hidude398

My response has always been to: 1. Stay calm. 2. Laugh when it's over. 3. Come off the adrenaline, stop laughing, and question whether I'm brave or just insane. #We'reWithKenlie

Author's note: With school back in full swing (and AP Biology breathing down my neck again), I can't make these on a day-to-day basis though. I'll still try to release one about once a week, but they won't come as often anymore. However, I will try to make them longer to help make up for the lack of activity on my end. I'm still going to need to see how my schedule works out, but from here forward, I will likely be releasing the majority of these on Saturday or Sunday. Cheers, and Happy New Years! -hidude398, the author (duh)

Transmission Log #2 Department of Corrections, Asteroid Kepler Y2D242 Request for Acquisition: Prisoner: #CB-015 Full Name: Eiltina Kerman | Gender: Female | Eyes: Brown | Height: 162.56 cm | Weight: 54.43 Kg | Hair: Brown | Status: Prisoner of War Reason for Request: Prisoner may be critical to information which could aid the destruction of [REDACTED]. Request immediate release into Hexis Naval custody. Require response soon. Without prisoner, drastic measures may have to be taken to ensure victory. Authorization: Gene Kerman Atkins Kerman

Poor @KAL 9000. We reacted so hard he's now just singing about "Daisy Bell."

Chapter Ten: Knights and Rooks Y2D238, 2:50 Ketri, [REDACTED] MV1 Bravo, stay here with the prisoner transport. MV1 Alpha and MV1 Charlie, move up on that ridge. This is MV1 Alpha, in position. This is MV2 Bravo, in position. Good. I'm driving over the ridge to drop the assault mechs now. Target is 500m away, I don't think they know we're here. Roger that. We don't see anything up here. We think you'll be fine. Understood. Assault mechs, stay cool unless something happens. Remember, you're aiming for infrastructure, not people. Keep your weapons away from the HAB modules. The only fair game is solar panels, fuel pumps, and other devices like that unless you're attacked. This is the Mech Crew leader. Any other requests? Nope. Stay frosty. Roger that. See you in ten minutes. Major Derler maneuvered his Assault Craft into position. Despite being a great scientist, his psychological profile boasted a great capacity for tactical thinking, and that was how he found himself directing a combat team in covert ops. Years ago, he had applied to the Shock Troopers from his job in SCICOM. He was originally accepted as a chemical munitions expert to ensure troop safety against chemical attacks, but his strategic mind made him an exemplary leader, and he soon found himself rising up the ranks. Tonight, he had been tasked with achieving a strategic victory which would place West Ketri in the hands of the West Bay Allies. Sneaking in on the base was easy enough, as it was run by mostly undisciplined scientists with a few military members scattered throughout. He crested the final hill and began to lower the assault pods. He watched as the mechs descended on the base like small glowing monsters. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire filled the night. Major Derler watched in satisfaction as the base's drilling system melted. The mechs moved closer, destroying everything in their path. A scientist with a rifle burst through the door, firing at one of the mechs. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the side. The mech spun on its base to face the threat. "This guy's an idiot, Major. Response?" "No bloodshed today, Captain Sigly." Captain Sigly deftly spun the controls to face the mech to his oncoming attacker. "Nonlethal it is, then." A laser sight at top of the mech popped up and faced the enemy. Captain Sigly flicked a switch and pulled the trigger. A loud THUNK emanated through the mech. The attacker barely had time to react. He had just enough time to reach up to his neck and feel the feathers before his body went completely numb. He fell backwards, and despite his best attempts, could not stand, talk, or even move his vision. He saw a blue light fly close to his face, and thought it landed on his stomach. The mech commanders left their machines when they finished the utter destruction of the base's infrastructure. The scientists huddled together at the back of the main command structure. The squadron of six warriors kicked open the door. They threw in a bottle of CS gas, before pulling down their gas masks. The scientists stumbled out the door, but were cuffed and placed facedown by the mechs by the waiting commandos. Two commandos entered the door and pulled out the remaining military staff. Two pilots had managed to grab gas masks when the bottle went in, but were tranquilized in a manner similar to the man outside with the rifles the commandos carried. It's done. Bring