KSK

Well Gilly is the space potato right? I think the XAC Advanced Snack Division may want to investigate that. Some options. The giant space fork (we stabbed Gilly WITH A FORK!) Xacktar's totally cool but actually super hot Space Barbecue (aka a giant array of Mainsails to cook Gilly) Oggy's Dicer (aka a not at all failed and we totally meant this to happen experiment in rotating space stations that spun itself out of orbit and crash.... Performed a precision intercept with Gilly)

Geep, it's been a while since the last post. Sorry folks - for various reasons I ended up working on more than one chapter in parallel - and it was the next but one chapter that got finished first. Not a great plan for keeping a steady pace of updates but on the plus side there's a lot of new stuff coming right up, starting with where we left off with James and Sherfel aboard Endurance. So without further ado. Docking - Part II. “What kind of a problem, Sherf?" “The boost cover over PV-B is stuck. Looks like the bolts fired but one of the dampers is only halfway open. Seems that's enough to trigger panel deployment though." James swore under his breath. “Well at least that explains some of these warning lights," he said. “How much panel can you see?" “Not much from this angle," said Sherfel, “but enough to see that it's trying to unfold. Looks like all six sub-panels have started to separate cleanly anyway, which is something." “I guess," said James, “You'd best get back through here, Sherf. We'll both need to be on the loop with Mission Control." ------------- “What have you got for me, CapSys?" The Mission Control room was crowded with kerbals. Nelton could barely hear herself think over the babble of controllers conferring with their teams and calling suggestions to each other across the room. Both shifts of controllers were huddled around their respective consoles, Hanbal and Danfen stood behind Nelton's console and Joebal, head of electrical and environmental systems was standing at the CapSys console, conferring with the systems team. Obler looked up. “We need to shut down the..." “Quiet at the consoles!" Nelton shouted. The room fell silent. “Say again, CapSys." “We need to shut down the power to the PV array motors before they burn out, Flight," said Obler. “Then we can work on freeing PV-B." “PV array motors, CapSys - not PV-A array motor?" “That's correct, Flight," said Obler. “Both sets of motors are powered from a common circuit, so unfortunately we don't have any way of leaving the PV-A steering online if we shut off PV-B. Not without re-routing most of the power network anyway. He coughed. “We might want to change that design in future." “We can worry about that later," said Nelton. “Right now I need a shutdown procedure for the array motors - then I need numbers for the reserve batteries. Then I need options for PV-B." “Tell the crew to toggle PVM 1 and PVM 2 to OFF, Flight. That'll disable the primary and backup power supplies. Reserve batteries are good for three orbits with all systems powered up. I'll have my team pull out the time limits at current draw levels but we do have time to work this." “Understood, CapSys. Options for PV-B?" “Two options, Flight. EVA to release the boost cover manually, or we can try applying transient loads with the RCS and hope we jerk it loose that way." Nelton nodded. “CapSys, Telco - I'm going to need an EVA plan. Flight Dynamics - we're going for the RCS solution first so I need a run-through. Can we do this without breaking anything else?" “That's affirmative, Flight," replied Lemgan. “Too little force is going to be our problem here rather than too much." “Understood, Flight Dynamics. Just do what you can." ------------ James tapped the controls and watched the rate indicators drop to zero. “Rates nulled," he reported. “Still nothing happening with PV-B. Hope you've got another plan, Flight because we've spun this ship every which way now and this is just not working." “We concur, Endurance," said Nelton. “We think it's time you took a little walk." “That's about what Sherf and I were thinking too, Flight. So what's the plan?" “CapSys has the procedure, Endurance. Stand by." The two kerbonauts listened wordlessly to the stream of instructions from Mission Control. James muted the