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

[KerballingSmasher]

@adsii1970, where do you get your month/ship naming system from? I recognize a couple of planet names in both ship and month form, and I also know that a couple of them are from the Outer Planets mod. I'm curious because KSP itself doesn't have a month (or would that be Münth?) system. (oooh and i started a new page)

Edited March 2, 2019 by Kerballing (Got Dunked On)
STARTED A NEW PAGE!

[adsii1970]

Another chapter is coming soon. Just to keep you updated, I had to deal with some real-life issues which kept me from finishing the images I need for the chapter. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten.

 

[KerballingSmasher]

How soon are we talking? This weekend?

[Angelo Kerman]

3 hours ago, Kerballing (Got Dunked On) said:

How soon are we talking? This weekend?

Generally it’s whenever the author has time.

[KerballingSmasher]

2 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Generally it’s whenever the author has time.

hmm... yeah I'll give you that. Like rn I'm getting ready to upload Chapter 2 for my Journal (thanks, @adsii1970 for the idea!) but I leave for New Zealand early tomorrow morning.

[adsii1970]

Moho 28, Y003
"We now have less than a day. We have four hours"
MISSION DAY +6.25

Chapter 72

There has been a lot that's happened since my last entry. In a brief audio-only communication from Dr. Angelo, the coordinates took him to a runway about three hours to the east-northeast of New Kerbin City. He and his pilot, Captain Podwin, had no choice to wait out until the arrival of Colonel Ralph. With the aircraft only having 1/3 of its fuel remaining, there is no way they could make it to any settlement.

"Captain, we thank you for sending the flash message," he began. "The closest field with refueling capabilities is New Kerbin City. And I don't think we have enough to even make it."

"Well," added Captain Podwin, "there's more to it than that. We'd use quite a bit of fuel just taking off and would need just as much to slow down. And once you reverse the engines to slow this beast down..."

"The message has been relayed, Kermen." I said, not really knowing what to say. "All you can do now is wait."

"Yeah, I know." Dr. Angelo responded. "And you know how I hate waiting. But I still don't know what we are doing here. There's nothing out here but an unfinished airfield that we can tell. I guess we'll know more about this place after Kerbol rises."

"We are heading out to investigate the high frequency radio burst from Minmus," I began. "If we learn anything, we'll send -- "

"Captain," Podwin interrupted. "I'm not sure that burst is what instructed us to come here. From the direction of the signal, Dr. Angelo and I think it came from Kerbin's ocean - like it was relayed to us by one of the navy's ships."

"Well, in that case, maybe Commodore Valentia can give you some answers." I began to ask myself, why would she order them to an unfinished airfield.

"If we learn anything, we will let you know," Dr. Angelo added. And with that, the audio channel closed.

As I said, I was able to contact Colonel Ralph through an encrypted flash message in a data packet. I also took the liberty of sending a flash message to Commodore Valentina about my current plan to determine what had sent the signal burst from Minmus. In one of the last Minmus missions I was on, we left the lander in orbit. My plan was simple. We would achieve orbit and attempt a rendezvous with the lander. Once we were within the limited range of its computer systems, we would dock with it and send a survey team to Minmus' surface. Meanwhile, the remainder of the crew aboard the Excursion would attempt to locate the alien craft in orbit. Shortly after the conversation with Dr. Angelo, I received her answer.

"Kerny," the familiar voice of Maxbas filled my ears. "Who exactly is Ch'omak Waay and what did he agree with?"

Completely unaware of when she had entered my cabin, her presence surprised me. "Oh, it's Dr. Zarkov. I asked Ralph to forward my message to both Commodore Valentina and Dr. Zarkov. And this is his response -- "

"But why not just send Gene your original message?" She asked. "Why --"

"Sorry," I explained. "We know that the Prime Consul is monitoring all communications between General Gene and all senior officers of the Kerbin Defense Forces - including me. And we also know that she is planning something, but we don't know what or when. So it's better to --"

"Take precautions against providing her with too much information." Maxbas said in a thoughtful tone. "But --"

"Since the beginning of the space program, Dr. Zarkov has insisted that Gene and other key people at the space center have a daily briefing. Since he is the chief astronomer and head scientist of the University of Kerbania, he personally gives the portion of the daily briefing relating to scientific study and progress. And since he is meeting with Gene anyway --"

"Oh, I get it. He will tell Gene about our current mission." She said. "I mean, technically, you're breaking his orders --"

"But not the spirit of them." I interrupted. "Gene doesn't want us to be within the grasp of the prime consul. While we are out here, in an extreme orbit of Kerbin, it isn't convenient for her to mess with us. Sure, she can order the KDF for issue various orders for the navy, but we're further out -- "

"I understand Gene's wisdom," she added. "Since the first time I met Katrine, I've not liked or trusted her. When Dr. Edmund lobbied for my assignment onto the Triune Committee, the first thing he told me was to never trust Katrine. He believed Katrine was responsible for the death of Piper --"

"Yes, Dr. Zarkov and Dr. Edmund both believe that." I began. "And you know how I feel about this crash that killed Dr. Edmund --"

"Captain," the female Kerman voice came across the communications panel. "You have a video conference signal coming in from Colonel Ralph. It is double encrypted, sir."

