"Duna, Ore Bust!" -- a KSP Graphic Novel (COMPLETE)

[DMSP]

Nicely done Bill!

Great reads (I guess it's a read...)

[Mister Dilsby]

Great reads (I guess it's a read...)

Thanks! I dunno, if there weren't any text I suppose you could call it a 'look'?

Two more pages today--took me a while to decide what color Dilsby's speech balloon should be. It's the little things...

[DMSP]

Bill, cheeky!

Great look!

[Geschosskopf]

Nice improv there with "Debris 1" .

[Mister Dilsby]

And the crew is finally all together!

And of course special thanks to Alex Moon for his fantastic transfer window calculator!

Edited May 26, 2015 by Kuzzter

[Geschosskopf]

You know, long ago when I was in the navy, I served in one of the last steam-powered DDGs, and we had a still built into the #1 engine room. I was told it had been there since initial construction of the ship, installed by the 1st chief engineer as he supervised the work at the yard. It was out in plain sight but it blended right in because it was just some pressure vessels and piping all painted gray, just like everything else in the compartment. If you didn't know what it was, you'd have thought it was just part of the propulsion system .

[Commander Zoom]

"So if you put Minmus' orbital altitude into the transfer calculator..."

oooooh, that's clever, that is.

[Mister Dilsby]

You know, long ago when I was in the navy, I served in one of the last steam-powered DDGs, and we had a still built into the #1 engine room. I was told it had been there since initial construction of the ship, installed by the 1st chief engineer as he supervised the work at the yard. It was out in plain sight but it blended right in because it was just some pressure vessels and piping all painted gray, just like everything else in the compartment. If you didn't know what it was, you'd have thought it was just part of the propulsion system .

Uh oh, Val et al. had better watch it with their quasi-naval jargon, we have a real sailor aboard! (And thank you, Herr Shellhead, for your service!)

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oooooh, that's clever, that is.

Honestly I feel a bit dim for not realizing it sooner. I plotted the transfer with Hummlebee still in LKO and set the alarm there, even though I always intended to transfer from the Minmus station. Of course if you're already that far from Kerbin you get SOME kind of head start!

I was very lucky it worked out the way it did; right now Kerbin and Duna are lined up correctly, with Minmus radially outward from Kerbin. Basically I only need a little push prograde from Kerbin orbit and I eject parallel, just like you're supposed to. Not sure how well the trick would work if Minmus were on the "Eve" side of Kerbin rather than the Duna...I would have to wait for the right day of the 'minth' and hope the relative positons of Duna and Kerbin hadn't changed too much.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Kuzzter

[Geschosskopf]

(And thank you, Herr Shellhead, for your service!)

No problem.

I was very lucky it worked out the way it did; right now Kerbin and Duna are lined up correctly, with Minmus radially outward from Kerbin. Basically I only need a little push prograde from Duna orbit and I eject parallel, just like you're supposed to. Not sure how well the trick would work if Minmus were on the "Eve" side of Kerbin rather than the Duna...I would have to wait for the right day of the 'minth' and hope the relative positons of Duna and Kerbin hadn't changed too much.

Just be careful of the 2-body gravity glitch on your way out of Kerbin's SOI. The more beautiful and parallel your transfer, the more likely that you won't be far enough outboard to escape Kerbin's SOI when it passes you.

[Mister Dilsby]

Just be careful of the 2-body gravity glitch on your way out of Kerbin's SOI. The more beautiful and parallel your transfer, the more likely that you won't be far enough outboard to escape Kerbin's SOI when it passes you.

Great point. If that happens, I'll blame Bill.

[Mister Dilsby]

And we're off to Duna at last!

And no, Bill cannot make more ethanol in Hummlebee's converter, as they are not carrying any ore. He'll have to do with tomato juice and club soda from the snacks compartment until they get to Duna.

So, obviously we are going to skip ahead a bit to when things get interesting for these four again. However I am not going to timewarp right away as I have some things to do in this save during the flight to Duna. I have a couple of 'interlude' strips planned to tide you over... any requests? (i.e. questions you might have about the story and 'world') If not I'll just do my best to keep things moving along until the Hummlefly hits atmosphere!

[ZentroCatson]

Awesome story, very excited to see the next part! I will actually post my own Duna mission report, but in sandbox mode with a huge mother ship. Of course I will make it completely different, but also with Kerbal dialogs. Keep up the good work!

[Redhaze]

We'll rant and we'll roar, like true Kerbal astronauts,

We'll rant and we'll roar across the great void.

I see what you did there. Also, bah, SOI swaggering. seriously don't get why they've not squashed that bug yet.

ALso, for Bill's benefit: surely they have sugary drinks that could be fermented?

[Mister Dilsby]

Awesome story, very excited to see the next part! I will actually post my own Duna mission report, but in sandbox mode with a huge mother ship. Of course I will make it completely different, but also with Kerbal dialogs. Keep up the good work!

It'll be good to have you in the 'genre', Zentro--good luck with your mission!

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We'll rant and we'll roar, like true Kerbal astronauts,

We'll rant and we'll roar across the great void.

That's the rest of it, yes! (though I was doing the Robert Shaw version, of course )You may hear that, or maybe something from Kilbert and Sullikerb's "Pirates of Minzance" before the story is done...

