Alpha 360

I am using USI life-support, but I can fix timewarping issues by just sending up a stack of life-support tanks, docking them, and then waiting until the transfer window. Before I burn, I would then refill the life-support tanks and detach the stack. That way it would cost the space program no more than 60,000 credits to keep the kerbals up there safe and happy. A price worth paying. EDIT: Of course, I wouldn't include it in the story of Mr. Kerman Happy Explosions!

Thanks again, @NCommander. Mod downloaded. The perfect transfer window is in.......342 days! Alright then. Should I occupy time with more activities until then, or should I time-warp until then and then leave? Happy Explosions!

Thanks, @NCommander. Would you recommend a transfer window planner? That would be great!

As I continually trash my screenshots because of the fact I have so many of them, this is the best one currently in stock. Its a primitive interplanetary spacecraft. Well, the habitation section is for the interplanetary spacecraft and the rest is the spacecraft meant to get the habitation section to the interplanetary spacecraft. Its complicated. Happy Explosions!

You know @DarkOwl57, the idea of a fractured city is pretty good. I really do like that idea. But, as always, why would such a city be struck in half? An election, a ideal? What would be causes of such a city. These questions don't necessarily need answers, but if you want to resolve the conflict between these two cities, you have to know why they are fighting each other. Just throwing out some ideas. Happy Explosions

45th Installment: Meanwhile in Orbit...... Now to display some of our orbital clowning. This is the launch of an outdated trio spacecraft, piloted by Roni Kerman to rescue Obberty Kerman stuck inside the Xerxes' test Station which was sent up a couple of installments back. This is where Mission Control realizes that they should have kept the solid rocket boosters, even if they cost 20,000 credits.......Well, one can't turn back time, right? Anyway, the launch trajectory carried us up to an intercept with the station. A very well timed launch, and it reflects upon how lucky precise the controllers are do on the ground. Also, look at the delta-v number. Not as high as I would like. Yes, the Dres window hasn't changed to T-12 days. Explanations later. The Trio is slowly moving into orbit and adjusting the intercept. Roni would hate to have another ghost haunting her for the rest of her life. Yes, we know about that ghost. Gene Kerman has said that the ghost of Bob Kerman is haunting him presently, so we assume that the ghost of Bill is haunting Roni. She still thinks its a secret though. Don't tell her. She'll go ballistic. And the docking goes quickly. It was easy to slow down to 2 m/s, turn around, then guide the Trio onto the docking port on the station. Easy as cake. Well, not baking cake because I, Gregming Kerman, currently serving as Capcom, failed to bake a cake. Let's just say the controllers rather eat cement bricks than my cake. Wait, the pic doesn't show the complete docking....... Well, nobody will notice. Here is the maneuver node for the intercept with the Dres Endeavor. The delta-v margins are close indeed. Here is the burn. It is powered by a new Vesta Engine which produces 600 kilonewtons of thrust at 340 ISP. Its a handy engine, between a Skipper and a Poodle. Just before a 25 m/s inclination burn. Another dip in the delta-v margin. With Better Burn Time, it gives me a couple of little numbers and symbols which tell me if I have enough Delta-v for a maneuver, when to fire the engine on that maneuver, and several other things. Very useful. In fact, here it tells me when to do the burn to rendezvous with the Endeavor. Only that it tells me I don't have enough delta-v. It doesn't say by how much, so I will hope for the best and burn. On full throttle. The velocity is at 200 m/s. Mission Control holds its breath as the 20 tons of spacecraft head towards the 50 tons of the Endeavor. Everything hangs in the balance. We slow down to 3 m/s. *Phut*. "Kouston, we're out of fuel!" RCS takes over and precedes to slow down the rocket to that final 1 m/s. Whew. That was close. Too close. Remind engineers to use SRBs next time. The second stage is now detached away from the vessel. That surely won't come back and smash into it just before the burn out of the SOI. Totally won't happen. Now, things get confusing. Roni and Obberty transfer over to the habitation section, then also detach the Trio-b spacecraft, as it out of monopropellant as well. Both the second stage and the Trio-b capsule drift away. Then the Endeavor spacecraft manages to turn its vast hulk and point towards the docking port on the habitation section. After 5 minutes of slow approach and bursts of RCS, the first attempt misses the both of the craft rebound. Then, after control is regained, another attempt is attempted. This one was successful. YES! Everything is ready and waiting up in the sky now except the transfer stage and the infamous Mr. Kerman! Happy Explosions!

True. I believe that kerbs are resilient to bullet wounds, as some humans are. Also, this would be very dark if everyone died. I haven't confirmed that Harjo has died yet, as well as Elibert. You know that the evil, unnamed kerbal died, and that most the goons haven't died as well. But, everyone has at least one bullet hole somewhere. I'm glad that my dramatization has gone successfully. I thought I did it slightly over the top. Happy Explosions!

