Project Intrepid (Chapter 56 - The Final Countdown)

[Snark]

9 hours ago, kerbalstar said:

I don't know, can you maybe move the chapters all to one post?

@Snark should know if it's possible. Right, @Snark ?

Moving all the chapters to one post would make the problem far worse.

Loading times are slow just because there's a whole lot of content there.  Not much to be done about that, as long as the content is so big.

Perhaps talk to one of the other "long story" authors who hang out here in the forum,  to see what their strategy is for dealing with long page load times?

[53miner53]

Quote

"Question."

"Yes?"

"Why were you carrying a giant chess set into battle?"

 Why not!

[Kerbalstar]

6 hours ago, Snark said:

Moving all the chapters to one post would make the problem far worse.

Loading times are slow just because there's a whole lot of content there.  Not much to be done about that, as long as the content is so big.

Perhaps talk to one of the other "long story" authors who hang out here in the forum,  to see what their strategy is for dealing with long page load times?

Fair point, thanks! @Just Jim, @Kuzzter?

[Ultimate Steve]

8 hours ago, roboslacker said:

I'm loving the action sequences. How many models did you create for the building interiors in part 53?

...None in 53, so I'll assume you mean 52 and 54. And because I've always wanted someone to ask about the interiors, I'll do both!

In 52, there was the astronaut complex main entrance:

Which had an unused balcony, a lack of doors, and does not actually have a front side, it's open to the air.

Then there was the "hangout" section of the Astronaut complex, which had one or two tables, a pile of parts, a science trainer, an engine being repaired, a random antenna/sculpture, a trainer science lab, a flight simulator, and probably a few more things I've forgotten about!

Now, the underground tram... It took a lot of time to get to work correctly.

This was the first version, but I think I increased the pipe diameter so I could use Mk2 parts, and I made upward facing wheels. This version was too small and finicky... Another version used the 1.25m form factor but that was impractical since it could only carry about 5 people.

Once I had the diameter figured out, I built a test track.

But the tram proved too unreliable to do the whole run in one craft without anything breaking, and the SPH does weird things if I have a craft this big.

The actual station took many attempts to get right. I ended up taking Mk3 cargo bays and raising the bottom with structural plates.

I made a temporary 1.3.1 save to build all of this, and transferred that save to 1.4.5. I haven't actually brought the main save over just yet, there's a lot of story I need to write before we get back to business as usual. And 1.5 will probably be out by then... Meh. I'll probably keep it in 1.4.5, unless 1.5 offers something useful.

In this temporary save I ended up with 14 different tram craft files for the various scenes.

This is the exterior of the one where I crash through the station barrier and go down to the underground museum.

And the part where I have a tram interior? That's this thing, the whole set is inside the mk2 bay, and I just rolled the thing around on its supports to get those moments where Jeb is knocking Doodgun back and forth.

And then there's the museum, everything referenced in the story is stuff I actually built, most of it just for the museum.

And this part, where Jeb was floating in the void, was done with completely burned out heat shields, 6 of them. I had more pictures but they all had the parachute visible.

All of the damage done to the Paladin G2M was *mostly* real. Initially I wanted to actually use the BDA AI and try to outrun the missiles and bombs myself, but the Paladin kept crashing, and the BDA AI doesn't know that I don't have guns... I'd get a short machine gun burst from each plane every 2 minutes or so. Not paced fast enough. So I attacked the vehicle myself, which led to lots of quickloads and a few inconsistencies. I never actually loaded in a new craft as a broken one, except for the interior of the plane, so all of the damage was actually done by BDA, although I may have had to respawn a few Kerbals. Some of it was me on purpose shooting some parts from up close.

These explosion images were done using weavesilk.com, a cool art tool.

This room is its own interior, as is the hallway with the guns... I think the gun hallway was the only one I launched from the pad instead of the runway, because the room set was already on the runway and I didn't want to reposition the Kerbals.

And then, of course, the airplane interior, which we're going to see more of, so I won't spoil that just yet!

 

So, basically, a lot.

8 hours ago, Snark said:

Perhaps talk to one of the other "long story" authors who hang out here in the forum,  to see what their strategy is for dealing with long page load times?

