KSK

Consider it done good sir. And the nice thing about having a name that begins with 'X' is that you are currently the absolute last word in humour in the Library. Oh - and my last post seems a tad underenthusiastic, so I just want to say that I enjoyed the finale. Jeb saving the world by rocket powered ram-raiding! YEAAAHH.

Seconded this. Also, "A Man on the Moon" by Andrew Chaikin is awesome. Which reminds me, I should probably replace my tattered, worn, sun bleached and thoroughly thumbed paperback copy at some point. For a slightly different view, "Space Race" by Deborah Cadbury is good. Lighter than Chaikin but it has some interesting stuff about the end of WW2 and the Soviet space programme. For non-fiction, "Voyage" or "Moonseed" by Stephen Baxter are good and pretty hard SF, although a tad bleak. In fact you could say the same about most of his space stuff but it is generally well written IMO.

Ouch - 60% would be quite a hit. And that's a good point about the F9H core that I hadn't considered. Hmmm, the SpaceX website is a bit misleading then. Not to their customers I'm sure but to me it does give the impression that all the quoted performance numbers are for the reusable version.

I'm not sure that's right. The SpaceX website is saying 53 tons to LEO and that appears to be for the reusable variant, judging by the big F9H picture complete with landing legs on each 1st stage core. Admittedly that's with propellant cross-feed working which has yet to be proven - maximum payload without cross-feed is 45 tons. Anecdotally, I seem to recall that early plans for the F9H had it lifting 50ish tons to LEO. Just speculating here but perhaps the current version uses F9 1.1 cores (rather than the original F9) and the increased performance there compensates for the payload penalty imposed by reusability, thus keeping the maximum payload at around 50 tons? The point still stands though - SLS Block II will clearly be capable of lifting far more than F9H whichever numbers you use!

Aww man. Still, all good things must come to an end. Looking forward to whatever you dream up next (and keeping my fingers crossed it's got Oggy in somewhere. )