radio link and turned to Sherfel. “That's the best they can come up with? We spend Kerm knows how much on this temple to technology and they want me to go outside and poke it with a stick?" Sherfel shrugged. “It's not ideal but I can't think of anything else to do - can you?" “No," said James heavily, “not really." “Look on the bright side," said Sherfel, “poking things with a stick is a long and noble engineering tradition. But you'll be the first to do it in space." James scowled at her and clicked his microphone on. “Copy that, Flight. We have the flight plan and we're suiting up." ------------ James peered down into Endurance's cockpit one last time. Sherfel scanned the instrument panel, tugged on the umbilical and then tipped her head up to face him. He could see her nod inside her helmet. She clasped his calf for luck - not that he could feel anything through the layers of insulation - before giving him a solemn thumbs-up. He reached up over his head, took a firm grip on the edge of the hatch and slowly pulled himself out of the capsule. He immediately sensed the blue glow pouring through the top of his visor but kept his gaze resolutely fixed on Endurance's hull. Carefully, he worked his hands around the hatch rim, grabbed hold of the nearest handrail and made his way slowly down the spacecraft, hand over hand, until his boots were level with the first pair of foot loops. Blinking the sweat out of his eyes, he swung his body sideways from the ladder, hooked his boots into their restraints and straightened up. The whole of Kerbin hung over his head. Spellbound, James stared up at the azure expanse of Great Tranquil Sea. A scattering of islands off the coast glowed jewel-like in the sun, girded all about with the rich turquoise of shallower water. The Kolus coastline itself was picked out in a thousand shades of green and brown and fringed with shining white sand. “James?" “I'm here, Sherf," he said softly. He tore his gaze away from his homeworld and cast his mind over the checklist. Suit systems were looking good, no kinks in the umbilical, suit to ship comms loop was working. Time to get this done. “Okay, time to go to work. Patch me into Mission Control please, Sherf." “Patching you in now, James." His headphones crackled. “Do you read me, EVA-1?" “Loud and clear, Flight," he said. “I'm out of the capsule and heading aft towards the busybox." “Copy that, EVA-1," said Nelton. “How's the suit?" “Hard work, Flight," said James. “Range of movement is acceptable but maintaining joint flexion is tough, especially in the gloves. Suggest we add a wrist and hand exercise regime to the flight training." “Noted, EVA-1." “Okay, Flight, I'm passing the first set of windows on the hab module." “Understood, EVA-1. The busybox should be aft and left as you face the hull." “I see it, Flight. Moving off the main ladder. A little more umbilical please, Sherf." James' boots rebounded off the hull and he cursed under his breath as the abrupt change in momentum swung his torso away from the ship, threatening to tear him free of the ladder. Straining against the stiff fabric of his spacesuit, he shook his head to clear the sweat from his eyes, clenched his hands around the ladder rung and twisted. By the time he'd brought the unwanted rotation under control his wrists were aching with the strain and he was panting hard inside the confines of his helmet. Nelton watched in alarm from the Mission Control room as the readouts for James' heartbeat and temperature spiked upwards. His increasingly laboured breathing filled her headset. “Secure yourself and take five, EVA-1," she ordered. “Copy...that... Flight," came the halting reply. “Let me just....okay... got the foot loop. Sherf - could you turn up my air supply for a moment please - need to demist my helmet." The cool air blowing through his helmet slowly cleared the fog from his visor. James wedged both boots firmly into a foot loop and hung against the ladder, head swimming with a combination of stress and increased oxygen flow. So much for the suave kerbonaut - here I am clinging to this thing like a spider on a tin can. “Looking clearer now - thanks, Sherf. Air supply to nominal please and lets see if we have more luck with this box than we did with PV-B." James inspected