1 hour ago, kerbalstar said:

Fair point, thanks! @Just Jim, @Kuzzter?

Probably by having stories so popular and well written that there's 23 replies and 2 chapters per page!

[Kerbalstar]

2 hours ago, Ultimate Steve said:

—Snip of awesomeness—

Probably by having stories so popular and well written that there's 23 replies and 2 chapters per page!

Probably!  

[RealKerbal3x]

That was a pretty awesome chapter! I love the dedication of building sets for every scene.

[Guest]

On 10/4/2018 at 4:58 PM, Kerbalstar said:

Fair point, thanks! @Just Jim, @Kuzzter?

Well, I post(ed) no more than a few comic pages at a time... each of which contains a laboriously edited collection of sometimes several screenshots. So, I don't think my readers ever really ran into a loading time problem. The downside is that not everyone has time to do it that way, including me right now  

[Kerbalstar]

2 hours ago, Kuzzter said:

Well, I post(ed) no more than a few comic pages at a time... each of which contains a laboriously edited collection of sometimes several screenshots. So, I don't think my readers ever really ran into a loading time problem. The downside is that not everyone has time to do it that way, including me right now  

Fair point, thanks!

[Piatzin]

On 10/4/2018 at 5:05 AM, Ultimate Steve said:

"Wait, aren't wheels electr-AAAAAA!!!"

Ha! This is great

I feel bad for not taking the time to read these, sorry

I need to actually set some time apart from studying lol

EDIT: I love how the vehicle progressively fell apart XD

Also, Avocado Squadron

Edited October 11, 2018 by Earthlinger

[rlin]

Haven't been on the forums in a while and decided to catch up on this. Wow. What a turn of events.

Given how this thread has been gravedug before and you are still active, is there any chance of this being revived?

[Ultimate Steve]

10 hours ago, rlin said:

Haven't been on the forums in a while and decided to catch up on this. Wow. What a turn of events.

Given how this thread has been gravedug before and you are still active, is there any chance of this being revived?

Eventually. The next few chapters require lots of set building, and I have decided that if I want to finish a story before I graduate, it will be Voyage. I intend to finish this story someday, but it is not my top priority and I can't say when the next chapter will come.

[Ultimate Steve]

I don't know if I'll make more soon, but I felt the PI bug recently. It has been something like a year since the last part... Sorry to keep you waiting. I've had this battle planned out for at least a year, though, and it will probably be at least one more part after this one.

So without further delay,

 

Chapter 55 - The Hangar

Spoiler

"Everyone up!" shouted Jeb.

"Jeb, how in the world did you manage that?!?" shouted back Gidrien.

"You know who he is, right?" said Bob.

"Wait, where did the gunners go?" asked Shercott.

"SMOKE GRENADE!" shouted Bob.

"Hey you!" shouted Bob.

"I surrender!" said the gunner.

"Oh. Really, that easy?"

"You six just took on the KSC's entire ground and air forces, and won, destroying two thirds of our planes in the process! What chance do I have?"

"Oh. Okay. Please step away from the gun."

"Roger."

"What happened to the other gunner?"

"He knew better than to try facing you!"

"Hey, I got past the barrier!" said Shercott.

"Almost... Aha!"

The two were now in the forward compartment of the plane. They were soon followed by the others.

"The door is barricaded," said Val. "The pilots aren't letting us in easily."

"We have a bigger problem," Jebediah groaned.

"What?"

"These are nuclear." There was a gasp from the others. "Now we are actually in the process of taking over a plane with nukes on board."

"Not good. If they assume the worst, they think we're about to nuke two cities or something," replied Gidrien.

"Most of the cities are still underground," said Bob. "That limits us to only a few probable targets, unless we return to the KSC. Actually, they might think we are going to nuke KSC!"

"Guys, I found a way in!" announced Shercott, before attacking the cabin door with his crowbar. The door easily gave way, and Shercott fell into the cockpit.

"Hands up!" Shercott said.

"I am flying the plane, genius," said the pilot.

Jebediah walked into the cockpit. "Hello there."