"Thank you, Ensign Hildi." I replied. "Please patch it through."

Within a moment, the screen filled with the image of Colonel Ralph. The video feed was showing it was a bright and Kerbolly day where they were at.

"Captain," he began. "How's your mission going?"

"As well as can be expected, Ralph." I answered. "How far are you out from where Dr. Angelo is?"

"Sir, it has been a long trip but we are about to touch down." He replied. "When did they begin constructing this airfield?"

"Good question," this time Maxbas answered. "I know there were plans to build more airfields and naval facilities across Kerbin, but I don't remember plans to build one there."

Completely ignoring her, Ralph recounted his trip. "About mid-morning, we received your data packet. We were already in the air before Commodore Valentine came down to the command deck and ordered our departure to assist Dr. Angelo.

"As you know, our main engines are electric. At normal cruising speed - about 204 kilometers per hour - the solar panels provide enough electricity to keep the electric turbofans with charge and enough to recharge our batteries at the same time."

"I had no idea," I began. "I don't know anything about how your craft actually operates --"

"When we get together next time, I'll be happy to explain it." He interrupted. "While we are over the Lesser Sea, Commodore Valentine ordered me to adjust our speed to 698 kilometers per hour - our maximum speed. And at that speed, it takes more electricity than what our panels alone can produce. It isn't so bad when Kerbol is bright in the sky. But the distance we were covering meant that soon most of our energy would be supplied by the batteries."

"It became necessary for us to use the four gas turbine generators to continue at that speed. She didn't tell me any reasoning for the urgency of our current journey. In fact, it wasn't until we had one of the turbines overhead that she finally gave us an order to reduce speed to 500 kilometers per hour. And at least at that speed, the three remaining gas turbines were able to provide enough charge to supply the depleted batteries.

"We still had over a half-hour's journey to the unfinished airfield... from what Dr. Angelo told us, we arrived shortly after your last communication with him and Captain Podwin. In another twenty minutes, Commodore Valentina and myself will be meeting with Dr. Angelo."

"Thank you for the update, Ralph --"

"While doing this transmission, I also forwarded you a data packet from Captain Bob." His voice was full of dread. "I'm not sure what's going on, but it was sent to me and encrypted for you alone."

"Again, thank you, Ralph." Now it was time to see that packet. "Excursion out." And with that, the channel closed. As if by some unseen cue, the data packet from Bob began to play.

"Kerny, when you have a chance, I need you to relay this message to Gene. I know it was his idea to route stuff through you to keep it out of the hands of Katrina - particularly when it is about Jebediah.

For the past few days, we've pretty much followed the same routine. Jebediah wakes up before Kerbolrise, eats a small breakfast, and takes the snow cat to the crashed alien craft. He then gets out, walks around it, and then walks over its surface trying to find some sort of door or way in. He does this until Kerbolset each day.

But this morning was different. This time he asked me to go along with him. He's not done that but once since my arrival. And in a total break with his routine, he slept in this morning and we headed out about two hours after mid-day.

About halfway between the Polar Settlement, he turns to me and says, 'you know, this is all worthless... every bit of it... It's got to end.'

We both headed to the snowcat. Knowing how I hate driving snow cats, he runs to the vehicle and sits in the secondary operator's seat. Dammit, he wouldn't even budge. He made sure to force me into the vehicle operator's seat.

So, after racing me to the snowcat and taking the secondary operator station, he then flips the switch, activating all the vehicle controls on the secondary operations panel and says, 'I was just messing with you... I'll drive!'

I think it would have been much better if I had taken control of the snow cat. Jebediah gets the vehicle going pretty fast up the hill. And instead of pulling up alongside the top of the crashed alien ship, he drives behind it and turns as sharp as he can up the hill -- and then he just stops for a few minutes!

After the brief stop - and he didn't even go out of the snow cat to crawl over the alien craft - he resumes the top speed of the snow cat and begins to climb the steep incline to the east of the crash site. Before I know what he's doing, we crest the hill and are looking at Kerbolset. Kerny, this is something Jebediah has never done. I mean, NEVER! He's never been one to just sit back and watch anything happen. He's always doing something.

Here we are, sitting at the crest of the ridge, and Jebediah says this...

'Bob, I've really screwed up this time. I know I had no business in that cockpit. None. You know, if someone had done that in our cockpit, I would have sucker punched them and have Bill use a cargo net to tie them up. Dammit... I... knew... better...'

'Jebediah', I told him, 'it was an accident. You didn't -- '

'Didn't what?" he yelled. 'Didn't know that me being acting like a youngling would get Jala killed? You know who Jala is -- was -- don't you?'

'Yeah, I do," I began. 'She had just completed her pilot's certification and had been assigned to the Ground Forces --'

'No, she was more than that,' he said, nearly sobbing. 'She was my eldest niece... How am I going to explain --'

'Oh, Jeb," I simply had no idea, Kerny. What do you say? But anyhow, what he said next surprised me...

'It's time I go home, Bob." Jebediah said in a near whisper. "It's time to go."

I need you to send this entire message to Gene. We don't want to use normal communications in case the normal channels are being monitored by Katrina. Jebediah knows I am using you as a relay and has agreed we'll go back when we get word from Gene. Jebediah is ready to face whatever fate awaits him.

