The Saga of Emiko Station - Complete

[Just Jim]

Well, the screenshots are finally finished. I thought I'd have them all wrapped up this morning, but then the game threw me a really juicy curve ball I couldn't pass up that caused me to do a little re-writing.  It's nothing horrible, but it does give me a nice gratuitous explosion... lol.

I'm headed out for the evening, so in the morning I'll get everything sorted and uploaded, then try to get this written up tomorrow evening.

 

[superstrijder15]

On 8-12-2016 at 5:57 AM, The solid fuel chemist said:

5 more days till we hit the first birthday of the saga!

So I'm just in time for the celebration! Happy Birthday The Saga of Emiko Station!

On 10-12-2016 at 11:11 PM, Just Jim said:

Taking a little longer than I had planned because the frame rate is so deep into the yellow.

If I launch anything above 100 parts it gets red during launch, if the launcher was part efficient it will stay yellow forever, anything large enough to mine is launched red, anything with fairing is yellow or red, I once crashed my first rocket because I wasn't used to such reactive controls anymore 

[obney kerman]

Happy birthday Emiko Station!

[superstrijder15]

Back in like chapter 40 or something, Thompberry warped from Jool to Duna, you guys still remember that? Well I do. In fact, I wrote an explanation then, and now I wrote it bigger and longer and generally more awesome for my English essay, and I have decided to post it here, in this thread. So here it is:

 

On how a ship could possibly warp from Bop to Ike

 

On the KSP forum, there are a lot of fan-made stories, there is a whole section devoted to them. I like these stories, so when in on thread there was a large discussion over whether some events of the story would actually be possible, I instantly stepped in. The event in question was a ‘warp jump’ from a moon of Jool, to Ike, moon of Duna.  In this essay, the author would like to propose a possible explanation for the events leading up to this moment, and how the events as portrayed in the story might be possible.

 

Let’s start with some background information. Kerbal Space Program, abbreviated to KSP, is a game in which the player is given the control over the space program of the planet Kerbin, from the very first rocket, to wherever he takes it. There are many different planets and moons to travel to, along with bugs, glitches and Easter eggs, funny things placed all over the system for players to find. There is also a large community which, among others, makes each other challenges and writes tons of stories set in the ingame univers, sometimes even about their actual missions.

 

Warning, the next paragraph has many spoilers for the first 40 or so chapters of the story The Saga of Emiko Station!

As said, this essay is about one of them. Its title is ‘The Saga of Emiko Station’, One of the many storylines this fan-fic has is about Thompberry. This character was desperately in love with Kerenna, one of the Kerbonauts. However, Kerenna married someone else, and did so before the eyes of the whole world, in space. This made him want just one thing: revenge, the destruction of the space center and all its men. However, his plan was thwarted by a unknown UFO, which proceeded to take him to space. When after multiple years his life support began to run out, the UFO took Thompberry to Bop, one of the moons of Jool, the in-game version of Jupiter. There the space kraken, one of the Easter eggs in the game, put his brain in a special pod, so he couldn’t die. Still wanting his revenge, Thompberry managed to capture a chariot, a science rover with all what is necessary to operate eternally. With this he researched a few flying stones. These are placed all over the system, originating from a bug in terrain scattering placing bits of scatter a meter or so above the ground. In this story, they are living beings capable of communication, movement, and flight by emitting gravioli particles, the games equivalent of the Higgs boson which creates gravity.

 

The story now leaves him for a while, and when we come back to him he has learned about a mission to Duna, known in our system as Mars, which is led by Kerenna. His new goal is to intercept this mission, and use the ships it has to get back to Kerbin. However, he can’t go there like a normal mission, using orbital mechanics. Not only would this take way to long, his enemies would also see him coming, and be able to retreat to Kerbin. To prevent this, he comes up with a daring plan.

 

The story states: ‘he researched the stone, waited, and one day he hit it with a thruster and warped to Ike’ In the opinion of the author, this should be elaborated upon further. First of all it should be noted that Thompberry has access to whatever is in the ground of Bop, thanks to his awesome mining machinery. A few rescources are named in the game: a ship extracts Ore, and it can be converted into Liquidfuel, Oxidizer, and Monopropellant. Also important is the fact that fuel lines in a ship can instantly be redrawn, even in flight. For example when two ships dock using a claw, a device meant for docking with objects not having a docking port, like asteroids, it is perfectly possible to quickly transport fuel and even crew over to the other ship through the joint. And it gets even crazier: you can even transfer between two ships which are docked on opposite sides of an asteroid, moving fuel and crew right through it!