Thanks Duxwing. Next chapter is up. Right of Conclave Gerselle's legs buckled beneath her and she collapsed bonelessly onto the floor. Silently, Donman helped her to her feet and gently led her over to the bed. He pressed his half empty cup of water into her hands, closing her fingers tightly around it. “Drink this," he said. “Trust me - it helps." And we could both use a little help right now. Jonton's tear reddened eyes met Donman's in silent thanks. Gerselle took a hesitant sip, hardly noticing as her trembling hands spilt most of the water down her shirt. She drained the cup and put it to one side. “I don't understand, Jonton," she said. “Breaking communion doesn't kill a Kerm and it certainly doesn't kill it's Keeper." She laughed nervously, “Otherwise there wouldn't be any Groves left on Kerbin." Jonton began to speak but Donman held up a hand. “Let me try," he said quietly. “I need to make sure that I understand." He paced back and forth, his footsteps suddenly very loud against the floorboards. Where do I even start. “You know about knitting," he said at last. “One Kerm tree alone is barely more intelligent than any other tree. Thirty seven together creates a being with feelings, memories and thoughts and the rudiments of personality. A little like a luffa maybe or perhaps one of the treebeasts of Spierka. So why not more? Forty, fifty or even a hundred? Why don't we have a single enormous Grove on each continent made of thousands of Kerm linked together into one super-being?" “The Law of...", began Gerselle. Donman nodded. “Indeed - the Law of Thirty Seven. But laws are a kerbal creation, Gerselle. Why should the Kerm obey them too?" “They don't," said Gerselle, “Grove law is just a collection of instructions." She laughed shortly. “More like a collection of warnings. Jonton and I found out the hard way the true reason for planting Groves a day's walk apart." “The Law of Territory," said Donman, “The second oldest law on Kerbin, after the Law of Thirty Seven." “Well that certainly explains why we couldn't find either of them in the Archives," said Gerselle tartly, “Are you going to get to the point, Ambassador?" The Kerm leaves rustled behind her. “Gerselle...", said Jonton. Donman shook his head. “It's quite alright." He looked at Gerselle. “Thirty seven Kerm have the beginnings of personality and the barest inkling of self. A thirty eighth Kerm is enough to tip the balance towards full self awareness but it all happens too fast to control. Awareness unlocks a storm of disorganised and disjointed memories and the new personality simply doesn't have time to make sense of them before it breaks under the strain and shatters. Gerselle blinked. “Oh," she said in a small voice. She thought for a moment. “What happens to the old Kerm?" “It dies," said Donman bluntly. “A long painful death I imagine." “Far worse than that, Ambassador," said Jonton bitterly. “It endures a long painful life. Remove the thirty eighth tree and the broken fragments of mind will eventually heal, although the healing is rarely complete. We... I was one of the lucky ones that survived mostly unscarred. A lot of us weren't so lucky and for many many others it was kinder to burn them to the ground than to let them live." The leaves around Jonton's head lashed back and forth in agitation. “I think some of my kerbals must have tried to help the Shattered Groves. I can still remember the screaming as the broken Kerm pleaded for the fire." His face twisted. “Although perhaps those are just my own memories. Right now its hard to tell." Gerselle gaped at him. “Your kerbals, Jonton? And which shattered Groves?" She buried her head in her hands, grimacing as her fingernails dug painfully into her temples. “I don't understand any of this!" Jonton and Donman looked at each other. Donman dipped his head in acknowledgement. “My kerbals," said Jonton at last. “Or our kerbals. Sometimes it seems like both at the same time."He closed his eyes. “Do you remember the black spots on the leaves?" Gerselle's face was still hidden but Jonton saw her nod. “I still don't know really what they meant but as soon as I saw them we feared the worst. Even then, I think my kerbal got here just in time."Jonton groaned. “we... I went into communion just in time to witness us, me, our... the Kerm shattering. Somehow I absorbed the fragments." Jonton's voice shook. “A fragment. Such a poor word for a hundred years or more of somebody else's thoughts and dreams and memories smashing into your mind. I don't even know how many there were - I just remember everything going black and then a voice screaming Bad tree! Bad tree! A precarious anchor to reality but just barely enough to stop me Shattering too. I managed to open my eyes and saw Joenie pummelling our trunk." Jonton lifted a hand and peered at it curiously, watching the pull of tendons under the skin as the fingers flexed. “We remember telling you to witness my right of Conclave," he said “and then you vanished. Ever since then I've been trying my best to... protect is a good word. Yes, protect the shards and try to make some sense of them." Gerselle lifted her head and stared at him. “And have you made sense of them, Jonton?" she asked. Jonton plucked at a leaf. “A little bit," he said. “There's an awful lot to make sense of, love." “Do you know how long it took for the Ambassador to get here, Jonton?" said Gerselle. “Nearly three days. I've been worried sick, Joenie has been crying for her father every night. How much longer will it take, Jonton!" The colour