Shadows of the Kraken: Remastered & The Lost Chapters

[VelocityPolaris]

Never trust a goo. Nice chapter, mate.

[Templar Knight]

I was motivated to track down my log in information just so I could log in and tell you what a fantastic story you have here CatastrophicFailure! Seriously, I read the entire thing from start to present yesterday and I was hooked from the very get go. You have a real talent for developing characters in a vivid and real way, and that has helped keep me engrossed in the story. keep up the good work sir! Oh, and I'm not sure if I just missed it, but have you ever posted a list of the mods you are using in game? I know it's not exactly a story related question, but the screenshots you have posted caught my attention.

[KSK]

the goo must the Kracken's presence

I'm wondering if the Goo is the Kraken. Or a part of it anyway. How better to infiltrate kerbal society and particularly their high-tech and research heavy organisations.

[CatastrophicFailure]

I was motivated to track down my log in information just so I could log in and tell you what a fantastic story you have here CatastrophicFailure! Seriously, I read the entire thing from start to present yesterday and I was hooked from the very get go. You have a real talent for developing characters in a vivid and real way, and that has helped keep me engrossed in the story. keep up the good work sir! Oh, and I'm not sure if I just missed it, but have you ever posted a list of the mods you are using in game? I know it's not exactly a story related question, but the screenshots you have posted caught my attention.

Thank you:D:D I'm always worried that I'm not giving the characters enough development time to keep the pacing right. Anyways, top of my head list is 6.4x Kerbin, HGR, procedural parts/tanks/fairings, NovaPunch, KW, Station Science, TweakScale. Probably missing lots but those are the most used.

Next chapter going up shortly!

[CatastrophicFailure]

Chapter 37: Unintended Consequences

Edgas watched with nauseated fascination as the robotic arm put the last few staples into Jerdous's temple with, well, surgical precision. Jerdous had a heavy-lidded, vacant stare and a big goofy grin on his face. Edgas didn't think he was feeling much of anything at the moment. He usually lacked the stomach for such things, but had stared, transfixed, as the myriad of arms and articulated tools first scanned and analyzed the deep gash in Jerdous's head, then meticulously cleaned and debrided it, repaired the small temporal artery, cauterized several smaller bleeders, stitched the surrounding connective tissue back together, then finally closed the skin with medical staples. All with minimal interaction from Chadvey on the control panel, who seemed only slightly familiar with it. Edgas thought he might be sick again, but it was truly amazing.

"Now isn't that a thing," Chadvey said quietly, apparently sharing the idea.

"Geh-heeeeeeeheheheh," said Jerdous as he groggily pointed at an errant drop of blood floating by.

The automated medical suite in the med-bay had scanned Edgas too, who was unhurt other than some bumps and bruises, a mildly sprained arm, and a big lump on his head. He and Jerdous had both escaped without concussions. Fortunately, Kerbals had very thick skulls. It was said a Kerbal could fall from nearly any height and survive as long as he landed on his head. Experiments exploring this were an ongoing project at the space center.

A tone from the machine signaled that it had finished. Chadvey began to wrap a lighter bandage around Jerdous's head.

"Hmmm, doesn't usually effect people quite like that," he said.

"Butter," said Jerdous, and launched into a fit of hissing giggles.

"Maybe the lowered consciousness filter is just revealing his true nature," Burdous said blankly.

Chadvey looked at the medication vial in the hypospray he had used, then touched some icons on the med-bot's screen, "Ah gave him the right dose..."

"Anesthesia can have strange effects on some people," Edgas said. He was feeling rather ill again.

"Right you are lad," grinned Chadvey, "Ah remember the time Ah was trekking through the jungles of Ponpí­n and got to watch the local witch-doctor perform an appendectomy. They used the venom of an indigenous aquatic snail to anesthetize the fellow. Why, he was havin' a grand ol' time even tho' they had 'is belly open like this," Chadvey gestured with his hands wide apart.

"Hurk," said Edgas.

"DONT YOU START THAT AGAIN OR SO HELP ME I WILL STAB YOU WITH A SPOON!" shrieked Burdous.

Edgas swallowed hard. He must have been really, really attached to that shirt. Jerdous found the entire exchange uproariously funny. Or maybe it was still 'butter.' He cackled on in breathy, hissing way.

Burdous sighed and rubbed his eyes, "ugh, why don't you two put Dr. Giggles here to bed, and I'll go begin the ignition procedure. I'll need you both on his station until I get the engine stabilized. The less time we waste, the better."

 

***

 

Several hours later, the engine was again running well, the ship was on course, and the four very drained Kerbals were enjoying a celebratory meal in the galley.

"I did what?!" Jerdous asked incredulously.

"You don't remember that?" grinned Edgas.

