The Saga of Emiko Station - Complete

[Just Jim]

5 hours ago, TotallyNotHuman_ said:

Sounds like the Progress M-34 docking incident to me.

Anyhow, I love how the story's progressing! Have you figured out how to complete the ridiculous challenge that you ahem, drunk-Gene accepted?

I did not know about the M-34 incident... or don't remember it...  That was really interesting, thank you! 

As for the challenge ship, I'm working on it. But I have to build some other stuff for the storyline as well. 
Fingers crossed I'll have another chapter ready this afternoon or evening.

[Just Jim]

Oh wow, today was busy.  I didn't get another chapter written, sorry, but I did get a lot done towards it. 
What I didn't realize until just now is I hit two milestones today.

First is this thread went way over 10,000 views today.  Wow!   You all are awesome!  

The second, and I'm not sure I want to admit this.... lol...  is I have officially played 1000 hours as of today. 
I will be entering Kerb-a-holics anonymous tomorrow... 

 

So like I said, while I didn't get everything done I wanted today, I did accomplish a lot, and I think I can show off one spoiler.
Coming very soon, the Kerbin Aeronautic and Space Administration is proud to announce it will begin tourist excursions to it's new Mun Base Alpha, the ultimate vacation getaway!!!    (for a modest fee of only 500,000.... )

 

[Geschosskopf]

22 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

First is this thread went way over 10,000 views today.  Wow!   You all are awesome!  

Congrats!

22 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

The second, and I'm not sure I want to admit this.... lol...  is I have officially played 1000 hours as of today. 
I will be entering Kerb-a-holics anonymous tomorrow... 

Noob.   I've got 1979 Steam hours of should hit 2000 in the next week or so, plus a few hundred in non-Steam installs  So you've got some catching up to do

22 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

 

So like I said, while I didn't get everything done I wanted today, I did accomplish a lot, and I think I can show off one spoiler.
Coming very soon, the Kerbin Aeronautic and Space Administration is proud to announce it will begin tourist excursions to it's new Mun Base Alpha, the ultimate vacation getaway!!!    (for a modest fee of only 500,000....

Oooo, pretty colors.

[TopHeavy11]

10 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Oh wow, today was busy.  I didn't get another chapter written, sorry, but I did get a lot done towards it. 
What I didn't realize until just now is I hit two milestones today.

First is this thread went way over 10,000 views today.  Wow!   You all are awesome!  

The second, and I'm not sure I want to admit this.... lol...  is I have officially played 1000 hours as of today. 
I will be entering Kerb-a-holics anonymous tomorrow... 

 

So like I said, while I didn't get everything done I wanted today, I did accomplish a lot, and I think I can show off one spoiler.
Coming very soon, the Kerbin Aeronautic and Space Administration is proud to announce it will begin tourist excursions to it's new Mun Base Alpha, the ultimate vacation getaway!!!    (for a modest fee of only 500,000.... )

 

How do you even...Do you just launch it as one thing...or dock it on the ground...or is space and land it as one thing...AHHHH! TOO AWESOME! REPREPREPREP!

[Just Jim]

2 hours ago, TopHeavy11 said:

How do you even...Do you just launch it as one thing...or dock it on the ground...or is space and land it as one thing...AHHHH! TOO AWESOME! REPREPREPREP!

No, it's actually several sections launched separately using the same skycrane system I used to land my big chariot several chapters back. 
It's called a sprawl, and someone else on steam came up with it. I just borrowed the idea.
Each section has docking ports, and once they're landed, I used a modified chariot, one with a docking port on the front at the same height, to position and connect them together.  The only tricky part is landing the pieces close together so you don't spend an hour going to fetch one. But once you've landed a couple, the rest became easy.  I'll post more pics when I write up the chapter. 
But I need to re-build one more ship first.

 

Edited February 1, 2016 by Just Jim

[Just Jim]

Follow up to my last post.....

Ugggg... this is taking forever to assemble!!!  Roving on the Mun is SOOOOOo slow!!!  

Edited February 2, 2016 by Just Jim

[TopHeavy11]

10 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Follow up to my last post.....

Ugggg... this is taking forever to assemble!!!  Roving on the Mun is SOOOOOo slow!!!  

