CatastrophicFailure

though I will admit that one part in shadows that really confused me was the Buford T Kerman part, I had no clue what was going on as you never explained who it actually was. The beginning of whispers kind of set me off a bit, I read the first part of the intro after I finished shadows and I just didn't want to read it, because I had no clue what was going on, though a while later I started reading it.Seems there's always some bit that gets a little confused, probably due to the mass of typos I've discovered going back thru Shadows. The into to Whispers was pretty experimental I admit. I had the same reaction to the intro to the Wheel of Time, no idea what the heck was going on. Hopefully, like that story, in the fullness of time it'll be a case of "so THATS what that nut was writing about!" Thanks for the input, that's most helpful. You seem to have the bearing of an English teacher at times with your thoughtful analysis

Ok my turn I posted a couple of breather chapters before things go dark, and for some reason they're kinda rubbing me the wrong way. Feedback would be appreciated. http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/126545-Whispers-of-the-Kraken-%28Chapter-11-Kermangrad%29?p=2176043&viewfull=1#post2176043

Chapter 12: Crimson Square Crimson Square had always been the beating heart of the city, having earned its name long before even the Empire existed, and for exactly the unfortunate reasons one might think. It was shaped somewhat like a T, with the Boulevard of Heroes leading down off the stem toward the Summer Palace. Not so long ago, following his arrest there, the old Emperor and the rest of the royal family had been led down that same street in chains, across this very Square, to imprisonment in the Fortress. No one quite knew why it was the Fortress. There were lots of fortresses in Ussari, in practically every major city. Yet this one had always been the. It was an immense compound, surrounded by its equally famous Wall and Towers. It was still the residence of the current Empress, although in moderately more comfortable accommodations than her predecessor. In the Wall that faced the end of the Boulevard and Palace beyond, was the Mausoleum, a grid of solid marble capstones covering the face of the wall. Most of the Heroes whose likenesses graced the Boulevard were in there, whether they wanted to be or not. So is the Director, Valentina thought as they stared from the far side of the square. Yet as imposing as the Fortress was, it was simply dwarfed by the impossibly huge structure looming behind it. The Dome of the Imperium. The focus of the entire Union. Unquestionably the largest building in the world, it was said that the dome its self was so tall that inside it had its own weather patterns and occasionally rained, and every so often pigeons who tried to roost near the ceiling dropped dead from hypoxia. It was often called the People's Hall, which was somewhat ironic as only those people specifically vetted by the Imperium, and the Imperium its self, ever went inside. Now, seeing it with her own eyes for the first time, even Valentina was taken aback. She thought it looked patently ridiculous. To the left of the Square was the storied St. Cilantro's Cathedral with its bright, colorful, garlic-shaped domes, and to the right was the largest GUM store in the Union. Here, those with the proper documentation could stand in long lines to acquire anything their hearts desired as long as it was approved by the Gosplan. Except, regrettably, gum. Everywhere there were signs of construction. Tall cranes towered over the city beyond the square, and even within, many buildings were covered with scaffolds and surrounded by construction workers smoking rattails and not working. But of course, being Kerbals, the pair headed straight for the collection of snack vendors set up in front of the GUM. Here, at last, was something Valentina thought she could fully appreciate. Blini and shashlik, piroshki, shawarma, sausages, big barrels of kvass, a rather unsavory looking fellow selling suspicious-looking meat pies, and of course, the always popular borscht-onna-stick. They walked along the rows of vendors, trying to make up their minds, and were about to settle on "one of everything," when suddenly it was Dibella's turn to stare and make an undignified noise. "What?" Valentina said, then looked that way. In the corner of the GUM building, a new shop was under construction. Still