transport over. Roger that. Go ahead and prep the mechs for loading. Sure thing. We count 16 kerbs and kerbelles. We need three syringes full of antidote for the tranquilizer as well. I'll send it with transport. Everyone clean? Roger that. We swept the base. There's nothing obvious. We'll be waiting. The transport truck took about five minutes to arrive. The cleanup crew walked over to the red beacon on the ground, and lifted the kerbal under it. One of them pulled out a syringe and injected it into the kerb's arm. His eyes fluttered as he slowly came to. The two privates helped the scientist into a seat on the transport truck, then handcuffed him to the armrest. A third private stood guard with another tranquilizer rifle. The commandos walked out of the building, carrying the two pilots over to the waiting truck. When the gas masks came off, the crew was surprised to find a gentle-looking kerbelle was the threat which had scared the living crap out of the two commandos who had gotten jumped. Major Derler cuffed her to the the co-pilot's seat of his craft before he hit her with the antidote. She came to screaming bloody murder, in sharp juxtaposition to her leader. "Who are you!?!? What have you done to us!?!?" "Nothing... Why?" "I know your type. Hexis scum. Only here to enslave us all anyways." "Sure thing. Want a chocolate bar?" "Wha..?" "Ehh, too slow." *arghf nom nom nom* "I have another one, y'know. Hungry?" "Why would you feed your enemies?" "Because you aren't a threat. Hungry?" "Sure. It's not poisoned, is it?" "If I really wanted to kill you, I have 6 war mechs with deadly weapons on the side. Why would I spend that much money on poison." "Fair deal. You're not like what I thought a West Bay... citizen would be." "Propaganda does that. You know why we're here, right?" "I thought I did. Now, I don't really know. Obviously you aren't all ruthless killers." "You're a pilot, right?" "Yeah." "Hmm. I have an idea." "What?" "I won't tell you for now. I'd hate to get your hopes up. What's your name, by the way?" "2LT Eiltina." "Nice to meet you. I'm Major Derler. Meet the Screaming Commandos of the Shock Troopers." Back at the HNSC, the boardroom inside the Mission Control building had been turned into a war-room. "Field position confirmed, Gene! Outpost has been conquered!" A whoop went through the room, and a man placed a dot labeled "Screaming Commandos" on top of the outpost on the holographic map. Gene picked up the phone. "Is she ready for departure?" "Yes sir. The base doctor here at the training center has given her clearance to leave." With that last hurdle out of the way, Gene dispatched a transport pilot to the island. Valentina found herself walking up to her quarters inside the HNSC only 15 minutes later. Opening the door to her quarters, she was surprised to find an envelope waiting on her bunk. She turned it over, glancing at the CLASSIFIED tag, before opening it with the knife on her desk. MILCOM OFFICIAL ORDERS: TO COMMANDER VALENTINA Commander: As you are aware, in the past 2 weeks, Hexis has gone to war. Fifteen minutes ago, the Screaming Commandos captured a Crater Bay FOB. Although further analysis is required, the data captured at that base suggests that a certain natural phenomenon may be the result of the high content of finely ground silicates and ferrous metals in some of the deeper soil layers. Crystals which grow in the area seem to exhibit rather strong electromagnetic properties, and the "dancing sands" may actually be a result of changing electromagnetic fields in the crystals interacting with the finely ground particles of ferrous metals such as iron present in the sand. One of the captured pilots surprisingly volunteered information regarding mining operations in the area. There is a possibility that the Crater Bay is experimenting with unknown technology. We need you to pilot a SR71 from the base to the Crater Bay and take photos of a certain location. The coordinates will be loaded onto your plane's GPS system. Proceed to the SPH tonight with FE Moina. Tell nobody else, and make sure you aren't followed. Without knowing what these crystals are being used for, we can't successfully invade the Crater Bay. Valentina lit the paper on fire before pouring the ashes down the drain. She sat down and ate a sandwich, before turning on the small TV in the corner of the room. She listened, pondering the use of crystals, until she was interrupted by a knock on her door. "Come in!" "Hey Val. Heard you were back in the neighborhood. I need some help." "Sure thing Agalotte. Hungry? I just had a sandwich, I can make another one if you'd like." "No thanks. Gene briefed me on your mission, and I need to tell you something." "What is it?" "About an hour ago, our team detected an anomaly in the ionosphere