Welcome to KSP lol.

[Just Jim]

1 hour ago, TopHeavy11 said:

Welcome to KSP lol.

Sorry, don't mean to sound like I'm whining... I just want to get this finished so I can write stuff!!!  

Problem is I'm finding it's much harder to dock something on the surface of the Mun than in space.  Sometimes the sections click right together. But other times you have to wiggle and squirm around to get them to line up right, which is a pain.  And a couple just did not want to cooperate at all.  Minmus is a little easier, so I guess the lower the gravity, the easier these will be to put together. Which makes me wonder about weird little Gilly... 
I gave up trying to make a chariot rover with a docking port on the front to move stuff, it's much easier with a klaw. Those bad boys can snatch anything from any angle.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Just Jim

[Geschosskopf]

2 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Problem is I'm finding it's much harder to dock something on the surface of the Mun than in space.  Sometimes the sections click right together. But other times you have to wiggle and squirm around to get them to line up right, which is a pain.  And a couple just did not want to cooperate at all.  Minmus is a little easier, so I guess the lower the gravity, the easier these will be to put together. Which makes me wonder about weird little Gilly... 
I gave up trying to make a chariot rover with a docking port on the front to move stuff, it's much easier with a klaw. Those bad boys can snatch anything from any angle.

Yeah, the horrors of docking on uneven ground led me to abandon that concept.  These days I use KAS to connect the base modules with pipes.  Just move the module into the spot you want it (close enough for government work, anyway), then have a Kerbal make the connection.  The base mods I use have what are functionally just standard KAS pipes but are scaled up so Kerbals could walk through them (in your imagination) and pass through them via Connected Living Spaces and such.  Both MKS and Pathfinder have these big pipes.

BTW, looking back, it seems my joke about calling you a "noob" for only having 1000 hours might have come off sounding harsh.  I did mean that as a joke.  1000 hours is 1/2 a man-year of 40-hour weeks with the normal holidays and weekends mixed in.

 

 

[Just Jim]

19 minutes ago, Geschosskopf said:

Yeah, the horrors of docking on uneven ground led me to abandon that concept.  These days I use KAS to connect the base modules with pipes.  Just move the module into the spot you want it (close enough for government work, anyway), then have a Kerbal make the connection.  The base mods I use have what are functionally just standard KAS pipes but are scaled up so Kerbals could walk through them (in your imagination) and pass through them via Connected Living Spaces and such.  Both MKS and Pathfinder have these big pipes.

BTW, looking back, it seems my joke about calling you a "noob" for only having 1000 hours might have come off sounding harsh.  I did mean that as a joke.  1000 hours is 1/2 a man-year of 40-hour weeks with the normal holidays and weekends mixed in.

 

 

It's almost finished.... finally... but from here on I may have to rethink this idea. 
At least on heavier gravity bodies.

As for the noob comment, never fear, I laughed. 
I actually think it's amazing I can have over 1000 hours, but compaired to many on here, not just you, I'm only passing my freshman year in high school.
How many other games can claim that?   

[Andem]

24 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

How many other games can claim that?   

Call of Duty, I'm afraid... 

[Just Jim]

4 minutes ago, Andem said:

Call of Duty, I'm afraid... 

OK, one so far..... 

[ExplorerKlatt]

1 hour ago, Just Jim said:

OK, one so far..... 

Most of the elder scrolls games

[Just Jim]

OK, OK..... I didn't mean for everyone to start listing games.... lol. 

I was just trying to compliment KSP. 

[TopHeavy11]

I hunger for a new chapter. A LONG and JUICY chapter!

[Just Jim]

11 minutes ago, TopHeavy11 said:

I hunger for a new chapter. A LONG and JUICY chapter!

This evening, I promise!  I'm almost done getting screenshots. 

I think you'll like it. (minor spoiler) I'm introducing a new character.

Just need to go get some coffee and make a sammich first, then back to the game... lol... 

[RA3236]

5 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

This evening, I promise!  I'm almost done getting screenshots. 

I think you'll like it. (minor spoiler) I'm introducing a new character.

Just need to go get some coffee and make a sammich first, then back to the game... lol... 

