CatastrophicFailure

Next couple of days, hopefully. 3000 words and counting. This one went a little... mad. Also, my work schedule changed so Tuesday's & Thursdays look like a wash for getting much done.

Ah, I see you have discovered the Curse of Moho. Even the most perfectly executed trajectory will miss, and one that doesn't right away may slowly drift far from the encounter as time progresses. Its almost like someone... or some thing... doesn't want you there.... *cue eerie music*

I'd say they kinda have to at this point. The conference as at the end of the month, right? So there's a couple weeks yet. Wonder if they'll go for the hype slam-dunk by announcing both the MCT and F9 RTF date.

That is some seriously first rate cinematography right there. How do you get the camera set up on the target at about 0:41?

Moho is a cruel mistress, good luck. Try the poles.

S'ok, I can't either I am rather proud of that. What you don't see is where the screaming starts cuz it's not gaining altitude and suddenly, a mountain. You can count on more of this in the future. The dramatic take offs, not the screaming. But probably that too.

Them Merlins clean up nice.

Proper introductions will be coming in the next episode. This is a stock(ish) sandbox distraction that (as usual) ballooned out of control. It started as a "quick and simple" (har har) jaunt to go explore the awesome stuff added by the Stock Visual Terrain mod (the BOULDERS are SOLID! ). Then I decided if I was going that far, I might as well do a full-up Jool 5 attempt, just need a couple extra landers after all, and if I'm going that far, well then I might as well make it a proper grand tour since I haven't done one in so long and this ship will should might if I'm lucky land anywhere airless except Tylo, and if I'm going that far, well then I might as well give it an Ussari flare and do a proper mission report thread about it. This is a complete *ahem* work of fiction, any resemblance to persons living, dead, or living, then dead, then living again, then popping back & forth in time and spawning bizarre extemporaneous rebooted timelines, is completely unintentional. It takes place in the "near" future, when all Kerbin is peacefully united under glorious Crimson Banner of Union!

MOAR pix plz.... THAT's what it reminded me of! Brilliant!

I didn't mention any names, did I? I just think if one is going to be a negative nelly, one should at least be consistent.

Quite. Some of the very same folks salivating over this announcement have been giving SpaceX nothing but grief when they're actually doing. I hope BO does pull it off, but deadlines and the space industry are not often good bedfellows. Oh, well, subbed anyway to see where this goes.

Whaaaaat?? Good Sir, you simply must gif this! Me? I got side-tracked from my side track. But I made a couple of cool airplanes. Wright flyer analogue. It actually, well, flies. The first Ussari to break the sound barrier! In grand Ussari tradition, brave Megicca not only broke the sound barrier, she went into space by a good margin, landed on the other side of the world, and was never heard from again. But I did finally manage to finish the video I've been working on, and what was supposed to be a quick distraction to go explore Stock Visual Terrain has now become it's own mission thread.

A long time from now, in a galaxy... well, actually pretty close as galaxies go, nevermind...

Ah yes, nothing like the fabric of reality its self shuddering to give one's Kerbals the heebie-jeebies. You've got a definite eye for "the shot" in your, um, shots.

Awww yeeeaah. With Stock Visual Terrain, even the TREES are solid.

It was released shortly after the incident. Musk said they have 3000 channels of telemetry AND VIDEO and they're focusing on only 35-55 milliseconds of it. He later said they decided to reach out to the public because their data shows no reason for a failure. They haven't ruled anything out yet, including some outside cause. Good articles: http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/09/spacex-with-a-manifest-of-70-missions-vows-to-safely-return-to-flight/ http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/09/09/musk-no-answers-so-far-in-difficult-failure-investigation/

Drat, that's the one part I really need. What specifically is broken about it?

Because that's not at all what they're saying.

This. When there's an airliner crash or the like, the NTSB and other authorities always put out a similar call for outside information. At this point, @Nibb31's suppositions are no more valid than the whackjob conspiracy theories floating around. At this point, that doesn't necessarily mean either is wrong, too.

I think Edgas would tell you the Kraken is most certainly NOT imaginary Glad folks have not forgotten these absolutely important arc words. Eye scream, you scream, we all scream... just lots & lots of screaming. Someone has studied the Rule of Middle Sequels.