from one of our scientific satellites. Be careful out there, ok?" "Sure thing. I didn't get here by acting like Jeb." "Ok. Have a good night, Val." "You too, Agalotte." Agalotte gently slipped out the door, closing it behind her. Time passed slowly until sunset. Val could feel her blood pumping. It had been more than 2 weeks since she had broken the sound barrier, and she was eager to do it again. The sun had just fallen over the Hexian central mountains when she climbed into the cockpit of the SR71. FE Moina started playing AC/DC on the comms while Val booted up the computers and shot the engines. In less than a minute, Val was screaming down the tarmac. She streaked west, towards the setting sun. It was amazing to watch the sun rise in reverse from the cockpit of the craft. You knew you were doing something right when that flaming ball called Kerbol went backwards across the sky. When the two finally arrived at the location, they picked up a strange source of radio interference. "Fly closer, Val, and I'll photograph whatever's making this mess." The crew flew closer to the strange source of interference, and Val could hear Moina operating the camera controls as they flew by. " "Moina, send those pictures to Agalotte immediately. I want to know what that is." "Right away, Ma'am." When Agalotte replied, it was a video call, and she looked stressed. "GET OUT OF THERE NOW!" "What's going on, Agalotte?!?!" "I'LL EXPLAIN ON THE WAY BACK. GET BACK TO BASE NOW!" "Roger that. Agalotte, we don't have enough fuel for a return to the HNSC. We can only get to our new base in Ketri. I don't know if we can land." "Are you out of the Crater Bay region?" "Yes, I am now. What was the big deal?" "My department figured out what that was. It's a massive electromagnetic disruptor beam." "In a wing commander's terms, please, Agalotte? I majored in business, not advanced physics." "It's a massive electromagnetic death-ray, powered by those crystals you found. It's amazing you weren't shot down." "Don't think that they'll let their security be broken again." "I know. I need to go now, it looks like it's going to be a rough landing." The landing was somehow smoother than Val was expecting, especially for the Ketri region. She landed a kilometer short of the newly captured (and just as quickly abandoned) base and coasted downhill the final 700 meters. Despite arriving and parking perfectly, Val discovered that all engineering tools had been removed and there was no way to fuel the SR71. She was very upset, but she was able to arrange for a pickup by the tank crew in the area. 3 days later, a crew picked up the SR71. Back at the HNSC, Val stepped inside the war room. "There's no two ways about it, we have to strike now!" "Look, general, I know you're upset by this development, but we need to be cautious if we want our invasion of the crater to be successful." "Gene, I don't care! It's clean and clear cut! We launch a preliminary strike against this death-ray before they can use it, then we invade their capital once their defenses are down!" "General Atkins, listen to me." "NO! The dangers of allowing the Crater Bay to continue on the warpath is clear-cut! They now have a weapon that can not only destroy ships, planes, and star-ships, it also has the power to wipe out bases, outposts, entire cities! This is a small version of the weapon. Think of what would happen if a large one were put into orbit!" "General, I'd advise some restraint here. If we go attacking now, after already poking them with a flyby, they'll simply shoot us down. Listen to the intelligence officer's plan. It's much more sound." "Excuse me, gentlemen, may I interrupt?" "Val?" "We have 16 prisoners from the Bay's FOB. Major Derler told me that one of them shows great potential as far as assisting our cause. She's been somewhat disillusioned with the Bay after finding out what Hexis really is. I think I should go talk to her, maybe see if she might be willing to give up some of the Bay's secrets regarding the weapon." "It couldn't hurt. I'll make my final decision on the matter tomorrow. Gene, I suggest that you and the commander figure something out before then, or else I'm going to order an all out aerial assault. Understood?" "Yes sir. Val, come with me. We have a lot to discuss. I'll go ahead and order a SSTO to our prison station." As the General, Gene, and Val were preparing their next move, in the Crater Bay, a group of kerbs were hard at work. "Prepare for activation of shield. Is everything ready?" "Yes sir. Shield generator is online and charged for activation. Opening generation ring now." "Good. Power to full, activate shield." "Shield generator is good, sir. Defensive mechanisms online!" "Good. Make sure the commanders know that the device is now secure."

