Project Intrepid (Chapter 59 - Life On Laythe)

[Ultimate Steve]

On ‎7‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 5:49 PM, max_creative said:

But who is the kraken's apprentice?

The question of the day! And we will find out soon. As soon as I do about ten bajillion other things to set up for that moment

On ‎7‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 5:49 PM, max_creative said:

Well, at least you didn't install the accelerometers backwards..

Warning: Exploding spaceships. (This NEEDS to be an actual street sign in Russia somewhere. No offence to the Russians.)

On ‎7‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 5:49 PM, max_creative said:

Wait a second... Gravioli scientist? Maybe gravioli particles will stop it! Or maybe it will blow up the planet... 

I don't want to steal too much from Plan Kappa... I do have a general idea where the story will be going, though.

Also, when there is another computer across the room playing a laggy roblox game and an xbox 2 rooms away connected to the internet, imgur tends to upload VERY slowly and then freeze and not load for fifteen minutes. Only 25 more screenshots to go!

[Ultimate Steve]

Part 20: Lots of boring Dockings.

Spoiler

"Okay, team. What do we need to launch to make this Dres mission happen?"
"Uh, Wernher? Shouldn't we have planned this before we launched the giant mothership?"
"..."

==============================2 hours later===============================

"Okay, we have a plan. There will be five launches. First, the adapters."

"Hold on a second. Aren't all of the engineers still working on - "
"Yes. They are still busy with - that thing."
"How much progress are they making?"
"Next to none."
"Have they made any progress at all?"
"They know they need to get thousands of tons to Minmus. Anyway, a few of them worked on the Dres mission for a bit. Jeb designed the lifters. Again."

"That doesn't look like a Jeb lifter."
"We had that one left over from the Jool launches."

"Were the fins supposed to explode?"
"According to Jeb, the fairing was also supposed to explode, so the mission is going well so far!"

Me: Why is the ship right there when the intersect is also right there? *time warps*
My conscience: It's not my fault you left hack gravity on.
=========take 2==========



And thus, all four adapters were docked to the Explorer. Now, for the main payloads.

"Dres Scansat has launched."
"That lifter looks a bit huge for just that two ton Scansat."
"It is a Jeb lifter."
"Wait... the stage... lands? Didn't we re-destroy R&D twice with a SMALLER version?"
"It is going to land on another continent somewhere. And Jeb got bored."




Anyway, back to the Scansat!



"And, docked! Next payload!"

"Hey, same lifter."
"Yeah. Jeb wanted to try and use the same lifter for all four flights."
"But didn't it explode?"
"Nah. Just one leg and an airbrake. Good as new, now!"
"So, the Dres lander."
"Yep. Four man, plus two seats. Nuclear powered, and RCS capable."



"Uh, Gene? The legs melted shut again."
"Darn. I actually thought we'd get our money's worth out of a Jeb lifter for once."
"Okay, it's coming down, not much fuel left, aaaaaand,"


"How in the..."
*insert mission control reaction gif here*
"Yay! Party time, then!"
"Nah. Still got to dock the lander."
"Already done."


The next day, the third payload was ready to launch. On the same lifter.

Me: Those engines are huge when you compare them to a Kerbal.

"This payload is the Dres Runner. It is designed as a means of transport around the Dres system to seek out good asteroids to refuel at. It has almost 4km/s of Delta V and can carry three Kerbals."


"The legs melted shut again! And the photographer never gets any shots of the separation!"

"Well, we'll just have to wing it. Like last time."

"Hey, the legs decided to pop out again!"
"Yay!"

"Uh,"

"Anyway! Onto docking!"




"Uh... *facepalm*"
"Nobody thought to check the length?!?!?"
===============================================

"And then, the last Dres payload was launched. It was dubbed the "Dres Bike." It isn't a rover, but it was a mini version of the Dres runner for one Kerbal with nearly 5km/s of Delta V."


"Hey, it SSTO'd!"
"Nice. And it still has, like, a kilometer per second of Delta V in its tanks. Plus, we don't really need it any more."
"Hmm, that gives me an idea."

And thus, all of the Dres payloads were docked to the explorer.
==================================================
"Okay, what next?"
"We have three things coming up soon."
"Go on."
"The Dres window, the Moho window, and the Mun impact."
"Do we have any plans for rescuing the crew of the Magician?"
"Well, it's been going as well as..."
"As lifting thousands of tons to Minmus. Got it."
"We have seen good proposals from... a third party company, though. We might have to take them up on that."
"So. Dres and Moho windows in sixty days. Mun impact in..."
"Twenty minutes."
"Good."



And at that moment, a vast invisible shockwave rippled through the universe. It remained unseen, unnoticed by nearly everyone. Except for four. The Monolith, Tomfurt, the Kraken, and his apprentice. They all felt it. They may have not known why it happened. Or how, or even what had happened. They all knew that at that one moment, something had happened that would change the universe forever.

Because someone had loaded the lifter with negative gravioli detectors in hopes of performing an experiment on Kerbin's radiation belts. However, the detectors resonated at a one in ten million frequency with the Munquake that was currently happening. The gravioli detectors went into a feedback loop. And then, for a glorious fraction of a millisecond, two universes collided.

And then, things went back to normal.

Or so we think...

The story of Project Intrepid will continue...
 

