totm aug 2016 Kerny Kerman's Journal (mission reports from a Kerbal's point of view) [Chapter 87: "Among the growing shadows."]

[Orion Kerman]

7 hours ago, obney kerman said:

That big?

Well if he used hanger extender and it wouldnt fit THAT would be big but I'm not sure if there are limits on the mod however sounds big it better have one of those massive radars from bd armoury so it can track jeb!

[Angelo Kerman]

17 hours ago, obney kerman said:

That big?

Something like this?

[Just Jim]

5 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Something like this?

Impressive (in my best Darth Vader voice....)  

Edited May 19, 2017 by Just Jim

[adsii1970]

5 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Something like this?

Yes, its going to be a "settlement mover"

22 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

Impressive (in my best Darth Vader voice....)  

Hehehe

[adsii1970]

Plock 7, Y003 
"Far from normal; however, the countdown begins..."
Chapter 41 

It's been roughly two days since the end of the Panel of Inquiry handling the crash caused by Jebediah. Life at the Space Center has been far from normal. Although myself and the rest of the panel had the day off yesterday, I found it hard to enjoy the time off. I slept for about three hours - nearly half the day - and then went to the tracking center to find out the latest about Jebediah's destination. Just as myself and Dr. Haywood expected, Jebediah's northerly course took him to the North Polar Station.

The reason why he chose the station was obvious. It had the capability to be self-sustaining. It's greenhouse facility and the fuel manufacturing plant means that he could remain at the abandoned outpost nearly indefinitely. And, it is abandoned, meaning he doesn't have to worry about the rules of the space center or follow Gene's orders or the directives of Dr. Haywood. And the third reason I believe Jebediah selected this as his destination...

... it is near the crash site of the alien craft discovered nearly a year ago. I wonder what it is that Jebediah thinks he can learn about the alien craft that the scientists here, under the guidance of Dr. Wernher and Dr. Haywood, cannot learn. 

While at the tracking center I was able to catch the launch of the newest space probe bound for Jool. Dr. Sagan Kerman, the chair of the Space Sciences Sub-Committee, had overseen what had been nicknamed as the "Green Blob Mission" to Jool. Other than knowing Jool is a gas giant that happens to be green, not much else is known about this planet. So, he was able to convince Dr. Haywood of the need to send a probe to Jool. The probe that had once been his dream became a reality last night as it began its nearly 274-day trip to Jool. 

The launch, as far as I could tell, was flawless. So far, Dr. Sagan has been bombarding every Kerman he has a K-pad number address for a data packet containing an update on the probe's telemetry. At late dinner last night, Gene told us that it will soon pass. Once the probe is beyond Minimus, it shouldn't encounter anything of interest, even for Dr. Sagan, for nearly a year. Somehow I doubt our messages will end when Gene thinks they will. And to be honest, I don't mind the updates if there wasn't so many of them. It's an hour before sunset - a full day and two hours since the launch - and already I've received ten more updates! 

Earlier this morning, I met Major Thompberry over at the new barracks building now being used to house trainees. Yesterday, the decision was made by Dr. Haywood that all trainees would be moved to the new building and all Kerbalnauts would be moved to the older Kerbalnaut complex. Unfortunately, the older complex hasn't been renovated and lacks many of the features the trainees will now gain. Besides having a video viewing theater, it also has a large patio area with a large K-pad table that happens to be perfect for playing Twelve Dots. The whole reason we went to the new building was for that very thing - to play Twelve Dots! 

Although I really do not want to mention how bad Thompberry beat me, I will say that the second game went considerably well. I managed to beat him 25 to 5. We were halfway trough the third game - and at a dead tie - when I received a data packet from Ralph. They arrived at Tulum Station yesterday afternoon and were preparing the airship for its return to the KSC. The flight there had taken considerably longer than the flight I did last month in the Koos. But I will say, the images he sent in his data packet message were 

I shared the message with Thompberry, "Well, I don't know how I would have handled a five-hour flight..." he said. "it's bad enough to fly across the Straight to the Island Airfield and back..." Ah, so that is why he won't go into space. Thompberry doesn't like to fly! 

"So, you've chosen to remain the senior engineer at the space center," I sheepishly began to ask...