Meet the MV2-LR. This is a redesign of the MV1-LR (Motorized Vehicle, Mk. 1 - Long Range Specialization). This is the Motorized Vehicle, Mk. 2 - Mountain Specialization. The original idea came from a vehicle I built for my Wing Commander Val series, the MV1 light tank. The MV1 didn't have much going for it at first. It was powered by just 4 reactors which were attached to a fuel-tank/radiator complex. My original plan was to adapt the MV1 to mountainous terrain. The 27.5 something EC/s requirement was rather large for 4 .8 EC/s generators and a single 1000 EC/s battery. In order to power the MV1-LR, I used ~28 nuclear reactors attached to monoprop/radiator cooling complexes. This was... rather inefficient, heavy, and destructive. In order to combat the weight on uphill stretches, I built a large fuel tank/jet engine/intake complex along the body of the main chassis. Not only did this lower the center of mass and increase the top speeds and climb rate, but it proved to be quite capable propelling the tank on its on. I took the original MV1 body, and did a redesign of the power generation with my newfound knowledge. I created a tank complex inside the main chassis beam, then ran the fuel through to the outside of the tank where two Juno turbojets were mounted. Two small circular intakes provide enough air for the entire boostjet system. I also discovered fuel cells to be FAR superior to nuclear reactors. I placed two FL-400 tanks inside the chassis near the middle of the Jetfuel tanks, and placed a single fuel cell array in the rear passenger compartment. I still need to lower the COM some more before the race (possibly by moving some of the heavier ammunition boxes inside the tank) in order to keep it from flipping. Despite these setbacks, I also discovered the MV2-LR to be VERY hardy. Not only did it take an indirect strike from its own main cannon no more than three meters in front of it without any of the crew dying (chassis got rekt but the shell was fine), the tank managed to jump a hill sideways, roll over at 20 m/s about three times, land on it's wheels, and still be drivable for the next ~5km (then I found a big hill, and the newfound pull to the left caused by rolling the tank resulted in me doing circles over the side of it). Without further adieu:

I'd be careful, but I've been using 1.2.2 & 1.2 for 1.2.1. However, I'm not so sure about 1.1 to 1.2, there were some changes to aerodynamics n such which might affect some components of your modded game. I'd test anything in a test save before using it with a save you love.

Man oh man are you gonna hate my tank. I have maybe 30-40 strapped on to power 8 motors. And yet she still doesn't do slopes well. I'll probably add more power w/ a .cfg file edit at the cost of moar rtg's. Bill, Job, and Val are gonna glow by the end of this.

@Just Jim Fair enough. I just finished the last panel in ch 17, though. I've got to say the two events do have striking similarities.

@Just Jim If you want to go down a WW2 / Tech history wormhole today, here's a great place to start: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCR-270

"Neither does Jeb, cause he and Val are driving a nuclear-powered tank in a race." -Hidude398

I know what I'm entering then. Let me see if I can dig it out of my save folders.

I was making a Pink Floyd reference

Probably the Mk.12-R Radial Drogues or the Mk2 R radials, depending on how testing goes. I'm building an electric rover right now, and the idea is to either (a) slide down the cliffside on drogues and brakes or (b) use a rocket to speed up before doing a Dukes of Hazard-ish "takeoff" from a ramp in order to fling myself as far out across the cliff as possible before deploying the chutes and floating to the ground.

Really quickly though, are parachutes allowed? Looking at some of those drops in stage 3, they could be incredibly useful for getting down without blowing up.

The crapiest of internet connections is mine to behold... at about .15 mbs, downloading KSP takes days, and I'll be away for three days starting tomorrow. If I want to have a vehicle ready to rumble by the 1st, I'll need it built and tested today. Not to mention the dropped downloads that my ISP seems to not care about. All in all, I'm just another brick in the wall. So it's faster for me to just edit the flags in.

It still showed 0 flights active in the menu. I'm going to try installing the map then restarting the game. With the amount of mods I have installed, this is gonna take a minute. Guess I'm just editing the flags in, they won't load. I'll make a 1.2.1 save file and dropbox it.

Yup. I bring Jeb back from the dead a lot b/c I'm too lazy to wait 2hrs. They're all there, but they're all missing a landedAt=tag. They even have the data for the lat/long locations. I think something must've changed in the way the persistent.sfs was read between 1.2.1 and 1.2.2.

Nope. Still nothing. If you give me the coordinates, though, I can hyperedit my Kerbals to each location and plant a flag.

I encountered an issue with the map: The flags aren't appearing. I'm assuming this is a problem

@DrunkenKerbalnaut It was just one of the the top lines, it said something along the lines of Version. I just changed 1.2.2 to 1.2.1 without any issues. Would it be appropriate to post a picture of the craft I'll likely use to attempt this feat? Just noticed something strange: The flags aren't appearing in the map.

@Triop, let me check. It might take a minute. @Triop Yup! All is well now.

Transmission Log #1: Ketri, [REDACTED] Y2D[REDACTED] MILCOM OFFICIAL ORDERS: TO MAJOR [REDACTED] At Y2D[REDACTED], a small outpost was spotted on satellite. As you well know by now, a group of 16 scientists, engineers, and pilots defected to the Crater Bay States as of [REDACTED] days ago. General [REDACTED] has personally placed you in charge of a preliminary strike. As you well know, the HEXIS congress has decided to declare war tomorrow morning. It is the belief of analysts that the outpost has three purposes: (1) It serves as a ground base for Crater Bay State air support. (2) It serves as a way for the West Bay to coordinate attacks by radio with Kermunist sympathizers. (3) It is in a location such that it may allow scientists to observe the [REDACTED] phenomenon exclusive to that region of the world. Purposes (1) and (2) have raised flags among MILCOM officials, and have marked the base as a strategic target. Normally, we would coordinate an airstrike on the area and be done with it. However, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) officers from our Krussian Allies believe that it may be wise to preserve the base for our own uses. Although we are quite capable of setting up a FOB for an aerial offensive campaign against the Crater Bay States, MILCOM has decided to capture the base. In addition, Military Intelligence (MILINT) officers within the Hexis Intelligence and Investigative Administration wish to capture as many of the personnel as possible, in order to extract information concerning the [REDACTED] phenomenon. This has created a unique situation for us, so your orders are as follows: You have been granted the use of (3)three MV1 Light Tanks, (1)one Prisoner Transport, and (1)one M-25 Assault Mothership Craft, equipped with (6)six assault mechs. Your men have been granted access to MILCOM's experimental targeting eyesights. Using the specialized equipment granted to you, capture every defector. Avoid killing defectors if you can. DO NOT destroy the base. You may disable critical systems, but leave the base intact for our uses in the future. Under no circumstances are you to mention the [REDACTED] phenomenon. We're counting on you, Major [REDACTED]

Are you using 1.2.2? I downloaded the save file, and was told that it wasn't compatible with 1.2.1