44th Installment - The story of Mr. Kerman - My King A lift-off T- 7 days until lift-off “Alright. Stay quiet, Mr. Kerman. I’m here to get you out.” Harjo quietly pushed my medical bed out of my room. The hospital was in a temporary black-out in the middle of the night. We could get out unobserved right now. But we had to be quick. We reached the stairwell. Now the hard part began. Harjo unstrapped all the monitors connected to me. Beeping alarms went off. He then lifted me up and started to carry me down the three flights of stairs. This part of the plan was NOT optimal. Not at all. We practically crawled down the stairs, the minutes passing in seconds. Finally, we scrambled out of the backdoor. There Harjo’s kar waited for us. My leg cried out in agony, the jerking down the stairs probably ruining the day’s work on it. He ran around to the far side of the kar, dumped me in the passenger’s seat, then ran around to the driver’s seat. He then leapt in and hit the gas. I slammed into my seat. My leg jerked again, sending waves of pain. I could deal with it though. It was much better than being dead. We swerved around a corner. A police car blocked the road. An officer waved his arms for us to stop. Harjo jerked the wheel. We zoomed pass the police officer on the side-walk. Luckily the police hadn’t expected a kerbal to do such a thing, so we got scot-free. Finally, after frantic driving, we arrived at Elibert’s house. Elibert waited for us at the doorway and watched Harjo carrying me to the house. I have to give credit to him, he was strong. I was laid on a couch in the living room. Eli shut and locked all the doors and then hurried to conference with us. “The habitation module isn’t going to launch.” She said. “Only the transfer stage.” “Why did this change?” “There is a space-station that consists of all the basics, except that it has a laboratory. Just this morning they launched a modified Trio-b spacecraft up there to move it over to the Dres spacecraft and use it as a habitation module.” I was stunned at the news. Harjo was as well. “What do we do then?” Harjo asked. “Let me see the designs of the transfer stage.” I said. They were basically giant fuel tanks with a new engine strapped to the bottom of them. Supposedly, it carried 4,000 m/s delta-v when strapped to the Dres Endeavor. Even though the engine gave out 600 kilonewtons of thrust, the thrust-to-weight ratio was low. Only 0.3 gs. It was possible to be refueled through the docking ports on the habitation section, so it looked like 5,000 m/s was attainable by the rocket. It still meant that the Endeavor mission would need be very economical with it’s delta-v margins. It also meant that that a fueling ship would probably need to be sent up to Dres along with the main mission. “The transfer stage will be set up on an expendable Xerxes Heavy and dock with the Dres Endeavor. It will not be a comfortable, especially with a broken leg.” Harjo looked at me. He was sorry he wasn’t going to get his 10,000 credits. “Harjo. When will the transfer stage launch?” “It will launch in the next week. On T-12 days to the start of the Mission.” “Are you on the board of designers?” “No.” “Then find somebody who is and bring him over here. Bring the one who would accept a bribe.” “Okay.” Two hours later Harjo arrived breathless. A kerbal followed him into the house. He gasped when he saw me, “You are bribing people now, Mr. Kerman? You’re an invalid.” “Not in space. I’m willing to pay a lot of money for you to get me on-board the Dres Endeavor Spacecraft.” “How much?” “5,000 beforehand. 10,000 afterwards.” “Deal.” I shook his hand from the couch. “Now. I need to be on the transfer stage. I know there is no life-support or anything on there, but it is necessary. How long would it take for the transfer stage to dock to the Dres Endeavor?” “No longer than a couple of hours. Enough supplies for a spacesuit.” “Good. Can you design a compartment that I could fit in with such a spacesuit?” “With ease.” That was his word. 4 days later he reported that the compartment was finished. I modified the spacesuit I was going to wear secretly, I didn’t want anybody to know. My new modified spacesuit would hold a days’ worth of supplies. Along with being a little bit tougher than usual. T - 1 day until Lift-off I was lying on the couch when it happened. Bullets carpeted the air. One entered my skull, another my foot. I rolled off the bed and started to crawl away. Blood poured from my wounds. My life-blood painted the floor red. I heard screaming. Eli. I heard yelling. Harjo. Nobody was going to leave alive. The masked kerbals around the house would make certain of that. I crawled down to the garage. Harjo had a gun in his hands, I had no idea how he got it, and was holding the garage. Eli was down here too. “Everyone into the kar.” I ordered. Eli stood up and ran for the kar. She managed to get in without being shot. Harjo keep laying down covering fire. I also reached the kar and climbed inside. “Come on Harjo! Come on!” “I can’t go. I got to hold them off!” Harjo kept firing. “Come here! I order you!” “My king. Did you really think you fooled me for all this time?” “Yes, I did. I must have underestimated you.” I admitted. I was internally stunned. “Then you must go. Seek refuge in the sky.” Eli moved into the driver’s seat and hit the gas. Backward. We zoomed towards the wall behind us. Then it opened. We drove in, then the door clanged shut. Lights turned on, illuminating a tunnel. “Subway station.” She panted. She was also wounded. A bullet grazed her head and blood was starting to blind her vision. She leapt down a ramp. Then she swerved to the left and hit the gas. We accelerated forwards down the black tunnel. T – 3 hours until lift-off We reached an above-ground entrance which appeared just outside the KSC. “I use that to get to here fast.” Eli explained. Her house was built on-top of an abandoned subway station, ages pass. It was a simple thing to make the ramp and door which allowed her to reach the subway’s tracks. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride ever, but it was something. We drove up to the VAB. It was dark. Eli wrapped up my head and foot with duct tape to stop the bleeding, and I did the same to her. I busted down the door. But it wasn’t locked so no alarms went off. We raced up the scaffolding. Trying to reach the place where the kerbal put the compartment. Finally, we reached the floor. There was no compartment. The kerbal who Harjo brought to the house stood there. Smirking. “All hail the king of Ollusionia. His wounds are covered in duct tape and his road ends here.” He mocked. He was in the plot to kill me. Obviously. I held hands out in front of me in a gesture of defeat. “Alright. Tomorrow KASA will find two bodies here. Two kerbonaut bodies. What then? Do you want KASA to go on lock-down?” “I don’t give a damn. Nothing at all. I don’t care if the space program fails or not. I only care that you would be found 6 feet underground!” I rushed at him. He had a gun in his hand. He fired. I drove down, using my head as a battering ram. The bullet whizzed overhead. I nailed him in the gut. Then as he was down I shoved him off the scaffolding. He looked at me as he fell. He died cursing me. I looked behind me to see Eli down on the floor. Crying. I stumbled over to her. The bullet that was meant for me had entered her stomach. “Eli. Are you okay?” I shook her. She groaned. I found some duct tape and started to patch her wounded. Alas, duct tape doesn’t fix kerbal bodies as well as it fixes spacecraft. She went senseless, but not dead. I looked around at the amount of parts lying around, trying to find something. There I found it. A metal sheath meant for mono-propellant. It was empty. I picked it up and started to attach it to the side of the rocket. It was the hardest work of my life. My duct-tape bandage broke on my foot, so I could barely move around to screw the fuel tank in. I shouldn’t describe the process. My head aches with the memory of it. All I knew was that I needed to seek refuge in the sky, or else face death. Two hours later when they opened the VAB to roll out the rocket, they found the body of my purser and Eli. I watched through a crack in the fuel-tank as they took her away on a stretcher. The police arrived, came to some conclusions, and then left. But the rocket launch was not to be delayed. It was rolled out, and me with it. I waited breathlessly as the rocket prepped its engines. I heard the count-down, as well as the trickling of blood down my face. Of course, the duct-tape had become unstuck while my helmet was on. I couldn’t change anything now. Then I heard the fatal number issuing from the speakers, and then the g forces overpower my weakened body and I fell unconscious.