"Jebediah," she stuttered.

"I need you to relay a message to the KSC. The Experimental Engineering Division is testing a highly dangerous propulsion system at Polar Base 8, near Kerbin's north pole. We need to stop them, no matter the cost. The entire planet could be at stake. Maybe even the universe! We need to tell them and get something, anything there, to tell them to stop! Linus should have emergency contact details somewhere!"

"No "Surrender or die?" No "Give us the nukes or else?" Really?"

"Killing and nuking is not my style. We are not the enemy, this is all just a huge misunderstanding. We were kidnapped from orbit, and in our attempt to get back to the KSC, looked like a nuclear warhead. It's as simple as that."

"That's awfully dubious!" said the gunner, who was now near the front of the craft.

"Do you have enough range to make it to the north pole?"

"Not a chance," the pilot said.

"Not at all?" Jeb asked in despair. She shook her head. "Can you radio KSC and tell them the truth?"

"I could, if a certain someone hadn't taken out our radio when he jumped what was essentially a jet powered tank into our cargo bay!"

"Good point."

"We could go back to KSC and explain in person," suggested Gidrien.

"Not enough time," said Jeb. "We would have to explain and then get to the pole, and there's no guarantee that they will listen."

"Well, I'm sorry, Jeb, but unless you know a place with planes just sitting around relatively nearby that will listen to you and just give you one, I'm pretty sure you're out of luck." A thought struck Jebediah.

"Maybe," he muttered under his breath.

"What?" asked Bill.

"I think I know a place. I don't remember exactly how far away it is... Turn a few degrees west of north."

"Come on, this guy is delusional! They all are! Return to base!" said the gunner. "You can't possibly believe him!"

"Whether I believe him or not is not the question. Whether or not he has the power to make me listen is another thing entirely. And seeing as he just took out half of our military in under an hour..."

"Thank you. What is your name?"

"Dotfrey, sir."

"Dotfrey Kerman."

"So, uh, where exactly are we going?" asked Shercott.

"A dock near where a collection of resorts was. Assuming it still exists."

"And what is there?"

 

========== 104 years ago, shortly before the first Kerbal entered space

Cloneus Kerman sat in his solid gold chair, the room beginning to be filled with very expensive artifacts. It was his new throne room. Anyone who referred to it as an office was to immediately be fired. Over the past fourteen years, Cloneus had amassed a fortune, becoming one of the richest Kerbals ever, due to many profitable bets, and a casino chain he owned. The throne room was just his latest expense. He picked up a newspaper that a Kerbal had left on his desk for him.

"WORLD'S LARGEST PLANE FLOWN ONCE, PUT INTO STORAGE," the headline read. It referred to the Argonaut, a project by a rival billionaire to become the world's largest airplane. It was the first airplane to have a wingspan of over 100 meters. Previously, the record had been the 87 meter wingspan Laythe IV, built by Laro Kerman, another billionaire. Before that it was the 75 meter Mirage, the 70 meter Laythe III, the 64 meter Laythe II, the 50 meter Historia...

It was more of an ego competition than anything else. 

One thing Cloneus had noticed, though... The Historia was proposed to become a production aircraft, but ran into glitches, having only made a few dozen flights. The Laythe II was spindly, only for the record, and flew once. The Laythe III was also spindly, only flying once for the record. The Mirage managed two flights before it was shelved. The Laythe IV only flew once. And now, the Argonaut...

Plans for the Laythe V were already in the works, and the makers openly admitted that they would only fly it for the record.

"Send in an engineer," said Cloneus. This had piqued his interest. He wanted the title... But he wanted to do more than just build a spindly aircraft that would fly once.

Wait.

Fly once... Cloneus grinned.

His plane would only make one flight... But not in the way the others had.

 

========== Present Day

"Jebediah, we are getting dangerously low on fuel. A few more minutes and I will have to turn back for the KSC or else I will run out on the way back. We cannot have nuclear weapons out in the middle of nowhere."

"Understood. We are close, I can feel it!"

"Hey, what's that?" asked Shercott.

"There!" Jebediah said excitedly.