Chapter Nine: No Plan Survives First Contact Agalotte placed the N9 in a holster Gene had given her, hidden in the space between her EVA pack and her space suit. She found walked downstairs to the clean room, dreadfully aware of the pistol pressing into her back. She was worried after what Gene had told her about the engineer he was sending up. She knocked on the door. "Come in!" Inside stood Günter Kerman. He clicked off her spacesuit's seals, locking the helmet into place. "Everything looks proper. Gene instructed me to not check your EVA pack. Everything looks good, and the machinery is running, so I will have to settle with that." Wernher put Agalotte in the back of a waiting car. In the back sat Neilfred and a man she had never met before. "Who are you?" "I'm Hersy Kerman. I'm your Flight Engineer. I'm assuming you're Agalotte? Gene has told me a lot about you." "Yes, I'm her. Nice to meet you, Hersy." The crew didn't speak on the ride over. Despite the pleasantries, Agalotte found herself acting rather wary of anything Hersy did. After Gene's speech the night below in the old emergency egress room, she had trouble feigning trust. Her uneasiness was starting to show, but Hersy spoke up. "First launch?" "Yeah. I don't feel so hot." "Heh. I remember my first launch. I emptied my lunch off the side of the tower before I climbed inside the capsule. Günter was ticked when I accidentally hit an engineer." Agalotte felt herself becoming more at ease. The image of the friendly pad commander screaming his face off made her giggle a little. The car arrived a the pad, and Günter stepped out from up front and let them out of the back. The crew of three stepped into the gantry elevator and were lifted to the top of the R7. Günter stopped at the floor right before the gantry walkway to the fairing. "Last bathroom until orbit," he called out, "go now while you have a chance!" After the crew stopped by the toilet, they loaded back into the lift and slowly rode the final four meters to the hatch in the fairing. Two launch officials stood at the entrance, one civilian and one military. Before each crewman passed through the hatch, the officials followed the age-old tradition of a salute and handshake for each astronaut. Günter followed the three astronauts through into the hatch of the orbital module. He helped the three explorers into the seats inside the DM, before standing on each one's shoulders and tightening the straps of their harnesses. He climbed into the orbital module, but before he left, he remarked: "You guys are the bomb. Don't become one." With that, Günter dropped the hatch between the orbital and descent modules, and the crew watched the wheel spin shut, sealing them in. Agalotte heard the clunking of the Günter and the two launch officials closing the OM hatch. With a screech, the walkway between the OM and the fairing was removed, and the light streaming in the window went dark as the hatch in the side of the fairing was sealed. Agalotte looked over at the crew, Neilfred in the center, Hersy behind him, and felt totally isolated from the world for a moment. Then the launch computers booted up, and the cockpit whirred to life. The computers came online and began to beep. The master alarm lit up, and then shutdown. "Don't worry, Agalotte," Neilfred muttered over the headset comms, "that's part of the startup sequence." The computers whirred to life, and Agalotte listened to the countdown on the radio. "This is launch control to mission control, all systems nominal." "Mission control to launch control, start countdown." "Launch control to mission control, craft is now on internal guidance." "Roger that. This is tower to launch control, fuel tanks reading full pressure." "Affirmative, this is backup control, we're reading the same." "This is mission control. All systems nominal, we are T-30s and go for launch. Begin spinning up turbopumps." "This is tower, turbopumps up to speed. External fueling is beginning the ignition sequence." "Ignition sequence started. Guidance readings are good. T-10s, abort mode is now set to option 1." "Roger that. Main engines have ignition. Tower is away, T-5s" "Switch fuel pump to internal tanks. Clamps away." "Tower confirming craft is internal, clamps are away." "This is mission control, we're reading engines to full throttle." "This is launch control, affirmative. We have liftoff. All systems nominal" Agalotte felt herself being forced into the back of the seat. Once the sustainer stage quit burning, she unbuckled and undid the hatch to float up into the orbital module. She