"Kerny, I'm not like you, like Bill, or even Jebediah. Yes, I know that space is where you all say the excitement and sense of discovery is. But not for me. Discovery is figuring out why your craft just crashed on the runway. It's trying to figure out what it's going to take to clear the runway, to pull the ship out of the water, or to even recover a probe from wherever it falls and whenever Gene wants me to go get them..."

"Thompberry," I began. "Is it true that you did recover part of that alien craft Froming shot down?"

"Yes..." Thompberry began. "Listen, I'm not sure I should tell you. Dr. Haywood and Dr. Edmund said I couldn't tell anyone what we recovered. I mean, if word were to get out..."

"No worries here," I began. It was obvious that Thompberry had no idea I was a member of Section 31. "I'm just curious is all..."

"It was a strange collection of scrap, that's for sure." Thompberry began. "But you know, the more I studied them, the more I began to notice the materials weren't so much unlike what we use. Same basic metals for the most part, but there were a few metals I couldn't identify. I told Dr. Haywood that I believe the debris had come from a craft made for a similar purpose as our spacecraft... but... well... when I gave him my formal report, I was told it was now classified. By the time I made it back to the hangar area where the pieces of the alien craft were being stored, they were... gone!"

"Gone?" I asked.

"Yeah, gone. I was only away from the hangar for about an hour. And when I got back, it was all... gone..." Thompberry added. "And Gene told me my entire engineering crew were being cycled out for other assignments. I'm still four Kermen short of having a full engineering crew..."

As soon as Thompberry finished his sentence, the intercom came alive outside. "Major Thompberry, Captain Kerny, Gene wants you both over in his office..." the all-familiar voice of Bobak came in clearly over the intercom speaker. "Oh, and guys, he said... you get those yellow bug-eyed /static/ over here now!" It sounded like Gene was about to blow a head gasket. As we headed over towards the tracking center, Thompberry pointed over to the commotion happening between the space plane hangar and the vehicle assembly building. Kerbal Network News was setting up for a news broadcast in a busy area of the space center!

When we arrive at Gene's office in the tracking center it was clear he was not in a good mood. "Major Thompberry, I want you to head over there and get them off this center..." Gene began.

"Sir, you know we cannot do that," Thompberry answered, not giving Gene a chance to finish. "You know they've probably sent Beabelle and Bartbree to cover the story - whatever st-"

"Thompberry, please!" Gene interrupted. "The Kermen who do the news are just like that self-serving J. Jim..." It was clear Gene was extremely angry at this new and unfolding snag. "You know what story they want to cover. I've gotten nearly forty K-pad messages about it since the Report of the Panel of Inquiry was officially released by the Delegates of Five. Everyone wants to know if the Grand Committee will call for the courts-martial of Captain Jebediah... and these media Kermen are stalking my center's staff..."

With Gene's anger today, it was hard to believe that just two days ago, he and Thompberry were exchanging Bomp-bomp jokes and laughing. But now, with the release of our findings and the concurrence of the Triune Committee and the Delegates of Five, every Kerman wanted to know what was going to happen with Jebediah. "Right now, I want to know who leaked the information about Jebediah's escape..." Gene bellowed out of anger. "Do either one of you know who did this...?"

Pointing over at his monitor, on the video display, was a news broadcast of the Kerbal News Network being broadcast live from the space center. I could barely hear the audio as the images flashed across the video monitor's screen.

"And now for today's top story," that well known news reporter Bartbree began. "We are hearing reports from an unnamed source from the Space Center that Captain Jebediah Kerman - the hero of the Kerbal Space Program - has left the space center rather than take responsibility for his actions."

"Yes, that's right, Bartbree,"  his co-hostess Beabelle cut in. "The Panel of Inquiry concluded that he was responsible for the death of Captain Jala Kerman when he seized control of a craft he was flying in as a passenger. At this moment, we are trying to arrange for an interview with Captain Bob, one of Jebediah's original crew members and closest friend, about what he thinks..."

"Look," Gene began. "I've already gotten several audio calls this morning wanting to interview me, or at least for me to give the name of the panel members who investigated the situation regarding Jebediah. In the Delegates of Five's foresight, they classified the authentication page of the final report. The name of the panel members will never be made public unless..."