only half finished, a pair of pale yellow oblong semicircles graced the entrance. She squinted at the sign nearby, what is a McKerbal's?" Dibella continued to stare, "it's a restaurant... an Eastern one... there are dozens of them, all over Gednalna, Dachland, Gytep... but how is there one here?!" Valentina looked at it again, confused, "oh... I went to one of those, once..." "McKerbals?!" "No, a restaurant. When I was in flight training in Kernobyl. As I recall, it was something like a mess hall, but you paid them to be rude and serve bad food. I am afraid I do not understand the concept." Dibella laughed and clapped the other Kerbal on the back, "a treat, then. Come, I shall take you to the best Dachlandish restaurant in Kermangrad!" *** Click-clack Click-clack Click-clack Valentina stared out the window at the darkness, as the train plowed on through the night. She had a full belly and a fuzzy head. Across the booth from her, Dibella was sprawled out on the plush seat, her head lolled back, a rivulet of drool coming from the corner of her mouth, snoring loudly. It was a sound like wet fabric ripping. Valentina thought it almost endearing, in a revolting sort of way. She went back to looking out the window with heavy eyelids. Click-clack Click-clack Click-clack The rhythmic click-clack of the train was starting to make her eyelids droopy. Dibella had certainly been right, the food had been incredible. She had no idea there were so many kinds of cheese. Or such small portions. But Dibella had kept the feast flowing, ordering deftly in a language that sounded like poetry. And like the language, the dishes had been poetry made food. Valentina had eaten ravenously, not really knowing what was on the plate, or caring much. Click-clack Click-clack Click-clack Except the snails. No amount of butter and garlic and pleasant names could make a snail not a snail. Well, maybe just one, when Dibella hadn't been looking. The servers had been had been just as rude as she remembered, except for one strange young Kerb who spoke rapidly and constantly as he cleared away their plates. They had finished the meal with ice cream, set on fire, of all things! Click-clack Click-clack Click-clack Afterwords, as they were leaving the restaurant laughing and giggling, they found a street performer out front in white face paint and a striped shirt. He seemed to believe he was trapped in an invisible box or some such. Valentina couldn't explain it, but she'd had the oddest urge to punch him as hard as she could. Judging by the other faces in the crowd, so did they. Perhaps it was the snail. Nothing good could come from eating gastropods. Even with lots and lots of butter. And garlic. Click-clack Click-clack Click-clack Her eyelids were getting heavy now. But, in truth, she was feeling better. Valentina Kerman was a survivor after all, and even this was survivable. A solution would present its self. Things would get better, just as soon as she killed Sergei. She gasped aloud, nearly screamed, and sat bolt upright. Across from her, Dibella snorted loudly, smacked her lips, and went from ripping fabric to sawing wood. Valentina sat back and hugged herself, now wide awake. Where had that thought come from? Sure, Sergei was a PЦTIИSКI but... It disturbed her how easily and organically that thought had flowed from her mind. She turned back towards the window, and returned to staring at the darkness. She had the discomforting feeling that the darkness was staring back into her. Click-clack Click-clack Click-clack She knew she shouldn't have eaten that snail. *** Igor stood in a dark alley outside the Dachlandish restaurant, ignoring the delectable smells and whatever was chewing on his foot. He watched Valentina and Dibella leave. His orders had been as explicit as they were simple, yet explained in detail so as to leave no room for interpretation. Even written down on a slip of paper. Just two short lines. Yet, for one of the few times in his life, he doubted. There had to be some sort of mistake, there had to be. Yet his Superior did not make mistakes. For the three-dozenth time, he looked at the piece of paper in his hands. Follow Valentina. He looked up, and gritted his teeth, then looked again at the second line. Kill This was wrong. He knew it was. Every bone in his substantial body told him it was. Yet it was not his to question, it was his to do as he was told. His orders were very clear. Follow Valentina. Do not kill mime.