It has been said that the rocks can lift themselves by emitting gravioli, and this we are now going to use. If the rocks can emit gravioli, and that creates an antigravity effect, then it could be used to lift other things as well. For example a rover! What Thompberry needs to do is find a way to get the rocks to emit this gravioli.

If the living rocks work anything like life on Earth, it will communicate within its body by emitting electrical signals and the use of hormones. Hormones are used for many things, including turning on or off the production of certain chemicals and enzymes in your body. What Thompberry thus needs to do, it creating a compound which works like the hormone for creating gravioli. And that is exactly what he will do. Using the chemicals he already has, he experiments in the different compartments of the rover, and after a long time he has created a compound which makes his rock produce gravioli, pushing him away.

Now to get somewhere fast you need to go fast, so Thompberry doesn’t want to be pushed away a little, but a lot. To do this, he starts hoarding the material. All crew spaces are being filled with it, as well as any other leftover space.

Now he waits. He waits until there is an alignment of the rock, him, and Ike. When that finally happens, he fires all his hormones trough the thrusters, at the stone. That stone then produces incredible amounts of gravioli, pushing Thompberry away with a significant fraction of c. Due to the G-forces the whole rover gets destroyed, however the pod made by the Kraken survives. This huge accomplishment must be very painful for the stone, and makes him send out cries of pain and alarm with at least the speed of light. These cries shake up stones all over the system, and when they reach Ike, a few stones there ‘look’ up, and they see a small object approaching with a dangerously high speed.

An impact at this velocity would be disastrous, at 10km/s a missile might as well not use a warhead anymore, and at 0.8c it will do as much damage as a antimatter bomb, so this thing would be planetcracking if allowed to move on. With a herculean effort, the stones at Ike now also produce gravioli, and direct it at the incoming projectile. This makes the little pod slow to a speed of only a few hundred meters per second. Using his thrusters, Thompberry can land safely and now has completed his journey to Ike.

 

According to the author of this essay, it is a very useful exercise to try to find an explanation for things happening in fiction. Why? Because science is about finding patterns in events around us, and explanations for those events. Effect which are easy enough to explain have usually already been explained, but in fiction there are whole new events to find reasons and laws behind! Thus exercises like this one can help new scientists or students develop the skills necessary to explain the mysteries left in the world around us. Apart from this good explanations for everything happening can also help people be more immersed in the story, mainly for those who like realistic stories. It is also a great check for authors: can you find a reason for everything that happens in your story, or do things regularly happen just because it’s necessary for the plot? And perhaps more importantly: can the readers also find these explanations, are they too hard to find, do they not rely on a reader remembering one certain line from four chapters back? By keeping this in mind and trying to come up with an explanation for everything, even if it takes a few more chapters before the readers learn all information needed to also get it, the author thinks you can write way more interesting books.

[obney kerman]

5 hours ago, superstrijder15 said:

Back in like chapter 40 or something, Thompberry warped from Jool to Duna, you guys still remember that? Well I do. In fact, I wrote an explanation then, and now I wrote it bigger and longer and generally more awesome for my English essay, and I have decided to post it here, in this thread. So here it is:

 

On how a ship could possibly warp from Bop to Ike

 

 

On the KSP forum, there are a lot of fan-made stories, there is a whole section devoted to them. I like these stories, so when in on thread there was a large discussion over whether some events of the story would actually be possible, I instantly stepped in. The event in question was a ‘warp jump’ from a moon of Jool, to Ike, moon of Duna.  In this essay, the author would like to propose a possible explanation for the events leading up to this moment, and how the events as portrayed in the story might be possible.

 

 

 

Let’s start with some background information. Kerbal Space Program, abbreviated to KSP, is a game in which the player is given the control over the space program of the planet Kerbin, from the very first rocket, to wherever he takes it. There are many different planets and moons to travel to, along with bugs, glitches and Easter eggs, funny things placed all over the system for players to find. There is also a large community which, among others, makes each other challenges and writes tons of stories set in the ingame univers, sometimes even about their actual missions.

 

 

 

Warning, the next paragraph has many spoilers for the first 40 or so chapters of the story The Saga of Emiko Station!

 

As said, this essay is about one of them. Its title is ‘The Saga of Emiko Station’, One of the many storylines this fan-fic has is about Thompberry. This character was desperately in love with Kerenna, one of the Kerbonauts. However, Kerenna married someone else, and did so before the eyes of the whole world, in space. This made him want just one thing: revenge, the destruction of the space center and all its men. However, his plan was thwarted by a unknown UFO, which proceeded to take him to space. When after multiple years his life support began to run out, the UFO took Thompberry to Bop, one of the moons of Jool, the in-game version of Jupiter. There the space kraken, one of the Easter eggs in the game, put his brain in a special pod, so he couldn’t die. Still wanting his revenge, Thompberry managed to capture a chariot, a science rover with all what is necessary to operate eternally. With this he researched a few flying stones. These are placed all over the system, originating from a bug in terrain scattering placing bits of scatter a meter or so above the ground. In this story, they are living beings capable of communication, movement, and flight by emitting gravioli particles, the games equivalent of the Higgs boson which creates gravity.

