Starting again - From model rockets to the Mun (Chapter XIX added)

[Randazzo]

Oh...

Well, since you're the only one who bothered to guess.. There's a third kerbal wearing a space suit in the cart. I forgot I only needed two

[Randazzo]

A Light Shining in Darkness, part 2

---

Century III was by far the most complicated vessel yet launched by either the CEA or KSC. The KSC solution for mun landing involved two vessels. A large and powerful primary vessel, and a small but efficient lander. Once in orbit, the primary vessel would decouple from the stack, rotate 180 degrees, and dock with the lander which would still be coupled inside it's fairing. Once docked, the lander would be decoupled from the main stack and the main vessel would pull it away from the fairing with RCS thrusters. Finally, the whole contraption would make the transfer and insertion burns necessary to establish a low Munar orbit as close to 50km as possible. The ship was designed to have sufficient fuel to enter virtually any orbital plane before releasing the lander, but for the first landing, an equatorial orbit would be established. Any excess fuel would be used to slow down during reentry. A few minutes after launch, Century III was in orbit and it was time to collect the lander.

CIII[bill]: Mission control, we have established a stable orbit. Engines are shut down, stability lock is engaged.

MC: Copy, Century. All indicators are good. Transfer window is in 27 minutes. Proceed with decoupling and docking procedure when ready.

CIII[bill]: Roger. Prepa...

CIII[Jeb]: That's Bob.

[Quiet pause, thumping noise]

CIII[bill]: Preparing to decouple Century three vessel from stack. Stand by... and we're free.

Turning off stability...

CIII[Jeb]: Ok! Turning around!

CIII[bill]: Alignment looks good. Stability lock re-engaged.

MC: Proceed with docking, Century. Nice and easy.

CIII[Jeb]: (sigh) Ok, moving forward SLOWLY.

CIII[bill]: Approach looks good. Contact with docking port in two... one... contact. Engaging magnetic clamps.

CIII[bill]: We're getting readings from the lander, data connection is established. Decoupling lander from main stack.

CIII[Jeb]: Backing up.. SLOWLY.

CIII[bill]: We are clear of the main stack. Ditching engine fairing and bringing main engine on-line. [pause] We are prepared for transfer burn, mission control.

MC: Copy that, Century. Nice work.

Century III made it's transfer burn just under twenty five minutes later, and Jeb and Bill were on their way to the Mun. It would take nearly a day to get there, and all of Kerbin anxiously awaited their arrival. Though there had now been several trips to the Mun, the promise of landing on the surface brought a renewed excitement. Wernher had reluctantly agreed to give an interview during this time.

Reporter: Here with me I have Wernher Von Kerman, director of the Kerbin Space Center. Hello, Mister Von Kerman.

WVK: Hello.

Reporter: We understand that the Century three is now past the half-way point in it's journey to the Mun. Are you confident that the crew will successfully land on the Munar surface?

WVK: Of course, I have complete confidence in this mission and it's crew.

Reporter: Is it true that the Century is an untested vessel? That you've never actually launched a vessel of this type before?

WVK: That is partially correct. Until a vehicle has made it's first voyage, it has not been tested in practical use. However, each component and module undergoes thorough testing here at the center before any launch occurs. Our lead engineer is himself on the Century , and I can assure you that he would not allow anyone aboard a vessel he did not have confidence in.

Reporter: Are you at all concerned about sabotage?

WVK: What? Why would I...

Reporter: We are all familiar with the disaster here at the center, and the official reports seem to indicate foul play.

WVK: What official reports? We have not rel...

Reporter: Do you have any knowledge of the incident that took place during the Medved landing attempt?

WVK: I... I do not know what you are getting at, young man. What happened during the CEA's landing attempt was unfortunate, but they managed to rescue their pilot from crashing. That is what is important.

Reporter: Sir, would you care to address the rumors that the Cosmos Exploration Agency and Kerbin Space Center are involved in an ongoing feud?

WVK: This is preposterous! There is no such thing occurring! What little contact our programs have had with each other has been in the spirit of cooperation and good faith!

Reporter: So you believe the explosion was an accident?

WVK: This is.. we are done here. [Wernher storms off camera]

Wernher was furious. He didn't know how information had leaked regarding the VAB explosion, but ultimately it didn't matter. The implication that he had somehow been involved in the near-crash of the Medved lander was simply outlandish. He could not fathom why anyone would think such a thing. It did not occur to him that Nikita might think just that.

---

Wernher's interview had done much to spur the growing rumors that KSC and the CEA were engaged in a hostile competition, but there was no time to worry about it now. Century III had entered the Mun's sphere of influence and was approaching it's insertion burn. However, there was a small issue.

MC: Mission control to Century, come in please.

CIII[Jeb]: Hi Bob-O!

CIII[bill]: Go ahead, mission control.

MC: Century, we're getting some odd readings down here. It appears that the lander may be experiencing a fuel leak.

CIII[bill]: Hmm.. our instruments show a full tank.

MC: It may be an issue down here, our readings are not consistent.

CIII[Jeb]: Oh no! I still get to land, right?!

MC: Stand by, Century.

Jeb and Bill were trying not to let themselves be disappointed prematurely, but it was hard to fight off the gloom. If they had to abort, it would be a terrible let down. Wernher was near disbelief. After the terrible interview, if something had happened to the lander tank, he knew it would be a press nightmare. Finally, Bob came back on comms.

MC: Alright Century. Our readings are continuing to fluctuate. However, since you cannot confirm, we're not ready to abort yet.

CIII[Jeb]: I knew you'd figure it out Bob-O!

MC: There's more, Century. Hold on. Once you've established orbit, we're going to need to check the lander capsule's fuel readout, and we'd like Bill to inspect the tank visually.

CIII[bill]: How would I do that? The lander is... Oh. You want me to go into space?

MC: Affirmative, Century. If you cannot confirm that the tank is not compromised, we will have to abort the landing attempt.

CIII[bill] Understood. [long pause] If that's what is necessary, I'll do it.

MC: Alright Century. Listen... be careful guys.

CIII[Jeb]: Bob, mission control.

MC: I didn't copy that, Century.

CIII[Jeb]: BOB.

MC: Yes?

CIII[bill]: (sighing) I think he means Roger.

Soon after, Century executed it's insertion burn. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as the first ever spacewalk approached.

Century entered orbit very close to the Munar horizon, and would be quickly passing to the dark side. They would have to act quickly to inspect the lander vehicle before dropping out of contact with KSC. Per instructions, Jeb first climbed into the lander capsule itself to check the fuel readings. The indicator there showed a full tank, as in the Century III command module. However, to be absolutely certain, Bill would have to go check the tank for ruptures. As this spacewalk had not been planned, and the airlock led only into the lander capsule, the century would have to depressurize the main vessels capsule and Bill would exit through the main hatch. Before Jeb transferred into the lander, he and Bill made sure there were no free-floating items around. This was not the safest course of action by any means, but they were willing to take the risk. Once Jeb was safely in the lander, Bill initiated the depressurization.

CIII[bill]: Pod is depressurizing. Preparing to exit the vehicle.

MC: Bill, be careful out there. We're all with you.

CIII[bill]: Don't worry, I have Jeb up here to catch me if I float away.

CIII[Jeb]: That's right! Don't worry Bob-O!

Bill could not communicate with mission control while outside the pod, though his helmet transmitter could easily reach Jeb. When the capsule pressure reached zero, he unlatched the main hatch and pushed it open, very carefully floating out into space. Holding on to a ladder strut for support, he closed the hatch behind him and activated his suits EVA thrusters. When Bill finally turned his attention away from the pod, he was awestruck at the sight.

"Wow.", was all Bill could say.

"Boy I bet it's neat out there!", Jeb responded through the transmitter, jarring Bill back into reality, "Congratulations Bill, you're the first free-floating kerbal in space!"

"Thanks Jeb. Ok, I'm going to take a look at the lander. Stand by.", Bill responded.

Carefully using his suits thrusters to propel himself around the vehicle, Bill was unable to locate any visible leaks on the lander tank.

Once safely back inside, Bill re-pressurized the capsule and Jeb returned from the lander. They had only a few minutes to report back before losing line of sight.

CIII[bill]: Century to mission control, spacewalk is complete.

MC: What's the verdict Century?

CIII[Jeb]: Lander says it's full!

CIII[bill]: I could not locate any fuel leaks. Tank appeared sound.

MC: Understood. Stand by, please.

Bill and Jeb waited in agony as Bob and Wernher put their heads together on the ground. Jeb was likely to be severely disappointed if the landing was aborted, but Bill was more understanding. He knew they had to take the safest course of action.

MC: Come in, Century.

CIII[Jeb]: Are we landing, Bob-O?

MC: Century, our fuel readings are still fluctuating. Wisest course of action would be to abort the landing.

CIII[bill]: [pause] Understood, mission control...

MC: However, as it appears our systems may be malfunctioning, final determination is left to the engineering specialist on-board.

[Long pause]

MC: Century, we have approximately 30 seconds until communications are lost. What is your determination?

CIII[bill]: I concur that systems on the ground are malfunctioning. The lander is sound. We will proceed. (Jeb can be heard cheering in the background)

MC: Understood, Century. Proceed with landing at original destination. We will see you on... (static)

Jeb actually unbuckled himself and gave Bill a terribly awkward hug. Bill just shook his head with a grin.

"Sure, you're happy now, but if you run out of fuel on the way down, we're going to have problems.", Bill said, only partially joking.

"Nah, I can get out and push!", Jeb responded exuberantly.

As it happened, the chosen landing zone would just be passing over the Munar horizon into daylight at nearly the same time as the Century. Jeb would actually have to undock the lander and begin his descent just prior to re-establishing communications with mission control. Fortunately, Bob was aware of this and it was no surprise. Just as daylight began to pour over the lander, Jeb fired the engine and began his journey to the surface.

Descent would take several minutes, during which both Bill and mission control remained mostly silent, listening to Jeb's somewhat scattered reports. It appeared that Bill had been correct, and the lander had plenty of fuel. The moment of truth was finally approaching.

CIII[Jeb]: Ok Bob-O! Getting closer now, eight kilometers! Turning on the lights! Hey, what are they for anyway? I can't see down!

MC: For safety, Century.

CIII[Jeb]: Whatever you say! Seven kilometers! Lots of fuel left!

[Pause]

CIII[Jeb]: Four kilometers! Increasing thrust, adjusting for rotational velocity. Looks good, Bob-O! Hey.. OH NO!

MC: Report, Century! What's the problem?

CIII[Jeb]: I left my snacks in the other capsule!! Aw, geez! Oh, three kilometers.

MC: I.. we.. proceed, Century.

CIII[Jeb]: Bill, don't eat my snacks!

CIII[bill]: [crunching noise] I wouldn't think of it, Jeb. Pay attention!

CIII[Jeb]: Grrr! Less than a kilometer now.. Ok.. I'm going pretty slow.

CIII[Jeb]: Four hundred meters from the surface... three hundred... two... one... I'M LANDED ON THE MUN!!

MC: Good [unintelligble, applause] Century! Excellent work!

CIII[bill]: Nice work, Jeb. I'll save you a bag, I promise.

CIII[Jeb]: You better! Or you'll be the second kerbal on the Mun!

MC: Alright Century lander, let's run some checks.

After many long months, a Kerbal was finally landed on the Mun. Kerbin as a whole was rejoicing, united in a way seldom seen before. Even the CEA staff were applauding, and Nikita caught himself smiling, although briefly. The media frenzy increased, with many calling it the greatest achievment of Kerbalkind. Wernher, though thoroughly pleased, kept sight of the fact that they were only halfway through the danger. Jeb still had to lift off again and rendezvous with the Century main module. After nearly an hour of systems checks, Jeb was finally allowed to exit the lander, and set foot on the surface. His helmet communications system was transmitting to the lander, which was in turn transmitting to the main module, which then transmitted to Kerbin. The result was a slightly delayed audio with a terrible quality, but no-one paid any attention to that.

Jeb: The hatch is open. I'm outside the capsule now, preparing to.. WHOA!

[A thud, and grunting]

Jeb: I tried to take a small step, and it turned into a giant leap! Who forgot to put ladders on this thing?

And thus Jeb was quoted for all time. After his rather gentle tumble to the surface, Jeb collected some Mun dirt as instructed, and jammed a flag into the ground.

Unbeknownst to Jeb, the action of twisting the pole into the ground and resulting momentum retained by the flag would eventually give rise to a plethora of theories that the KSC faked the whole thing... but that's a topic for another time. Jeb made several observations that Bob had requested before climbing back into the capsule. To minimize the time until rendezvous, Jeb would be lifting off as soon as possible. To compensate for the distance the main module had traveled, Bill had done a small burn to raise the apoapsis to one hundred kilometers, to be adjusted further if necessary once Jeb was in the planned fifty kilometer orbit. It would likely require at least one radial burn to acquire a rendezvous. The main module would be performing plane and velocity matching burns, as it by far had more fuel. The ascent went smoothly, and once Jeb was in a circular orbit, Bill performed the necessary maneuvers. The tracking station estimated a rendezvous in just under twenty five minutes, but unfortunately it would be on the dark side of the Mun. Bob contacted the Century modules to communicate this.

CIII[bill]: We could always set up a second rendezvous once we're back around. It shouldn't be a problem.

MC: That is our assessment as well. Maintain position within one kilometer as best you are able, and rendezvous once back in daylight.

CIII[Jeb]: Wait! I have an idea!

[Quiet pause]

CIII[Jeb]: Don't you want to know what it is?!

CIII[bill]: I can barely contain myself.

MC: Go ahead, century lander.

CIII[Jeb]: The lights! They aren't doing anything stuck on the bottom.

MC: Please elaborate, Century.

CIII[Jeb]: Come on, Bob-O! I'll go stick one pointing forward so I can see!

MC: We're still a little unclear down here, Jeb. What do you mean?

CIII[Jeb]: (loud sigh) Ok, I can unbolt one of the spotlights from it's assembly on the bottom of the lander. Since we use universal attachment assemblies, I can easily remove one end of a solar panel, attach the light, and wire it directly into the panel circuit. It won't be generating power while in the dark, but it should be able to draw on our battery supply. We'll have a loose solar panel, but that's not gonna matter when this lander smashes into the Mun. Easy!

MC: That's... an interesting idea, Century. Maybe it would be..

CIII[bill]: Surprisingly, that's not a bad idea, mission control. As long as he disconnects the panel from the circuit before wiring the light in, it would probably work. Provided he doesn't float off into space, of course.

CIII[Jeb]: Bill say's it's Ok!

MC: [Pause] Very well, Century. You may proceed with this plan.

This was one of those rare moments when Jeb had to let it slip a little that he wasn't entirely absorbed in snacks and ridiculousness. Bob and Bill had seen it before, but they were still a little surprised any time it happened. Mostly, Jeb wanted to play with his "jetpack".

After successfully repositioning the spotlight, and a small detour to zip around with the suits thrusters, Jeb climbed back into the lander. Since his spacewalk had proven fruitful, the rendezvous took place on the dark side.

Once docked, Jeb collected his samples and reports and crawled through the small docking port back into the main capsule.There may have been a brief fracas over snacks. Once back in communication with KSC, the lander was undocked and remotely de-orbited. This was done to reduce orbital clutter.

All that was left to do now was return home. With Jeb back at the helm, the Century would perform an escape burn just prior to crossing over to the dark side once more.

MC: It appears the lander has impacted the surface, Century.

CIII[bill]: Copy that, we are no longer recieving any transmission.

MC: Well done up there Century.

CIII[Jeb]: Hey Bob-O, when are you coming to space?! It's really neat!

MC: Probably sooner than I'd like, Century.

CIII[bill]: We are approaching the horizon and escape burn.

MC: Understood, Century. We'll talk to you soon.

Jeb executed the escape burn perfectly, as always, and the Century was now on a familiar path home. Soon, they would return triumphant, having finally reached the surface of the Mun and come back to tell the tale. Strangely, Jeb and Bill were more subdued than they each expected to be. It didn't feel as if they had reached the end of a long road, but the beginning of another. Kerbin was celebrating, and the KSC had erupted into impromptu parties. At the CEA, Nikita, Yelena, Vladimir, and Yuri were all watching and listening. Yuri and Nikita maintained the appearance of displeasure, but could not deny that it was a milestone for all Kerbals. Vladimir, having gotten to like Bill, did not bother to hide his elation. Yelena seemed rather distant about it all.

"Are you not happy with our comrades success?", Nikita asked, approaching Yelena.

"Of course. Are you not?", she responded coldly.

Nikita crossed his arms and looked distantly into the television, saying, "It should have been us."

"Yes, it should have been. It is a shame that we were robbed of our victory.", Yelena said. She paused and observed Nikita for a moment before continuing, "But someone did not think we should succeed."

"Someone? I thought you believed the KSC was behind it. Their motives would be clear.", Nikita said.

"I never said that. I only said that Bob-O had sat there. I was not the only one who knew that.", Yelena stared at him pointedly as she said this.

"What are you saying, then?", Nikita did not like her tone, and let his arms drop, eyes narrowing.

"Only that someone did not want us to succeed. Perhaps we will someday discover who.", Yelena returned his glare for a moment before walking away.

Nikita was scowling as Yelena left. He could not deny the liklihood that it had been an inside job, but he also could not set aside the fact that the KSC crewmen had both had unsupervised access to the station. Yuri and Vladimir had gotten up to leave, and so Nikita walked over to the television to switch it off. As he reached out, Wernhers earlier interview came on. Nikita watched it with great interest.

---

Location Unknown...

"Yes... I think this facility will do nicely... "

Edited March 31, 2015 by Randazzo

[Whirligig Girl]

"Yes... I think this facility will do nicely... "

THis is what we call "Sppppoooookkkyyyy!!!!"

This is a great story. I like the original portrayal of the Bill/Bob/Jeb trio, and the fact that you've put a really suspenseful story in a career mode game.

[Randazzo]

THis is what we call "Sppppoooookkkyyyy!!!!"

This is a great story. I like the original portrayal of the Bill/Bob/Jeb trio, and the fact that you've put a really suspenseful story in a career mode game.

Thank you!

I have plenty more in store for our daring trio too.

[Randazzo]

---

In little more than two days time, Jeb and Bill had become world-wide icons. Wernher had told everyone to expect an enormous amount of attention and to be as understanding as possible when dealing with it, but even he was not prepared for the immense level of fame suddenly bestowed upon KSC. Jeb and Bill had been back at KSC for over a week now, and center security was still catching kerbals trying to sneak into the center just to catch a glimpse of their new heroes. Fortunately, there had been no serious incidents. It was nothing more than a little hero worship. Also fortunately, both Jeb and Bill had the wisdom not to let it go to their heads. Wernher had quickly found himself overwhelmed with the requests now coming in to KSC. There had always been contracts offered from the start, but now they were getting to be enormously lucrative; and increasingly dangerous. If they could complete but a few, the center would have more funding than he had ever dreamed of. It was beginning to look as if they would soon be reaching beyond the moons of Kerbin. As had happened once before, one of the most outlandish and dangerous came from Rockomax Conglomerate. They were already pushing for missions to Duna! Wernher had initially scoffed, but as more time passed, he was starting to come around to the idea that it would soon be a possibility. First though, there was still much to do closer to home. Having selected a few projects that would be more immediately possible, Wernher called the entire active staff together for a meeting. They were now waiting for him in a conference room down the hall from his office. Taking a deep breath, Wernher opened the door and stepped in. Jorbas was waiting for him just inside the door. Jeb, Bill, Bob, Enford, Jim, Almund, and Lemlie were all seated around a large table. Wernher walked to the head of the table and set down a sizable stack of papers, passing a packet to each staff member. The packets contained the details of the contracts that Wernher had accepted.

"Good evening everyone, thank you for coming. As you can all see, there is much to discuss, so let's get down to it, shall we?", Wernher said, speaking a bit loudly to get everyone's attention. They all quieted down.

Wernher continued, "As you all know, I've been rather swamped with requests lately. While there are a great many that are indeed interesting and potentially lucrative for the center, it is important not to lose focus of our own goals. To that end, I have narrowed down the exceedingly broad field to four candidates."

Jeb raised his hand, and did not wait to be acknowledged, "We were told there would be snacks. There are no snacks here!"

"Mmhmm... I see that.", Wernher peered over his glasses at Jeb. This would have irritated him in the past, but he was now accustomed to his silliness. "I believe there will be snacks at the conclusion of the meeting."

"Yes... at the conclusion.", Jorbas confirmed, clearing his throat.

"Ok then. Please, continue.", Jeb said, quite professionally.

