cookiedamage

She's probably just plotting against him....as ussualll.

These two are the warriorites of Kerbin's glorious past. Dated 1283.

Thanks to all!

Why, thank you! They certainly love those comfortable, healthy corsets!

Hey guys, I found this artwork stashed away in some Kerndon apartment. Circa 1897. (The JC in the top left corner is my signature, btw) Critiques/inputs are welcome! Thanks!

Thanks to all, I'll try removing some weight in the back among other things.

Hi guys. Recently I crafted my first successful space-plane, the "Hopeful - 2". Let me get straight to the point: When taking off and becoming airborne, I've noticed the plane's tendency to continually drift upwards, almost becoming vertical. Sometimes it locked up and fell back down, and other times it flipped. The only way I can stay horizontal is to frequently kill or throttle down the engines. Notes: -I've added parachutes to the tope of the plane -The four engines are connected to the plane via decouplers. The largest engine is attached directly to the plane. Any ideas of what is going wrong and what I should change? Thanks! [spoiler=pictures ] [spoiler=more pictures ] [spoiler=even more pictures ]

Thanks! I think my work would look better as an ad, or something along the lines of a poster. Maybe an advert that hangs on the outside of a building, like NatGeo posters hanging from NYC museums.

I know this should be in an art-labeled separate thread, and I\'ll kindly take it down and make another thread, but here is a logo prototype for the KGSS. Whaddya think? For some reason you have to follow the link to Photobucket instead of viewing it here. srry http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g417/cookiedamage/kgss.png

Craft: Deep Space Vehicle-I (DSV-I) Mission: To create a perfectly imperfect, oblong orbit. Crew: Sigly Kerman, Chadski Kerman, and Jorfry Kerman Launch: 22 June 2012 Notes: [li]Apoapsis: 1,622,159m[/li] [li]Periapsis:102,879m[/li] [li]Highest Speed: 2,801 m/s[/li] OUTCOME: SUCCESS FLIGHT DURATION: 5:05:47

Kerbi Industries is a company in my story Kerbin Prey. Primarily a mining megacorp, Kerbi Ind. dominates the interstellar trade of raw materials, mining equipment, and planetary geologic research. They own huge mining facilities from Minmus to the Teltimus System. Kerbi Industries is a mining empire, worth over 890 billion kerbs and employing millions of kerbonians throughout the cosmos. Estabilished in 2067, Kerbi Industries also had interests and stocks in research and colonization. Until 2094, the company owned a monopoly on colonization research. However, Kerbi Industries was brought to the supreme court at Yibble City in 2094. The monopoly was destroyed, and Kerbi Industries was now rivaled by the government-created Interstellar Research Administration (ISRA). The ISRA is a branch of the Kerbal Space Program. In 2116, the KSP and Kerbi Industries entered a partnership. The partnership was meant to be the most efficient way of colonization possible, and to eliminate animosity. The KSP, and its ISRA, were in charge of research and colonization, while Kerbi Industries was in charge of mining and geologic research. As of 2129, this partnership extends to 56 planets, out of the 498 total planets that have been colonized and settled by the kerbonians. Company Logos: Note: Just something I wanted to share. I made them up in my story, where you can find more pictures if you want to go there, and I deicded to make a topic in the fanfic section. It can join all the other creations, nations, and companies crafted from the kerbonians minds . If the second picture does not show up, right click the little red \'x\', then go to Properties. Highlight the URL and copy/paste into the address bar.

48 wpm 1 mistake

My failing Dell Inspiron One desktop has been around since December 2010. That\'s around one and half years. Recently, it has been freezing and glitching like crazy. Sometimes, my graphic card apparently 'stops working' and my screen goes black for a moment. I want a new god-darn computer