"No, I..." Jerdous looked put upon, "I don't remember a thing after Chadvey stuck me."

Burdous was fighting very hard not to laugh, a win seemed unlikely.

"Ah've checked the manual half a dozen times now," said Chadvey from the tiny kitchen, "it was the right dose."

"Hey Jerdous..." Burdous snickered.

"What?"

"Butter!" Burdous burst into reedy laughter. Edgas choked for a moment then joined in. Jerdous looked like wanted to disappear. Chadvey grinned. He sat down at the table with a steaming bowl of mush.

"Not you too," said Jerdous.

"Well, the lad does have a point," he gestured to Edgas, "it really is quite good. Besides, it hasn't kilt him yet." Burdous was still laughing.

"Has the whole world gone mad?" Jerdous put a palm to his face.

Burdous coughed himself under control, "well, I've run the final calculations and adjusted the course. I'm running the pressure extremely low until I know what caused that pipe to fail. We're maintaining thrust but loosing efficiency. We'll make Jool in about ten days, but we're looking at a six month return trip."

"Six months?!" Said Edgas.

"Oh good, Ah could use a v'cation," Chadvey grinned.

"We won't be able to maintain constant high thrust," Burdous explained, "have to run on nuclear fuel only for the most part. Only a few hundredths of a G."

"After this, I think we'll all need a vacation," sighed Jerdous, "but aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves here? I'd still like to hear this grand plan of yours, Chadvey."

"Oh, don't you worry, now, it's all well in hand," said Chadvey, "few more details to work out, that's all. Have a bit more readin' to do."

"You don't have a plan, do you?" Jerdous said blankly.

"Now, lad, have ya ever known me to jump in all willy-nilly without a plan?"

"Well, no, I suppose not, but I still-- what?" Jerdous noticed Edgas staring intently at him.

"You, um, you've got a speck in your eye," said Edgas.

"What? I--ow! Ow! Damn!" Jerdous winced and put a hand to his eye, "you're right, must have picked it up from all the crud floating around earlier. Excuse me." Jerdous awkwardly climbed the ladder up toward the space-bathroom.

"Mmmmmmmmmmm," said Chadvey, chewing, "could use something to add a little kick, but it is surprisingly good. Real stick-to-your-ribs fair."

"That's because it's adhesive," groaned Burdous with a hand to his face.

"But, er, six months?" began Edgas, "can we last that long?"

"We've got hard supplies worth a couple of years, more, even, if you two savages keep eating spackle," said Burdous, "air and water are completely recycled, with backup stores to augment that. Six months is barely a shakedown cruise."

Six months in space. A typical tour on the space station, one which Edgas had never actually finished. Out here in the middle of nowhere. It was a bit unnerving, but then he remembered that that would be the easy part. The true test awaited at Jool. He just wished he had some idea what it was.

***

Edgas pressed his head against the cold surface of the window in his cubicle. Several days since the engine malfunction, and life aboard was becoming nearly routine. From here, he could just barely make out Jool, back towards the rear of the ship. Only it was also the bottom. Space was weird like that. It had finally resolved into more than a bright point of light, but only just. He could barely discern the deep green disk, and the three tiny specks of the Galikerman moons. He remembered seeing such a view through his small backyard telescope when he was just a young Kerblet, to see it now with his own wide (and rather bloodshot) eyes was mesmerizing. In only two more days they would skim past Jool and on to their final destination.

Edgas leaned back and rubbed his eyes. That was still a long way off. Despite pouring over paperwork for days he was still no closer to unraveling the truth. It was always just out of sight, like a dim star. He picked up the small thumb drive again, and turned it over in his stubby fingers. Maybe this would be something. Out of all the drives he had been through, none had been encrypted. Until this one. And it had been written on in that strange not-quite-right Ussari script. The encryption protocol seemed extremely complex, Edgas knew it was out of his territory. But that would mean bringing it to Burdous.

Was there really any reason not to trust him? Chadvey had said not to trust anyone, not even him. But the three of them seemed like very old friends. Was he just being dramatic? He did have that flair. Edgas hated this cloak-and-dagger nonsense. He was a trillion miles from anywhere, he was going to have to trust someone! But the engine...

Would Burdous really sabotage his own engine? He seemed more attached to it than even that ridiculous shirt.

It did get you off the ship... and nearly got you killed.

Could Burdous induce a failure in just the right place like that? Then leave the circuit open to blow the valve? Then bypass the break to move on? Dammit, it was always so convenient. What was he missing? What is it he couldn't see??

Edgas sighed, this wasn't getting him any closer either. He needed to know what was on that thumb drive. He would have to play his hand and talk to Burdous.

