Kieve

If you've been following my career log over in Mission Reports, you might know I sneak a little youtube / song link in (as a kind of easter egg for sharp-eyed readers). At first it was done as a joke, but at this point I actively go looking for music that will "fit" the next update. When I heard "Hold Me Now," I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. As of this post, I'm still in the process of writing up the actual story-segment for ATS pt 6, so... spoilers. Read at your own discretion. Initially, the KSV-X3 rocket was slated for a simple orbital test. KSC had to know if the drone-operated transfer stage could make it back safe & sound. Jeb had other ideas. The capsule segment however, did not actually hold enough dV to attain a stable Mun orbit and return, resulting in a dead-weight trajectory that shot him around the Mun and right back at Kerbin. Now since KSC is still in the process of rebuilding after Hurricane Beta, they lack the infrastructure to recover pilots & craft from "anywhere on Kerbin." Unless it's within view distance of KSC, the "Recover Vessel" button is forbidden, which leaves Jeb in need of a pickup. Enter the KAV-12 "Slider" VTOL. While never designed to be autonomous, the OCTO drone core mounted to its spine allows remote piloting, and Burhat flies it out with an empty cockpit to collect our wayward Kerman. On a personal note, those final VTOL shots were some of the trickiest flying I've ever attempted, and required a whole lot of reloading to get both the timing and the camera work where I needed them. VTOLs are hard enough to land with a visible throttle, trying to set them down without is nerve-wracking.