I need to know whens this evening (Im in Australia)  

[Just Jim]

29 minutes ago, RA3236 said:

I need to know whens this evening (Im in Australia)  

Ahhhh, OK.  I'm just north of Tampa, Florida, and it's 16:45 here now. 
Baring any unexpected Krakens, I'm guessing about 4-5 more hours at the most.

[RocketSquid]

I have played for 298 hours that steam knows about. However, I have been playing a lot in non-steam installs, maybe 40 hours over last week...

[Just Jim]

2 hours ago, RocketSquid said:

I have played for 298 hours that steam knows about. However, I have been playing a lot in non-steam installs, maybe 40 hours over last week...

yeah, I've played a lot offline, so I'm sure I'm even higher than my Steam profile reads.

 

OK, I'm almost down with the next chapter, and real quick, I'm not going to go into very much detail about building the upcoming colony base in this chapter. 
Two reasons: First, I want to maintain the flow of the chapter, and it would be counter-productive.  Second, I have a reason to get into more base construction detail in a later chapter, and I see no reason to be repetitive.  So I'll hold off.  This chapter will be long enough as it is. 

[Geschosskopf]

1 hour ago, Just Jim said:

OK, I'm almost down with the next chapter, and real quick, I'm not going to go into very much detail about building the upcoming colony base in this chapter. 
Two reasons: First, I want to maintain the flow of the chapter, and it would be counter-productive.  Second, I have a reason to get into more base construction detail in a later chapter, and I see no reason to be repetitive.  So I'll hold off.  This chapter will be long enough as it is. 

I eagerly await it.  Now quit reading the forum and get back to work making it already!

BTW, as to time wasted on games, paper D&D (mostly AD&D) certainly has an unassailable lead as put as much daily time into for about 2 decades as I have KSP for the last 2.5 years.  And KSP is by far the most insidious destroyer of my life amongst electronic games.  Not just actually playing it, but hanging out here in the forum, which probably takes up even more time than playing.  In all my vast library on Steam, the only other game with more than 50 hours played is XCOM:  Enemy Unknown with just 61.  Things like Dishonoured, Skyrim, and even Fallout 4 are all before 40, and I thought I played Skyrim excessively, finishing nearly all the possible questlines with multiple characters.  So yeah, KSP is in a class by itself.

[Just Jim]

Chapter 30
She Speaks To... What?
(Dedicated to Twin Peaks)

 

It had been nearly 4 years since her horrific crash, and Kerenna Kerman couldn't get out to the runway and into her Banshee Mk-IV SSTO fast enough.

Gunning the throttle, she guided the massive jet down the runway and into the sky, gaining both altitude and speed with each passing second.

On the ground, sonic booms ripped thru the air as she pushed her mighty vehicle even faster, and her screams of delight were heard down in mission control as the powerful jet became engulfed in flames; like some mighty phoenix rising from its ashes.

Once in orbit, she shut down the engines, opened the lateral docking port, and sat back in her seat. 

Reaching down, she switched on her radio and adjusted her microphone.

"Banshee to Emiko Raptor, Banshee to Emiko Raptor.  Oh, Captain Piper, are you out there?"

Seconds later a familiar voice came across her headset, "This is Emiko Raptor, I have you on my scope, Kerenna. ETA in 15 minutes."

Kerenna sat back and relaxed, switched some music over the onboard speakers, and waited for her friend to come pick her up. Technically they were going to be spending the next few days testing the new Emiko Raptor's landing capabilities on the Mun.

Technically. 

Unofficially, for the first time in years, Piper and Kerenna Kerman were going to be spending the next several days on vacation at KASA's new Mun Colony Alpha.... And Kerenna could hardly wait!

Fifteen minutes later, right on schedule, Kerenna could just make out a shadow blocking the stars, and knew Piper had arrived in her new shuttle prototype..

As the Raptor grew closer, Kerenna let out a faint whistle, and whispered, "Oh, hello sexy...."

Over her headset, Piper giggled, "Why Kerenna, I didn't know you cared!"

Kerenna let out a snort of laughter, "Not you, silly... your ship! That is one sexy beast of a ship!"

Piper laughed back, "Oh sure, you only love me for my ship. Now if you are finished gawking, can I please get this thing docked so we can get out of here?"