He stepped out onto the crew deck and looked around. Chadvey was in his bunk, snoring with a sound like a wounded animal. The thin door did little to muffle it. Jerdous was down on the command deck, monitoring the engine and listening to soft music as usual. That meant Burdous was probably in his cubicle. Edgas crossed to it, took a breath, knocked on the door.

"S'open," said the voice from inside, "oh, it's you."

"Hi, I... um...." Edgas stopped dead. Covering nearly every wall of the tiny room were pictures, drawings, and clippings. Edgas glanced around, every one seemed to be of an oddly proportioned female, in every color imaginable. Some of them did indeed have hair in strange places. Or none at all. Then he noticed Burdous giving him that cold, measuring stare again. He would have to choose his next words very carefully.

"Um... er..."

"...yes?"

"Ugh, look, I found this thumb drive in the boxes of drives Jerdous left for me. It's heavily encrypted, I can't even figure out what's written on it. It seems like gibberish." He handed the drive to Burdous, who looked it over.

"Trying to transliterate into Ussari?"

"Yes, but, it doesn't make sense. I'm passable enough speaking the language, but I can't read it."

"That's because it's not in Ussari."

"It's not?"

"No, it's Erakonian. Common mistake for those who don't know the culture. South Erakonia officially changed writing systems a few decades ago after that little spat with the Ussaris that left the country divided. But sometimes you still see the old letters used. Says 'whiterabbit.doc.'"

"Can you access it?"

"Pfft," said Burdous. He pulled out a very small laptop from somewhere, plugged the drive in, and began typing away. "Well hello, there, lil' fella," he grinned at the screen, "show me your secrets... hm... hmmmmmm... now that's unusual... don't worry, I'll be gentle... oh cra--!" The screen went blank and something popped and sparked. Edgas gasped.

"What just happened?"

"Curiouser and curiouser," Burdous murmured absently as he stared at the smoking computer, rubbing at his chin, "I thought it was possible, that's why I used the ol' sacrificial lamb here, but wasn't expecting they'd actually do that."

"What? Who?"

"Whoever made this. You're right, it's some very, very high level stuff. Most government stuff isn't this high. Most. They even included a destructive self-defense back door, very hard to do. Whatever's on here, someone really wanted to keep it from prying eyes."

"So you can't decrypt it?"

"Pfft, puh-leeze. You really don't know who you're dealing with, do you?" Burdous actually smirked, "it'll take me some time, probably a few weeks. Have to be very, very careful with that subroutine. But time is something we have, conveniently."

"Oh..."

"I suppose I should thank you for bringing me this little gem, haven't had a challenge like this in a little while. I could almost forgive you for masticating my favorite shirt. But if you ever so much as look at my closet again, I will stab you with a spoon."

Edited February 7, 2018 by CatastrophicFailure

[monophonic]

Mmmh, more secrets, yummy. You do one serious job keeping us guessing who's the wolf and who isn't. Keep it up CatastrophicFailure.

Gigacraps are an inspired unit!

Castle Bravo level of inspired I think. Must have been really awkward to realize that the stuff one though would not participate in the reaction actually added more to the power than rest of the device combined.

[CatastrophicFailure]

Mmmh, more secrets, yummy. You do one serious job keeping us guessing who's the wolf and who isn't. Keep it up CatastrophicFailure.

Castle Bravo level of inspired I think. Must have been really awkward to realize that the stuff one though would not participate in the reaction actually added more to the power than rest of the device combined.

Hmm, is that the one that unintentionally launched a steel plate beyond escape velocity?

[KSK]

"Curiouser and curiouser," said Burdous absently.

I see what you did there.

"Mmmmmmmmmmm," said Chadvey, chewing, "could use something to add a little kick, but it is surprisingly good. Real stick-to-your-ribs fair."

And that was one of those moments when you're glad you have an office to yourself so nobody can hear you giggle.

Great work as always!

[teepee2345]

excellent work there lad. if you dont mind me i'd say i found a fellow nerd. i call myself one all the time. nice work and awesome story. really suspensful stuff here. i love reading it.

[Ethanadams]

Whiterabbit.doc

its been been a while since I've seen the matrix butmi still get the reference

(ps is it a reference to the matrix or Alice in wonderland)

[monophonic]

Hmm, is that the one that unintentionally launched a steel plate beyond escape velocity?

Only one with a steel plate launch I could find is Plumbbob Pascal-B. (Gotta love those code names btw! ) Castle Bravo was the one that was calculated at 6Mt but actually gave 15Mt. The mistake was in assuming that the lithium-7 in the fusion core would not participate in the reaction, when the neutron energies involved actually made it at least on par with the lithium-6.

I thought this discovery was made in an equivalent manner to the kerbal discovery of induced fusion in the nuclear engine exhaust. In other words Dr. Whatshisname turned on the test engine and promply burned a hole through the walls of the laboratory and adjancent buildings.