"What is that?" asked Gidrien.

"I'll explain in a minute! Hmm, it looks like the doors are closed, and have been for quite some time. Dotfrey! Line us up with the doors, we may have to bomb our way in."

"Shall I use a cluster bomb, sir?"

"No, we shouldn't need that much, it's an old building. It's a miracle it survived the war! Let's use one air to ground missile to start with. Does that sound about right, Bob?"

"I guess. With the number of unknowns in the equation, it seems like a reasonable starting point."

"How many passes can we make?" asked Jeb.

"Two. Maybe three if we push it."

"Okay. On the second pass, we will destroy the rest of the door, and on the third pass, we'll all parachute in."

"Three really is pushing it, you know!" said Dotfrey.

"Arming AGM-3... Three! Two! One! Fire!"

"Okay, that should just poke a small hole - "

BOOM!

The damage spread rapidly along the door, tearing the whole thing apart in one blow.

"Wow," said Jebediah as they flew over the hangar.

"Okay, change of plans. We parachute in on the second pass," said Jeb.

"We have a prototype multi chute ejector in the back," said the gunner. "Come with me." The six followed him backwards. A few seconds later, they were strapped into chairs on a circular device. "After your chute is deployed, ditch the chair."

"And follow me!" said Jeb. "I'll pick a landing site!"

"Where are we going?" shouted Shercott as the cargo bay ramp opened up.

"Into the hangar, of course! It should be empty, except for a floating barge off to one side, carrying several amphibious refueling and passenger transport aircraft! We are going to take one of those!"

"Okay!"

"We are in the drop zone!" said Dotfrey over the radio.

"Okay, when you are ready!" said the gunner.

"Yes."

"Three! Two! One!"

 

Jeb's chute yanked him backwards as he was ejected out of the aircraft. He got out of his launch seat and began gliding towards the hangar entrance.

But he was wrong.

The barge with the aircraft was not there.

But the hangar was not empty.

He was in shock. How could it have survived? He dove downwards and noticed that one piece of the door had survived near the hangar entrance. He maneuvered to land on it.

He landed. The others soon followed. They all got up, and wordlessly stared.

"Well... I guess I was wrong," said Jebediah.

 

========== 104 Years Ago

"Cloneus, this is absurd!"

"You're absurd!" Sneered Cloneus.

"A plane, more than twice the wingspan of the largest one existing today? Weighing thousands of tons? With more space inside than a decently sized building? With a casino on board?"

"Not just a casino. A museum. Restaurants. Bars. Cargo holds. A hotel. Places to hold ceremonies. Maybe even a water park if it can be managed! A flying casino city."

"And if that wasn't enough, you want it to... You want it to...!" The engineer was so flabbergasted, he couldn't even say the next part out loud.

"I believe I have made myself perfectly clear. I only want it to fly once. As a joke, a blow to the previous largest aircraft."

"But... But... You want it to take off once... And fly forever."

"Which is why a fleet of massive refuelers must be designed, and ferries for guests!"

"Midair refueling? Midair passenger transfer?"

"And especially midair maintenance. I want every part besides perhaps the main hull to be designed to be replaced midair."

"The engines?!?!?!?"

"Especially the engines. You think they are going to take kindly to years, or perhaps decades of constant use? They need to be built so that people can work inside them, and so that they can be detached and replaced."

"This is madness!"

"Can you do it?"

"No."

"You're fired." Cloneus picked up his phone and began calling various airplane manufacturers, telling him of his plan for a massive flying city. Nobody would take him up on his proposal, except for one. "What is your name?" Cloneus asked.

"Miles Kerman of Miles Kerman's workshop, also known as @kapteenipirk. We've got you covered."

A few months later, a design was available, but Cloneus was not satisfied.

"It will fly, but only just. How are we going to outfit it with the city? The aesthetic stores of gold? And what about carrying the weight of the visiting planes? Carrying any fuel load at all? Turning tight enough to do anything useful? What about engine repair and swap? It simply does not have the required payload capacity! And where are we going to get a runway for this thing? Will it even take off on any continent before it hits the water? It may as well be a boat!"