"And we've also learned from an unnamed source close to the investigation..."  Bartbree continued, "there were five members of the panel. But our source has only named one member of the committee - Consul Rayven Kerman - a one-time love interest of Jebeidah." And with that announcement, Gene's mood went from bad to unbearable. 

"Ok, I want to find out who's responsible for this leak. I want to know the name of the so called 'unnamed source.'" Gene began to yell. By this point, it was clear from our vantage point overlooking the tracking center operations room that every Kerman in the operations room was now focused on what was happening in the office. I could see at least five looking up at Gene's office windows, trying to figure out what had set Gene off.

"Gene, what do you want us to do...?" I asked him. "It is a violation of the Triune Council for any member of the Defense Force to discuss the proceedings conducted during a Panel of Inquiry..."

At this point, Thompberry cut me off. "Dammit Gene, if there was anyone on that committee who would leak, the only one I would suspect would be Consul Rayven... Why don't you call her up and yell at her..."

"I do not need a lecture in protocol from you or from..."

"And in other news tonight, The Arts Committee has awarded J. Jim," the voice of Beabelle could be heard saying, "the writer and producer of The Saga of Emiko Station, has been awarded the prestigious Golden Sweetbriar Award. This award is given to recognize the artistic efforts of Kermen who, through their creative abilities..."  Great, just what we needed to hear at that moment.

And with that, Gene exploded again. "Dammit. Just... dammit!" What's next...

"We've been told that in honor of this great award, the Committee on the Arts and Kermanities will be presenting this award at a banquet held at the Space Center..." At that moment, Thompberry and I looked at each other. And in my head, the countdown began... three... two... one...

But instead of Gene exploding, his office door slid open. And a deep voice that I had only heard once before covered the awkward and solitary sound of the babbling news report now playing on the video monitor. "Captain Kerny, Major Thompberry... you are excused. Gene, we need to talk..."

[insert_name]

are those news reporters set up on the taxi way? seems like it would be pretty easy to blow them off with one of the jet engines just say it was an accident

[Just Jim]

44 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

.... the writer and producer of The Saga of Emiko Station, has been awarded the prestigious Golden Sweetbriar Award.

Oh, that's just brilliant!!!  hehehe... Can I put it in my forum signature?

Awesome chapter... I  love the media vans!  Just like the real life media!!!  lmao.... 

 

[adsii1970]

51 minutes ago, insert_name said:

are those news reporters set up on the taxi way? seems like it would be pretty easy to blow them off with one of the jet engines just say it was an accident

Hehehe... One of the images I didn't use -

Bob is in the co-pilot's spot, and this is the view we have here. He is preparing to train a new pilot, and the ONLY reason I didn't use the image is I forgot who the pilot in training is! But I think in the next chapter, Bob will show the media what he thinks of them...

18 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

Oh, that's just brilliant!!!  hehehe... Can I put it in my forum signature?

Awesome chapter... I  love the media vans!  Just like the real life media!!!  lmao.... 

 

Sure - but to warn you, the Golden Sweetbriar Award... well, Sweetbriar is another name for a rose. It was the only thing I could come up with that didn't sound too stupid at the time.

[Just Jim]

4 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

Sure - but to warn you, the Golden Sweetbriar Award... well, Sweetbriar is another name for a rose. It was the only thing I could come up with that didn't sound too stupid at the time.

Ahhhh, I was thinking more of the line Captain Jack said in Master and Commander...

"Name a shrub after me.. something prickly, and hard to eradicate...." 

Then again.... Some roses have nasty thorns.... 

Edited May 23, 2017 by Just Jim

[Pretorian28715]

Hey @Just Jim Gene don't like you in this 'verse.

Maybe he does not appreciate the art like we all do??

@adsii1970 getting better all the time. 

Jeb AWOL there's a film in there somewhere?

[Just Jim]

4 minutes ago, Pretorian28715 said:

Hey @Just Jim Gene don't like you in this 'verse.

Maybe he does not appreciate the art like we all do??

Hehehe... yup! Gene definitely doesn't like J. Jim... lmao....

Honestly, I'm loving how @adsii1970 is building to what looks like some sort of conflict or showdown between J. Jim and Gene.... I don't know what's gonna happen, but I have a feeling it's gonna be good... lol..... 