 

Edited June 21, 2018 by Ultimate Steve

[Ultimate Steve]

I'm not going to say what I just built for this story, but I will say:

That moment when the refueler is bigger than the actual ship.

 

[max_creative]

3 hours ago, Ultimate Steve said:

That moment when the refueler is bigger than the actual ship.

Happens almost every day to me. 

TWO UNIVERSES?!? Oh no... That can't be good... Can it?

[Ultimate Steve]

Part 21:

Spoiler

My name is Doodbro Kerman. I work on Phase One.

Which, you probably haven't heard of. For a god reason: It's top secret. However, we're going to reveal it to the public very soon.

It is also known as that thing all of the engineers are working on. So, what is phase one? It is the first of three phases in out planetary escape plan. To complete phase one, we need to get 1500 tons of supplies to Minmus to start a colony there. Don't ask me why, or what the other two phases are. They didn't tell me. So, we built a 10,000 ton rocket that could barely get the payload to orbit and rolled it out to the pad to see if it could stand under its own weight.



The result? A field of Vectors. Like one might find a field of crops. The good news is that the rocket could stand up under its own weight. However, the payload couldn't. So, we added more struts.


And then, it launched, all 170+ engines at once.

And then mission control gave the command to pitch over one degree. And then it exploded. However, the cameraman was busy running for his life.

Next two months later, the exact same thing happened again.


Except for the fact that the cameraman actually took pictures this time. Two months later, More struts!


It rose triumphantly off of the pad and began its gravity turn.

Miraculously, the boosters separated without destroying the rocket.


And the other boosters also separated without flaw. However, without the boosters to support it, the first stage without any struts to the second, crumpled in on itself, and exploded.


The next one featured many more struts. MANY. As in, hundreds. As well as better sepatrons, just in case.



Also, we had a gravioli scientist on the team. She came to the launch and used something called a "Localized Artificial Gravity" detector, or L.A.G. detector. I don't understand how it all works, but apparently some sort of time dilation we can't feel was running at 8 to 1.
Me: The actual six minutes of launching took something like twenty minutes for me.




And now, it is in orbit. Took us almost a year, far sooner than anyone expected, though. We're busy designing the refueler. We've hit a milestone, though. We've been working on an engine that has nine times the power of a mammoth in the space of one! Still, we need to get a thousand tons of fuel to space. Then, 1500 tons of stuff to land on Minmus. Also, HSP was just released on the KerbStation 4 and Kbox One. The problem is that I only have a Kbox 360.

End journal entry #52, Doodbro.

===========================================
"Wait! I didn't mean to publish it to the Interweb! That was a top secret project! Recall! Recall!"
*Error: Computer has crashed.*
"..."

The story of Project Intrepid will continue...

 

[max_creative]

A field of vectors! I need one of those!

Hey Doodbro! I have a Kbox One! 

Have fun with your Minmus base! Look out for unplanned lithobreaking braking maunuvers!

[insert_name]

was doodbro a Kold war refrence

[Ultimate Steve]

2 hours ago, insert_name said:

was doodbro a Kold war refrence

*quickly googles Kold war*

Actually, no. A long time ago, I got a Kerbal named Doodbro. It was the first name I thought of, so I guess it was a coiencidence. He's both a dude and a bro at once. Potentially the coolest sounding Kerbal name in history.

[max_creative]

1 minute ago, Ultimate Steve said:

He's both a dude and a bro at once. Potentially the coolest sounding Kerbal name in history.

The only ones cooler are Jeb and Kirrim...

I had Seekin Kerman back in 1.0.5. He was basically the guy I airdropped everywhere. He was Seeking adventure! I think he is still standing on the KSC 2 van roof... 

[Ultimate Steve]

Just an update: I am going on vacation and probably won't get any new parts done for the next three weeks. Just so you know.

[Ultimate Steve]

AAAAARRRGGHHHHH! IMGUR Y U HATE ME?

Okay, the next part is coming soon. However, a few things to know about the new imgur:

1) it will only upload 50 images at a time.

2) if you add more images to the album, they will be in reverse order.

3) For some reason, all of my images were scrambled in order. This next part will be VERY annoying to make.

EDIT: Part 22: (Is it just me, or are the images smaller?!?!?)

 

EDIT EDIT: Imgur is just not working for me. None of the pictures are showing up. Is this happening for anyone else?

 

EDIT EDIT EDIT: Okay, that was weird. It's working now. Go and read the chapter!

Spoiler

Gidrian's log. Stardate - oh. Sorry. I just got finished watching the new "Kerb Trek" movie. Awesome stuff... Anyway, I can't remember what day it is, but I can sort of see Duna out of the window now.

Actually, I should refer to this as "Gidrian's Blog," because everything we do here is made public. We're sort of required to do this kind of stuff, but nobody really does it on a regular basis. Space is pretty boring once you've been here for months. The only reason I'm doing this now is that it takes forever to download anything from Kerbin - It took me a week to get the Kerb Trek movie. So, you're probably wondering what's going on right now.

Jeb has locked himself inside the cupola - he's basically claimed it as his "house" of sorts. We haven't heard from him in a few days...

Bill is all over the place - he keeps checking on each and every nook and cranny of the ship, which should be reassuring, but that also means he is spending half of his time on EVA. He's claimed the Hitchhiker module as his own.

Bob has set up his laboratory in the future Duna hab module - far away from the necessary parts of the ship. Although there probably might not be a minimum safe distance when working with gravioli particles...

