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

[adsii1970]

2 hours ago, Dman979 said:

Nice!

Wait, what?

 

Sorry about that... I've went back and edited the strangely organized paragraph. At the time I was writing it, it did make perfect sense. Now that I've read it after stepping away from it, well...
 

[AviosAdku]

9 hours ago, Dman979 said:

Sometimes, you don't need any intrigue to make a good story. This reminds me of DOB!, when @Kuzzter had no Kerbulans to contend with: just the crew, the ship, the mission, and his piloting skills. (And a few bugs like missing lift, but we don't talk about those.)

Probably a more accurate description of my thoughts above, I just didn't know how to convey it without potentially sabotaging the tone of the comment (I often comment in a hurry so ...). Actually, the story slightly reminds me of some Apollo astronaut biographies (autobiographies?) I have read, I'm not sure why but maybe it's the vague similarities to 1960's NASA I see in the operation.

However, as I said before, there are a number of questions unanswered, although I don't know if the plot relies on them, that's what I meant by "there is intrigue however". Eagerly awaiting how these things play into the missions being flown

Aku

P.S.

For reference, the books I read were Lost Moon/Apollo 13 (Jim Lovell), Carrying the Fire (Michael Collins) and Two sides of the Moon (Alexi Leonov & David Scott).

[adsii1970]

Dres 14, Y003
"Not quite back to normal again..."

There's been a lot of things happening around here since the discovery of the unknown craft in the polar region. Bob and Bill have argued nearly non-stop about where it came from and what it means. We haven't heard much from Dr. Werner, Gene, or even Dr. Haywood. Last night Bill even tried to bribe Bobak, even offering to give him three nights worth of poker winnings, if he would just tell us what was going on. Bill was surprised that not even Bobak, Gene's right-hand kerbal, knew any more than the rest of us.

On the 12th of Dres, Gene and Dr. Haywood called a meeting for those of us in the test pilot program. I had no idea I had even been accepted until after the morning's briefing, Gene announced the mandatory meeting for test pilots. He then added, "Oh, Kerny, you might want to be there if you're serious about being a crash test dummy..." Wow, Bobak was right; Gene does have a sense of humor!

In that meeting we were told that Kersplat Aerospace Industries had a few new craft we were going to be testing. With the discovery of the alien craft, the company fast-tracked two projects that were already close to completion. Gene told us Jebediah and Bill would be testing the new version of the Knat, X5. If the craft passes the trials, it will be the newest of the Knat series. I have to be honest - I'm a little, no a lot envious that Jebediah will be the first to fly this new model. We were taken over to the hangar facility and were able to see the prototype. According to the simulators, she is faster, sleeker, and more fuel efficient than the Mark 4. Supposedly the drag was reduced because this model doesn't have drop tanks. This resulted  in a plane that will be faster, more maneuverable, and an expanded operating range than previous models.

Since it was my first assignment as a test pilot, Gene and Dr. Haywood paired me with Ralph. At first, I was hesitant because not much is known about him. There are rumors and a lot of conjecture about him; it's well known that he simply appeared in a one-kerbal capsule around fifty kilometers off the coast of the Island Airfield by the Eeloo, which had been on patrol in the area. It's also well known that in his debriefing with Dr. Floyd, Dr. Werner, and Gene that a lot of the stuff he told them changed the way the space program operates. Bob thinks that somehow Ralph crossed over from another dimension. Bill and Froming believe that Ralph is just like the rest of us, just a little more unhinged!

Ralph and I were assigned to test-fly the other craft ready for trials. Simply called the X1, it was designed as a rapid transportation vehicle. Lead engineer Harrison "Stormy" Kerman told us that it was designed to take only a fraction of the runway for both take-offs and landings.^* In the briefing for our first flight, Harrison stressed we were not to do anything fancy. We were to fly to the Island Airfield, land, and take off. We spent the next few hours familiarizing ourselves with the various controls, simulator training, and pre-flight inspections. I never realized so much went into preparing for a test flight of an experimental craft.

Gene told me not to lose heart; the reason why I was pared with Ralph is that he completely adheres to the test flight protocols. "Just learn from him and you'll crash less than Jebediah..." was the last thing Gene said as he closed our evening briefing. Ralph just sat there unblinking as Jebediah turned dark green. Everyone else in the room had a good laugh after Bill began pointing to the "crash board" where the names of all the test pilots and the various wrecked and mangled craft they had flown was listed. In big red letters was "JEBEDIAH: 16", the highest number of crashed craft on the board.

 

This morning, Ralph and I reported to the SPH to complete our final pre-flight briefing for the X1. I've been through a lot of pre-flight briefings but what makes this one so different is that instead of Gene or Bobak giving the briefing, Harrison, the lead engineer on the X1, gave the briefing! He repeated that they only had the date on this craft based on computer simulation, so we would literally be the first to ever fly a craft of this type. I will admit that the first time I saw the craft I didn't think it would actually get off the ground. It was ugly. It had a small wingspan. It looked like it was made from a pile of spare parts.

It was literally incredible! I didn't realize how having engines with adjustable positions could change how a craft handles. We started the engines and once our ground speed reached forty meters per second, we swiveled the engines down, increasing the amount of lift generated by the short wings. Within a quarter of the runway, we were off the runway and heading towards the Island Airfield. In spite of the bulky and awkward appearance, she handled extremely well. Harrison had warned us not to take her too fast so we constantly had to adjust the throttle to keep her below 150 kilometers per second. As we approached the island, we rotated the engines to not only slow us but to assist in our descent. We landed on the runway and with the maneuverability of the craft, were able to come to a complete stop near the eastern most hangar.

We completed or mid-flight report back to the KSC, and spent a few minutes doing a visual inspection of the wings, engines, and fuselage of the X1. After transmitting the pre-flight report and gaining clearance from the Island Airfield controller, we were back in the air heading towards the KSC. Bobak instructed us that instead of using the runway, we were being instructed to try and land the craft vertically on the apron in front of the SPH.

I will never forget that voice I heard from the back seat of the cockpit. "Well, dammit. We're not even ready to try that yet. Are you ready to get your first crashed craft, Kerny?" Yeah, that's really reassuring. But for the remainder of the flight, Ralph explained that this was actually common during test flights. Harrison was well known to change the parameters of a test flight if certain benchmarks were met earlier in the flight than expected.