"Moving along... if you will all please turn to page two..." , there was a small symphony of rustling as everyone turned the page, "You will see an existing contract that we've had for some time now. Steadler Engineering Corps is sponsoring the exploration of Minmus. Deploying CAMP four to orbit and it's resulting data have partially satisfied this contract, but a landing yet remains."

Bill and Jim had been quietly conferring with each other while Wernher was talking, and Jim raised his hand. Wernher nodded to him. "The Century III design should be capable of delivering Jeb to the surface, just as before. It's sure got lots of power! More than enough!"

"Yes, that was my initial thought as well, however... there is a catch. They want a full three-kerbal crew on the surface. I talked them out of repainting the capsule.", Wernher replied.

"Hmm... It will take some redesigning, but I think Jim and I can come up with something based on the Century III engines. Depending on how heavy the lander needs to be, we'll probably need a few more boosters.", Bill said, peering down at his packet.

"More boosters!", Jeb gave it a thumbs up.

"So... who is going to be the third Kerbal in that capsule?", Bob asked. He could not help but notice that everyone stared at him without saying a word.

And so the meeting went as Wernher covered the remaining contracts: Sticking another flag in the Mun, Putting a small research station into orbit, and a particularly complicated seismic survey of the Mun. Wernher kept the two Mun contracts as separate missions for the time being, as a seismic survey would require either a rover or multiple landings. Both would require further research. The data gathered from the Century III itself along with Jeb's samples and reports had opened a fair few doors for the center, but there was much for Bob and Lemlie to cover still.

In the weeks that followed, Jim and Bill spent a good deal of time refining the programs vehicle lines, consolidating where possible. The CAMP series had been merged into the Lancer series, eliminating the need to construct special assemblies to carry the probes into orbit. Lancer I, II, and III were all discontinued. Lancer IV and Lancer V (two-kerbal orbital vehicle) were upgraded with some new technology, adding RCS thrusters, reaction wheels, and proper control surfaces instead of simply fins. Along with these improvements, they were also to carry abort towers which could tear the pod free of the main stack if necessary. This technology would be applied as much as possible to future projects. Several new vehicles were also designed.

The Lancer X and Lancer X-B, for orbital missions to the Mun and Kerbin, respectively.

Century IV, for the Minmus contract. It could carry three kerbals to the surface of Minmus and back, based on the Century III design. The two major differences being that the primary vehicle was also the lander, and it packed a whopping twelve boosters instead of six. Jeb approved.

The Veritas Research station. It would be lifted to orbit by another modified Century III design, needing only three boosters. The station had room for five kerbals, but would be launched unmanned, controlled by a probe core. The station would have no primary engines, but would have sufficient RCS thrusters for minor maneuvers and station keeping.

Century V. This would be the most advanced and complicated vehicle ever constructed, and while KSC had most of the required technology, the rover itself would be unfamiliar territory. It would be carried to orbit by a massive lifting assembly which used boosters larger than the Century III or IV main stage. The third stage would perform the transfer and insertion burns. The rover would be delivered to the Munar surface on the bottom of a two-stage, two-kerbal lander. Once the survey was complete, the lander would rendezvous with the command module in orbit for returning it's crew to Kerbin. The lander descent stage and the rover would remain on the Mun.

Aside from these projects, there was also the second Mun landing to perform. This time, it would be Enford and Jim on the mission. The mission was scheduled after the Century IV. With so much to do, KSC was a very busy place.

---

Meanwhile...

"The listening post is in place, Sir."

"Excellent... it won't be long now."

---

Work at the CEA had continued on, despite their troubles. The new Medved Series II was ready to launch for the second attempt at a Mun landing. Nikita had posted extra guards all around the agency, and had even gone so far as to roll out several "Skyguard" vehicles, each armed with massive thirty millimeter rotary cannons. He had also pushed the development of the Y-2, a heavier Yastreb design which carried missiles in addition to it's guns. There were also daily patrols both on the ground and in the sky. Yuri rather liked all the activity, but Vladimir and Yelena seemed uncomfortable with it. They were not soldiers. Regardless, there had been no incidents. Oddly, Nikita went to great lengths to keep the Medved launch under wraps and was assisted in this endeavor by all the hubbub around KSC. With the worlds attention focused elsewhere, they day soon came for Yuri to head back to the Mun. Nikita met with Yuri, Yelena, and Vladimir the night prior to the launch.

"So, here we are again." Vladimir said. They were all standing outside the main hangar, looking up into the cool night sky. "You will be up there soon, Yuri."

"Yes, and this time I will land on the Mun. If I have to jump out of the capsule, I will do this.", Yuri replied, elbowing his friend.

"You are silly boys. There will be no jumping.", Yelena crossed her arms, her face a stony sculpture as always. Nikita walked up behind them.

"I see you are all undergoing rigorous preparations for tomorrow.", He said. He

was

joking, but nobody could tell.

"I am ready. We will succeed this time.", Yuri said.

"Yes, Yuri. I am confident as well. We have taken a great deal of precautions to this end.", Nikita joined them in looking up at the sky. The others glanced awkwardly at each other. They had a great deal of respect for him, but none could truly call him a friend. "That is what I wanted to talk to you all about."

They all turned their gaze to Nikita. He made sure he had their attention before continuing, "There has been much turmoil lately. With all that has happened, it seems as if we have been under attack. Whatever their reasons may be, someone does not wish to see us succeed."

"That is clear.", Yelena interrupted.

"Indeed. As you all are aware, we have reason to suspect the KSC was behind the sabotage of our previous attempt.", Nikita paused, watching their reactions carefully, "However, I do not believe that is the case. I have become aware of an interview with Wer... Mister Von Kerman from the KSC in which a reporter made reference to a report regarding the explosion there. I have acquired this report, and it is clear that the explosion was no accident."

"So? What are you saying?", Yelena again interrupted.

"I would gladly finish, if it pleases you.", Nikita said pointedly, glaring at Yelena. She met his stare for a few awkward moments, but finally turned her eyes away. "As I was saying, the explosion was no accident. I also believe I have misjudged Mister Von Kerman. At first I thought he was mocking us, gloating over our failure. I realize now that he was sincere, and perhaps overly compassionate, but nothing more. I have come to the conclusion that whomever has sabotaged our facilities also wishes us to blame each other. Though it appears KSC is not aware of it, the composition of the explosive device, according to the reports, is the same as our missiles."

Nikita clasped his hands behind his back and moved to stand in front of them, looking each of them in the eye for a moment. They were all speechless.

"Furthermore, I believe whoever these people are, they have a person inside the agency.", Nikita said. He again watched their reactions. Yuri and Vladimir seemed incredulous. Yelena looked a touch frightened for a moment, but quickly hid it beneath her stony demeanor.

"But.. if they have someone here...", Vladimir began. Nikita held up a hand to stop him.

"Then we must be careful. Do not be afraid.", He looked at Yelena as he spoke. Though he was not overly fond of her, he trusted her and respected her abilities. "We here are the only trustworthy Kerbals at the agency. Until we have found this... mole... we must be very careful. Be watchful. If you see anything unusual, even if it seems small, come to me. Do you understand?"

"Yes.", was the collective reply.

"There is little we can do at this point, however I will take steps that these saboteurs are trying to prevent. After tomorrows launch, I will contact Wernher. If he will agree to meet with me, I will reveal to him what I have told you here tonight. Perhaps by working together we can end this threat before it goes any further.", Nikita said.

"But how can we trust this Von Kerman? How do we know he is not working with them?", Yuri asked.

"I believe I can trust this man. If I am wrong... then I will know soon.", Nikita responded. The others looked at each other, a little overwhelmed. "This is much to think about, and we have a difficult day ahead of us. You should all get some rest."

The trio lingered for a few moments, not sure what to do or say, and finally they dispersed to their quarters for the night. Nikita remained outside the hangar, looking up into the night sky.

---

As morning rolled around, Yuri had put what Nikita had told him out of his mind. He had more immediate concerns, such as landing on the Mun and living to tell about it. In contrast to the previous launch, there were no media personnel about. In fact, the media knew nothing about the launch. This made things go much smoother. Nikita was in mission control, as were Vladimir and Yelena. Vladimir was manning one of the main control stations, but Yelena made a point to stand in the back, near the guards. She was not worried about them, but wanted them to see her in the event that something else nefarious happened. There were no complications, and the countdown went off unhindered. Yuri ignited the engines, and the MS2 rocket lifted off for it's second attempt at the Mun.

Yuri executed the transfer burn as planned, and was en route to the Mun. Leaving Vladimir in charge, Nikita stepped out to make his call to Wernher. Yelena followed him, at a distance. She had been watching Nikita ever since they found the device the day of the sabotage. He was the only one who could go anywhere at any time with no questions asked, and he was fully aware that Bob and Bill had both been at the station unsupervised. He seemed to be as likely a suspect as anyone, though she was struggling to find a motive. Nikita walked into his office and called Wernher. Yelena was careful not to follow too closely, and only caught the end of the conversation. Wernher had apparently agreed to meet with Nikita. She heard the phone hang up, and suddenly realized she would not be able to make it back down the hall before Nikita came out of his office. Hearing his footsteps coming towards the door, she made a quick decision and stepped up to the door, raising a hand as if to knock. Nikita yanked the door open.

"Oh! I..", Yelena dropped her hand to her side, taking a step back.

Nikita peered at her curiously for a moment, "It's alright, Yelena. I understand you are concerned."

"Yes.. well.. Yuri is my friend.", she said, avoiding his gaze briefly. Then she raised her eyes to meet his, and hardened her face. "Do not tell him I said so."

"Do not worry, I will keep your secret.", Nikita actually wanted to laugh. He had rarely seen Yelena behave like an actual feeling person. "But you must keep mine."

Yelena blinked, obviously confused, "I do not understand."

"I have spoken to Wernher. We will meet tonight. I will take the Orel to KSC after dark.", Nikita said.

"Why tonight? This cannot be safe. Perhaps he...", Yelena started to protest.

Nikita raised a hand to stop her, then placed it on her shoulder. He surprised even himself, but he found himself feeling sympathetic for Yelena. "You must trust me. Wernher is not the enemy. Come, we have work to do."

"I.. yes, of course. I just need a moment.", Yelena stammered. She was perhaps a bit touched by Nikita's rare display of compassion.

"Certainly.", Nikita nodded and walked down the hall. Yelena watched him go, then stepped inside his office.

"Fool.", She said to herself. He was as easily manipulated as most men. Walking to his phone, she picked it up and dialed a number. It rang twelve times, as always.

"Falcon.", a voice said.

"Nest.", Yelena responded. There were a series of clicks on the phone, and another voice came on the line.

"Report.", the voice said flatly.

"It seems we have misjudged czar. He is far more reasonable than we imagined. He has contacted professor. They will meet tonight. Mode of transport will be Orel.", she said.

"I see. It will be prevented.", the voice said. There was another click on the line, and then it was dead. Yelena hung up, and walked back to mission control.

---

Yuri was only about half way to the Mun as night rolled around, and Nikita loathed to leave in the middle of the mission, but resolving the looming threat was of paramount importance. He had given Vladimir a note with very specific instructions that he was not to read it until Yuri performed his insertion burn over the Mun. The secrecy was intended to provide security to the mission. Nikita walked to the hangar where the Orel was waiting. Though he would have preferred to have Yuri at the controls, Nikita had to settle for a less skilled and less familiar pilot. Climbing aboard, he strapped himself into the co-pilot's chair. The pilot seemed a little uncomfortable, having assumed that Nikita would go to the more comfortable crew cabin, but did not dare to protest. They taxied to the runway, and were soon airborne. Much to the pilots dismay, Nikita had not told him where they were going.

As the pilot was still climbing, Nikita handed him a slip of paper with coordinates on it. The pilot gave them a look, and turned to head east over the mountains.

They had barely gotten five kilometers from the agency, when red warning lights lit up on the board. A buzzer went off frantically. The pilot blinked, stunned.

"My god...", the pilot said.

"What? What is wrong?", Nikita asked, more angry than worried.

"There... there is a missile locked on to us!", The pilot responded. Nikita would have jumped out of his seat if not for the belt restraining him. Not out of fear, but rage.

"Where?! How... ", Nikita started to speak, but stopped himself, closing his eyes. His face became calm, and he sat back in the chair, getting comfortable. He was resigned to his fate.

"Mayday! Mayday! We have incoming missile, emergency!", The pilot radioed back to mission control, which immediately went into a panicked frenzy. They were not prepared for such a thing.

"I am sorry to take you with me.", Nikita said, looking over at the pilot. "That missile is for me."

Nothing else was said.

The pilot struggled heroically for control of the aircraft, but it was hopeless. He radioed one final time, informing mission control that they were going down. Then he switched off the radio, and seeing that Nikita was relaxed with his eyes closed, the pilot did the same.

In an instant, it was over.

---

Edited April 3, 2015 by Randazzo

[Randazzo]

---

In mission control, the scene was of utter chaos. The transmission from the Orel had been full of interference of some kind, but it was clear enough what had happened. Vladimir had quickly cut off all transmissions to the Medved Series II rocket now heading towards the Mun, hoping to avoid adding any stress to Yuri’s already difficult mission. Such was the level of panic that controllers were tripping over each other as they scurried about, struggling with what to do. The staff had been prepared for the loss of crew during missions but to lose Nikita, their leader, to a hostile attack: That was something they were not prepared for. Yelena stood at the back of the room, staying out of the way. Her expression was cold and stony, as always. Finally, Vladimir realized that he would have to take full charge of the situation. After all, Nikita had left him in command.

“Enough! We must have order here!â€Â, Vladimir suddenly shouted, moving to the front of the room where he could face everyone at once, “We must not forget that we have a live mission, with a Kerbal in space. We must behave as the professionals we are. Before anything else, we must determine if… where the plane crashed.â€Â

“I will aid in this.†Yelena said loudly from the back. Vladimir gave her a grateful nod.

“You three,†Vladimir pointed to the kerbals closest to him, “Are to monitor the Medved. Communicate as necessary, but say nothing of this incident.â€Â

The kerbals nodded and went immediately to their stations.

“The rest of you, you will assist Yelena.†Vladimir ordered. Yelena nodded, then stepped forward and looked over her newly appointed crewmen.

“And… Yelena?â€Â

“Yes?â€Â

“Take at least one skyguard with you.†Vladimir said. Yelena paused for a moment, saying nothing, then nodding.

As Yelena and her crew filed out of the building, Vladimir settled into one of the communications stations and replayed the Orel’s final transmissions.

“Ma….day…e hav….ssile….coming! Em……cy!â€Â

The audio was badly degraded, as if it had been intentionally jammed. Still it was enough to for Vladimir to figure out the pilot was referring to a missile. The final transmission was less than a minute later.

“Por…ine gon…No cont…oing do…..peat…..down!â€Â

Vladimir sat there quietly, waiting for Yelena to contact him with whatever she found, but he had a good idea of what it would be. The mountainous terrain would be a bit of a challenge but the CEA primarily used tracked vehicles, making it less of an issue. It took a little over two hours, but finally, Yelena was calling in on the radio.

“Yelena to mission control, come in please.â€Â

“We copy, report please.â€Â

“Vladimir… I… there is nothing left. Only fire.â€Â

There was a long pause, as neither of them could think of anything to say. Finally, Vladimir responded, “Understood. Mark the site.â€Â

Clicking off the comm before Yelena could respond, Vladimir shook his head and sighed heavily. Nikita was really gone, along with their pilot. As he sat there thinking, Yuri called in to report. He was nearing his insertion burn point. Vladimir listened to the communications, suddenly remembering the note Nikita had given him. He pulled it from his pocket and began to read it.

MS2: Mission Control, I am ready to perform insertion burn in three… two… one… initiating burn.

[brief pause]

MS2: Insertion burn complete. Ready to jettison transfer stage.

MC: Understood, Medved. Proceed at your discretion.

MC[Vlad]: Negative, Medved. Do not jettison your transfer stage.

MS2: Understood, mission control. I am retaining transfer stage. What is going on?

MC[Vlad]: There is no problem Medved, however, mission parameters have changed. You will be landing at a different site than scheduled. Stand by, transmitting coordinates.

MS2: Copy that, standing by.

Vladimir uploaded the coordinates contained in the note. Apparently Nikita had wanted to keep the final destination a secret as well, to ensure the missions safety. There was an ulterior motive as well, however. The data that the CEA’s MSA Alpha scanner was sending back was not mapping data, as with the KSC. It was there to detect anomalous structures, both natural or kerbal-made. Yuri was going to land near one of these anomalies.

MS2: I have the coordinates, mission control. Inputting. New landing zone will require twenty seven minutes before inclination burn.

MC: Understood.

Yuri used the remaining fuel in the transfer stage to change orbital planes and begin the braking burn. Once sufficiently slowed into a suborbital flight path, the transfer stage was jettisoned and the lander was freed.

MS2: Transfer stage jettisoned. Landing struts deployed. Path looks good, beginning descent.

MC: Copy, Medved.

[pause]

MS2: Initiating braking burn, slowing descent. [long pause] Velocity at ninety three meters per second. Radar altimeter reading two thousand kilometers and dropping. [pause] Five hundred meters, increasing thrust. Velocity at thirty two meters per second and dropping. [pause] One hundred meters, descent at eight meters per second, still slowing down. Fifty meters...thirty...ten... descent speed holding at point 8 meters per second... Mission Control, I have landed. Repeat, I have landed on the Mun!

MC: Excellent work, Medved. Listen, I want you to be aware that you may see something unusual when you disembark. Be prepared for anything.

MS2: Unusual? I am already on the Mun, what is usual about this?

MC: Scanners indicate what may be a structure on the surface. It is why you were directed to this landing zone.

MS2: [pause] A structure? This canno...

MC: Medved, let's run through some system checks please.

MS2: Very well, mission control.

In truth Vladimir did not know what to expect anymore than Yuri did, so he went through a laundry list of systems checks to change the subject.

Finally, Yuri was cleared to exit the lander. The CEA possessed more advanced communications systems than KSC did, and the transmission was currently being routed through the MSA satellite in orbit. This did have limitations as the satellite would pass out of line of sight in a few minutes. Yuri opened the hatch and climbed out slowly, in near total disbelief of where he was.

Yuri: I am now on the surface. It is soft, almost like sand. It feels strange to be so light. It appears these coordinates were carefully chosen, or we were very lucky. There is a large crater only a few meters away. The terrain is... oh... [begins laughing]

MC: What do you see, Yuri? What is so funny?

Yuri: I have found your structure! It is a large rock.

MC: A rock?

Yuri: Yes, a rock. At least it is shaped as an arch. Nikita will be disappointed.

MC: [pause] Perhaps... please take a sample from this arch if possible, in addition to all primary mission objectives.

Yuri: Yes, yes. I will bring you back some grey sand, do not worry.

MC: We will be losing communications in approximately two minutes. Return to orbit once all objectives are complete. Mission control, out.

Yuri had to admit he was a little disappointed as well. It would have been nice to find a little cantina. He went to work, planting a flag and collecting samples and reports. After storing the data in the capsule, he used his built in RCS unit to cover the distance to the arch and took some samples there as well, including a piece of the arch itself. It was an impressive formation. As there was little else to do now, Yuri headed back to the capsule and climbed aboard, getting a view of just how narrowly he had missed landing in a crater... or crashing onto it's wall. Concluding his brief visit, Yuri lifted off to re-establish orbit.

Once back in Orbit, Medved was able to communicate with mission control again and reported the situation. Yuri made his escape burn and began the day long journey back to Kerbin. As a result of using the transfer stage to perform the braking and inclination changes necessary for a suborbital flight path, the main stage of the lander was not jettisoned until en route to kerbin. It would crash into the surface to help reduce orbital clutter. Once Yuri was on his way home, Vladimir sat back in his chair and sighed heavily. He was unsure of what the future would hold for the CEA now.

---

Yelena had just returned from leading the expedition into the mountains to locate the crash site of the Orel. There were still crew on-site, but there was nothing for her to do. As she had expected, there was nothing left that wasn't smashed to bits or burning. In reality, she felt relieved. Her mission had been to find some way to pin everything that had been happening on Nikita, both to direct all suspicion at him and remove him from the picture. Now he was out of the way, but she did not know how to proceed. She would have to wait to be contacted with new orders. Stepping into her quarters, Yelena turned and peered both ways down the hallway, unable to shake the feeling she was being watched. When she shut the door and turned around, she was so startled to find a kerbal standing there that she nearly screamed.

"Hello Yelena.", he said. She recognized the voice, and a chill went down her spine.

"Who are you? Why are you here?", Yelena balled up her fists.

"You know the answers to both those questions, but you will call me Aleksei from now on." the kerbal said, smiling softly at her attempt to appear threatening.

"No, I do not know the answers. You are not supposed to come here! What if you are seen?"