Shercott has it made. He basically owns the entire MK3 hab module. He spends most of his time working on the simulations.

And then there's me, the only scientist that isn't Bob, and the only one who keeps a regular blog. I've been living in the lab, and I've actually made progress on quite a few things. I found out that if Shercott and I run a bit of ketchup through the cooling tubes in our spacesuits, the telepathy stops. However, even though telepathy sounds cool, it is annoying. More annoying than the most annoying song in the world, which is unfortunate because we are going through our supply of Ketchup very fast...

=====================================================

Gidrian Kerman sat back from her makeshift desk aboard the ITV-009 Intrepid, exhausted.

"Ugh," She said out loud. One thing she didn't mention to the public is that she was allergic to Ketchup, and therefore had to bear the telepathy every day, making it almost impossible to sleep. Shercott did have some interesting dreams, though.

Suddenly, Shercott opened the hatch to the science module and came in, shouting.

"Gidrian, I remembered! I remembered!"
"What, Shercott?"
"You know when the gravioli explosion happened, back on the Mun, and there was that weird message that neither of us could remember?"
"Yes?"
"I remembered it!"
"Okay, say it already!"
"The message was "Beware the Teddy monster.""
"..."
"Shercott, I'm not sure whether to laugh, run away, or go insane."
"It's a start, though."
"And what in the world is a Teddy Monster?"
"I have absolutely no idea, but my computer is doing a search of the KSC database now."
"Do you think it's like a Kraken?"
"I hope not. Otherwise I'd never go anywhere near it."
"Yeah, Shercott. It's not like there's a reminder on the walls of the lab."

"Ah."
"So, how long will the search take?"
"Between five days and three weeks."
"I hate the internet up here."
"At least we're not on the Eeloo mission."
"Good point."
=================================================================
Meanwhile, millions of Kilometers away, a colossal rocket stood on the launch pad.

This was the Phase One Refueler. After the news of Phase One had accidentally gone public, the KSC felt no need to make the launch secret. The lifter used a new technology that allowed multiple engines to be inserted inside each other.



Thankfully, this lifter worked on the first try, and refueled Phase One with fuel to spare. It currently remains in orbit of Kerbin, awaiting its mission...
================================================================================
"Wernher!"
"Yeah, Gene?"
"We're done with the whole Phase One thing for now, right?"
"Yeah... I think."
"Good. The Moho window has returned. Piece something together to rescue the crew of the Magician!"
"I'll set the army of engineers lose in just a few minutes."

*fifteen minutes later*

"Liftoff of the IRV-002!"
"What?"
"Oh, nobody told you that we were launching, Gene?"
"How in the world is it ready already? And what happened to the IRV-001? And what does it even stand for?"
"Oh, um... We have an army of engineers. The 001 was designed to rescue the whole Magician, and was too impractical. IRV stands for Intrepid Rescue Vehicle."
"Aren't we rescuing the Magician?"
"The Magician is part of Project Intrepid."
"But we - oh, whatever."



"IRV has reached orbit!"
"Wait, is there anyone onboard this thing?"
"Yeah. Two. I forget their names right now."
Me: Hey, I took these shots 3 weeks ago, and I'm too lazy to launch the game right now.

"Commence the hour long Moho burn!"

"Burn Complete."
================================================================================
"Hey, would you look at that! The Dres window is in a few seconds! Time for another hour long burn!"


"Uh, Wernher? Your army of engineers forgot the fuel lines on the Explorer."
Me: Ugh, I have to supervise this burn!

"Okay, we are now going to Dres!"
"Yay!"
"Whatever will we find there?"
"I don't know, but the current plan is to Klaw an asteroid and bring it back for further study."
"Interesting."
"Oh, hey! The plane change for the Intrepid is coming up!"
===========================================================

Gidrian Kerman felt a bump.
"What was that?"
"Attention, passengers, we have just completed the Duna course correction burn!"
"Hey, you're back, Jeb! At least over the intercom!"
"Hey, Gidrian!"
"Yeah, Shercott?"
"The search finished, uh, searching."
"Yeah? Let me see!"
"Okay. Back before the war, the KSC had sent eleven missions to Dres."
"Okay."
"Every single one of the Kerbals on every single one of those eleven missions reported hearing a mysterious whispery voice whenever they were on the surface of Dres. No microphone could pick it up, but everyone agreed that the voice was repeating one word over and over. Nobody could tell what it was saying, except for one. He heard it saying "TEDDY.... TEDDY...." over and over again, in that weird whispery and creepy voice. So, he named it the Teddy Monster."
"So, it has something to do with Dres? Good. We're not going to Dres, we're going to Duna! What's so dangerous about this "Teddy Monster," though?"
"All of those Kerbals got space madness."
"Isn't that where they keep eating cheese?"
"That's just in the comics."
"Ouch. Nobody's going to Dres, though?"
"Haven't you been keeping up with things, Gidrian? The Explorer just left for Dres."
"Well, what are we standing around here for, then? Let's go warn them!"

Gidrian started to reach for her computer terminal, when a massive BOOM resonated through the ship and alarms began going off everywhere. Then Bob's elderly voice came over the radio.

"*Cough* *Cough* It's okay! Just had a bit of an accident and a fire! Everything is okay! Except for the antenna. It seems to have exploded."

"Great."
"Gidrian, we can use the base antennas, though."