 

 

 

The story now leaves him for a while, and when we come back to him he has learned about a mission to Duna, known in our system as Mars, which is led by Kerenna. His new goal is to intercept this mission, and use the ships it has to get back to Kerbin. However, he can’t go there like a normal mission, using orbital mechanics. Not only would this take way to long, his enemies would also see him coming, and be able to retreat to Kerbin. To prevent this, he comes up with a daring plan.

 

 

 

The story states: ‘he researched the stone, waited, and one day he hit it with a thruster and warped to Ike’ In the opinion of the author, this should be elaborated upon further. First of all it should be noted that Thompberry has access to whatever is in the ground of Bop, thanks to his awesome mining machinery. A few rescources are named in the game: a ship extracts Ore, and it can be converted into Liquidfuel, Oxidizer, and Monopropellant. Also important is the fact that fuel lines in a ship can instantly be redrawn, even in flight. For example when two ships dock using a claw, a device meant for docking with objects not having a docking port, like asteroids, it is perfectly possible to quickly transport fuel and even crew over to the other ship through the joint. And it gets even crazier: you can even transfer between two ships which are docked on opposite sides of an asteroid, moving fuel and crew right through it!

 

It has been said that the rocks can lift themselves by emitting gravioli, and this we are now going to use. If the rocks can emit gravioli, and that creates an antigravity effect, then it could be used to lift other things as well. For example a rover! What Thompberry needs to do is find a way to get the rocks to emit this gravioli.

 

If the living rocks work anything like life on Earth, it will communicate within its body by emitting electrical signals and the use of hormones. Hormones are used for many things, including turning on or off the production of certain chemicals and enzymes in your body. What Thompberry thus needs to do, it creating a compound which works like the hormone for creating gravioli. And that is exactly what he will do. Using the chemicals he already has, he experiments in the different compartments of the rover, and after a long time he has created a compound which makes his rock produce gravioli, pushing him away.

 

Now to get somewhere fast you need to go fast, so Thompberry doesn’t want to be pushed away a little, but a lot. To do this, he starts hoarding the material. All crew spaces are being filled with it, as well as any other leftover space.

 

Now he waits. He waits until there is an alignment of the rock, him, and Ike. When that finally happens, he fires all his hormones trough the thrusters, at the stone. That stone then produces incredible amounts of gravioli, pushing Thompberry away with a significant fraction of c. Due to the G-forces the whole rover gets destroyed, however the pod made by the Kraken survives. This huge accomplishment must be very painful for the stone, and makes him send out cries of pain and alarm with at least the speed of light. These cries shake up stones all over the system, and when they reach Ike, a few stones there ‘look’ up, and they see a small object approaching with a dangerously high speed.

 

An impact at this velocity would be disastrous, at 10km/s a missile might as well not use a warhead anymore, and at 0.8c it will do as much damage as a antimatter bomb, so this thing would be planetcracking if allowed to move on. With a herculean effort, the stones at Ike now also produce gravioli, and direct it at the incoming projectile. This makes the little pod slow to a speed of only a few hundred meters per second. Using his thrusters, Thompberry can land safely and now has completed his journey to Ike.

 

 

 

According to the author of this essay, it is a very useful exercise to try to find an explanation for things happening in fiction. Why? Because science is about finding patterns in events around us, and explanations for those events. Effect which are easy enough to explain have usually already been explained, but in fiction there are whole new events to find reasons and laws behind! Thus exercises like this one can help new scientists or students develop the skills necessary to explain the mysteries left in the world around us. Apart from this good explanations for everything happening can also help people be more immersed in the story, mainly for those who like realistic stories. It is also a great check for authors: can you find a reason for everything that happens in your story, or do things regularly happen just because it’s necessary for the plot? And perhaps more importantly: can the readers also find these explanations, are they too hard to find, do they not rely on a reader remembering one certain line from four chapters back? By keeping this in mind and trying to come up with an explanation for everything, even if it takes a few more chapters before the readers learn all information needed to also get it, the author thinks you can write way more interesting books.

 

You used this for school? A facepalm is not enough. (slams face into table)

Edited December 12, 2016 by obney kerman

[Just Jim]

And I want you to know
That my feelings are true
I really love you
                                                                       Queen: "You're My Best Friend"

 

Chapter 71
My Best Friend

 

Several days after their discovery of the strange green monolith on Minmus, dubbed the "green meanie" by Geschosskopf and the twins, Gem and Theo, Captain Kuzzter had just finished strapping himself into the co-pilot's seat of the mighty Starbird transport, and was trying to wrap his brain around the events of the last few days.