Part 6: Icarus Falling Shelbree smiled proudly at the gleaming metal tower she'd designed. Twin solid-fuel boosters held the main fuselage aloft, pillars of lightweight steel bracing the most advanced rocket yet to come out of the VAB. From nose to engine nacelles, the KSV-X3 was a masterwork of limited resources. True, she'd have preferred to use jet engines as with the X2, but the X3 was a heavier model, and the VAB facilities just didn't have the capability to construct more complex machines yet. Jet engines would've required too many additional parts. Instead, what set the X3 apart was its OKTO drone core mounted in the lower transfer stage. The unguided stage from the X2 was still circling Kerbin as debris, and would eventually have to be deorbited and destroyed. The X3's lifter could deorbit on its own however, provided it had the fuel to do so. Its guidance system was fairly basic, but capable enough to maintain a charge around Kerbin's dark half, plot a reentry course, and deploy its chutes when called upon. More parts recovered meant less funding wasted. "Now that's a rocket," a voice beside her exclaimed. The single flaw in her beautiful craft. Its pilot, Jebediah Kerman. Shelbree gritted her teeth. "Be good to her Jeb," she warned him. "This is a test run. If it goes smoothly, Gene says we'll begin focusing on Munar missions. There's a lot of Science up there." Jeb just laughed, that infuriatingly charming smirk on his face. "Relax, I'll take good care of her. Very good care." The engineer felt a cold prickle crawl up her neck. ---===--- The X3 lifted off an hour past dawn, its twin solid-fuel boosters trailing fire into the morning sky. At 17,000 meters the boosters coughed and died, and Jeb swiftly jettisoned them. Blue fires erupted from the Wildcat V on the X3's transfer stage, leaving the spent boosters spinning in graceful pirouettes as it soared ever higher. From the newly upgraded Tracking Station below, Gene monitered Jeb's progress. "Orbital insertion looking good Jeb. Course plotting indicates apoapsis at 72,500 meters. Circularize in two-point-five minutes." "Roger, Control. Circularization in progress." Through the night, Jeb had done his own calculations. While the contractors worked on installing the new computers and sensor equipment, he studied Shelbree's plans for the X3, and the slim L2 Atlas motor that would power the command module. He was accustomed to flying "by the seat of his pants," but in the vacuum of space, fuel was too precious to waste. Thus, while Bill, Bob, and Burhat snoozed in bunks down the hall, he stayed awake plotting out orbital paths, timing, and trajectories until he was confident in the results. Gene might hate him for this at first, but they'd all be thanking him later. The Wildcat finished burning, peaking at a healthy 143 klicks on the opposite side of Kerbin. It was almost time. "Orbit circularized," he radioed down. "Ready to decouple from transfer stage. You boys have the stick?" "Affirmative, X3, drone core is online and ready to go. Decouple and proceed with reentry sequence. We'll see you on the ground in thirty." The transfer stage released its hold on the capsule with a satisfying thunk, letting it drift ahead. Jeb waited until he was well clear of it before he made his move. "X3 to Control, Transfer stage is clear and all yours. I'm taking the Command pod on a little detour first." "Detour? Stick to the flight plan, Jeb - you flip that capsule around and prepare for retro-burn." "Negative Control. Have to pay a visit to an old friend first." "Jeb-!" He shut the comm before Gene could finish voicing his objections. The X3 drone was live, the Command pod was free, and there was fuel in the tank. His next burn was only a few minutes away. ---===--- "Ker damn him!" Gene cursed, slamming his headset down. He ran a hand through his close-cropped hair, thoroughly frustrated. "Alright gentlekerbs, listen close," he said at length. "Obviously our boy's got it in his thick head to go somewhere. Our task is making sure he gets there - and back - alive. Bobak, keep monitoring the X3 drone, make sure it gets back here in one piece." The mohawked kerbal nodded, fixing his attention on the readout screens and the controllers bringing the craft in. "Dansen, head to R&D and get Shelbree in here ASAP. We need to know what that Command pod can do." "X3Com's Atlas just fired up!" "Track that course, Mitchell. I think I know where he's headed." ---===--- I'm going to kill him, Kerston thought bitterly. I'm going to strap him to a TT-70 and fire him into the VAB's fuel holding-tank. I will end that reckless sonova- Dansen interrupted her silent invective with a hand on her shoulder. "This way, Shel," he motioned, pointing down the hall. Mission Control was in a state of managed chaos. They'd tracked Jeb's course, finding him on an intercept with the Mun. Five hours from now, he'd be the first kerbonaut in over a year to feel the pull of Kerbin's little grey neighbor. Meanwhile, the X3 drone would splash down in Booster Bay in less than thirty minutes. All thoughts of contracts and funding had gone out the window - until Jeb was on the ground, Mission Control's only priority was to ensure he made it back alive. For now however, all they could do was wait. As evening closed in, Dansen reported Jeb's comm had finally come back online. Apparently he was ready to talk. "X3 to Control. You guys awake down there?" "We read you, Jeb," Gene answered, struggling to keep his tone level. "Mind filling us in on this little adventure of yours?" "Materials lab and Goo containment readings in Mun SOI, plus personal observations. I thought our friends over in R&D could make use of the extra Science." A brief pause. "Tank's a bit emptier than I expected though." Shelbree grabbed a spare headset and plugged it in. "It wasn't designed for Munar orbit!" she bit back fiercely. "If you-" Gene quickly stabbed the mute button, making a gesture across her throat. "We'll deal with that when he's one the ground, Kerston," he hissed. "Focus." "Was that Shelbree?" Jeb asked. "She sounds mad." "You've given her a good reason for it, Kerman. Now let's talk about return vector. How much fuel is left in the X3?" "Roughly 15%. Computer says that's around 200 dV, little less." Gene winced. According to the course Jeb had laid out for himself, it would take at least that to break him away from the Mun, leaving nothing for course correction. They'd only have one chance at this, and it'd have to be perfect. "Alright Jeb, listen carefully. This is your next burn trajectory..." ---===--- The surface of Mun rushed underneath him, much closer than Jeb had anticipated for this excursion. The tank was dry now - he just had to pray to Ker that Gene's instructions were accurate, and that he'd followed them correctly. There were no second chances here. But for now, he'd done all that he could. Well, almost all. He was still in Mun's grip, and he'd come with the intent to do Science. The shell on the Goo canister slid back, and he watched for a bit as the blob bounced and gyrated in zero-g. A few more switches later, the experiments in the Materials lab also began processing. Five more hours - the better part of a day - before he returned to Kerbin. Jeb sighed, gazing out the Command pod's tiny window. They really need to give this thing a better view. ---===--- Gene sat back in his chair, looking out over the monitors and the kerbals assigned to them. They'd done all they could for Jeb. With any luck at all, he'd make it back to Kerbin's surface intact. Where was another matter entirely. Before the shutdown and the hurricane, they'd had recovery teams in position to pick up both ships and their pilots from anywhere on the globe. But what hadn't deteriorated from lack of funding had been utterly destroyed in the storm - if it didn't land near KSC, they likely weren't getting it back at all. Unacceptable. They'd not struggled for the last day and a half to see Jebediah home safe, only to abandon him on their own planet. The irony of being stranded in Kerbin's mountains, or the middle of the ocean, after having come all the way back from the Mun, was simply not a result he would tolerate. There had to be a way to fetch their wayward pilot back, once he landed. He voiced the problem out loud. "What about those VTOLs over in the hangar?" Shelbree asked. "Bill said a couple of them were two-seaters." "Burhat's provided extensive reports on the flight capabilities for each. The only one that flew worth a damn was KAV-12, and it's single-seat. But," he added, the glimmer of an idea flaring in his mind, "it did mount an OKTO probe core for guidance assist." "The same core we used in the X3's transfer stage. That might work, if we can rig it for remote operation." Before Gene could agree, she was rushing out of Mission Control towards the hangar. ---===--- "Just tell me, can you do it?" Kerston demanded. Jenners rubbed his eyes, forced out of bed in the pre-dawn hours. "Dunno. Slider's different, core wasn't linked to control systems, only guidance and navigation. She wasn't built like your X3." He yawned. "Might work, might not." "Then we have four hours to find out. Go wake up Burhat and I'll meet you in the SPH." ---===--- Flames licked along the sides of the X3's Command pod. His final burn put him much deeper in the atmosphere than he'd intended - even with the engine and Materials Lab taking the brunt of the reentry heat, he was sweating. There was a sudden popping sound, the squeal of metal tearing, and through the tiny viewport Jeb saw one of the pod's canard stabilizers tumble into flaming shrapnel behind him. The pod slewed sideways for a moment, then straightened as the second canard ripped free. At twenty kilometers up, the X3 trailed fire and smoke as it shot over KSC and out to sea. For the first time, Jeb began to wonder if he'd actually survive this time. On the ground, Burhat watched the meteor that was the X3 streak overhead. "Jenners, I need that remote link ready," he shouted. "Almost done. You know Slider was never designed for this," he cautioned. "I know, but she's still our best option. She's the only one that hasn't tried to fight me in the air." He looked over KAV-12, parked on its landing struts next to the hangar and smiled thinly. Aside from the intake issue, she was Jenners' best work to date. As long as he kept the plane below nine kilometers, she should fly true. With a tiny motorized hum, the antenna on Slider's OKTO probe core extended, blinking ready. "There!" Jenners announced triumphantly. "Remote link established. It's a jury-rigged mess but it'll work." The mechanic stepped aside, leaving the console and chair open for Burhat. "Go get 'im, Kerbalski." Burhat siezed the controls and opened Slider's throttle wide. There was no time left to waste. Outside, her quartet of jet engines roared to life and Slider hurtled into the air, screaming like a banshee. Deftly, he tucked the landing struts in and lowered her nose, pointing all four engines toward the coast. In no time, she was out over the water, a gleaming white speck headed for the horizon. At top speed, he noted a subtle tendency for the craft to pitch up, but a little coaxing and the SAS ring kept her flying straight. Time seemed to accelerate as he followed the X3's course eastward. It was mid-afternoon outside the hangar, but Slider was quickly shooting off into an early dusk, leaving the sun dipping ever-lower on the horizon. The ocean faded from glittering cerulean to an inky black as he crossed over the large peninsula that framed the far shore of Booster Bay. Then the tracking signal went silent. Jeb had landed, somewhere... Burhat leveled the VTOL out, using the nose camera to scan the black waters for signs of life. A scant three-hundred meters up, Slider drifted on plumes of jet exhaust, searching. ---===--- The hatch hissed as Jeb forced it open, letting the salty ocean air replace the stale recycled stuff in his pod. The X3 capsule floated on the waves, buoyed up by its spent fuel tank and the lightweight materials of the command pod. Seabirds squawked in the distance, but he saw none nearby. He'd probably scared them off with his reentry. Jeb climbed out, standing on top of the capsule, and took stock of his situation. It'd been two full days since the X3's launch, and he'd barely eaten or slept since. He'd forgotten what prolonged space travel was like, and the Mun was only six hours - one day - away. Less, if he'd planned his course better. Feeling he should do something useful, the kerbonaut leaned back into the capsule and dug out sample cases. Maybe the X3 pod was a loss, but he'd still obtained some Science. Quite a bit of it, in fact - maybe Shelbree would forgive him when she saw it. "Hah. Fat chance of that, Kerman," he muttered, collecting experiments from the Materials Lab. The Goo container was trickier to get at, but he managed to coax the viscous thing into a plastic tube. As he straightened up, he became aware of a faint keening sound, steadily growing louder. Just above the setting sun, something white was approaching. As it drew closer, he saw the foggy trail of jet engines - Burhat had found him at last. Slider's jet nacelles hissed and pinged as they touched the cool seawater, setting down a few meters from the X3 pod. The craft's nose rotated, facing him as the cockpit canopy lifted upwards invitingly. "About time you got back," Burhat's voice crackled over the comm, sounding tinny and mechanical. "Ready to head home?" The wake from the VTOL's landing made the X3 bob, and Jeb struggled to keep his footing. He tucked the samples into a waterproof bag, sealing it and securing it to one of the straps on his flight suit, then hopped off the pod and into the water. It was colder than he expected. "Home is where the heart-t-t is," he said, soggy and shivering as he crawled into the plane's cockpit. "I just-t-t-t came back from mine." This is one of those cases where there's a bit of discrepancy between "how the story went" and "how the mission went." For the cinematic, the stabilization canards were mounted on scaled-down decouplers, to "break" them at the appropriate time. The landing legs, likewise, were just for show. Now with Tier 1 VAB limitations, I was capped at 30 parts, so the cinematic X3 had a much tighter budget. The real X3 also mounted Goo and a Communotron-16 antenna, in addition to the Materials Lab, meaning more Science. Mission-wise, Jeb's capsule had plenty of fuel for high-orbit Mun SOI and a safe return. With the upgrades to Mission Control and the Tracking Station, I had no issue landing him safely back in the waters just outside KSC, for recovery of pilot, capsule, and all the delicious Science he'd picked up brushing Mun's gravity. Burhat and the KAV-12 were not needed. But the music inspired me, and letting Jeb break mission parameters without consequence just wouldn't make for as good a story.