[CatastrophicFailure]

excellent work there lad. if you dont mind me i'd say i found a fellow nerd. i call myself one all the time. nice work and awesome story. really suspensful stuff here. i love reading it.

Yup. 'bout 60% nerd 40% redneck on a good day. Means I've got one of these up on blocks on my lawn:

Whiterabbit.doc

its been been a while since I've seen the matrix butmi still get the reference

(ps is it a reference to the matrix or Alice in wonderland)

I was aiming for Jurassic Park, but I s'pose that works too lol.

Only one with a steel plate launch I could find is Plumbbob Pascal-B. (Gotta love those code names btw! ) Castle Bravo was the one that was calculated at 6Mt but actually gave 15Mt. The mistake was in assuming that the lithium-7 in the fusion core would not participate in the reaction, when the neutron energies involved actually made it at least on par with the lithium-6.

I thought this discovery was made in an equivalent manner to the kerbal discovery of induced fusion in the nuclear engine exhaust. In other words Dr. Whatshisname turned on the test engine and promply burned a hole through the walls of the laboratory and adjancent buildings.

Those code names make less sense than Kerbal names. But yes that's the general gist. Dr. Whatisname discovered the phenomenon (which I'm sure I'm taking a huge amount of artistic license with), but he didn't write the paper after =\

Speaking of unintentionally powerful nuclear detonations, I'm getting really excited to drop the bomb here.

I'm practically

Soon.... Very soon....

[KSK]

Yup. 'bout 60% nerd 40% redneck on a good day. Means I've got one of these up on blocks on my lawn:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/12/32/b8/1232b8f922b017df87f61f2e929c8aad.jpg

I was aiming for Jurassic Park, but I s'pose that works too lol.

Those code names make less sense than Kerbal names. But yes that's the general gist. Dr. Whatisname discovered the phenomenon (which I'm sure I'm taking a huge amount of artistic license with), but he didn't write the paper after =\

Speaking of unintentionally powerful nuclear detonations, I'm getting really excited to drop the bomb here.

I'm practically

http://d2ws0xxnnorfdo.cloudfront.net/character/tile/evil-plotting-raccoon.jpg

Soon.... Very soon....

Woohooo. CatastrophicFailure set us up the bomb!

Edit: Was whiterabbit.doc written by Nedry Kerman?

Edited April 13, 2015 by KSK

[CatastrophicFailure]

Woohooo. CatastrophicFailure set us up the bomb!

Edit: Was whiterabbit.doc written by Nedry Kerman?

Respect the Bomb. Embrace the Bomb. Fear the Bomb.

The question is, can I pull it off?

[Ethanadams]

I know that picture it's from a really old movie called ..........

What what is it called again?

[CatastrophicFailure]

Chapter 38: Jool

No one moved. No one made sound. The interior of the massive ship was silent, and still, save for the dim susurrus of the air handlers and the computer occasionally announcing pertinent information. For over an hour now, no one had said a word. Each of the four Kerbals was fused to a window, eyes wide, mouths agape, faces cast in an ethereal green glow. Rational thought, scientific analysis, excited speculation, all these had been wiped from their minds an hour ago. They could do nothing but stare, fascinated and uncomprehending like children before the divine.

Jool. The mightiest of worlds. Those cultures that did not call it king called it deity. The ship now passed within a hundred kilometers of its cloud tops, so close that atmospheric drag was measurable, if insignificant. Below them, now easily seen by their own eyes, clouds in every imaginable shade of green roiled and raged. Tumbling, churning, seething, the clouds flailed and writhed and twisted like...

...like the grief of a despondent father...

Presently, they passed over the terminator, the greens giving way to brilliant gold, fiery red, and royal purple. Lightning bolts stretching for thousands of kilometers highlighted the boiling clouds in the growing darkness. And all around the ship, glowing auroras in hundreds of iridescent colors silently danced and swayed as radiation deflected around it. It was beyond imagination. The engine was quiet now, all power diverted to that magnetic field that kept the radiation at bay and created the auroras. If it were to fail, they would all die instantly. If they were lucky.

They had passed very near to the deep blue jewel of Laythe, close enough to see dim sunlight sparkle on alien waves. Laythe, where it was said the oceans were so salty you could walk on them. Laythe, with its unexplainably breathable atmosphere, a possible oasis for life out here in the frigid void. They had passed so close with nearly mundane indifference.

The ice world of Vall had beckoned them too, all pale blue glaciers and frosted mountain tops. They had passed through the ejecta plume of a cryovolcano, across the shining, broken, nearly craterless young surface, and back out into space again, never slowing in their path.

Pol lingered deep in the darkness as a barely realized speck.

And finally, mighty Tylo: lifeless, pallid, still; like an undead guardian. It glowered at them menacingly from a safe distance, ever watchful. Accusing. Never trusting.