Once aboard, Kerenna looked around and whistled again, "Wow, Piper, this is really nice! I think I'm a bit jealous"

Up in the cockpit Piper grinned with pride, "Just sit back and relax dear, and we'll be landing on the Mun before you know it."

Kerenna sat back and looked out her window at the planet below as Piper set course for Mun orbit.

Several hours later they were in orbit over the Mun, and soon after that landing at their destination.

Once outside the ship, Piper looked at Kerenna and said, "Welcome to Mun Colony Alpha."

Kerenna was speechless.

Climbing aboard, Piper suddenly shouted in glee, "Oh my.... they have a Doodlebug here!"

Kerenna sounded puzzled, "Come again? What is a doodlebug?"

"Only the most fun you will ever have! Our engineer Chuck, came up with the idea about a year ago. He must have passed the design to the engineer stationed here. Oh, Kerenna, you have to let me take you Doodlebugging!"

Once onboard, the girls met up with the stations scientists, Kadia and Magdolin, and the four of them spent the next few hours talking and catching up on current events. 

At one point, when talking about their new home, Magdolin said abruptly, "Oh, girls, before you do anything else, you have to go talk to the Rocklady!"

Piper and Kerenna both replied, "The what lady?"

"The Rocklady," Kadia continued for her friend, "This VIP from the Worlds First Society. She came to visit nearly a month ago, and now says this is her home, and she's never leaving. And get this, she says she can talk to rocks!"

"Now Kadia, get it right," Magdolin corrected, trying to hold back a laugh, "She doesn't talk to the rocks... the rocks talk to her!"

And they both broke into hysterical laughter.

Once she had caught her breath, Magdolin said, "Look out that window, see the very last pod? That's were you'll find her."

Now curious, Kerenna looked over at Piper.

"I'll tell you what, why don't you go prep that doodly-thing, and I'll go have a chat with this crazy Rocklady, and we'll meet back in say... half an hour?"

Piper nodded, "OK. But promise you'll be nice and not laugh, ok?"

Kerenna opened the hatch and replied, "I'll try."

Half an hour later Kerenna, now strangely silent, met up with Piper, and the two climbed aboard the Doodlebug.

Adjusting the controls, and making sure her friend was buckled in, Piper undocked and gently lifted off. Hours of practice on Emiko had made her an expert on flying a doodlebug, and soon they were gently touching down about half a kilometer from the colony.

Concerned, Piper looked over at Kerenna, "OK, talk to me girl. You haven't said a word since we left. Are you alright? What happened with that crazy lady?"

Kerenna sat silent for a moment, then replied, "I'm... I'm not sure.  Piper, she is definitely nuts, but....."

"But what?"
"But.... she told me something, and now I have to know if it's true. She said the rocks revealed a secret to her, a secret only known to the Mun... and the rocks."

Kerenna paused again, and Piper asked, "And this secret is?"

Kerenna drew in a deep breath, "Jandolin's arch..... the huge stone arch we found not far from here... Piper, she told me..... she said there are two more!"

Piper gasped, "What???  Impossible! Why haven't any of our satellites picked them up?"

Kerenna shrugged, "I don't know.... I don't know. But here's the kicker. She gave me co-ordinates, and she claims it's their exact locations... and that the rock whispered it to her."

Piper sat and thought about it a minute, then asked softly, "And did she say why she was sharing this secret with you?"

"Yes, Piper, she did..." Kerenna hesitated, "She said there was something she wanted in return."

"And this something is?" Piper asked, already half knowing the answer.

"Piper," Kerenna turned and looked at her, "She said she desperately needs to speak to you... that the rocks need to convey a message to you... and to you only."



A couple hours later the girls quietly boarded the Emiko Raptor, saying they were taking her out for another landing test, and were soon in orbit about the Mun and heading for one of the co-ordinates provided by the mysterious rock lady.

As they got close, Piper whispered over the radio.... "I'll be.... down there, at about 2:00 o'clock, there it is!"

From the passenger section, Kerenna asked, "Can you put us down near it?"
"Sure thing, I can put us right next to it," Piper answered back, and soon they had landed next to the second gigantic Mun-arch.