I'll shoot low and say 5100m/s

It won't help you. Trust me. The Helicarrier is a primary inspiration in the Kraken's development as well, and I've already been down that road. Better Buoyancy is great for making buoyancy calculations more accurate, but it won't magically make things float if they don't already. Did not know about that one, good find! Though it was less a question of if it can take off / land (at all), and more a specific question of interplanetary capability. HX HPDs pack a punch though, so I wouldn't be surprised if you could in fact fly it right off Kerbin and out to Laythe. Probably not wise to do so until it's seaworthy though. And Roninpawn, sorry for semi-hijacking the thread, that is an awesome piece of work you've created as well. Love the train of thought: "Movie? Man, forget the movie, I just want to try building that in KSP!" And also, for some reason it never occurred to me to tweak engine thrust to help balance VTOL engines (or remove horizontal engines from the VTOL equation). Thank you for showing me the light...

Fine with me Now I have some actual reference to work from. @The Space Man: Two questions! 1) Does it float? 2) Can it get to Laythe's surface in one piece?

Skimmed the first paragraph out of curiosity. Three hours later, I'm finally caught up. The world-building and characterization is fantastic, without question. I love stories that manage to weave a number of seemingly disparate threads into a single tapestry, and you've done it here with a master's touch. I am envy, sir. If I had any complaint, it'd be that this tale began three months ago and you still seem to be in "prologue" phase, building up to the point where KSC is actually whole and operating. Hopefully the trials of (ker)manned spaceflight are coming soon? Though I think we're both well-acquainted with the struggles of KSP's early game, so mind you it's not too noisy a complaint. (Also, is it sad that I knew immediately which landmass the "Grand Peninsula" was?)

Walker Experiments: (The first of many) This time I am squarely pinning the blame on Fengist for what follows. I decided to try my hand at IR walkers. Why? Because: 1. They're awesome. I mean, do I even need to explain this? 2. I have a habit of setting stupidly impossible Kraken-bait tasks for myself. Adding robotic flailing deathtraps to the list just feels natural, at this point. So let's begin with the Hex. Now right away, I'm sure you can already tell this is going to end badly. We'll get to that. But why start with 6 legs? Level of complexity. Bipeds may be the coolest, but they're also by far the most difficult. Balance, center of mass, momentum, it all gets a lot trickier when you try to do it on just two legs. I mean, look at all the falling down Kerbals do! Plus I have a Hexbug sitting on my desk, and that helped provide some reference. However, Hexbugs aren't known to attempt a backflip, and explode. Even Jeb seems mildly concerned. On the emotive meter of most Kerbals, that would be "Terror-induced heart failure." Yes, that's right, I created something that makes even the great Jebediah Kerman worried. At this point I don't even know what's exploding. It's just kind of a big flailing fireball of failure. Let's move on. Meet Hex's 4-legged counterpart. Jeb: "We're doing this again?" */gulp* Yes Jeb. Commence the flailing! So, this one actually managed to move around without excessive combustible failure. Granted, not in any particular, desired direction, but it did move! Okay, more like shuffled. Randomly. It was like watching a chihuahua have a siezure. Then I noticed why: The leg joints were locked up, for some reason. Not certain where I went wrong in the assembly process, but those washers with the red stripe on top? Yeah, those should turn. And they don't. So the leg just gets stuck vertical, and doesn't pivot as it should. I'll have to go back and spray some WD-40 on it I guess. Let's go smaller. Disclaimer time: I modified the tweakscale file for IR. My interest in robotics has tended towards the miniature scale, rather than behemoth-sized (I love Battletech, personally, but I'm not planning on recreating a 75t Timber Wolf / Mad Cat in KSP). Anything useful that comes out of these experiments is liable to be a compact probe rover, designed to crawl over difficult terrain where wheels would just slide. So, pretty much what NASA would use them for. But getting back to my previous statement, IR's settings for tweakscale are... weird. They don't align with your set of 1.25m/2.5m/3.75m scales, and the smallest they go is .75m. What scale is that, even? I dug into the .cfg for it and shuffled some numbers around, added a few settings, and now the docking washers line up just fine at fuel-tank scales, plus a "Small" .5m and "Micro" .25m setting, for really tiny work. It hasn't helped with this tiny elephant however. It behaves even worse than the four-legged Hex, just wallowing around and doing a whole lot of nothing. I built something vaguely similar to this with my old Lego Mindstorms kit, and actually got it working. I wish I'd kept it together because now I can't remember what I did to make it functional... Anyway, let's have our last failure for the night. This is actually just a test of a test. I wanted to work out some foot-ankle-leg dynamics, and slapped this together. The washers in the lower-rear of the leg are powered, and meant to tilt the foot as the walk-cycle progresses. And it worked, too. I mean, it was bolted down tight with the docking clamps, so all it really could do was wave the shin-piece back and forth. That seems a shame. So I decoupled it. Now this may look like a failure to you all, but it actually gave me some design insights. Y'see, the way the two halves of the calf/shin framework were moving, they looked very much like legs already in stride. Of course, it was laying on its side going absolutely nowhere at the time, so that's not particularly helpful in this case. But it's made me reconsider my notion of where to place the powered cams, and how the entire leg operates in relation to the walker's body. Legs are the heavy bits, requiring the most structure and support, as well as doing all the actual work. Building the motive cam into them, rather than the relatively lightweight body, may help attain a stability that my attempts have thus far lacked.

Oh no, not the shiny spots! Brace yourselves, the Kraken is nigh! Just one question - is tucking the KAS box under Octo's chin wise? Seems like it might risk getting bumped off a crater lip or something, and then you'd be out a pylon / grappling hook. Paying close attention to that upcoming Cams & Rotors post too. The more I learn, the less explodes on me!

I don't blame you. Personally, when I see posts using imgur galleries, I click the gear icon in the top-right and choose "View Album on Imgur." It's still a new page, but not as inconvenient as what you've described. Also the reason I take time setting up galleries with titles & descriptions. My own internet is painfully slow, to such a degree that loading in image-heavy AARs often takes several minutes, and my only indication of a picture being there is a double-space between text lines (until it pops in). That was the primary reason I decided to try switching to imgur albums - I know how awful "pic-heavy" can be on slow connections. I do take your point though, when they're basically tacked on as an afterthought, they may as well not be there at all. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!

Well I'd appreciate that if you get the time, but I won't be pushy. Seems you have your plate pretty full with this saga alone. My "brightly-colored' adjective might've been misleading - they are quite vivid, but I just meant that I find the KSP-equivalent of Estes Rockets to be uninteresting. I understand they play a role in the rocket program, I'd just prefer to read about manned and drone-controlled flights. Personal preference, and not meant as a slight against your story or their creator.

I only skimmed over this today, so I'll be making a point of going back and reading from the beginning (still catching up on Long Term Laythe too), but I am definitely liking what I see here. Love the story/character-oriented focus too, though I might be biased since ATS is the same way... The various launch stations around Kerbin confused the heck out of me until I checked your mod list, but they're a very nice touch. I'll admit I don't care for the brightly-colored sounding rockets much, but at least they fit the tone here. Definitely keeping an eye on this thread henceforth!