Captain, thank you. Gene, we're waiting on your orders - when and where do you want us to go?

Captain Bob at the Polar Station Out.'

I sat there, looking at the screen and the new message of channel closed. At that moment, I wasn't sure what I was feeling. I was deep in thought when a soft, familiar voice whispered into my ear.

"Kerny," Maxbas whispered, "I didn't know --"

"I don't think very many know about Jebediah's family. While he openly brags about his achievements, I don't think I've ever heard him say anything about his family."

"I've known him longer than you have, Kerny." Maxbas was right in that. "And I also don't remember him ever talking about his family before." We sat there, hand in hand, her leaning her head on my shoulders. "Why do you think that he and Rayven broke off their mating?"

"I don't know, Maxbas," I brought her hand to my lips for a light kiss. "There are rumors around the space center but you know how reliable those can be."

"Yes," Maxbas still speaking in a whisper. "You know, I could sit like this with you all day and never get tired of it. Kerny, I -- "

"Command deck to Captain," Commander Karloff's voice was loud and clear over the communications panel.

"This is Kerny, go ahead, Karloff -- "

"A couple of things, sir," he answered. "we just completed the burn for the next maneuver node in two hours. We are on course. A few minutes ago, we began receiving a large data package from the space center's Kerbnet central server. It's been downloading this data packet for the last ten minutes. It must be a huge packet --

"How large is it, Commander?" Most normal data packets are received and ready within five to seven minutes.

"Captain, so far, we have received 397 gigaxets! I've never seen anything this big ever relayed --"

"Kerny, look!" Maxbas was now sitting up, pointing to the monitor on the communications panel. Even during Kerbalnaut training, I've never seen this message before.

"Uh, Captain?!" I could hear the uneasiness in Karloff's vice. "What do we do? Does this mean -- "

"Maxbas, you can stay here if you want. Karloff, I'm on my way to the command deck now!" And with that, I began to make my way forward as quick as possible. By the time I arrived to the bridge, the counter showed we had even less time remaining.

"Captain on deck!" Gilti called out.

"Captain, I've lost internals from the main computer..." Hildi said, not too sure about what was happening.

"Karloff, break radio silence!" I ordered. "Get Gene and find out what this is --"

"All communications are down, sir!" Hildi called out. Whatever this update was doing, it was clear that our systems would not return to normal until the restart happened. But never before had there ever been a mention of the Kerbnet software being updated on a vessel in orbit. Suddenly none of this was feeling right.

"Sir," Obion added to the unfolding confusion. "Main navigation, our auto-navigation system, RCS, and SLS are not responding!"

"Four seconds to automatic restart!" Karloff called out. "Three... two...  one..."

For a second, the entire ship went dark. The main holo screen on the command deck indicated that our main computer was in the process of a reboot. So far, so good, I thought until the screen went dark and a new message popped up after a few seconds:

My crew sat in their seats on the command deck in complete silence. The Excursion's computer system was off-line. Unlike the pre-refit Excursion, Dr. Angelo had designed a computer system which made it possible for a small crew to control the entire ship. The various stations on the command deck were all tied into the main computer network. That computer network was responsible for communications, environmental controls -- every shipboard function depends on the ship's computer.

"Commander, take your engineering team. Hildi, please go and assist them," I said. "We've got to get the system up and running."

"Do we want to begin the diagnostics, Captain?" Lieutenant Gilti asked.

"Not yet," I did know something about the diagnostics. During my capsule simulator days preparing for my first Münar mission. It took the mock-up capsule's computer three and a half hours to do a program failure diagnostic. "Commander, what do you..."

"I'm right there with you, sir!" Karloff said, in an excited state. "And it took what? Five hours in the shuttle simulator to run a failure diagnostic? And that computer isn't as complex or large as this one --"

"What's our consumables rate, Ensign Triy?"

"Captain, according to the ship's specifications, we have enough breathable atmosphere for a day - maybe longer since our botany lab is in full operation. Although our batteries are fully charged, with the computer being off-line, there's no way to allocate power to critical shipboard systems. We have enough snacks and other provisions enough for two weeks, and enough water for about two weeks --"

"Two weeks of food and only a day of breathable atmosphere and the entire ship is plunged in darkness --" Hildi's fear could easily be heard in her voice.

"Karloff," I had to stop Hildi's fear from becoming contagious. "Is there a way we can bypass the main computer network and somehow patch the environmental controls to --"

"Captain," Karloff interrupted. "We have a new problem to worry about --"

"More important than breathable atmosphere?" Maxbas asked, her voice full of fear and frustration.

"Yes, I'm afraid so, Consul," he answered her, now his voice full of concern and dread. "A runaway reactor. Apparently one of the reactors' cooling system has failed when the computer shut down. We now have less than a day. We have four hours --"

"Or our lack of atmosphere isn't going to be a problem if it goes critical," I added. "We have under four hours to bring the Excursion back to life."

Spoiler

Supplemental journal entry -

Under the provisions of the United Republic of Kerbin Navy General Articles 27-3, I have enclosed a copy of my log in the ship's emergency deployment pod. It is the one part of the Excursion which does not require the use of the on-board computer system. In the event of the inevitable loss of this vessel and this pod is recovered, this pod is to be delivered to the Director of the Kerbal Space Program. This pod contains the official records and personal logs of the crew of the Excursion. Without the ability to send or receive messages this pod will serve as a record of what happened to the URKSS Excursion after the complete failure of the ship-wide computer system on Moho 28, Y003.