We began the landing procedures about five kilometers from the KSC. As we flew over the shoreline, the landing gear was deployed and we rotated the engines. We began our gentile glide down to the apron and... ahhhh choooo!

Yeah, I sneezed. And when I sneezed, I jerked the stick hard to starboard which caused the craft to roll. It was then, as I tried to compensate, when we felt the shudder and heard a loud bang as the rear wing hit the apron. We were able to still land the X1 without any additional damage to the craft and with my ego shattered. A stupid sneeze... During the debriefing we were asked about any performance issues that might have contributed to the damage of the craft. Since this was the first mission I had ever flown with Ralph, and with him being the senior aviator of the mission, I knew that for good or bad, whatever he chose to tell Gene and Harrison would be in the official report. In my mind, I could already hear Gene saying, "a sneeze? You wrecked a prototype craft because your eyes watered and you had a tickle in the back of your throat?"

I was actually surprised to hear Ralph tell both that it was a mechanical glitch that had caused the damage. "I'd recommend a change in control configuration and even some automation to reorient the engines during the landing cycle..." had been the only thing Ralph said about the reasons for the damage. As we continued to do our post test-mission reports, no one ever questioned his explanation and no one had expected that a single sneeze had caused the ONLY problem with our maiden test flight of the X1.

We were told that until the damage is repaired, Ralph and I will begin simulator training for our next space mission. It seems that Dr. Haywood has selected Ralph, me, and Bob to go to the southern polar region where an anomaly detected by the Mun Surveyor 1 has caught the attention of everyone at the KSC. Our first simulator session is at sunrise tomorrow, so I'm going to call it a night early.

 

^{* Harrison "Stormy" Kerman is a character based off Harrison "Stormy" Storms, an engineer of North American Aviation who managed the design and construction of the Apollo command/service module.}

Edited October 25, 2017 by adsii1970
Repaired image issues (25/10/2017)

[Dman979]

Hmm, this is annoying. I'm following this, and it only tells me when someone other than @adsii1970 responds.

[adsii1970]

11 minutes ago, Dman979 said:

Hmm, this is annoying. I'm following this, and it only tells me when someone other than @adsii1970 responds.

I've noticed this with other threads I follow. Maybe it is a new forum bug?

[Dman979]

Just now, adsii1970 said:

I've noticed this with other threads I follow. Maybe it is a new forum bug?

Maybe. @KasperVld?

[KasperVld]

I have no idea honestly. Will follow up with IPS.

[Whovian41110]

Quote

Dr. Heywood

Wait a second.  Do I detect a 2010: Odyssey Two reference?

Edited August 28, 2016 by Whovian41110

[AviosAdku]

6 hours ago, Whovian41110 said:

Wait a second.  Do I detect a 2010: Odyssey Two reference?

Well, actually it could be any one of the "Space Odyssey" series (the two films, the first 3 books: 2001, 2010, 2061), Dr Heywood Floyd is a reasonably prominent character in all of them (albeit his role in "2010" is somewhat larger). No intention on being pedantic, nice to see someone else who got that reference.

[Whovian41110]

1 hour ago, AkuAerospace said:

Well, actually it could be any one of the "Space Odyssey" series (the two films, the first 3 books: 2001, 2010, 2061), Dr Heywood Floyd is a reasonably prominent character in all of them (albeit his role in "2010" is somewhat larger). No intention on being pedantic, nice to see someone else who got that reference.

Right.  It's been a while

[adsii1970]

Hey folks -

I am currently working on the next chapter and wanted to let you all know I had not forgotten about Kerny or his (mis)adventures!

Yes, there was an intentional reference to Dr. Haywood Floyd from the Space Odyssey series, in the novels, his character is the dominant one in 2001, 2010 and 2065. He is not in the final Odyssey installment, 3001, but David Bowman is.This is because as a young teen, the first science fiction novel I ever read was 2001 and from that moment on, I was hooked on sci-fi. It just seems natural to include references to that series because, well, there are monoliths in the game.

[adsii1970]

Dres 17, Y003
"Jebediah's at it again...but what exactly did he do?"

Today has been an extremely wild day. As of ten minutes ago, Jebediah has been in a debriefing for three hours since he finished the maiden flight of the Knat Mk 5. All we know is that Bobak and Linxy, who had been part of the briefing for the first hour, have released an announcement to us pilots that the prototype has been redesignated to Project R7. From what Ralph has explained to me, this happens occasionally as a craft in the testing stage has been deemed not to perform to the defined standards.

Earlier this morning, Gene sent out an announcement offering to any pilot interested the opportunity to watch the video feed of Jebediah's test flight of the Knat Mk 5. So, at sunrise this morning, myself, Ralph, and a half-dozen other pilots piled into the tracking center control room observation area to watch the live video feed of the flight. It was pretty amazing watching the craft reach 74 m/s in less than one quarter of the length of the runway. The entire control center erupted into cheers as the craft became airborne.

It was a pretty strange feeling when we heard Bobak's message to Jebediah over the speakers in the center. "Joker, this is control. You are go for full throttle test. Repeat, Joker, you are go for full throttle test!" We all listened intensely as we heard the exchange between Bobak and Jebediah.

"Control, this is Joker, initiating full throttle test in 5...4...3...2...1...whoah!" we all heard Jebediah yell! "Aeeeeeeyaaaaaa! Woooooooow!" he added. No one missed the facial expressions Gene made as he laughed at whatever Bobak was pointing to on his display screen.

"Joker, this is control. Our telemetry shows you are experiencing 3...4...5.5 Gs, and have hit mach one." We were surprised to hear Gene over the speakers. "Continue full throttle tests, Joker." For the next fifteen minutes we listened as Jebediah and Bobak compared telemetry readings. We were surprised when the view screen in the control center was changed to the cockpit camera. There, for all to see, was something that none of us expected. Jebediah was flying at 967 m/s - roughly mach 2.8 - at around 6,500 meters! As the craft continued to accelerate, Jebediah requested permission from Gene to increase his altitude. "Joker, this is control. Change altitude to one-five-zero-zero-zero meters, continue maximum throttle test." Gene responded.

By the time Jebediah hit 10,000 meters, the screen was showing his speed was 1087 m/s - mach 3.2 - and the craft was still accelerating! Although not a pilot, Bob entered the room and asked Bobak if it were possible to see Jebediah's face. We were all a little disappointed when Bobak told us that although there was such a camera, it was not hard wired into the projection system in the tracking center. Within another five minutes, we heard Jebediah's voice come over the speakers, "Control, this is Joker. Current altitude is two-zero-zero-zero-zero at an airspeed of one-zero-niner-seven. Please confirm."