Sadly, something seems to have broken the craft file again. I most certainly have IR (and all associated parts) installed correctly, but attempting to load the stock walker gives several "part not found" errors. Either way, thank you for the extensive tutorial. I'm almost terrified of the can of worms I've opened, getting my toes into this. Ker knows I have plenty on my plate already...

The KSV Kraken has proven to be a huge pain in the tail, but seeing it finally break atmo and set down on Laythe will be worth it in the end.

Stop inspiring me. I have enough stupidly ambitious projects on my plate already.

Well that was an impressive read! I actually stumbled on your Mun-walker thread first, so the "teaser" pic was kinda spoiled, but that's not important. I am curious what exactly happened to the first Walkabout? It's not exactly clear, but I'm guessing the parts-clipping finally caught up with it and caused explosive failure? Whatever the case, I thoroughly enjoyed reading. One of the highlights of KSP is trying to overcome the glitches and "engineering faults" we sometimes find ourselves in. I'm well-acquainted with that sense of relief at the end too, though in my case the Centipede didn't have nearly as far to travel as Walkabout. Might not make for a climactic finish, but at least everyone gets out alive.

Don't fret too much over it - just keep doing what you're doing, and people will take notice in their own time. Proper feedback seems to be kinda sparse around here. As for my two cents? I'm not familiar with the "54-hour challenge" so I have no idea what the goal is, or what the restrictions are.

I generally reread an entry at least once after posting, checking for typos and grammatical errors, readability, and that sort of thing. One point I mentioned but haven't really expanded on yet is a rule I'm using for this career run: Until everything is upgraded and all tech is unlocked, vessels and crew cannot be recovered beyond KSC. It's briefly relevant while Jeb de-orbits, but since most missions thus far have been quick "up & down" launches for in-flight part tests there hasn't been much impact yet. However, that'll quickly change as more flights start going orbital, and reaching out to other bodies like Mun and Minmus. Also as a footnote from Part 4 - I kinda knew KAV-12 would have intake issues from the start. At low altitudes however, Slider is by far one of the smoothest and most stable VTOLs I've built. Future KAV quads will definitely follow in her footsteps (contrails?), once the SPH gets upgraded and higher part counts become an option. The tech tree is still a bloody mess, though.