Commander Karloff - Personal logs and data packet included
Lieutenant Gilti - Personal logs and data packet included
Lieutenant Obion - Personal logs included.
Ensign Hildi - Personal logs and data packet included
Ensign Triy - Personal logs and data packet included
Senior Consul of the Triune Committee Maxbas Kerman - Personal logs and data packet included.

In accordance with paragrah 491 of the above listed article, an encrypted data packet containing astrometrics data is included. Send to Chief Astronomer, University of Kerbania

All crew are accounted for on this, the 28th day of Moho, Y003

By order of the commander, URKSS Excursion:

Captain Kerny Kerman

 

 

 

[Angelo Kerman]

Quote

Uh, Captain?!" I could hear the uneasiness in Karloff's vice. "What do we do? Does this mean --

It means if you get an email demanding bitcoin....

It sounds like Kerny and crew are in a real bind! Somebody just bricked their mission. Never a good thing..

Jala being Jeb's niece was definitely not something that I'd expected! And I figured he might've found a way into the crashed saucer...

[Newtie]

15 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

And I figured he might've found a way into the crashed saucer...

Or maybe he did find a way in, and never came back out. This is the Jeb imposter working to infiltrate the space center!

[roboslacker]

Time for speculation!

In the next chapter, Jeb will return to the space center just in time to pilot a prototype HAX-class SSTO to save the crew of the Excursion. The reactor then explodes, and the resulting radiation cloud temporarily disables Kerbin's communication network. Once this happens and Kerbin is in the dark, the Aliens will have free reign to move on to their real objective.

[obney kerman]

Why did you have to use Windows 10...

[RealKerbal3x]

37 minutes ago, obney kerman said:

Why did you have to use Windows 10...

Kerny and co are going to bring the Excursion back online only to find that the update added two new emojis and fixed a bug which involved having more than one web browser open at once.

@adsii1970 lovely chapter

[Thedrelle]

Responses:

First half: so many unfinished sandwiches!

second half: Poor poor Jeb. I'm glad he snapped out of it, it looks like he's got a hard line ahead of him. 

third half: Man, talk about critical failure! I think somebody has it in for them. does Katrina know he's being used to circumvent her? 

Really awesome writing!

[adsii1970]

So many good questions asked both before and after the most recently written and released chapter. So, here's the post where I try to either fuel your speculations or I answer some questions...

On 3/1/2019 at 12:31 PM, Kerballing (Got Dunked On) said:

Does this mean that Chapter 72 will be supplementary to find out more about the PC's background, @adsii1970? (Prime Consul, that is) This is just another fan theory, however, and should not replace any future plans you have for the series. I'm just curious.

Nope, pretty obvious I didn't do that. However, there is an expository chapter coming soon regarding some of the intricacies of Section 31. I've been working on in on and off for about three weeks now. But I am pretty sure I could also do an expository chapter to explain how Katrine came to power and some of her major policy changes. Or, who knows, I could just include it in over the next few chapters. After all, Kerny's world does have KNN... the most trusted source for news on Kerbin!

On 3/2/2019 at 11:54 AM, Kerballing (Got Dunked On) said:

@adsii1970, where do you get your month/ship naming system from? I recognize a couple of planet names in both ship and month form, and I also know that a couple of them are from the Outer Planets mod. I'm curious because KSP itself doesn't have a month (or would that be Münth?) system. (oooh and i started a new page)

Good question, and if anyone is interested, I might turn it into a Google Doc when I get a chance. Back when I first started writing, @Just Jim and I did some experimentation, trying to think of a way to keep track of time on Kerbin. About two days later, he shares with me the eclipse schedule of the Mün. And from there, the rest was easy. I divided the Kerbin calendar into ten months and since I use Outer Planet Mod, each month was named after a planet.

On 3/24/2019 at 12:18 AM, Angel-125 said:

It means if you get an email demanding bitcoin....

It sounds like Kerny and crew are in a real bind! Somebody just bricked their mission. Never a good thing..

Jala being Jeb's niece was definitely not something that I'd expected! And I figured he might've found a way into the crashed saucer...

Hehehe... much more evil than this. The computer glitch is based on something far more sinister... And you're right, somebody just borked their mission...

Yeah, that plot twist seemed kinda obvious when I was writing out the chapter. What could cause a person as dynamic as Jebediah to lose it? Most of the time it is that something happens to a close family member or loved one. In Jeb's case, I figure I'd give him a close family member. And with that knowledge, go back and read the chapter where Jala dies... It gives it a whole new twist.

Your last part of that post will be ignored...

On 3/24/2019 at 3:23 PM, Newtie said:

Or maybe he did find a way in, and never came back out. This is the Jeb imposter working to infiltrate the space center!

Please see the last statement regarding @Angel-125's speculation about Jeb and the saucer.

On 3/24/2019 at 5:07 PM, roboslacker said:

Time for speculation!