"That is very likely now, my dear. You see, the board that funds this little science project was dismayed to hear of their resolute Nikita meeting his end. Obviously, the agency is too important to simply call it quits. Someone had to be sent to run things."

"What?! How can they know this already? And how did you even get here? We have told..."

"Please, do shut up." Aleksei said coldly, taking a step toward Yelena, who discovered that she was truly frightened. "Because of your failure, this is necessary. If you had done your job, it would not have been necessary to remove Nikita in such an inglorious fashion. He did deserve better, you know."

"What failure? He is gone, is he not? And what do you care of what he deserved, you were going to ruin him forever.", Yelena continued to put on a strong front.

Aleksei laughed. "What failure? You cannot be so stupid. How do you intend to explain what happened? I know a transmission got through from the Orel. These people know it was shot down."

"It is simple, only this Wernher Von Kerman knew Nikita was coming. Nikita told Yuri and Vladimir, and me, but we all have solid alibis. It will be easy to blame KSC for this."

"Oh? And where, pray tell, did the KSC acquire this missile? How did they get it across the ocean in the short time that Von Kerman knew Nikita was coming? There were no other planes about. No, my dear foolish Yelena, we cannot blame KSC. We have lost our scapegoat, and now this incident will only make them all more cautious. Our task has gotten considerably more difficult."

"And what is 'our task'? You have told me nothing of why we are doing this."

"Nor

will

I. If you have any sense in your narrow head, you will not ask again. If you had qualms about your role, you should not have accepted the job. It is far, far too late to turn back now. If you do, I am sure that Yuri and Vladimir will miss you." Aleksei said this hatefully, glaring at Yelena through narrowed eyes.

"I... yes... of course. Forgi..."

Aleksei sighed. "No, I will not forgive you. The only reason you are still here is to help me correct your failures. As of tomorrow morning, every kerbal at this facility will be terminated."

Yelena's eyes grew wide, "No! You cannot! They have done nothing!"

"No, stupid girl, not killed. Terminated.

Fired

."

"Oh...", Yelena was relieved, yet still horrified. For all her wit and intelligence, this kerbal was making mincemeat of her.

"Since we can no longer blame the events on Nikita, and the missile will undoubtedly be linked to this agency, we can only assume it was an inside job." Aleksei paused, smiling at the irony. "Naturally the only way to eliminate the problem is to remove everyone. Except yourself, Yuri, and Vladimir of course. We need you. Someone will have to train our new staff. You can expect them the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow is already such a busy day. Good night, my dear."

Yelena could say nothing as Aleksei walked out of the room. She sat down on the edge of her bed and felt like crying, something she had not done in years. Nobody had ever so thoroughly dominated her before, but she could not deny that she was genuinely afraid of him. Now that he was here, there was no telling what horrors might follow. She laid back on the bed and closed her eyes falling into a fitful, restless sleep.

---

The following morning, Wernher arose to frantic knocking.

"Yes! I am coming, cease your pounding!", he called out, stumbling sleepily to the door. He pulled it open to find Bob, Almund, and Jorbas standing there all looking grim.

"You need to see this.", Jorbas said.

Wernher followed them into the hallway towards the common room, rubbing his eyes. He had stayed up almost the entire night waiting for Nikita, who never arrived. He was shocked into alertness upon entering the common room and seeing everyone, including cadets, crowded around the television. It was obvious something of great importance had happened. Jorbas cleared a path to the front for Wernher. On the television, a reporter was standing several yards away from what appeared to be a crash site. Wernher's stomach sank.

The reporter was in mid-sentence, "...here in the mountains only a few kilometers east of the runway where the plane took off. As you can see behind me, the plane was completely destroyed. We are told that the two kerbals aboard did not survive. Although information is somewhat lacking at the moment, some eyewitness reports indicate that the plane was struck by a missile shortly after take off. In what will undoubtedly be a terrible blow to the Cosmos Exploration Agency, their director, Nikita Kerman was aboard when the plane went down. Back to you, Jules."

Wernher turned away from the news, feeling ill. Though Nikita had not given him a great many details, he did say that he had information regarding the explosion at the VAB, and who was behind it. It was immediately apparent to Wernher that the same people had done this. Whoever they were, they were now openly perpetrating attacks. Wernher turned to address the crowd gathered.

"All senior staff, we will be meeting in fifteen minutes. Conference room A." He said. Not waiting for a reply, Wernher went immediately to his room to get dressed.

---

Once everyone had arrived for the meeting, Wernher revealed the information he had regarding the explosion, and the fact that it was an intentional act. He also told them of the phone call he had received from Nikita the night before.

"As you are all no doubt thinking, I do believe that this hostile entity will turn it's attention to KSC once more. If they are willing to go so far as murdering a kerbal in cold blood, we cannot ignore this threat. We all know that the CEA operates in a para-military fashion, and possesses a significant guard force and armed vehicles. Even with such security measures in place, they could not protect Nikita. We... we cannot hope to defend ourselves from such an enemy.", Wernher said, leaning forward on the table, staring down at it.

"What are you saying?", Enford asked.

"It is with a terribly heavy heart, gentlekerbs, that I declare all operations canceled. The center must be closed." Wernher could not look at any of them as he spoke. At first there was only silence. Then, Jeb stood up.

"I'm sorry your friend is gone, Vern.", Jeb walked slowly around the table, looking at each kerbal as he went. He stopped at Jorbas. "You got hurt pretty bad too."

"Well.. yes, you know that. You stayed with me until... until I woke up." Jorbas looked up at Jeb, a touch confused.

"But you came back. How come?"

"I...", Jorbas had never talked about it to anyone, until now. "I wasn't going to come back, I mean, after what happened. But when I woke up and you were there.. I just.. I had to come back. This is where I belong."

Jeb smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "I was pretty close to gone myself. When the Lancer pod went dead. Even when I did land okay in the water, I didn't know how anyone was gonna find me. I didn't even have any snacks! But Enford found me." Jeb had walked to Enfords seat, and was standing behind him now. Everyone in the room was staring at Jeb in sort of a confused awe, mostly at his ability to actually put together coherent statements.

"Yeah, Wernher sent me out right away. I was glad to go. Bill helped me get out there pretty damn fast too.", Enford said.

"Good old Bill! How's your ears these days?", Jeb asked, giving Bill a thumbs up.

"Just fine Jeb. Just fine."

"Almund, what about you? You got hurt too."

"Me? I guess so, yeah. Broken arm."

"But you came back."

"Of course."

"Of course.", Jeb echoed. "And you're doing lots of flying now too!"

"Yeah, Enford was a great teacher. So was Bill. I wasn't the best student at first.", Almund replied.

Wernher was trying to humor Jeb, but he was beginning to get impatient. "What's the point of all this, Jeb?"

"What was that speech you had Bill give to the cadets?", Jeb asked.

Bill recited, "You kerbals are about to embark on a remarkable, and dangerous, journey. Here at the center, you may go where no kerbal has gone before, or design new vehicles or equipment, or make groundbreaking discoveries in science. Here at the center, you will find a career and a life you can be proud of. Here at the center, you will not be alone."

"We can't quit now Vern. If we quit now, they win. If we quit now, your friend died for nothing. If we quit... then we have nothing to be proud of." Jeb concluded, sitting down. The room was silent for a long time.

"Um... I don't want to quit either." Lemlie suddenly said, softly.

"I'm sure as hell not walking away.", said Bill, crossing his arms and scowling.

"And I can't leave Bill alone with Jeb for five minutes, or there's trouble afoot." Bob said, grinning.

Wernher held up his hands for quiet. "It's a noble sentiment, gentlekerbs, but this is not the sort of danger I can ask any of you to face."

"You're not asking." Jim chimed in, sitting forward in his chair. "But I don't want to leave either."

"Well, I can see that I've been voted down." Wernher said, looking at each of them. "You realize that there are more kerbals on the line here than just us in this room, correct?"

"Let everyone know. Let them know they can leave if they want to. Nobody will hold it against them if they do." Bob said.

Shaking his head, Wernher accepted his defeat. "Very well, I will rescind my cancellation orders. But I must warn you all that if too many kerbals leave, we will have to shut down whether we like it or not."

Though Wernher could not rid himself of his feeling of dread, he was proud to be among a group of such remarkably brave kerbals. They all sat there solemnly for a while, until a little jingling bell rang outside.

"SNACK TRUCK!", Jeb shouted, and bolted out of the room.

---

Edited April 25, 2015 by Randazzo

[Windspren]

The two agencies will unite against the threat!

[Randazzo]

---

The CEA was in a state of upheaval. Yuri had returned safely, only to hear the news of Nikita's demise. They hadn't been friends, but it was still shocking to hear of his murder. To make things worse, the new director (who had been sent a little too quickly, in Yuri's opinion) had immediately terminated all active staff with the only exceptions being Yuri, Vladimir, and Yelena, stating that the agency had clearly been infiltrated and the need to rid the agency of whoever was on the inside leaking information. Vladimir had nearly walked off the job when he heard the news, but Yuri had finally been able to talk him out of it. Oddly enough Aleksei, the new director, had managed to almost immediately hire a new ground crew and engineering staff, and he avoided saying where he had found them all so quickly. None of the new kerbals seemed particularly happy to be here. Yuri and Vladimir were waiting outside the hangar for the imminent arrival of a number of new Cosmonaut candidates. They both found it surprising that there were willing volunteers after everything that had happened.

"So where do you think he found them?" Vladimir asked suddenly.

"Who?", Yuri replied.

"The new recruits. Where do you think Aleksei found them?"

"I do not know. Perhaps Nikita had already recruited them."

"Hmm. Perhaps. But Aleksei said that

he

had found them. And where did Aleksei come from?"

"What are you saying?" Yuri had been leaning against the landing gear of a Y-1 (Yastreb), but now turned to face Vladimir.

"I am only saying it is very strange.

He got here the same night that Nikita died

." Vladimir walked close, keeping his voice down.

"Yelena says he was sent by 'the board', whoever they are. Apparently they pay the bills. It is not so strange that they would send someone."

"Perhaps not, but the very same night? It is almost as if they already knew. Not only that, where did all these new kerbals come from? It is very strange, Yuri. Very strange." Vladmir sighed and shook his head, turning away.

"And how do you know he got here the same night? It could have been the next morning. What happened was no secret."

"No.. it was the same night. I saw him. I went to see Yelena after she returned from the search. Aleksei came out of her room."

Yuri raised an eyebrow. "Did he see you?"

"No. But we must talk more later... here come our recruits."

A small group of kerbals was approaching. Vladimir noted that they had no guide to lead them, just another small thing out of place. Aleksei had requested, or perhaps ordered, Yuri and Vladimir to greet the new recruits and show them around the facility. Yuri had decided to introduce them to the aircraft used by the agency first, hoping to impress them. Given the recent events, Vladimir had requested that two Skyguards be stationed nearby.

Vladimir handled the pleasantries, though the recruits seemed rather indifferent about it. As Yuri had suspected, they were far more interested in the vehicles.

"So, how many of you are Pilots?" Yuri asked. Three hands went up. Yuri nodded. "Soon enough, you will be piloting one or all of these aircraft you see behind me. Directly behind me, you will see the Yastreb Y-1. Small but powerful, she is powered by two standard jet engines. The Y-1 carries twin twenty millimeter rotary cannons for air-to-air combat. On my left, we have the Y-2, our newest aircraft. As you can see, it is a significant upgrade over the Y-1. Twin turbo-jet engines, two adjustable missile rails, and a pair of cannons identical to the Y-1's armament. It is currently fitted with two medium range, radar guided missiles. Finally, to my right, is the Orel. Powered by twin turbo-jets, the Orel is not armed and instead carries a passenger compartment."

"That's the plane that got shot down." One of the recruits said.

"Didn't get very far either." Said another.

"And what are

those

?" Asked a third, pointing to the tank-like vehicles on either side of the aircraft.

Vladimir stepped forward. "These are Skyguards. They are capable of shooting down any aircraft or missile that comes within range. If you are concerned that we might be attacked, do not worry. Nothing will get to us here."

"In fact, we have a small demonstration prepared for you. I believe I hear it coming now." Yuri said. Vladimir looked back at him, confused. Yuri hadn't told him beforehand.

With Aleksei's permission, a drone had been launched earlier, and was currently patrolling the area. Yelena was in mission control, overseeing it's flight, and was told to redirect the drone overhead and mark it as hostile. Soon enough, it flew within range of the skyguards. Both vehicles computer controlled turrets suddenly whirred to life, tracking the incoming bogie. The recruits were surprised enough when the machines seemingly came to life, and even more surprised when they opened fire. The deafening "BRRRRRRRAP, BRRRRRRRAP" of their thirty millimeter rotary cannons rolled through the valley. The drone was decimated. For the rest of the day, it was all the recruits could talk about.

---

Despite Wernher's expectations, after sending out two memorandums to all on-site staff, not a single kerbal decided to leave the program. They were all very brave, or had already gotten complacent following the VAB explosion. Whatever the case was, there was only a minor delay to the scheduled projects. With a sizable cadet force on stand by, it was time to implement some live training. With Bob's assistance, Wernher devised a simple docking training program. A small probe would be carried into orbit by a Lancer IV rocket and establish a low orbit at eighty kilometers. This would be followed by a single cadet and an instructor in a Lancer V. The cadet would be required to acquire a rendezvous and to dock with the probe. As a requirement of advancement, each cadet would have to successfully complete the docking procedure twice, once with guidance from the instructor and once more on their own. To avoid significant delays, both the probe and the first Lancer V were being constructed alongside the Century IV. Also in the works was the framework for the "Veritas" research station, the first project that required heavy involvement of Bob and Lemlie. As the station was to primarily serve as an orbital lab, it was important that it meet the necessary criteria and have the proper equipment. Bob was on his way to the administration building to see Wernher, when he bumped into Almund exiting the building with a massive smile plastered on his face. As far as Bob could remember, this was the first time he had ever seen Almund smile.

"Well, here's a cat that ate the canary." Bob said.

"Even better! I've got my first orbital flight!" Almund responded with great enthusiasm.

"Congratulations, Almund. When will you be going up?"

Almund was in such a good mood, he ventured a tease. "Well, not as soon as you!"

"Oh-ho-ho... you're in rare form. I better go inside before you eviscerate me with your wit!" Bob grinned.

"Sorry, couldn't resist. I'll be taking the first Lancer V up into orbit with Lemlie along. If I'm going to be training cadets, I probably should have done it once or twice myself."

"Well that is good news, and maybe I can talk Wernher into giving you my spot on the Century four."

"Wouldn't think of it! Well, I need to find Lemlie and let him know, see you around Bob."

"Take care, Almund."

Bob lingered at the door for a few moments and watched Almund drive away. He smiled to himself, feeling genuinely proud at Almunds success. It just took a little throttling from Bill to get him on the straight and narrow. Finally walking inside, Bob found Wernher waiting for him in the hallway.

"Bob, come in, please." Wernher waved him into his office, then walked inside himself. Bob followed. "What was it you wanted to see me about?"

Bob began to speak, but paused and closed the door first. "Do you remember this?" Bob pulled a wrinkled, folded piece of paper from his pocket and held it out to Wernher.

"I think so, yes." Wernher took the paper and unfolded it, giving it a glance. It was the note from Yelena.

"Doesn't it seem a little odd, considering all that's happened?" Bob asked, sitting down.

"Hmm... perhaps. It is possible Yelena mistakenly believed Nikita was behind whatever plot we're enduring."

"I don't think he shot his own plane down."

"No, I'd imagine not."

"Didn't Nikita tell you he'd uncovered some sort of evidence that the explosion here wasn't an accident?"

"Not in so many words." Wernher paused and sighed, then opened a drawer and pulled out a file. He tossed on the desktop. "He said he had important information about it, something I would want to know, but insisted he could not speak about it over the telephone. This..." , He tapped a finger on the file folder, "Is why I know it wasn't an accident. I haven't shown this to anyone else."

Bob leaned forward, picking up the folder. Inside was the final report from the official investigation into the explosion. It said what Bob already knew, that the source of the devastating blast was the fuel stored beneath the building. The final few lines however, were another matter. He read the last words aloud. "An explosive device, possibly a small improvised device utilizing a low-grade warhead, judging from the casing fragments." He looked up at Wernher, incredulous. "A warhead as in a missile?"

"That is how I understand it, yes."

"Why didn't you tell anyone about this? The CEA is practically swimming in missiles... if Yelena was right..."

"Because it would have led to rampant speculation. This is only proof it was not an accident, not of who perpetrated the act. I erroneously believed it was an isolated incident.", Wernher said, leaning forward on his desk. "And as you pointed out, it seems unlikely that Nikita shot himself out of the sky."

Bob closed the file and set it back down, picking up Yelena's note instead. He read it once more and sighed heavily. "None of this makes any sense."

"Perhaps you should accept her invitation, if you could call it that."

"Invitation?" Bob asked, now thoroughly confused.

"From what Bill told me, she politely invited you to call her. So, call her." Wernher grinned a bit.

"Oh... that... I uh... hmmm." Bob was reliving his uncomfortable moments in the mission control facility at the CEA.

"Come now Bob, she's probably no different than you or I." Wernher had no idea how woefully incorrect he was.

---

Despite the ever-looming threat, KSC had never been busier. With four separate vehicles being constructed for three different programs, everyone was working long hours. There were no recon flights made and very little research was done, but the hard work paid off, as always. Century IV was complete and ready for launch, with the Lancer V and Lancer Docking Training Probe scheduled to be completed in the same week. As Bob was one of the principal staff in two of the three programs, he had found sufficient work to keep him busy enough to avoid calling Yelena. Now that the newest Century vehicle was ready for launch, he could avoid it for at least another three weeks. He did not bother to explain his newfound enthusiasm for space flight to Jeb and Bill. As morning rolled around, KSC was in the now familiar launch routine. Bob, Jeb, and Bill were carted out to the launch pad and made their way up the tower and into the capsule. Wernher was in mission control, as usual. Lemlie had decided to sit in for this launch as well, now that he was scheduled to be going up so soon.

Century IV was atop a modified Century III assembly. All of the components were identical, but the Century IV packed twelve boosters over the Century III's six. The main vehicle was a two stage vessel which could easily carry the trio to the surface of Minmus and back. As the countdown reached zero, Bob braced himself. The engines ignited, and for the first time, He felt the punch in the gut that came from riding atop such a tremendously powerful device. Fortunately, his suit had a built in... bag.

Jeb was well versed in launches now, and everything went smoothly. Century IV matched planes with Minmus and made it's escape burn on the dark side of Kerbin.

CIV[Jeb]: Burn complete, time for snacks!

CIV[bill]: Fuel looks good, trajectory looks excellent.

MC: Copy, Century IV. Fine work as always. What is the status of our instruments?

CIV[bob]: Ohhh...it's so... (gag)

CIV[bill]: Ummm, instruments are standing by. No red lights.

MC: Copy that. Take care up there, we'll leave the light on for you.

---

Aleksei watched the news reports of KSC's launch from what was once Nikita's office. Having moved in quickly to secure the opportunity to go through all of Nikita's files, he had made the place his own, so to speak. Now devoid of any personality, the office was drab, grey, and utilitarian. What few items Aleksei had kept were mostly files pertaining to future plans for the CEA, however there was only one file he was truly interested in, and it was not there. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Aleksei called out, switching off the television.

Yelena entered the room, and closed the door behind her. "You summoned?"

"Yes, my dear, do sit down." Aleksei stood and gestured to a chair. He liked to make a show of manners before eviscerating his victims. "I have both good news and bad news. Which would you prefer to hear first?"

"I... the bad news." Yelena swallowed hard, and did her best to maintain her usual steely composure.

"You are such a grim one! Well, as you know, Nikita had been looking into that terrible accident at the Kerbin Space Center. No doubt he had discovered some very interesting things. Unfortunately, I cannot locate his file on the subject. Very interesting, don't you think?"

"I suppose. He is gone now, what does this file matter?"

Aleksei's forced smile faded. "Where do you suppose the file went to? Did he take it with him on his flight?"

"I do not know. I was in mission control when he left."

"I see. How unfortunate that the individual we sent to watch Nikita failed to watch him. If he did not take the file with him, who might he have given it to?"

"It is not possible that he gave this file away. He told us that he trusted only myself, Yuri, and Vladimir. Vladimir was in mission control as well, and Yuri was in space. There must not be a file." Yelena shifted uncomfortably.

Aleksei stared at her for a long time before speaking. "Very well, Yelena. We will assume the file was destroyed with the plane, or did not exist. For your sake, let us hope that assumption is correct." His face brightened again, but Yelena knew it was phony. "And now for the good news! You will be going to the Mun."