Then Jeb's voice came over the intercom.

"Attention, crew! Our antenna is out, and we cannot deploy the antennas on the other base modules, or they won't survive Atmospheric entry on Duna. And, we just jettisoned the Scansat."

"We will complete our mission as normal, but we won't be able to communicate with Kerbin until we have landed on Duna."

Shercott looked at Gidrian. Gidiran looked at Shercott. And they both nearly burst into tears.

"We won't be able to tell the Dres crew!"

"And I won't be able to download the Kerb Trek bonus features!"

"So. Eight people die of Space Madness, and six die of boredom."
"You can't die of space madness. Or boredom."
"How long until we land on Duna?"

"Three days. Very soon."

 

The story of Project Intrepid will continue...

 

Edited August 5, 2016 by Ultimate Steve

[Ultimate Steve]

Part 23:

Spoiler

Gidrien Kerman strapped herself into her seat. Not that she needed to, the ship had an abysmally low TWR (But still the highest of any in operation).

Jebediah's voice came over the intercom. "Attention everyone, prepare for the braking burn!"

Gidrian and Shercott had been tasked with the insertion of the Scansat and it had completed its burn minutes earlier.

"3... 2... 1..."

Five minutes later, it was over.

"It's so... so..."
"Red?"
"Yes. That's the word, Shercott."
Just then, Jeb's voice blared over the intercom again. "Attention all, there will now be a meeting in the MK3 hab module."
"I wonder what this is about."
============================================================================
5 minutes later, they all found out that the meeting was just about what to land on Duna first. There were 3 payloads to land on Duna: The base, the plane, and the lander, which they all agreed they should be landed in that order.

"Alright, everything is looking good! We're aiming for that canyon with the good ore!"
"Jeb? We don't have ISRU on this mission."
"I know, Shercott. Just thinking ahead."
"Altitude fifteen kilometers. The chutes are not deploying."
"That's not good."
"Ten KM. No chutes!"
"Oh, no."
"2KM above the ground and no - oh. We have drogue chutes!"
"Yes!"
"The mains are set to deploy as early as possible, but that may only be 500m above the ground!"
*Phoom*
"Mains have deployed!"

"It's braking!"
"Uh, 200 meters!"
"Throttling engines, and..."
"It landed! But, uh..."

"It had to be on a slope."
*5 minutes later irl*
"It stopped rolling!"

"And luckily, the hatch is still on top, at least."
"Uh, Shercott? There are two hatches."
"Ehh. Are we going to detach the propulsion section?"
"I don't see why not."
*BANG*

"Okay, now for the plane! Jeb wanted to fly it down, but I believe we have all voted against it. It hasn't been tested."
"Never stopped me before."
"I promise you, Jeb, the plane's all yours once we're on Duna."


"It's fly - actually, it's dropping like a stone."
"Can we use the engine to fly it?"
"Maybe."

"We're coming up on the base!"
"Turn!"

"Coming in... Coming in... Oh. We bounced."
"Flip the thing around and use the engine!"
"Okay. NNNNGGGGGHHHHHAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

"YEAH!"
"Great landing. Now we just need to get down there."
========================================================================



"Why is there a sixth seat?"
"Wernher has pentaphobia. Fear of the number 5. So, there can never be 5 of anything on a ship."
"...But yet there are 5 of us. And yet, whenever I've gone on any sort of adventure we've always found one of your old buddies conveniently sitting there."
"Wouldn't that be something?"
"Wait... Jeb, why did you bring the plane again?"
"Spoilers."

"Commencing retrobraking in 5 seconds."
"Retroburn is now complete. Now, we wait."

======================================

"Deploying Airbrakes!"

"Wha-huh?"
"Oh. You were asleep for a few hours, Gidrian! We're in Duna's atmosphere now!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
"Panic attack much?"
"We're going to Duna! You expect me not to panic attack, Shercott?"
"Oh. Right."
"AAAAAAAAAAA-"
"AAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Okay. That worked. We slowed down a bit."
"Actually, we slowed down too much. We're not going to get to the base!"
"Point toward it and up a bit then burn the engine."
"I really wish this lander had windows!"

"Okay, deploy chutes!"
*click* *click*
"The chutes aren't deploying! Even in the canyons, there really isn't enough air for chutes!"
"Hold on tight!"
*PHOOM*
"AAAAAAHHHH!"


"Wow, that is close to the base. Engines on!"

"WE'REGONNADIE!"
"3... 2... 1..."

"Phew. That was pretty hair raising"!
"Wait. We didn't explode?"
"Correct, Gidrian. We did not explode."
"And we're on Duna!?!"
"Yes."
"Can you open the doors?"
"Yep. Do you want to be first?"
"What?"
"First to walk on Duna in 50 years"
"Really? Yes!"

"I do this in the name of Kerbin, that we all might escape the impending doom that the black hole has in store for us."

Gidrian blinked. She blinked again. She looked around her. She was actually standing on the surface of planet Duna. And she, right there, broke out into a grin.

=========================================================================================================
Millions of kilometers away, Allin Kerman and Ribwig Kerman sat in the seats of the IRV 002 and began the course correction burn for Moho.

Their mission was simple: Rescue the crew of the ITV-013 "Magician."

And ten days later, they began another burn.

They got closer and closer to the target object.

Until they got an encounter they were satisfied with.