In the next chapter, Jeb will return to the space center just in time to pilot a prototype HAX-class SSTO to save the crew of the Excursion. The reactor then explodes, and the resulting radiation cloud temporarily disables Kerbin's communication network. Once this happens and Kerbin is in the dark, the Aliens will have free reign to move on to their real objective.

Oh, Jeb's returning to the space center alright. But the rest, you'll have to wait and see.

9 hours ago, obney kerman said:

Why did you have to use Windows 10...

Hehehe... You guessed it! that whole thing was based on a recent experience I had during a Windows 10 update. Except for the pretty yellow border around the screen. That was added for dramatic effect. But yeah, it seems that even Kerbin's K-OS is subject to Microsoft frustrations...

9 hours ago, RealKerbal3x said:

Kerny and co are going to bring the Excursion back online only to find that the update added two new emojis and fixed a bug which involved having more than one web browser open at once.

@adsii1970 lovely chapter

Oh, and where media player no longer recognizes it's supposed to be able to play music...

7 hours ago, Thedrelle said:

Responses:

First half: so many unfinished sandwiches!

second half: Poor poor Jeb. I'm glad he snapped out of it, it looks like he's got a hard line ahead of him. 

third half: Man, talk about critical failure! I think somebody has it in for them. does Katrina know he's being used to circumvent her? 

Really awesome writing!

Yeah, Jeb has a hard road ahead of him. There are several different scenarios I have for him at this point. The main thing is going to be which one will fit the direction of the story better. I'd like to say more about this, but it really needs to wait and go into the chapter. Good thing about this story is how flexible some of the situations are. The most easiest way would be to have the crew of the Excursion do what we humans do best - speculate and then speculate some more!

To your second point - good question. Remember, the Triune Committee cannot be trusted in the eyes of many, particularly Gene. Rayven, the daughter of Katrine, is the current Senior Consul. They both believe Maxbas is dead and was killed in the same crash that killed Dr. Edmund. So, does she know? Or is there something else at work at this point?

 

Thanks, all, for your continued support. I am hoping to have the next chapter up within the next ten days.

 

[KerballingSmasher]

Section 31 is a Star Trek reference, right?

[roboslacker]

On 3/25/2019 at 8:29 PM, adsii1970 said:

The most easiest way would be to have the crew of the Excursion do what we humans do best - speculate and then speculate some more!

Does anybody else think that Prime Consul Katrine created the software update to prevent the Excursion from reaching the transmitter for the Alien numbers station?

[obney kerman]

11 hours ago, Kerballing (Got Dunked On) said:

Section 31 is a Star Trek reference, right?

Yes... as far as we know.

[RealKerbal3x]

14 hours ago, obney kerman said:

Yes... as far as we know.

[adsii1970]

On 3/28/2019 at 6:21 AM, roboslacker said:

Does anybody else think that Prime Consul Katrine created the software update to prevent the Excursion from reaching the transmitter for the Alien numbers station?

Interesting theory. Other than that, no comment.

On 3/28/2019 at 10:52 AM, obney kerman said:

Yes... as far as we know.

Actually, yes, it is a reference to Section 31 off of the various incantations of Star Trek. We know from Enterprise, Deep Space 9, and a hint of The Next Generation that Section 31 is in the background of each series. If you play Star Trek Online! or read any of the Star Trek based novels, you see even more of Section 31.

So, with that, I decided to have some fun with it. But in my Kerbiverse, Section 31 is being developed a little more than in the universe of Star Trek. 

Other than that, I am not going to say anymore.

[adsii1970]

A couple of teaser images for you just to prove I've not forgotten:

I managed to catch strep throat and an ear infection, otherwise, I would have posted the next chapter this past Saturday.

[KerballingSmasher]

oh no... but yay new chapter!

[adsii1970]

Moho 29, Y003
"Too many variables and not enough answers."
MISSION DAY +7.10

Chapter 73

----

From the Kerbal Space Center, activity log for Moho 28, Y003

"KSC Mission Control, this is Zebulan Kerman Operations," the voice called out. "We are ready to begin testing of the escape system, designated Wernher Seven."

"Roger, ZKO," Kuzzter's voice replied. "The Old Man says to deploy when ready."

"Roger, KSC Mission Control,"  the calm voice could be heard over the flight ops system. "Hey, Lieutenant Bendee, KSC Operations says it's your call -- "

"Roger, Bartbree," the female voice said. "Separation in five... four... three... two... one..."

And with that, the sounds of clanging could be heard as the airlock doors sealed the escape pod from the station. Within seconds, an with a slight whooshing sound, the vehicle maneuvered itself from the airlock of the station and began its descent to the surface of Kerbin. It was a routine test to determine if the craft could handle the pressures of reentry and if controlled reentry is possible. The Grand Committee, from the very beginning of the space program, had restricted the number of crewmembers any space station could have based on the number of escape pods available on the station. 

For now, a single shuttle was assigned to remain assigned to the station for that purpose, but Dr. Wernher, Gene, and Dr. Angelo felt that third shuttle didn't need a permanent assignment to the station if it had a reliable escape pod system in place. Two designs were being tested; one by Dr. Wernher and the other, Dr. Angelo.

"All systems are nominal," the female voice called out. "Preparing for main engine navigational burn in three... two... one..."