Chapter 4 PART ONE A loud, sharp buzzing sound screeched in Koen\'s ears, rudely awakening him from his sleep. He wriggled around in his bed for a few minutes, reluctant to get up, and to start the mission. He is a pilot, not a biologist, why does he need to tag along? He finally got out of bed and stumbled to a coffee machine in his room. No sugar, no milk. He chugged his coffee quickly, and put on pants, a simple, white shirt, and shoes. He then made his way sluggishly to whatever briefing hall or rec room he had to go to. Koen waited for the black coffee to sink in. Koen entered a long corridor, with large windows on each side, leading out onto the planet. He slowed down a little, pausing to look out. It was around 9 AM, and the local sun illuminated the planet enough for Koen to see the sharp, rocky peaks and hills. He also slowed down for another reason. Adder was standing still at the opposite of the transperant corridor. She had turned slightly and was looking out onto the planet. Koen became suspicious. He squinted his eyes, and slowly walked forward, and stood next to her. 'Hi,' He said hesitantly. Folding his arms. 'Good morning,' Adder replied. She still avoided eye contact. 'Your mission leaves at 9:45, so I would start to get ready,' She said in a condescending, snappy atitude. 'What?' Koen asked, not sure whether to be frightened or offended. 'I had to slow down mining activity for the past three years, just so an un-needed aide team could be shipped out to investigate aliens,' Adder replied, now glaring at Koen. Without saying anything, Koen quickly brushed past Adder and entered the corridor leading to the briefing hall. What the hell?... he murmured to himself. He pressed on walking, slightly nervous now because of that encounter. After a short while of walking, he found himself in the briefing hall. Koen scanned the room, and found he was probably late, as most of the group had already entered. Then, all eyes were on him, and he embarrasedly pushed further in. Behind him marched in Adder, glaring forward, not really looking at anything. Everyone sat down. Kerman was standing at the front with Beirson. She began to address the group. 'I hope you have all gotten a good night of rest, because in approximately forty minutes I and five other people will be going out for a brief exploration of this alien building. I want us to be gone for no more than two and a half hours, and I want us to arrive back unharmed. All but Adder , Beirson, and Astrid will be going, I feel it would be wise to have two people and my robot on stand-by at the base if anything does go wrong,' Koen raised his hand. 'Why am I going, I am just a pilot?' 'Well, don\'t you want to experience a once-in-a-lifetime event? Anyone can explore. I\'ll bring Adder and Beirson next time, if they\'d like,' 'Yes, of course. Sorry captain,' 'That\'s fine Koen. Now, that\'s a word for all of you. You can be a biologist, virologist, sociologist, or a cook, but you can still explore and contribute to the team. I hope to get all eight of you to the site in the next two days, perhaps less. Now onto the details,' Kerman clicked a button on the remote in her hand. A high-quality holograph image of Trecnotor\'s surface was projected from the interface behind her. The image showed the gray, rocky surface, as well as the arsenic soaked Trecnot seas. A small, blinking dot a few inches from the seas represented the base. About an inch south of the base was a solid green question mark. The bright green was in stark contrast to the dark, sharp surroundings. 'That green question mark represents the alien building. I\'ve been researching pictures that you all have taken over the past four years. I see you have yet to go inside, which is was not a bad decision. Without protection, who knows what could have been lurking inside. Hostile life, traps, disease, you name it,' Kerman said. 'This morning, I retrieved two boxes of Kerbal Military-grade weaponry and space-suits, fitted with small cameras. They are in the boxes right behind me. You can get changed in your rooms when the presentation is concluded, which should be shortly,' She said, while tilting her head to look at a clock on the wall. 9:12 AM. 'Now, I cannot stress enough the importance of staying together. You\'ve all seen horror films where a group gets separated, lost, and slaughtered by the antagonists. While our mission may not be a Kerbywood film, it certainly applies,' Kerman smiled, as everyone else laughed. 'At most, we can be 150 feet apart. Feel free to idle in a large room, but we will all stay in one area,' Pause. 