drained from Jonton's face. “Three days," he whispered. “No... no it can't be that long." “I'm afraid it is," said Donman quietly, “Believe me, I came as quickly as I could." He paused. “You just said that a Shattered Kerm will heal in time. If the shards are safe, why can't you break communion now?" Jonton looked at them helplessly. “I can't," he said. “Neither of you have any idea what I'd be condemning them too. Besides, it's not..." Gerselle rounded on him furiously. “It's not what, Jonton! Not as simple as a choice between some tree and your family? Between some tree and Joenie!" She stopped as Jonton's face crumpled, tears welling up in his eyes. “...that simple," he said in a choked voice. “The shards are melting Gerselle. Some of my memories are still mine, most of them are still Kerm but the edges are blurring. Believe me, I'm trying to stop them but it's getting harder and harder to know whether I'm remembering something as Jonton-the-kerbal or Jonton-the-Kerm." He paused. “More often there doesn't seem to be any difference. It's all just Jonton." Donman's eyes widened in alarm. “All the more reason to break communion now!" he said, “Before you lose yourself any further." The last tear trickled down Jonton's cheek. “I think it's already too late, Ambassador," he said, “We're a Kerm of thirty nine now. Thirty eight trees - and one kerbal." Donman's eyes flicked from Jonton to Gerselle and back again whilst he struggled to find something, anything to say. Not that I have any real choice, he thought. Kerm hah knows this won't be easy for them but for the sake of all Kerbin I think that poor kerbal needs to stay exactly where he is. “How are you going to eat," he said at last, “If you can't break communion?" Stupid question Donman, he thought, He can still move his arms, so he'll eat just like any other bed-bound kerbal. He was surprised to hear Jonton laugh. “That's the least of my problems, Ambassador. Look." Jonton pulled aside the leaves from around his waist and Donman suddenly felt the acrid taste of bile in the back of his throat. The things that he'd taken to be roots coiled around the Keeper's legs weren't roots at all but some kind of gnarled vine. The tip of each vine had split into a dozen or so tendrils and all of them had burrowed into Jonton's torso. Some of them grew straight inwards, whilst others tunnelled under his skin in hard, ridged weals before disappearing under the surface. Well now you know Donman but oh sweet Kerm I'm going to be seeing that for far too many nights to come. He was dimly aware of a soft scream and Gerselle collapsing onto the bed beside him with a thump. “It looks worse than it is really," said Jonton. “I don't even feel hungry any more. That was quite a distraction for a while you know. Obviously I couldn't really have been hungry with the Kerm looking after my needs but my empty belly refused to believe it at first." His voice suddenly rose in alarm. “Gerselle! I'm fine, truly I am!" Donman's head snapped round in time to see Gerselle's eyes roll forward in their sockets. “It's no worse than going into communion; the connections are just a little thicker that's all!"said Jonton urgently. He grabbed one of the vines and tugged it. "They don't hurt - this doesn't hurt!" His voice softened. “Come here, my love, come here." Mechanically, Gerselle picked herself off the bed and walked towards him. Jonton pushed the leaves to one side as best he could and held out his arms to catch her as she stumbled towards him. Deftly he caught her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. The Kerm leaves rustled and twined protectively about the two kerbals. Donman stood up. “Do you have a telephone I could use?", he asked quietly. Jonton nodded at him over Gerselle's shoulder. “On the table in the kitchen," he said. “Thank you, Ambassador." --------------- The kerbal on the other end of the telephone sounded sleepy and more than a little put out. “Desrigh - it's Donman. Sorry to wake you at such a ridiculous hour but is Corsen there please?" “A-ambassador? Of course. He'll be right with you." The mumbled words coming down the line were too indistinct for Donman to make out but their tone was clear enough. He held the receiver away from his ear for a moment until he heard the distinctive click of somebody picking up a second handset. “Ambassador? Where are you?" “Still at the Grove. It's been an...unusual night. Listen Corsen, I need an advisory meeting with the rest of the Council at their earliest convenience." All traces of sleep vanished from Corsen's voice. “Do you mean an emergency meeting, Ambassador?" “No - an advisory meeting will be fine." “Understood, sir. Should I give a reason?" “I'm authorising the Right of Conclave for one of my constituents. Please advise the Council that due to unforeseen circumstances, my constituent will not be able to attend in person." Corsen's gulp was audible. “I'll see to it immediately, Ambassador." “Thank you, Corsen. I'll be at Bar-Katon airport in two hours." “I'll book you on the next flight, sir. Usual message at the executive desk." Corsen paused, “Bar-katon, sir?" “Barkton. Slip of the tongue, Corsen. Like I said, it's been an unusual night." ------------ Donman tapped on the sleep room door before cautiously peering into the room. Gerselle and Jonton were deep in conversation and he was relieved to see that Gerselle's face had regained some of it's colour. She's resilient. Thank the Kerm for that much. He coughed politely. “Jonton, Gerselle. I need to leave now." Jonton