"Roger, Joker, altitude is 20,000 meters at an airspeed of 1097 meters per second." Bobak replied. "Continue on planned course and return to KSC."

"...And don't break this plane, Jeb..." Gene added, followed by a chorus of laughter from all of us listening to the exchange.

The left screen on the wall of the tracking center switched to a satellite image tracking the flight of Kersplat Aerospace Industry's newest endeavor. We watched, totally amazed, as the red line took a northern turn and within minutes, was what would have been a two hour flight by the old Knat 4. The cockpit camera caught the wisps of the plasma envelope that had formed around the speeding craft. The only time I have ever seen this is during reentry from Kerbin orbit!

As Jebediah began to steer to a northwestern course, the new aircraft began spiraling out of control. "Jebediah, this is Gene. What in the name of the Kraken is going on!?" We all knew that Gene really was more worried about Jebediah than the prototype; if there was ever a doubt, this time there was no mistaking it. "Jebediah, if you have to, eject! Repeat. Eject - do NOT risk..."

"Gene, this here's Jebediah. I read you. You might want to make a note in the user's manual that this bird doen't take too well to sharp turns traveling at mach 3.2. I'm still in a spin, but I think... I can... pull... out of....yeeeeehaaaaaaa! We're flying level again. Slowing to six-zero-zero meters per second, control.... Bobak, you can put away your marker dammit. I'm not crashing this one!" We erupted in laughter at the idea of Bobak anticipating adding another crashed vehicle mark to Jebediah's record.

"Joker, this is control," responded Bobak. "Read you slowing to six hundred meters a second. Bring her back to the barn, Jebediah." We continued to laughed as Bobak ignored the last part of the transmission.

After flying down the west coast, the planned flight path took Jebediah over the central mountains then eastward to the final approach to the KSC runway. We watched in amazement as this new craft, the newest aircraft designed to defend Kerbin's skies flew gracefully at every speed in her normal operating range. We listened as Jebediah began to toy with the craft to determine where aerodynamics and physics collide. Jebediah had learned the hard way that once the craft is above 1,000 meters per second, the craft became very difficult to control. While shallow changes in direction were possible, sharp turns seemed to cause a stall and a potential deadly spin. While I've trained in simulators on how to handle that kind of spin and loss of lift, I'm not too sure I could recover and handle the craft to the extent that Jebediah handled it.

While many of the pilots left the observation area, Ralph, Bob, and I stayed until the wheels of the prototype were firmly on the runway. "Ralph, Gene wants you to take a bus to the hangar," Bobak called over the com system. "Linxy and Virbe will meet you there and ride with you to bring Jebediah here."  And with that, Ralph headed off to do as Gene had asked.

According to the mission clock, the entire flight, from take off to taxiing back in front of the hangar lasted roughly 40 minutes. On my way back to my quarters I began thinking of what role a craft that could go that fast would be. Immediately it became clear - this craft was meant to be a rapid reaction aircraft. It was designed to intercept and engage hostiles before they could land on Kerbin. I remember reading in a book by Orson Kerman, a researcher from nearly a hundred years ago, that the biggest threat facing Kerbin was an alien invasion. While I cannot say that I totally believe his theories, I do believe there's something that those who oversee the operation of the URK Defense Forces are keeping from the rest of us. I've tried talking to Bob about this several times but he simply tells me that I don't want to become like Bill - suspicious about every action and decision that comes out of the Grand Committee.

 

After the first part of the briefing, Ralph stopped by my quarters to share with me the latest about Jebediah's most recent flight and the simulator drills we will begin tomorrow. Ralph said that once he and the others arrived in front of the hangar, Jebediah was already climbing out of the craft. Virbe began a visual inspection of the craft while Linxy escorted Jebediah back to the bus. It was standard procedures that after completing a test flight faster than mach 1.5 that all pilots be given a medial screening. Ralph said that Jebediah had pulled over 7gs in the turn where he temporarily lost control of the craft. It had already gone around the KSC that Jebediah had "done it..." but what had he done exactly? I guess we won't know until he's finished with his briefing.

Personally, I think that new craft is freakin' awesome and I cannot wait to have my chance to fly that craft. I know that it will not be anytime soon. Tonight Ralph and I begin our first simulator training in preparation to the polar expedition Dr. Haywood Kerman had scheduled after the discovery of the alien craft in the polar region and the discovery of a second monolith on Kerbin and an anomaly detected by satellites performing a survey of the Mün that is believed to be a monolith.

Tonight Ralph and I begin our first simulator training in preparation of the polar expedition to the site of the anomaly discovered by the orbital surveyor. Gene and Dr. Haywood were very clear during this evening's pre-simulator briefing that all further Mun and Minimus expeditions would be suspended until this mission was successful. In other words, our mission had to succeed at all costs. There is no room for failure. Our next briefing will be at sunrise tomorrow, we launch in five days.

Edited October 25, 2017 by adsii1970

[Dman979]

Welle, Dr. Orson would also know that uncontrolled radio transmissions could lead to a nationwide panic.

[Just Jim]

1 hour ago, adsii1970 said:

I remember reading in a book by Orson Kerman, a researcher from nearly a hundred years ago, that the biggest threat facing Kerbin was an alien invasion.

Another great chapter, and an awesome tribute!!!  

[adsii1970]

Dres 28, Y003
"Gene's confused, Bill's lost his mind, and I'm still waiting for my pizza..."

This evening, Matt, Ralph and me returned to the space center. While we were released from duty for the next three hours, Bobak reminded us we could not discuss this last mission with anyone until after the post mission briefing. Right now, Bill is bouncing between our rooms, begging for even a hint of what our real mission was, if we discovered anything out of the ordinary, and if there's aliens involved. About ten minutes ago, he shouted "I tell you, it's an alien conspiracy... y'all know something and you've been ordered not to talk about it... It's a conspiracy, I tell you!" as he headed back down the hallway to Ralph's room. I am hoping that Bobak or Gene decide to let him sit in this briefing. Bill is driving everyone insane!

The five days of simulator drills could have never prepared us for this mission. We trained on the launch procedures, stage separation, and landing on the Münar surface. Once we had completed the fifth day of simulator training, Gene and Dr. Haywood held our final pre-flight briefing. We were told that our main objective would be the anomaly at the southern pole. In this flight, we also had a secondary landing zone, near another anomaly discovered about a year ago. This was my first mission to ever land on anything other than Kerbin, so I wasn't sure if having an alternate landing site was normal. Ralph reassured me that this was perfectly normal. 