"Wernher 7, come in, Lieutenant Bendee --" the station's traffic controller called out. "Dammit, we've lost telemetry on her --"

"ZKO, this is KSC Tracking," Bobak's voice unmistakable. "We've lost telemetry, too. What's your status?"

"KSC Tracking /static/ system malfun-/static/. We are exp-/static/-ing some sort of /static/"

"Kuzzter," Bobak turned to look directly at him. "Go get Gene. Tell him he's needed now. We've got serious issues -- "

"Sir," another voice called out with panic clearly in the voice. "I've lost all telemetry on the STS Jala Kerman!"

"Kuzzter, Get Gene NOW!" Bobak shouted. "Can anyone tell me what's going on?"

"Sir," a young Kerman answered up. "the Kerbnet system is completely down. I cannot raise any of the tracking centers. We have internal site communications only!"

"Billtree," Bobak said, anger easily detectable in his voice. "What's the last status of the Jala Kerman?"

"About to begin the deorbit burn. But without --"

----

"That's strange," Lieutenant Franrina noted. "Skipper, we've lost Kerbnet access -- "

"Oh, that is strange," Commander Desford replied. "Agagie, see if you can raise the Zebulan."

"Aye, sir." She responded. "Zebulan Kerman Operations, this is STS Jala Kerman, please respond..."

"Commander, I don't think we're sending out any signal," Ensign Agagie added. "I'm getting nothing on any of the frequencies. I've even --"

"Ensign, have you tried raising KSC Operations?" Commander Desford questioned. "Surely this can't be an entire Kerbnet outage --"

Sir, I've tried to raise the KSC, ZKO, and..." exasperation and panic filled her voice. "Even the Excursion. There's no reply from anyone!"

"Well, we're committed now, and without that guidance system, we will have to make do. Prepare for de-orbit burn."

"Aye, sir!" And with that, the STS Jala Kerman began the process of returning to Kerbin's surface.

"Deorbit burn complete," Agagie called out. Beginning reentry maneuvers at altitude 70k."

"Ugh, what a rookie," added Franrina. "Sir, was I that -- "

"Oh, we all do it," Desford answered. "Ensign, you may continue to call out the stages, just as in your training."

"Sir, our orientation is now within normal parameters," Agagie called out.

"Um, Skipper," Franrina was the first to notice. "Based off ground visuals, we are not going to land anywhere near the KSC --"

"Yes, I know." Desford attempted to reassure his crew. "As long as we can find a stretch of flat land, we'll be fine. It will be Gene's problem on how to get us back."

"Beginning atmospheric reentry in five... four... three... 

"Skipper, we are now entering communications blackout --"

----

 

"Okay, will someone tell me what is going on?" Gene began to yell as soon as he entered the KSC tracking command center. "What's the status. Bobak, I thought you said you had this shift under control --

"Gene, we've lost Kerbnet --"

"What! When did this happen?" Gene began to yell as he reached for the cup of kappe being handed to him. "Why did you wait so long to -- "

"Sir, I'm not sure what happened," Kuzzter began. "We received an audio communication from Dr. Wernher about some programming update -- "

"What program update?" Gene's tone was turning even angrier. "What are you talking about?"

"About thirty minutes ago we received a flash message about Kerbnet's programming needing a system update,"  Kuzzter began to explain.

"That's damn irregular," Gene interrupted. "We never update Kerbnet's operating system as long as we have scheduled vehicle tests or reentries happening --"

"Gene," Bobak cut in. "That's not all. We've lost all telemetry on the Jala Kerman, the Wernher 7, and the Excursion --"

"What do you mean..." Gene's anger now fully visible to all, "we've lost all telemetry -- "

"Sir, we've lost telemetry and all communications," Kuzzter added. "I'm saying; we can't find them. We don't know where they are!"

Kuzzter, Bobak, and the rest of the tracking center staff began explaining to Gene the exact happenings until the failure of Kerbnet. Soon, Gene's anger turned to rage and frustration over this unexpected and unparalleled failure of the Kerbnet computer system.

"Kuzzter, you get Dr. Angelo over here," Gene snorted. "Might as well grab Dr. Wernher, too. I want answers!"

"Gene," one of the young communications technicians called out. "Something is blinking over here --"

"Blinking over where?" Gene responded.

"On the new communications station installed by Dr. Angelo and his crew about five days ago --"

"Five days or so ago?!" The anger and frustration could be heard again in Gene's expressed outrage. "A change was made to a communications terminal in my building, and you are just now telling me about it?"

"Gene, I understand you wanted to see me?"  Dr. Angelo began. "Kuzzter told me to go ahead but to tell you --"

"Listen, I want to know what this yellow light means on this console you installed in my tracking center!" Gene interrupted.

"Um, yes, General," Dr. Angelo began. "This is a prototype communications station. Unlike the older stations we are using, these are more efficient. They use a higher wave than our standard communications --"

"Translate, dammit!" Gene fired off.

"It means, sir," after a brief pause to gather his thoughts, Dr. Angelo continued, "It means this communications panel can do a lot more than anything we've done in the past --"

"Meaning what?" Gene began to press. "I've got the STS Jala Kerman; can this --"

"Gods, no!" Dr. Angelo cut him off. "The STS communications rely on the old system. Medium-high bandwidth, the same as the KDF --"

"Okay," Gene paused, "then what does it do? Can we use it to find the Wernher 7?"