Part 5: Forward Motion "I have good news and bad news for you, Jeb," Gene said. "Which do you want first?" "Lead with the good, I suppose. I could use it, after all these KVx flights." "I ran into Shelbree on her way to the VAB, bringing some plans over from R&D. Jenners has his crew assembling the parts now." Jeb gave him a curious grin. "Kerston? I thought she was flight-certified. What's she doing in R&D?" Gene shrugged. "Apparently she signed on with Research & Development when we resumed operations. Anyhow, I thought the plans would interest you more. KSV-X2 is designed to attain full orbit." "Outstanding! ...So, wait, what's the bad news?" "You have to take KVx 6 up first. Jet turbine test." "Wreck me. Well, let's get this done then," he said with resignation. "Gotta keep moving forward, straight ahead." For KVx 6, the engineers had decided to try something a bit different. Rather than burning expensive amounts of fuel and oxidizer with rockets, they'd outfitted the KVx capsule with two jet-powered pylons. Taking advantage of Tetragon's generosity, the pylons used two more of the D-30F7 Turbojet engines, with the test-model mounted in the center below the command pod. Using jet engines this way felt strange to Jeb, but if it did the job he wasn't going to complain. Besides, he had to admit it looked kind of neat. The craft was slow to take off - the Turbojets took some time to spool up before he could feel the thrust and the acceleration was gradual. As he passed 10,000 meters altitude, he still hadn't met the airspeed velocity Tetragon was requesting, and began to wonder if he'd top minimum speed at all before he broke the upper altitude limit. Finally, at 15,500 meters up, the craft was moving at the required 480m/s and he could engage the ignition for the third test engine. With that done, he shut the engines down and waited for the KVx 6 to coast towards apoapsis, and return to Kerbin's surface. The jets were equally slow to spool down, and he drifted up above 30 kilometers before he felt that brief moment of weightlessness. He popped the chutes at just over 2,000 meters. They would not fill out until a kilometer above the surface, but he'd barely used any of the jet fuel in his ascent and the small test craft was still quite heavy. Too heavy, in fact - even after the parachutes caught air and unfurled, he was descending at over 10m/s. The speed barely slowed as he neared the ground, and suddenly Jeb realized he stood a good chance of crushing the pylon engines when he touched down. He nursed the throttle back up, but the stubborn jets were too sluggish and he'd waited too long. Jeb winced as the craft struck ground with a loud crunch. ---===--- On the runway, Burhat was reviewing the latest quad-VTOL iteration. The KAV-13 Stratus was a two-seater this time, using structural wings in place of the narrow swept pylon mounts Slider had employed. Stratus lacked Slider's sleek design, but Jenners had taken his airflow jest to heart and made sure each engine had a dedicated intake mounted to it - in the correct orientation. Hopefully this one wouldn't fight him so much, since he'd have a passenger along this time. Bob had been directed to join the survey flight, to contribute his Scientist's expertise to whatever observations Burhat took. The search for this elusive "Sea-Kraken" was still ongoing, and Bill's Drift was another ocean scan. Somebody at Tetragon had a lot of money to waste. Or had lost a bet. Either way, it seemed like a waste of jet fuel. "I just think sending two of us out to look for some fictional sea-beast is a serious waste of time," he protested. "Maybe, maybe not, but we're going anyway. Both of us," Burhat stated firmly. "Hop in, I want to be here when they take the X2 out." Despite Jenners' improvements, Stratus was actually the worst VTOL so far. She didn't just pitch, she bucked and rolled and twisted in every direction but forward. Burhat made an almost-game of it, wrestling her back on course with disturbing glee. It was frustrating how much she wanted to fight, but he was determined to see the mission through regardless. Bob, lacking pilot's controls, sat white-knuckled in the pod behind, watching in mute terror as the sky continually shifted above his canopy. It took several agonizing minutes for them to reach Bill's Drift and ascend to the required height - 18,200 meters. The "airflow" lesson had definitely stuck though. As ornery as Stratus was, she never came close to flameout, even at this height. By now, even Burhat was growing sick of her antics. "Well Bob, you see a Kraken down there?" "I feel like one's latched onto our tail, Kerbalski. Let's get out of here before we're taking surface samples." "Roger that. Use the comm back there and report in, maybe we can still make it back for the X2 launch. Then," he added, "I'm going to have a very long talk with Jenners about aircraft." Burhat hauled hard on the stick and forced Stratus into a swift U-turn that had them briefly facing their own contrails. She may be a feisty wretch, he thought with amusement, but she's a damned nimble one. ---===--- "That's... it?" Jeb was incredulous. "It's tiny. Where are all the boosters?" "Right there on the side," Shelbree assured him. "Most of the necessary lifting is done in-atmo, and the X2 is very light. Those jets are all you'll need." The KSV-X2 was Shelbree Kerston's brainchild, and she had taken a personal interest in its launch. Now that funding was a concern, R&D's primary focus was on "cheap and reusable." Heavy rocket boosters were yesterday's news - assuming the X2 performed as intended. "Now Jeb, listen carefully. Dumping the first stage will be very different from what you're used to." "All in the flight plan, sweetness," Jeb laughed. "Don't worry, I read it twice. I'm just having trouble believing it'll do what you say. But," he added, "I guess we'll find out soon enough." Shelbree scowled after him as he climbed up into the command pod. Her reputation - maybe her career - was riding on this flight, and Jeb was just laughing it off. Of course he was. What did he have to worry about? KSC loved him, the press loved him, he was the poster-boy for spaceflight in this hemisphere. Possibly across all Kerbin. His job was safe. Suddenly her teeth hurt, and she realized she'd been grinding them. Like the KVx 6 before it, the X2 lifted slowly, though the Basic Jet Engines were nowhere near as sluggish as Tetragon's D-30F7's. Following Shelbree's instructions, he waited until 15,000 meters, then brought the nose to a 45-degree angle facing east. It was a strange hybrid of SSTO flightpath and standard rocket ascent, with one major twist. As predicted, the engines began to cough and sputter around 30 kilometers up. The starboard engine died first, sending the X2 into a slow yaw. Swiftly, Jeb killed the thrust and threw the craft into a roll, decoupling the jet boosters as he did. The two tiny pods were flung away, spiraling back to Kerbin behind him, while the KWR Wildcat engine roared to life. With a little help from the rocket's vectoring, he had the X2 pointed back space-ward in no time, burning hard for the stars. He still had nearly half his fuel remaining when his apoapsis peaked at just under 83 kilometers. The rest of it burned away as he circularized - and then some. The X2 was on an elliptical orbit now, with an AP of 169,500 on the other side of Kerbin. KSC's Tracking and Mission Control centers were still rudimentary and lacked the equipment to send him sophisticated telemetry readings. Orbital maneuvers were careful, educated guesses for now. He was beginning to see why Gene had been holding back on full orbital missions... There was still one more task to perform, however. Mounted to the X2 was a TT-70 Radial Decoupler, like the one Bill had fired off earlier that morning. O.M.B. wanted to see how it performed under orbital conditions, and Jeb was more than happy to oblige. He rolled the X2 until its test item was pointed back at Kerbin, and fired. The pod gave a small jolt as the decoupler blew, rocketing off towards the planet below. "Bill was right," he mused. "That is fun." Without the ability to set maneuvering nodes, it was up to Mission Control to figure out how to return Jeb to KSC grounds. True, he could deorbit at any time, there was plenty of fuel for that. But KSC currently lacked the infrastructure to retrieve him from half a planet away. If he landed in a far-away ocean, or on another continent, it would be a long time before they could retrieve him, and hauling the X2's capsule back all that way was out of the question. At four minutes past AP, he gave a short burn, bringing his periapsis to around 20,000 meters and ensuring atmospheric capture. Now, he just had to hope Control had done its math right. ---===--- Forty-one minutes had passed since the KSV-X2 lifted off. Bill, Bob, and Burhat stood together on the sidewalk outside the VAB, watching the sky for Jeb's return. "Do you think he made it?" Bill asked, munching thoughtfully on some Krispy Mix. "Of course. Gene's still holed up in the Tracking Station with the monitor crews," Burhat replied. "You know he won't leave until Jeb's back down, safe and sound." "Jeb is neither safe nor sound," Bob chuckled. "But I take your point. We should be- there!" A dull orange smudge was rapidly growing brighter behind the clouds. As they watched, it passed over a gap in the cloud cover, a steel meteor trailing a writhing snake of furled canvas. Blue-white fires flickered from the LV-909 at its base. The ground rumbled as the X2's sonic boom rolled over them. Jebediah Kerman had returned home. ---===--- Later that afternoon, Jenners brought out the KAV-14, which he'd named "Selene." Like the Stratus, it was a two-seater, though he'd taken Burhat's admonishments and gone back to structural pylons for the engine mounts. This time, it was Bill's turn to accompany the pilot - more parts testing "splashed down at Kerbin." "The Rockomax 24-77 I get," Bill said, climbing into the passenger's seat. "It's a radial-mount engine. I can see that doing a water landing. But the C7 Turbojet? If that goes in the drink you've got bigger problems than whether your engine still lights up." "Truth," Burhat agreed. "But you know KSC needs the funding. You heard what Jeb was saying in debrief?" "Nah, Shelbree wanted to talk to me. She's thinking of signing on with the flight program again." "Hm. Getting the gang back together, wouldn't that be something. But anyway, from the sounds of it even Jeb isn't keen on doing more than low orbital passes until KSC improves the tracking and telemetry equipment." Bill shook his head, speaking into Selene's comm as the engines spooled up. "Now I've heard everything. Jebediah Kerman doesn't want to go into space? You're kidding me." "No joke. Gene's supposed to meet with some contractors later today. Seems somewhere in all this hectic chaos, we've actually built up enough funds to consider upgrading our facilities." Selene gently lifted off the runway and Burhat tilted her forward, towards Booster Bay. "That'd be nice. Do you think he'll expand the Kerbonaut Complex as well? We could do with a few extra dormitories. Y'know, in case more of the old crew starts coming back." "Afraid you'd have to share a bunk with someone, Bill?" Burhat eased Selene out over the water, debating whether or not he should throw in a jibe about Shelbree. Bill decided for him. "Only if it's you, Kerbalski. I remember what that Hitchhiker smelled like after a week of your laundry." "Just be glad you couldn't smell yours, Kerman. Bet Shelbree would have some choice words about it though." He popped the chutes and let the KAV-14 drift down onto the waves. The engines hissed with steam as their hot nacelles touched the water. "Alright, we're in. Fire 'em up." "Roger. 24-77 lights up fine. Turbojet... also green. And Burhat," Bill added with a chuckle, "Shelbree already knows what my laundry smells like. We dated in training." Burhat laughed, beaten at his own game. "Well played, Kerman. Well played." ---===--- The KVx 7 may as well have been a whole new line. The flat-black Command Pod Mk 1 was gone, replaced by the sleek white Mk 1 Cockpit. A sturdy SAS ring served as the structural link, with two KLF-150R Radial Jet Engines from Ark Propulsions mounted to the side. It was even smaller than the KVx 6, but for a change Jeb was looking forward to flying it. "I see the TR-2V is empty. That's the test part?" "Got it in one, Kerman," Jenners affirmed. "21.3km minimum altitude, 200-400m/s airspeed. Bring her back safe and we'll have one more for you before the day's out." Jeb gave the mechanic a curious look. "Day, out? It's still early." "Gene managed to get in touch with some construction contractors, they'll begin work later this afternoon and we have to shut down Mission Control and the Tracking Station to let them do their thing. You've got this flight and one more KVx 7 run with a Mk16-XL chute, then we're calling it done for today." "Gotcha. Guess I'll see you in a few minutes then." As the KVx 7 soared into the clouds, Jeb contemplated what Jenners had told him. Upgrades to the facilities already? Gene was really pushing KSC hard to get back to their pre-Hurricane status. An alarm beeped on the cockpit's console - time to fire that decoupler. On the second flight up, he turned the little craft's nose towards the east horizon. Ahead of him, just above Kerbin's rim, the Mun hovered like a small gray golf ball. He brought the nose up a bit more, sighting it through the cockpit's green HUD. "Target acquired," he grinned. "Next stop: Mun. We're comin' back, baby." The tech tree is really starting to get under my skin, at least where aircraft are concerned. Seriously, why is the high-end Radial intake unlocked before the basic Circular Intake? It's locked behind Tier 2, with Supersonic Flight! /rant Also, a show of hands from those keeping up with this thread - do you prefer the text with imgur album at the bottom |or| text with inline pictures? I'm not sure which loads faster, although I know inline pics popping in causes text to continually jump downward. To me, it does feel like it adds more to the story/report to have the images right there with text though. Input is welcome here.