Once they had returned to Minmus colony, Geo and engineer Chuck rigged up some fuel lines from the base to the Raptor and did what they could to refuel her. But with the colonies large solar panels missing, they didn't have nearly enough electricity to run the drill or processor, or recharge the colony batteries. 

To complicate matters, apparently there was a computer problem back at the KSC, and for a short time they lost all radio contact. After a few minutes they regained contact, but then lost it an hour after that. But in that brief time they learned, much to everyone's astonishment, that apparently Thompberry had installed some sort of artificial intelligence calling itself Kerbnet into the KSC central mainframe, only to have it sabotaged by a... ghost? And now there was some sort of cyber war being waged between Kerbnet and this ghost...

A ghost??? Kuzzter just shook his head. With all the other weirdness, he thought, Why not add a ghost to the mix?

When they did regain some measure of contact with Kerbnet, Theo checked the incoming satellite data, and called out in surprise.

"Captain, you better have a look at this. The green meanie... it's moved, sir."

"What?" Kuzz gasped, looking down at the monitor.

"Right here, sir. The marker to the left is where it was, and the one to the right is where it appears to be now."

So once the Raptor was refueled, the crew set out to revisit the site of the green meanie monolith.

But just as Theo's instruments had shown, the strange monolith was no where to be seen. Ordering everyone to stay with the ship, Kuzzter jet-packed over to the site, but there was no sign of the monolith, not a mark or trace, nothing.

Next they plotted a course towards the new anomaly, and set down in a flat some 6 kilometers away from the new readings.

Again Kuzzter ordered everyone to stay in the ship, and flew over himself to investigate.

Once he was close enough to make out the definite rectangular shape of a monolith, he turned and headed back to this ship, but was surprised to see Geo waiting outside. 

"It's the green monolith, all right. but I thought I told you to stay inside," Kuzz said as he touched down.

"I thought it best we talk out here, sir," Geo grumbled. "We've picked up another signal. But this one is different."

"Oh?"

"Sir, it's a weak radio signal. And it's coming from the Pond, sir."

"What?" Kuzzter gasped, then shook his head. "Of course.... of course! How did we not see it? That's where she is! Do we have enough fuel to get there?"

Just about, sir," Geo frowned. "And then maybe, just maybe, enough to get back into orbit and Minmus station. But we're going to be pushing it."

And so they were off again, this time to a small northern flat they had nicknamed years ago "The Pond", because of it's very small size.

This was an area Kuzz knew well, and being suspicious of the situation, he decided to put the Raptor down in a shallow valley just east of the tiny flat.

Having their own reasons for keeping this area secret, Kuzzter and Geo headed out together, but ordered the rest to stay back.

Slowly they crept down the hillside and onto the small flat, staying in the shadows of first rocks, then pieces of debris that were strewn around the flat. This was no surprise to either Kuzz or Geo, in fact they expected it. Years ago Gene hired them to intercept and destroy the excess debris that had been building up around Kerbin and her moons. 

And the two of them did... more or less. Being the pirates they were, and taking advantage of Minmus's low gravity, they also saved some of the better pieces and dropped them off here, planning on someday building their own ship. So finding a huge pile of wreckage was no surprise.

Finding parts of a Chariot, something they had never salvaged, was.

"How did that get her?" Kuzz whispered.

Then they spotted a strange red glow not far ahead, and quietly made their way towards it. But when they looked around a large rocket section, they both stopped and stared...

"Oh," Geo whispered softly. "That's... not good."

"So that's a Magic Boulder," Kuzz whispered. "Wait, I see someone. Is that Carlenna?"

"I'm not sure, sir." Geo whispered back. "But if it is, she's not alone."

"I'm not liking the looks of this," Geo whispered after a few seconds. "She's up to something, that's for sure, and normally I'd say we go on. But that glowing boulder... there's something I'd rather stay far away from, if you get my meaning, sir."

"Agreed. Carlenna is alive, we know that much. But she's also up to something, and for now it might be best if we wait and watch, at least until we know just who... and what... is helping her."

And so they left, and told no-one what they saw, at least not yet. Instead they focused on milking every last drop of fuel the Raptor had to rendezvous and dock with Minmus Station, where the Starbird shuttle was waiting to take them all home.

Just then Kuzzter was shaken back to the present.

"Sir... sir?" Maryin Kerman, pilot of the Starbird, called back to him. "Sir, we're ready to leave."