Yelena blinked. "What?"

"It seems Nikita was a very busy bee, my dear. There are plans here for several rather advanced projects. Most interestingly, it seems there are plans to deploy a small research outpost to the surface of the Mun. Nikita apparently expected to find something more interesting than a rock arch down there."

"Now that we know what the 'structure' is, what need is there to send this outpost?"

"I would normally agree with you, but there are extenuating circumstances now. You see, we require something from the KSC. Their radar mapping technology far exceeds what pitiful equipment we have available here at the agency. If things were different, I would simply acquire the technology. However, the game has changed. I must play the part I have been given. We will send this outpost, and offer to share whatever useless data about Mun rocks you can gather in exchange for design specifications. No doubt mister Von Kerman will be thrilled at the opportunity."

"Oh." Yelena looked down at her feet.

Aleksei cocked his head to one side, enjoying her misery. His smile was genuine now. "Tsk tsk, dear Yelena. Do not worry so much. I'm sure it will be perfectly safe! There is still much to do before you are sent, so you need not worry just yet." There was another knock at the door. "Come in!" Aleksei said cheerfully.

Yuri opened the door and walked in, followed by Vladimir. "Oh, I did not realize you were in a meeting, we can..."

"Nonsense! Do come in, I was just telling Yelena the wonderful news!" Aleksei rose to his feet and held his arms out in a welcoming gesture, all of it staged. Yelena was starting to realize just how much she hated this man. "Please, have a seat and join us."

"There is good news? I could use it." Vladimir said, sitting down on a small sofa. Yuri sat beside him.

"Yes! Good news indeed! Yelena, you may tell them. I know you are excited!" Aleksei grinned, amused by his own cruel joke.

"Me? I... yes, of course." Yelena was caught a bit off guard, but knew she had better play along. Forcing a smile, a very, very small smile, she turned to Yuri and Vlad. "Aleksei has told me of plans to return to the Mun. Nikita made these plans befo... well..."

Aleksei cleared his throat to interrupt. "Yes, your former director was a very forward thinking kerbal. I regret that I did not know him. Even now, his wisdom continues to benefit this agency."

Yuri and Vlad exchanged glances. This was all very bizarre. Yuri finally spoke. "When will I be returning?"

"Oh, that is the best part! All of you will be going!" Aleksei clapped his hands together and smiled broadly.

At this news, Vladimir brightened visibly. He had long wanted to go to space. "All of us? What will we be doing? What kind of ship will take us all?"

Chuckling, Aleksei held up his hands. "Easy, my friend! I will send you all a briefing in the morning. But I can tell you that the mission is centered around that marvelous formation Yuri discovered. Just imagine what we might learn from it!"

"It is a rock. What more can we know about it?" Yuri said, crossing his arms. He was tougher to impress, and didn't care for this saccharin display.

"You must admit, Yuri, it is indeed a very unsual rock." Aleksei's smile faded slightly. His temper was on an exceedingly short fuse, and he had no tolerance for argument, but he maintained his facade.

"As you say then, it is an unusual rock. But still a rock."

"Come on Yuri, aren't you glad to be piloting another ship to the Mun? What does it matter what sort of rocks we study?" Vladimir elbowed Yuri gently. Yuri looked at him and shrugged.

"Of course you are right. I am happy to fly another ship."

"Excellent! I'm glad to hear we're all on board. Now, if you will all excuse me, I do have much work to do." Aleksei smilled and looked at each of them in turn. They all got the message and got up to leave. "Oh! I had nearly forgotten. Vladimir, would you please take this over to the construction facility for me? I think you'll be interested in sneaking a peek." Aleksei held out a manila folder to Vladimir, winking.

Vladimir took the folder and opened it, glancing over the documents. Inside were four blueprints, three for rockets and one for what appeared to be a rover. Aleksei walked around his desk and ushered them all to the door, waving politely as they walked down the hall. Once they were gone, he went back inside his office and sat down. "Imbeciles." He said to himself.

Left to Right: Munar Research Rover, Medved Series II Special, Volk Series II, Voron Super Heavy Special (Rover delivery vehicle)

---

Two days after the departure of Century IV, both the Lancer V and the Docking Training Probe were complete and ready for launch. Jim had enthusiastically assured Wernher that the launchpad would not be stressed by such relatively small vehicles, and both could launch the same day. The actual training mission would only need to last for a few hours. Bright and early in the morning of the third day post Century IV launch, the Training Probe was on the pad and ready to launch. Enford, who was passed over for this launch due to his scheduled Munar excursion, was in mission control to observe, along with Jim and Wernher. Lemlie and Almund were busy getting ready for their trip to orbit in the Lancer V, which would occur later in the day.

Situated atop a very slightly modified Lancer IV stack, the probes only purpose was to float there while the Lancer V docked with it. The launch was completed with no problems, and the probe went into stand by.

A mere two hours later, Lancer V was on the pad. Almund and Lemlie were carted to the launch tower and climbed aboard. Jim was overseeing the launch in mission control.

"Are you ready for this?" Almund asked Lemlie, thoroughly excited himself.

"Oh... sure." Lemlie replied quietly. Almund grinned and shook his head. Lemlie never seemed excited by anything.

MC: Alright Lancer five, countdown is at tee minus 30 seconds. Prepare for ignition.

LV[Almund]: We are ready here, mission control. Let's get this show on the road.

Once in orbit, Almund performed the necessary burns to acquire a rendezvous with the Training Probe. Lemlie sat quietly at his station, careful not to touch any buttons or levers. As the vessel approached the probe, Lemlie hailed mission control.

LV[Lemlie]: Lancer five to mission control, please come in.

MC: Go ahead Lancer five.

LV[Lemlie]: We are less than one kilometer from the probe. Standing by for clearance to proceed.

MC: Whenever you're ready up there, Lancer five. Lemlie, we'd like you to take the first attempt.

LV[Lemlie]: Understood, mission control. Closing distance to target.

MC: We'll be monitoring the probes telemetry from here. Let us know if you need us. Mission control out.

Almund deftly moved the Lancer V pod within 150 meters of the probe and canceled all relative velocity before locking out the main engine and switching control over to RCS thrusters. Lemlie sent a signal to the probe, which turned to align it's docking port to face the Lancer V.

"Alright Lemlie, you're up." Almund said, taking his hands off the controls.

"Okay... moving forward." Lemlie responded with his usual lack of enthusiasm. Carefully moving the pod towards the probe, Lemlie was leaning forward in his seat. He pushed the translation controls a bit too hard.

"That's a little too fast, slow it down a little."

"Oh... reversing thrust." Lemlie reversed the RCS flow, and the pod slowed down but also tipped up slightly. The thrusters were set in the center of mass for a dry tank, a slight oversight that would need to be addressed in the future. Having neglected to set the stability assist on, the nose of the pod was now pointing in the wrong direction.

"Well, now we're going the wrong way." Almund chuckled, reaching down and switching on the stability systems. "You forgot to turn this on."

"Oh dear." Lemlie was clearly out of his element. He was not a pilot. Switching to rotational control, Lemlie realigned the pod to face the probe. The probe itself was tracking the pod and turning to maintain proper alignment as necessary, but the Lancer V still needed to point the docking port towards the probe to dock. Lemlie gave it another gentle nudge forward. As the distance closed, Lemlie slowed down to avoid damaging the docking port or the probe. "Okay, contact in five... four... three... two... one."

They could feel the pull of the magnetic clamps trying to draw the two ships together, but Lemlie had not canceled his relative velocity incurred while correcting his heading. The docking ports were not properly aligned, despite the probes attempt to make the whole affair easier. There was a clang and a groan, followed by a terrible scraping sound as the probe and the pod collided, albeit very gently. Almund stepped in and took control back, reversing the pod away from the probe, which stabilized itself. "Almost! Give it another shot."

"Hmmm... stability assistance on... aligning port... ok, now moving forward." Lemlie's face was a portrait of resolve. He was going to do this thing!

The second approach was much better, and sure enough, Lemlie successfully docked with the probe. He threw his hands up in victory, and a smile erupted across his face. Almund stared at him, grinning. He had never seen Lemlie get animated about anything. Lemlie was of course terribly embarrassed and quickly restored his composure. "Sorry."

"Don't be! Nice flying, Mission Specialist."

Lemlie actually blushed. "Thanks."

Almund took his turn and successfully docked with no trouble, after which Lemlie had another go. All attempts succeeded, and finally mission control hailed them.

MC: Lancer five, come in.

LV[Almund]: Go ahead.

MC: Alright Lancer five, we've recorded several successful docking events. Time to wrap it up and head home.

LV: Copy that, mission control.

With the training mission a success, Almund executed a deorbiting burn on the night side of Kerbin. Shortly afterwards, the Lancer V pod was dropping gently into the ocean to await recovery.

---

Almund and Lemlie enjoyed a few days as the newest celebrities around KSC, but all attention was now focused towards Minmus. Century IV had arrived. Minmus was far enough that there was a moderate communications delay between the Century IV and Mission Control, but not so much that communication was impossible. Bill sent off a quick report to inform KSC they were approaching the insertion burn. Jeb executed it perfectly, naturally.

The Century IV mission was relatively straightforward. As they had been preceded in orbit by a CAMP several months ago, a useful altimetry map was readily available. Bob (having mostly gotten over his space sickness) had chosen a landing site in what appeared to be a lakebed. The VOA probe had gotten close enough to Minmus to visually confirm there was no actual water or other liquid with it's telescope, not that anyone really expected there to be. Ideally, the Century IV would land close enough to the edge of the lakebed that samples could be taken from the nearby slopes and perhaps even a plateau. In addition, the Century had several sensory instruments installed to take readings. These instruments would first record data from space during the descent, and once that data had been recovered on the surface, more tests would be run from Minmus itself. To maximize available fuel, the transfer stage would also perform any inclination adjustments and braking burns before being ditched during descent. Jeb initiated the deorbit burn and decoupled the transfer stage, and Bill sent off another transmission to KSC.

However, KSC was not the only one listening.

Unaware they were being eavesdropped on, Century IV continued on. There was nothing they could have done even if they had known. Soon, Century IV made it's final descent to the surface.

Once on the surface, Bill logged the event. There was no point in trying to send the transmission now, while on the surface they would have to wait until Kerbin was in line of sight, and the survey wasn't going to take that long.

"Well guys, here we are!", Jeb unbuckled himself and moved toward the airlock.

"Slow down Jeb, we've got to make sure all our systems are ok." Bob said.

"Awww... alright Bob-O, if you say so." Jeb climbed back into his seat and pouted while Bob and Bill ran through the systems checks.

After several minutes, Bill gave the all clear. "We're all good to go here. No more putting it off Bob, out you go."

"Alright, alright, I'm going." Bob shook his head with a grin. Exiting first, Bob found he had to push himself down the ladder moreso than climb down it. The gravity was extremely weak here. Before anything else, he collected the data from the instruments on the pods exterior hull. Bill followed shortly after, and they both found themselves marveling at the scene before them. It was a first time landing for both of them.

Jeb bounced between them. "Let's go find some rocks!"

Bob quickly found himself totally engrossed in examining the surface. Everything was fascinating. Bill was less impressed by the scientific possibilities, and more struck by how alien everything looked. They had found a large rock to examine.

"Look at this! The composition appears totally different than the surface!" Bob was poking about.

"Really? How... interesting." Bill responded, resisting the urge to chuckle at his friends newfound enthusiasm.

"I wonder if this is left over from an impact? No, I imagine not, there are no craters around... Hmm... perhaps it's bedrock?"

"Hey... where's Jeb?"

"What?"

"Where's Jeb?" Bill asked again. They walked around the rock, but Jeb was nowhere in sight.

Bob shook his head and shrugged. "There's no where to hide around here."

"Jeb can be creative." Bill switched on the onboard transmitter inside his helmet. "Jeb, are you there?"

"Hi Bill!"

"Hi Jeb. If you don't mind my asking... where the hell are you?"

"Oh! I forgot to tell you guys! Ha! Ummm.. look up."

Jeb had decided to make himself useful and go collect some samples from the nearby slopes.

"Jeb, get back here!" Bill shouted into his microphone.

"Wait, I need to collect some green dirt!" Jeb replied. Bob was starting to laugh. Bill glared at him.

"Alright Jeb, meet us back at the ship when you're done flying around." Bob said, winking at Bill.

Once all the samples were collected, Bob and Bill headed back to the ship themselves to wait for Jeb. In the meantime, Bob climbed back in and activated all the sensors one by one. Just as he was climbing back out, Jeb was landing in front of the ship. Bill had planted a flag, one of the mission requirements.

"I think we're done here guys." Bill said.

"Yes, I think it's time to go home." Bob replied, sighing softly. Though he hadn't been eager to climb aboard the rocket in the first place, he was now very happy to have been here and was sad to leave so soon.

"Not yet! I gotta get a picture!" Jeb proclaimed, climbing into the pod. He returned a few minutes later with a KerbPro camera in hand. "Ok, stand over there! By the flag!"

Bob and Bill complied.

"Hmm.. a little to the right." Jeb instructed. They shuffled three steps to the right. "Ok... little to the left." And they shuffled one step to the left. "Hmmm... little more to the right!"

"Take the picture Jeb!"

"Sheesh Bill, alright!"

*click*

With all mission objectives and secondary shenanigans complete, the trio climbed back into the capsule and lifted off. Jeb performed the escape burn twenty minutes later. Once en route back to Kerbin, Bill transmitted the mission log, then sat back and closed his eyes. It was going to be a long trip home.

---

Edited April 9, 2015 by Randazzo

[AlexinTokyo]

More great stuff Love it.

[Randazzo]

---

At the CEA, things were in a dreary state. Although they had the Munar Outpost project in the works, it would be some time yet before anything was ready for a launch. The most exciting event thus far had been flight testing of the Y-2. It turned out the design was flawed, and the aircraft became unstable after loosing it's missiles, nearly to the point that it was uncontrollable. Yuri had almost crashed while landing, wobbling terribly and ultimately shearing off a wingtip before coming to a stop. Vladimir had immediately gone to work on an overhaul, properly balancing the aircraft and almost completely redesigning it's wings. As a result, the Y-2 now had an increased payload capacity, carrying four missiles instead of two while still retaining it's guns. The first test craft was awaiting testing. Yelena had been keeping out of sight as much as possible, as her position had changed for the worse since Aleksei arrived. He never passed up an opportunity to remind her of her failure. Sadly, she could not ignore him completely, and he had once again summoned her to his office. Yelena sighed heavily before opening the door, forgetting to knock.

Aleksei was on a call, and nearly jumped out of his chair when Yelena walked in, before seeing it was her. He covered the mouthpiece with his hand. "Close the door you narrow-headed imbecile!" Yelena, already downtrodden, dropped her gaze to the floor and did as she was told. Aleksei glared at her, but did not end his call. "Yes. The way is clear." He paused. "They are out of the way. And do try not to knock down any buildings, we have so much work to do." Finally, he hung up.

"I am sorry, I did not think..." Yelena started weakly, sitting down.

"No, you never think, do you? What good is a scientific specialist who does not think?" Aleksei growled. Yelena opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it. Aleksei walked around his desk and hovered over her for a moment. "Have you done as I asked?"

"Yes, the skyguards have all been taken in for maintenance." She would not meet his hateful gaze.

"It is good that I do not have to do

everything

myself. This plane Vladimir has designed, the Y two, I have seen the specifications." Yelena did not speak. Aleksei shook his head and sighed. "It is too capable a vehicle. It could present a threat to our goals if we have Yuri armed with such a vehicle. The others do as I say, but Yuri... I suspect he will be a problem."

"What do you want me to do?" Yelena asked feebly.

"You? Nothing." Aleksei sat back down, crossing his arms. "I have taken care of it. All you need to do is what they expect of you. Be in mission control for the testing today."

"You have taken care of it?" Yelena had no doubts about what that meant. "But Yuri will be in the aircraft."

"Yes, my dear. Two birds with one stone. Now, get out."

---

An hour or so later, the Y-2 was on the runway with Yuri at the helm. Vladimir was in mission control, running the plane through various systems checks before the test flight. Yelena walked in, and though she did her best to keep up her stony facade, Vladimir had noticed her demeanor had changed significantly since Nikita had been killed. He wondered what role Aleksei played in this change, but now was not the time to discuss it.

Vladimir pressed the transmit button on the panel in front of him. "Ok Yuri, start the engines. Keep the throttle at zero and your brakes engaged."

"Understood. Firing engines."

"Initiate control input cycle." They were testing the engine gimbal, ensuring they were functioning. The input cycle was simple enough, centered, left, right, complete circle. "Everything is looking good so far."

The station next to Vladimir began to beep. It was the radar tracking display. The controller looked up at Vladimir. "Sir, I have an unidentified contact."

"What?" Vladimir rushed to the station to see for himself. Sure enough, a small blip was ten kilometers out and approaching, fast. Yelena was now watching intently.

"Vladimir, I have a contact on radar." Yuri transmitted.

"We see it as well, Yuri. It is not one of ours." Vladimir responded. He turned to Yelena. "How many skyguards are active?"

She looked dismayed, and quietly responded. "None."

"NONE?! Where are they?!"

"In maintenance..." She said feebly, looking away.

The controller next to Vladimir spoke up again. "Sir, the craft is on a direct approach to the runway. It's not slowing down."

Vladimir was in near panic. He slammed his hand down on the transmit button. "Yuri! Get out of there now!"

"The skyguards will take care of this." Yuri replied calmly.

"THERE ARE NONE! Get out of there Yuri!" Vladimir yelled back. The incoming aircraft was now less than four kilometers away.

Yuri slid the cockpit hatch open and began to climb out, but he could hear the engines of the incoming craft, and he had eyes like an eagle. He knew it was too late.

Yuri slid the hatch closed, and radioed mission control. "There is no time to run, Vladimir. It has dropped a bomb."

"Yuri!"

The next few moments passed as if in slow motion. Yuri gritted his teeth and braced himself for the inevitable. Vladimir collapsed into his seat, cradling his head in his hands. Yelena had tears in her eyes. Nikita had been one thing. Yuri really was her friend. The bomb sailed through the sky silently. The explosion could be heard inside mission control, but it was far enough away that the structure was undamaged. Yelena had broke out into outright sobbing, and Vladimir was on the verge. Then the radio crackled to life.

"....ed! The son of ......ch...missed!" It was Yuri's voice. Vladimir was on his feet in an instant.

Wasting no time, Vladimir looked at the radar display. "Yuri! He is turning around! Do not delay! Get into cover!"

After a brief pause, Yuri responded simply, "No." He slammed the throttle in the Y-2 to maximum. The plane had been shaken violently by the blast, but it roared to life, pushing him back hard. Vladimir and Yelena were both watching the display now, wide-eyed.

The pilot of the hostile aircraft could see the Y-2 was now moving and dropped it's entire remaining payload in it's second pass, hoping to catch Yuri before he could lift off.

Once again, the explosions could be heard in mission control, but the Y-2 was still transmitting telemetry. Still, everyone was on the edge of their seats.

"Missed again, coward. This is the last mistake you will make." Yuri growled to himself. The bombs had landed far down the runway, but Yuri knew would have to lift off before reaching what was undoubtedly a crater. The Y-2 performed beautifully, and Yuri was up and after the hostile. He had two long-range missiles, and fired the first the instant he had a lock. He was now on an open channel. "Missile away!"

The hostile aircraft was not unprepared for this, however.

The missile sailed by harmlessly. Yuri cursed and fired off his second long-range missile. Once again, the hostile deployed chaff and the missile went wide. Yuri scowled. He was closing the distance, but slowly. The hostile was very fast without it's payload to slow it down, but the Y-2 was still faster. Yuri had climbed above his target and closed to one and a half kilometers. He fired both short-range missiles at once. They screamed towards their target, but one last time, they were foiled.

"Negative hits, hostile is still up." Yuri shook his head, disgusted.

To the amazement of everyone, the hostile pilot sent a transmission. How he knew the proper frequency was unknown. "You are all out of missiles, comrade. Time to run home."

Yuri narrowed his eyes, and responded. "Yes,

comrade

, you are right." Nosing over, he took the Y-2 into a slight dive. Freed of it's missiles, it's speed had increased significantly. Yuri was closing the distance rapidly now. "I

am

out of missiles. And I will go home."

Yuri pulled the trigger on his stick, and the dull rapid thumping of his twin twenties vibrated through the cockpit. The hostile pilot realized too late what was happening. Before he could take any evasive maneuvers, a hail of bullets ripped his plane apart.

"But you will not." Yuri followed the debris all the way down, both to confirm the kill and for his own satisfaction. "Hostile is down, mission control."