'This concludes the briefing for today. We will leave in about 31 minutes. Go get changed,' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After they got changed, the six person group were now outside, full dressed with their military-grade space-suits. Kerman and Koen had equipped plasma-bullet firing Kerbal Military A-Class rifles. It can incinerate anything from living tissue to walls of lead. The plasma can burn sulphuric acid and instantly vaporize water. When wielding it, a kerbonian is a walking death machine. However, the one downside is that the gun could actually melt if fired in rapid succession. Cooldown is a must, making the rifle rather ineffective in large battles. The group walked on, recording with their cameras, through the gray fog and over the rocks and mini-ridges. They stayed clear of the eccentric and possibly violent quickslithers. Like all animals smaller than them, the quickslithers minded themselves and were probably terrified by the tiny, green beings. However, there is a possibility that some horrible, 90 meter tall creature could be stalking the kerbonians right now. But then again, what if their menace is an insectile, or even a microbe? The suits apparently keep out everything. Kerman lead the group, with her rifle stationed on her back. Behind her was Koen, then Kettinger, then Dentaug. Behind him was Hescen, and finally Hueston. Hueston began small talk. 'You\'d think with this thick, black atmosphere, these rocks should be totally eroded and plain, right?' 'They aren\'t, for some odd reason, we still don\'t know why,' Hescen responded. 'Does anyone know how old this planet is, or how old the system is?' Kettinger asked. Koen nodded his head, wanting to ask the same thing. 'I think, like, five or so billion years old, a little older than Kerbin,' Deantaug entered the conversation. 'I wonder what\'s halting the erosion,' Hueston pondered. 'Maybe the atmosphere is not as thick as we think,' Hescen added, looking up at the black sky, only dimly lit by the sun. Suddenly, Kerman interupted them all, and pointed at a gray structure in the distance. 'Sorry to interupt, but that\'s the building, right?' 'Right,' answered Hescen. They continued towards the monolith. The base group had never been closer than 9km, so the journey was a raw experience to all. The whole group turned on their helmet cams, as they got closer and became awed. Finally, after a few minutes they were close enough to see it. It was a dark, gray building with slightly curving corners, almost like a pyramid with the top cut off. Narrow, triangular openings existed on the faces of the building, and progressively got small as they went up the building. It was obviously ancient, as it had cracks and holes throughout its exterior. 'Oh, my god,' Hescen quietly said, as she gawked at the monolith. 'It\'s huge!' Exclaimed Koen. The monolith extended 100 meters into the air, as big as a kerball field. No doorways seem to existed. 'We will have to get in through one of those triangles,' Kerman stated, as she too slipped into awe. The monolith had a slight aura of wonder surrounding it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One by one, the group entered the alien building through a triangle entrance near the base of the structure. The inside was completely hollow, with very little light leaking through the openings. The group had to turn on flashflights built in their helmets just to see where their feet were going. As they panned around, they saw that the inards of the monolith was blank; no writing, no artwork, no signs of civilization other than the fact the monolith existed in the first place. 'I hope you are all recording this,' Kerman whispered, while scanning the whole building. 'Of course,' Koen responded, doing the same thing as Kerman. After walking around for a few minutes, the group began to notice how empty the monolith was. Suddenly, however, Hueston noticed a near-perfect, metallic circular hole in one of the corners of the building. 'Hey! Over there!' He exclaimed. The group followed him over, and then stood still, encircled over the hole. They could not see the bottom, and it seemed like it was the edge of hell, leading down into nothing. Kerman took out a pale, green-colored rod from her suit. She cracked it, to where it turned bright green. She threw it down. After three seconds it hit a surface, and could be easily seen by the group. 'Barely anything, we could jump it if we wanted,' Kettinger said. 'But since we want to get back up, we\'ll lower a rope down, and climb back up,' He continued, looking at Kerman. 'Sounds good, you have rope?' She asked. 'Yes,' 'Ok, then lower it. You will go first, then Koen, Hescen, Deantaug, Hueston, and then I,' One by one, the group filtered down into unknown depths. Kerman looked around one last time before lowering herself down. Below, it was dark and musty, but it felt smooth. The floors seemed metal, as did the walls. Hescen turned on her flashlight, after having to turn it off for the descent. The whole group was awestruck by what they saw, and what was created. To be continued... 20 June 2012: Because of the 20,000 character limit, I will probably be adding a new reply for every one or two chapters. Sorry for any inconvenience. I plan on putting future chapters on a PDF file and attaching it here. I have also added some of my artwork . Make sure to scroll to see the whole artwork. Thanks! 22 June 2012: Chapter 4 PART TWO PDF File below 22 June 2012: Here\'s more art! Try scrolling left and right for the character artwork to see all of the characters...