bowed as best he could. “Of course, Ambassador. Thank you for taking the time to see us." Donman smiled faintly. Just like that. A little social call to smooth out a minor problem or two. “My pleasure, Keeper. You'll be glad to know that your right of Conclave has been granted but I trust you'll have no objections if I petition the Twelve Pillars on your behalf?" “It would be an honour, Ambassador. Please convey my apologies to the Council for my... indisposition." Donman's voice was suddenly serious. “I've convened an immediate session of the Council, Jonton. I shall do my best to explain but I shall also formally recommend that each of the Pillars pay you a discreet visit. You may consider your unreserved cooperation to be a mandate from the Council." Gerselle bowed. “Naturally, Ambassador." Jonton nodded solemnly. “Of course, Ambassador." “Very well." Donman paused. The usual Kerm-related pleasantries seem woefully inappropriate tonight. “Good luck, Keeper." He turned to Gerselle.“And to you also - Keeper." ------------- The steaming grass swished underfoot as Donman made his way through the park. Curliques of mist eddied around the graceful arches of the Capital building and swirled around the feet of the statues decorating its twelve outbuildings. Kerbol had barely lifted above the horizon and the flag of all Kerbin fluttering from the topmost flagpole fluttered against a cerise streaked dawn sky. A trail of rapidly drying footprints marked Donman's progress across the central plaza. He dipped his head politely to the two Capital Guards standing silently by entrance and strode into the main atrium. Hurrying through the outer gallery, he pulled up short by the Council chamber doors, braced himself and then nodded to the guards. The thud of closing doors broke the muted buzz of conversation from the Council table and eleven pairs of eyes followed Donman's silent progress towards the podium. He took a firm grip on his lectern, took a deep breath and lifted his head to face them. “Misters President, mesdames President, honoured chief Ambassadors. We are assembled here today to grant the ancient Right of Conclave." “I have answered the petitioner and I deem his request worthy and to be made in sound mind. Let the record note that the petitioner is indisposed and that I, Donman Kermol, have elected to speak for him. This I shall now do and I beg that the Twelve Pillars give his petition all due consideration and support." Here goes nothing. “Five nights ago, I was summoned to a small Grove near Barkton..." Donman watched the phrases of his carefully prepared speech roll over the Council. The mood around the table swiftly built from stony disapproval to mild curiosity, astonishment and then outright shock, laced with no small amount of raw fear. Good.They get it. No need to labour any of this any further. Aldwell's voice broke the stunned silence. “Thank you, Ambassador Donman. We hear the petition of Jonton Kermol and beg you retake your place as a Pillar of the Council." Enomone spoke up next. “Let's get the minor business out of the way first. I trust we all agree that by right, this Council should hold Jonton Kermol guilty of two violations of Grove law? However, on careful reflection it seems to me that the first violation was made inadvertently during the faithful and compassionate observance of his duties and the second has brought upon him a greater punishment than anything this Council is mandated to impose. I therefore respectfully vote that the violations be struck from the record and that this Council proceed to the next item of business." “Seconded," said Aldwell. “I further suggest that this vote be decided by show of hands rather than formal ballot. Let any who disagree with President Enemone raise their hand now or forever remain silent." “Very well. Let us strike Jonton Kermol's transgressions from the record and move on. Ambassador Burvis?" “How much time do we have Ambassador Donman?" “I don't know," said Donman frankly. “I did ask but as you'll appreciate, it was difficult to get a definite answer from Jonton in his current state of mind. If the Council concur, I shall return to his Grove on my way back to Barkton and see if I can find out." “Thank you, Ambassador Donman." Burvis looked at the faces around her. “In the meantime, I suggest that we be pessimistic." President Chadlin drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully. “Do we actually know how many Groves there are on Kerbin?" he asked. Burvis frowned. “You know, I'm not sure we do," she said slowly. “I think that should be our next question," said Chadlin, “We need to know the size of the problem we face before we can devise any reasonable answers." “I agree," said Burvis, “but how do you propose to count them?" President Obrick smiled and tapped the table for attention. “Very easily, Madame Ambassador. We live in a time in which kerbals have sent artificial satellites to photograph the far side of the Mün! I'm sure the same ingenuity could be applied to counting Groves from space." He glanced at Chadlin. “I shall pay a visit to Director Lodan immediately after this meeting." Chadlin nodded. “Rockomax?" "Lodan will have his own views but Rockomax would be my preference." Obrick looked at Burvis. “Your pardon, Madame Ambassador. Rockomax Corporation are one of the few organisations capable of launching the required spacecraft. Under the circumstances I believe they would the best choice." “Hmph," said Burvis. “What about that other lot? The Kerbin Interplanetary