ETA: I guess this page was the end of Ch2, will update accordingly later when I am back home with access to the main file.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Kuzzter

[Geschosskopf]

And no, Bill cannot make more ethanol in Hummlebee's converter, as they are not carrying any ore. He'll have to do with tomato juice and club soda from the snacks compartment until they get to Duna.

Well, if the snacks locker has any fruit juice in it, Bill can ferment that into wine using the wild yeast ubiquitous in the air. Then wine can be run through the still to make brandy. Only without any aging in oak barrels so it will no doubt taste like hydrazine, so should probably be used to spike some other beverage rather than drunk neat.

So, obviously we are going to skip ahead a bit to when things get interesting for these four again. However I am not going to timewarp right away as I have some things to do in this save during the flight to Duna. I have a couple of 'interlude' strips planned to tide you over... any requests? (i.e. questions you might have about the story and 'world') If not I'll just do my best to keep things moving along until the Hummlefly hits atmosphere!

Yeah, I don't recommend getting above 1000x warp until you're a week out of Kerbin's SOI, just in case the 2-body thing grabs you.

[Mister Dilsby]

Well, if the snacks locker has any fruit juice in it, Bill can ferment that into wine using the wild yeast ubiquitous in the air. Then wine can be run through the still to make brandy. Only without any aging in oak barrels so it will no doubt taste like hydrazine, so should probably be used to spike some other beverage rather than drunk neat.

Good point, he can certainly do all that if he gets bored on the trip, though I think in the cramped quarters of the Mk3 cockpit he may not get away with it. In any case this is going to be a 'sometimes' treat for Bill, I don't want to have to do a "very special episode" later on where Lisa has to talk to Bill about his problem and how the whole crew cares for him etc.

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Yeah, I don't recommend getting above 1000x warp until you're a week out of Kerbin's SOI, just in case the 2-body thing grabs you.

We are indeed past that point, and still have an encounter with Duna! So, taking care of some various business in and around Kerbin and should be starting on the Interlude pages shortly.

[Geschosskopf]

Good point, he can certainly do all that if he gets bored on the trip, though I think in the cramped quarters of the Mk3 cockpit he may not get away with it. In any case this is going to be a 'sometimes' treat for Bill, I don't want to have to do a "very special episode" later on where Lisa has to talk to Bill about his problem and how the whole crew cares for him etc.

Hehe, on my ships, it would be more like the others beating up on Bill until he agreed to share, and they'd all be drunk as lords the entire trip .

[Mister Dilsby]

Edited May 28, 2015 by Kuzzter

[Scotius]

Aww...that's so deep. I always thought about what Mike Collins and other CM pilots felt after separation with LM's. Their colleagues were on the surface, working. And they were quietly orbiting the Moon, all alone - farther from another human being than anyone in history. It must have been a very powerful feeling, looking into deeps space above other side of our satellite.

[Starhawk]

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Kuzzter again."

Beautiful work!

Thank you!

Happy landings!

[Coga19000]

Hehe, on my ships, it would be more like the others beating up on Bill until he agreed to share, and they'd all be drunk as lords the entire trip .

Sounds more Kerbal too, if you ask me. I don't know why, it just sticks better to it

[Redhaze]

Wait, your lill kerbals only have the MK4 cockpit for the whole journey!? D:

[Mister Dilsby]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the comments on that last one. In a way, Val wrote it herself. I had taken a lot of shots inside the cockpit and in the hitchhiker at Minmus Outbound, and in each of those shots all four crew are grinning like lunatics. I took this one to use for Val's interlude and was struck by her calm expression. I asked, "What could she thinking right now?" and like a good character should, she told me.

Aww...that's so deep. I always thought about what Mike Collins and other CM pilots felt after separation with LM's. Their colleagues were on the surface, working. And they were quietly orbiting the Moon, all alone - farther from another human being than anyone in history. It must have been a very powerful feeling, looking into deeps space above other side of our satellite.

Yes, I've thought about that too! I'm sure you've seen the picture Collins took of the LEM with Earth in the background. Every human being that ever lived is in that picture--except for Michael Collins.

[Whirligig Girl]

http://i.imgur.com/gNn991F.png

I need to release my updated TOS suits pack. Next release includes the green command uniform as well as the gold.

[Mister Dilsby]

Wait, your lill kerbals only have the MK4 cockpit for the whole journey!? D:

Yes, I guess I'm a filthy cheater for not using TAC or carrying a hitchhiker on the Hummlebee This is why I posit that stock game Kerbals must be able to hibernate indefinitely, and at will. It's one of the many evolutionary adaptations that make them an ideal species for spaceflight.

In another nod to reality, though I do not use Remote Tech or other similar mods I will be taking radio transmission time into account for this story.

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Sounds more Kerbal too, if you ask me. I don't know why, it just sticks better to it

I would certainly agree, but my kids (10 and 12 yr old) play the game and read the comic...I do NOT want their mother hearing them joking about how great a driver Jeb is, even when he's drunk off his S!

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I need to release my updated TOS suits pack. Next release includes the green command uniform as well as the gold.

Yes! Have been threatening to get a wraparound bathrobe in that color for years.