Yikes! And here I thought I was the only one demolishing infrastructure on launch... I'm guessing that's not one you'd ever want to use in full Career mode - repairing the pad after every Hulk launch would bankrupt you pretty quick. Nice-looking rocket though. Props for the KR-2Ls, too, I've found those to be some of my favorite engines recently. Great efficiency. Looking forward to the conclusion of this marvelous tale! (And also thanks for the plug, didn't have to but much appreciated )

Wow, those are looking much better already. Very nicely done! I'm curious though, how tricky would it be to adapt the mechanics of this mod into a smaller scale? Instead of having 25- and 50-kerbal apartments, something more like this, with several 4- to 8-kerbal "home" modules, high-rises, and other city blocks for the food production and waste recycling? I'd love to slowly build up a full-scale city somewhere like Duna or Laythe, and this civillian population stuff is brilliant for "filling in" what would otherwise be empty towers.

Between Career missions and baiting the Kraken with tasty ship-shaped kibble, I try other experiments. Sometimes, they even work! More often than not however, they end in explosive failure or hilarious Kraken attacks. Or both. Here you may see the results of my ferret-like attention span. Remember kids, R.U.D.'s are B-A-D! *That's "Rapid Unplanned Disassembly" Modular Cities: As if a new career run and building a supermassive aircraft carrier for Laythe weren't enough, I got inspired by JAD's wonderful Minmus Acres project, and have added city-building to my list of Career-Mode to-do's. These are some prototypes I'd worked on in Sandbox - each "block" is a structural baseplate, fitted with B9 landing gear (with the motors and steering enabled), and docking ports mounted 2x per side. The blocks are controlled independently by OKTO cores, and can be linked together in any configuration. However, even with the sturdy landing gear, weight does play a part. The massive City Tower module is heavy enough to push the wheels down, and cause docking trouble. In my test above, I was only able to secure it with one port. Also as a rule: never retract the landing gear, or your city will become lodged in the terrain (particularly the heavy blocks). The intent is to use EL and Karbonite to build them in-situ, and with the B9 gear they can be driven to more scenic locations for link-up, if the terrain is navigable. Still working on the idea, so input is always welcome. I've been considering lately what it would take to adapt the Civilian Population mod to work on a smaller scale using stock-alike parts (such as the Stockalike Station Parts pictured above). Ideally the end result is a fully functional expandable Kerbal City, for any world with the resources to build one.