the busybox whilst the air washing over his face subsided to its usual comforting trickle. He leaned back to get a better view, glanced down to make sure his boots were properly secured and then cautiously took one hand off the ladder rung. So far so good. Fingers in here... good thing they left plenty of space, think my gloves have expanded a bit in the vacuum. OK...squeeze and lift. The box lid pivoted smoothly open. James automatically lifted his elbow to stop any free floating equipment from escaping but, somewhat to his surprise, everything was still safely clipped down. “Whoever stowed this gear did a good job, Flight. CapSys was right too, looks like the wrench is about the longest thing in here. Securing it to my belt now. Closing the lid... okay, Flight, EVA-1 confirms successful equipment transfer. Proceeding to PV-B shroud." “Nice work, EVA-1. Copy you in progress to shroud." The wrench bumped against a ladder rung and began to swing back and forth, ricocheting between the ladder and James' leg. He was barely aware of the impact through his spacesuit padding, although the extra mass pivoting about his waist was an unwanted distraction. Ignore the damn wrench and keep going. Just take it easy around PV-B. “Okay, Flight, I'm in position. It's going to be a stretch but I can make this work." “Copy, EVA-1. CapSys is asking whether you can get any closer." “That's a negative, Flight. Available foot restraints won't let me get any nearer from this angle." “Understood, EVA-1." “Tell CapSys that I have visual confirmation of bolt release but the damper is jammed. I'm going to see if I can free up the joints some." “Just go easy on the percussive maintenance, EVA-1." James grinned inside his helmet. You had to dig deep sometimes but Flight had a sense of humour if you knew where to look. And on that note - initiating percussive maintenance. He wriggled his glove through the safety loop attached to the wrench handle and pulled the bulky tool free from his belt. Stretching forward as far as he could in his foot restraints, he reached out and gingerly tapped the damper mechanism. Okay that didn't do much. Maybe the centre pivot? Not even the thick, many layered fabric of his spacesuit arm could prevent James' hand trembling as he withdrew the wrench slightly and aimed it carefully at the pivot. Not enough wrist movement to give this a proper swing - probably just as well. Standing on tiptoes, boots barely in their restraints, he thrust the wrench delicately forward. The two levers sprang a little way apart before jamming again. James tapped the pivot one last time and hastily pulled the wrench back as the damper mechanism unfolded in a smooth mechanical ballet. The blue skies of Kerbin shone through the sudden gap between the open boost cover and the partially unfurled photovoltaic array. “Flight, this is EVA-1 reporting PV-B cover clear!" “We see it, EVA-1 - excellent work." -------------- The instant the cabin pressure warning light blinked off, James lifted his helmet off with a sigh of relief. Sherfel handed him a squeeze tube of sapwood juice and he took a long swallow of the sweet milky contents before handing it back. “Thanks, Sherf. I needed that." “Let's see if this bucket of bolts was worth all the trouble," said Sherfel. She stowed the squeeze tube and pushed off towards the lower hatch. James pulled himself back into his acceleration couch, happy just to be back inside the capsule and content to float free and follow the conversation between Sherfel and Mission Control. “Flight, Endurance. All warning lights cleared." “Confirmed, Endurance. PVMs 1 and 2 to ON." James flicked both switches. A shadow drifted across the cabin window as PV-A began to rotate, hunting for sunlight once again. “PV-A is tracking," he called, “we have visual confirmation." “Copy, Endurance. You're Go for full power up." A pair of green lights glowed on James' control board and two dials swung firmly over, twitched briefly, then settled into place. “Flight, this is Endurance. PV-B is online and we have steady draw though buses A and B." Sherfel's amused voice cut in over the air to ground loop. “Well don't just sit there staring at the pretty lights, EVA-1. Come and take a look at your new home." << Chapter 27: Chapter 29>>