"Well, Gene," Dr. Angelo paused, obviously wanting to answer this question carefully. "I wanted to include the new communications unit onboard it, but Dr. Wernher thought it would add too much weight --"

"And it would have, Dr. Angelo!" Dr. Wernher called out, making his entrance into the tracking center's operations room known. "It would have added close to 75 Kilos --"

"Thirty-five Kilos, Dr. --" Dr. Angelo interrupted. "And as I told you, it's independent of the Kerbnet -- "

"Independent?" Now Dr. Angelo had Gene's undivided attention.

"Yes, independent." Pointing over to the console, Dr. Angelo continued. "Hey, it's working. We're receiving signal..." Reaching over the console, Dr. Angelo pushed a small grey button next to the flashing yellow indicator. Within a few seconds, the primary display monitor in the center began to show the first signs of activity since the failure of Kerbnet.

"Doctor, what is that?" Dr. Wernher asked. "I... What is that?"

"Oh, may the gods forbid it," Dr. Angelo began. "Gene, that yellow circle is the orbit of the Excursion. The white orbit -- "

"Is what, Doctor?" Gene asked. "It's nothing we've launched. Is it an alien -- "

"No, Gene, it is not." Dr. Wernher answered. "It's the emergency distress beacon from the Excursion --"

"How --"

"Gene," Dr. Angelo began, "Dr. Wernher and I spent five hours before she left programming how the beacon works. See the rhythmic pinging visible over here?" He asked, pointing to a small display on the console, "We thought that each vessel should be assigned a particular wavelength. When completed, each ship will have its own rhythmic signal for the sake of vessel identification and tracking. The only ship we've done this to is the Excursion --"

"Can we access the data from here?" Gene asked.

"Yes, but right now, the distance is too far for anything other than the alert it's been --"

"Kermen, I need answers now!" Gene erupted. "Kuzzter, you figure out who authorized that Kerbnet programming upgrade! Nothing else matters! And you can consider that an order or you'll be swimming to your next duty assignment!" Without questioning Gene at all, Kuzzter left the tracking center's operations room and headed towards the spaceplane hangar to enlist the help of Major Thompberry.

"Gene, there is a way,"  Dr. Angelo began. "We need to do another shuttle launch and catch it while it's inbound. Then bring it back to the KSC --"

"I know that shuttle has only been down for a couple of days, but you two, Dr. Angelo and Dr. Wernher, you get it back up. And Dr. Wernher, if you have to toss out the entire galley, you put that damn new communications equipment so we can keep in contact. Bobak, any word from the Excursion?"

"Gene," but before Bobak could finish, Dr. Angelo cut in.

"Gene," Dr. Angelo said, followed by a deep sigh. "We told Captain Kerny about this distress beacon and told him that it was only to be used if he felt the ship was in mortal danger. The beacon did what it was programmed to - it immediately seeks out the radio homing beacon of Kerbin or the nearest Kerbin outpost, and attempts to intercept it. From the trajectory up there, it is in a very high Kerbin orbit. We did this so that if we ever lost a ship, that there'd be a chance we knew what happened to the ship and crew. Kerny simply did what he was told based on the situation he faces up there."

"That's right, Gene," Dr. Wernher began. "We designed it so that it could either send its signal remotely through Kerbnet or be retrieved and brought back to the KSC. Even if the ability were there to use the Kerbnet, I'd recommend we don't --"

"Does the Excursion have the new communications equipment on board?" Gene asked. "And why isn't the beacon affected by the Kerbnet update?"

"Yes, but we've not told the crew about it. But because of its limited range, it piggy-backs the Kerbnet system." Dr. Wernher explained. If they had the same software upgrade we've suffered... they are in real danger without their computer systems."

"And to answer the other part of your question, Gene," Dr. Angelo began, "the probe uses a two-number code, the basic number codes of the more ancient systems we encountered in the archives. It is a bi-numeral system that uses only 0 and 1 --"

"Doctor, please self-translate."

"Uh, sure, Gene." Dr. Angelo began again, "It uses a simpler programming code easier to encrypt and harder to decipher. But the beauty is the beacon is not dependent upon the Kerbnet to perform its primary duties."

"I wish I could understand it, doctor. But I also wonder what the Captain and his crew are going to do?" Gene said, looking at the display on the main tracking center screen. The orbit appears to be steady. But is the Excursion a dead ship? Should we begin to plan for a rescue mission or a recovery mission?"

"Gene, friend," Dr. Wernher began. "Don't think it. We chose Kerny to be the captain of this vessel because he is resourceful. He has picked a remarkable crew, and we have to be hopeful that he and his crew will survive."

----

Since my last time entry, we've now been out of contact with the space center almost a day. In that short period of time, we've been able to make some slight improvements in our situation. Although we jettisoned the ship's distress beacon sometime yesterday after the failure of the onboard Kerbnet system, it will take it another three days to reach its destination. I'm hoping we can return to some semblance of normal operations and restore communications before then.

We still do not know the extent of the damage to the ship and if it is permanent. Shortly after the final log entry last night, Commander Karloff had a breakthrough. We were able to deploy three of the solar panels manually. And from there, he was able to bypass the central computer's power supply allocation unit.