"We may be able to add four more engines for a total of twelve, but the cost and reinforcements would be - "

"Do it. Now, how long of a runway will it need?"

"You know, I... I might have to get back to you on that. Something you said... Interesting."

The KFB-01 "Kraken" was constructed in a massive floating hangar, in secret, for several months. It had a wingspan of a whopping 265.3 meters, which, not to break the fourth wall or anything, is more than two Saturn Vs, and more than two Stratolaunches (the current largest plane in the world).

The takeoff, announced only a week before the Laythe V would have its only flight, was scheduled only three days after. Crowds came from around the globe. The floating hangar was moved away for greater visibility.

Four test pilots boarded the Kraken. When the time was right, all twelve of the largest jet engines ever built were ignited, preparing for the hopefully long life ahead of them.

The plane began its multi kilometer takeoff run, and when the time was right, the head pilot pulled back on his stick.

Cloneus was never known as a man who would cheer... But on rare occasions, such as this, once in several blue moons... He cheered.

The work was not done yet, though. The takeoff mass was as low as possible to maximize the chances of success. A fleet of crew, fuel, and cargo planes took off and prepared to attach themselves to specially designed hatches on the wings and top of the plane. This maneuver had been extensively practiced with smaller aircraft. Success rate eventually reached something reasonable, and the plane was designed to take several slow hits from planes and survive.

Fortunately, the first day ended with no crashes and only a few mishaps. The fuel ones went in first, as the plane only carried an hour and a half of fuel at liftoff. The crew planes docked next, the crew walking through admittedly tight walkways in the wings (this was one thing Cloneus was unsatisfied with, as narrow hallways were definitely not a luxury) into the plane and began setting things up from the cargo plane.

The Kraken made it to the outskirts of Kerlington, where a massive tower had been built, among the tallest buildings in the world. The idea was that the plane would fly in a "tight" circle (still a very large circle) and a smaller plane would attach a cable and flexible hose to it. Motors would keep the lines taut, and fuel, supplies, and even crew would be transferred to the plane while it revolved around this tower. The plane spent several days at the tower taking on supplies, and it took another few weeks before it was ready for customers. At this point, there had been a few accidents, unfortunately, but none of them were too serious.

The casino was grand, for being in an aircraft (a trait that it played to its advantage) and proved to be very popular. A few Kerbals even called it home, permanently renting a very luxurious hotel room. Despite the huge cost of operation, and the huge initial cost, Cloneus nearly managed to break even.

While maintenance went on almost constantly, the first major renovation of the Kraken occurred nine years into its flight. During this time, operations were extremely scaled back. The plane was thoroughly cleaned and inspected, with parts reinforced and replaced as needed. The engines had been rated for about fifteen years between overhauls, but parts were replaced as needed. During the first renovation, new novelties and attractions were added. More firework turrets, a swimming pool, skydiving platform, and air jousting, among other things.

Air jousting was when several trained pilots, each with their own tiny jet biplane, were launched from new cargo bays (previously fuel tanks) and fought each other using nothing more than ibeams bolted onto their aircraft. The craft were, of course, expendable, the pilots escaping on early ejection seats. Somehow, there were remarkably few major injuries. The jousting was incredibly popular with guests, as was betting on said jousting.

A few more years passed. Cloneus was rather surprised that the whole thing hadn't come crashing down yet. The engines had now been running for 17 years, 2 years past their warranty. Cloneus decided to push his luck. A few weeks after that decision, one of the engines blew up and started a fire on the Kraken's right wing. It was extinguished, thankfully, but not without significant damage. The Kraken was evacuated except for essential crew.

A second set of engines had been built with the originals. It was time to replace all of the engines before a tragedy like that happened again. Custom aircraft were built for this task, ones that would dock around an engine, remove it, fly back to base, pick up a new engine, and dock it, to be wired and piped in by the construction crew. This happened twelve times. Tragedy almost struck again, when an engine snapped off while partially attached in a sudden gust of wind. The engine replacer plane rolled over, colliding violently with the Kraken, completely destroying itself and severely damaging the Kraken's hull. The pilots of the plane survived, miraculously, but repairs to the Kraken took months. It was decided to do renovation 2 at this point in time. More cool stuff was added, dated stuff replaced... In wake of the tragedies, the aircraft's escape systems were significantly upgraded.