He is a most interesting Kerbal. After all, how could I write about a kerbal with an uninteresting life? As you can tell, I'm having fun with this story. I hope that folks would like this half James Bond, half Mark Watney character. Happy Explosions!

43rd Installment - The Story of Mr. Kerman - A Setback T-21 Days I was driving down the road a week later from Elibert’s house. My plans concerning her had gone on schedule. After flowers, dinners, and dances, Elibert finally invited me over to her house. There we talked and kissed, then I returned to the KSC because of a fictional, yet important appointment. The dance several nights ago almost touched my heart. It looked just a prim and pretty as the royal balls we hosted in the palace. Only replace the KASA banners with Royal flags, add a couple dozen more white gowns, and I would have been back home. I remembered that we hosted a ball, just before I changed my name to Mr. Kerman. It was last gasp of the royalty in Ollusionia. The girls were beautiful, and I must have danced with at least half-a-dozen of them. Usually Father limited me to dance with 3 girls or less, but he pretended not to notice. That night the castle was raided by goons with machine guns. They held up the ball, and then stripped everybody of valuables. Then they set fire to the hall while locking us inside. I climbed out a window with my Father, who cried out in agony as the ballroom collapsed. Burying everyone there in flames. That was my last experience with the court. My eyes almost watered as I drove down the road. I breathed deeply, and then I lurched forward. I glanced in my rear-view mirror. A kar had bashed into my back. A mustang, with tinted windows. I hit the gas and accelerated forward. We blasted down the free-way. I watched the speedometer climb to 140 kilometers an hour. The mustang matched that easily. My own Katalilac could reach 200 kilometers an hour. I didn’t know how fast the mustang could go. I looked ahead. Three mustangs in a triangle formation drove ahead of me. There were as black as the one behind me. They had me. I racked my brain on what I could do. I hit upon an answer. I swerved to the right. The mustang behind me followed. Then I swerved to the left as the road turned to left. He followed me closely. The triangle ahead of me slowed down, ready to box me in. I hit the gas again, and I zoomed ahead. An exit was situated on the left and right. The two sides of triangle swerved off to block the exits. I raced pass them, now they were behind me. Only the central kar was in front. As he was slowing down, I moved to the side and moved pass him. The mustangs were behind me now. I sighed in relief. They were behind me now. Then I heard an explosion ahead of me. A bridge ahead disappeared into the dust. I had to make a split-second decision. I took it. I accelerated forward. Then I felt the kar leap into the air. Dust blinded me. My stomach started to sink. I had given up hope, when the kar slammed down onto the asphalt. It bounced with a tremendous force and started to tumble. Finally after the roller-coaster ride had finished, the battered kar landed upright. I watched as the dust cleared. My Katallac had mostly survived the landing. A road ran down below the free-way. In fact, the pillar that held up the free-way above the grass land was a meter away from the kar. I breathed a sigh of relief. I attempted to start the kar. It didn’t. I looked back to see the kar’s insides strewn across the road. In fact, the engine was lying smashed a couple of meters back. I patted the kar, and then climbed out. A bullet smashed into my kar. I dived behind the it. Another bullet emerged out of the darkness. Something whistled by me. Then a bullet sliced through the kar and into my thigh. I gritted my teeth. I felt the wound with my finger. The bullet was on a 50-degree angle imbedded in my leg. They were firing from above. As soon as there was a pause in their firing, I raced through the open towards the other pillar below the shooters. Then I realized the trap. I ramped up my running to full speed. A masked kerbal moved out from the pillar. Gun in hand. He lifted his arm. But I got there before his finger. I knocked the gun out of his hand. It flew in the air. The kerbal looked dumbly at me as I punched him in the gut. I knocked him to the ground, then raced over to the gun. Then I stepped in a kabbit hole. My ankle twisted as I fell. I grimaced in pain. It was the same leg that had been shot. I crawled over to the gun and picked it up. It was half-full of ammunition. In other words, 3 bullets. Not enough to kill the drivers and the gunman. I started to crawl off the scene when a troop of police kars raced up. The mustangs overhead disappeared. Luckily the gunman was unconscious, and he was picked up by a police kar. A couple of police officers found me lying face-down with blood soaking through my pants. “How in tarnation did you get yourself shot?” “There were more. Driving mustangs. Blew out the bridge.” I heaved a sigh of relief. “Lucky to live.” “We’ll investigate it.” T-18 days until Endeavor Mission Now I was stuck in a medical bed and the launch of the final module was going to happen in the next 5 days. All my planning, and 15,000 credits had been for nothing. At the least I gained Eli’s adoration. She visited me an hour after the attack, fawned over me, and was almost to the point of tears. I start to realize the danger I put myself by submitting the attack to investigation. Now any missing links would be put together by the police force that I was the rightful King of Ollusionia. That would paint an even bigger target on my back. Unfortunate. I needed to get on-board that rocket. I thought of different ways to get aboard. Seal myself in one of the walls, hide myself in the supplies. Sealing myself in the wall was dangerous, but now it seemed to be the only choice. Hiding myself in the supplies was even more dangerous, and it would be almost certain that I would be discovered. I called up Harjo on the bedside phone, “Harjo. Please come to the hospital, I need to talk with you.” He arrived a couple of minutes later. He sat down in a chair provided by the staff. “Harjo. I need you to get me out of here. Tonight.” Harjo looked at me strangely but nodded. “I want you to put a hollow place onto the spacecraft. It will be detachable, but only when necessary. I will stowaway there.” “You are not fit.” “I am fit enough. I will be on-board that Mission!” I gestured violently. “Okay. It will be ready in two days. Good-bye Mr. Kerman.” Harjo left me in the hospital room. All alone.