Lease? If (when) it works, that thing belongs in the Smithsonian! but yeah, if they made the 1.2 upgrades specifically to allow recovery after a GTO launch, it makes no sense not to attempt to.

Chapter 11: Kermangrad It was a short train ride this time. Not like the days of endless pasture and steppe, and occasional errant yak, crossing Nusad and Abvonovichatkaderivokistan on the way to the new Cosmodrome. Then, not far from the border with Ussari, as they had passed out of the rain shadow of the mountains to the east, the terrain had suddenly changed. The sparse steppe gave way to patches of forest divided by swamps and marsh, each fighting for dominance over the land with only the humidity winning. Director Kermanev had been right, it was looking like a bumper crop this year. The Director. Valentina tried not to think about him as she stared out the window, watching the world go by. Once they had arrived at the Cosmodrome, it had been days more of briefings, debriefings, orientations, questionings, and... politics. News reporters from Gytep and Dachland had come to interview Sergei, and even taken a few words from Dibella and Tercella. They'd shown no interest in Valentina, and she just felt... nothing. No irritation at the politics and procedure, no resentment or relief at being ignored, just... nothing. Numb. And she knew enough to realize that was a troubling sign. She just felt such-- "...Distraction," Dibella had said, "and a welcome one at that. The Kommissar has given most of the relocated personnel a day of leave before the countdown officially resumes, so come with me to Kermangrad. I will show you the sights. We could all use just such a distraction." Valentina had listlessly agreed. Tercella had gruffly refused. And Sergei had, fortunately, been nowhere to be found. Oddly, neither was Igor. So now she found herself on another train, this time in a very comfortable private booth, making its way through a thick forest towards Kermangrad. The trees, at least, reminded her of home, although they were subtly different this far east. The needles were longer, the branches lighter, and, at least as far as she could tell, they didn't try to kill you. Or maybe they just found trains unpalatable. The forest eventually gave way to open farmland that went on and on, until it abruptly stopped and became the ring of smoke-belching factories encircling the city. They deboarded at the the next station, and Dibella hired a cab to take them into the heart of the sprawling metropolis. It felt strange, being out of uniform, Valentina thought as the cab wound through a confusing maze of streets. She watched the crowds of people going about their business in their various attire. She liked her uniform. It was snappy and required little thought. Plus the shoes and hat added a few welcome centimeters to her stature. She really couldn't remember the last time she'd been out of uniform and out on leave like this, in her simple, sturdy, slightly ragged and mostly hand-made clothes from home. Dibella, on the other hand, was dressed very smartly, or what at least what Valentina thought passed for smartly. She really had little knowledge of such things. But she could recognize clothes that were well made, probably tailored too. Between Dibella and the city-dwellers with their city clothes, Valentina was feeling just a bit out of place. Dibella seemed to pick up on this, and the fact that Valentina still wasn't much for conversation. But, as Valentina would still appreciate later, she never pushed or pried, just let her friend process in her own way while playing the plucky tour guide. Kermangrad was, after all, a strikingly beautiful city, and certainly worth seeing. It sat on the border with Abvonovichatkaderivokistan, separated by the Never River from its much smaller sister city Falafelbad, which was unfortunate because the falafel there was actually quite good. The Never River was the tarnished brown jewel of the city, so named because you never wanted to be anywhere near it unless you absolutely had to. From its headwaters at the polar ice cap far to the north, the Never began its long journey already slow and heavy with pale blue glacial silt. By the time it reached Palace Square in the city center it had roughly attained the color and consistency of peanut butter, and likewise, could be found smooth or chunky. You could catch all sorts of things in the river, most of which were fatal. If you were lucky. It was spanned by the Seven Glorious Bridges, incredibly graceful and airy structures, crafted with a talent rarely seen in the generations since their construction. Valentina mused that they didn't even look able to support their own weight. In truth, they didn't have to, as the threat of falling into the Never was quite enough motivation to keep them up on their own, although they were bolted down securely at either end to keep them from running off. Valentina and Dibella walked across the Square, which took its name from the famous Summer Palace, once the seat of the old Ussari Empire. It was here that had begun what became the Glorious Octember Revolution. Which actually happened in Septober. It now stood as a testament to those turbulent days, meticulously maintained by special order of the Imperium, every char mark and shell hole carefully preserved. The Square was surrounded by a veritable wall of buildings several stories high, built in ornate style with tall columns and graceful, flowing trim. Here and there, the Banner of the Crimson Star flew from rooftops or hung from windows. The pair turned, and began making their way down the Boulevard of Heroes opposite the Palace. All down the center median of this impossibly wide, tree-lined street stood towering bronze statues of Heroes of the Revolution and of the Union. The upper surfaces of the statues were caked and streaked with the opinions of the local pigeons, who did not seem to be much impressed. Valentina walked past the imposing figures in a mental fog that came and went in waves. It wasn't like her to feel this disconnection, this... otherness. As if she were standing still and all this scenery that should have impressed her was just drifting by. She knew this, she recognized the danger, yet she powerless. An odd sight drew her back for a moment. The crowds moving back and forth wore mostly the drab, functional, officially approved garb of Ussaris or the flattened conical hats and colorful ponchos of Abvonovichatkaderivokistan, but scattered within the crowds were dark blue trousers that stood out in an unusual way. They appeared to be made of heavy canvas or sailcloth, garnished with metal rivets. "I noticed that too," Dibella said when Valentina pointed it out, "those are Eastern-style pants, from Omork and Kleptogart, usually very difficult to come by. I do not recall seeing them around in such large numbers before." Valentina watched as they walked down the Boulevard, past statue after statue, "an odd color, certainly, but they do look very durabluuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhh....." Dibella looked at her, confused, then followed her gaze across the wide street. Her mouth dropped open. "ЬЯЗZHИЭV'S SHФЗ!" She swore. There, on the other side of the Boulevard, hanging from a tall, ornate building and just opposite an empty plinth, was a three-story-tall poster of Sergei. The two merely stood, slack jawed, unable to comprehend. Glory to the Hero! proclaimed the words along the top, as Giant-Sergei puffed out his now substantial chest and pointed to the future, Glory to the Union! And as if on cue, a distant low rumble broke over the din of the city. They looked in the direction the Glorious Hero was pointing. At the end of the Boulevard, the legendary Crimson Square opened. At the far end of that was, of course, the Fortress,and looming over that like a storm cloud was the enormous Dome of the Imperium, and rising over that on a column of white smoke, was a rocket, ascending from the distant Cosmodrome. It was like an Approved Motivational Painting by an artist just a bit too full of himself had just come to life. By the time either one of them moved again the trail of smoke was slowly drifting off with the wind and the disinterested crowd had adjusted to flow past them like the Never its self, slowly and grudgingly while making rude sounds. "Inconceivable," Dibella said distantly, "the last launch was only the day after we arrived!" Valentina said nothing. In her mind, something began to unhinge. The left side of her upper lip quivered slightly as above her, Hero Sergei continued to point. Dibella noticed. "Come," she said, taking Valentina's arm, "we should get some food," and gently led her toward Crimson Square.