These engines started showing their age at 28 years, far earlier than the last ones, due to the time they spent in storage. It was decided to replace them again... But new engines were built.

In the three decades since the Kraken was designed, technology had matured a lot. As a result, massive turbofans were built, even larger than the original engines, producing more thrust, at a higher efficiency. These engines also had an estimated 20-25 years of life.

The old engines were removed, the new ones put on. Renovation 3 happened. Same drill.

There were two more renovations before that fateful day... The day of the Sixty Minute War.

The crew of the Kraken saw bright flashes everywhere. Their radios did not pick up any transmissions after a few minutes. The plane was over the ocean, however, and not severely affected by the blasts. The plane passed over its next refueling zone, and saw it destroyed. The next one was, too. Nothing on the radios. The crew had witnessed what seemed like the apocalypse.

They had to make the decision to bring the flight of the Kraken to the end. It hadn't really been designed with landing in mind, as the most probable end of life scenario was a crash. However, lining up with the same inlet it was launched from, the crew managed to splash down without too much damage. The plane was so much heavier than when it took off that it sunk low into the water. Many of the lower levels flooded.

The crew were left to face the fact that they had no homes to go to.

 

========== Present Day

Jebediah told the others a very short version of the events above.

"A plane that flew for fifty years nonstop?!?" asked Shercott.

"Don't they teach you history?" said Bill. "I remember when this thing took off, it sure was majestic, and the record still stands. I was sure it was gone!"

"Wait. We're going to fly a plane that has been sitting in the ocean for fifty years to the north pole?"

"I was originally going to take a refueler, or better, a passenger transport, but guess what? The barge sank or drifted away! Either way, the planes are inaccessible, unusable, or both!"

"You think the fuel left in there is going to get us all the way to the North pole?"

"Do you have any better ideas?"

Jebediah jumped into the water and started swimming to the Kraken. One by one, the others followed. They approached the massive plane.

"I haven't been on this in forever!" said Valentina.

"You've been on this?" asked Shercott. Gidrien looked up.

"Whoa, that looks way bigger up close."

"We are some of the most famous Kerbals in history, and the space program was very much in Cloneus' favor after the Octavius mission. I think Jeb even got to fly it once."

"Cloneus wouldn't trust me with it, I could tell someone else was controlling it, mimicking my movements, ready in case I did something stupid like a barrel roll. I doubt this thing could survive a barrel roll."

"Bad news," said Valentina. "There aren't many hatches on this thing, and most of them appear to be underwater."

"We don't have time. Pop the hatch."

"If it isn't rusted shut! And if it opens outward, the pressure differential might keep it shut!"

"Aren't there maintenance ladders?"

Several precious minutes later, the crew managed to get up a ladder and into the cockpit of the Kraken. Even the cockpit was ornate. Official uniforms hung a bit back, decked out in all sorts of markings, insignias, and awards. It made sense, as there were definitely people who wanted to tour the cockpit. And who is going to say no to paying millionaires and billionaires?

"Power still works, but not everywhere. The engines appear... well... not great, but they only need to work for less than an hour. Flaps check... Wow. It's surprising... All of the critical systems are in working order."

"Weird," said Valentina.

"And there is enough fuel to get to the north pole. An expert pilot might even be able to make it most of the way back."

"Jeb, are you saying that you're not an expert pilot?"

"I can pick up almost any aircraft and fly it well, but the guys who flew this trained for months to pilot it perfectly. Smooth, nearly level flight to provide maximum comfort for the guests, and ideal working conditions for the mechanics. I can fly it, but those guys? They could pilot it. We have fifty four minutes until the world ends. Bob?"

"To be safe, an average of 250 meters per second, assuming takeoff goes well."

"That's higher than cruising speed, but with the new engines, and ideal conditions, the Kraken has been known to do 300. Engines on. Cross your fingers, everyone."

"Engine ignition. Throttling up." The crew could hear the jets start. A few warnings flashed on the control panel.