Edited May 23, 2017 by Just Jim

[adsii1970]

10 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

Ahhhh, I was thinking more of the line Captain Jack said in Master and Commander...

"Name a shrub after me.. something prickly, and hard to eradicate...." 

Then again.... Some roses have nasty thorns.... 

Hahaha - that could be arranged! Maybe a new type of aircraft... that way so Gene has to deal with the torment of that on his runway...

2 minutes ago, Pretorian28715 said:

Hey @Just Jim Gene don't like you in this 'verse.

Maybe he does not appreciate the art like we all do??

@adsii1970 getting better all the time. 

Jeb AWOL there's a film in there somewhere?

@Pretorian28715: You need to go back and read a few chapters back. Gene walks into the tracking control room to discover someone is in the gallery loft watching The Saga of Emiko Station on the big plasma screen in his control room. As he begins to yell, as he normally does, he discovers the perpetrator of this "atrocity" is none other than Dr. Haywood Kerman, the chair of the Committee of Aeronautics and Space Exploration - his own BOSS!

[Just Jim]

4 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

Hahaha - that could be arranged! Maybe a new type of aircraft... that way so Gene has to deal with the torment of that on his runway

Oh, if it was up to Gene, I have a feeling the J.Jim would end up being the name of a newly commissioned garbage scow... lmao..... 

[adsii1970]

1 minute ago, Just Jim said:

Oh, if it was up to Gene, I have a feeling the J.Jim would end up being the name of a newly commissioned garbage scow... lmao..... 

Or a latrine....

[Just Jim]

7 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

Or a latrine....

Provo's Privy!!!  ROFLMAO!!!!  

[Angelo Kerman]

Quote

I wonder what it is that Jebediah thinks he can learn about the alien craft that the scientists here, under the guidance of Dr. Wernher and Dr. Haywood, cannot learn. 

How to get inside and fly it, maybe?

Love the news vans!

I don't think Angelo is the leak. He's too busy completing training this week, holding down his regular job, and bug stomping. No time to talk to the media...

[adsii1970]

6 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

How to get inside and fly it, maybe?

Love the news vans!

I don't think Angelo is the leak. He's too busy completing training this week, holding down his regular job, and bug stomping. No time to talk to the media...

Probably so... but I have plans... and it's CLASSIFIED. Hahaha! And you're right. He isn't the leak. And as I told you, I probably abused your mods today and yesterday... But then again, what else is new, right? After all, the Osprey was one of those abuses straight from my brain... and it involved your mods...

[Angelo Kerman]

19 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

Probably so... but I have plans... and it's CLASSIFIED. Hahaha! And you're right. He isn't the leak. And as I told you, I probably abused your mods today and yesterday... But then again, what else is new, right? After all, the Osprey was one of those abuses straight from my brain... and it involved your mods...

The osprey definitely was influenced by one of your contraptions but I actually had the original v-22 parts concept on the books since last summer when I saw @EJ_SA's Kerbin Exploration Initiative stream. They were my version on EJ's Tuk Tuk vtol. The staircase and balcony and helipad and conference room definitely sprang from your ideas though, not to mention the Warthog...

[Angelo Kerman]

I just figured out who the mystery kerbal is who stepped into Gene's office:

https://goo.gl/images/6tXmuJ

[Just Jim]

31 minutes ago, Angel-125 said:

I just figured out who the mystery kerbal is who stepped into Gene's office:

https://goo.gl/images/6tXmuJ

Ya know... I won't normally say anything about what @adsii1970 and I discuss privately, but I do remember him saying something the other day about James Earl Jones... lmao..... 

[Thedrelle]

On 5/23/2017 at 4:26 PM, adsii1970 said:

Plock 7, Y003 
"Far from normal; however, the countdown begins..."
Chapter 41 

It's been roughly two days since the end of the Panel of Inquiry handling the crash caused by Jebediah. Life at the Space Center has been far from normal. Although myself and the rest of the panel had the day off yesterday, I found it hard to enjoy the time off. I slept for about three hours - nearly half the day - and then went to the tracking center to find out the latest about Jebediah's destination. Just as myself and Dr. Haywood expected, Jebediah's northerly course took him to the North Polar Station.