Part 4: Fly To Learn "So that's where we stand for now," Jenners finished, motioning to the spread of schematics and blueprints R&D had presented. A separate pile detailed the parts they'd worked out with other manufacturers. Like KSC, the Rockomax, KerbolWorks Rocketry, and O.M.B. facilities were all hard-hit by Hurricane Beta, and were still repairing damage to their production plants. Parts catalogs were limited right now, but hopefully would grow as things came back online. Sharing data from KSC helped speed that process along as well. Gene nodded. "Looks good, Jenners. You and your boys get some rest for now, tomorrow's gonna be busy and we'll need everyone at their best." The lead mechanic scooped up his armload of diagrams and scurried out of the meeting room. Another kerbal, sharply dressed in suit and tie, passed him in the lobby on the way out. "Pardon me, is Gene still in?" "Yep, think he's waiting for you Morty. Room 4." Mortimer headed back up the stairs the way Jenners had come. Meeting Room 4 was the small one, but with the space center running a skeleton crew right now, it hardly mattered. Gene was still seated at the table, waiting. When he saw Mortimer enter, he stood and shook the kerbal's hand. "Thanks for coming, Mortimer." "A pleasure, Gene. A bit late, however," he said curtly. "Shall we get right to business?" "Alright. Short version is, today was productive but we won't be able to keep this pace up very long. It's too rough on the crews, and I mean pilots and mechanics alike. We'll run ourselves ragged trying to keep the lights on at this rate." "So the issue is funding." Mortimer steepled his fingers on the table thoughtfully. "I have to make a trip back to the Capitol tomorrow evening. I can see about arranging a fundraiser dinner later this week - guests must have some notice, of course. What milestones have you hit?" "Several altitude records, and component tests so far. Jeb's slated for atmospheric exit tomorrow morning - if we really push, we might achieve full orbit by the end of tomorrow." "Gene, you realize you just told me you have a space program that hasn't actually gone into space yet." Gene gave the accountant an annoyed glare. "The program became operational today, Mortimer. It's a small miracle and a lot of hard work that's got us this far already." Mortimer held up his hands defensively. "I'm not trying to offend, Gene, but the people we'd be asking money from need to be impressed. Test-flights and altitude records simply won't do. We can stake our reputation on achievements, but they have to be significant, or you'll barely see a return. Also," he added, "it will help if some of your kerbonauts can make an appearance at the dinner as well. Wow them with tales of adventure, that sort of thing." "Alright," Gene agreed. "Do what you can, and get back to me when you've got that fundraiser set up." He stood and shook the accountant's hand once more. "Good luck in the Capitol. Say hello to Kerlington for us, if you see him." "Certainly. Goodnight, Gene." As Mortimer made his exit, the mission controller sat back down rubbing his temples. Presiding over an active mission was stressful enough - trying to run an entire space center required more administrating than he had time for. Once orbital missions began flying, there simply wouldn't be room for these meetings. Until he could pass that particular burden however, there was one more task left for today. "Karol, can you send Danbrea from KR in please?" ---===--- The skies were cloudy as dawn broke over the launch pad. Fresh from the VAB, the lightweight KSV-X1 sat ready and waiting. Built in two stages, it consisted of an inexpensive Rockomax BACC solid-fuel booster, with a KWR Wildcat liquid-fuel engine and tank on top. A pair of Goo containers were bolted to the side, almost as an afterthought. Jeb sat fidgeting in the cockpit, awaiting launch. Today was the day he touched space again. "Misson Control to X1," Gene's voice crackled over the radio. "X1 reads you. 'Morning boss!" "Good morning Jeb. Hope you got your sleep last night, 'cause we're touching stars today. Can't have you burning out on us." "I'm just looking for something to help me burn out bright," Jeb answered. "Better to go out in a blaze of glory." "Let's try to avoid rapid unplanned disassembly this time, Jeb. Preflight check?" "X1 reading green and sparkly across the board. It's like Kerbmas, without the red." "Control copies. You are go for ignition." The BACC's thrust output had been reduced 25% for better fuel and atmospheric efficiency. Even so, it hurtled into the sky like an arrow from a very large bow, making Jeb's teeth rattle as the booster roared underneath him. He loved the sensation, but forgot what a kick in the pants these big solid-fuel boosters could be. It blazed beneath him for a full minute before exhausting its fuel at around 7 klicks up. There was a heart-stopping jolt as the separator fired, dumping the spent booster and triggering the Wildcat. The BACC's smoky yellow plumes were replaced by the clean blue flame of liquid propellant, and the KSV-X1 surged forward. Jeb checked his trajectory readings, noting when projected apoapsis passed 80 kilometers. KWFRKS had challenges for passing 56,000 meters, and for escaping atmosphere at 70,000, and the X1 was built to hit them both. It lacked the muscle needed for full orbit however, and Gene had made it very clear he was to land back at KSC. Reluctantly, he cut the throttle and let the X1 coast upwards. Kerbin's upper atmosphere barely made a sound as the X1 rushed through it, but drag still managed to steal two kilometers from the craft's apoapsis when it finally peaked and began its lazy fall back to the ground. Jeb drifted in his seat, relishing the weightlessness for a long moment before he remembered the Goo. Quickly, he made some observations through a tiny camera in the sample pod, and some notes of his own through the Mk1 pod's equally tiny window. Kerbin rolled beneath him as the X1 descended back into atmosphere. At 2,000 meters, he engaged the chutes and with a soft bump the rocket touched down on the plains just west of KSC. It would take the crews a few minutes to drive out and collect him and his rocket, so he pulled out a granola snack to munch as he waited, and wondered what his next flight would bring. ---===--- Meanwhile, Jenners guided another part-testing capsule to the runway, with Bill strapped securely into the pod. His manifest required a grounded ignition test of the LV-909, and firing the TT-70 Radial decoupler. The latter made him grin. After last night's surprise, decoupler tests were now something he looked forward to. "Alright Bill, test capsule in position. Give us a few minutes to get clear and get our snacks, and we'll see how that decoupler fires!" "Sounds good Jenners! Radio when ready." A few minutes passed while Jenners and the other mechanics got their flatbed out of the way and dug out packets of Krispy Mix. "Ground team is clear, Bill. Fire when ready!" With a wicked gleam in his eye, Bill thumbed the decoupler release. The pod kicked to the left as the explosive bolts blew, and he watched from the pod's monitor as the mount sailed off over the plains. The ground crews cheered as it struck dirt and exploded. "This is the best job on Kerbin," the kerbonaut laughed, jotting down his report. ---===--- "More parts tests?" Jeb sighed. "C'mon Gene! We broke atmo! Let me go orbital this time!" The mission controller shook his head. "Sorry Jeb, not just yet. You know we need to make bank here, and we've got some important survey contracts lined up - but we need flight data from those jet engines first. Parts testing it is." "You're killing me, Gene." "No faster than you're killing yourself - or trying to. Unless you'd rather someone else take the KVx 4 up?" The KVx 4 was yet another test-vehicle, with a single Basic Jet Engine beneath and a pair of TFE731 turbines on each side. Only one was required for testing, but two were easier to balance. Jeb was starting to hate the KVx rockets, but he'd be damned if he gave up flight command over something so petty. Luckily the altitudes for both jet engines were close enough, he could fire them off in rapid succession. Less than ten minutes later, he was drifting back to ground at the end of KSC's runway. The KVx 5 followed immediately, this time a test of the Rockomax Mark 55 Radial engines at altitude, and T2 Solid Rocket Separation Boosters splashed down - "Wait, splashed down?!" "That's right. Tetragon wants to see if they'll ignite in water." Jeb was utterly mystified. "But why? When would we ever use a solid-fuel in water? Even I haven't done anything that crazy." He thought for a moment, and added under his breath, "yet." "I ... have no idea," Gene admitted. "But they're paying us for it, so we'll get it done. Besides, it'll give you a chance to get our R&D boys some data for ocean-landing. They'll need it later." Jeb's test of the KVx 5 proved significantly more challenging than any others he'd performed thus far. There simply wasn't enough fuel in the tanks to reach the required height of 10.5km, at at a speed of at least 270m/s - at least, under power. He'd run out of fuel well before then, which meant having to coast the rest of the way, with atmosphere constantly slowing him down. No matter how he looked at it, there would only be a precious few seconds while the KVx 5 maintained both the altitude and speed required for Rockmax's contract. He gritted his teeth, and grinned fiercely. The KVx ships were starting to wear on him, no doubt, but it was still a chance to affirm his status as the best damned pilot on Kerbin. Split-second reactions, tiny margin of error? This is what he lived for. Once more, Jeb hurtled into the sky, trailing plumes of fire. ---===--- "Excuse me, I'm here to see Ms. Danbrea. Is she in?" Karol the receptionist looked up from her desk. The Kerbal in front of her had thick grey hair and an equally thick grey mustache-beard. "Burhat!" she beamed. "Welcome back! I'll let Danbrea know you're here." "Thank you," he answered, giving her a warm smile. "KSC has certainly changed a lot since I was here last." "Yeah, the storm really - sorry, hold on," she held up one finger as Danbrea picked up the phone in her office. "Yes, he's here now. Do you want me to send him in? Of course, I'll let him know." Karol hung up the phone and motioned down the hallway to the right of her desk. "She's in her office now, just go on in. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. Though," she added with a sly smirk, "not as happy as I am." "Thank you Karol," he said again, refusing to be flustered. The receptionist was sweet, but she could be a shameless flirt at times. He'd learned to resist her charms. Mostly. Despite being told to "go on in," he gave a quick knock on the door frame to announce his presence. The Kerbal Resources Director looked up from her desk and motioned him in. "Mr. Kerbalski," she greeted him, holding out a hand. "Good to see you again. You're a tough Kerbal to get a hold of." Burhat chuckled. "I was never a fan of the spotlight the way Jebediah is. I'm glad to see KSC is-" The roar of rocket engines drown him out as the KVx 5 on the pad lifted off. "-flying again," he finished. "You'll have to get used to that. They've been firing off flights nonstop for the last day and a half now. Gene's up to his eyeballs in contract work." "Space flight is privatized? I'd heard things were a bit different, but I had no idea you'd gone corporate." Danbrea shrugged. "It's not quite like that, but the Capitol is only providing a small amount of funding. We supplement with private contractors to keep the funds flowing. Mortimer could tell you more, if you wanted to know the details." "I think I'll stick with flying." "Good choice. Now then," she dug out a folder bearing his name, "let's get you enrolled in the program." ---===--- Jenners looked over his latest baby. The KVx rockets flew, and the KSV-X1 had flown high, but this... this would fly. He was really beginning to like the new parts the R&D boys had secured for him. Now if only they'd add proper landing gear to their list. Officially titled the KAV-11, his Skipper was a twin-engine VTOL using a pair of the new jet turbines provided by USI. It was light, agile, and carefully balanced to ensure proper flight performance. Flying a twin-engine was like hanging from the sky by a string - the balance had to be just right or the pilot might lose control and the craft would tumble and flip. And crash. They definitely didn't want it to crash. "She's pretty," a voice behind him admired. The mechanic turned around. "Kerbalski! They didn't tell me you'd be flying her!" Jenners gave Burhat a swift hug and backslap. "Ker bless you, kerman, it's good to have a pilot 'round here that ain't crazy." Burhat laughed. "Come on Jenners, Jeb's not that bad." "Maybe when you were around he wasn't, but being out of the sky for months made him a bit stir-crazy I think. And you know he wasn't all that grounded to begin with." Jenners shook his head, grinning. "Anyway, Skipper's all yours. Two engines, plenty of fuel, and an emergency chute just in case she misbehaves. Hopefully you won't have to use it though." "Hopefully." Kerbalski climbed up onto the plane's nose and popped open the canopy. "Let's see how she handles." Jenners scurried back as the KAV-11's turbines spooled up, a low hum building to a howling crescendo that set the blood pumping. Someday I'll have to take flight classes, the mechanic promised himself. He watched hungrily as Burhat and Skipper lifted above the dusty runway, angling for the mountains to the west. Gene had assigned two nav points for Burhat to check out. The first was Bobak's Approach, in the foothills of the mountains. He cruised along steadily, getting a feel for the tiny VTOL. Skipper was well-behaved for a twin-engine, but he noticed a subtle tendency for the craft to nose up, especially at high throttle. Despite the care Jenners had put into her, the KAV-11 was still slightly tipsy. Burhat hoped it wouldn't get worse as the fuel drained. As he neared Bobak's Approach, he brought the craft level and slowed the engines, drifting to a low-altitude hover as he made his observations. Skipper mounted a Communotron 16 antenna behind the cockpit, so he elected to radio in his findings, rather than scribble notes while trying to fly. "Skipper to KSC Tower, come in." "Tower reading you, Skipper. How's she flying?" "Nimble but slightly tipsy. Tell Jenners she's a good girl but her sister will be more refined." The kerbal manning the ATC tower chuckled at that. "Will do, Skipper. We'll set out doilies." "Tower, standby for survey data. Transmitting altimetry and crew observation." "Affirmative Skipper, Tower is standing by to receive." While Burhat made his report, the plane continued drifting west, nearing the mountains. As he finished transmitting, he released the landing legs and scanned the mountainside, seeking a flat place to set down. Gene had made it clear any additional data or observations he could get would be helpful to KSC, and as far as he knew no one had surveyed the mountains yet. As Skipper hovered over the rocky terrain however, he began to think better of it. The USI turbines were powerful but slow to respond and likely to send him bouncing off the ground and into a cliff. And Skipper just wasn't balanced well enough for a smooth drop, she drifted too much. Somewhat discouraged, he retracted the legs and rolled the plane to its side, pointing the turbines out to sea for the second nav point. Area 7T-MIP was well out over the ocean to the southeast of KSC. Burhat didn't know what he was expected to observe, but he dutifully made his report as he brought Skipper to a hover around 5,000 meters. The craft was starting to pitch up more strongly now, and he was eager to set her down back at the space center. Jenners might be proud of her, but as the pilot Burhat preferred not to fight his own craft for control. Skipper came in low, drifting forward around 400 meters. Burhat waited until he'd cleared the Research & Development grounds, then killed the engines and deployed the emergency chute. At 11.5m/s, the landing gave him a good jolt, but the legs held and nothing was damaged. ---===--- "Another ocean survey? What are they trying to find out there?" Gene gave Burhat a wry smile. "You know those stories about the Space Kraken that sometimes destroys ships? Somebody at Tetragon thinks there might be an ocean-dwelling Kraken that destroys boats too." "That's ridiculous," the kerbonaut scoffed. "Who would build a boat on Kerbin anyway?" "Not my place to ask. How'd your meeting with Jenners go, by the way?" "He was a bit disappointed with Skipper, but he's building the KAV-12 as a quad-engine, which should fix the stability concerns. Each engine has a dedicated fuel cell, so fuel imbalance won't be an issue." "Clever. That your idea?" "Bill's actually. He got bored and was looking for new decouplers to launch." "Ker help us," Gene laughed. "I'll have to get him tasked soon or KSC's lawn will look even worse than when Beta rolled through." It was just past noon when Jenners had the KAV-12 "Slider" brought out to the runway. Wider and sleeker than her predecessor, Slider also mounted a Probodobodyne OKTO behind the cockpit. Burhat had questioned its addition at first, but Jenners assured him the craft was not intended to be unkerballed, it was simply there to help with flight guidance and alignment. "The cockpit faces down most of the time," he explained. "That can really mess with your sense of direction, so the OKTO helps keep you oriented. It's also useful for VTOL landings, to help kill drift velocity." The nav point for "Zone KEIZ" specified an observation above 17,800 meters. As Burhat quickly discovered, pushing Slider to that altitude was going to be a tricky proposition. The KAV-12 mounted only two intakes, aligned along the craft's fuselage. This meant they spent most of their time facing downward, and intake suffered as a result. The BJE's had a low flameout tolerance, and began to sputter the moment the air thinned out - above 10 klicks. He nursed the throttle back, bringing the nose up as gently as he could. Even changing pitch disrupted the airflow and made the engines cough. Slider was beautifully stable to fly, but in her own way she was just as touchy as Skipper. With a little luck and a lot of pluck, Burhat peaked the craft at 17,900 meters, just as he entered Zone KEIZ. Even as he leaned over to make his observations, the front right and rear left engines sparked and died, sending the KAV-12 into a whirling spin that threatened to snap Burhat's restraints and splatter him across the canopy. Quickly he killed the throttle entirely, forcing Slider out of her spin with SAS torque. Fortunately the craft was light enough that the SAS ring didn't suck the electrical dry, and he brought the throttle back up to 33%. Sparks and smoke belched from the air-starved engines as they spooled back up. Burhat glanced to his left, seeing the contrails the engines left as they slid sideways through the thin air. A long downward-sloping curve, but gradually drawing level as the engines powered back up. Grinning from the rush of adrenaline, the pilot wiped his brow and radioed back to KSC. "Slider to KSC Tower." "Tower here, Slider, go ahead." "Standby for mission report and altimetry data. Also, please locate the book 'A Beginner's Guide to Aerodynamics' and smack Jenners with it, please." Tower snickered. "Standing by for data. Any chapter in particular we need to beat into him?" "Intakes and Airflow." Burhat Kerbalski is an import from my last career, before the .90 update. I preferred to use pilots without Stupidity, so his utter lack of it plus high Courage made him an immediate favorite of mine. However, by the time I started hitting Mun and Minmus, I had taken to using "expendable" Kerbals, since I was still new to KSP at the time and didn't want to risk my valuable kerbonauts. Thus, while he's a "veteran" flyer in my eyes, his XP/Level don't really reflect that in KSP mechanics.