How is this desperate? It seems quite prudent to me. On the pad is one of the few scenarios where us "civilians" might actually have something useful to pass on. Everyone and their brother has a camera these days, and even "cheap" ones are quite good. There's a significant probability that a casual videographer might somehow have filmed something SpaceX missed. Contrast this with the previous failure, where the rocket was several miles up and going faster than the speed of sound, making it extremely difficult for anyone but professionals and extreme enthusiasts to track, and therefore, far less likely they got the magic shot. And either way, we, the civilians, really and truly know absolutely nothing at this point. All we can do is assume, and you know what they say about what "assume" makes of U and ME.

C'mon you guys, seriously. Knock this crap off. We've been down this road before. We all KNOW it was the Kraken!

What about lasers, can they have lasers? Everything's better with lasers...

Chapter 78: Old Friends "Valentina! Please, come in, come in!" It was an odd bit of formality at this point, she was already deep inside the palatial residence. Having been inside an actual palace before, she felt uniquely qualified to use the term and, well, this place might just be nicer. It had taken Valentina some time to actually find it, despite its size, after the bored-looking security guard at the main gate had let her right through. That... did seem odd. Anyway, she had then spent who knows how long wandering about fragrant manicured gardens and large, tinkling ponds filled with brilliant ornamental fish. When she finally found what she assumed was the front door, before her hand even reached the ornately carved hardwood slab it swung open silently on well-oiled hinges. The enormous Kerbal waiting behind had made her do a double take. He was as big as Igor, possibly bigger. He even looked like Igor... sort of. If Igor had been beaten as a kerbling until his face was a misshapen lump. But while Igor's grasp of language was remedial at best, this fellow didn't seem to speak at all. He had simply nodded, and motioned for Valentina to follow. So she did, noting the finely tailored cut of her guide's suit; it must have cost a fortune in material alone. He had led her through a veritable maze of expansive hallways and exquisitely furnished passages. Rich wood paneling, burnished metal ceilings, brilliant marble floors made of solid blocks that surely weighed thousands of kilograms; and everything polished to a mirror shine. Except for the things that weren't. Matte painted walls that highlighted the wood and brass, furniture with exotic leather upholstery to compliment the walls and floors, and aquariums seemingly everywhere one could be squeezed. That, too, seemed rather... odd. They were filled with all manner of beautiful and terrifying fishes and other sea creatures, but... Valentina never remembered Edmund having such a thing for aquatics. The huge... butler..? Assistant..? had shown her to a room in the heart of the house, and once again, the door opened before she'd had a chance to knock. "How long has it been?" Edmund Kerman now grinned. Valentina felt a tinge of shame that she had to force a smile onto her own face. Behind yellowed eyes spotted with red blotches, his face seemed to be a contour map of bruises. Dark, fresh ones overlaid faded browns and pale greys, like the surface of some macabre alien moon. "Too long, my friend," she said, offering a hand, "you are looking well," then winced. Edmund stared at her outstretched right hand for an uncomfortable moment, then at his own, clad in a black leather glove. It didn't look... right. At length, he turned, "you'll have to forgive me," leaning heavily on a cane with his other gloved hand, he motioned her into what must be his office, "I... haven't quite been myself lately." He grunted as he moved, slowly, stiffly, "I see you've already met Arnold, there." From the corner of her eye, Valentina saw the huge Kerb step forward... plugging the doorway as he did. The room was filled with a palette of subtle but unsettling odors. Something pleasant, to mask the astringent-like tang of hospital, and beneath that, barely perceptible, a scent like rot. The same lavish dark woods were here, but the textures seemed to make her eyes slide off when she looked. Strange brightly-colored fish covered in long spines bobbled in lazy circles in a long aquarium built into one wall. Against her chest, the Münstone was growing ever colder. "Best assistant a Kerb could ask for," Edmund crept slowly along around an expansive wooden desk in the center of the room, "be lost without him," finally reaching the far side, Edmund leaned back against an upturned black leather chair and pressed a button. With a whir of motors and a long groan, it lowered him back into a seated position. "And you may dispense with the pleasantries," he said, laying his stiff right hand on the desk, "I look like sh--" his words decayed into a brief fit of coughing. "Please," he gestured, "have a seat." "Edmund, what has happened to you?!" Valentina exclaimed as she sank into the offered chair. It was so soft it seemed to suck her in. "XKCD. Stage III. I'll spare you the gory details, suffice to say I wouldn't wish it on anyone," he grinned an awful grin again, "but I do believe I've stumbled upon a way out. But that's not why you're here." He leaned forward and raised an eye... no, it didn't raise. It jiggled