"Copy that, Yuri. Please return to base immediately." Vladimir responded, his voice a touch shaky. Everyone was relieved, but there was no celebration.

---

That evening, Aleksei had not unexpectedly summoned all three of them to his office. Yuri was remarkably cool, but Vladimir was furious. Yelena seemed excessively distraught. With Vladimir in the lead, they entered the office. Barged in would be more appropriate a description. The door swung open hard and slammed against the far wall. Aleksei was expecting them, but this surprised him.

"What in the world? Was that..." Aleksei started. He did not get to finish. Vladimir had him by the collar and pushed him back hard onto his desktop.

"You fool! You come here to run this agency, and you leave us defenseless! Do you have no sense!? Yuri was almost killed!" Vladimir shouted, holding Aleksei down. Yelena looked horrified, because she feared what Aleksei's response might be.

"Calm yourself, Vladimir. You future at this agency depends upon it." Aleksei said calmly, making no attempt to fight off Vladimir's outburst.

Yuri stepped up next to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "Easy there." Vladimir looked at Yuri then back down at Aleksei, and finally let him go, stepping back.

Aleksei pushed himself up from the desk and straightened his suit. "Well then... quite a day we've had." He walked around behind his desk and sat down, gesturing for the others to do the same. They all remained standing. "And yes, you are right. It was foolish to take all of our skyguards down at once. Yelena was only following the maintenance schedule, however."

All eyes turned to Yelena, who felt a well of anger rising up in her chest. "Me? I did only what..." Aleksei narrowed his eyes at her. "...as you said... I, I followed the schedule." She finished meekly, her fear overwhelming her anger.

"This was not your fault." Yuri said, moving to stand next to her.

"No, indeed not. How could we know this would happen?" Said Aleksei, clasping his hands together on his desktop. "We must move on and look to the future. Can we all agree on that?"

Vladimir was glaring hard at Aleksei. He did not believe that Yelena was behind the missing skyguards. She had never been a fool. For the sake of keeping the peace, he nodded. "Yes."

Aleksei cleared his throat. "May I assume you are all still willing to carry on?"

"Yes." Vladimir and Yuri responded in unison. Yelena nodded.

"In that case, we still have a great deal of work to do. I suggest you all get some rest." Aleksei stood up, the signal for them to leave. They filed through the door, with Yuri the last to go. "And, Yuri?"

"Yes?"

"Excellent flying today. It's about time we got one on the scoreboard." Aleksei smiled.

Yuri stared at him blankly for a moment, then walked out without a word.

Aleksei leaned back in his chair and sighed. Things were clearly not going as planned.

---

Edited April 10, 2015 by Randazzo

[Randazzo]

Vehicle Highlight

Avenger Light Bomber

---

[bakanando]

An engaging story and smooth progression, excellent work!

[Whirligig Girl]

Can't wait for the next part!

[Randazzo]

I appreciate the responses, and sorry for the delay! I have started on the next chapter, hopefully I'll have it out this weekend.

[Randazzo]

(posts merged...)

Edited April 23, 2015 by Randazzo

[Randazzo]

---

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[TR]

[TD]CEA Under Attack![/TD]

[/TR]

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[TR]

[TD=align: left]Still recovering from the loss of their director, Nikita Kerman, the Cosmos Exploration Agency was again attacked last week in a brazen attempt on the life of their most decorated pilot, Yuri Kerman. Fortunately no one at the agency was injured in the attack though their main runway suffered extensive bomb damage. In what was no doubt a surprising twist for the attackers, Yuri was able to pilot his aircraft off the damaged runway and shoot down the attacking craft. "After the loss of Nikita, it was clear to me that the agency had been compromised from within. It seems that our enemy, whoever they may be, has taken to bolder tactics since our purge of the agency staff." Said Aleksei Kerman, the new director, referring to his first official act.[/TD]

[TD=align: left]After the first attack and the loss of both their aircraft and then director, the agency took drastic measures to eliminate the possibility of being sabotaged from within by terminating all existing staff members with the exception of their senior staff leads, Yuri, Vladimir, and Yelena Kerman. Although this was an unpopular move, it was deemed necessary for the safety of future operations and the continued functioning of the agency. "We will not stand idly by while this brave endeavor is sabotaged by those few backward and cowardly kerbals among us. Though we do not understand the aims of these attacks, we will fight back as best we can." Said Aleksei.[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

---

The Century IV's journey home had been long and uneventful, but at long last the ship and crew had arrived over Kerbin and burned into a low orbit, then expending the last bit of fuel to set a reentry node inside the atmosphere before ditching the service module. The trio inside the capsule were understandably stricken with a touch of cabin fever and all were eager to get back to the surface.

CIV[bill]: We've decoupled the service module, mission control. Reentry expected in seven minutes.

MC: Copy, Century. Orient retrograde and I think you'll like what you see. Don't look directly into it.

CIV[Jeb]: Orienting... look into wh.... oooooh!

Crowding to have a look, the trio was treated to a special view. One last bit of excitement before returning home.

Down on the surface, Wernher was in his office shuffling through stacks of papers, enduring the burden of administration. While the Kerbalnauts went forth into the great beyond to explore and discover, he signed the checks and work orders and made sure everything was running smoothly. While reviewing some financial strategies proposed by accounting, his phone rang.

"Hello?" Wernher answered, his attention still mostly focused on the papers before him.

"Hello Mister Von Kerman! My name is Aleksei. I am calling from the Cosmos Exploration Agency."

Wernher dropped his papers on the desktop. "Ah yes, Hello! I had been meaning to send my condolences to your agency. Nikita's death was truly tragic."

"Indeed. He was a wise and brave Kerbal. We are all worse off without him." Aleksei paused for effect. "However, we must all look forward now. That is why I am calling. I have a proposition I believe will benefit both our causes."

"Oh? Please, go on."

Wernher listened attentively for the next several minutes as Aleksei delivered his proposal. He wanted access to some of KSC's technology, but for good reasons. Aleksei informed Wernher of the CEA's secret mun mission, and exaggerated the "near disaster" of landing near a craters edge. Although in truth Yuri had landed at least fifteen meters from the exceedingly steep wall of the crater, it could have in fact been much worse. Without proper altimetry maps, they would be taking this risk with each landing.

"And so you see, Mister Von Kerman, I must turn to you for aid. Of course, I don't expect to get something for nothing. We are, at present, making final preparations for the deployment of a small research outpost to the surface of the Mun. I would be happy to share any data we garner with you." Aleksei concluded.

Wernher needed only a moments consideration. "The CEA came to our aid after our.. incident. I made a promise not to forget, and I haven't. It would be my pleasure to provide the schematics for our radar altimetry scanner, and I'll send along our current maps of the munar surface as well. There's no need to wait for that data, although I would be very interested to have it when it's ready!"

"Mister Von Kerman, you are a most wise and generous Kerbal. I cannot thank you enough, truly."

There was a knock at Wernher's door. Without waiting for a response, Jorbas opened the door and leaned in. "Century is about to hit the atmosphere."

Wernher nodded. "Well, I do apologize but I must cut our conversation short, Aleksei. I am glad for this opportunity to collaborate. I'm sure it will do much to demonstrate our solidarity in these troubling times."

"Yes, I agree! Thank you again, and happy landings!" Aleksei hung up.

Wernher got up and walked to the door to head to mission control, smiling. He had a good feeling about this Aleksei.

---

The CEA and KSC were not the only facilities in operation, and on the far side of the globe, there was another launch being prepared. The secretive shadow agency behind the attacks was fully aware of the progress of both programs, particularly the CEA. They had their own plans for the Munar facility that was being sent. The night prior to the outpost launches, another rocket went up in secret.

Wasting no time and with no communications, the automated vessel burned for the Mun. By the time the CEA launched in the morning, this ship would be well on it's way.

---

The CEA had undertaken a massive task with the planned research base, and were now approaching the first of three launches. The first vehicle to be launched was the Munar Research Rover. Equipped with a multi-spectral scanner, seismic sensor, and gravioli detector, it would be the mobile data gathering platform for the mission. The following launch would be the outpost habitat and research facilities, small self contained units that could support up to four crew on the surface, providing both living and working space. Finally, the crew would be launched. The necessity of sending multiple kerbals to the surface had led to another upgrade of the Medved Series, the Medved Series III. Similar to the Century III design, it would carry a command module and a lander into orbit which would dock with one another before transferring to the Mun. The Series III launch would not be for at least several weeks yet, leaving plenty of time for remote testing of the habitats and the rover. In the early pre-dawn hours the unattractively named Voron Super Heavy Special launched, setting in motion the first stage of the outpost deployment.

The atmosphere in mission control was oddly subdued during the launch. Yelena and Yuri were present, as was Aleksei. It was impossible not to notice the near-complete silence in the room. The probe controlled delivery vehicle executed it's burn to the Mun, and Aleksei approached Yelena and Yuri.

"And so begins our journey!" Aleksei said, smiling broadly.

"Yes, very exciting." Yuri said flatly.

"Indeed it is. If you two have a moment, I have news for you." Aleksei gestured to the door leading to the vestibule outside of the control room. They all filed in and Aleksei closed the door. "I suppose I should start with the bad news... that seems to be the order of things here."

"More bad news?" Yuri asked, crossing his arms. Yelena remained quiet, her eyes turned downward.

"Yes, unfortunately. It seems that despite your brilliant display of it's capabilities during our most recent incident, the board has decided that the Y two program is simply too costly to continue alongside our exploration program efforts. I'm afraid it has been discontinued." Aleksei put on the most sincere face he had.

"What? Was it not made apparent that we

need

such a plane? What if we are attacked again?" Yuri dropped his arms to his sides, balling up his fists in anger.

"Believe me Yuri, I understand. I raised the same concern. They feel that the Y one in concert with our skyguard vehicles will provide sufficient protection from any further attacks."

"And what do these people know of it? Our skyguards have already failed us once. A Yastreb would not have been fast enough to catch that bomber!"

"I'm sorry Yuri, the decision has been made. No futher Y two's will be built. The existing craft will be dismantled as soon as we have crew available to do the work." Aleksei sighed, trying to appear sympathetic.

"This is foolishness! How can you let them do this?" Yuri turned to Yelena, "And what do you think? Why have you said nothing?"

Yelena looked at Yuri, then to Aleksei. She dropped her eyes again. "I am sure they are doing what is best for the program." she said quietly.

"Of course they are. You will see, Yuri, we will be fine." Aleksei reached out and put a hand on Yuri's shoulder. Yuri knocked it away forcefully and stormed out. "But don't you want to hear the good news?" Aleksei called after him, grinning to himself.

"Stop it." Yelena said.

"I beg your pardon?" Aleksei stepped up close to Yelena, reaching out and tilting her head up by her chin until she met his gaze. He could feel her trembling, and this pleased him greatly.

"There is no reason to anger him. I think he is suspicious already." She responded.

"You should be concerned with angering me, my dear." He stared at her coldly for a moment, then broke out into a smile again. "Let us not forget the good news! I have spoken to Wernher Von Kerman, and he has agreed to give us access to the blueprints for the KSC's radar altimetry device. He didn't even want our research data first."

"But we are still sending the outpost?"

"Of course we are, my dear. We have appearances to keep up."

Yelena sighed softly before speaking. "I have done everything you have asked of me, have I not?"

"No, you certainly have not. But you have tried, I will credit you that." Aleksei crossed his arms. "Why do you ask?"

"I... I understand I have no business asking what our purpose is... but I do not understand why this last attack was necessary. You are the director now. If Yuri is in your... our... way, then you can simply fire him." She braced herself for the response, but it was surprisingly not an angry one.

"That is true, I could." Aleksei said. He knew this calm response would confuse Yelena, and that was precisely what he wanted. "As I have told you before, my dear, the game has changed. The world is watching. It was important that we clearly be seen as the victims in all of this. Had the fool pilot been more accurate, it would have worked even better than it already has."

Yelena looked at him for a moment, then simply nodded.

"If you are worried that I will try to harm Yuri again, you need not worry. Unless he makes an open threat and must be dealt with, it will not be necessary. Our goal was achieved with respect to him and the Y two."

"Oh. I see... thank you." Yelena was indeed very confused now.

"You are welcome, my dear. Now, back to work! We have much to do!" Aleksei smiled broadly at her, and walked back into the control room, satisfied with himself. He was certain Yelena believed the lie he had just told her.

Several hours passed without event, until finally the probe executed it's insertion burn over the Mun and prepared to land. The entire procedure was automated, and only required monitoring to ensure that nothing went wrong.

The rover landed near the arch formation and deployed it's communications dish and solar panels, then went into standby mode. Stage one was complete. The next day would be spent performing system tests on the rover to ensure it's functionality and to give the ground crew some time to prep the pad for the next launch. All tests and checks went off without incident, and early the following morning, the Medved Series II Special was waiting for launch. Another probe controlled vessel, it was carrying two work and habitat units to the Mun.

Things were much as they were with the previous launch, with the exception that Aleksei was not present. In his absence, the mission control room was a touch livelier than before. The controllers weren't afraid to talk without him hovering around. The launch went well, another routine mission. Once in orbit, the vessel jettisoned the fairings and nosecone protecting the habitiats during the launch. Shortly afterwards, the transfer burn to the Mun was made.

As usual, the vessel would spend a day in transit. Vladimir walked into mission control mere moments before the transfer burn had completed and stood next to Yuri. They remained silent until the signal was given that the probe was underway.

"I need to talk to you." Vladimir said quietly to Yuri, not looking at him. He then walked out.

Yuri raised a brow, but followed anyway. Vladimir did not stop outside mission control. In fact, he did not stop until he had reached the entrance to the underground hangar. "What is going on?" Yuri finally asked.

"There's something I want you to see first. Come, this way." Vladimir waved Yuri into the hangar. Walking to a maintenance bay with a skyguard in it, Vladimir at last stopped. "Look at this."

Yuri looked at it. "I do not understand."

"This skyguard, it has just finished maintenance."

"That is... interesting." Yuri crossed his arms, still completely in the dark.

"Yes, these bearings here... and here.." Vladimir pointed. "Are clearly not greased. These tracks will fail under any extended use. And there are other things too! The targeting calibration is off entirely."

"Oh, this is just what we need. First they are all in maintenance when needed, and now the maintenance crews are trying to get us killed as well." Yuri said, partially joking.

"Yes, it is strange isn't it? I wonder how many of the ones already back in service were this shoddily done." Vladimir said.

Yuri finally realized that Vladimir wasn't simply complaining about incompetant crew. "You think this was done intentionally?"

"How else could it have been done? These vehicles were all in top condition less than a month ago. They are never used beyond driving them outside and pointing their guns up into the air. This is not standard wear and tear. But that is not the worst part. Look." Vladimir handed Yuri a clipboard. It was the maintenance order.

Yuri skimmed over it. "This is a standard document, I think. You would know better than I."

"Yes, that form is required for any vehicle leaving maintenance. Who signed it?"

"Work completed on... total inventory... signed by..." Yuri furrowed his brow. "Signed by Yelena Kerman." He looked up at Vladimir.

"Yelena would not have missed these things."

"No, she would not."

"So why would she sign that?" Vladimir took the clipboard back and tossed it back onto the nearby workbench.

Yuri considered this for a long time. "If you are saying what I think you are, then you must be wrong."

"I do not know what I am saying, precisely, but Yelena has changed. Dramatically. You must have noticed this too."

"Yes... she is very different. It almost seems as if she is afraid of Aleksei. I do not understand why. He is a little rat."

"She was the first person he saw here. The same night he got here. He must have something to do with it." Vladimir sighed. He walked over to the bay with the only Y-2 in existence parked inside. "All I know is that something strange is going on, and I think we had better figure out what before it's too late."

---

The next morning, the habitats had reached the Mun. The probe executed the insertion burn, and initiated the final (and messy) separation of the units. Each unit would autonomously deliver itself to the surface.

Once both habitat units had landed and deployed their communications dishes, a series of commands was uploaded to the Research Rover. It was positioned nearby and once again, all units went into standby mode. The outpost was ready, all it needed now was a crew, but it would be some time yet before they arrived.

---

While the CEA went into a state of relative inactivity pending construction of the Medved Series III to carry a crew to the Munar Research Outpost, KSC was still going at a breakneck pace. With the return of the Century IV, it became clear that the current research and development facility was no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the program. Upgrading the facility would be tremendously costly, and though the Century mission to Minmus had generated some fairly significant profits, it was just out of reach. There were three contracts still remaining, and if all were successfully completed, they would provide the funding necessary. Work had continued on while Jeb, Bob, and Bill had been in space and in only a few days after their return, the Veritas Research Station was ready for launch. The station had space for five astronauts in addition to a fully functional laboratory, per the contract specifications. It was also equipped with an advanced probe core, and would be launched unmanned.

The station would be lifted into orbit by a slightly modified Century III assembly, requiring only three boosters instead of six. As this was an unmanned launch and somewhat less complicated than most missions launched from KSC, none of the senior staff was present in mission control, aside from Wernher. Light was also not a concern, and Veritas launched later in the morning than usual.

Wernher watched quietly as his experienced staff went through what was now almost routine. Only a few minutes later, the station was in orbit.

"Well done everyone!" Wernher said loudly once the probe confirmed deployment. He lingered for a few moments longer, then headed for the astronaut complex. Jeb, Bob, and Bill were all on 'light-duty' for awhile after their lengthy journey, and were spending a good deal of time being mobbed by cadets. Wernher hoped to find Bob there and perhaps rescue him from the eager young minds. He walked to the complex, and indeed found Bob and Jeb in the common room surrounded by cadets. Jim and Almund were playing a game of pool. Wernher had to push his way through the small mob. "Excuse me please, excuse me. Ah, there you are Bob!"

Bob nodded. "Hello Wernher. Jeb was just telling us all about his little excursion up there." He grinned.

"Heya Vern! You know, up on Minmus, you can almost jump to SPACE!" Jeb blurted out, mostly to the cadets.

"Oh? That would make things much simplier around here indeed." Wernher smiled. "Bob, may I borrow you for a moment?"

"Sure, I could use a walk." Bob said. Wernher gestured to the door and stood aside to let Bob go first, stepping in behind him to ward off any potential cadet followers.

Once outside, Wernher started walking towards the R&D building. Bob fell into step. "I do hope the cadets aren't running you ragged."

"Oh, only a little. One of these days I'm going to trick Bill into a little story telling session with them."

"Good, good. So, I wanted to ask you, have you had the opportunity to contact Yelena?"

Bob became suddenly awkward. "Oh. Uh... well... I was so busy with everything... and since I've been back..."

Wernher chuckled and stopped walking. "No need to explain, but I'm afraid I must ask something of you."

"Sure, what do you need?"

"Well, I'd like you to call her."

Bob sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Oh."

"You see, I received a phone call from a gentlekerb named Aleksei a few days ago. He is the new director of the CEA."

"And how did that go?"

"Quite well, actually. He seems like an amiable enough kerbal. In fact, he called to ask for a favor. It seems the CEA has been unable to devise a suitable mapping device. He asked if I would be willing to share the technology. Considering that they helped us in our hour of need, I was happy to oblige."

"That's good news, I think. I wonder if anybody will write an article about our facilities cooperating instead of blowing each other up."

"Probably not. At any rate, the reason I want you to call Yelena is to find out whatever you can about Aleksei."

Bob raised an eyebrow. "Was something... wrong... with him?"

"No, not that I'm aware of. But with everything that has happened... just be discreet, if you don't mind. Let me know what you find out." Wernher smiled and gave Bob a pat on the shoulder, then walked away.

Bob stood there for a minute or two. "Aw hell." He sighed and made his way back to the complex to make the call.

---

Yelena was sitting in her small office, deep underground at the CEA. The agency occupied a seemingly large area on the surface, but it hid most of it's important research and development facilities in a large underground complex. As the lead scientific specialist on staff, she did have duties to see to aside from Aleksei's machinations. Her phone rang.

She answered brusquely, "Yes?"

"Oh... Hello? Yelena?" Came the reply.

"Who did you expect to call?"

"I... um, this is Bob. Bob Kerman. From KSC. I'm sorry if you're busy... I can call back another time."

Yelena blinked. She hadn't ever expected him to ever call. In fact, she had nearly forgotten about the encounter and the note. "I did not think you would call... and no, I am not busy. What is it you want?"

"Oh I don't want anything, I just... uh... well, you said to call, so I'm calling! Heh..." Bob cleared this throat. "So... how are things? It seems like you've been through quite a lot over there!"

"Yes, we have." Yelena said, and nothing more.

Bob waited for a response briefly. This call got more awkward by the moment. "Um, I was sorry to hear about Nikita. It was a terrible thing."

"Very terrible."

"Right. Well, I understand you've gotten back in business straight away!"