The ship swung around the dark side of Jool, her own auroras danced around the poles, flashes reflected in the night. Then even Great Jool began to recede, her waning crescent seeming to follow them as they drifted away.

"That was the most beautiful thing Ah've ever seen," said Chadvey to no one in particular, "Ah could die a happy Kerb now."

For another day, the ship drifted, colors shimmering around the hull, until it was at last clear of the deadly radiation belts, and began its final braking maneuver high over the lumpy and misshapen world of Bop.

***

They all felt it. After the ethereal beauty of Jool, it was jarring and disorienting, like falling from a warm bath into an icy river. And for Edgas, it was like opening an old wound. Only he could really tell, Chadvey had been right. Even though it made his skin crawl, it was weaker here. As the massive ship passed in cold tranquility over the chaotic surface of Bop, every Kerbal on board knew. There was something down there, something... not right.

Nobody felt much like eating. Which was an extreme feeling for a Kerbal. They agreed that immediately descending to the surface might not be prudent. They could all use some rest, and time for the ship's limited instruments to gather more data. It was deathly quiet on board now, each Kerbal huddled in their small cubicle, finally realizing the enormity of their situation, yet trying not to think about it at the same time.

Edgas sat, or rather floated, once more going over documents and being frustrated. At least it took his mind off what was outside. He was very tired, but dreaded the prospect of trying to sleep. Reality wavered and crackled. A knock at the door momentarily relieved him of the decision.

"It's open," no idea why they said that, there were no locks.

"Good evening, lad," said Chadvey.

Edgas paused thoughtfully, "bit of an ironic statement on both accounts, if you think about it."

"Aye, Ah suppose it is. Bit of light reading?"

"Same thing since we got here," Edgas sighed, "but still no closer to... well, anything."

"Dunna feel like sleeping either, do ya?"

"Not sure if I can. It's too... familiar. You too?"

"Oh, Ah've danced this dance many a time, never could sleep before a mission, here nor anywhere."

"You? But it seems like nothing gets to you."

Chadvey grinned grinned. There was something... odd in his eyes, "Ah've always been one to smile back, lad. Thinking about home are you?"

"A little, I guess."

"Do you know what home is for me, lad?"

Edgas crinkled his brow. Something...

Chadvey turned, and looked out the window, "home is a little one-bedroom flat, on the fourth floor, on the questionable side of town, with an upstairs neighbor who wears lead boots when he's not simply screaming about something. Mah one window has a truly stupendous view of the flat across the way. Ah've seen the rather homely occupant of which naked so many times that in Ibtetia we'd be legally married. In the last year, Ah've been home exactly three weeks two days and four and a half hours, and not all at once. Always meetings in faraway places to be had, hands to be shaken, fires to be put out, adventures to be had."

Edgas didn't quite know what to say. Chadvey didn't seem to notice. He just kept staring out the window at the enchanting green orb of Jool.

"Rover. Wanderer. Nomad. Vagabond. Call me what ya will, Ah'm an explorer at heart. It's what Ah am down to the very core of mah being." He sighed, and his perpetual grin faltered, "Ah've so little concept of home anymore. Ah've seen... so many incredible things in mah life. The curvature of Kerbin passing out of the atmosphere. A blue marble, rising over the stark limb of the Mün. The great cavy migration across the windswept plains of Nusad. The aurora borealis over Kermangrad, on a frigid, crystal night. The desert of Gerin become vivid green, in its centennial bloom. Gunboats on fire off the shoulder of Erboon. Ah've watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. And now, the sunset, over the deep green clouds of Jool. Never in mah long life did Ah think Ah would see that. Ah've been, most richly blessed."

At some point, Edgas wasn't sure just when, his grin had faded away.

Chadvey gave a stiff chuckle, "but Ah'm ramblin' again. What Ah mean to say is," he looked intensely at Edgas, "Ah know Ah've done some questionable things in mah life, but Ah've never hurt anyone. Well, except for that poor fellow in the tavern in Dachland, had to show him his own elbow, Ah did, ya just dunna say that to a lady," he shook his head, "anyway, Ah always acted with the best of intentions, for the greater good. And Ah know that doesna mean a hill o' beans. What Ah'm tryin to say, is, that Ah know you didna ask to be dragged into this, and Ah'm sorry. When we get back, whatever Ah can do t'make it right, Ah will."

Edgas just stared, uncomprehending... and not, "I don't understand..."

Chadvey grinned, "and what have Ah told ya about that? Sometimes ya just have to believe, and trust the understanding to come later."

"I..., no, I don't understand any of this," Edgas gestured around wildly, his voice cracking, "I know we're walking right into a trap, but no matter how hard I look I just can't see it!"