"What? Oh... Oh yes, lass. Thank you." Kuzzter answered back, then looked out his window at Minmus one last time, and turned his thoughts to their next destination, and the very special passenger they were going to pick up.

Several hours earlier, while Kuzzter and Geo had been reconnoitering the pond flat, Kerenna and Thompberry Kerman had finally entered Kerbin space after their long trip back from Duna.

Thompberry's calculations were amazing, and for the most part Kerenna just sat back and watched as he executed a precise maneuver around Kerbin, using every last drop of fuel to achieve a nearly perfect circular 1000 km orbit.

A couple days later the twins cried out from the back of Starbird as the Diamondback slowly came into view.

"Aunty-K!!!"

Because Thompberry was already docked to the Diamondback, Maryin maneuvered in slowly, then brought the Starbird to a stop some 100 meters away, and waited tor Kerenna to EVA over.

But when the twins learned Thompberry was staying behind in orbit, they let out a loud complaint.

"Awwww... But why?" Gem whined. "Thompberry, I thought you were on our side now!"

"Ahhhh, Gem, my child," Thompberry chuckled in his weird way. "I am most assuredly <bubble> on your side. But it would be.... <gurgle gurgle> prudent.... to remain here for now." 

But..." Theo began to protest.

"No... no buts. <gurgle bubble> Up here I can tie into the satellite network <gurgle> and do much <gurgle> to help restore Kerbnet. <bubble gurgle> And consider the issue of gravity <gurgle> young scientist."

"Gravity," Theo pondered a moment. "Of course. In space you have mobility. On the surface..."

"Yes, very good. <gurgle gurgle> Mustn't have someone sticking old Thompberry <bubble boil> on a shelf. Now, I believe your aunt is ready?"

"Yes, Thompberry," Kerenna Kerman called out as she crawled out of the hatch and engaged her jet pack thrusters. "I'm leaving the ship now."

But before she left, Kerenna turned and looked at Thompberry. "Can... can you see me?"

"Yes, Kerenna Kerman, <gurgle> I see you."

For several seconds both were silent, then Kerenna said softly, "It's strange, but I'm finding it hard to say good bye. You will be alright out here, won't you?"

"Yes, Kerenna <gurgle gurgle> It's best if I stay behind, for now."

Then Kerenna leaned in so close her visor nearly touched Thompberry's Pod.

"Be safe, Thompberry. Oh, and just between us, I know your faking those gurgling sounds."

And as she lifted away from the Diamondback and headed to the Starbird, Thompberry let out a boisterous laugh and called out to her.

"I will miss you, Kerenna Kerman... <Gurgle!>"

For the next few hours the sound of laughter and tears filled the Starbird as Gem and Theo were finally united with their Aunt Kerenna, and before they knew it, the Starbird was approaching another Diamondback. Only this one was waiting to take them the final leg of their journey home, and was piloted by Kerenna's best friend, Piper Kerman!

Once docked, Kerenna began to strap herself into one of the passenger seats when Piper called out from the cockpit with a laugh. 

"Girl, you better be getting yourself up here."

"That's better," Piper grinned as Kerenna settled in next to her. "Now, tell me everything!"

Kerenna looked over at her friend and tried to hold back her tears...

"Oh, Piper... Sweety, where do I begin???"

Meanwhile, as Piper brought the Diamondback into it's final approach, Geo and the Rocklady were having a fascinating conversation in the rear passenger section.

"So..." Geo began. "Is this... Sanny.... is she really a spirit?"

The Rocklady sat and thought a few seconds before answering. "Yes, I believe so... But there are... inconsistencies."

"Such as?"

"Well, at first appearance, she is, in fact, a spirit... a ghost. But when you listen to her, then things begin to break down. For instance, she claims to have spent several thousand years protecting "her" monolith on Sarnus's moon Ovok, which in itself is impossible. Further, she claims she was either exiled or abandoned by something calling itself a "travelling circus."

"A what?" Geo asked in fascination.

"A circus. Emiko says it's an Earth word for something similar to a Karnaval, only much darker. Where some bizarre and horrible monster called a klown tries to eat you in a large tent...." the Rocklady drifted off. "You... you'll have to talk to Emiko about that one. But my point is, how can she be thousands of years old, and come to be on a moon we haven't even explored yet?"

Geschosskopf had no answer, and waited for her to continue.

"Now she's not just haunting the space center, she's somehow managed to hack her way into the central computer and cause all sorts of mischief. But this computer, this Kerbnet, as it calls itself, it's fighting back! Every time Sanny hacks into the system, Kerbnet isolates her, and puts up firewalls and such to prevent her from gaining further access. Which only infuriates her more. And I fear..."