42nd Installment - The Story of Mr. Kerman - A plan I left the conference room, running over my options. 1. Tell of my identity as the true Ollusionia King and face the option of death 2. Stow away on the Endeavor Mission and hope they have enough spare life-support to keep all of us alive a. Alternative idea is to replace one kerbonaut by making him/her unable to launch aboard, therefore making sure that there is sufficient life-support. 3. Leave the Kerbonaut Corps and go into hiding, once again as Mr. Kerman. After running these three options in my mind, I settled on the second one. Anyway, if everything works out and I return unharmed, then KASA would protect me and I would be safe. Now, do I enclose this information to somebody I trust, or do I don’t tell anybody and do it alone? No. I couldn’t jump onto a spaceship bound for Dres on my own. Too difficult. Who do I trust then? Eli seemed sympathetic to me. Roni suspected me already, so it wouldn’t be prudent to give any evidence supporting that. Obberty looked to be a simple kerbonaut, who might be well skilled, didn’t win any prizes for intelligence. Assey, Irfred, and Billy were unknown values. I didn’t even know their backgrounds, for they were working on training for a soon-to come asteroid mission. I walked out of the astronaut complex, I still didn’t know why it was named that, and started towards the VAB. As I was an engineer, I knew some of the engineers working there. As I ran over the names and faces, I realized that I could find an ally among them. A very roguish engineer who claimed to have hit Roni’s car that she was stealing on accident and was the only reason she was still sane. I never took him seriously but now I saw how I could use him. Roni Kerman would have access with the kerbonaut corps as well as the boarding tower while the engineer, his name didn’t come to me yet, could smuggle me aboard. Now, what did I have to bargain with the two of them? The engineer could be successfully bribed, I believed. He was always looking forward, and 15,000 credits would greatly sway his opinions. Roni on the other hand, was a harder nut to crack. She lost her desire for advancing herself up the social ladder. How would I get her to help me? Maybe I could enlist Elibert after all. Make some calculated, social moves towards her and I probably could convince her to help me out. Now, how was I going to smuggle onto the Endeavor. I probably should get on-board the next module launch. That module launch was in 2 weeks. Then how would I keep myself secreted up there while my disappearance is noted, especially by my enemies. Elibert could disappear herself, then when that happens they would assume that we ran off together. Along with a note in my handwriting stating that fictional occurrence, I wouldn’t be searched for and my enemies would be hard-pressed to find me. I stopped outside the VAB door, contemplating my next moves. Then with a surge of energy I opened the door and went in. I believe that for any kerbonaut, visiting the VAB is a sacred thing. Like visiting your wife’s parent’s house. Something to treat with caution and reverence for creating such beauties. As mandatory, a rocket was under-construction with all the customary sparks flying from angle-grinders, clanging and creaking sounds of wrenches and hammers on steel. Everything the construction of a rocket needed to create the atmosphere. The engineer in question, Harjo Kerman I remembered, was lounging against the wall closest to me. I walked causally towards him. Years under-cover had perfected my acting skills, so I believed I could fool the greatest detective, and defeat the smartest police officer. “Harjo. Nice to see you.” Little did he know I meant it literary. “Oh! Mr. Kerman.” He took an elaborate bow which only himself could make up. He obviously never smelled or sensed a royal court room in his life. “Harjo. I’m looking for a crafty kerbal who can do a few, let’s say less and averagely legal activities. Oh, and this kerbal must be an engineer. Intelligent, for I cannot allow for any possibility of failure.” Harjo looked at me, practically slobbering over my lavish praises. Waiting for the moment for me to notice his existence and the apparent applicability of my descriptions to himself. I steadily continued onwards, “Yes. This kerbal has to be capable of holding his tongue if captured by aggressors. Yes, and he must be capable in his field of work. He needs to be a professional engineer presently working on the Xerxes’ Heavy.” Finally, I decided that I was torturing this poor fellow, so I looked at him for a second. He was now literary slobbering, that’s weird. “Ah, I forgot. You are all of these things. Now. How would you like to take this assignment?” “What are you paying?” He asked. “5,000 before the operation, and 10,000 afterwards.” “Deal.” We shook hands. I deemed him not intelligent enough to double-cross his shake. Too young. “What’s the problem?” He asked now. “I need you to get me aboard Endeavor. Preferably before the main crew launches.” Harjo laughed, “That’s simple. I can do it. Is anyone else in this?” “Nobody yet. I won’t share all my plans with you, but I will give you enough, so you know what to do. I just need you to obey my orders when the time comes.” He nodded. I walked out of the VAB with a spring to my step. Harjo was an easy catch. Now I needed to find Elibert Kerman and see how gullible she was. I found her walking near the Astronaut Complex. She looked dreamily out towards the horizon. It was growing late, and the sun was slowly descending from its throne in the sky. A perfect moment for a ‘romantic’ time. I had done a couple of seductions in the courts, to gain political power or to mask my motives. In fact, I had been seduced once on accident. That was a messy situation that required me to leave the country. Luckily it located in Translanivia, and nobody listens to Translanivia so my reputation was secure. I couldn’t let what was left of my emotions to run wild on this attempt. I needed to be cool and calculated but show evident admiration so that she would have the feeling of impressing me. Not that that ever happened, except that one time I dare not mention. I snuck up on her, then slipped my arm around her shoulders. She startled, but when she saw it was me she leaned on me slightly. Then I felt that everything would be alright. I would survive, and maybe afterwards I might marry this beautiful kerbette leaning against me. But as all beautiful moments, they didn’t last long enough.