locked the door, giving the crew below the excuse that she was changing into a flight suit from an EVA suit. She looked out the window and down onto Kerbin below. "Whoah." She had a job to do, however, and took off her EVA suit. Removing the N-9 from her backpack, she tucked it down the inside of her flight suit. The flight suits were a more comfortable version of the EVA suit, but they were still spacesuits in every right. She unlocked the orbital module and floated back down into the DM. It was an uneventful flight to the station. When they arrived at the station, however, the autopilot suddenly shutdown. Neilfred reacted quickly, slowing the craft and backing away from the solar panels that the autopilot had aimed the craft at. Gently, he maneuvered the ship so that the docking ports were lined up, and manually docked the ship. The crew unloaded the progress rocket and placed the plants inside the lab. Without warning, Agalotte jumped down inside the airlock. She put her EVA suit on and depressurized the module. "AGALOTTE! COME INSIDE AT ONCE!" "Sorry Hersy, I have another mission." "Huh? Neilfred, she can't be serious." "Sorry we didn't tell you. Gene wanted to keep this need-to-know only." "Oh. So she's following orders?" "Indeed." Gene came on over the intercom. "The sun has risen, Agalotte, the sun has risen." "Why does she have C4 explosives?" "Honestly, Hersy, I don't know. She doesn't know. Our only orders were to attach it to Progress. Somebody else is going to fly it." A lightbulb turned on in Hersy's head. "Sorry Neilfred, I can't allow this to continue." Grabbing Neilfred by the collar of his spacesuit, he threw him down into the orbital observation module and closed the hatch. "I'll explain later. I swear I'm not Kermunist, but this is one of Gene's worst ideas." As Hersy tried to reach the airlock, Agalotte opened the door, preventing him from opening the internal door due to the pressure difference. "Agalotte! Listen to me! We need to get that bomb off the Progress!" "I'm sorry Hersy. Back away from the door." "Agalotte, I can't do that!" "HERSY! BACK UP!" "Agalotte, please! Just listen!" Agalotte pulled the N9 from the inside of her suit. "I have a gun, Hersy. Back up. We can talk if you back up." Hersy gave up the fight when he saw the gun through the airlock's window. Agalotte pressurized the airlock and stepped inside. "Let Neilfred out." Hersy backed down the modules and and unlatched the hatch. Neilfred floated out, visibly ticked. Hersy sat down inside the capsule. "You need to listen to me. Gene didn't think this through. You just endangered the lives of everyone aboard a spaceship in orbit. Have you ever heard of the Kessler syndrome?" "Hersy, what could you possibly mean?" "Think, Agalotte. You're a brilliant scientist, and Gene's a great tactician, but he didn't think this one through. If that explosive detonates nearby our mystery satellite, or anywhere near the progress for that matter, the resulting shrapnel will take on random orbits. Do you want to be responsible for creating a belt of micrometeorites around Kerbin?" "How do you know this will happen, and how did you know about the satellites without being told by someone in the Crater Bay?" "Agalotte, I'm an engineer. I spend my time in the tracking station and the R&D department. Do you think I wouldn't notice a red dot on the tracking screen near the corners at every 45 minutes? You should talk with the programmer who makes the orbit-censorship program and have him check the visibility settings. Anyways, with a sufficient telescope, it was very easy to capture a picture of an orbital laser with a massive Sickle and Hammer painted on the side." "So you deduced the orbital characteristics of a secret satellite by what, looking at random dots on a map?" "Not without raising some suspicion, obviously. I had to call in some favors all at once, and obviously it raised a few flags with Gene." "Okay. I believe you. So what could this belt of micrometeorites do?" "Oh, that's easy. Best case scenario, the debris scatters but de-orbits. Worst case scenario, the debris will smash into another satellite or ship, creating a chain of destruction across LKO. We could accidentally shut off any space exploration routes for the next 30 years ago until the orbits decay." "That's bad." "Extraordinarily so. Now do you see why I was in a panic to remove that explosive?" "Yes, but what do you plan to do?" "Every satellite has a downlink to connect to the country it needs to. What if we were to attach a docking port from Progress onto our