"Yes, our new director is very...

active

in pursuing his goals. I was informed of the deal between our facilities. I am eager to see if your Wernher will deliver on his promise."

"Oh, yes, well... umm, Wernher is taking care of that, I'm sure. He's a kerbal of his word, you know. You don't have to worry." Bob said. Yelena said nothing. "So, tell me more about your new director! Aleksei, was it? We're glad to have a willing partner!"

"Why do you want to know about Aleksei?"

"What? Why? I... don't know. I'm just, uh, making conversation." Bob stammered. He was a thoroughly bad liar.

Yelena remained silent for a moment, not entirely incorrectly believing his awkwardness to be a result of her demeanor. She sighed, and took pity on him. "Aleksei is a very driven kerbal. I do not know how else to describe him. He is in charge. I must follow."

"You must? You don't sound entirely happy about that."

"I suppose I am not, entirely. He is very different from Nikita."

"Oh." Bob wanted to bring up the note, but decided not to do so on the phone.

"I was not completely honest with you."

"You weren't?"

"No. I am busy." Yelena said.

"Oh. Right. Sorry. Well, it was very nice talking to you. Take care!"

"Bob-O?"

"Yes?"

"I... thank you for calling." Yelena hung up slowly. She wasn't fool enough to think Bob was her friend, but the fact that he had actually bothered calling registered with her.

---

Bob hung up the phone and turned to Bill, who was leaning against the wall. He had been listening.

"That was incredibly awkward." Bob said.

Bill chuckled. "I thought you were pretty smooth, for... you."

Bob got up, giving Bill a little punch in the arm. "Oh you're a riot!"

"So, what did she say?"

"Not much, really. She didn't sound too excited about this Aleksei character. I guess that's not too strange."

"Well, they've been through a lot over there. If he's already reaching out to us, that's a good sign."

"You're right, I'm sure. Let's go give Wernher the juicy report." Bob opened the door and walked out with Bill right behind him.

---

The following weeks were busy by any standard, with both KSC and the CEA gearing up for mun launches. Wernher made good on his promise, sending not only the mapping data and blueprints, but an actual functioning altimetry mapping device. As the KSC did not have any cargo planes of it's own yet, he was forced to charter a cargo plane. The delivery went smoothly, and by all appearances, Aleksei was quite happy with it. Work would begin immediately on installing the working device on a Voron probe. The launch would have to wait however, as the Medved Series III was now ready to go. It was one of the largest rockets ever deployed, and carried a crew of three to orbit and two to the surface. Yuri and Yelena would be landing while Vladimir remained in orbit. They were scheduled to spend two days on the surface running various tests and analyses of the arch and the surrounding area. With Yuri, Yelena, and Vladimir all active on the mission, only Aleksei was in mission control to oversee the staff. As the launch approached, he hailed the MS3 pod.

MC(Aleksei): How are you all doing in there?

MS3(Yuri): All readings are nominal. Status is good.

MC(Aleksei): Good to hear it! You're my three best kerbals, I know you'll do us proud!

MS3(Yuri): Yes, of course. We are pleased at your support.

MS3(Yelena): Ah, countdown is at tee minus two minutes. Are we go for launch?

MC: Affirmative, MS three, we are go for launch.

Though he was irritated by Yuri's thinly veiled sarcasm, Aleksei knew he could not address it now. He simply stepped away from the console and smiled to the controller there. He turned his attention to the monitors as the Medved fired it's powerful engines and roared off the pad.

The Series III was tremendously powerful. Unaccustomed to such a rocket, the ascent profile had remained the same as the Series II.

MS3(Vladimir): [warning beeps in the background, lots of static] Mission Control, we're experiencing some very high temperatures here. Approaching dangerous levels.

MC: You are almost out of the atmosphere, Medved. Heat levels should begin to drop in a few moments. [Pause]

MS3(Yuri): We have cleared sixty kilometers. Preparing to stage in three... two... one... fairings away... third stage ignited.

MS3(Vladimir): Temperature... is dropping.

It was another dangerous lesson learned. Once free of the atmosphere, the upper fairings were blown off, and inclination was matched to the Mun.

Although the series three boasted a CSM and a Lander module, the CSM did not have enough fuel to make the transfer burn to the Mun while carrying the lander. The CSM detached from the stack and turned one hundred eighty degrees to dock with the Lander prior to initiating the transfer burn.

With the Medved safely en route to the Mun, Aleksei congratulated everyone on a job well done, then excused himself to his office to make a phone call.

He dialed the number, and listened impatiently as the phone range twelve times. Finally, someone answered. "Eagle."

"Talon." Aleksei replied. As usual, there were several clicks on the line.

"Hello Aleksei."

Aleksei froze where he stood. He knew that voice. "Oh. Hello."

"You do not sound pleased to speak to me, friend."

"I am just, surprised, that is all." Aleksei struggled to keep his voice steady. What Aleksei was to Yelena, this kerbal was to him.

"Undoubtedly. It was very unfortunate that we lost an aircraft to your schemes."

"That... was not supposed to happen. I made sure there were no defenses... I could not have known Yuri would do that."

"Yes, yes. Never your fault, is it? No matter. What have you to report?"

"The Medved has launched. The mission is a go."

"I see. I must admit, you have done well to keep the focus on that so-very-special rock."

"Yes, I understand the importance." Aleksei reached up and loosened his collar.

"I'm sure. If we do not find it first... there will be hell to pay, friend. And you are sure this 'accident' is necessary?"

"I am certain. Yuri is troublesome and Yelena is beginning to show signs that she may turn on us. They must be removed."

"Very well. For your sake, I hope your plan works." There was a click on the line, and then another voice answered.

"Hello?"

"The mission is a go." Aleksei said. "Everything you need is in the package on the surface. Wait for my signal, send no transmissions."

"Understood."

Aleksei hung up. He leaned forward on the desk, sighing heavily. He knew he was going to disappear if he failed again. Less than an hour later, on the other side of Kerbin, a second mission launched.

Unaware they were no longer alone on their journey, Vladimir, Yelena, and Yuri passed the time with a game of cards as they hurtled through space towards the Mun. What had been set in motion would change everything.

---

Edited April 25, 2015 by Randazzo

[Whirligig Girl]

DUUUUDE. It's evil of you to leave us on a cliffhanger like that! Epic stuff! Hope the next chapter arrives soon. This is brilliant.

[Randazzo]

---

Yelena had her back to a wall, literally. In the cramped area just in front of the airlock of the Medved capsule, Yelena was facing off against Yuri and Vladimir. With the airlock door at her back, there was nowhere to go. Yuri stared at her intently. Vladimir appeared to be attempting to remain impartial, not to side with anyone. Knowing that Yuri had called her bluff, Yelena could see no way out now.

"Well?" Yuri said flatly.

Yelena sighed heavily. "You have caught me." She paused "...pair of threes."

"Hah!" Yuri threw his hands up in victory, then showed his hand. "Full house."

Vladimir grinned, then climbed up into his seat. "It seems Yuri is our champion for this trip." He pressed a few buttons on the console in front of him, bringing up navigation and orbital information screens. "It is almost time Yuri."

"Very well." Yuri looked at Yelena. "I suppose you have escaped further beatings."

She smiled a little. "Yes, how very fortunate for me."

The trio had gotten very little rest on the journey, something they were sure mission control would not have been happy about... if they had remembered to report it. Yuri and Vladimir had agreed not to confront Yelena during the mission. While it provided the most private setting possible, she was critical to the mission. Even if they were wrong in their suspicions, it would not be wise to bring them up. With everyone back in their seats, it was now back to business. The insertion burn was half an hour away. The time passed quietly until Vladimir called mission control to report the imminent burn, which Yuri executed skillfully. Having ditched the transfer stage immediately after the transfer burn, the CSM was required to perform the insertion.

To reduce rocket fuel consumption, the main engines were burned only until the Medved was captured into orbit. Circularization was performed on RCS thrusters. Doing so required two extra revolutions around the Mun, but ultimately saved a decent amount of mixed fuel and left both the lander and command module with sufficient RCS fuel for docking maneuvers.

Once circularized in a low fifty kilometer orbit, Yuri and Yelena prepared to crawl into the lander.

"The ship is yours, comrade." Yuri held his gloved hand out to Vladimir.

Shaking Yuri's hand, Vladimir smiled. "Good luck down there. Both of you."

With that, the duo climbed through the airlock and into the lander. Vladimir sighed softly and closed the airlock hatch behind them, then got into what had been Yuri's seat. He would be spending two full days in orbit by himself while Yuri and Yelena performed an array of tests on the surface. Back on the surface, Aleksei was pacing about mission control, watching the progress. Much to the controllers relief, he had not been giving orders, merely observing. After some brief system checks, Yuri began the descent to the surface. As they now had the altimetry map from KSC, Yuri was no longer landing blind, which he was grateful for.

The timing was perfect, and it was early in the 'morning' at the outpost site.

Yuri sent a signal to Vladimir in orbit, who reported the landing back to mission control. As he would have no further duties for several hours, Vladimir closed his eyes and got some sleep. Yelena was staring out the window of the lander at the scene of the arch, struck silent by the undeniable beauty of it. Yuri waited patiently until she regained her senses.

Finally turning from the window, Yelena found Yuri grinning at her. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. I am ready when you are."

"Oh... yes.. I am ready." Yelena smiled in spite of herself.

Yuri climbed out first, with Yelena right behind him. They had to get to work right away to make the most of Kerbol's light. While they had numerous artificial light sources at their disposal, everything here was solar powered, including the rover. Yuri bounced off to retrieve the rover while Yelena waited near the base of the lander, looking around in awe. Once aboard the rover, they drove to the arch and began the first of many tests.

And so the next few hours were spent, analyzing and gathering data and samples. Yelena was so engrossed with her work that she was almost unaware of time passing, until Yuri pointed out that the sun was beginning to set.

"We should head back soon, the sun is going down."

Yelena looked up, surprised to see that he was right. "I didn't realize it had been so long."

"You know what they say about having fun." Yuri responded, climbing into the drivers seat.

Yelena saved the data they collected and shut down the terminal on the rover, then buckled herself in. "Yes, this has been... incredible, really. I did not think I would enjoy it, but I have never seen anything like this."

Yuri smiled at her. "Well, you are on the Mun, after all."

Yuri drove them back to the outpost habitats. Before climbing inside to retire for the night, they spent a few minutes in silence, watching the sun set.

As the sun finally crept beneath the horizon, they walked to separate units and climbed in, bidding each other good night. Per mission orders, they were required to log their entry into the habitat and send the report to the Medved capsule. Vladimir was awakened by the beeping of his console. He yawned and forwarded the report to mission control.

---

At the CEA, mission control was mostly empty now. There were two controllers monitoring the Medved mission, but there was little to monitor. Aleksei was still there, dozing off in a chair near the back of the darkened room. One of the controllers approached him warily and shook him gently.

Stirring, Aleksei looked up at him. "Yes?"

"You asked to be informed when the surface team logged in for the night, Sir. They have." The controller said.

Aleksei smiled. "Excellent, thank you." He stood up slowly and stretched, then straightened his suit and walked to the front of the room. The controller had sat back down. "Not much to do now, is there?"

One of the controllers looked up at Aleksei. "No sir, not really."

Nodding, Aleksei looked over the panels. "Still, someone has to keep an eye on things!"

"Yes, sir."

"Why don't you two call it a night? I'll be happy to stay until the next shift arrives." Aleksei smiled at them.

The two controllers looked at each other and shrugged. "If you're sure..."

"Of course I am! Go, go! Enjoy your evening."

Aleksei watched the controllers go, being sure to keep smiling at them. When they finally left, he dropped the facade and walked to the door, locking it. He glanced up at the CCTV camera to make sure it's indicator light was still off, which it was. Finally, he walked back to the main communications panel and confirmed that both Yuri and Yelena had indeed checked in, which they had. He changed the transmission frequency and sent a brief transmission of three long beeps. He sat there for a moment, then sighed gently. He was concerned for his own future now. He mused for only a moment before getting up and heading for the door. He had two controllers to make disappear.

---

A few minutes later...

"That's the signal."

"We need to hurry, we're losing the light."

"Doesn't matter. It'll be easier if it's dark."

---

Yelena tossed and turned, unable to sleep despite having already been awake the equivalent of nearly two Kerbin days. The excitement of the mission coupled with anxiety about Aleksei and his intentions conspired to keep her wide awake. Sitting up, she decided to give up trying to sleep. Looking around the habitat, Yelena saw that it provided everything one would need to work on the Mun. There was a small research area with basic equipment like microscopes and a computer terminal, a living area with two bunks situated around a small table which had storage space beneath it for 'space food', and a tiny specialized lavatory. What the habitat did not have was any sort of entertainment or recreation. It was undoubtedly considered something frivolous and unnecessary. She sighed and rummaged through the small foil containers of food, ultimately selecting a paste that claimed to be carrots. Tearing the foil open and giving the package a gentle squeeze produced something that indeed smelled like a carrot, and even appeared to be carrot puree. She tasted it tentatively and was surprised to find it even tasted like a carrot. Finding unusual pleasure in this unconventional breakfast, Yelena meandered over to the communication panel near the airlock door, and considered buzzing Yuri. She suspected that he was probably sleeping, blissful in his ignorance of the danger that waited for them all back on Kerbin.

After finishing her breakfast and paying a visit to the lavatory, which turned out to be a truly disconcerting experience, Yelena decided to pass the time by going back to work. They were not scheduled to begin the next series of tests for several hours yet, but she could occupy herself by poring over the data they had already gathered. Putting on her spacesuit, Yelena walked to the airlock door and began the exit sequence. It was already pressurized from her entry, and so the door unlocked right away. She stepped inside and pressed the depressurize button. Even inside her suit, she could hear the hissing noise as all the air was pumped out of the chamber and finally a green light clicked on above the main hatch. It was incredibly dark outside. Switching on her helmet lights, Yelena climbed down to the surface and walked over to the rover. Checking to ensure the data was saved, she disengaged the drive from the console on the rover and pulled it out. There was no means of examining the data on the rover's systems, so she would have to take it back to the habitat to study it. First, however, it was prudent to back the data up, so it was a quick trip to the lander capsule to make a copy. She climbed the ladder to the lander pod, and was surprised to find that the hatch would not open. The airlock was pressurized. A wave of irrational dread washed over her, and she considered going to get Yuri, but decided that would take too long. She started the depressurization cycle and finally the hatch unlocked. Climbing inside, she pressurized the chamber and prepared herself for whoever might be waiting. When the inner door unlocked, it was yanked open from the inside.

Yelena charged out of the airlock as hard as she could, which was not very hard, considering the gravity. "Who are you and what...." Before finishing her sentence she had plowed into another body. They toppled over together.

"What in the world?" Of course, it was Yuri. He began to laugh.

They landed gently on the floor, with Yelena on top. She had him pinned down. "Yuri?"

"Who did you expect to find?" He was still laughing.

She sighed and removed her helmet, tossing it aside. "What are you doing in here?"

He grinned. "I was playing solitaire. Now it appears I am being attacked by a crazy person!"

"I... sorry." She pulled herself up, then helped Yuri off the floor. A quick glance revealed that he had indeed been playing solitaire, cleverly using clipboards to hold his card stacks.

"And what are

you

doing in here?"

Yelena held up the data drive. "I could not sleep, so I decided to work. I came to back up the data first."

"I see. Well, that is important." Yuri took the drive from her and slid it into the receptacle in the lander computer core. He pressed the copy button. "You know, this will take some time to copy."

"Yes, I know."

"So... I think it's time for you to prove your mettle in a rematch." Yuri smiled and reached for the cards.

Yelena was irritated by this, but only for a moment. She felt a smile creep onto her face, and she sat down. "You deal."

The data had finished copying in a little over twenty minutes, but the game continued on.

---

An hour later...

"We're here."

"Turn off the lights. We don't want them to notice it."

"They're probably asleep anyway. Let's get to work."

The two black-suited kerbals switched off the rover lights and climbed out. Walking around to the rear and opening the hatch, they found all they needed, as Aleksei had promised. Three blocks of specialized explosives. In order to properly function, they would have to place the blocks inside the airlock of each habitat then pressurize the airlocks from the outside. The devices could be detonated remotely. The resulting pressure wave contained in such a small space would be catastrophic to the habitats and anyone inside. The third block was to be used on the rover itself before departure. No evidence was to be left behind. Working quickly, they each placed their device and started the airlock sequences from outside.

"I'm already back at the rover, hurry it up."

"I'm clear. Do it."

The resulting fireball was larger then they had expected, as it also burned the oxygen in the storage tanks, but it burned out in the blink of an eye. The destruction was complete. Any portion of the habitats that wasn't ripped apart was thrown violently away. Wasting no time, the two black-suits started back to their landing zone.

---

Yelena stared at Yuri over the top of her hand. "You think you are so smart... I call."

"I am disappointed Yelena! You do not seem to be learn..." Yuri was interrupted by the sound of the pod being pelted by something. They both jumped to their feet.

"What is that?" Yelena walked to the window and looked out, but could see nothing.

"It could be micrometeorites..." Yuri said. He looked concerned.

"Oh no! The rover!" Yelena sighed and sat down. "If it is damaged, we will not be able to work."

"There is nothing we can do now but wait."

The "shower" seemed to be remarkably brief. It ended as quickly as it began.

"Should we go check?" Yelena asked.

"No, not yet. There could be more. Let's just finish our game for now..." Yuri sat back down, and picked up his cards. Yelena reluctantly agreed, but her heart was no longer in it.

---

After demolishing their rover, the black-suits climbed aboard their own lander and left the surface.

---

When the sun finally rose, Yuri and Yelena prepared to leave the lander. They were both worried about the state of things outside, but they were not prepared for what they saw.

Yuri was first on the ground. He took a few steps from the lander, then stopped dead in his tracks. "What in the hell?"

"What? Is it bad?" Yelena was still climbing down the ladder. She stepped up next to Yuri. "Oh... no."

The habitats were gone. The rover was missing a solar panel, and was clearly damaged. Yuri went to inspect it. Yelena just watched, her heart sinking. She already knew this was no micrometeorite shower. Yuri poked around the lander, and pulled something from it. He came back and held it out to Yelena.

"Look." He said.

She peered down at the object. It was clearly a bent and deformed portion of the habitat hull. "Then... they must have exploded."

"How could that have happened? Both of them?" Yuri was no fool, this was not an accident.

"I don't know... I don't see how that could have happened... without help." Yelena answered.

"We must contact Vladimir." Yuri started back for the lander.

"No!" Yelena called out, reaching out and grabbing him by the arm.

"Why not? He might be in danger!" Yuri responded angrily, pulling away from her.

"Yuri, wait! You cannot contact him yet. There..." Yelena paused, taking a deep breath. "...is something I need to tell you."

"It can wait, Yelena."

"Nikita died because of me. You almost crashed because of me." She blurted out.

Yuri stopped, then turned to face her. "What?"

Yelena fell to her knees, guilt crashing down on her now like never before. She told him everything. Yuri, a good and honorable kerbal, listened to the entire story patiently. He should have been immeasurably angry, but he was not. He was saddened. When Yelena finished, he lingered for a moment, then turned and walked to the lander.

"Yuri?" Yelena called out. He did not respond, and climbed into the airlock. Yelena hung her head and tried not to sob.

Yuri finally responded, "Do you intend to stay here?"

"No..."

"Then get in. We're leaving."

Yelena felt weak, but got to her feet and walked to the lander. She climbed in with Yuri, and he started the pressure sequence. Once inside, Yuri immediately opened several service panels and began removing things.

"Yuri, what are you doing?!" Yelena asked, worried.

He looked at her, and tossed several circuit boards and a small metal box at her feet. "All long-range communications and our transponder. Only our short-range antenna will function now. Buckle in."

Yelena did so, and watched Yuri as he did the same. He lifted off, and they traveled in complete silence.

Yelena was worried what might happen, but not frightened. Unlike Aleksei, she knew Yuri and Vladimir would not hurt her, even if she deserved it.

"Yuri?" Yelena finally broke the silence as they approached space.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"So am I."

Now, the game had truly changed.

---

Edited May 11, 2015 by Randazzo

[AlexinTokyo]

More awesome. Please keep up the great work.

I can't wait to see where this is going.

[Randazzo]

More awesome. Please keep up the great work.

I can't wait to see where this is going.

You and me both!

I kid, I kid. I know where it's going.

I'm just not overly sure how it's going to get there

Edit: And all I mean by that is each time I think I've got it all pinned down, I think of something else to do. It was supposed to be over already!

DUUUUDE. It's evil of you to leave us on a cliffhanger like that! Epic stuff! Hope the next chapter arrives soon. This is brilliant.