"We're moving!"

"Jeb, the door panel!"

"We will push it out of the way in time."

"Jeb," said Val. "We're going to hit the land!"

"Turning!" Jeb turned the Kraken as hard as he could

The starboard pontoon scraped against the beach, but did not break.

"Phew."

Many breaths were held as the Kraken accelerated down its aquatic runway. Due to the increased mass of the plane from its initial takeoff configuration, not to mention the tons and tons of water flooding its decks, it took a lot longer to get up to speed than it did for its first takeoff.

"That's as fast as we're getting," said Jebediah.

"I don't suppose we could boat all the way there," nervously said Bill.

"Too slow," said Bob.

"I'm going for it."

"Be gentle!" said Valentina.

Jeb pulled back on the stick slowly and gently. It took minutes, but the plane begrudgingly got further and further out of the water. There was no one moment where the crew could tell they had taken off, it was extremely subtle.

And at last, they were aloft, the cockpit hovering at about fifty meters above sea level.

All in all, the takeoff run took around seven kilometers.

"Flight number two of the KFB-01 Kraken has begun," said Jebediah. He pushed the nose down. The plane dipped slightly, but picked up speed and began rising again.

A few minutes later, the plane was still rising, and had reached the speed it would need to fly at to reach the north pole in time.

"Jeb, how are we going to land?" asked Shercott. "There isn't an ocean at the north pole."

"We're not. One of us, probably Valentina, will fly us low over the base and the rest of us will parachute out. If that isn't enough distraction to halt the test, we'll find people and talk, or destroy the equipment."

"What will it look like?" asked Gidrien. "This super high tech propulsion system?"

"It glows, but who knows what they've changed since the last time I saw it..."

"Either way," said Jeb, "This is the largest aircraft ever, it was an ornate flying casino. You should explore. Just be back here in half an hour, and don't do anything stupid. The lower levels are slowly draining, but will probably still be flooded for a while."

"Wanna come look around with me, Shercott?" asked Gidrien.

"Sure." Ten minutes later, the plane passed over a mountain range without incident. Jebediah was alone in the cockpit. Shercott and Gidrien had gone to explore, as had Bob, Bill, and Valentina, although the last three did not go together.

==========

 

"Almost there," said Dotfrey.

"They aren't shooting at us yet," said the gunner.

"We aren't high enough for a nuclear bombing run. They are fairly certain that they are out of immediate danger. Turning to land..."

"Engine flameout. We're out of fuel!"

"We're fast, but we can't go around!"

The plane touched down, but in the struggle to slow down, the plane spun to the right and drifted off the runway.

The plane, still travelling several meters per second, collided into one of the fuel tanks near the VAB.

It was severely dented, but did not begin leaking, and did not catch fire. This was no time to laugh, though. Dotfrey got out of the plane and ran to the mission control building.

"Sergeant T!" she shouted.

"Dotfrey. Where's Jeb? Is he in the plane, ready to blow up the nuclear weapons if we don't give him millions of funds?"

"No. He's going for the north pole in a plane."

"A plane? Where did he find one?"

"The old resort strip, north by northwest from here."

"He's going for the pole?"

"To stop the test of Project K."

"You actually believe that?"

"Maybe."

"He must be going to the north pole for something nefarious... What's there to steal?"

"I actually think he's telling the truth. We need to get to the pole to stop Project K."

"The EED polar bases. There's loads of tech there... Even Polar Base, what, three? Four? The one that was attacked and abandoned."

"Sir - "

"Tell me. What plane did he take?"

"The Kraken."

"No. You can't be serious."

"I am serious."

"The KFB-01?"

"Yes. Assuming he managed to get it started, I couldn't stick around for long due to the fuel situation."

"Well, then. Omega Squadron is not ready for takeoff... We must send in something in case they are not ready in time to catch them. Setfan! Gather the files on the KFB-01 Kraken! Doodgun!" He addressed a very ticked off Doodgun, who by now had managed to climb out of the old underground museum.

"Yes sir."

