. Then find 1.1.3

[Draconiator]

OR, I have a backup...thank goodness for that.  External drive, here I come!!  Seriously, this thing has saved my cheeks far more times than I can count...and for non KSP related reasons too.  ALL of my data is on it...hard drive crashes are nothing to me with this thing.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Draconiator

[Draconiator]

GUESS WHAT?  I deleted my 1.1.3 off of my hard drive, and when I started to ask around for help, DarkOwl came to the rescue with mentioning 1.1.3 - something I had backed up onto my external drive.  It wouldn't be the first time that thing has saved my rear either - it's what I used for the majority of Etherium.

So PERSONAL THANKS go out to DarkOwl

You saved me a lot of headaches, and that's another example of why the KSP gaming community is one of the best out there.  and I am even continuing the story on my hard drive because I'm so inspired lately.  SOOOOOO!!!!!!

 

While the KSS Haydi departed Kerbin, Wernher was poring over the wreckage of the drone bomber.  "Hmmm, letz zee...Zoikz!  Thees Ees und Etheerium, correct?"

"Yes it is." Gene said.  "Maybe you can find a way to reverse engineer the technology it posesses?  I think it called itself 'Superunit 0003'".

"I vill get Bub on eet, Gene."

A short time later, Bob was at the drone wreckage, outside of an R&D building.

It had taken some horsepower to haul it all the way over here.  He then started the process of finding out just what this thing was, and started carefully examining the wreckage, starting from the computer core.

He then hooked a datapad up to the core, and attempted to make sense of the alien data.

Bob was determined..."Where are you guys from...really?  Ike is uninhabited, you are NOT from Ike...and Ike has no atmosphere...hmmmm...THERE."

There, in the mess of data, was what he was looking for.  It was, from the looks of it, an entirely new star system.  One KSC had charted, but ultimately decided there was nothing interesting there.  And then, he found another juicy little piece of information.  They had gotten here via something called a "warp drive", and they were hidden on Ike for years.  That would mean the Etherium had spied on every single mission to the Duna system for Kerblord knows HOW long, and if it was not for the tenacity of Kerbals, Bob thought, their attempted invasion would have been a success.

It was also discovered that their ACTUAL homeworld was a ringed world called "Pequar"...but how to get there?  It would take hundreds of years, maybe thousands with current technology.  And that's when Bob found something else.  It looked like a warp drive blueprint...

Bob contacted Gene with his findings.  "Gene, I found something.  Get out here and bring Wernher with you."

"What's up Bob?"

"That nearby star system we found last year?  The Etherium hail from there.  And furthermore, they got here via something called a 'warp drive'.  I thought maybe Wernher can reverse engineer the blueprint."

"You found a 'Warp Drive' blueprint in Super 3?  I will be there with Wernher ASAP!"  Gene sounded...Bob didn't know, relieved?  Bob himself was relieved to finally have a chance to get rid of this "Etherium" once and for all...They had caused enough destruction and death already.

Soon, Gene pulled up with Wernher in a transport.  Bob had already detached the core and was in front of a science lab trying to extract the blueprint he found.  He was having loads of trouble though, it seemed the most sophisticated software suite they had wasn't enough to download the data it contained.  So, he had no choice but to power the core up.

"BOOTUP SEQUENCE COMPLETE, SUPERUNIT 0003, ELYSIUM LABS, SOFTWARE VERSION 200.0+...WE ARE...TERMINATED...?"

Bob was somewhat angry.  "No, you are mine, and you are not going to hurt anyone.  Give me your Warp Drive blueprint, or else you will see how nasty Kerbals can get."

"WILL NOT COMPLY.  WE MUST PROTECT US."

"We will see about that..."