41st Installment: The story of Mr. Kerman: An Ultimatum Do not open the spoiler below. It contains spoilers! I always was royalty. Born of royal parents, raised in a royal court. Some might say I was pampered, but royalty is never pampered. Only served. I remember when revolts all throughout the world threatened our security. Just across the channel a democratic republic sprung up out of a bloody revolution. Above us, a communist regime set itself up in the Northern Realm. I only aged 15 years when my father was forced to give up his throne to a bloodthirsty crowd. Father was a good king, but the cry of freedom had in-flamed the mob, railed the crowd, and raised armies of peasants to march down upon us. They were treated well by us, but they turned and attacked us. They took our lawful places, our rightful places. Father forced me to hide my name. He gave me the name, Mr. Kerman. I was only to go by that name. I was sent overseas, to the last palaces of the kings who faced rebellion and bankruptcy. I watched from a far as Father was taken away from his throne, his crown removed from his head in the name of the people. He represented the people, but the people turned back on him. I watched as the monarchies of the world collapsed, turning either democratic in name or communist in nature. As the world broke down, the world leaders took two difference sides. In the name of the people voted by the people, or in the name of the people who own the people. Communist and Democratic. I watched as these two ideals dueled, in a fight to win superiority. Communists fighting aggressively, the Democracies fighting defensively. I watched this fight for the 5 years. I kept myself out of politics, watching for when the monarchies would be able to begin again. I haven’t seen a single opportunity. Finally, I tired of watching the great duel of nations and looked to a place where no politics every walked. I went to south pole to stay with researchers who studied Kerbin’s past and future. But that time soon came to an end and I left for the democratic nations. I walked into a science center where they were looking for kerbonauts. They were some obscure company, but not knowing better I signed on with them. I trained hard and became an engineer. Then they shoved me into a crack-pot rocket and took off towards Minmus. As you know, the mission failed while I was still in orbit of Minmus. I sent out a distress signal and waited for 10 days inside my capsule. Not knowing if I was ever going to be rescued. But I was rescued. Obberty and Elibert Kerman found me and picked me up. I liked the look of them, nothing crafty about them so I gave them the preliminary information about myself and settled down for the ride home. Now I am a KASA kerbonaut, working along side the entire kerbonaut crew. I believe that Roni suspects that I might be Ollusionia but has no evidence. I can tell that she grew up in a hard life, possibly in Ollusionia, but I don’t know. That’s not my only problem now though. My father’s usurpers are coming for me now. T – 30 days until Endeavor Mission Leaves for Dres “Hello Mr. Kerman.” The security guard bowed slightly, and I entered the conference room. It was a large open room with a table which could seat 20 people with ease. Instead of royal purple lining the walls, banners with the KASA symbol hung from the ceiling. The chairs were simple, with leather seats and backs. I settled into one chair, near the front. There were a couple other kerbals sitting down. There was Gene Kerman, the kerbonaut director, and Mortimer, the director of the space program and famed businessman. I tried to remember how global cooperation had been achieved. I believed that Mortimer and Jerry Kerman withheld oil from all countries that refused to help fund the space-program and regularly send new kerbonauts over to KASA. Now that nuclear technology was coming on stage, and the lack of uranium in Jerrie’s storage, it looked like this brief period of global cooperation was coming to a close. I didn’t recognize the third or fourth kerbal at the table. I assumed that these were the kerbals I was supposed to meet. Finally, Roni, Eli and Obberty Kerman entered the room. Eli sat by me while Roni and Obberty kept their distance, moving towards Gene Kerman. Maybe I was going to be transferred to a different part of the space agency. A remote and distant one probably. Gene Kerman cleared his throat, “Mr. Kerman. We need you to reveal more about yourself than what you have presently.” I leaned forward and said, “I have submitted a paper on who I am. You should reference this paper to discover more about me.” Gene shook his head, “You have filled that paper full of lies.” He spat out the last word, “These gentlekerbs have proved it to us.” Ah, that was who spilled the beans. I looked at the two of them intently. They didn’t flinch. In fact, they returned my gaze. They had no conscious about spilling the beans. Which meant they meant harm against me. “I have the right to remain silent.” “Mr. Kerman. You are a Kerbonaut. You are expected to be open and crystal clear on your previous life. You are a role model for our country.” “Don’t speak to me of countries.” I replied. I ground my teeth. “I had enough of them.” One of the kerbals spoke now. Now that I had a good-look at him, I realized that he was a native of my country. Tall with dark green skin. “We cannot keep you on as a kerbonaut if you refuse to give us even basic information about yourself.” I crossed my arms, “You want me to put my entire life on paper? Paper that could be used against me.” “That is being unreasonable, Mr.” Mortimer was speaking now, “You owe us something after we rescued you.” “I am now a kerbonaut for KASA, is more necessary?” “Yes, yes indeed. How do we know that you are a communist or something else?” “I am royalty. That’s all you need to know; out of respect of my rank could you stop asking questions?” “Mr., You have 30 days to submit a forum on your pass life or else we will fire you on the day of the Endeavor mission. The next day everyone will wake up, and you will now longer be on the roster. Another kerbal will take your place. Do you understand?” Mortimer hit the table. The resounding thud echoed around the room. The native and his friend were literally rubbing their hands in glee. If I stayed on Kerbin, then I would be eliminated. It was that simple. I needed to get onto the Endeavor Mission.