Thanks!

Chapter 1 The three, small, green Kerbonians drifted slowly in space, aboard their Deep Space Vehicle I (DSV-I). They slept quietly in stasis, dreaming long dreams of their past. The Kerbonians had been sleeping in stasis for about 3 and a half years. A huge stretch of time, but only lasting seconds for the sleeping beauties. They were 1.13 x 1016km from home, which equates to about 1,200 light-years from the Kerbol system. If traveling at light speed, a technology first used in 2067, the kerbonians would have been a-okay, but their planet would have changed dramatically in the 1,200 years. By the time they got back, their loved ones and relatives would have been ancient history, as well as their governments, home nations, cities, and lives. That\'s why they travel incredibly faster than light, and incredibly faster than a lightning bolt, or a Kerbi Industries laser aimed at the Mun. The DSV-I uses superheated plasma engines, running at 9700 degrees celsius, backed with boron coated, titanium shells. Within the ship, tachyon producers help the ship zap through the void of space. Tachyons are mysterious, faster than light, and able to propel a starship through space, and yet, even today at 2129, physicists, scientists, and engineers still do not know what tachyons truly are, or why they are. Now, focusing on the inhabitants of DSV-I. Captain Ana Kerman, Pilot Simon Koenschluster, and Medic William Kettinger. All asleep, all dreaming. Kerman was dreaming of her college days at KUES, the parties, the fun, and the sleepless studying sessions. Koenschluster 'Koen' was dreaming deeply of a nightmare, in fact, of drifting into space endlessly. He was becoming restless in his stasis pod, fearing for his life. Kettinger was back on Kerbin, sitting in a field, looking up at the blue sky, with puffy white clouds everywhere. All the Kerbonians were single; un-married, un-fertilized. A theory exists that these people do better in high-stress, possibly dangerous situations. A single Kerbonian does not have to worry about hungry mouths or lonely spouses at home, and thus may be calmer in dire situations. They may be more alert, and think of their own safety and self-preservation, opposed to that of any family. Suddenly, in the stasis quarters, everything decided to turn on; lights flickered on, beeps began to beep, computers went on. Then, a bulky, square-shaped hunk of metal arose from the floor. A screen light up over the center of the being, and wheels popped up from under it. Green text flashed over the screen. The text was AS-TI: AUTOMATED STEWARDESS- TRANSTELLAR IDENTITY. She was the robot on board. Astrid, as the crew called her, was not an android, or a cyborg, but a safe, kind, metal machine who oversees the crew\'s missions. A voice came from her. 'I am awake,'. Astrid wheeled over to the stasis pod of Kerman, a bright green, blonde haired woman. Astrid produced a boxy arm and several black fingers. After a few clicking of buttons, the stasis field collapsed, and Kerman awoke. Astrid repeated the process for Koen and Kettinger, waking them from the three year dormancy. The first response of a Kerbonian (and a thing called a \'human\') awakening from a three-year stasis is to blink rapidly and collect your probably racing thoughts. Maybe then one will vomit, or maybe they will sweat profusely, or perhaps they would cough for a while. The point is, is that beings react strongly to years of sleeping in a tube, under a time-freezing field. Depending on the Kerbonian, and the time of stasis, recovery can last anywhere from fifteen minutes to four hours. 1,200 light-years and 360 kerbin days makes for about an hour recovery time. By the time Kerman, Kettinger, and Koen recover, they will be descending onto their mission: the planet Trecnotor III. A foggy, dark planet, which barely hosts life; microbial at best. It is rocky, and very hard to walk on, with a rugged landscape, and unpredictable, violent weather. Seas of mercury-pinched water exist sporadically in the north, and primitive lichen thrive on the banks of said seas. 40km away from the 'Trecnot Seas' exist the mining and research facility IMRF-102. Five Kerbonians live and work there now, in a outpost built like a bunker, to shield them from the deadly environs of Trecnotor III. The facility, inhabitants, and research equipment are funded and overseen by the Kerbin Space Program, a government agency. However all mining interests and doings are strictly controlled by the mining monoply Kerbi Industries, a private corporation. It is a strange partnership, but the KSP keeps the Kerbi Industry from exploiting the planet, and the Kerbonians themselves. After vomiting a little, and sweating, Kerman gathered herself and looked out a window onto Trecnotor, in low orbit. A grey and dark-blue mass, drifting around it\'s parent sun, a red dwarf. Kerman knew that past all the dense, poisonous clouds existed the facility, and five other Kerbonians. She pursed her lips, not sure whether to be frightened at the hostile planet, or worried about their mission. Their mission in question was to aide in research of a possible civilization, hidden somewhere on the planet. Mysterious and odd transmissions have been received by the IMRF ground crew, and they are too frightened to investigate alone. What will exist? 