Later that morning we began the journey from the VAB, where we were sealed into the capsule and began the journey to the launch pad. While I continued to read over the flight manuals and briefing notes, Matt and Ralph took the opportunity to take an hour long nap. At one point, Bobak came over the headset, "Matt, Kerny, would one of you reach over and turn off Ralph's VOX mic? His snoring is really coming through..." If he thinks it's bad, he should try sitting in the capsule with him.

A short time later, we heard Gene come over the VOX, "Ok, someone needs to wake up Ralph. Countdown is now T minus 45 minutes and counting. I'd hate for him to sleep through launch..."

Matt responded, "Gene, will do." One thing about Matt I've learned. When we're on the mission, he is professional and to the point. When we are on our time, he can be as wild as Jebediah. It has been pretty obvious from the first simulated flight that Matt was a no-nonsense Kerbal. As a scientist in the kerbalnaut program, he had volunteered to do this mission. I will admit, I've not worked with him before nor do I know a lot about him until this mission. Although he is considered a scientist by the Committee on Aeronautics and Space Flight, he is actually a bit more than a nerd surrounded by beeping equipment and test tubes. He's a lithologist; in other words, he studies rocks and dirt. He tried to explain things about vulcanism, erosion, and even plate tectonics during our simulator training. While it is somewhat fascinating, I still prefer to keep looking up towards the sky and beyond rather than looking down at the ground.

"3...2...1... We have lift-off! Liftoff of Münar Explorer 5" Bobak's voice could be heard over the VOX as our capsule shook then lurched up. This rocket, although smaller in stature than previous Mün-bound rockets, was designed to be a moderate load lifter. This mission was to set several firsts - first mission to bring a rover to the Münar surface, first mission to test this new rocket design, and my first Münar mission! Soon, at an altitude of 7,000 meters, the solid rocket boosters separated and the main stage engine kicked in. As it did, we felt a sudden jolt, the sound of screeching metal, and sparks could be seen through the capsule widow.

"Mission Control, this is ME5," Ralph called out over VOX. "Something's happened and I'm wondering if you can tell us anything about it. We just had a metallic screeching sound and a bunch of sparks..."

"Münar Explorer 5, this is Mission Control," we could hear Gene in the background, calling for answers to his and our questions. "Um... Gene says you're still go for orbit. The board shows engines are still green. Repeat, main stage engine green, no damage indicated to critical systems. Proceed with mission..."

Within five minutes of booster separation, we were in a stable 82,000 meter orbit around Kerbin and began our orbital check. The next part of the mission was timed to the very second. If we missed the maneuver node, instead of being able to arrive in a  Münar polar orbit within six hours, it would take us eighteen hours. Long before the crew had been selected for this mission, Gene and Dr. Haywood decided to try to take advantage of the new research into window transfer optimization.

So, with the maneuver node being just thirty minutes after launch, we didn't have long to wait. Our scheduled burn went as scheduled, and just as predicted, with our speed and trajectory, we were less than six hours out of Münar rendezvous. Knowing this, I cringed when I heard Ralph tell Matt and myself, "Do me a favor, wake me up when we get close to the next node..." Shortly after that, a new round of snoring began.

The on-board computer began to indicate we had less than thirty minutes to our maneuver node and right on cue, the snoring stopped and we all began doing our next round of tasks in preparation of our Münar orbital insertion. We began our burn right down to the second, and within ten minutes, we were in a stable 20,000 meter orbit above the surface of the Mün. "Great job, guys!" Bobak said over the VOX. "You are go for Münar landing at polar coordinates. Repeat, you are a go for Münar landing..."

And with those words, we began to calculate our rate of descent, and adjusted our programmed flight path to take advantage of our current position. "Mission Control, I'm not getting anomaly signal from SCANSAT at the coordinates given. Request instructions and site landing confirmation," Matt called out.

"Roger, ME5, standby while we verify" Gene's concern could even be heard over VOX. "Have been advised. You are ordered to the secondary site, make adjustments to land at coordinates 57.6604 mark 9.1422. Repeat, land at coordinates 57.6604 mark 9.1422 and study the reported anomaly there."

"Roger, Mission Control. We are proceeding to secondary landing zone, coordinates 57.6604 mark 9.1422" Replied Ralph. We made the adjustments to the flight controls and awaited Ralph's orders, "Engage autonav..." With that command, I activated the on-board navigation computer and it made the corrections to land at the new coordinates. As the system indicated the orbital stage's fuel supply was exhausted, it was jettisoned. Just as in the countless hours spent in simulator training, Matt deployed the landing gear and we began the countdown to touchdown on the surface. Within what seemed like a few minutes, we began getting some strange readings from our on-board ScanSat system.

The on-board ScanSat system, what Jebediah calls the "been there, done that radar" was probably one of the best things to be installed on our spacecraft. As we arched across the surface of the Mün, Ralph asked Matt to take note of the coordinates below - a flat Münar plain in the southern hemisphere that could possibly be perfect site for one of the settlements Gene and Dr. Haywood had discussed in one of the briefings.

Within twenty minutes, the autonav began making fine-tune adjustments to land us at the new coordinates. "Hey, guys... take a look at this..." Matt called out.

 

"No, quit looking at that screen and look out the window..." Ralph interrupted. And there, for all to see, at an altitude of around 350 meters above the Münar surface - a monolith - suspended in the black of night! "Mission Control, this is ME5, we have a... I'm not sure how to explain..."

"ME5, this is Mission Control..." Bobak responded. "We see it on the video feed...is it floatin--"

"Um, Mission Control, this is ME5 and yes, it is floating... please advise" Ralph calmly added. Matt was busy trying to assure the external cameras and ScanSat were recording this encounter with the monolith. It was obvious we were not going to be able to land near it or even study it with it hovering so high from the surface of the Mün.

"ME5, this is Mission Control. Dr. Haywood and Gene have determined nothing more can be known about monolith at this coordinates," Bobak said, sounding relieved. "Proceed to coordinates you relayed about Münar plain and evaluate. Proceed with mission timetable." Now we understood why. We were being ordered away from the monolith. Our new assignment would be fairly easy and low-stress.