But once outside, Kerenna began to get nervous, and said to Piper, "One gigantic Mun-Arch may have been romantic, but two of them is starting to give me the creeps. Can we leave, please?"

Piper looked up and the arch and nodded, "Yeah... yeah, let's go."

As the turned to leave, Kerenna looked up at the crater rim and jumped, "Did... did that rock up there... did it just move?"

Piper turned and looked up, "No, it's just sitting there. Come on, dear, it's just your nerves. Let's get going."

Once they had lifted off and were once again in orbit, Kerenna couldn't relax, and finally called up to Piper, "There's something I think need to tell you. With all this weird rock business... I... I have to wonder."

So while they headed to the second set of co-ordinates provided by the rock lady, Kerenna explained to Piper about the strange floating rock sightings both on Kerbin, and more recently on Eve.

"And here's another weird thing...  This is still top secret, but one of our Duna landers seems to have recently been moved. And the image they sent back showed a huge rock right next to it! I didn't think about it before... but now...."

For the next few minutes neither spoke, until Kerenna looked out the window and said, "There it is.... a third arch. She was right."

Piper looked down at the harsh landscape. "Well, we are not trying to land near that one.  It looks like it's perched on the edge of a cliff."

"Agreed," Kerenna answered, "Let's just go home, OK?"

When they finally landed back at the colony base, the sun was getting low in the sky.

Once onboard, Piper immediately sought out the mysterious Rocklady.

Entering the cabin, she was met with a pleasant, serious looking kerbal, who motioned for her to sit down.

"Come in, dear, come in and be seated. I'm sure you have many questions."

Piper sat down and looked across at the smiling woman. "The arches... How did you know?"

"My dear, look out that window and tell me what you see."

Piper turned to look out the window next to her.

"I see the setting sun... It's beautiful," Piper whispered.

"Good," said the Rocklady, "And the other window? Tell me, child, what do you see?"

Looking out, Piper saw her Raptor gleaming in the setting sun, but suspecting that may not be the answer the rock lady was waiting for, replied, "I see my shuttle, and I can also see a great rock below us."

"Yes," smiled the Rocklady, "Tell me, young one. Do you think I'm mad?

Piper looked at the old woman and thought a second, "I... I'm not sure. Maybe at first... but you knew about the arches... how?"

"Ahhh, the rocks shared their secret with me," continued the Rocklady, "Do you believe me, young one, when I say I can hear them?"

Piper again thought a second before answering, "There have been documented cases of people claiming to communicate with floating rocks throughout history. Perhaps...perhaps you have this gift?"

The Rocklady beamed, "Excellent! You have doubts, which is to be expected, but I believe there is room inside you for belief!!! Outstanding, young lady, outstanding!" 

The strange woman continued, "Now, listen closely. It is imperative you understand what I am about to tell you. The rocks... they convey a warning, for both you and precious Emiko."

"Emiko?" Piper asked, "Emiko Station?"

"Yes," the Rocklady answered, "Know that your Emiko Station, and more specifically the asteroid itself, is precious to the rocks of Kerbin."

"What?" Piper looked confused, "My station?"

"Yes, your station, your Emiko. It is a star traveler, a visitor from another solar system, far, far beyond our own. And to the rocks of Kerbin, this is sacred."

Piper looked up, as if visualizing her station, while the woman continued.

"Piper... my dear child Piper. By saving Emiko from the evil of Thompberry Kerman, you have also become precious to the rocks of Kerbin, and her Mun, and all in this solar system. And it is for them that I have to tell you... to warn you..." The rocked lady closed her eyes and dropped her head a moment, then looked up and continued, "Piper... the rocks.... they foresee a great danger for both you and Emiko ahead. What this danger is, they cannot tell. But the path ahead is full of darkness and despair, and at the center of this darkness lies Emiko Station itself! Piper Kerman, the rocks say only you can save Emiko from the coming darkness!"

 

The Saga of Emiko Station is far, far from over....

Go to Chapter 31
Return to Index

Edited December 7, 2019 by Just Jim

[SpaceplaneAddict]

Holy [REDACTED]

[Andem]

My God!

[Crystal_Mace]

On 1/30/2016 at 5:39 AM, KSK said:

Permission to groan, Ma'am?

I'd be sorely disappointed if you didn't....:)