17 June 2012: This is my first Kerbin-themed story on this forum. I hope everyone likes it, and please offer critique and input. Was it boring? Was it exciting!? Please feel free to tell me. I got inspiration from this years 'Prometheus' by Ridley Scott, and 2009\'s 'Moon' directed by Duncan Jones. More chapters will come, and this first chapter is a sort-of pilot. Chapter 2 The DSV-I began its descent upon the planet. The green astronauts were already feeling well enough to operate their vehicle. Koen jumped in his piloting seat and put on a baseball cap, fitting over his big, green head. 'Entering upper exosphere, about now,' He said, pushing the throttle forwards. The dark blob-planet got bigger, and the crew saw clouds whirling around quickly. Koen darted his eyes over the various computer screens and gauges on his piloting interface. 'I\'m gonna throttle down a little, we\'re running a little low on fuel,' He murmured to himself. Kerman and Kittinger trusted him enough to let him do whatever he wanted, on his own. At 24, he was the youngest on the team. Kittinger was 25, and Kerman was 28. Kerman leaned over Koen as he continued to throttle forwards, plunging the crew deeper into the dark, unknown planet. She was slightly nervous, not being out this far from home, and never to a planet this mysterious. 'Good. You\'re doing fine,' She complimented. They were going faster now, entering the thin part of the atmosphere. It also started getting a little darker, and a little bumpier. 'Time to buckle up!' Kettinger alerted, and Koen fastened his seat belt, and Kerman sat in her command chair, viewing the two others before her. She was fully seated, and she found solace observing her crew, and employees, busily working away, and dragging the DSV-I into the depths of darkness. As they plummeted into the atmosphere, the darkness adopted a dark-blue tint, and the crew saw puffs of thin, wavy clouds. It was quite a scary experience, everything going dark, almost to a complete blackness. The lights went on in the ship, and the outside only got darker. Kerman, and the rest of her crew, felt somewhat safer, like the lights were protecting them from the danger outside. Koen then pushed a button on his interface, and a holographic representation of the planet\'s topography flashed over the large window that lead out onto the darkness. Trecnotor was virtually an endless mountain range, with jagged peaks and steep volcanoes reaching up and stabbing the toxic sky. Only near the Trecnot Seas were there any valleys or flat lands. IMRF-102, commonly called 'Base' was situated in a plain. 'Altitude?' Kerman asked, gripping her seat handles. She flashed her eyes over to Astrid, the hunk of metal. She was sitting stationary, with her glowing green eyes. Astrid was buckled against the wall, so when the ship for some reason goes vertical, Astrid does not wheel away and into the pilot, or out the window. A funny sight, it was, a robot restrained. ' 61,000 meters,' Koen answered, beginning to thrust back, as to level out the ship. The atmosphere became thicker, but it was also getting lighter as the star began to lighten up that side of the planet. A common Trecnot day lasts 22 hours, with 11 hours of weak sunshine, and 11 more hours of night as black as pitch. In just a few minutes, the lights inside were turned off, and the red dwarf star colored the clouds an orange, like the orange and pink found at twilight. The ground below became visible, as the ship passed the 55,000 meter mark. Gray, rocky, boring, words to describe when viewing from above. On the surface it is a different, and much wilder, story. One cannot see from the air, but on the surface exist long, snake-like creatures that occupy the ground and soil, feeding on mercury and iron. The strange snakes have been known to bite and nip at the Kerbonians, and some bites lead to mercury poisoning. Other than that, the snakes, dubbed the 'Quickslithers' are generally peaceful. The quickslithers are one of the few animals on the baren wasteland, save for native lichen and microbial lifeforms. Not many animals like jagged environments or air composed of 59% argon, 29% fluorine, 10% nitrogen, and 2% oxygen. The ship dipped below 40,000 meters, and the surface became more and more clear to the eyes of the Kerbonians. Faint red lights also began to get visible. They were lights of the antennae jutting out from the base. 