The Write Stuff: A 6.4x History Blog (UPDATE: The First Five)

[CatastrophicFailure]

So this isn't quite ready for prime time yet, but the power's out and I can't get to my screenshots. I dearly love my .25 6.4x save and just can't abandon it yet, especially with no 6.4 equivalent ready for 1.0 yet. Some folks asked if I could put my AAR's into one place, well one thing led to another, so while I wait for a "big Kerbin" again I'll be assembling those posts along with the 1200+ Other screenies into a history blog of sorts. I promise future reports will have more pictures and (slightly) less snarky commentary. Yes, this does tie into my

other work, but not an actual sequel. Yet.

Somewhere in a distant corner of the Multiverse, in a time long passed, and a time yet to come, hangs a small, bluish-green World called Kerbin. It is an unusually dense little planet, populated by agreeable little beings called Kerbals, who themselves are rather unusual. And dense. As a civilization they have somehow managed to avoid much, but not quite all, of the intraspecies conflict that has harried if not defined so many other cultures.

Early alchemists realised that mixing sulfur, burnt wood, and bird poop and then setting it alight resulted in hours of entertainment. This fascination quickly spread to the general public after some initial awkward confusion and several alchemists being set on fire. Over the centuries, building materials and propellants gradually improved, eventually leading to the radical notion of using rockets to do something, well, useful.

Being naturally very curious beings, the idea of putting a Kerbal into space soon became infectious, and the idea of bringing them back again was almost as popular. All across the world, countries set about creating their own space programs, mostly in peace. The glaring, exception, of course, was the hodgepodge of duchies, fiefdoms, and oligarchies collectively known as Cerima, where the people changed governments and allegiances more often than they changed their underwear, and generally for the same reasons. The Cerimians remained quite content to launch their rockets at each other, helping to advancing the technology as a whole.

But the various space programs of the world soon realized that going to space was expensive. Really, really expensive. Also, dropping spent rockets on your neighbor was a very good way to end up like Cerima, and nobody wanted that. Due to the peculiar geography of Kerbin and the distinct lack of east coasts next to wide expenses of water, this was becoming more and more of a problem in addition to the incredible cost, and advancement slowed to a crawl.

About this time, the two nations of the Kerfrican subcontinent realized they stood a much greater chance of getting to space if they worked together. The United Federal People's Democratic Kingdom of Omork was an economic and industrial powerhouse, but lacked an east coast. Kelpogart was almost entirely an east coast, and while technologically advanced, it's space program was relatively... humble. The two nations shook hands, looked East to the future... and saw Gednalna, which was not very happy about the prospect of Kerfrican rocket bits landing on its citizen's heads.

Skipping over more of the dry political bits, eventually the Treaty of Kerbin City was signed. Omork would build the rockets and supply its economic might, Kelpogart would launch them and supply several hectares of mosquito-ridden, RatSquirrelFish-infested swampland that nobody else wanted to build a space center and supporting city, and Gednalna would distribute hard hats to its citizens and secure the right of one of them to be the First Kerbal in Space.

Thus the Kerbal Space Administration was founded, and in a matter of months after facility construction began, first passed and then lapped its nearest competition for space, the formidable Ussari Union.

The Kerbal Space Center (early artist's concept)

Edited June 15, 2015 by CatastrophicFailure

[KSK]

Yay - another CatastrophicFailure tale! Subbed and eagerly awaiting the next instalment.

[CatastrophicFailure]

Shortly after breaking mud on the new Space Center (and then running away, screaming, from amorous RatSquirrelFish), the fledgeling Administration began screening candidates for the new Kerbonaut Corps. Around the time the first real structures began rising into the sky, it had settled on a group of talented and daring Kerbals who would come to be known as the First Five.

Cpt. Edmund Kerman

For those not acquainted with the fine print of the Treaty, Edmund Kerman was the obvious front runner to be the first Kerbal in space. A Captain in the Kleptogart Naval Guard, he was a pilot of the highest skill, having flown most things that could fly. He was respected for his by-the-book nature, constant drive for improvement, and genuine concern for both peers and subordinates. Only a month before joining the space program, he had been awarded the prestigious Republican Cross for Heroism for his actions in assisting with the rescue of a crew from a sinking ship. His first flight would, indeed turn out to be spectacular, but for very different reasons.

Plt. Jorrigh Kerman

(no photo available)

Jorrigh Kerman, also of Keleptogart, was unusually taciturn and reserved for a test pilot. A talented engineer as well, he had been instrumental during the modest Kleptogarti space program in designing what would become the Mk I command pod, the core of the Orbit-series missions. Unlike the rest of the Five, he was known to shun being in the limelight, and avoided cameras as a rule. He saw himself as just one part of a greater effort, and spent most of his time not training working with the engineers. He, too, would eventually lead a fateful and auspicious flight that would end in disaster.

Eng. Burdous Kerman

Standing in contrast to Jorrigh, was Burdous Kerman. A gifted engineer trained as a pilot, he was boisterous and short tempered, and according to rumor had once been arrested by the Royal Omork Police for allegedly stabbing someone with a spoon. He earned several advanced degrees at a very young age, and was one of a pair of scientist-Kerbonauts selected by the UFPDKO for the combined space program, expected to fly on later, longer-duration flights.

Sci. Jerdous Kerman

His twin brother Jerdous Kerman was the other. Jerdous had served as a navigator in the Royal Corps of Discovery, studying disciplines as diverse as anthropology and astrophysics. The Administration's plan was that once the flight hardware had been proven by the test pilots and evaluated in-situ by the engineer, Jerdous would embark on a dedicated mission to gather as much science as possible, lasting as long as two days.

Sir Agatha Alphonse Ritonkulus Winthrope Kerman IV

Sir Agatha Alphonse Ritonkulus Winthrope Kerman IV, RSTLNE, Most Noble Order of the Panty and Stocking (Honi soit qui mal y pense). Within a short time the name would be associated with more aerospace records than any other in history. Ironically somewhat of a black sheep within his own well-known family, he was flying almost before he could walk, and by the time of the space program had flown everything that could fly, and several things that couldn't. He had travelled the world, spoke several languages, and was an exceptionally quick learner. But his real value to the Gednalnan Selection Committee came from the fact that he was thirteenth in line for the throne of Gednalna. Close enough to bring notoriety to the small county, but still quite expendable. According to the tale, the Committee found him in a jail cell in a small town in Dachland after he was involved in a bar fight. They'd had to drag him out kicking and screaming until someone bothered to tell him he was going to space. Sir Agatha would spend a lot of time being very formally addressed in front of cameras in the following months, but to anyone who really took the time to talk to him, his name was Chadvey.

Together, the Five flew higher and faster than ever before, over successive flights nibbling closer and closer to the Kérmán line that divided "space" from "almost space." Despite their diverse backgrounds, all five were pilots of exceptional skill and experience, and this was not by chance. Very early in the joint development of a space rocket, one design constraint quickly became clear: the first Kerbals in space would have to do the flying themselves.

(Special thanks to Ten Key for Burdous!)

Edited June 15, 2015 by CatastrophicFailure