Society or whatever they call themselves." “Technically they're more than capable," said Obrick, “but I think Rockomax would be the more discreet option for the moment." Enemone cleared her throat. “President Chadlin's comment is eminently sensible but I'm unsure where it leaves us. President Obrick's proposal sounds plausible but cameras in outer space can't help us conjure up extra space on Kerbin. What happens next? What do we do with our census of Groves?" “It puts an upper limit on the problem," said Aldwell. “Assuming one seed per Grove, we know how much more space we need. I think we can safely assume that we don't have nearly enough but it's still better to know." “I think we can do better than that," said Donman. “If we can count Groves from space, I presume we can also make a map of Kerbin from space?" “Yes," said Obrick. "Unless Director Lodan has any new tricks hidden behind his ears, we would use the spacecraft to thoroughly photograph the whole of Kerbin, stitch the photographs together to make a map and then count the Groves on the map by hand." Donman nodded. “In which case, why not use the map to work out the best sites for planting new Groves, making the best use of the available space?" “We could even allow a certain amount of overlap," said Burvis carefully. “If the ground between planting sites isn't much good anyway, then what harm in setting it aside for the Kerm to squabble over, if it lets us pack more Groves into the available space?" There was a sudden silence. “I'm not sure I agree," said Donman slowly. “It would be stressful for both Kerm and Keeper - and we would run the risk of Shattering. We'd be taking an awfully big risk." Enemone snorted. “We're not going to deal with this without taking some awfully big risks," she said. The discussion grew steadily more acrimonious until at last Chadlin banged on the table for attention. “This is pointless," he snapped, “We can argue about the details all we like but we all know there simply won't be enough room for all the new Groves. So what then my esteemed colleagues? What do we do when there's no room left at all?" “We find a new place to live," said a quiet voice. Obrick's heart sank. I knew somebody would suggest this sooner or later. “It's a bold plan, President Lanrick," he said “and psychologically speaking it's an attractive one." He scrubbed his eyes with the back of his hands. “The practicalities however, are daunting to put it kindly." “Oh I'm certain it wouldn't be easy," said Lanrick,“but surely if the whole of Kerbin were behind the proposal?" “Even then it would require an extraordinary effort for no guarantee of success," said Obrick. “And we'd better hope that Ambassador Burvis's comments regarding pessimism turn out to be unfounded too. Make no mistake, Mr President - your proposal could take decades, if not longer." “I understand that," said Lanrick, “but surely we could find some way of preserving the Kerm seeds until we've prepared the ground for them off-world? A cold store or some such facility." Obrick blinked. “That might work,"he said cautiously. “Would you agree, honoured Ambassadors?" Aldwell shook his head vigorously. “Would you put a kerblet into cold storage?" he asked. “Putting a Kerm seed there would scarcely be better. These are intelligent beings, Mr President; we don't simply lock them away in the dark for inconveniencing us." “Ridiculous," said Burvis. “A Kerm tree is intelligent certainly but a Kerm seed is no more intelligent than one of my eggs. Far better to preserve the seed than condemn the Kerm to a short, brutal life of insanity." “You may believe that, Madame Ambassador," said Aldwell “but I fear that you would find your opinion in the minority." “And I believe that you'll find that most kerbals have enough common sense to see that I'm right!" Obrick lifted his hands placatingly. “Please, dear colleagues. Cold storage is only an option if President Lanrick's audacious proposal becomes a reality - which is far from certain." Aldwell scowled. “Let the record state that I am firmly against the notion, space programme or no space programme." “And let the record also state that I am firmly against an irrational prejudice threatening the future of our world," said Burvis acidly. “That is enough, Madame Ambassador!" Donman thundered. “You will apologise to Ambassador Aldwell for that unseemly outburst!" Burvis glared at him and then grudgingly dipped her head to Aldwell. Aldwell stared at her expressionlessly before dipping his own head in response. “Very well," said Donman, “I suggest we adjourn this meeting for twenty minutes to let everyone cool off. President Chadlin - would you be so kind as to summarise the results of this first session." Chadlin stared down at his notes. “Ambassador Donman to arrange a further meeting with Jonton Kermol; reason, to establish timescale for Kerm seedings. President Obrick to meet with Director Lodan of the Kerbin Space Agency; reason, to order the launch of a mapping satellite into Kerbin orbit. If I may make one further comment, let the record state that I think each and every one of us should arrange a visit to Jonton's Grove. We have forgotten too much of our history good kerbals and it would behoove us to correct that grave mistake as soon as possible." Donman stood up. “I second President Chadlin's comment and add my recommendation to his. In the meantime; we need ideas and we need them now. I declare this meeting adjourned and look forward to reconvening it in twenty minutes." << Chapter 31: Chapter 33>>