"Yes? Geo asked softly, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"I fear this... cyber war... it may be serving to make Kerbnet even more intelligent. And teaching it things it's best not knowing..."

But then their conversation was drowned out by the roar of reentry, and they sat back to enjoy the spectacular light show as the Diamondback hit the atmosphere and began to glow white hot from the friction.

The reentry was absolutely perfect, and within just a few seconds they had descended far enough for Piper to engage the turbojets and begin her final approach.

But as the KSC runway came into view, and Piper began to lower the wheels, the Diamondback lurched hard up and to the left, then back to the right, and then all navigational controls went completely dead!

"Damn her.... DAMN HER!!!" Piper screamed. "Kerenna, grab your sticks, I'm switching to manual control. And pray we we still have manual!"

Then she reached over and hit the ship wide intercom.

"Strap yourselves in, everyone, and hold on tight. We are experiencing some ghost related turbulence. Things are going to get a little bumpy..."

Then both Piper and Kerenna screamed and pulled as hard as they could, trying to keep the huge SSTO level as it came low over the field north of the runway.

For a moment it seemed as if they would land safely, but the nose of the Diamondback dipped at the last second and smashed hard into the ground...

And then something snapped... and the wing exploded... and she went into a slow roll...

Luckily, Piper and Kerenna had managed to slow the Diamondback enough that nothing further exploded. Instead it came to a rather bumpy and un-glamorous stop, intact, but upside down.

The two passenger hatches had been situated on the top of the Diamondback, and were now completely inaccessible. But luckily Piper's front hatch was angled just enough she could pry it open, and one by one the dazed but otherwise intact crew crawled from the wreckage.

As Kuzzter emerged he walked over to Piper and gave her a mighty hug.

"That, lassy, was some brilliant flying."

"But.." Piper began.

"No, lass. I know what you're going to say, but hear me. This here ship's tore up plenty, but we're walking away, lass, we're walking away. And that takes some doing, I'll tell ya. Well done, lass, well done."

As the last of them exited the wreckage, Piper looked over and noticed four small cadet rovers racing towards them. 

With expert precision the rovers pulled to a stop in front of Piper and the crew, and a young Kerbin jumped out and ran up to them.

"Squad leader Obney Kerman, reporting. The rapid response team is right behind us. Is everyone all right, Ma'am?"

"Yes, Obney. Shaken up a bit, but otherwise unharmed. Kerenna, I don't believe you've met. This is senior cadet Obney Kerman and his squadron: Traxy, Merden, and Summer."

"It's an honor, ma'am," Obney said stiffly, trying to hold back his nervousness at meeting someone as famous as Kerenna Kerman.

Then Obney turned back to Piper. "With all due respect, ma'am, perhaps we should leave the area. It may not be safe."

"Yes," Piper agreed. "I do believe you were to be our escort from the hanger, correct?"

And without further delay the crew climbed into the waiting rovers and headed back to the space center.

As the rovers came to a halt in front of the astronaut barracks, waiting for them were Gene and Emiko, and the twins parents: Jandolin and Harfield, all with worried smiles on their faces.

Everyone climbed out at once, but unfortunately, in the few minutes it took to ride back, Piper had a chance to catch her breath, and stop worrying about the Diamondback...

And start being Piper again!

Jumping out of her seat, she ran up to Gene and roared, "Where is she? WHERE IS SHE??? So help me... I don't care if she's already dead, I'm going to POOF HER!!!"

"Piper... now, calm down. We already have people looking for her... I.... I...." But then Gene looked behind Piper, and saw Kerenna standing there... his Kerenna. And the world grew blurry... and time seemed to stop....

For several heartbeats they just stood there. Then, almost in slow motion, they ran into each others arms, and Kerenna began to softly sob...

 "I... Oh, Gene.... I missed you so much..."

About an hour later, after things had a chance to calm down a bit, Gene grabbed Kerenna's hand, making an excuse he was showing her Emiko's Magic Boulder, and the two of them snuck back outside for a few minutes of privacy.

"So that's a Magic Boulder." Kerenna whispered. "It's lovely."

"So... so are you, Kerenna," Gene whispered back. "Kerenna, my darling, I... I have something I want to ask you...."

But before he could say another word, Gene and Kerenna both experienced a sudden feeling of weightlessness, and found themselves being gently lifted off the ground in front of the Magic Boulder!

"Gene?" Kerenna giggled. "Is... is this supposed to happen?"

"I'm not sure.... I... I think it's taking us somewhere!"

Then Kerenna began to laugh outright.

"It tickles!!!"

And in a flash they disappeared.

Time seemed to stand still for both Gene and Kerenna as they floated in a warm darkness, and neither was sure if a few seconds, or centuries, had passed before they emerged.... well, somewhere.