most Kerbal thing I've heard today. were you not aware of the (also quite Kerbal) failure of their last launch?

Yeah, must be some extra config. I noticed I get no plume/sound with the lv909 too. And looking over what I've unlocked in this career, ONLY the coxswain seems to have the full realfuels treatment. None of the other engines need ullage/ignitions. How do I delete the MM cache?

Touché. ------------------------------- Throwing this up too since I finally got around to trying it:

Indeed. It just barely had enough oomph to leave Kerbin's SOI, maybe it will eventually wander back in and I can restore communications like ISEE-3. Meanwhile, this actually worked out better than I'd thought: Looks like I should have done it a while ago as some of my location references are a bit... off:blush:. The new facility is at about 43* whereas the old one was about 22*, it's quite a bit further than it looks on the map. The higher inclination launches do need a bit more planning, as the next couple of updates will demonstrate:D. Can't just do the ol' "wait till the Mün pops up over the horizon & punch it" trick, and Mechjeb balks most of the time too. I have to figure actual launch windows when Mün is either directly overhead or 180* behind or sit in orbit for days.

Nope, I get nothing at all, VAB or in flight:

Hmm, nope something's not right. Put the config in /RealFuels. Also verified the numbers in the squad cfg are correct. I'm guessing it's RealPlume maybe?

I'm using KSC switcher. It's buggy but workable. I get no sky in the space center view and the clicking is weird, but it does seem to work ok in game.

Thanks. Replies have been a bit sparse at times, so I do get to wondering of I'm rambling a bit too much.

So I'm running RemoteTech & built a rocket. Neglected to put a short-range antenna on it. Fire up the engines. The moment I hit space the launch clamps release, the core engines shut down because no signal, but the solids keep burning... not enough thrust to go up without the mains, just enough to hover... and start lazily drifting towards the VAB not gaining altitude. So I think "cool, at least I'll get a nice explosion!" right? Well... Only a few meters away from the VAB (Bob, bring me my brown pants!), the uncontrolled rocket randomly tips the other way... Does a very graceful pirouette around the launch pad... Finally breaks in half... Does a little of this... A little of that... Some more of this... Bit more of that... Fire and flames and explosions, oh my! The payload is frickin' intact! Not a single solar panel out of place inside!