'IMRF-102 is visible,' Koen stated, and continuing with an altitude announcement. ' 35,000 meters, estimated arrival time in six minutes,'. The minutes passed, and soon the crew were only about 500 meters from the surface, clearly seeing the base bathed in a light, orange blanket of sunshine. The base was divided in three sections with corridors linking them. The largest building was the power station, which operated by extracting and using uranium and plutonium deposits deep under the surface. Solar power and hydroelectricity was obviously not an option, however the Kerbonians still got water from underground rivers. The water was only tainted with mercury, and that was easily cleaned out in the second building, which was the Purifying Complex. The final building was the building that the kerbonians met, slept, and eat in. A cafeteria, laboratory, clinic, briefing hall, and bedrooms existed there. Plus, a rec hall was built in a few years ago, to prevent boredom-induced death. Kerpool and miniature kobol could be played here, but most of the time the kerbonians brought their own games and activities. As they landed on the landing pad at the base, Astrid wheeled towards a set of lockers, opening them, and revealing three, orange space suits, along with three helmets. The three Kerbonians got up from their seats and proceeded to put on their suits. They had to get naked, but they have done so numerous times, so to them, getting naked in front of your comrades is like riding a bike. After stripping their clothes off, they put on an inner, dark-blue colored suit and black gloves. After that, they were ready to fit themselves into the bulky outer shell. They were now ready to brave the surface of Trecnotor III. Hopefully someone was already outside waiting to rendevous with them and take them inside. That kerbonian was Doctor Kate Hescen. She was standing by the main, airlock doors to the living complex. Hescen could not see very much past the apparent storm that was blowing by. She could see the giant mass that was DSV-I, standing silently at the launch pad about 100 meters away. They must still be on board. Hescen thought. She folded her arms behind her back, and waited. After a few minutes she saw three, pudgy, orange figures jump from the ship. She then saw a metal block with green eyes being lowered from the ship. They seemed uncomfortable in the storm, moving against the blowing wind, dragging along the metal being. Hescen knew it was a robot, but she questioned as to why the aide crew was bringing along a robot. Do the aides need an aide? After a few moments, Kerman was face to face with Hescen. 'Good morning, Ms. Kerman,' Hescen greeted. She unlocked the doors, and they slid open, leading into a decontamination and airlock room. The crew and Hescen piled into the room. The crew was sweaty, after struggling through the storm. Astrid was not even affected by the fiercely blowing winds and freezing cold spikes of air. In the airlock, while being sprayed by a strong, gaseous dis-infectant, Kerman introduced her and her crew. 'I am Captain Ana Kerman. This is Pilot Simon Koen' She pointed to him. He smiled, glad she did not include his whole name. 'This is Medic William Kettinger. And this is Astrid, our robot,' Kerman concluded. Hescen gazed at the robot for a moment, when a voice was heard: DECON IS COMPLETE. Another door behind them opened, and led to a white-washed corridor, with sky-blue linoleum floors. The group walked the halls, until coming the square, carpeted briefing room. Hescen began to talk. 'The other four are sleeping, and will be awake in about fifteen minutes. After that, they will come here and I will introduce them, and you can start briefing,' She said. 'I assume you don\'t need ANY sleep what-so-ever after three years,' She joked. 'I was exhausted just from traveling through that storm,' Koen said. Chapter 3 The group traveled through the clean and organized complex, passing through white corridors, and looking through windows onto the various rooms and facilities of the base. After a few minutes, they reached the briefing hall, which was composed of two rows of chairs, on a black carpet. A wide open space with a flat-screen interface stood, all in front of the chairs. The five filed in one-by-one, into the empty room. Kerman walked around for a moment, reviewing the room, and looking at the interface. Kettinger and Koen started for the coffee machine behind the chairs. Kerman then decided she was in for some caffeine as well. Kerman liked her coffee sweet, with milk and sugar. She hated black coffee, and could not stand the bitterness. Koen seemed the exact opposite, prefering plain, searing hot, black coffee. After they got coffee, the three Kerbonians leaned on a table near the interface, sipping their coffee and waiting for the base crew to slug in and get their coffee. Four more kerbonians were stationed here, plus Hescen, who was already in the room, sitting in a chair quietly; no coffee. The first kerbonian to enter the room was a tall, light green kerbonian with pale brown hair. He was immediately followed by an equally tall woman, with jet black hair, with a fine cut fringe. It curved from her chin, and narrowed up to her scalp. The next two to enter were men. Average height, they both were. One had dark red hair with thin-rimmed glasses on, and the other had a shaved head. The group was sluggish, obviously, and they all lined up and slowly got their coffee. After drinking it, and half-asleep at the same time, the group slowly awakened and found their seats. Then, all eyes were on Kerman. 