Great stuff! I liked the bits and pieces of scripture and doctrine and I could almost feel the heat and airlessness inside that church.

Kerbin's shortest (but widest) runway

I've got no dog in this fight since I'm not signing up for the roleplay but who says kerbals are religious? Religion has had /does have a major influence on human nations but I don't see why that should necessarily be so for kerbal nations.

Didn't even spot Chapter 9 the first time around That oversight has now been corrected! I thought Chapter 9 was very well done and a good closing out of some of the Kraath material. I've always liked the character driven parts of this story, so speaking personally, 'too focused on characters' is very unlikely to be a comment that I'll make. With that said - action is good and woah you weren't kidding about it coming back in Chapter 10! If any newcomers to the thread are reading this - go read Chapter 10. Do that now. Then read the whole story from the prologue onwards - you'll want to. Then read Chapter 10 again.

*shakes head* Gotta love those kerbals. Terrified of the launch but no worries at all about drifting untethered in open space.

Short but sweet - I like it! One minor nitpick - assuming that your kerbals are living in our universe, 1% lightspeed is 3,000 km/s (give or take), not 110,000 km/s.

Not at all - but you left out one crucial part. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Glorious Overthrow of the Not-Nice Government, the Source of All Knowledge and Truth has decreed that the opening performance of the aforementioned operetta be transmitted live from the Mun*. *or a not-at-all faked up sound stage next to the XAC

Nice lyrics - but you have seen Xacktar's videos (and forum sig) right? The first line is spot on - that's all I'm saying...

That's a serious spaceplane! My own SSTOs aren't capable of lifting anything but crew to orbit so getting any sort of cargo there, let alone a jumbo-64 - yeah I can appreciate the difficulty!

Congratulations on the Fanworks Friday appearance!

Ahh - but Minmus is pretty small and far away. It probably took kerbal astronomers a while to find it. In the meantime they only knew about the one mun (around Kerbin at least), hence they just called it "the Mun". [/handwave]

Caution - do not watch whilst drinking hot beverages. ...because scorched nostril hairs hurt.

Nice work. And that is one sweet globe!

Heh - that'll slow the writing down for sure. Grats on the job though!

Ahh - the wonders of the Xacktar 2000, super-chromatic, peril-enhancing sunglasses. Now with built in Kraken Drive. All hail Xacktar!

Nah - Bursby is so cool, the fabric of spacetime bends to his pure laid-back demeanour. Deep gravity wells are just so so unhip man - he smoothes them right out if you can dig it - and floats casually away from Eve using nothing but his RCS pack.

Funny how these things work. I definitely picture Bill and Bob more as Holo and Promii have described them. Bob is an understated, loyal to his friends, 'just roll with it' kinda guy but he's a more than competent deputy to Jeb and has a solid core of the Right Stuff if you look deep enough. Bill - quieter, more introspective, fond of good wines but again has definitely got the Right Stuff when required. Jeb might be all about the speed and the engineering and the thrill of flight but Bill is the guy who would bring a camera along to take a snap of sunrise from orbit. Incidentally - I'm glad that boys can have long hair too.

Attach Gigantors to each of those beams, so that the solar panels project above and below the plane of the 'Flower'. Presto - one orbital solar power plant. No good for anything other than roleplaying of course.

Sounds good to me!

Really nice work! Well drawn characters, interesting backstory and I like the way you weave in bits of jargon - 'stack launched' and such like. Looking forward to more!

Go go nukular powered science car! Just need to make sure that the reactor output goes up to 1.21GW and then try and hit 39.34 m/s* (more boosters may be required ). And then you'll really see what that baby can do... *assuming Kerbal miles are the same as Terran miles.