I figured I just couldn't do this without at least ONE ethanol joke

Sigh. So it's not just me. Dunno if I should be happy or sad about that. Happy I only wasted 20 bucks on this POC joystick that I can't use until Soonâ„¢Maybe I s'pose. I'm getting that same "KSP detects the axis but accept button just throws KeyNotFound" error. Just lots & lots of this in the log: [LOG 22:45:58.048] [InputSettings]: listen target set to None - None; Axis -1, Device -1 [LOG 22:46:10.462] [InputSettings]: listen target set to joy0.0 - Joystick 0; Axis 0, Device 0 [LOG 22:46:10.695] [InputSettings]: listen target set to joy0.0 - Joystick 0; Axis 0, Device 0 [EXC 22:46:15.281] KeyNotFoundException: The given key was not present in the dictionary. System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2[System.String,System.Int32].get_Item (System.String key) InputDevices.GetDeviceIndex (System.String deviceName) AxisBinding_Single.Load (.ConfigNode node) AxisBinding.Load (.ConfigNode node) InputSettings.ApplyAxisBinding () InputSettings.drawListenModeWindow () MultiOptionDialog.drawContent (Int32 id) UnityEngine.GUILayout+LayoutedWindow.DoWindow (Int32 windowID) UnityEngine.GUI.CallWindowDelegate (UnityEngine.WindowFunction func, Int32 id, UnityEngine.GUISkin _skin, Int32 forceRect, Single width, Single height, UnityEngine.GUIStyle style) [LOG 22:46:18.448] [InputSettings]: listen target set to None - None; Axis -1, Device -1 [LOG 22:46:33.063] [InputSettings]: listen target set to joy0.2 - Joystick 0; Axis 2, Device 0 [LOG 22:46:34.231] [InputSettings]: listen target set to joy0.2 - Joystick 0; Axis 2, Device 0 [LOG 22:46:34.431] [InputSettings]: listen target set to joy0.2 - Joystick 0; Axis 2, Device 0 [LOG 22:46:35.479] [InputSettings]: listen target set to joy0.2 - Joystick 0; Axis 2, Device 0 [LOG 22:46:35.731] [InputSettings]: listen target set to joy0.2 - Joystick 0; Axis 2, Device 0 [EXC 22:46:40.867] KeyNotFoundException: The given key was not present in the dictionary. System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary`2[System.String,System.Int32].get_Item (System.String key) InputDevices.GetDeviceIndex (System.String deviceName) AxisBinding_Single.Load (.ConfigNode node) AxisBinding.Load (.ConfigNode node) InputSettings.ApplyAxisBinding () InputSettings.drawListenModeWindow () MultiOptionDialog.drawContent (Int32 id) UnityEngine.GUILayout+LayoutedWindow.DoWindow (Int32 windowID) UnityEngine.GUI.CallWindowDelegate (UnityEngine.WindowFunction func, Int32 id, UnityEngine.GUISkin _skin, Int32 forceRect, Single width, Single height, UnityEngine.GUIStyle style)

hmm, you may be right, it's whatever CKAN last stuck in there so I'll have to take a look. thanx, I'll give it a try this weekend and see how it works (and hope none of my ullageless vessels are now stranded lol)

I think it's absolutely essential. It helps to flesh out both the main character and world in general, and provides a way to explain things in a natural way. Unless, of course, your Kerbals are stranded on a deserted island. But then there's always volleyballs, too.