  

Within forty-five minutes, we had made another orbit of the Mün and were again descending to the Münar surface. We learned what that shower of sparks we saw on launch as we emerged from the capsule - it was our ladder! This close to the surface, we were not going to let a missing ladder be the reason we couldn't explore the surface. It was decided we would use our MMUs to descend to the surface and return to the capsule. Our craft had plenty of propellant to refill them for the next day's activities once we returned for the evening. By the third day I became quite good at flying to the handholds below the capsule hatch!

With the rover deployed, Matt was the first out of the lander and went around the perimeter of the flat plain. Before his joy ride, I asked him to take a picture of me in front of the lander. I had no idea that standing behind me was Ralph, waiting for the perfect opportunity to photobomb my picture!

After two days of studying the plains, we were ordered to return to Kerbin. We loaded the various rock and soil samples, took a few last readings and pictures, and began the pre-flight checklist to return home. Within thirty minutes, we had ascended from the surface and was on a return trajectory. Not as optimal as our flight to the Mün had been, we would take nearly twenty hours from the time we left Münar orbit until we landed on Kerbin's surface.

We had a small computer glitch and landed in the small plains area just west of the ridge of mountains near the space center. Ralph says it wasn't anything that I had done during the reentry procedures that caused us to land nearly five kilometers off course, but within a few minutes, the space center recovery team was there to bring us back. We were welcomed by Gene, Bobak, and Dr. Haywood, who had come down from New Kerbin City Settlement to have dinner with us before our debriefing. As we were having dinner, Dr. Haywood awarded each of us a Commendation Medal for our efforts during this mission. While the fellowship and getting a commendation is always a good thing, the meal was... well, to be honest...it was nearly inedible.

After the inedible dinner, we were released from duty with orders not to discuss this meeting until after the official debriefing that's only a little under three hours from now. On the way to the astronaut's barracks, I decided to stop at one of the courtesy communicators in the space center to order a pizza to be delivered to my room. It's been ten minutes already and I'm still waiting for my pizza!

Edited September 20, 2016 by adsii1970

[Angelo Kerman]

Nice to see your mission is ongoing. With KSP 1.2, those wheels should work better and not have blocking issues. Also, I was intrigued, and it turns out. for humans at least, in space, no one can hear you snore...

[adsii1970]

 

2 hours ago, Angel-125 said:

Nice to see your mission is ongoing. With KSP 1.2, those wheels should work better and not have blocking issues. Also, I was intrigued, and it turns out. for humans at least, in space, no one can hear you snore...

It took some playing around with the wheels to make them work in this chapter. Mainly because the rover was built in the VAB rather than the SPH. It actually caused the wheels on either side of the rover to be pitched in opposite directions. Boy, it was kind of fun doing donuts on the Mun for a while! I'm glad to hear they will perform better in 1.2! 

I am not going to convert over to 1.2 until most of the mods I use are 1.2 compatible. This is a personal choice...

I'd love to be able to post about three chapters a week; its impractical. Just for the last chapter, I did eight hours of KSP playtime.  I had fun...but it took me five days to get that much done. Right now we are approaching fall break so maybe I will get the chance to do even more then...

Yeah, no one can hear you snore in space...unless they are in the same space capsule!  I threw that in because my cat was asleep in the rocking chair and was snoring this morning. So, I decided to make Ralph a noisy Kerbal for the fun of it...

 

Edited September 21, 2016 by adsii1970

[adsii1970]

Dres 29, Y003
"Jebediah's seventeenth crash and I've learned something new..."

This morning started out early and typical for what normally happens after a mission. Matt, Ralph and I went to the cafeteria in the Kerbalnaut complex and had a breakfast of Kerbite larvae and kale-weed. Bob and Bill, having joined us shortly after we sat down, began to ask us if the rumors of a floating monolith were true. While we had been ordered not to discuss the mission with anyone until we have been debriefed, it has long been Gene's policy that senior Kerbalnauts would be allowed to be present in the briefing. Ralph invited both Bob and Bill as we got up from the table to head towards the conference room in the tracking center. It was here that all mission debriefings take place.

When we arrived in the conference room, sitting around the table were Gene, Dr. Haywood, and Dr. Werner, each with a stack of static photos, notes, and printouts from our recent mission. The first topic of discussion was the monolith, about what we noticed about it, and our observations. "Guys, here's the deal," Gene added. "The readings from your on-board systems really do not make sense. All we get for certain is the dimensions: 1 x 4 x 9. We also know, like the monoliths we've found here, that it is solid. Other than that, your data doesn't give us any real usable information..."

We continued to answer questions about its color, its reflective qualities, and if we noticed anything suspending it between the surface of the  Mün and space. "No, Gene...nothing...it was just hanging there..." was the answer Ralph gave Gene each time we were asked about it. 

Once they realized we couldn't provide any more information about it, the next topic was the performance of the new Münar rover. Matt became the one providing a bulk of the responses to the questions asked by Gene and Dr. Werner since he was the only Kerman who was scheduled to drive the rover. He had actually drove the rover nearly 25 kilometers surveying the Münar plains that had been our impromptu destination for this mission. 

Ralph, the mission commander, took every opportunity to discuss what he saw as the biggest problem of the mission - two changes in landing areas! He was right; by the time we had returned to Kerbin orbit we were literally using our reserve fuel supply. Had we been faced with making any major course corrections, there's a good chance we would not have had enough fuel to return. "Gene, we need a protocol... we need to define landing parameters in such a way where alternate sites won't use too much fuel. We also need to set a limit - if the main site changes, we go to a secondary. If that changes, we come home..." Ralph said, his irritation clearly coming across.

"Ralph, I understand; you have to understand the mission was within fuel use parameters..." Gene countered.

"Gene, this is control..." Bobak's voice filled the room from the small intercom console in the center of the table. "Jebediah's in trouble. He's coming in, and it isn..."

"Dammit, what is he doing now? Let me guess. He tried that turn again at mach..." Gene began to explain. Before he could finish, the tracking center klaxon began to sound its warning. Every member of the KSC staff learned during the orientation that the warning was automated; the tracking center's computers would respond to anything coming to the station that could not be identified or appeared to be out of control.

 

Gene jumped to his feet. Ralph, Matt, and myself followed close behind with Dr. Haywood and Dr. Werner behind us. By the time we ran down the corridor and rounded the corner into the command center -- on the view screen -- was the R7. Bob and Bill were already there and had been watching what was supposed to have been a routine test flight. It was far from routine. So far, the R7 had a malfunction in its targeting computer, the smaller "helper" engines had flashed out at one point, only to reengage after the third or fourth attempt at restarting them, and now he was having issues with the main engine and landing gear.