After thinking about this for a little while, I have decided to do the entire mission from the perspective of......Well, I won't tell you yet but it'll be a surprise and one might see some subtle references to a movie just about to come out. I won't do the entire mission though, but all the important bits and put in a, hopefully, good plot. (In other words it'll be mostly 1st person with an installment or 2 of 3rd person) And as always, Happy Explosions

To Narrate or Not to Narrate? (2) What do you think, readers? Do you want a completely narrated version of the mission to Dres, or do you want a 1st person account. Here is a straw poll set up from an outside source, http://www.strawpoll.me/15050331 - closed. Also, I probably will not be able to post an installment today or tomorrow, as I'll be on the road for 13 hours. I will guarantee that by Wednesday, there will be an installment. Happy Explosions!

40th Installment: In-Situ Module Stealing Borrowing So, guess what. I discovered the Xerxes space station once again. It has a lab, some solar-panels, two hitchhikers, and batteries. So I decided that this would make an excellent crew module for the Dres Spacecraft! I apolisge in advance of the lack of content. I won't be able to play this weekend, so this is old news for me. Let me make it so to the readers. Yes. It even has extra docking ports for the landers I'm going to shove onto the spacecraft. Also, I forgot to mention a little incident that happened around the KMOSOS. That is the fuel tank we sent up 8 or so installments back, and the engine which propelled the KMOSOS into orbit, and the Sirius Spacecraft. It took a bit of reorganizing but we did it. Here is the new spacecraft completing a maneuver node to rendezvous with the core of the Dres Spacecraft. The plan is to dock the poodle and the fuel tank onto the Dres spacecraft, then inflate the crew module on the Dres Spacecraft and move Roni and Billy onto the spacecraft. We do only have 30 more days until the window opens. Now we are approaching the Dres Spacecraft. Its on the dark-side so you can't see it yet. Now you can see it. This docking might be tricky, as the spacecraft is pointing away from the docking port on the Dres Spacecraft. After hard work, I have aligned everything correctly, about to dock. This has been testing my docking skills of late. I have no docking assistant mods, so this is all on the fly. The docking looks to be a bit off. Lets fix that quickly before the docking starts. And the two docking ports are kissing each other very hard. Yes, kids, look away. This is how affectionate rocket parts can be! * "Oh! My eyes!" screams a kerbal in the background * Here is the propulsion module all docked up to the Dres Spacecraft. Minmus is just starting to rise in the background as it finishes, a good omen. Also on the screen is the time until the Dres Transfer Window. We only have 30 more days until the momentous occasion arrives, when our kerbonauts embark on the first interplanetary journey. One might wonder why I am doing an interplanetary mission this early on in the game. I haven't even invented communications that can reach all the way out there! I like the challenge of heading off to other planets with low tech. The only other time I have done a similar thing was with a nuclear-powered spacecraft with gigantors to Duna. Luckily here we are going closer to the sun, not farther away. I also like the risk I'm taking. I hate it when the tech tree slows down and all you can muster up the courage for is another Minmus harvesting mission. Really. Also on the screen is an incorrect delta-v number. We really have over 1,000 m/s on board presently, with more coming up on the next Xerxes heavy launch! Forgot about the Sirius Spacecraft? Well I did too. But after a couple of minutes, it found its way back to the dres spacecraft. This is where I make the startling discovery that I can't inflate the inflatable module with an engineer on EVA. What?! I have to be in control of the spacecraft, and have an engineer on board! As the docking port on the Sirius is positive, and the docking port on the other end of the Dres Spacecraft was also positive, it just couldn't work. Not at all. So I decided to bring them home down to Kerbin with the Sirius. It landed on the other-side of the KSC, so it recovered for about 53% value. Still, that was 18,000 credits I know that explosion is alarming, but everyone survives in the end. Roni and Billy are very glad to be back home to Kerbin. So glad in fact, that rumors say that Billy attempted to plant a big kiss on Roni's lips, only to be slapped out of the capsule. We don't know of the situation of the romantic relation between the two as of yet, but more rumors will be manufactured come. Find out in the next issue of the magazine "Rich and Famous" to find out more about the two of them! * "Who put this advertisement of a fictional relationship between Roni and Billy Kerman in a stupid magazine!?" cried Gene Kerman. * * * Anyway, Happy Explosions Until Then!