"Y'know, Ah once asked a grizzled, one-eyed old Cerimian general, 'what's the surest way to find a hidden trap?' And do y'know what he said to me?"

"What?"

"'Spring it'," Chadvey winked, "we've a long day tomorrow, lad. You should get some sleep."

And with that he was gone, leaving Edgas alone in his cubicle with a head full of thoughts.

Edited February 7, 2018 by CatastrophicFailure

[CatastrophicFailure]

I know that picture it's from a really old movie called ..........

What what is it called again?

its one of the original Planet of the Apes IIRC.

Oy, now ima take Chadvey's advice & try & get some sleep.

[KSK]

Hmph - time to spread some more rep around it seems, for this thread most richly deserves what I cannot yet give.

[monophonic]

"Rover. Wanderer. Nomad. Vagabond. Call me what ya will, Ah'm an explorer by heart. It's what Ah am down to the very core of mah being." He sighed, and his perpetual grin faltered, "Ah've so little concept of home anymore. Ah've seen... so many incredible things in mah life. The curvature of Kerbin passing out of the atmosphere. The entire planet, rising over the stark limb of the Mün. The great cavy migration across the windswept plains of Nusad. The aurora borealis over Kermangrad, on a frigid, crystal night. The desert of Gerin become vivid green, in its centennial bloom. Gunboats on fire off the shoulder of Erboon. Ah've watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. And now, the sunset, over the deep green clouds of Jool. Never in mah long life did Ah think Ah would see that. Ah've been, most richly blessed."

(Emphasis mine)

Should have guessed. Chadvey is not human!

Well obviously. But he's not completely Kerbal either.

its one of the original Planet of the Apes IIRC.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes, the original sequel. The only one that I have actually seen, well, the ending half of which. It left an irremovable impression in my early teenage mind.

Oy, now ima take Chadvey's advice & try & get some sleep.

Oh no, I'm not giving you any rest until I know why the taste of the ratsquirrelfish was so important that it had to be repeatedly mentioned before!

[Ethanadams]

I just reilized this like 8 hours ago after Edgas murdered the 2 other kerbali and when brain dead? Last chapter when they put that guy under anthestion or the painkiller he acted kinda very simailer to Edgas brain deadness and Edgas even said he knew pain killer does strange things to people meaning he has taken it

[Probe 1]

Data has become like matter and energy

In its own way, Data IS energy.

[CatastrophicFailure]

Next chapter going up shortly (thanks to the gremlins that kilt my ferry last night). Then there will a bit of a hiatus. The End is at hand! The final half dozen or so chapters really need to be released together to keep the emotional flow right, so it will probably be a few days. And I'll give fair warning, the next chapter is a bit of a cliffhanger.

[CatastrophicFailure]

Chapter 39: The Shadow over Bop

There was little sleep to be had that night. Strapped into their space-sleeping bags, floating over the alien moon, any that was had was restless, fitful, and fraught with nightmares. So it was with the added specter of fatigue that the crew gathered beneath the lander in their EVA suits, within the pressurized cargo bay, to undertake their final preparations.

"I've overpressured the fuel tanks to 117%," Burdous continued, "they could take a lot more before reaching their burst rating but that's every drop we have."

"Never know, might need it," said Chadvey, "Ah've narrowed down the landing site from the latest sensor data, should get us an initial point within a few kilometers. Hopefully Jerdous can spot it from there."

"Do you think it'll be visible?" asked Edgas.

"Ah think we'll know it when we see it," winked Chadvey , "where is Jerdous anyway?"

"Here!" Said Jerdous as he floated through the hatch in the floor, lugging something large behind him.

"What on Kerbin is that?"

"It's the laser ablation surface spectrograph from the lander," Jerdous said as he fumbled with the boxy device, "I had B boost the output, rig up a power supply and crude trigger, and fit a handle. But the handle broke."

Chadvey and Edgas looked at each other in confusion.

"Well it's better than nothing!" Jerdous said defensively as he began stowing it in a KAS container.

Chadvey looked at Burdous, "and what have you got?"

"Flag poles," said Burdous, stowing a bundle in another container. He pulled one out, just a standard issue flag pole, "see, once you unfold it, the stake is sharp enough to split rock." He did so, and held the end up. It did indeed look very sharp, "and then once you deploy it with the knob here--"

"No, don't!" yelled Edgas, but too late. There was a whump, and The small space was filled with acrid, eye-stinging, rust-colored smoke and coughing Kerbals.

"Foreign contaminant detected," announced the cargo bay computer, "purging atmosphere." A rush of air from the air handlers gradually cleared the cloud away.

"Are you crazy?!" coughed someone.

"You trying to kill us all?" gagged someone else.