"Control, this is Joker. I've got a landing gear indicator that's showing my gear has not deployed. Can you confirm?" Jebediah's cool and level-headed demeanor gave no indication of a fear of his current situation. 

"Jebediah, this is control," Bobak continued, " Our data readings indicate a cascade failure of the control systems is underway. Ground spotters have said your gear is stuck between between retract and deployment. Can you ditch in the bay?"

"Negative, control. I've lost main engine..." Jebediah began.

"Dammit, Jebediah," Gene interjected. "Try and retract the gear and bring her down hard. I'll alert the fire and rescue crews. No heroics, just set her down and let's get you out of there!" And with that, Bob began to explain how the R7 prototype had already shown the need for serious design overhaul. Maybe there had been a reason this craft wouldn't become the Knat 5.

 

And with a loud explosion and a shock wave that shook the tracking center, the R7 slammed tail-first into the runway. The view screen filled with a bright flash of light, then the steady sound of falling debris echoed from the speakers in the observation room. We could hear the windows at the end of the hallway rattle in their frames as the smaller explosions continued to roll across the space center.

"Bobak, is the cockpit still sending flight data?" Gene yelled, mainly to be heard above the numerous reports, questions, and other noise common to a command center in full panic mode. It had been nearly two years since the KSC had been the site of a crash of this magnitude.

"Gene, this is Thompberry," an unfamiliar voice called out from the intercom speakers in the observation room. "I've got my crew in position and we're waiting for things to settle down."

"Thompberry, get him out of there," Gene said. Bob was pretty sure that Gene, who was usually over-the-top hyper in situations like this was coming to terms this could be Jebediah's final flight. "Get him out of there. But don't risk more lives to do it," he added. We all could hear the resignation in Gene's voice.

Another explosion rocked the center; this time it was much bigger and was followed by a third explosion. "Gene, you're gonna want to see this..." Bobak yelled out, pointing to the central view screen. The R7's cockpit had managed to become dislodged from the rest of the craft and was barrelling down the runway at nearly 30 meters a second!

As the cockpit came to a stop some hundred meters away from the rest of the burning wreckage, the fire and rescue squad moved in to manage the unfolding scene. The control tower could be heard over the intercom redirecting regular air traffic to the Island Airfield. It would take some time before the runway here would be cleared and the center would return to business as usual.

The crowd of Kerbals in the observation room continued to grow. On the main view screen, we watched as Edfal and Paice began to gain control of the fires burning on the remaining wreckage of the fuselage. As the image changed to focus on the cockpit, we saw Thompberry and Alddred get out of the rescue squad and head towards the cockpit. "Gene, this is Thompberry... Jebediah wants us to relay a message that the automatic canopy knob will have to be replaced..." and with those words, both the observation and control rooms erupted in laughter and shouting as we all knew Jebediah had survived the crash.

"Thomp, you tell that idiot..." Gene began, "you tell Jebediah that if his main worry is about a broken canopy knob... !!!" Again, the laughter from the observation and control rooms filled the air. I'm not sure that Gene finished his sentence but it was clear that he was relieved that Jebediah had survived the crash.

Bobak refocused the view screen on the battle against the fires being waged by Edfal and Paice. The smoke continued to rise from the wreckage and about the time we all thought they had the fire under control, another explosion -- much smaller than the previous three -- could be heard and felt in the tracking center. Edfal had often joked that there was no way we'd ever get him into space. During a poker game he had once told us that it took a special kind of bravery or stupidity to fly on what amounted to a giant fuel can. I can honestly say after watching the video feed today - he's wrong. We all watched as he stood nearly unflinching when one of the fuel tanks from the R7 burst into flames and explode. During that same poker game, even Jebediah said there was no amount of favors that Gene could ever promise to get him to volunteer to serve on the fire and rescue squad.

 

With the last remaining fires put out, the recovery team brought Jebediah to the KSC infirmary for a complete medical checkup. With the commotion in the command center dying down, Bill, Bob, Ralph, Matt, and I went to the small cafe inside the tracking center. About three hours later, Bobak came and told us Jebediah had been cleared by medical but would be on light duty until the 28th of Eeloo, nearly 32 days from now. Dr. Krusher Kerman wanted to be sure that none of his injuries were serious or could become life threatening. He also told us that all flight activities for the KSC would be suspended for three days or until all remaining wreckage from the R7 could be recovered.

The flight recorder was intact and had survived the numerous explosions. Although it would take a few days to analyze all the data, Bobak told us it supported Jebediah's account. As he was making his final approach, he throttled back and attempted to deploy his landing gear. For some unknown reason, an electrical wiring harness short happened which rendered the craft's on-board computer system inoperative. Maybe we'll learn  more once the data is fully analyzed.

In the meantime, being the fan of The Saga of Emiko Station that I am, I never expected there to really be a Thompberry at the KSC. Sure, we have all heard the stories that the producer has visited the station frequently and that his characters are loosely inspired by the staff, but wow... there really is a Thompberry! Just having watched episode 24, "The Fall of Thompberry Kerman" last night, I couldn't resist leaning over to Bill,  after learning that Jebediah had survived, and asking in a playful voice, "so was Thompberry ever abducted by aliens?"

Bill looked me right in the eyes, unblinking, and said, "Not you, too...! I tell you the aliens are real, they are here! and all you want to do is make bad jokes?" The entire room suddenly became quiet as Bill began to mumble about the numerous encounters with proof of alien life.

Maybe Bob is right; maybe Bill shouldn't be teased about aliens or UFOs. I've been told that since the 14th of Neidon of Y001, when Bill took a solo flight to orbit Minimus and return, he encountered something orbiting that moon that changed him. Although I was not a part of the kerbalnaut program then, I did follow this particular mission with great interest.  This mission was the first where kerbalkind had ventured beyond the Mün with a kerbaled mission. Sure, we had sent probes out there, but Bill's mission was a first. According to the official video feed accounts broadcast from the KSC, the mission was flawless except for a brief loss of signal that lasted about fifteen minutes as his orbit took him to the far side of Minimus. Bill says the loss of contact was because of something else...

A  L  I  E  N  S

Edited October 25, 2017 by adsii1970

[Mister Dilsby]

Man, if I ever had a Thompberry turn up in the roster... possibilities...