"Take your two most skilled combatants and the most skilled pilot you can find, along with all of the weapons you need. You are familiar with the Ravenspear Mk3 D, correct?"

"The one we built nearly sixty years ago when we feared a USKN takeover of the Kraken?"

"You know that?"

"I read the reports, I was not alive then."

"Good. You leave in seven minutes. Your mission? Capture the Kraken, and Neutralize Jebediah Kerman and his companions. If you can, keep them alive. If you must, you may use lethal force. You have until Omega Squadron arrives to accomplish your task. If the Kraken is not under your control by then, Omega Squadron will have orders to destroy it. It is a valuable piece of history... We all would prefer it intact."

"Understood, sir."

"A map of the Kraken will be available for you to study on the way."

After a short, quick journey, The Kraken emerged from the clouds.

The plane was originally aiming for the back, but instead flew to a side winglet after turbulence and a rigging pole got in the way.

The pilot expertly flew between the jet exhausts. The cargo bay doors opened. When the plane was right on top of the winglet, the payload was detached.

The Ravenspear flew away, back to base, as it had no weapons on board.

"Alright. Start cutting." The agent in the rear of the drop pod opened a hatch and began sawing into the winglet of the Kraken.

"It's hollow!" he reported. "We got lucky, we are just to the left of a maintenance tunnel!" Doodgun grinned. He hefted his machine gun.

"Soldiers, move out!"

"We're coming for you, Jebediah!"

 

 

The Story of Project Intrepid will Continue...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fulgur]

Kraken, it really has been nearly a year...

Also, the Kraken reminds me of that party in H2G2. The one which flew around the world, raiding vinyards.

Edited July 16, 2019 by fulgur

[kapteenipirk]

Ahh, warms my heart to see my design go into some good use .

[RealKerbal3x]

@Ultimate Steve I finally got around to reading chapter 55! Was the cliffhanger really necessary?

Is Intrepid still in 1.4.5?

[GuessingEveryDay]

Oh no. Just finished reading all of this, and all I can say is

Spoiler

Is this really the end?

 

[Ultimate Steve]

10 minutes ago, GuessingEveryDay said:

Oh no. Just finished reading all of this, and all I can say is

  Reveal hidden contents

Is this really the end?

 

I hope not, but unfortunately probably. With infinite time and motivation I'd finish it eventually, but unfortunately I can't say for sure.

The screenshots for the next chapter are sitting around half done, though.

If we go another year without actual progress I'll summarize what I had planned. If it gets to that point, December 14, 2021, ping spam me.

[GuessingEveryDay]

Just now, Ultimate Steve said:

If we go another year without actual progress I'll summarize what I had planned. If it gets to that point, December 14, 2021, ping spam me.

It's on my calenders.

[Maria Sirona]

This is so epic and awesome. I hope Project Intrepid will continue.

[Maria Sirona]

Sooo... I hoped we had not got to this point. I know it's december 7th and not 14th, but does a week here or there really matter? 

I just ask that the summary at least be semi-detailed 

[Ultimate Steve]

56 minutes ago, Maria Sirona said:

Sooo... I hoped we had not got to this point. I know it's december 7th and not 14th, but does a week here or there really matter? 

I just ask that the summary at least be semi-detailed 

Yeah I think I'm probably going to let this rest peacefully for the time being.

When it comes, the summary will be as detailed as I can manage, although it will probably not come until the 17th or later due to finals. Probably later as I have to reread a lot of this and dig around for my notes to make sure I'm getting it right.

There is a chance that I do end up continuing it anyway after I post the summary, though.

[Maria Sirona]

On 6/6/2016 at 6:39 AM, Ultimate Steve said:

his dockings always seem to take place at sunrise

Mine tend to happen over the western desert! But where's the summary ;( ?

[Ultimate Steve]

10 hours ago, Maria Sirona said:

Mine tend to happen over the western desert! But where's the summary ;( ?

It's in the works, it is just taking a while.

[Maria Sirona]

On 8/1/2018 at 7:46 AM, Ultimate Steve said:

no record of the USKN having done so either.

There was no record of USKN making that Tylo missile base either

[tremonthedgehog]

fowlowing 1 post