Burdous hacked and wiped at his face, "sorry, sorry, I had no idea it did that in atmosphere. But look..." The formerly tapered, pointed tip of the pole was now two or three times its original size, and covered in jagged bubbles of solidified metal.

"Intrestin'" Chadvey peered at it, "so that's how they stick in the ground."

"Wait a minute," said Edgas, finally getting his breath back, "you mean to tell me we're going down there to possibly face an eldritch abomination from beyond reality with a laser gun and pointy sticks?"

Jerdous and Burdous both looked down at their items.

"Explosive pointy sticks," said Burdous defensively.

Edgas put a hand to his face.

"Besides," Jerdous grumbled, "I haven't heard any better ideas. Like this plan of yours." He raised an eye... bulge at Chadvey.

"Almost have it lad, just need to get the lay of the land."

"Ooooh," Edgas pointed at Jerdous, "you've got something in your eye again."

"Huh? Ow! Ow!" Jerdous grabbed his eye, "ugh, it was all that smoke. I'll be right back." He floated down through the hatch.

Chadvey sighed, "ok, enough playtime. Let's finish unloading the superfluous and be on with it."

***

The lander slowly drifted away from the enormous ship. It was small, and simple. Jerdous piloted it from a spherical command pod atop the crew cabin, which its self was a very rough copy of a Mule capsule. In full EVA suits, the other three Kerbals had very little room inside.

"Final status check?" Said Jerdous over the intercom.

"All green," said Chadvey, "lander subsystems check out, tank pressures good. Ship is stable, MechIvan has control. I do believe we're ready."

"Copy that. Final course calculated, standby for de-orbit burn. Three... two... one... firing."

There was a mild shudder and a lurch as the engine ignited. Something clunked the top of Edgas's helmet and clattered to the floor of the pod.

"What was that?" asked Chadvey.

"Dunno, something hit my head," said Edgas, "it's on the floor now, can't reach it with the engine on."

"What's wrong?" Jerdous crackled in their ears.

"Still go lad, just something unsecured in the cabin."

"Understood. It's gonna be a long, slow burn... not much power in this little thing."

Long and slow it was, but uneventful. From their cramped position in the lower pod, Chadvey, Edgas, and Burdous could do little but wait, and occasionally strain to see out of the small windows.

"Burn complete. Ok... course looks good, we're on target to initial point. Looks like five minutes of coasting to braking burn."

"Copy," said Chadvey, "Edgas, can you reach that thing now? No good having junk bouncing around the cabin."

"Yeah, I think so." Edgas loosened his harness and reached toward the floating object. For a moment, he could have sworn it floated right into his glove. It was...

"Goo?" said Burdous, "I thought we stowed it all back on the ship."

"We did..." Edgas said. He looked over the object in his gloved hands. It was a fist sized canister of Mystery Goo. From the clear window in the side, they could all see it was glowing.

"That's... odd..." Chadvey mused, "never seen Goo do that before."

"It's Goo, it does odd things all the time," Burdous grunted, "we still call it 'goo' for crepes' sake."

"Better get it out of the way lad, don't need--"

The canister of Goo exploded, leaving the three surprised Kerbals blinking.

"What in the bloody green blazes--?!"

"Ewwwwwww!"

"It's all sticky!"

"I didn't do anything!"

"I've been slimed!"

"Are you lads all right?"

"Moho's belt! It's everywhere."

Edgas wiped the Goo from his faceplate. It clung like glue, "Er, is this safe?"

"Ah dunno, lad. Never been covered in goo before. Well except for that one time in Gomlonila, that was--"

"STOP!" Burdous shrieked, shoving a finger in Chadvey's faceplate, "not. Another. Word. It's bad enough I'll have to clean this stuff out of the pod now, Hurky McBarfsalot here does NOT need to hear that little gem."

The intercom buzzed, "um... is everything all right down there?"

"Ach, we're fine here. Just redecorating."

"Redeco--? Wait, wait I can see something!"

The three Kerbals tried in vain to look out the windows.

"What've you got, lad?"

"Can't really tell... it's big, sticks out from the surrounding terrain like a sore thumb... pale. Only a couple of kilometers off our course. The immediate area's no good for landing, too many boulders. I'm gonna have to set down in a small crater, maybe a half kilometer away. Hang on, making course corrections now..."

***

The lander descended slowly on a meager jut of flame, bounced once, then settled onto its pads. Chadvey, Burdous, and Edgas wasted no time in depressurizing their capsule and squeezing out the tiny door out onto the surface, slipping frequently on the Goo that clung to every surface. There was no need to deploy a ladder. Here on the lonely, dim surface of Bop, gravity was minuscule, a drop of a couple of meters was only the slightest bump.