*snip*

Whhy do I get the feeling more and more that Jeremiah's entire breakdown was staged, and that the council is involved in some way?

i wouldn't be surprised if Jala's death was staged as well, to ensure that Jeb's courtmartial/exile was guaranteed. 

either way, another excellent post, keep it up!

[Angelo Kerman]

2 hours ago, Thedrelle said:

Whhy do I get the feeling more and more that Jeremiah's entire breakdown was staged, and that the council is involved in some way?

i wouldn't be surprised if Jala's death was staged as well, to ensure that Jeb's courtmartial/exile was guaranteed. 

either way, another excellent post, keep it up!

Kind of like when Kirk went nuts to steal a cloaking device...

[adsii1970]

4 hours ago, Thedrelle said:

Whhy do I get the feeling more and more that Jeremiah's entire breakdown was staged, and that the council is involved in some way?

i wouldn't be surprised if Jala's death was staged as well, to ensure that Jeb's courtmartial/exile was guaranteed. 

either way, another excellent post, keep it up!

 

2 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Kind of like when Kirk went nuts to steal a cloaking device...

Just remember this, the government of Kerbin is a lot like the Roman Senate. There is no separate executive or judicial branch. I might need to do one of the expository entries to make the structure make sense. But with that said...

Remember, the Kerbal Space Center falls squarely under the jurisdiction of the Committee of Aeronautics and Space Exploration, which is headed by Dr. Haywood. So... if him and Kerny figured out where Jebediah was heading at the same time, there's a really good chance that not even Dr. Haywood, who is also a Senior Consul, knew anything about any such plan as speculated here by @Angel-125 and @Thedrelle...

Jala's death was real. I often do not let Kerman die and in cases like that, (where a in-home distraction led to the crash of the craft), I would revert and start from the point of take-off. But this time, I saw the crash and actual "death" of a Kerman had potential for a really harsh story line. To be honest, death happens any time you have aircraft. There's always that potential and risk. So, her death is very real. It also gave me an opportunity to create a "flawed" Jebediah. We all know people who think so highly of themselves they forget that at the other end of their egos, there are others out there they've impacted. And such is the case with Jebeidah.

@Just Jim was correct in a private conversation we had. I thought of this part of the story a while back ago. When I served in the U.S. Army, I was a legal NCO for nearly five years. I worked in Military Justice (think of me being the prosecuting attorney's assistant in the civilian world), and handled courts-martials, administrative separations (chapters, as we called them), and non-judicial punishments. So... with this part of the story line, I wanted to experiment to see how a just-forming military would have to struggle to find its own sense of justice AND face the real prospect of court-martialing a national hero. It would be like the United States trying to courts-marital Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, General Chuck Yeager, or any other national hero you want to throw out there...  With that said, The Panel of Inquiry was very much real...

On 5/23/2017 at 5:57 PM, Angel-125 said:

The osprey definitely was influenced by one of your contraptions but I actually had the original v-22 parts concept on the books since last summer when I saw @EJ_SA's Kerbin Exploration Initiative stream. They were my version on EJ's Tuk Tuk vtol. The staircase and balcony and helipad and conference room definitely sprang from your ideas though, not to mention the Warthog...

The - Warthog?

Edited May 25, 2017 by adsii1970

[Thedrelle]

19 hours ago, adsii1970 said:

The - Warthog?

the A-10 warthog. a ridiculous over-the-top warplane that is also butt-ugly (by some standards) 

the Main gun on this thing is one of the most terrifying things i know of.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAU-8_Avenger

I'm not sure which one inspired which, or if at all, but this plane makes me think of the Defiant from star trek, and vice versa.

 

on the note about Jala, it's good to hear that confirmation, and a good use of a flight failure for story purposes. it's undoubtedly much harder to deal with losing a kerbal when you are writing a story at the same time. your much more invested. 

 it does not throw out my entire theory that there is something happening on the down-low, just that there was a highly unfortunate consequence to carrying it out.

[Angelo Kerman]

When I start working on Buffalo's last major release, Water Buffalo, I'll be adding some parts that are roughly Buckboard sized and fit the small half chassis: the warthog. I might've called it the Groundhog but I don't remember. Water Buffalo will also have submarine parts..