Floating base wouldn't be too tough, I think - I-beams or structural fuselage parts for pontoons would serve you well, and either RCS on your base modules (slow) or a jet-engine tug (slightly faster) to push them around and get them docked. Test in Booster Bay to make sure your docking ports are aligned height-wise and you're golden. The hiccups here all come from working on such a massive scale. Weight does play a factor in the buoyancy puzzle, and the Crawler weighed in at 320,000t, give or take a couple thousand. About a third of that was the deck - right now I'm estimating the completed Kraken to top 500,000t.

It's... so beautiful...

I've done some further research on KSP's wonky flotation physics, and I'm once again questioning the value of welding. The source of my doubt this time is part count - specifically, does one 5-part weld provide more buoyancy than 5 parts? As always, further tests are needed, but I'm finding increasingly curious that the crawler frame (nothing but I-beams and landing gear) kept that landing deck firmly above the water, while the welded pontoons did nothing. I have a suspicion that higher part-count on floaty bits is actually going to end up being a requirement. The other doubt I have is the Kraken - the KSP physics one. I've seen time and again how physics start goes bonkers over these supermassive creations I've been working with, to the point where I am genuinely concerned I will never be able to get the KSV Kraken back into loading distance once it touches down in the water. I have no clue what horrible physics glitches await me, but at this point I'm expecting nothing less than total disintegration, or just straight-up vanishing of parts.