Edgas tried to steady himself, the low gravity only adding to smothering feeling of wrongness of the place. Although broad daylight, it was dim as evening. The diminished sun hung low in the sky, he barely needed to shield his eyes as he gazed upward. In one part of the sky, Jool still hung imposingly. He looked over the moons, Laythe, Vall, Tylo, and the speck of Pol, all locked in their eternal dance. He then looked across the sky, and there was everything else, spread out like chained captives. The glint of Moho, the purple of Eve, crimson Duna, lonely Dres, even a sparkle of distant Eeloo, which struck him as odd.

And of course, the pale blue dot that was his home. Everything he had ever known, everything he had ever experienced, and billions of souls going about their lives blissfully unaware, all hung there like motes in a sunbeam. Helpless. And here were the great heroes, bouncing around comically, covered in ooze.

Edgas finally tore his gaze away. He was feeling more and more uneasy. They had revealed themselves to an unknown predator. It was watching them now, waiting, biding its time. They couldn't see it, and it would attack at a time of its own choosing. Edgas shuddered, then blundered over to help Chadvey and Burdous unload.

Jerdous had finally finished securing the lander. He descended now from his pod, and looked at the other Kerbals in vague confusion, "ok, what happened to you three?"

"Don't ask," grumbled Burdous, trying unsuccessfully to wipe more Goo from his faceplate.

"Do ya have the seals?," Chadvey asked Jerdous, who grinned and delicately patted a pouch on his suit, "good, keep them safe. Ah think we're about done here. Gather what yer taking and let's be off."

"The plan?" Jerdous raised an eye... bulge.

"The plan," grinned Chadvey, "now everyone, use yer suit jets if you need to but try to conserve, no sense flying around all willy-nilly."

Awkwardly, the four of them set off, bounding across the surface like deranged beach toys. It did not take them long to locate what Jerdous had seen. Its sickly yellow-green cast conflicted starkly with the dim brown boulder-strewn landscape. In little time, they were standing before it, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"Congratulations, Chadvey," Burdous said flatly, "it's a... squid."

There was no denying the resemblance. The form laying on the surface looked like an enormous, bloated, half-rotten squid.

"Look," Edgas pointed, "it's been blinded!" What appeared to be huge eyes did indeed look to have been mutilated, one laying on the ground near its empty socket.

"Something doesn't feel right here," Burdous looked around nervously, "like, really not right."

"No, no it doesn't," agreed Chadvey.

"So now how about this grand plan, O Fearless Leader?" asked Jerdous facetiously, setting down the bulky laser.

"Well, Ah was kind of hoping something would happen."

"That's it?" Jerdous said with a blank look, "that's your plan?"

Chadvey just shrugged, not easily done in a space suit.

"I knew it," Jerdous threw his arms up rising a few centimeters, "he never even had a plan."

"Um... don't think that'll fit in the lander..." Burdous observed.

Edgas cautiously hopped over to huge yellowish form.

"Careful, lad," said Chadvey, holding up a hand.

Edgas nodded. Something.... something in his head was trying to click. All around, reality shimmered and wavered, making it very hard to think. He reached out a hesitant hand, and gingerly touched the surface.... Nothing. Nothing at all happened. Except... he looked closer, made a brushing motion with his hand.

"What do you see?"

Sickly yellow-green dust puffed from the surface, then slowly drifted to the ground. Something gleamed in the light from his helmet lamps. He brushed again, and again, and again, squinting, pinching his brow. He retrieved a small rock hammer from a suit pocket, and gave the surface a good whack. It went clink. Edgas couldn't hear it, but felt the subtle vibrations though his gloved hand.

His thoughts began to fire in a chain reaction, each one triggering another. Growing realization slowly dawned on him... and his eyes widened in rising horror.

Oh no...

Oh NO!

He looked up. The whole thing was made of the same substance as the other seals. Only there was no third seal. There were no seals at all. This structure, whatever its manifestation in this reality...

"No...." Edgas whispered.

For a moment, panic swirled in his gut, but only for a moment. There was no point in panic. It was already too late. They were as good as dead. Except for... Slowly, too slowly, Edgas began to turn. This thing... the discs... they weren't seals... this... this was a prison.

And they had brought the keys.

There is no sound in space. No medium, to carry the vibrations. So it was a cruel twist of irony, that Chadvey Kerman, who had always lived life so loud, died in silence, his body slowly toppling over backwards in the meager gravity.

Edited February 8, 2018 by CatastrophicFailure

[FonVegen]

It takes a certain amount of talent to take me from smiling at "MechIvan", to broadening my smile with that Carl Sagan bit, just to completely crush the mood with that cliffhanger in the end

Congratulations, you just made yourself one of my favourite writers... now onwards to waiting for the final chapters!

*waits heroically*

...

That might take a while, I assume?

[teepee2345]

wow i did NOT see that coming. Never expected Chadvey to die. how did it even happen?!