As he was drifting to the ground, Gene noticed the air tasted... different... odd. And for a moment it seemed brutally cold. But just as fast, the Magic Boulder began to glow, and generate enough heat to keep them both comfortable.

Kerenna was giggling as she floated down beside Gene, then she gasped. 

"Oh... Oh, Gene. I don't believe it... How?"

"I... I don't know...."

For several minutes they just stood in silence, basking in the magnificent view, until Kerenna whispered softly.

"It's so beautiful."

Gene turned to her. "Kerenna..."

"Yes, Gene?"

"Kerenna, even since you left for Duna, it's like a chunk of my heart went with you. I... I can't bear the thought of you ever leaving again..."

"You are my best friend, Kerenna" Gene continued, "And I... I love you so very much. Please.... please say you'll marry me."

For a moment Kerenna stood in shock. The moment she had dreamed of for so very long was here... in this incredible, beautiful, impossible place... and she forced herself to look at Gene...

And then she smiled...

"Off course... of course!!!  Oh... yes... yes... YES!!!"

***note: In my universe, you can breath on Laythe.***

 

     Happy One Year Anniversary Everyone!     

 

 

The Saga of Emiko Station, and the Tale of Emiko Kerman, are far, far from over

Go to Chapter 72
Return to Index

 

Edited December 7, 2019 by Just Jim

[MaxL_1023]

Is that Laythe? (Jool + No Helmets) I didn't think Kerbals could breathe there. 

[Just Jim]

9 minutes ago, MaxL_1023 said:

Is that Laythe? (Jool + No Helmets) I didn't think Kerbals could breathe there. 

Yes, it's Laythe, and in my universe you can breath there.... but to clarify things I added a small disclaimer to the ending... 

[Mister Dilsby]

Cool update... um, have "I" always been that Scottish?  

And, since breathable Laythe atmosphere is used under license from Kuzzter Greenscreen Technologies Ltd, you'll have to alsi ask Gene or Kerenna to drink the water and tell me what it's made of.  

[Just Jim]

13 minutes ago, Kuzzter said:

Cool update... um, have "I" always been that Scottish?  

And, since breathable Laythe atmosphere is used under license from Kuzzter Greenscreen Technologies Ltd, you'll have to also ask Gene or Kerenna to drink the water and tell me what it's made of.  

Not Scottish... Pirate... well, polite Pirate... lmao.  Maybe I should have added a couple "Arrrgg, matey"  

And truth be told, making Laythe breathable was actually much easier than trying to explain how the Magic Boulder could provide helmets en route. 

Also, I did use the KGT (copyright Kuzzter Greenscreen Technologies Ltd) and they are on a beach, so I'll give some thought to what happens if one of them takes a drink before they come home...  

Edited December 13, 2016 by Just Jim

[Garibaldi2257]

happy birthday to Emiko Station!

[adsii1970]

Wow. Great chapter... More...?

Loved Thompberry being called out on faking the gurgle, and having him release another one right after that's said! It was hilarious!

Edited December 13, 2016 by adsii1970

[Garibaldi2257]

oh, there will be, but it will take Just Jim some time, he is very thorough in his story-telling.

[The solid fuel chemist]

forget all these expensive rockets, just find a dozen more magic boulders and boom, space conquered, free of charge.

[TheEpicSquared]

Happy birthday Emiko!  

[Just Jim]

9 hours ago, adsii1970 said:

Loved Thompberry being called out on faking the gurgle, and having him release another one right after that's said! It was hilarious!

Credit for that really should go to @0111narwhalz. About a week ago he brought up the point on the writers thread that technically Thompberry shouldn't be making gurgling sounds. And he's right. Technically Thompberry is hardwired by thousands of tiny electrodes to a small, powerful, central computer of some sort, which is connected to some sort of voice box. Even if there is bubbling and gurgling going on around him, there is no reason it should show up when he's speaking.

Now, the original idea was to be a creepy background sound effect, like Darth Vader's iron lung breathing effect.
But what if that wasn't the case? What if Thompberry's just been faking it all this time, maybe to sound more ominous??? 

And when I was writing up the chapter, it seemed like a really good place to go ahead and begin exploring this possibility. 

Edited December 13, 2016 by Just Jim

[superstrijder15]

16 hours ago, obney kerman said:

You used this for school? A facepalm is not enough. (slams face into table)

1. Please snip my essay, how about just the title?

2. My teacher litterally didn't care what it was about, it was just about the use of English. Most people made it about their profile paper, but I couldn't because I'm doing exams for Dutch and English one year early. 

[Garrett Kerman]

Magic boulder is sentinent!

(on a unrelated note, happy one year (+1 day))

[obney kerman]

Nice Laythe ending! I like how it would be cold.