sattelite, then steal it with the Soyuz and carry it into a deorbit?" "That's a lot more dangerous." "To us, but what about the fifty or so astronauts on other stations doing routine work?" "Alright, we have a deal. Radio Valentina." "That's who's flying the Progress?" "Yup!" Valentina picked up the phone inside the remote command station. "Uh huh? ... Really? ... Every last one? ... I guess we're doing this your way then." She picked up the red phone and called Gene. "There's been a change of plans. You've got some real heroes up there today." Back inside the KSS, Hersy was prepping the Soyuz. "Did you plan to stay up for as short an amount of time as this?" "Nope. I thought I'd be studying plants for three months. Then I thought I'd be blowing up a satellite and having a crew of commandos storm the KSS." "Trust me. This is for the best." "I know, but Gene's gonna have not only you and me, but also Val and Neilfred court-martialed." "I wouldn't be so sure. Once we explain why this is happening, his protective nature will kick in. He'll beat himself up, but he'll get over it." The Soyuz backed away from the KSS and aimed itself for an intercept with the satellite. Soon, they caught up the Progress module which Valentina had flown next to them. They docked with it in order to use the remaining resources in order to get supplement the ones that they carried aboard the Soyuz. They aimed towards the mystery satellite and began to maneuver towards it. As soon as they had the two craft docked, they snuck up behind the satellite in order to avoid triggering the radar tracking system which fired the laser. Agalotte went on EVA and moved the docking port from the Progress to the back of the laser. Agalotte made her way back into the OM of the Soyuz. Neilfred maneuvered his way until the Soyuz was directly behind the offending satellite, and proceeded to dock the two spacecraft together. With that, he swung the spacecraft to face retrograde, and waited. Valentina faced the Progress vehicle retrograde, and fired until she guaranteed it would enter the atmosphere as fast as it could. Neilfred waited until his deorbit would guarantee him a landing in the Hexis continent, and prepared for reentry. The capsule overshot the KSC and landed in the ocean, but Agalotte was glad to be home. Three hours later, she found herself in Gene's office. "I'd like to congratulate you on accomplishing all of your mission objectives. It's not often we have someone as capable or as decisive as you. You managed to determine the allegiances of our suspicious engineer, de-orbit a Kermunist device, and not kill anyone in the process. That takes some serious skill. In fact, MICOM has ordered me to offer you a full time job in espionage." "Sorry sir, at heart, I'm still a scientist. It's just that my country needed me, that's all." "I can respect that. Now that you know about the emergency egress room, however, I can't simply allow you to return to normal life. I'm going let you in on another secret. Look at my windows." "Sir?" "Is anything different from last time?" "Now that you mention it, they're a shade grayer, and thicker." "You're perceptive. Most people don't see anything." "Why are they like that?" "Someone on the base tried to kill me the day before you launched. That's the real reason I moved the launch date up. I needed to make a power play, and I needed to know who to trust." "Was there ever a bug?" "Yes, but the fact that someone tried to kill me means that there are multiple moles in our organization." "What sent you barking up Hersy's tree?" "He tried to access the classified tracking data through a friend. His friend came and told me instead. Though, thanks to your actions, we know he's really just a well-meaning scientific type, similar to yourself. You scientists never really know when to quit, and your curiosity seems to get you in trouble a lot. Not that I'm complaining, of course. Without you people, we wouldn't be standing in this building, and there never would have been an HNSC. Curiosity is a double-edged sword." "So from your words of praise, I can assume I'm safe from a military tribunal?" "Likely so. I'll speak to the board of inquiry tomorrow. Heck, the three of you will likely get medals if what you did up there gets out." "Thank you sir. Have a good day." "You too." Agalotte went back to the Astronaut Center and laid back on her bunk. In Gene's office, Wernher ran in. "Congress just voted. We're officially releasing these events and declaring war tomorrow morning. Get Valentina on the line. We need our Commander back."