===========================================================================
Milvy Kerman looked out her window at Moho, at the stars, and at the new ship. It moved closer and closer, until she heard a click.

At that point two Kerbals climbed through the hatch.

"Hello, there! You must be Milvy. I'm Ribwig, part of your rescue team."
"Hello, Ribwig. Welcome to the Magician. How soon are we leaving this place?"
"Soon. Transfer windows are plentiful at Moho."
"And we're going back to Kerbin, right? So we can refuel at Minmus?"
"Uh, nobody told you? We're not rescuing this ship. Just the crew."
"But that leaves Tomfurt and I without a ship."
"Ehh, you'll get another one eventually. It's not like we're going to spend the time on a return module when you're already in space."
"I need to ask you a question. How bad would it be if we went to Eve instead?"
"Eve? Why?"
"The window's soon, and the Kerbin to Eve window is soon. If we went there, we could participate in the mission there."
"No. My orders are to return you two to Kerbin."
"And Tomfurt is standing behind you with a pipe in his hands, the only weapon for millions of kilometers. You'll find Allin tied up in the back of the IRV."
"I am Tomfurt, by the way."
"What do you want from us?"
"We? We want your ship. We are going to Eve."

The story of Project Intrepid will continue...

Phew! I'm finally done with all of the pre-vacation screenshots! I can get back to actually playing the game now!

[Ultimate Steve]

*looks around* Hello? Anyone there?

Part 24:

Spoiler

Term Paper, History class

Fablen Kerman, Kerlington Community College

Subject: The story of Valentina Kerman

 

 

Valentina Kerman, sister of the world famous Jebediah Kerman was the admiral of the space fleet of the Kerbal Space Program. She was the first Kerbal to land on both Minmus and Gilly, as well as being the first female Kerbal to do a lot of space related things. Between cycle 8 year 52 and cycle 8 year 68, she made a total of 16 flights into space...

All of that you can find on KerbPedia. This paper's purpose is different. Nobody knows what happened to her after the war started, fifty-one years ago. The goal of this paper is to uncover what really happened on that day.

We do know that Valentina was piloting the U.S.S. Farlander, the latest ship in the K.S.P. fleet. It was colossal for the time, a four hulled, eight nerva supply shuttle.

The Farlander was on its first mission, to deliver supplies to Mun Colony Alpha. It was in Low Kerbin Orbit when the KSC tracking station picked up a small object on a rendezvous course with the Farlander. This is when all communication went dark.

========================================================================================
"Okay, everything checks out! I'm about to begin the burn for the Mun!"
"Roger that, Valentina, you are go for the burn.

"Powering up Nervas..."
"Valentina, we're picking up something on the radar. It appears to be direc...behi...y....SHHHCHH!!!!!"
"That's not good."
==========================================================================
It was generally thought by most historians that it was a USKN medium fighter that intercepted the Farlander. In case you've been living under a rock for the last fifty years (ha. ha.), the USKN had been amassing an army of nuclear missiles for several years, and was the nation that launched those missiles against the KSP. They were also known to have established a military presence in space a few months before the war.
==========================================================================
"We meet again, Valentina Kerman."
"Oh, no. Not you again, Hudson. Why does the USKN have so much interest in the KSP's doings? And why do you need a comms jammer?"

"Valentina, I have scanned your ship and have detected nuclear material in massive quantities."
"Well, duh. Probably the eight nuclear engines."
"There have been rumors, you know. That the KSP is setting up a nuclear missile base on the Mun."
"These are NERVAs, Hudson."
"And, in the past year, EIGHT nuclear powered ships have crashed on the Mun. We have evidence that these crashes were faked.
======================================================================================
Tensions had been rising between the USKN and the KSP for years, and still today, as the USKN's base has now been taken by the Flat Kerbin Society. The medium fighter that supposedly approached Valentina was most likely the USKN Peril, a class 87 space fighter armed with twelve Ibeam missiles, two "Christmas trees" and two "Smasher" missiles.
======================================================================================
"You will launch one of your escape pods away from your ship, with you in it."
"No. This ship cost two million funds, and you expect me to let you blow it up?"
"I have weapons pointed at you right now. You will exit the Farlander."
"The KSP is a peaceful organization."
"Then why is your ship equipped with weapons?"
======================================================================================
The Farlander had been equipped with eighteen Ibeam missiles to deal with space pirates and other rogue operators. Valentina was especially known for not using weapons unless provoked.
======================================================================================
"To deal with scum like you."
"I will decide not to take that personally. I ask that you exit your ship. If you refuse, I shall be forced to fire."
"But the Kessler syndrome!"
"Is that a refusal?"
"Yes."



"That shot was non-damaging, Hudson. And now, my weapons are pointed a you. Retrograde. Do you really want your nuclear powered ship to be deorbited onto Kerbin?"
"I have been forced to do this, Val."
"Don't you dare call me Val!"
"Val, because I knew you, I will give you one more chance to surrender your ship."

"How about no?"

"You asked for it, Val."
====================================================================================
Shortly after the encounter, the KSC's tracking station picked up many missiles and debris near the scene, indicating that shots were fired. It is generally believed that both ships fired to depletion.
====================================================================================







"Well, Val. I win. Get out of your crippled ship."
"No, Hudson. And Do not call me Val!"
"You will exit your ship and stand trial for your crimes against the USKN."
"What crimes?"
"Transport of illegal goods."
"Illegal? You realize this is an act of war, right?"
"Not if there is nobody left to tell."
"Hudson? What happened to you?"
"Business, Val. It's not my fault you couldn't see the truth."