Yeah, wish I could put them out every day, but I'm lucky to get two a week now... usually one.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Randazzo

[AlexinTokyo]

Please tell me this hasn't died and is only in abeyance until something gets sorted?

Really looking forward to reading more of it.

[Randazzo]

Please tell me this hasn't died and is only in abeyance until something gets sorted?

Really looking forward to reading more of it.

It hasn't! Admittedly I've been a bit of a deadbeat author since 1.0, much of my attention was on other projects.

I finished the shots for the next chapter last night, it will be out tonight or tomorrow.

[Randazzo]

---

Vladimir sat alone in the Medved capsule, staring out the viewport at the Munar surface. Yuri and Yelena were scheduled to return to work over an hour ago, but he had received no log updates from the habitat units. Worse, mission control was not responding. He sighed heavily and decided to run a diagnostic on the communications array. Since nobody was communicating with the Medved, it was logical to assume the Medved might be the source of the problem. Before he could begin, a garbled message riddled with static came across the radio. It was on a very short range frequency, low power, emergency only. He furrowed his brow, climbing into the pilots seat.

"Unidentified caller, please repeat." Vladimir transmitted on the same frequency.

The response came a few seconds later, still mostly static. "........he surfa........dest......ger..."

Vladimir shook his head. "Repeat once more, no copy."

"...dimir! .....s Yuri!"

"Yuri?!" Vladimir leaned forward in his seat. "Why are you on this channel? How is it even reaching this far?"

As the source of the transmission drew ever closer, the clearer it became. "...ad to le....e surface! Habita.....er...stroyed. We are......anger."

"What? Habitats destroyed? Danger? I... I should report this to mission control, but..." Vladimir began.

"No! Do no...port! Do not re...t! St...d by!" Yuri sounded frantic. At the moment, it didn't matter. Mission control was not responding.

"Very well, calm down Yuri. Can you tell me what is happening?"

"Not y..t. We wil.....there soon." He responded. Then the channel went dead.

Vladimir sat motionless in his chair, unsure of what to do now. This was all very bizarre. There was no way Yuri could have been able to transmit on the emergency frequency from the surface. The antenna simply didn't have enough power. After sitting for what felt like hours, he decided to try and raise Yuri again, but there was no response. Suddenly, there was a gentle bumping noise from outside the capsule window, and glancing up, Vladimir would have jumped out of his seat if one could properly jump in space.

"Holy.... what in the hell!?" Vladimir peered out the window. Yuri was floating there in his spacesuit, gesturing toward the docking port airlock. It could not be operated externally like the lander. Wasting no time, Vladimir started the decompression sequence from his control panel. It took less than a minute, and he could hear the noises of the heavy hatch opening and closing, followed by the droning of pumps as air was pumped back in. He glanced down at the oxygen supply, concerned. There seemed to be plenty remaining yet. Finally, the interior hatch clicked as it unlocked when the pressure equalized. Yuri floated in, immediately removing his helmet.

"Vladimir... the habitats were destroyed, blown up. Have you reported to mission control?" Yuri said, right down to business.

"No, I have been trying to raise them but they are not answering."

"Good. You must not report that we are alive."

"I do not understand. And where is Yelena?"

"She is still in the lander capsule. If she is doing as I showed her, she will be maintaining it's position twenty meters off port. Listen, we know it was no accident, and we know it was Aleksei. I..." Yuri was prepared to tell the whole story, but as if on cue, the radio crackled to life again.

"Mission Control calling Medved, please come in." It was Aleksei's voice. He paused before repeating the call. "Mission Control to Medved. Come in please."

Vladimir looked at Yuri, who nodded. He pressed the transmit button. "Go ahead Mission Control. You had me worried."

"Ah yes, we had some... trouble down here. Seems some staff went missing." Aleksei responded. "Not to worry, it's been sorted. Have you received the morning logs from our brave crew?"

"Negative, mission control. I have not been able to contact surface crew. No logs were received, and they are not answering hails."

"Understood, Medved. Please keep trying. We'll see what we can do here. Mission Control out." The transmission ended.

Vladimir looked at Yuri. "Tell me everything."

Yuri did.

---

Deployment of Veritas station had yielded some fine financial and scientific gains for KSC, putting them one step closer to the immensely expensive upgrade and renovation of the research and development facility. With so much to do, little time was being wasted. The big three were back on full duty, and the rest of the center was working overtime. A last minute contract had come up for an orbital mission, and a new Lancer X was nearly ready, but there was the Century IIIb Mun landing to be performed first. Bill had done some streamlining of the Century III design before leaving for Minmus based on some plans for a much lighter capsule specifically built for landing on the mun, and now it was ready to head back to the Munar surface. Enford and Jim had both been eagerly anticipating this moment. Jeb and Bill drove them to the launch tower as the hour approached.

"Well fellas, here we are. Be safe up there." Bill said, giving Jim a pat on the back.

"Aw it's safe enough, have FUN!" Jeb was grinning from ear to ear. He was so happy, one might think

he

was going to space.

"Thanks guys." Enford gave them each a nod, looking rather serious. He was excited to be sure, but he was also keeping his game face on.

"Alright! I can't believe we're finally going! Almost like the VOA miss..." Jim started, almost as full of energy as Jeb.

Bill interrupted with a smile, "You two are going to miss your flight if we keep carrying on. We'll see you back soon."

Enford and Jim climbed the tower and crossed the catwalk to the Century IIIb capsule, climbing in carefully. Jeb and Bill both returned to mission control.

The IIIb design was considerably more streamlined than the standard Century III. It was shorter, lighter, and more appropriate for the task it was intended to perform. The original design almost had enough fuel in the CSM to perform the journey to the Mun and back twice. Now much more familiar with traveling to the Mun, the IIIb was designed with a much smaller dV budget margin, but still more than enough to do it's job. The countdown ticked down to zero, and Enford and Jim were on their way to the Mun.

Once in orbit, the procedure was the same as the previous Century III flight. After blowing off the fairings, the IIIb would separate the CSM from the rest of the stack. Enford would be required to turn 180 degrees and docking with the lander before both freeing the main engine and jettisoning the main stack. Jim relayed relevant information back to mission control during the procedure, and it went off without a hitch.

One minor difference from previous launches was that the Mun was in such a position around Kerbin, the departure window was only fourteen minutes after launch. It was a bit of a relief to Enford that he didn't have to wait very long to execute the escape burn.

Once done, Enford looked over at Jim who was still grinning from ear to ear.

"Another flawless flight!" Jim exclaimed.

"Yep." Enford smiled at him, then looked down at his console. "Let's hope that luck holds

at least

until we get back."

"Great time to Jinx us!" Jim chuckled, then hailed mission control to report in.

---

Vladimir had spent the last several hours in a bit of a daze. Yuri repeated everything Yelena had told him. The truth about the agency, Aleksei, and herself. While trying to come to terms with all of this, he also had to keep bluffing mission control. More precisely, he had to keep bluffing Aleksei. Vladimir had to admit that Aleksei was pretty good at selling himself as sympathetic and concerned, as opposed to the murderous coward he really was.

"I'm still not entirely clear on this." Vladimir said, shaking his head. "What is it they are after?"

Yuri shrugged. "I do not know. Even Yelena was not told. Only that it was 'too dangerous' to fall into the wrong hands. Though, I cannot imagine hands more wrong than theirs."

"Yes, I suppose. Are you certain about this plan of yours? What if they will not help us?" Vladimir looked out the viewport as he spoke. He could see the lander capsule outside, Yelena maintaining it's position.

"I am not certain about any of this. If they will not help... then I do not know. Perhaps we will die. But I do not think the kerbals I met are the sort who will leave us out here."

"And what am I to do? Just wait?"

"You must be careful, Vladimir. If Aleksei is willing to go this far just to remove us... you must be careful. Find out what you can, but do not act alone." Yuri reached for his helmet.

The radio crackled on once more. "Mission Control to Medved. Respond please." This time, it was not Aleksei.

"Go ahead, mission control." Vladimir responded.

"Medved... look, I'm sorry, but we've got to bring you back. There's nothing else you can do up there." The controller sounded genuinely pained to deliver the message.

Vladimir played along, at Yuri's urging. "What?! You want me to leave them down there? How can we do this?"

"Medved, we have no contact with the crew. They have already missed their return window. If you stay up there any longer we risk losing you as well.

We'll come back for them

, somehow."

Vladimir and Yuri sat there quietly for a long while, long enough to make the controller nervous. Finally, Vladimir responded. "Very well, mission control. I will prepare to execute escape burn." He then clicked the transmitter off.

Yuri sighed. "We know what we must do now, comrade. Good luck... to both of us." He held out his hand.

Vladimir took it with a nod. "I will do everything I can. Just hold on out there."

Yuri put his helmet back on and climbed into the airlock. Vladimir cycled it for him, and watched through the viewport as Yuri carefully propelled himself the short distance to the lander pod and entered the airlock there. Vladimir was on his own now. He knew he had to keep up appearances, so he performed a few minor system checks before it was time to perform the escape burn. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily, then gently pushed the throttle forward. He was no pilot, but fortunately the flight computer could both hold the heading and inform him when to throttle back. Soon, he was on his way back to Kerbin. In the lander, Yuri settled in to his seat. There was no telling how long they would have to wait for rescue, if it ever came.

Yelena watched Yuri, waiting for him to say something. He remained silent. "Well?" She decided to speak up first.

"We wait."

"But... how..." She started to reply.

"

We wait.

" Yuri interrupted, pointedly. He met her gaze for a moment, and then Yelena looked away and did not say anything else.

---

The day-long journey to the Mun was relatively uneventful for the Century IIIb, and at last they arrived over the Mun. Compared to the Medved's mission, the Century mission was a walk in the park. Just as with the first landing, Enford would be piloting the lander down to the surface while Jim remained behind in the CSM to keep an eye on things. The task was simple, the paying contract wanting only a flag bearing some sort of location device to be planted. For KSC's own interests, samples were to be collected while there. Though Jim hadn't stopped ribbing him for it, it seemed that Enford's comment had not in fact jinxed the mission, not yet at least. The landing went smoothly.

Enford wasted no time, finding himself surprisingly anxious to get back into orbit. He jammed the required flag into the surface, scooped up a sample, and scrambled back into the capsule as quickly as possible. Jim was enthralled by the view from orbit, staring constantly out the window, so much so that Enford had to hail him three times before he snapped back into the present.

"Jim, are you up there?" Enford's voice came through the radio. Jim blinked and turned his attention back inside the pod.

"I'm here! Sorry!"

"I'm on my way back up."

"Already? You're not scheduled for anoth..." Jim started.

Enford cut him off. "I know the schedule. I'm coming back now. I just... I'm coming back."

From the tone of Enford's voice, Jim knew not to argue. They had all received fairly extensive training, and it sounded as if he were on the verge of a panic attack. "Ok Enford, I'll be standing by." Jim took a deep breath. "Century to mission control, please come in."

After a brief pause, Bob's voice answered. "We read you Century, go ahead."

"Ah, listen, Enford is bringing the lander back to orbit."

"So soon? Is there a problem?"

Jim hesitated for a moment, considering his answer. "I can't be sure, mission control. I think it's best that he go ahead and return. Better safe than sorry."

"Well, we can't argue with that. You two are the ones in space. It's your call. Keep us posted."

"Will do, mission control. Century out." Jim clicked off the transmitter and looked back out at the Mun, suddenly worried. If Enford were to fall prey to his anxiety before getting back, it could be extremely dangerous. It was expected that something like this could happen, and there was no shame in it, but that didn't make it any less of a problem if it got out of hand. "Alright Enford, we're clear to proceed. Bob sure was glad to hear we're working ahead of schedule!"

"Right. Good. That's good."

"Hey, just think, we'll be back in time to see the Lancer off!" Jim kept talking to keep Enford grounded. It wouldn't be long now.

---

While the Century mission was still in progress, the Medved had reached the atmosphere of Kerbin. Vladimir had continued to play along with Yuri's plan, and so far it seemed that Aleksei was none-the-wiser. Floating slowly towards the desert south of the CEA facility, he was wracking his brain trying to figure out where to go from here. The next step would be to somehow contact KSC and enlist their aid in recovering Yuri and Yelena, but if Aleksei were to find out, there was no telling what sort of disastrous consequences might come of it.

It was only a few short minutes after coming to a rest in the sand that CEA recovery crews were on site. Vladimir was standing just outside the pod, getting some much needed fresh air, even if it was unpleasantly hot. He was only a little surprised to discover that Aleksei himself had accompanied the crew.

"Vladimir." Aleksei put a hand on his shoulder. "I am... deeply, deeply sorry. After all we have been through..."

"Then.. they are lost?" Vladimir had to look away, not for sadness, but for fear the anger he was feeling would show through.

"I'm afraid it seems that way. There is nothing from the surface. Not even a beacon." Aleksei put on a good show, letting his shoulders and face droop as if heavy with sorrow.

Vladimir looked up at him for only a moment, then walked away slowly and quietly, climbing into one of the recovery vehicles. He sat there with his hands in his lap, staring down at them. He too could put on a show.

Aleksei watched him, and had to fight to suppress a smile. He was enjoying his charade. Finally, he turned to the crew. "Alright! Let's get this done as quickly as possible. Our brave cosmonaut deserves some rest, let's not keep him from it."

---

Enford had made it back to the Century III capsule without incident, but he was so shaken that he was now in the co-pilot seat and Jim was at the helm. Jim did his best to try and help, but Enford was both ashamed and angry at himself.

"Coming up on escape burn in three minutes. Everything looks good to go." Jim reported to mission control.

"Roger that, Century."

Enford was staring silently at his lap. Jim reached over and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself!"

Enford looked at Jim angrily, though the anger was really directed inward. "Why not? After all the training, all the preparation... I can't believe it... I just... can't believe it."

"You're just a Kerbal, Enford, like all of us. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Jim smiled.

"No. I'm a coward." Enford looked away and said nothing more. Jim sighed softly and let him brood.

The journey home was long and quiet. Enford said next to nothing even as they rode back to KSC, and he went straight to his quarters once they were there. Jim went to the debriefing as scheduled. Wernher and Bob were both waiting in the meeting room.

"Welcome back!" Wernher smiled. "Where's Enford?"

"I, uh... I think he's going to sit this one out... if that's ok." Jim was usually nearly as exuberant as Jeb. It was clear something had happened.

Bob raised a brow, concerned. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, I think he's ok now." Jim shifted uncomfortably. "Look, this is something Enford should talk about himself."

Wernher looked at Bob, who shrugged. "Well, alright then. I'll go check on him when we're done here." He flipped open the file on the table top. "I see you brought back the samples Enford collected on the surface, and the flag was planted, so that's good news. A little closer to our goal!" There was a knock at the door. "Oh, bother. Yes?"

Jorbas opened the door and stepped in. "Sorry to interrupt, but there's a phone call for Bob. He says it's very urgent."

"For me?" Bob stood up, trying to imagine who might be calling him. He walked over to the phone on the wall. Jorbas picked it up and dialed the parking extension for him. Bob took the receiver. "Hello?"

The others stood by, being nosy. Bob went from looking confused to looking worried, and saying very little. "I see. Look, I'd like to help if I can, but it's not my decision to make... Yes... Yes I know that... Alright, hold on." He looked over at Werhner, covering the mouthpiece. "Wernher... I think you need to hear this."

Wernher walked over and took the phone. "Hello, this is Wernher Von Kerman." He listened patiently.

Jim leaned over to Bob, and spoke softly. "Who is it?"

"Vladimir. From the CEA." They stared at each other for a moment, then both turned their attention to Wernher.

"Yes... I understand... You have my word, we will get them back... Yes... Goodbye." Wernher hung up and went immediately to the file, writing down a frequency. Then he looked up at the Kerbals before him. "Gentlekerbs, we have a rescue mission to perform. Jorbas, please go find Jeb and send him to my office. Bob, I'd like you and Bill to prep the Lancer X for immediate launch."

"It's not scheduled to launch for another two days..." Bob started to protest.

"Get it done Bob." Wernher said flatly, then walked out without another word. Bob and Jim just stood there for a moment, stunned. They had never seen Wernher like this.

"What on earth did he say?" Jim asked.

"Just that there was some sort of accident, and he needed our help. I can't imagine why he was calling, instead of their director."

"Well, you'd better get to it, seemed pretty serious."

"Yeah, I'll see you around Jim." Bob hurried out to find Bill.

---

Despite Bob's initial protests, he and Bill were indeed able to have the Lancer X prepped for launch by early morning. Wernher had briefed Jeb, and now he was in the capsule of the Lancer by himself, awaiting launch. It was usually a three kerbal vehicle, but they were going to need the space on the far end of the journey.

The impending launch was surrounded by a tense atmosphere, as this was clearly not routine. Wernher had restricted access to mission control for the first time ever, and ordered all staff not to discuss the mission with anyone, especially not the media. Inside mission control Jim, Lemlie, and Bill were manning the main stations. Wernher was there himself, as usual. He hailed Jeb just before launch.

"Remember Jeb, no long-range communications about... about our friends. Short range only. You have the channel."

"Yep, I got it Vern! Don't you worry! I brought extra snacks too!" Jeb, naturally, seemed unaffected by the gravity of the situation.

The countdown reached zero, and the Lancer roared away.

Jeb didn't need any hand-holding by mission control to get himself to the Mun, and there was little to communicate during the ascent. He called in to report his escape burn, then went silent as expected. Wernher sat down, shaking his head. It seemed as if they would never escape the ill-intentions of foolish, small-minded Kerbals, no matter how far away they sent rockets. He looked around, and was grateful to be in the company of those around him. As with all trips to the Mun, it was going to be another day before the Lancer arrived, and all they could do for now was wait.

---

Vladimir had spent the night expecting someone to burst into his room and drag him off into the darkness, but it seemed that his incredibly risky phone call had gone unnoticed, if only for the time being. Aleksei had insisted on giving him a week free of duties, but now Vladimir found himself wide awake and restless. He prowled back and forth in his room for awhile, turning over scenario after scenario in his mind. Due in no small part to past experiences, he trusted Wernher's word implicitly. He knew KSC would rescue Yuri and Yelena, but what then? How would they depose Aleksei? Even if they did, he was only another cog in some great sinister machine, from what Yelena had revealed, and even she knew relatively little. Of more immediate personal concern was his own safety. How would he escape unharmed if something terrible came to pass? Vladimir threw up his arms and gave a frustrated shout. He then pulled on his jumpsuit and decided to go for a jog around the runways to clear his head. It didn't take very long to realize that there was something happening at the CEA. The hangar bay was full of scurrying ground crew. Stepping outside, Vladimir was surprised to see a rocket on the pad.

He could tell it was a Voron class, which meant some sort of light probe. Eschewing the jog around the runways, Vladimir instead went straight to mission control to find out just what they were sending up. Naturally, he found Aleksei there.

"Good morning, Vladimir. How are you feeling?" Aleksei smiled at Vladimir as he entered.

"Good morning. I must admit, I am still feeling a little shocked."

"Yes, I can imagine. You should be resting!"

"I was going for a jog, but I saw the rocket and just came to see what it was." Vladimir peered down at the main station, and Aleksei made no attempt to stop him.

"Ah, yes, of course. You remember the radar unit KSC was kind enough to provide us with? This Voron probe is heading back to the Mun with the unit installed. It may help us locate Yuri and Yelena."

"Oh. Then... there is still hope?" Vladimir looked Aleksei in the eye.

"Yes, my friend. I am not giving up on them." Aleksei put a hand on Vlad's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Now please, go, get some rest."

"Of course. Thank you, Aleksei." Vladimir forced a smile, which Aleksei returned. Vladimir started walking to the door, and Aleksei turned his attention back to the consoles.

Suddenly overcome with an impulse to do something foolishly reckless, Vladimir glanced over his shoulder to be certain Aleksei was not watching, and instead of leaving, stepped into the hallway which led to Aleksei's office. He lingered just beyond the door for a moment, at a rather conveniently placed drinking fountain, but nobody followed him. Opening the door, Vladimir slipped in quietly, closing it behind him. The office was somehow strange. Aleksei had removed all of Nikita's things, of course, but he hadn't replaced them with his own. There was nothing personal about it at all. He walked around behind the desk and flipped through the documents sitting on the blotter. There didn't appear to be anything unsual, nor did he really know what he was looking for, which made this little excursion all the more difficult and dangerous. Trying the drawers, Vladimir discovered they were all locked. He stood there for a moment, trying to decide what to do next, but came to the conclusion that this was not likely to yield anything useful, and started to walk to the door when one final impulse came over him. He paused and lifted the blotter. Beneath it, there was a single scrap of paper. It appeared to be a portion of a map. He leaned over to inspect it, when he heard footsteps in the hallway. There was nowhere to hide. Snatching up the piece of paper, Vladimir rushed to the far side of the office on the backside of the door, and just in time. The footsteps stopped just beyond the door. Vladimir could feel his heart beating in his eardrums as the moments dragged out until each one lasted for an agonizing eternity... until he could make out the unmistakable slurping noise of someone having a drink from the fountain. A few moments later, the footsteps faded back down the hall, and Vladimir slipped out quickly.