for a moment before falling limp, and another bruise bloomed before Valentina's own eyes. Edmund didn't seem to notice, "so... what can I do for you?" She sensed Arnold's shadow looming over her, "um... is a matter of grave importance..." "Grave, you say?" Edmund said, flatly. It was far too late for Valentina to heed the alarm bells that had been shrieking in her head since she'd arrived. Have to follow this thing through, wherever it goes. "On my last mission... in orbit, I saw something very large. Something I cannot find record of." "Large, eh? Are you sure it wasn't..." He looked at her. She looked at him. The blotchy hemorrhages in his eyes made the latter quite difficult. She swore they had shifted position. PЦTIЙS ЗДЯS, how could he even remain upright in his state? "No, I guess you would know the space station," Edmund said at length, "standard equatorial orbit?" Valentina slowly nodded. Edmund grinned, giving her the peculiar impression of flesh pulling apart inside a bag of skin, "well, let's find out." From somewhere, he produced a slim keyboard. Valentina couldn't see a monitor, it took her a moment to realize it was somehow built into the desk surface in front of him. He raised his mannequin-like right hand, then using his left, curled the fingers into a loose fist, with the index sticking out. With this, he picked slowly and deliberately at the keys. Tap. Tap. Tap. He frowned; she could almost hear flesh tearing, "nothing in the registry. Biggest thing the KSA has in orbit right now is the second stage of an old Isfjell test launch that didn't go quite right." He pushed they keyboard aside, "but you didn't really come all this way for that, did you?" Valentina felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She wondered if Arnold could see them. "Oh and I love what you've done with your hair," Edmund grinned that horrible grin again, the perfectly-trimmed mustache he had once been so proud of was nothing but scraggly stubble, now, "not an easy look but you make it work." "Er, yes... thank you... um, the other matter," she stumbled at a cold blast from the Münstone, "your crew mate... from the Mün mission... Mister Billy-Bobrim--" A hair fell from his lip as she watched, "damn shame what happened to him," Edmund nodded, "good kid. He's getting the best medical care money can buy. I've seen to that." "Yes, well," the chill had worked its way to the base of Valentina's spine, now, "what I am trying to know is, what did happen to him?" Edmund grinned wider than ever, and this time the skin at the corners of his mouth really did split open, "I'll show you." Before Valentina could even tense, the hand was around her throat. Arnold's thick fingers clenched around her chin, neck, and shoulders, and his strength was incredible. She punched and kicked at him, but he might as well have been made of iron. PЦTIЙ, it didn't even feel like skin! "Edmund," she gasped, "what are you doing?! We are friends..." "You'll understand in a moment," he said, "you'll understand more than you ever wanted." Then, to his brute, "hold her." She grunted as Arnold picked her up by her head and shoved her onto the desk, still trapped in his vice-like grip. Motors whirred and whined as Edmund's chair slowly rose. Valentina kicked backwards with both feet, driving them hard into her captor but he remained as immotile as a mountain. Holding himself up by the edge of the desk, Edmund crept toward her. She strained against Arnold's grasp, but couldn't move her head a millimeter. The Münstone flashed to ice beneath her dress as the hideous visage of her old friend filled her gaze. She could smell the stink of decay on his rasping breath. His face pressed closer. She couldn't avoid looking into those grotesque, stained eyes. Where the crimson blotches on his tarnished corneas touched his pupils, they ran up along the edges like bloody crescent Müns. She realized with horror that his eyes had no irises, that the yellowed scleras and hemorrhages just seemed to disappear into pools of darkness. Closer, they came closer. Panic thrashed against her mind. Her feet scrabbled pitifully against the polished desktop. Any hand she raised was carelessly batted away like an errant insect. Closer, and closer still. His pupils seemed to fill her vision. Before her own eyes, the Mün-like moats of blood surrounding them began to collapse inward, falling down into their darkness in sanguine cascades. But not darkness anymore, not shadow. Nothing. Nothing. Not blackness but nothing. Terror beyond comprehension filled Valentina as she stared down into two pools of nothing, that now seemed to swell... engulfing Edmund's eyes until they were entirely consumed. She could feel them drawing her, pulling her into them... and within them, something else. It came forward. Something alien, something other, picked at the surface of her mind, pried at it. She could feel its greasy tendrils slithering, searching for a rift... a way inside. And beyond... past the tendrils... past the presence... within that womb of nothing... She wanted to scream, but had no mouth. Edmund's mouth split in victory, "do you see?"

The link worked. Just copy and paste the full image address (ending in .png, etc), and hit enter, and it should automatically parse it into your post. Albums, however, are currently broken as I understand it. That... doesn't look nearly as insane as I was expecting.... Sure they will. In random directions, at high speed, one frame every few minutes.