===========================================================================================
According to KSP records, after the initial engagement, there was a large debris field, indicating that the two ships had collided.
===========================================================================================
"Aaagh, I missed!"
"Hudson."
"You're dead, Val!"
"Hudson, there's a cloud of debris coming this way."
"Yeah, heard that one before."
"Hudson!"
===========================================================================================
More records indicate that there may have been a satellite breakup a week earlier that may have assisted in the destruction of both vessels, and the creation of the forty year long post-war Kessler syndrome around Kerbin.
===========================================================================================
*BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG*
"AAAH, MY HATCH!"
"Hudson!"

"Mmf!"
"Hudson, listen to me. You're facing retrograde. That ship has three LV-N's and two RTG's onboard and will start a war if it lands in the right spot. You need to get the ship turned around!"
"Traitor! There must always be war!"
"Hudson. I am willing to try to send one of my escape pods to get you."
"I would rather die than accept help from you, Val!"


==============================================================================
Until a few weeks ago, there were no records on any of the USKN ships. They were all destroyed. Except, recently, a man called me. He said he was a distant relative. When I asked his name, he said it was "Thedney Tedfry Tomfurt." I asked him what I should call him. He said it didn't matter; he had gone by all of them. He provided me with records that proved the one piloting the USKN Peril was none other than Hudson Kerman, Co-valedictorian of the Kerlington High School. He had tied for valedictorian with none other than Valentina.
==============================================================================

"I am spinning. Spinning very fast. Val? Hello? Computer. Where am I?"
"Altitude: 240 kilometers. Suborbital trajectory. Kerbin. Projected time to impact: eight minutes, sixteen seconds. Projected impact point:"

"Kerbal Space Center."
=============================================================================
Shortly after the engagement, a nuclear missile was tracked heading directly toward the KSC. This prompted a return strike from the KSC, and a counter-strike from the USKN, leading to the irradiation of Kerbin, and, eventually, the forcing of all Kerbals underground for fifty years. However, I propose a new theory: what if the supposed "first missile" was actually debris from the engagement?
=============================================================================
"This is Walter Kerman. We are at red alert, we have detected a USKN missile headed directly for the KSC. Prepare all warheads for launch."
"Walt!"
"Yes, Werhner?"
"I, as senior rocket scientist, order you not to launch those missiles."
"I have a direct order from the director himself."
"Do you really think the USKN would launch just one missile?"
"Our recon has discovered that the USKN missiles have bloaking devices."
"Bloaking devices? That's absurd!"
"I order you to get to your bunker, mister Von Kerman."
=============================================================================
And, as we all know, the war followed and decimated Kerbin.
=============================================================================


===================================================================
But, shortly afterward, polar observatories picked up an engine trail in space, at the location of the engagement, the plume of a vector engine.
===================================================================

===========================================================================
So, that poses the question: Did Valentina Kerman survive? And if so, where did she go afterward? Basic calculation shows that the earliest transfer window was Eve, followed by Jool, and Dres shortly after. However, she may not have had the fuel to reach these places. I believe she went to Minmus.
===========================================================================

======================================================================
However, there was one more possibility, to escape to a semi habitable planet. The transfer window would have been terrible, though.
=======================================================================

===================================================================
Many people believe that she couldn't possibly have survived a landing anywhere.
==================================================================

============================================================
But, there is an incredibly small chance,
============================================================

=====================================================
That Admiral Valentina Kerman,
=====================================================

======================================================
May have been able to reach
======================================================

================================================================
Planet Duna.
================================================================

===============================================================
And there is an almost infinitely miniscule chance... That Valentina Kerman might still be alive today.
===============================================================

"Hudson........      why.........."
 

 

 

 

The story of Project Intrepid will continue...

 

[insert_name]

Cool, we will soon have all 4 orange suits

[rlin]

The USKN reminds me of the Kerbulans from Kerbfleet.

[Mister Dilsby]

2 hours ago, rlin said:

The USKN reminds me of the Kerbulans from Kerbfleet.

Hm. Mistaking NERVAs for nuclear weapons? Shooting at people? Allegedly possessing a "bloaking device"? Coincidence. Can't prove anything unless they have beards.

[max_creative]

Out of rep!  tomorrow...

[Just Jim]

Same here... I'm already out of likes for today, so I'll catch up with this tomorrow!  

[Ultimate Steve]

After 3 weeks, I've finally found time for a new chapter, admittedly a short one. I got bored with it for a little bit, I was lacking in ideas for the upcoming Eve ship. And I still don't know what it will look like. Anyways, School's started up, and I've been doing career mode with Historical Tech Tree for about a month. But, anyway, here is part 25: Decisions, Driving, and Duna!

Part 25:

Spoiler

"Hey, Shercott?"
"Yeah, Jeb?"
"Wanna test the rover with me?"
"Sure. Where to?"
"The top of that hill over there."

"Alright, let's go!"

"That looks really far away."
"It is. Trust me, though, this isn't the first time I've driven a rover on Duna. The trip down will be a lot more exciting than the trip up."
"O-kay. Don't go too fast, though."
"Define "too fast.""

"We've been at a solar orbital velocity of over 7 km/s. "Too fast" doesn't apply here."
==========================================================================================
"Finally, Jeb left the base."