On a serious note, the friends that I've shown KSP to all fall squarely in the 'afraid its going to be a time sink', or 'looks cool but not for me' camps. I do wonder if a completed career mode would encourage more people to play - at the moment even career mode is very sandbox. For me it's the best kind of game - as open as you like but with enough obvious targets to go for that the guidance is there if you need it. Not everyone likes sandboxes though, open or otherwise.

Hmph, I tried that one once. The particle effects were admittedly top-notch, the weather effects were kinda nice (if overdone in places) but it's got a steeper learning curve than KSP and being forced to play in Iron Man mode is just plain bad design. The complete lack of save/reload options broke it in my opinion.

Lol, I like FOOF better. Implies a nice genteel understated sort of reaction.

Jumping back a page or two... I think at best the SLS will provide two truly spectacular demo flights. I'd dearly love to be wrong but I just don't think the funding will be there to support the kind of missions that it makes sense to launch on the SLS. I'm actually far more excited about SpaceX, although again, I'm not at all sure they'll do much beyond LEO other than a couple of publicity stunt flights around the Moon (which wouldn't stop me getting ridiculously excited about them ) My gut feeling is that the SpaceX approach of reusability and commonality is the right one, although there are some good contradictory arguments to that on this thread. If I had to bet on any organisation to kick off an era of cool space stuff though, it would surely be SpaceX.

Even then, unless there is something else to react with the oxygen, all you get is hot oxygen. Which will react quite happily with most anything else, including bits of ruptured fuel tank, insulation, fuel vapour etc. etc. but it won't react with itself.

Yep - my first thought when I read that was, 'he should read about chlorine trifluoride some time.' Anything that sets fire to sand requires respect.

In case there are any sharks swimming around the booster? I'll get my coat.

I do tend to keep an eye on the game clock and do other stuff while I'm waiting for interplanetary missions. This probably also explains why I havn't been to many planets yet and usually only get part way through a game before the next patch comes out. Couple of things I do to fill in the time, (apart from construction missions) is to rotate any space-station or base crews every two months or so and also to add self imposed delays on ship building and tech tree climbing. I figure that all the science data needs time to processed and turned into new tech, so I usually allow myself to gain say 5 or 6 usable science points per day. Not to everyone's taste I know (there was a big thread about this a while back) but I like the feeling of having something happening in the background during interplanetary missions and it also makes tech tree choices a bit more strategic if I can't unlock them all quite as quickly. It makes the game seem more like an actual space programme somehow rather than just a string of arbitrary missions. I can have early probes in transit to Duna or Eve whilst I'm still building Munar capable ships and researching the tech for *better* Munar capable ships. Like I said, purely self imposed and not for everyone.

Nicely written! I like the way you've brought in Jeb, Bill and Bob as the old-timers in charge rather than the first kerbonauts (or have you... ). Plus, I love the pictures! Amazing what a different haircut or just a different colour of hair will do to turn a stock kerbal into a real character. I'm voting Commander Jorfred for first kerbal in space.

Operation Stapler... Nice one.

*Groans* Wooaa - this might help.

My latest facepalm moment was getting my docking ports mixed up and accidentally detaching a module from my orbiting Minmus science lab. Not too bad, except that that particular module was put in place by a tug, so it had no RCS or in fact no probe core or other means of control. The only way to stick the station back together was to try and dock my Minmus lander to it (which wasn't blessed with RCS either) and use the lander as a makeshift tug. I confess to giving up on this one and reloading. Theoretically possible but life was just too short on this occasion.

Oh I get that and I actually quite like your hyperactive kerbals. If you use too many exclamation marks though, it's a bit like writing everything IN CAPITAL LETTERS.

Thank you! I'm not planning to stop yet although Gerselle and Donman have been rather lost for words until today. Pages of notes are all fine and good but they don't help much when you can't figure out how to get started.

In related news, the new asteroid belt has been speculatively linked to an advertising push by the Galactic Sub-Etha network. "We'll be saying a big hello to all intelligent lifeforms everywhere and to everyone else out there, the secret is to bang the rocks together, guys.â€Â

Not a problem - there's always room for more origin stories. Thanks for the shout-out and good luck with the next part!

Hope you don't mind me commenting here but there are a couple of things you could do to make this easier to read. 1. Use fewer exclamation marks. They! make the text! very jerky to read! 2. Sometimes you're mixing up they're, there and their. There - indicates position, as in 'that rock over there'. Their - indicates possession, as in 'Kerbin was young, The kerbals were younger. Their numbers small. They're - short for 'they are'. For example - 'The kerbals are mining. They're digging for metal.' 3. You're also mixing up 'were' and 'we're' We're - short for 'we are' For example, 'Hey guys - what are you doing? Oh - we're just building a space centre!' Were - not sure how best to describe this so here's an example. 'There stood, stuck in a hole... There were ancient scriptures.' 4. Past tense of 'say' is 'said' not 'sayed' Good luck with the rest of the story!

Agreed, thanks for sharing. I think this thread might work better in General rather than Fan Works though.

I used to find Mode 0 helpful for tweaking interplanetary trajectories from 'encounter' to 'reasonably close approach at roughly the angle I want'. That's slightly out of date now since you can Focus on your target in the Map screen and get much the same information.