Chapter 10: Changes It had been another long day of questions, but this time surprisingly few. Director Kermanev was already on a train heading west, where he would receive a State funeral as a national hero, and be interred in the wall of the Fort with heroes past. This went unquestioned by Valentina, Dibella, and Tercella, as they sat around the simple wooden table in the small kitchen of their barracks, contemplating their untouched supper. Valentina stared at it vacantly. Dibella looked at her, concerned. Tercella just looked angry. -Er than usual. Valentina stirred her food listlessly back and forth, not really seeing it. Seeing. Had she really seen... anything? Stress could do funny things to a person's mind, she knew that. And there had been the bottle too, a particularly good one, she had thought. Maybe she imagined it. Or maybe you have the madness they warned you about, something whispered in her mind. Space madness. It sounded patently ridiculous... and she knew it was. The mind is an incredible thing... Her Deda's voice drifted up, it can show you what you cannot see, and hide what you can. She remembered him saying that. Long, so long ago, they had come upon a scene deep in the taiga so horrible that she hated to think of it even now. Look, he had said, in his steady, comforting voice as she clung to his leg, look. And see it for what it is. See it in all its awfulness. See, and know. She had seen, and been sick there at his feet while he patiently held her. The mind is an incredible thing, he had said, wiping the corners of her mouth with a rag, it can show you what you cannot see, and hide what you can. It does this latter to protect its self, but like a seed under a rock, a mind forever sheltered cannot grow. So see this horrible sight before you. See it until you know it. Do not be numb, know it for the horror its is. Be sick, if you must, for growing is sometimes unpleasant. Then he had looked down into her tiny, wet eyes, you will see awfulness in life. Know, when your mind does this thing. Know that what is really there may be far worse than what you see. Only when you know this, can you face it. And then, you will be stronger than it. And, my Tinka, you are already so strong. So together they had looked, for a long time. It was that thought that so unsettled her now. What if what had really been there was far, far worse? "Tia?" Dibella said, putting a comforting hand on her arm, "are you all right?" "I am all right," Valentina said absently, "thinking..." "I cannot believe he is gone," Tercella said to the table, "just like that." "They say it was a heart attack," said Dibella, "chronic exposure to rocket fumes." "Bah!" Tercella snapped, "a load of PЦTIИSКУ that is! You know where he really came from." Dibella glowered, "you should not speak of such things." "Pfft, I want to punch something," Tercella crossed her arms, "speaking of Sergei, where is he anyway? I have not seen him all day." Sergei, of course, chose this very moment to burst through the door, eyes wide, "have you heard the news?" "What?" "What?" "We're being relocated!" "Wwhhaatt??!!" "Where?!" "To a new cosmodrome, near Kermangrad." Valentina finally looked up, "the Capitol?" "We're going home!" Dibella squealed. "Yes... Home..." Tercella studied the table. "Yes, back to civilization!" Sergei said triumphantly, taking a seat at the table, "and not a moment too soon. Everyone here smells of yak." "What an awful thing to say," Dibella snapped at him, "the people here have never been anything but kind and welcoming to us, and after we were just dumped on them too!" "Well they still smell of yak," he countered. "It's how they live! They can't help it." "They could bathe." "They do bathe!" "The people I mean, not the yaks." Dibella opened her mouth, then closed it again. "You know, he does have a point," Tercella said matter-of-factly. "Why?" Valentina said, looking down again, "why are we being moved?" "I suppose the Imperium thinks all the secrecy is no longer necessary, what with the Foreigners having been here and all. Having the entire space program on Ussari soil would solve certain... internal problems too." "How soon?" Tercella asked. "Immediately," Sergei said, "the trains to begin deconstruction have already arrived, I would imagine we'll be on the first one that leaves, in a day or so." "But... the launch manifest... this will delay everything. A new launch facility will take months to build, at least!" "It's finished. Mostly." "What?!" "There have been a number of launches of the new ethanol-powered rocket already." "Wwwhhhaaattt???!!!" Dibella slumped back in her chair, incredulous, "how do you know all this? How did we not know?" "We're stuck in a hidden valley surrounded by impassible mountains and empty yak pasture," Tercella said flatly, "we're probably the easiest people in the Union to keep secrets from. Another reason they put us here." Dibella gave her a look. Sergei sat back and smiled with the smugness of a know-it-all who, for one horrible moment, actually does. "And one more thing--" he began, but then Igor came through the other door, his face ashen. Dibella looked at him with concern, "what? What's wrong?" He was looking directly at Valentina. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, and looked at the floor. He opened his mouth again, raised a finger, then reconsidered and studied the floor. He opened his mouth again trying weakly to smile, spread his hands, then returned to watching the floor. Finally, with obvious difficulty, he met Valentina's confused gaze. "I see Kommissar," he said grimly, "he say... he say... you no fly again." "What?!" Shouted Dibella. "It wasn't her fault!" Screamed Tercella, "she had no control, she couldn't--" Igor raised a hand, "Kommissar say, you too valuable now, to risk. You remain in training and support role." He looked as if he wanted to say more, but no more came out. For a moment, all eyes turned to Valentina. Then, without a word, she fled out the door. "Tia!" Dibella yelled, but she was already gone. Sergei's smile nearly encircled his cylindrical head. "You knew," Tercella turned to him, "all this time... you knew!" Sergei now opened his mouth to say something, then closed it rapidly as Dibella began rhythmically driving the point of her knife into the table. Thock. Thock. Thock. He turned to Tercella and opened it again, then closed it as she drew her fork across the table, the tines gouging deep grooves in the wood and pulling up furrows of splinters. Screeeeeeeeeeee. He then looked at Igor, turned very pale, and quickly fled out the opposite door. Dibella and Tercella looked at each other. "Should... should we follow?" Tercella asked. Dibella thought for a moment, "no. No, let's give her some time." "I meant Sergei." Dibella returned a smile as cold as a Kerberian winter, "yes, let's." They rose. Igor cleared his throat. Loudly. They sat. And watched the door as the day's last light faded in the windows. *** Valentina Kerman sat on a rusting rocket stage, still embedded in the ground where it had fallen months ago. Around her, a herd of yaks lowed complacently. She hugged her knees and looked up at the stars in the satin sky, her eyes watering from the odor. That's what she kept telling herself. Not far away, concealed in the shadows and prudently upwind, Igor kept silent vigil. He had a job to do, and like always he would see it done. But he didn't have to like it.

Stockalike w/ stock revamp. Everything else about the system works exactly as it should, some engines are just "easier" than others.