"Captain," Karloff began. "We've restored basic systems. We've bypassed the main computer system and have rerouted power through the older relays. We have power for life support, basic navigation, and with a little remaining to split between the transponder system and to recharge the ship's batteries. It's not a very strong transponder signal, but if they're looking for us, they will find us."

"That's good, Commander." At least that's a few of the problems handled. "Now what about the reactors and power for the engines?"

"Captain," he began, "that's still a problem. I haven't been able to isolate what caused the shipboard computer system to crash. But I remember Dr. Angelo saying that if the system ever had to have a hard reboot, it would go back to the original software specifications. But we would have to keep Kerbnet from coming back online or risk repeating everything."

"Karloff, you take whomever you need, and you do your hard reboot. Now about the reactors --"

"Captain, if the reboot works, the ship's computer system should resume normal operations as we had when we left the Zebulan Kerman. But we won't have any external communications, for the reasons I've explained. And if it doesn't work --"

"We can always jettison the reactors, Commander." Even I knew what that would mean. We'd be dependent upon the solar panels and lose the efficiency of the new engines. But not jettisoning the reactors if we could not get them to cool would result in one outcome.

"Yeah, Captain, I know. But if we can salvage the reactors we can still find out what's orbiting Minmus --"

"Commander, I agree, but let's get this ship back under control and go from there."

"Aye sir, " and with that, Karloff headed back down to the engineering section to begin his next move.

"Captain," Gilti had somehow come up behind me, unexpectedly. "Permission to return to the command deck. In case this works, I want to be at my station --"

"Permission granted, Gilti." I can't think of a better crew. The only Kerman not handling this situation too well was Maxbas. For my sanity and the functioning of the ship, I had her confined to her quarters. I know she will be mad and I will have to face her eventually, but I'd rather handle one crisis at a time. And for now, I have to get this ship functioning as close to normal as my crew and I can. If we can't do it, then nothing else will matter.

"Captain on the Bridge," Hildi called out.

"Relax, as you were," Hildi, make a shipwide announcement for everyone to remain at stations while Commander Karloff and let him know we will wait for his signal."

"Aye sir," she called back. "Commander Karloff, the Captain says whenever you're ready to begin --"

"We're ready in five...  four..."

"Attention all crew, this is Hildi, Captain Kerny has ordered all assigned crew remain at your stations. More orders will follow --"

"Two... One..." and when Karloff finished his countdown, the ship went dark for the second time in two days. For about ten tense minutes, we sat in the darkness unable to do anything to get away from the roar of silence. But this time, the result was different. Everyone let out a sigh of relief as the ship's air circulation system was the first to come back online.

"Captain," Gilti cried out. "We have navigation, auxiliary power controls, ship's status readouts, sir --" In front of her station, the panels jumped to life indicating battery charge, our velocity, and

"Captain,"this time, it was Karloff's voice from engineering. "According to my consoles, we have everything but communications back online. I didn't even have to manually disconnect them. It's as if something - or someone - doesn't want us to communicate with the space center. As far as the two reactors go, I won't be able to tell you much until we have about 30 minutes of cooling. After that, we'll know."

"Understood, Commander." Now, this next part was going to be the most difficult part. Reaching over to the communications panel on my command chair, I pressed the small button and cleared my throat. "Attention all crew. I am glad to report we are almost back to normal. We still do not have communications restored and we are still monitoring the two reactors. Until we know that the Excursion is stable, all crew members will remain at their stations."

"Sir, what about Consul Maxbas?" Gilti asked with a smile. "Going to leave her restricted to quarters?"

 

I couldn't help the awkward and involuntary sigh which escaped me. That might not be a bad idea. "No, Lieutenant, I'm not. You have the Com until I return."

"Aye, sir!" She said, almost near laughter. "I'm glad you're dealing with her... She was pretty mad when you used your command code to lock her in!"

As I was leaving the command deck, my only thoughts were, mad? No, she 's beyond mad. But maybe she'll understand and be rational about it.

 

[Angelo Kerman]

Quote

"Two... One..." and when Karloff finished his countdown, the ship went dark for the second time in two days.

I am reminded of Sam Jackson's character from the original Jurassic Park: "Hold onto your butts.."

Quote

"Gene, we've lost Kerbnet --"

Seems that there's a lot more afoot than just what's going on aboard the Excursion! What's going to happen that shuttle and escape pod..?

Quote

It's as if something - or someone - doesn't want us to communicate with the space center.

Hopefully it's not the Emergency Multipurpose Hologram, a.k.a. A.N.G.E.L.O. ...

[RealKerbal3x]

What is preventing Kerny and co. from communicating with Kerbin? And why?

Edited April 17, 2019 by RealKerbal3x
weird duplication fixed

[obney kerman]

The plot gains more mass than the entire observable universe...

[adsii1970]

53 minutes ago, obney kerman said:

The plot gains more mass than the entire observable universe...

Is that a good thing?

When I sat down to outline this chapter, the plan was only to have the outage affect the Excursion. But once I began writing, that didn't feel right. It felt too artificial. Like it was a single targeted attack just on Kerny and his crew. So, my mind began to wonder; what would happen if it were a system-wide attack?