'Good morning, everyone. I am Captain Ana Kerman, and my crew and I came here to aide IMRF-102 in the investigation of intelligent lifeforms. Correct?' She asked. 'That is correct, captain.' Hescen replied. Her group looked at her, and then back to Kerman. 'My crew,' Pointing to Koen and Kettinger. 'Pilot Simon Koen, and Medic William Kettinger will also be aiding you alongside me,' She said. 'Now I want to know all of you. How about you, ma\'am, in the front?' Kerman addressed the tall, black haired woman. 'Catherine Adder. I am the Kerbi Industries mining chief. I am in charge of all mining activity on Trecnotor III, and therefore in charge of half of the base\'s assets,' Adder said bluntly. Oh, a corporate pig... Kerman thought. She then pointed to the shaven man. 'Val Hueston,' He said in a raspy voice. 'Sociologist and Bioanthropologist. I observe whatever intelligent life exists on this rock,'. Kerman automatically assumed he was a miner by the way he looked. She then moved onto the tall, brown-haired man. 'Maximillien Deantaug,' Pronouncing it Deen-TAO. 'Virologist, and I know a little geology, but not much,'. Kerman moved on to the man with glasses. 'Rhett Beirson, Captain of the IMRF-102, I oversee all mining and research activities, and my job is to ensure maximum safety,'. Kerman heard him well, and she moved on Hescen herself. Kerman had already introduced herself, but she barely knew what kind of doctor she was. 'Katherine Hescen, medical doctor and PhD on the base, but call me Kate' she said, glaring at Adder. Simple, and to the point. The two Catherines (and Katherine) seemed to be the bosses of the base. All in all; three women, and five men. Eight in total, in a complex fit enough for fifty. 'Well, it is nice to get to know you all,' Kerman said, with her arms behind her back. 'I want a field mission to the investigation site tomorrow morning. I want Hueston, Deantaug, Hescen, and Kettinger to be alongsid me. Clear?' She stated. The group murmered in response. Seeing the briefing was finished, the group stood up and mingled for a few moments. Adder smothered the captain, towering over him. Either she was manipulating him, or trying to suck up to him. Hescen, Deantaug, and Huesten coalesced. Koen and Kettinger talked by themselves, in a corner behind the interface. Kerman decided to talk to Hescen and her friends. She made her way over. 'So, where exactly is this site, and what exactly is it? I want to know exactly why I was flown trillions of kilometers from home,' Kerman asked. 'The site is an ancient, alien building of some sort, about 23km away. We\'ve studied it over the past four years, since 2125, and then we sent for you, hoping you\'d possibly bring more expertise, and...' She paused and pursed her lips, 'firepower,'. Kerman raised her eyebrows, not knowing what agenda could be possibly behind this missions. 'Is this a research mission, or a combat mission?' Kerman asked. Hescen adopted a poker-face. Not blinking, not sweating, not avoiding eye contact. Hescen began to talk. 'Safety is priority captain,' She stated. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The day and night passed. Lunch was odd, as the three DSV-1 crew sat alone, and talked amongst themselves, avoiding socialization from the somewhat strange base crew. Kerman visited the rec hall for a few minutes, and observed the kerbonians playing pool, video-games, and cards. Surprisingly, Adder, the tall miner executive, sat drawing with crayons and markers. Kerman could not really see what was being drawn. As the night wound down, the group resigned to their bedrooms. Kerman fell asleep almost immediately, even after sleeping for years. However, she, and the rest of the group knew to save up all the energy they could for the daunting mission the next day. They had to brave the violent world, and investigate a completely alien building. 20 June 2012: I hope this story is very enjoyable. Again, please tell me what you think, and tell me of any possible suggestions to make my story more exciting. Thanks!

Here are some from my rockets. I cut out as much as I could, and I\'ll be sure to use F2 next time