"What did you want to say to me, Bill?"
"I wanted you to know that I know that you blew up the antennas on purpose."

"Wow, quite the detective, Bill."
"You're the best scientist I've ever known. You never blow anything up if it's not on purpose. I want to know why you blew up the antenna."
"Well, If I don't tell you you'll find out eventually."
"Yep."
"I was in the lab, scanning the local area for debris that may have survived fifty years here."
"And?"
"Not much debris. But, unbelievably, I found KSPDSV-SN-#423679."
"No. That's impossible!"
"But it is."
"Show me!"

================================================================================================
"Shercott?"
"Yeah?"
"You know that whole telepathy thing between you and Gidrien?"
"Haven't stopped thinking about it since it happened."
"Before the antenna blew up, I was talking to the KSC about sending a bunch of scientists up to LKO to help out with the matter."
"Wouldn't it be cheaper to just send us down to the surface?"
"Every Kerbal in orbit counts. The world is ending in 199 years.
"Well, we are at the top of the hill! Better apply the brakes!"

"Oof! I didn't mean that hard, Jeb!"
"Why did we come up here again?"
"Testing the rover."
"What did we need the rover for, again?"
"No idea."
"You want to drive back down?"
"Sure."
========================================================================================
"Impossible, I say!"
"Calm down, Bill. It doesn't mean she's alive."
"Come on, you know Val. She's a die hard survivor."
"Fifty years. On Duna. With no supplies. Why did you blow up the antenna?"
"You know what Jeb would do if he found out. He would completely redirect all of the hardware to finding Val."
"So?"
"I'm not worried about the hardware. It's happened on Jool Expedition 3, Gilly Base Transfer 8, and numerous Minmus missions."
"So, what are you worried about?"
"Jeb. The only thing that matters to him more than the safety of the world is his sister. And you know what happened when he lost the world. He barely said ten words in fifty years!"
"Oh."
"If he saw this, he'd search, with hope that she was alive. And when we find her, she'll most likely be... well, you know."
"Dead?"
"And if he knows he's lost her for good, he'll get all depressed and mopey and antisocial. And even hostile."
"And what if he finds out anyway? He'd be mad at you."
=============================================================================================
"Shercott! Slow down a bit! I may be crazy, but I'm not suicidal!"

"WOOOOOHOOOO!"
Jebediah closed the rover's small antenna, just powerful enough to scan orbit, from, say, a tall hill.
"You know what? Who cares? I'm in a bit of a good mood! FASTER!"
"Yeah! I've got some music for this!"
*click*
"AGH! Is that what people listen to these days? I really wish that music would stop. Nevermind. Shercott?"
"Yeah?"
"Just be a bit more ca - WATCHOUTFORTHATBUMP!"
"AAA -"
==================================================================
Gidrien Kerman shut off the radio. She knew she shouldn't eavesdrop on Bill and Bob. But her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She began to scan the surface of Duna remotely via the Scansat, which was currently positioned over Duna's South Pole.
==================================================================
Jebediah Kerman stood up and dusted himself off. The rover stood a short distance away, upside down.
"Shercott?" There was no answer.
"Shercott?"

"3.2 KILOMETERS? How in the - oh."

Jebediah Kerman, now racing against time, careened down the hill towards Shercott, who had somehow been transported 3.2 Kilometers. He noted, with shock and anger, that the radio was the only thing that had broken in the crash.
5 minutes later, he arrived at where Shercott laid.

"Oh, Shercott. What have I done?"
========================================================================
"Bob, come to your senses. Jeb probably knows by now! He's Jeb, remember?"
"But should we tell him?"
"YES! That's what I've been trying to tell you!"
"But.. I just don't want him to be disappointed."
"Yeah, and - Wait. Is that the rover?"

"Yeah it is. Looks like they're back early. Why aren't they stopping?"

"Uh oh."

"Oof! Jeb! What are you doing?"
"Shercott is injured!"
"My goodness, Jeb. What happened out there?"
"I - I don't really know."
"He appears to be stuck in that position and non responsive."

"And now he is rising."
"Aaaagh! I can't reach him!"
"Oh, Shercott. I am so sorry. I'll - wait a second. Everyone hold on, I'm going to try something!"
"Jeb? What are you - "
"Hey, everyone!"

"Shercott?"
"That's weird. The last thing I remember was hurtling downhill in a rover."
"You were half dead a second ago!"
"Haha, very funny. Did Jeb wipe my memory or something? Seriously, what happened?"

Then Shercott noticed the panicked expression on Bill and Bob's faces.

"Oh."
"You were nearly dead! You started to levitate!"
"Uh, I don't know if this is important right now, but Jeb's leaving in the plane!"
"What?"

"He appears to be headed South."
Just then, Gidrien Kerman excitedly burst out of the base.
"Guys, Guys! I decided to do a scan of the planet, for historical purposes, and I've located something on the surface near the South Pole!"
"..."
"So, where'd Jeb go off to?"

 

 

The story of Project Intrepid will continue...

And yes, in case anyone is wondering, Shercott really did somehow teleport 3.2 Kilometers.

[max_creative]

Don't worry, I'm sure Val survived on potatos with a pet Duna rover! Hey Jeb, BRING HER HOME!!! Don't run out of Delta-V! And if you do, please don't forget to blow up the VAL, not Val! There is a difference!