[adsii1970]

@Kuzzter  I hear you...I nearly fell out of my chair when I went to hire a new round of victi... I mean kerbalnauts and there he was, near the bottom of the list! I told @Just Jim the next day... I couldn't resist making his character the complete opposite of his...

[Just Jim]

Oh wow... that was great!  

As for Thompberry, it's a KSP generated name, so I know he would show up eventually in someone else's game. And when @adsii1970 pm'd me a few days ago and told me he had a Thompberry, and his idea how to use him, how could I say no? I love the idea that we have a sort of parallel universe, but Emiko Station is a fictional TV show in his... it's a really fun twist without being a full crossover, as well as a nice shoutout.  

 

[Wildcat111]

On September 23, 2016 at 8:40 PM, Kuzzter said:

Man, if I ever had a Thompberry turn up in the roster... possibilities...

I have one in my SSRSS save!

[adsii1970]

Eeloo 15, Y003
"And the whole world went dark..."

The last five days has been filled with a lot of ups and downs. On the 8th of Eeloo, Ralph ran down the third floor of the Kerbalnaut barracks yelling, "It's going to happen again! I tell you, it's going to happen again!" Ralph, normally quiet and very professional in his demeanor, was literally unhinged and declaring an anomaly was about to shatter our world. While I still do not know much about how he came to be one of the core members of our space program, the rumors say he actually came from a parallel universe to our own. While the rest of us on the floor tried to calm him down, Bill had the clarity of mind to call Gene. Within minutes, Bobak, Dr. Haywood, and Herodikus were there to talk with Ralph and to understand what he was trying to tell us. Around dawn, Gene called everyone from the KSC into the largest meeting I had ever seen.

During the mass briefing, which even was sent out to the planetary bases and the Zebulan Kerman Orbital Station by video conference, the reason for the importance of the meeting was given to all. Gene made it clear that the Grand Council, upon the recommendation of Dr. Haywood and Herodikus, was ordering a complete evacuation of everyone currently assigned outside the space center. This included all the ships on Kerbin's oceans, planetary bases, scientific settlements, and the Zebulan Kerman. Again, in a calm and professional manner, Gene recounted how Ralph was discovered in a craft alien in design to our own, yet even his craft's materials, computer core, and other items had originated in Kerbin - not the Kerbin we know now, but his Kerbin. During his debriefings, he demonstrated a keen knowledge of spaceflight operations. He was ushered into our program based on nothing more than the information on him in the strange craft's data base. For whatever reason, Ralph, now sedated and in the KSC medical ward, had become aware that another anomaly was about to happen. 

Gene, Dr. Haywood, and Herodikus had become convinced that he was right. Bobak, not really believing in the whole premonition thing, went ahead and supported Gene's decision for the mass evacuations and recall. Within minutes, the tracking center was near a state of chaos as flight plans and requests for disembarking instructions came in from all over. Within an hour, Barcott Kerman, the most recent commander of the Zebulan Kerman, relayed his final image from the station - it was taken out the porthole looking out across Docking Port 3 and the habitat wing. Within two hours of that image arriving at the KSC, Barcott and the last of the Zebulan Kerman's crew were aboard the Dres. They would arrive at the KSC a day later.

While the large-scale evacuations and recalls continued, Jebediah, Bob, myself, and Matt continued the shuttle engine tests already planned. Since our last mission, we had begun training in the simulators on the basics of the shuttle's operations. Before the shuttle would even be launched into space, there would be a series of test flights to assure the craft was controllable in atmospheric conditions. The newest theory behind this space vehicle would be the ability to vertically launch, like our standard space craft, yet it would reenter the atmosphere and be nearly completely controllable as an aircraft. Our assignment had been to simply test the main shuttle engines and the liquid fuel booster/tank system. 

Three days ago, we were in our assigned crew positions in the new craft. Bobak had just given us the "go" command for main engine testing. As Jebediah increased the throttle of the shuttle, Matt, the flight engineer, became concerned about the groaning and creaking of the launch assist tower which could be heard over the sound of the engines. Without so much as an acknowledgment of Matt's concerns, Jebediah followed the instructions of Bobak. He increased the throttle to maximum main engine thrust. Then things got real wild real quick - the launch clamps on the launch assist tower gave way to the torque generated by the main engines!

The shuttle and its liquid fueled booster leaped into the air and within what seemed like an instant reached a speed of nearly 150 meters per second! "Dammit, Jebediah! Gene's gonna bust us all to bits!" Bobak could be heard screaming into the comm system.

"Bobak, you tell him quit using cheap junk for tests..." Jebediah shot back. We could tell from his tone of voice this what not how he wanted to spend his afternoon. We all knew the shuttle was far from being ready for an actual flight. The main tank was not complete and did not have a cone. The shuttle itself only had a half-load of fuel; this was standard for a main engine test.

Within a few minutes, the shuttle had already reached an altitude of seven thousand meters but was down to about half of its fuel load. "Hey, guys," Bob shouted, "you know we'll never reach orbit. Best we can hope for is enough altitude where we can get a decent glide..."

"I know, Bob..." Jebediah interrupted. He then asked me to start plotting every possible landing site we could reach at our current altitude. As I was preparing to enter the data into the on-board navigation computer, the liquid fuel booster engine shut off. Although we were still traveling upwards at a speed of 375 meters per second, we knew we had to jettison the tank and somehow steer the shuttle to a safe landing zone. Once the tank was jettisoned, Jebediah completed a quick burn to put as much distance between ourselves and the discarded tank as possible. Our current altitude was 12,732 meters but that would not last long. We were losing velocity and gravity was beginning to play a more dominant role in our situation.

We were now heading due west of the space center and everyone's thoughts were on the Kaskadia Mountains. We had enough altitude to get above the largest of the chain's peaks but there isn't a lot of flat and level land until closer to the west coast. "Kerny, you need to find us somewhere that's pretty flat - no so concerned with level as long as it's less than four degrees in grade..." Jebediah said. And with that, I began the process of pouring over the computer maps and coordinates to find us a suitable landing place. I knew the chances of this craft surviving a rapid turn and descent back to the space center was not likely. This shuttle was not designed to handle that many Gs. After finding three possible landing sites, I entered them into the computer. Now it would be between its recommendation and Jedediah's instincts to get us down safely.