Update on flag: Our flag correspondent has just produced a professional flag for this Mission Thanks to @cratercracker, KASA now has a professional flag which will inspires confidence and reliability in this mission to another planet! Take a bow, @cratercracker! I just wanted to post his flag because my flag is very insignificant in comparison to his. Especially that this flag has the names of the crew headed to that 'boring' planet! Happy Explosions!

Well, @Geschosskopf, it looks to be the closest to Kerbol, but actually Moho is still the closest to the sun. It is so close I can't believe that I could ever reach it. I would definitely need radiators on that trip...... Dres only takes about 1,5000 m/s to reach, and the transfer window is close-by. It shouldn't take no-more than 2 years, maybe 3 years for the mission from beginning to end. With recyclers, that's isn't a lot of life-support (relatively). Actually, I don't have any mining tech on this mission. I'm bringing everything with me. This will be fun . Luckily, Dres is only about 3 or 4 degrees off from Kerbin standard. Makes it all the easier to reach. The next installment will be significantly delayed because of RL, which takes first priority. I don't know if I will be using the flag on the actual vessel. I will be showing off the flag on the table of contents, but I don't know if I will do much more. Anyway, expect regular installments after Monday and scattered ones this weekend. Happy Explosions!

Don't worry, we bribed convinced the politicians to repeal the Kerbonaut Protection Laws, which covered any interplanetary missions, especially to Dres, with red tape. They said that the kerbonauts were forced to join against their will volunteered to become test dummies pilots and scientists and engineers and could be counted on to take additional risk. Also, our flag designers(me) have created a makeshift flag for the mission, as our main contractor is unavailable. I hope it will inspire the same confidence as a professional flag can. Happy Explosions!

I have just posted about my new, Xerxes Heavy. Here are a couple pics for you. The payload on the rocket is a Dres Spacecraft, or at least the first part of it. This thing is powered by Mainsails, and can get up to pretty hefty gee forces. Up to about 5 when nearly empty. This rocket can reenter fairly well, a little 100 m/s burn is necessary to prevent the mainsails from exploding, but nothing harmful for the landing. It does require the engines for the landing, so save about 500 m/s when you return to Kerbin. It does land pretty well, for such a large rocket. I might edit in the craft file some time, but not now. Anyway, Happy Explosions!

39th Installment: Xerxes Heavy Yes. At last here is the Xerxes Heavy. The moment you have all been waiting for. This is one expensive rocket, but with recovery, it should work. Yes, I will be needing to upgrade the VAB soon. Getting above the 250 part limit. Here it is on the launch pad. The payload it is carrying is the first part of the Dres Spacecraft. It contains the recycling, science, electricity, and life-support systems. There will be two more modules, a habitation module and a disposable propulsion module. That means I have to recover the next three missions at nearly 100% recovery value in order for this to work. Here goes nothing. The booster launches fiercely off the pad. As you might have guessed, I have my staging bound to the G key. I wasn't thinking too hard when I did that. This rocket is a beast, with four mainsails the gee-forces on it reach up to 5 gees. Wow. Finally with white knuckles I finish the insertion burn. There is roughly 700 m/s still sloshing around in the tanks, plus parachutes. Here I detach the Dres Spacecraft in a 75 by 80 kilometer parking orbit. I time-warp until the spacecraft core is 50 meters away. I have already fired up the engines, and now the Xerxes Heavy is on a sub-orbital trajectory. Reentry is fierce. Very fierce. I spin up the rocket to prevent the mainsails from exploding. They have a remarkably low heat-tolerance relative to other engines. Luckily we survive reentry and I pull the chutes, waiting for them to deploy And we are landing on the side of a mountain. Brilliant. Just brilliant. At least we have connection. The chutes were not going to deploy fast enough, so I buy them time by burning the engines. My knuckles(finger joints) are whiter than ever. I hope that I would be able to recover the rocket, because if I don't, then bye-bye space-program. We hit the ground. Explosions happen. I close my eyes and wait for the dust to clear. YES! It has landed! The Xerxes Heavy has landed! Sure its minus an engine and few other parts, but it is mostly intact. Looks like the space-program will stick around a little longer. I will be doing two launches in the next installment, documenting the construction of the Dres Spacecraft. Happy Explosions Until Then!