He wasted no time, rushing out the back way and jogging back towards the hangar entrance and the underground facility that housed the crew quarters. Just as he stepped inside, he could both hear and feel the rumble of the Voron engines firing, carrying the probe up into space. All the better for him, since it was unlikely anybody would notice him slinking about, though he was only suspicious in his own mind. Once finally in the safety of his room, he pulled the paper from his pocket and laid it down on his desk. It was mostly unremarkable, but there was an area circled in red and labeled "U.E.T.O." which could mean anything, and was so far away from anything else of note that it was probably nothing.

"Bah!" He scowled to himself and tossed a book on top of the map, then fell onto his bed. He now felt foolish for taking such a risk for something so innocuous.

---

Edited May 15, 2015 by Randazzo

[Acemcbean]

Has anyone ever told you how amazing of a storyteller you are? Because how you told this story right here was AMAZING. I was literally glued to the story. How you write actually invests the reader in the story. I feel like I want to know more about what is going on, and I see no reason to stop writing these anytime soon

As a sign of how unbelievably incredible these stories are, take some rep!

[Randazzo]

---

After a long day en-route to the Mun, the Lancer orbital vehicle was now approaching it's insertion burn. Jeb was started to get even more excited than usual about this mission. He could hardly wait to meet the two cosmonauts, even if one of them was a bad guy. After masterfully performing the burn, Jeb hailed mission control.

"Jeb to... uh, I mean... Lancer calling mission control!" Bob had been coaching Jeb on his comms etiquette, and some of it was sinking in.

"We read you, Lancer, go ahead." It was Bill's voice.

Jeb valiantly fought the urge to blurt out a greeting. "I'm in orbit! Preparing for... uh...

data

collection!"

"Understood, Lancer. Stick to the procedure, this data is sensitive."

"No problem Bill! Bye!"

"Good luck, Jeb. Mission control out." Bill was actually impressed Jeb managed to contain his enthusiasm for

most

of the conversation.

Jeb glanced quickly over the instructions Wernher had given him one last time, just to be sure he didn't make any mistakes. Though one wouldn't know it to talk to him, or see him, Jeb did appreciate the fact that lives were on the line. He set the transmitter and reciever to the frequencies given to KSC by Vladimir, and started a looping transmission on thirty second intervals. Without knowing precisely where the Medved lander capsule was in it's orbit meant that it could take quite a long time until they were in range, but a high-power transmission would be easily intercepted by the listening satellite, which they only knew about because of Yelena. Floating over to the far window, Jeb peered down at the Mun and sighed, wondering how long it would be until he could go back.

---

Vladimir awoke with a start, and sat bolt upright on his bed. He was overcome by the sensation that someone was standing over him, but of course, nobody was there. He sighed and swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a moment, leaning forward and cradling his head in his hands. He was still having trouble coming to terms with everything, particularly with the fact that Yelena had been betraying everyone. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Vladimir realized what it was that awoke him.

"Vladimir? Are you in there?" It was Aleksei's voice.

"Yes, I am coming." Vladimir called out, walking to the door and opening it.

"Am I interrupting?" Aleksei asked. He had two kerbals that Vladimir did not recognize with him.

Vladimir glanced at the strangers before answering. "No, not really. I was just napping."

"Ah, I do apologize. I assure you we will be quick, may we come in?"

"Oh, yes." Stepping aside, Vladimir cast a quick glance to his desk to see if the book was covering the map. It was. "Sorry I don't have seats for everyone."

"No need to explain, we know about the quarters here!" Aleksei chuckled.

Vladimir tried not to glare, and walked over to his desk, leaning against it. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to introduce you to our new crewmen." The two kerbals with Aleksei each nodded. "Although, you have actually met once before."

One of the kerbals stepped forward, holding out his hand. "Milhat, nice to meet you again sir."

Vladimir shook his hand, peering at him curiously. Finally, he realized where he had seen them before. "I remember you now. You were one of the recruits Yuri and I met."

"Yes, and this is Bobgas." Aleksei gestured to the other kerbal who just nodded again, and said nothing. "He's a bit quiet. At any rate, with our current... ah...

situation

, I thought it best to have an active crew ready to launch if we find anything. These two had the highest performance scores so far."

"Well, congratulations, I suppose." Vladimir said, crossing his arms.

"Thank you, sir. I wish it was under better circumstances." Milhat said.

"Well, I promised not to be long! Let's move along and let..." Aleksei paused, staring at the book on the desk. Vladimir felt his cheeks suddenly get hot. "Is that 'Moby Kick'? It's one of my favorites! I haven't seen a copy of this in years." To Vladimir's horror, Aleksei reached down and picked the book up. The partial map hidden beneath fluttered to the floor.

Milhat bent down and picked it up, glancing at it. "What's this?"

Vladimir suddenly realized his mouth was hanging open. "That.. uh..." He wracked his brain frantically.

"Oh, a bookmark! You better hang on to it." Milhat handed it back.

Aleksei was so focused on the book that he paid no attention. "I hate to be a bother, but may I borrow this? If you're not reading it, of course."

"I... yes, of course." Still a bit numb, Vladimir nodded, slipping the map into his pocket. Milhat watched him intently.

"Wonderful! Thank you! Now, we'll get out of your hair as promised." Aleksei patted Vlad on the shoulder, then gestured for the others to leave. Milhat lingered for a moment while Aleksei and Bobgas walked away down the hall.

Vladimir moved to close the door, but Milhat stuck his foot in. "You should be more careful." They stood there silently for a moment. "See you soon, sir."

Vladimir stepped into the hallway and watched as Milhat jogged to catch up with the others. He stared after them for awhile, unable to reconcile what just happened. As if things were not complicated enough, it seemed there was yet another player in the game.

---

Jeb had been in orbit for nearly three hours, constantly checking the radio to ensure it was transmitting, which it was. There had still been nothing. Not a kerbal of great patience, he was starting to get anxious, which was only a slight change from his usual state. Tearing open a bag of snacks, Jeb munched thoughtfully. He was now staring out the other side of the ship at Kerbin. A thump drew his attention to the munar facing side.

There was a kerbal there, staring blankly at Jeb through the window. Jeb stared back. The kerbal pointed to the front of the Lancer, and Jeb realized what he needed to do. Moving quickly, he went to the airlock and unlocked the outer hatch. After a few moments, he could hear the chamber pressurizing, and he stood back from the inner door. It swung open, and the two were face to face.

"Hi! I'm Jeb!" Jeb waved.

"Hello. I am Yuri." Yuri said, raising a brow. He had expected someone more... serious.

"Oh boy am I glad to meet you! I've been sending this signal for..." Jeb started to ramble.

"Yes, that is how we found you."

"How come you didn't answer on the radio?"

"We did. Did you not hear us?"

"No."

They stared at each other for a few moments, both confused.

"Well... Yelena is waiting to come aboard." Yuri said.

"Oh, right!" Jeb moved aside and Yuri floated out of the way. Closing the hatch, the airlock depressurized to allow Yelena to enter.

A minute or so later, the inner hatch opened again and Yelena floated in. Yuri and Jeb were waiting. Jeb was smiling, Yuri was not.

"Hi! I'm Jeb! Welcome aboard! Aren't you Bob-O's friend? You can be my friend too!" Jeb blurted out.

Yelena stared at him wide-eyed until he finished. "I.. hello... I am Yelena..."

"You should be careful who you offer friendship to." Yuri said, turning away from them and pulling himself into the co-pilot seat. Jeb made a face at him. Yelena smiled a little.

"What do we do now?" Yelena asked.

"We go home!" Jeb smiled back, then made his way to the pilot's seat. He started to hail mission control.

Yuri reached out and grabbed his hand. "What are you doing? No-one can know we are on board."

"Don't worry!" Jeb pulled away from him. "I'm just letting Vern know that I've got

the data

." Yuri did not look convinced, but did not prevent Jeb from hailing again. "Lancer to mission control."

"Go ahead, Lancer."

"I have retrieved

the data

, preparing to return home now!" Jeb winked at Yuri when he referenced '

the data

'. Yuri stared at him.

"Good work, Lancer. We'll see you soon. Mission control out."

"There! Seeee? Nobody knows but us." Jeb smiled broadly.

Yuri stared at him for a moment longer. "You are a ridiculous kerbal."

"You're welcome!" Jeb said loudly. Yuri shook his head and looked away out the window.

After a moment, Yuri quietly said, "Thank you."

Jeb, thoroughly satisfied, aligned the Lancer for it's escape burn, and soon they were all on their way back to Kerbin.

---

Wernher was sitting in his office, looking glum. He had summoned everyone for a quick meeting, and though he would usually have preferred on of the conference rooms, he felt a more intimate setting was appropriate for the news he had. He sighed heavily as he read the letter in front of him once more. Soon, there was a knock at the door, and Jorbas entered, followed the remainder of the active crew, Bob, Bill, Almund, Lemlie, and Jim. Enford was not among them.

"What's happened?" Bob asked. He immediately knew something was wrong.

Wernher sighed. "Everyone, sit please." He gestured to the chairs and small sofa. It was crowded but everyone managed to squeeze in. "I'm afraid I have some sad news."

"Oh... no.. is Jeb ok?" Lemlie asked, quietly.

"Yes, it's not that. Jeb will be home soon." Wernher paced back and forth for a moment, not intending to keep everyone in suspense, but he was searching for the right words. It seemed the only thing to do was come out and say it. "It is with deep regret that I tell you all... Enford has resigned from the program."

The collective murmur was one of shock. Jim hung his head. Almund stood up and walked out.

Bill stood up as well, but didn't walk out. "Why?" He turned to Jim. "What happened up there?"

Jim looked up at each of the Kerbals in the room, considering what to say for a long time. "I think... I'm pretty sure, actually... He had a panic attack."

Bill shrugged. "So? He came back didn't he? That's no reason to walk away."

"It's not always so simple as that Bill." Bob stood up and put a hand on his friends shoulder. It was obvious Bill was choosing to get angry to deal with it.

Lemlie was staring at his feet, but spoke up, quietly. "Something like this can be... uh... well, worse than any physical affliction."

"So he walks away? Now? After everything? What about us?" Bill brushed Bobs hand away.

Wernher approached, holding up both his hands. "He was thinking of you. Of all of you." Bill glowered but did not respond. Wernher continued, "He was afraid to put any of you in danger. If it were to happen again... well. I tried to talk him out of it, believe me."

And so the conversation carried on for awhile. Almund suspected the meeting had a two-fold purpose, and he knew that if he dallied, an opportunity might be forever lost. He burst out of the administration building, looking around frantically. He ran to the edge of the long paved driveway, looking both ways but seeing nothing. Looking across the yard at the Astronaut complex, he noticed a cart with a driver waiting. The driver looked at his watch. Almund ran as fast as he could and burst in, catching Enford walking through the common room to the front door.

"Enford!" Almund shouted.

Enford stopped dead in his tracks, sighing heavily. "Almund. You're supposed to be in a meeting, you know."

Almund walked up to Enford, breathing hard. "Why? Why like this?"

Smiling faintly, Enford put his bag down. "I just have to go, kid. Don't want anyone getting killed because of me." Almund looked confused. Enford sat down and motioned for Almund to sit next to him. "When I was up there, on the Mun... I panicked. I can't explain it. All I know is that when I stepped out of that pod and looked up and saw Kerbin... I lost myself."

Staring, Almund struggled to piece together what he wanted to say. "I..."

Enford held up a hand to stop him. "Don't, Almund. This is what I have to do. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm not..." Almund shook his head. "I'm not trying to talk you out of it."

"Then, what is it?"

"Look, I know I was a pain when I got here. And I know that's all in the past, but... I never..." Almund looked Enford in the eye. "Thank you."

Enford smiled. "Ah hell, kid, you're doing your best to make this difficult." Almund looked away. Enford stood up and picked up his bag, slinging it over one shoulder. He then stepped in front of Almund and held out his hand. "I'm glad to have known you, Almund. You're a damn fine pilot. I guess I better get around to stop calling you kid."

Almund took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "That'd be nice." He grinned. Enford winked and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Take care of everybody for me."

"I'll do my best. I can't make any promises about Jeb."

Enford laughed, lingering for a moment before finally turning around and walking to the door. He paused and looked back, giving a wave, and then he was gone. Almund sat there quietly, staring out the window at the stars.

---

Early the next morning, the Lancer capsule had re-entered and was floating down into the grasslands just west of KSC. Wernher had crews en route well before the capsule touched down, and they were less than a kilometer away from the landing zone. Jorbas and Almund had both driven out with the trucks, given the unusual circumstances of this particular recovery.

The drive back to KSC was tense and quiet. Even Jeb barely said anything. Bob and Bill came out to greet the small convoy when it arrived at the VAB with the capsule and it's passengers. Jeb rushed over to them, waving and smiling.

"Welcome back Jeb." Bob said.

"Thanks! Boy was it a loooong trip home..." Jeb glanced at Yuri.

"Yes, it was indeed." Yuri said.

"Hello again." Bill said to Yuri. Yuri nodded to him.

Stepping up next to Yuri, Yelena waved at Bob. "Hello, Bob-O."

"Hi."

Bill let the awkward silence that followed hang in the air briefly before speaking. "Well, let's get you inside. Wernher wants to see you right away. You guys too." Bill looked at Almund and Jorbas as he finished.

They all walked slowly to the administration building, both Yuri and Yelena looking around with a touch of awe. The CEA facility was sufficient, but mostly underground and certainly didn't take any aesthetics into consideration during it's construction. By comparison, KSC was clearly designed to be appealing, and it was. They seemed particularly interested in the astronaut complex.

"This is where you live?" Yuri asked, staring.

"Yep! Where do you guys stay?" Jeb asked.

Yelena scoffed. "Undergound."

"Oh." Jeb scrunched up his face.

When they finally reached the administration building, Bob led them down a hallway to a conference room where the others were waiting. Wernher was standing at the head of the table.

"Ah, welcome. You must be Yuri and Yelena. I am Wernher Von Kerman. This is Lemlie." He gestured to Lemlie. "And Jim. I believe you've met everyone else. Please, have a seat." Wernher paused while everyone sat down. "Let's get right to it. As you must be aware by now, we received a call from Vladimir informing us of your situation. He impressed upon me the importance of your director not finding out that you were alive. I would appreciate it if you could fill in the rather cavernous blanks for us."

Yuri looked surprised. "You mean he did not tell you everything?"

"No, I was under the impression he did not have time to do so."

"But you still sent a ship."

"I knew that you were in danger and needed our help. That was enough."

Yelena found that she immediately liked this man, which only made her regret what they had to tell him even more. "Thank you, Mister Von Kerman."

Yuri cleared his throat. "Well... I suppose we should start at the beginning..."

Yuri spent the better part of the next hour telling them everything, with Yelena filling in certain details that only she could relate. When they finished, the room was silent.

Finally, Wernher spoke, looking directly at Yelena. She could see that something had changed in his eyes, and she could not meet his gaze. "So, you are the one responsible for Nikita's death." He said bluntly.

"I only..." Yelena began with the intent of defending herself, but she knew there was no point. He was right. She hung her head and spoke quietly. "Yes."

Wernher stood up, removing his glasses and setting them on the table. "So the explosion here, and the sabotage you perpetrated on the Medved mission, these things were intended to set us against each other?"

"Yes, that was the idea. I was supposed to find a way to place the blame on Nikita, so that he could be taken out of the picture."

"Instead, you had him killed. Why?"

"I did not..." She sighed heavily. "That was not the plan. We did not expect that he would contact you. When he did... I had to inform my superior."

"And that was Aleksei, even then, correct?" Yelena nodded. Wernher stared at her for a moment. "What is it precisely that drives Aleksei?"

"I do not know, not exactly. All I know is that they found something. Something that could change everything."

"Everything? What does that mean?"

"

Everything.

Our way of life, our future, everything."

Wernher shook his head, looking disgusted. "And after seeing what these people would do to... to what? Protect it? You still continued to help them. Until they turned on

you

."

Everyone in the room looked at Yelena, their judgement obvious in their eyes. All except Jeb. He looked sad for her. "There was nothing I could do... when Aleksei came to the facility... I..."

"Spare me your excuses. All my life I have worked for the future of our people, and all my life I have been dealing with fools and their infantile fantasies of some magical

thing

that could cure all the world's problems. Kerbals like Aleksei. And like you. You lie, cheat, steal,

kill

, all for some material gain that changes nothing. All it does is perpetuate this stupidity! Kerbals like Nikita are the sort who could truly change things. Through peace and cooperation, not death and destruction! But you stopped that, didn't you?" Wernher leaned forward on the table as he spoke, his anger rising rapidly.

Yelena rose to her feet. "You know nothing of this Kerbal! Peace and cooperation?! Do you know how he funded our facility?"

Yuri stood as well, approaching Yelena, reaching a hand out. "Yelena..."

"No! Do not touch me!" She slapped his hand away. "Yes, I made mistakes! But Nikita was not this wonderful Kerbal you think he was!"

Wernher crossed his arms. "Well? How did he fund the CEA?"

"

Weapons testing.

" Yelena hissed.

All heads turned to Wernher now, as if at a tennis match. He let his arms drop. "I'm fully aware of the CEA policy of deterrence through armament. It is not all that unusual."

Yelena laughed bitterly. "Yes, deterrence. The missiles he was helping develop were no deterrent."

"Missiles like the one your people used to kill him?"

"No. Missiles that can kill in space. Capable of maneuvering in a vacuum. What peaceful Kerbal does this? He only wanted to cooperate to find out who he should attack! He knew nothing else."

Wernher stared at Yelena silently for a long time. Finally he pulled out his chair and sat down, clasping his hands in front of him on the table. He waited, and eventually Yelena sat back down as well. "Who was he developing these missiles for?"

"I do not know. But that is why he was a threat to us. Whatever they found, there is supposed to be another. I was never told where, but judging from the things Aleksei focused on, I think it is on the Mun, but he could not find it."

"I see." Wernher said.

Yuri spoke up. "Just before we went on this last mission, Aleksei requested a scanning device, yes?"

"Yes. One of our RADAR altimetry mapping devices." Bob answered.

"I imagine it could be used to look for something very specific... if someone knew what they were looking for." Bill said.

"So this... agency... is using the CEA facility to send people to look for whatever this object is?" Wernher asked.

Yelena responded. "No. The CEA is just a tool. They have another facility somewhere. I do not know where. But any manned launches would be coming from there."

There was a long silence in the room. Finally, Almund cleared his throat. "So... now what?"

Wernher looked around the room at everyone. "Now, we continue on as if nothing has changed. If we show our hand too soon, there is no telling how far Aleksei will go."

"I agree." Yuri said.

"We have one more mission scheduled. The Century V launch to the Mun. Do you think there is any danger to this mission?" Wernher directed his question at Yelena.

Yelena shook her head. "I do not think so. KSC is not seen as a threat. The explosion here was only part of the plan to cause conflict between you and the CEA, to keep Nikita's attention in the wrong place."

"Very well. Then we will proceed with the launch. If I find any reason to be suspicious, we'll put it on hold." Wernher sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Everyone be on your guard. Be mindful of what you say. As of now, Yuri and Yelena are officially dead, and they must stay that way." He then addressed Yuri and Yelena directly. "Jorbas will show you to your rooms and provide you with proper KSC uniforms. I'll have a duty schedule drawn up for you by the end of the week."

"What? What will we be doing?" Yelena asked.

"Cadet work. I'm sure it will be easy enough for the two of you. It will help keep up the deception." Finally, he stood. "Alright everyone, that's all for now."

Wernher stayed behind as the others filed out, head in his hands. He had always known that founding the KSC would lead him into the unknown, but this was not at all what he expected.

---

As the weeks passed, Vladimir felt more and more helpless. He knew not to expect any contact from Yuri or Yelena, but not knowing what had happened to them was wearing him down. Despite the risk, he had finally decided to call KSC again. Not thinking clearly, he was heading to his room to make the call. When he opened the door and stepped inside, he stepped on an envelope. Stepping back into the hall, Vladimir looked both ways, but it was deserted. Carefully and suspiciously, he picked up the envelope and peered inside. There was a photograph and a single folded sheet of paper.

We need to talk.

"Do not go quietly.."

-

M

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Edited May 17, 2015 by Randazzo