I'm still not sure how we did it, but twenty minutes later we were safely landed on the ground. It wasn't the touch-down that was difficult; it was the trying to slow the craft down as it went downhill that was the real trick. It took Jebediah and myself manually operating the brakes while Matt deployed the landing chutes to bring the shuttle to a complete stop. After ten minutes, a helicopter arrived to ferry us back to the KSC. Gene had ordered our immediate evacuation after touchdown. Bob, knowing the seriousness of our situation, had sent our coordinates to the tracking center once we had touched down. 

With nearly a day to spare before the anticipated anomaly, we were in our debriefing of our accidental flight test flight when we heard that Ralph had come out of heavy sedation. More clearheaded than he had been a few days before, he again reiterated to Bobak the seriousness of what we all faced.  Bobak told us Ralph had actually calmed down when he heard that all the deployed Kermen had been ordered home because Gene and Dr. Haywood didn't want to risk being wrong about Ralph's warning.

Last night, it happened. The anomaly that Ralph had been warning about since that night did happen. The KSC went dark. The communications network orbiting Kerbin went off-line, and everywhere, Kermen sat in darkness wondering if this was the anomaly Ralph had spoken of and if it was like what he had experienced a couple of years ago. His stories of lost space stations, missing craft from the surface of Kerbin, and Kerbalnauts on the surface of the Mün that simply vanished when things came back on-line were the topics of conversation all over the space center. It was these fears of our dimension repeating what he had to endure that led to the complete evacuation of every Kerman back to the KSC. 

This morning, we all reported to the tracking station after Bobak's announcement at breakfast. Just as Ralph had warned, the Zebulan Kerman, which had been in Kerbin orbit for nearly two and a half years, was silent. The tracking station could not find her beacon nor has she been picked up on radar. It is like she's no longer there. Gene has already announced a inquiry mission to determine if she is actually still in orbit.  All three planetary bases are also silent. Starting immediately, Gene informed all of us we would all be pulling double duty to try to rebuild or replace everything we've lost. He also informed us the flight roster would be updated daily as more craft were altered and able to fly. Gene was glad to report that nearly all Kerbals across the planet have been accounted for - except Bill. No one has seen him since the night Ralph went...a little crazy.

I'm not going to lose heart about this. Bob and Jebediah have both told me that Bill will eventually show up; they've known him the longest and are probably right. This afternoon, Jebediah flew one of the old Kyap Mk1s out of the hangar as part of an emergency survey mission to the Island Airfield. Although considered a vintage aircraft before the anomaly happened, it is one of the only craft still functional since the anomaly. Jebediah reported there was no sign of the new base there, either - it is as if something just made it vanish. About the only other good news is all of Kerbin's survey satellite network is intact and is functioning normally.

Note: When I upgraded to 1.2, one or more of the mods I am waiting to have updated has caused a conflict in my space plane hangar (SPH). Right now, all of my Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) are able to be accessed and do fly well. So, I am literally having to test each craft in my SPH to see if it causes the conflict. Don't worry... I plan to continue to write as I am fixing the problem.

Edited November 15, 2016 by adsii1970

[adsii1970]

On 8/17/2016 at 4:56 PM, AkuAerospace said:

Probably a more accurate description of my thoughts above, I just didn't know how to convey it without potentially sabotaging the tone of the comment (I often comment in a hurry so ...). Actually, the story slightly reminds me of some Apollo astronaut biographies (autobiographies?) I have read, I'm not sure why but maybe it's the vague similarities to 1960's NASA I see in the operation.

However, as I said before, there are a number of questions unanswered, although I don't know if the plot relies on them, that's what I meant by "there is intrigue however". Eagerly awaiting how these things play into the missions being flown

Aku

P.S.

For reference, the books I read were Lost Moon/Apollo 13 (Jim Lovell), Carrying the Fire (Michael Collins) and Two sides of the Moon (Alexi Leonov & David Scott).

Hey, @AkuAerospace -

Last night, as I was writing the most recent installment, I found your post. While I believe I had read it before (as in a passing read), last night I actually read  your post. I wanted to take an opportunity to comment on it:

You've got the right idea. Back when I was in elementary and middle school, I read everything on both the American and Soviet space programs that I could get my hands on. I loved reading Popular Science magazine when it had short interviews with astronauts and cosmonauts, or even the random guy at North American Aviation that had something to do with the Apollo missions. What I loved is the laid-back style they told their stories. This was what I wanted this story to be like - so I am glad you've recognized the style of storytelling!

There were a few, and now I do not remember who they were, that actually made their accomplishments sound like small potatoes compared to John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, and Gus Grissom. I like the way one of the astronauts from the ill-fated Challenger mission put it... she felt that when she walked down the astronaut training center's halls, she literally stood alongside the great men of space exploration. Normally I do not share upcoming chapter titles but for Kerny's first anniversary of being a member of the space program, that chapter will be called "Walking among the gods..." What I want to relay to the reader is that Kerny is just as capable as any of the rest of our normal crew (Jebediah, Valentina, Bill, and Bob) and even though he has nearly the same crazy factor as Jebediah, he never considers himself their equal. In his eyes, he's a Kerbal that loves anything to do with space and flight but he downplays his accomplishments and abilities. I just hope I am relaying that part of his personality well.

And as far as the parallels of the 1960s NASA program, yes, there are lots of those. Partly because I am an historian by trade and I love using a current story to fill in parts of the back story along the way. I am also a big fan of the Ron Howard/Tom Hanks series, "From Earth to the Moon" and wanted to capture that style of storytelling.

Yes, intentionally I have created small snags here and there... Being a fan of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Gene Roddenberry's science fiction genre, it is these little snags that can serve to bond the entire story line together. I do go back periodically and read my past installments so that I can keep up with all of them... The most relevant ones are Bill's unhealthy fixation on aliens, Ralph's existence, the existence of a Kerbin Defense Force and what it's role really is, and of course, the discoveries of all the Easter Eggs in the game. There are scores of other small snags I've woven into the story that can easily be handled in a couple of future chapters. But for the next few chapters, one of the major undertones will be the strange new world they find themselves in after the anomaly that was the upgrade to 1.2.

Thank you for the time to share your observations and thoughts. If you have questions or want to add to my ideas, feel free to do so! Feedback is always welcomed!

 

Edited October 24, 2016 by adsii1970

[Angelo Kerman]

Nice to see your story continuing. I know it was on hiatus for awhile. I'm not saying the reason was because of aliens, but... it was aliens.