38th Installment: 0% Reliability We have decided to take up a contract to put a satellite into Keostationary Orbit. We need more communication satellites and we need to test the Xerxes booster further. It has a 0% reliability in recovery. That's not good. The launch is fairly simple. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm speeding through this. I accidently refreshed the page with my fully completed 38th Installment. When I pulled up the 'add new comment', it was not there. Bummer. Around here I realize that the orbit required for the satellite it at 45 degrees. I quickly swing the rocket to the left and start to change my inclination severely. We arrive in orbit here. The Xerxes still has plenty of fuel left over in it, so that means I should have a better chance to land it. I hope. Just about to enter Kerbin's atmosphere. The reason the sunrise is that strange is because the Xerxes is sitting on a very weird inclinations. That will also effect the recovery. Well, as long as I recover it, it'll be fine. Reentry is commencing. The delta-v number up there is correct. Looks like the margins are thinner than I thought. Now we're really roasting. Hopefully nothing explodes. Now I am attempting to make the booster glide to burn off more speed. At 7,000 meters I pull the chutes. Then I watch in horror as the communication satellite goes over the horizon. I have lost connection to the KSC. But, I am unfazed. I would do it this time! Or not. I fire the engine too late and the entire rocket crumples into the ocean. There goes another 65,000 credits. And the reliability of the Xerxes is still 0% recovery rate. Back in orbit, the satellite preforms a maneuver node to raise its apogee to the perigee of the assigned orbit. The little sparkler engine on the end is a very useful modded engine, the step between a terrier and a spark. Ready to preform a burn to raise the Perigee to match the Apogee of the assigned orbit. Hopefully this will do it, then we can get to designing the Xerxes Mk2. And the final stage fires up. When it completes the maneuver, 80,000 credits slips into KASA's pocket and the contract is complete. I should do more of these. Unfortunately it looks like the current model of Xerxes isn't working out too well. Going to build a bigger, better, and more reusable Mk2 in the next installment. Happy Explosions Until Then!

There was a brilliant book which used this. It was called Wonder, written by Raquel Jaramillo. It was so good that they made a movie out of it which had a 300 million dollar gross revenue. If you want an inspiring read, read it. It's amazing

I don't either. I just forgot to add the parachutes. Though, with Kerbal Engineer, I probably could do a fully propulsive landing. Something to practice in Sand-box mode The next installment will be coming soon! Happy Explosions Until Then!

37th Installment: Meet Xerxes We have decided, through Rock, Paper, and Scissors, to build a fully operational rocket SSTO. After some more RPS, we have got the basics of the rocket. After a little while, this monstrosity came around. While it is huge, it cannot lift more than 12.5 tons to LKO. But it is fully reusable so that is pretty good. It costs about 65,000 credits so I better make sure I can land these. It has a pretty good thrust-to-weight ratio. If you have a good eye, you might notice some landing gear up on the adaptor to the station. Yes, those are makeshift air-brakes. I don't know if they work or not, but I decided to give them a try. I try to go flat with the rocket, conserving as much delta-v as possible. It only has 4,200 on the launch pad, so I am a little cautious. Okay, I might have gone a bit too flat. Obberty Kerman is feeling some heat now, I hope he doesn't burn up. He didn't burn up. Now we are in orbit. Soon, I will be attempting to land this massive booster. And a maneuver node has been set up and executed. The perigee has below the atmosphere and now its time to recover this big booster. I now deploy the landing gear, and the steering fins. The thing you can't see in this picture is that the Xerxes is spinning like a demon possessed. That makes it pretty hard to control. And worse, I am receiving my connection from the Primitive Satellite which will pass over pretty soon. That's not good. Oh, and to add to it all, I forgot parachutes. Shoot! Here I am at 7,000 meters. I don't have kerbal engineer so that means I don't know when to fire up my engine. I also don't know how much delta-v I have. Also not good. I started burning my engine at 3,000 meters. I fired too soon. I was 100 meters above the sea. Then I lost my connection, which meant I couldn't move the rocket. Also it meant that I could only fire at full throttle. You know the outcome. It crashed into the sea. Shoot. Bye-bye 65,000 credits. Now those were some Unhappy Explosions!

36th Installment: More Pretty Fireworks! I think I can add some more, especially for you. This was the Minmus Station which saved many a kerbonaut life. I had shown before how it got to LKO, so lets just continue on with the story. When I turned on KSP, I wondered what I would do with this station. Then the answer hit me. It was so obvious, yet so bold. I was going to give it a proper Viking Funeral at last! Oh. It lives. Well, it won't survive the ground very well! Well. Looks like its done for. Wait. What?!?! It survived! *dances around computer desk* It made it! I just can't believe this! YES! *punches the air* I hope you had some Happy Explosions!