How about a short story. Prototype Every inspiration comes from somewhere… The canteen doors swung shut leaving Jebediah Kerman alone with his thoughts and the rapidly congealing remains of his lunch. He prodded the unappetising mush of tubers, beans and greens around his plate and sighed. Scooping up another spoonful of stew, he paused at the sudden clatter of footsteps from outside. The doors flew open again and Wernher Kerman burst into the room, glasses askew and hair flopping over his forehead. “Hi Jeb!†“Hey Wernher.†“Mind if I join you?†Jeb laughed hollowly, “Sure. There might even be some stew left if you’re real unlucky.†Wernher’s face fell as he took in the empty canteen. “Oh well, “ he said, “Looks like sandwiches again. Anyhow – what’s eating you Jeb? Not like you to be sitting here on your own.†Jeb looked moodily at his friend. “Final term project.†he said briefly, “Still can’t think of anything to do.†“I thought you were going in with Bill on his stability augmentation system?†said Wernher. “Yeah, I thought about that,†said Jeb, “but I want to build something Wernher. Not a mockup for a wind tunnel, not a chunk of circuitry to plug into a test sim – I want to take something outside and see it fly. “Ahh,†said Wernher carefully, “I think I see the problem.†Jeb pushed his plate away. “Yeah. I don’t think a hobby shop plane is really going to cut it. What about you Wernher? You were doing jet intakes weren’t you?†Wernher glanced around surreptitiously. “Variable geometry intakes,†he said absently, “but I’ve been working on something else on the side.†He got to his feet, “C’mon Jeb. I think you need to see this.†------------------------ The two kerbals crossed the main quadrangle of the Kerbin Aeronautical Research Institute and headed for the large blocky building of the Jet Propulsion Department. Jeb was trying to keep up with Wernher’s muttered monologue. “So anyway, I figured that if you can’t get enough air through the intake at that altitude, then why not store it onboard. Or if not air, then something that would do the same job. Thennnn I realised that you could power the whole aircraft like that – and with a much simpler engine. Just a pair of turbopumps, a combustion chamber and a nozzle really, although getting the details right was tricky. I thought about solids for a bit but they’re not very controllable.†Jeb blinked. “You seriously thought about propelling an aircraft with fireworks?†he said. Wernher looked around frantically. “Shhhhh,†he whispered, “Yes, fireworks basically, but a bit more refined.†He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the side door to the JPD. They hurried down the corridor to Wernher’s workshop. “What’s all this whispering and secrecy for?†asked Jeb. Wernher gave him a sidelong look. “Well partly it’s because I’m not really ready to show this to anyone yet,†he said, “but also, I’ve ummm borrowed one or two things from the lab to build the D1.†“D1?†said Jeb. “Demo 1†said Wernher, stuffing equipment into two large bags. Jeb spotted a pair of gas cylinders and what looked like a tripod stand. “Not a very original name I admit but nice and anonymous. OK, that’s everything – let’s go!†---------------- “Wernher – what on Kerbin is wrong with the Institute test range?†“I told you Jeb – I’m not ready to show this to anyone yet. You’re only getting a sneak peek because you were looking so damn miserable in the canteen. Right – here we are.†Jeb wiped the sweat from his forehead. The Institute buildings were safely out of sight, hidden by the hillside and a small copse of trees. The ground underfoot was hard packed and rocky and Wernher was having trouble setting up his tripod. “Ooof, OK that’s far enough. Test rig next.†Jeb looked at the spindly contraption. “Hold on.†he said slowly. “Isn’t that…†“Borrowed!†said Wernher, “and I havn’t done anything to it. Well, nothing that I can’t undo anyway. Right – propellant tanks next.†He hung the gas cylinders on the makeshift test stand. Jeb raised his eyebrows as he recognised the name of a well known brand of camping gas stencilled on the side of one of them. “Stove gas Wernher?†“Yes, yes, stove gas and nitrous oxide. OK, propellant lines are secure, just need to plug in the control box…†Jeb eyed the finished test stand skeptically. The D1 seemed to consist of an oddly shaped nozzle attached to a metal ball studded with bits and pieces of equipment. Two ribbed hoses connected the ball to the gas cylinders via a pair of what he assumed were valves. The whole unlikely contrivance hung from the tripod on what Jeb knew full well was a rather expensive set of strain gauges. Cables trailed from various points into the control box in Wernher’s hands. “Are you sure about this Wernher?†“Perfectly sure. Here we go.†Jeb glanced around for the nearest rock to hide behind as Wernher started mumbling to himself. “Valves open….gas generator on…†A small flame appeared at the tip of a tube. “Pumps spinning up… and ignition!†Jeb heard a sharp metallic clicking from the depths of Wernher’s contraption and then jumped backwards as a gust of flame shot out of the nozzle with a whump of exploding gas. With a steadily building roar, the gust quickly focused into a bright blue flame. Jeb laughed. “It even sounds like a camping stove Wernher.†Wernher’s only response was to point at the dial mounted on the side of the strain gauge assembly. Jeb leaned gingerly forward. “Hey… this thing is putting out some serious thrust.†Then he stood bolt upright as a thought struck him. “Wernher – you designed this for high altitude flight right? How high is high exactly?†Wernher shrugged. “Whatever you like, provided there’s still enough air for flight.†“What about a vacuum?†Jeb raised his hand. “Yeah, yeah, can’t fly in a vacuum I know – but the engine should still work right?†“It should work better in a vacuum,†said Wernher slowly. “but why a… oh you can’t be serious Jeb?†Jeb’s eyes gleamed. “Oh yes I can Wernher. I think we need to give this baby a new name and I’m thinking that LV-1 has a nice sound to it.†“LV-1?†“Launch Vehicle One Wernher. Launch. Vehicle. One!â€Â

Interesting start and quite a bit different to the Space Race style of story we get a lot of here. I could see this being less about space travel and more about the actual kerbals - look forward to seeing more if you get the time!