[Ultimate Steve]

In case anyone's wondering why everything is taking so long, I'll give you three words:

Eve Ascent Vehicle.

Luckily, I've finally (After a month of on-and-off work) managed to get something workable. I just did a full mission "simulation" and although it is very hard to keep straight in the lower atmosphere, and doesn't like slopes, and a bunch of other minor (compared to previous tests) problems, the only major problem I have remaining is that the ladder is not long enough. Other than that, it lands near sea level with 5* kerbals and can reach a 150km orbit with plenty of fuel to spare.

(Also, never done an Eve Ascent mission. This is a bit of a first for me.)

So you can expect part 26 definitely within a week. It will be fairly lengthy.

Also, there's school eating up my time...

[max_creative]

Just now, Ultimate Steve said:

In case anyone's wondering why everything is taking so long, I'll give you three words:

Eve Ascent Vehicle.

Luckily, I've finally (After a month of on-and-off work) managed to get something workable. I just did a full mission "simulation" and although it is very hard to keep straight in the lower atmosphere, and doesn't like slopes, and a bunch of other minor (compared to previous tests) problems, the only major problem I have remaining is that the ladder is not long enough. Other than that, it lands near sea level with 5* kerbals and can reach a 150km orbit with plenty of fuel to spare.

(Also, never done an Eve Ascent mission. This is a bit of a first for me.)

So you can expect part 26 definitely within a week. It will be fairly lengthy.

Also, there's school eating up my time...

Advice: MOAR BOOSTERS!!! 

On Eve, you need efficiency. But you also need to get BIG! 

The M7 is a pretty good Eve ascent vehicle. If it was asparagus staged, it would be even better. I made the M4V42R3. It means Mammoth 4 Vector 42 Rhino 3. If it works, it will be a 20 Kerbal ascent vehicle. Unfortunately it requires a launch vehicle. Plus the ascent vehicle alone has a tendency to crush the pad. And the runway. And the VAB. And the prototype Mars base I had sitting in the field (don't ask). 

Also, I've never done a successful Eve ascent mission. I'm just good at going really "fast." Fast is in quotation marks because rocket scientists don't use the word fast. Well, mine do, but most don't. 

[Ultimate Steve]

1 minute ago, max_creative said:

Unfortunately it requires a launch vehicle

Exactly what I'm working on right now.

Although mine is only 280 tons... small compared to a lot of other stuff.

2 minutes ago, max_creative said:

Plus the ascent vehicle alone has a tendency to crush the pad.

...Which is why I have to fly mine 500m away every time I want to test the ladders. There's a bunch of stuff above it as well as below it.

3 minutes ago, max_creative said:

And the runway.

Last ladder test (Hooray! They work now!) I managed to land about 2 centimeters from the runway. Oof.

4 minutes ago, max_creative said:

And the VAB.

Don't give me any ideas.

Too late. I'm going to try to land it on the VAB now.

4 minutes ago, max_creative said:

And the prototype Mars base I had sitting in the field

Different from that rover always parked by the runway? Wow, I need to catch up. My KSC is (mostly) clean.

6 minutes ago, max_creative said:

(don't ask). 

Okay, then. Not asking.

6 minutes ago, max_creative said:

Mammoth 4 Vector 42 Rhino 3.

And I though my 6 vector 1 poodle EAV was big enough!

[max_creative]

22 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Don't give me any ideas.

Too late. I'm going to try to land it on the VAB now.

MOAR IDEAS: land it at the island airport. Land at the pyramids. Land it on another rocket. Land a big ship made out of fairings covered with red lights at the KSC2, and troll the FKS by making them thing that UFOs are invading and the sky is about to fall on their heads. 

22 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Different from that rover always parked by the runway? Wow, I need to catch up. My KSC is (mostly) clean.

Yeah. It's different. I deleted a bunch of debris all over the KSC to help with lag. Also I didn't take screenshots during the tests.

Actually I have 5 or 6 rovers. 3 huge ones one the crawler way, 1 by the monolith, the one that Val keeps forgetting to move, and I might still have the BUG-E buggy by the monolith too. I can't remember. 

That's one Duna base I won't be using. In case Duna really does have aliens, my Kerbals want a safe place to be. Then again, aliens probably won't be stealing any EAVs. If they do, well... You know what my usual reaction is. RAMMING SPEED!!! 

22 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Okay, then. Not asking.

You already asked. 

22 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

And I though my 6 vector 1 poodle EAV was big enough!

#IWentSuperOverKill. Why hashtag? #IDK 

I'm probably only going to have 4 Kerbal land. I have no idea why I used a Mk3 Crew Cabin. The Mk2 Crew Cabin in the fairing is probably enough. Actually, if the Eve landings have the same success rate as the tests, I might have to send it down empty and return full.

Edited September 10, 2016 by max_creative
#EditedBecauseReasons.

[Ultimate Steve]

 

5 hours ago, max_creative said:

Actually I have 5 or 6 rovers.

...!

Note to self: Imgur doesn't like it when you try to upload 300 screenshots at once. Yep, the next chapter is going to be a bit lengthy.

Currently uploading the first batch of 100.

EDIT: Seriously? The limit is fifty images at a time? Welp, I'll be doing this for a while.

EDIT EDIT: Wow, Imgur is deleting half of the images I upload.

Edited September 11, 2016 by Ultimate Steve