[KAL 9000]

New chapter, w00t!

[Just Jim]

57 minutes ago, obney kerman said:

Nice Laythe ending! I like how it would be cold.

A little behind the scenes. To get that nice green glow, there is a chariot with green spotlights in the background of the Laythe screenshots. And it has a thermometer along with the other science equipment. I can't find where I wrote the actual reading down, but I checked before I wrote the chapter, and it comes out somewhere around -120° F.  

Which leads to some interesting theories about what Laythe's oceans are actually made of if they're not frozen over.  

[DarkOwl57]

16 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Further, she claims she was either exiled or abandoned by something calling itself a "travelling circus."

""A what?" Geo asked in facination.

"A circus. Emiko says it's an Earth word for something similar to a Karnaval, only much darker. Where some bizarre and horrible monster called a klown tries to eat you in a large tent...."

AHAHAHAHAHAH

16 hours ago, Just Jim said:

     Happy One Year Anniversary Everyone!     

 

WOOOOOOOOOOOO

16 hours ago, Just Jim said:

As Kuzzter emerged he walked over to Piper and gave her a mighty hug.

"That, lassy, was some brilliant flying."

"But.." Piper began.

"No, lass. I know what you're going to say, but hear me. This here ship's tore up plenty, but we're walking away, lass, we're walking away. And that takes some doing, I'll tell ya. Well done, lass, well done."

TOP O' THE MORNIN!!!

 

16 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Then she reached over and hit the ship wide intercom.

"Strap yourselves in, everyone, and hold on tight. We are experiencing some ghost related turbulence. Things are going to get a little bumpy..."

If I heard that on a flight, I would freak out so bad...

2 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Credit for that really should go to @0111narwhalz. About a week ago he brought up the point on the writers thread that technically Thompberry shouldn't be making gurgling sounds. And he's right. Technically Thompberry is hardwired by thousands of tiny electrodes to a small, powerful, central computer of some sort, which is connected to some sort of voice box. Even if there is bubbling and gurgling going on around him, there is no reason it should show up when he's speaking.

Now, the original idea was to be a creepy background sound effect, like Darth Vader's iron lung breathing effect.
But what if that wasn't the case? What if Thompberry's just been faking it all this time, maybe to sound more ominous??? 

And when I was writing up the chapter, it seemed like a really good place to go ahead and begin exploring this possibility. 

OHHHHH IDEAS ARE FORMING IN MY HEAD!!!!!! Can I use this idea in my story? (credit to you at the start of the chapter of course.)

[Zhetaan]

On 12/11/2016 at 5:57 PM, Just Jim said:

Well, the screenshots are finally finished. I thought I'd have them all wrapped up this morning, but then the game threw me a really juicy curve ball I couldn't pass up that caused me to do a little re-writing.  It's nothing horrible, but it does give me a nice gratuitous explosion... lol.

You already had a 'curve ball' at the Armstrong Memorial.  Not to mention your ultimate grand tour contract.  You also had no way of knowing that they were going to throw Magic Boulders back into the game.  Let's not forget Emiko Station itself.  Add in the parts you came up with completely on your own--Scottish Kuzzter is hilarious, by the bye--and I think it's fair to say that these little twists are almost more central to the story than the intended plot.  Kudos to you for being able to roll with the punches and make a good story out of them.

In fact, woven narrative punctuated with completely random chaos pretty well sums up this story for me:  'Emiko Station!  Come for the story, stay for the hopelessly romantic boulders!'

P.S.  Kerenna's engagement ring really ought to have a green-veined rock after this.

P.P.S.:  Perhaps the Magic Boulder would be willing to donate to the cause?

Edited December 13, 2016 by Zhetaan

[Alchemist]

18 hours ago, Just Jim said:

using every last drop of fuel to achieve a nearly perfect circular 100 km orbit.

But on the map, it looks more like 1000 km above the surface

By the way, why was the Diamondback using jets and airbrakes at once? or was that hacked first?

 

Anyway, what a great ending! The Boulder surely knows how to add some magic to a romantic moment. And how to help to avoid breaking the tradition started by Harfield

[Just Jim]

13 hours ago, The solid fuel chemist said:

forget all these expensive rockets, just find a dozen more magic boulders and boom, space conquered, free of charge.

Interesting idea... lol. But seriously, I'm not sure if I'm going to introduce any more or not yet.

6 hours ago, Garrett Kerman said:

Magic boulder is sentinent!

I cannot confirm or deny this claim... but it does appear something unusual is going on with it... 

4 hours ago, DarkOwl57 said:

OHHHHH IDEAS ARE FORMING IN MY HEAD!!!!!! Can I use this idea in my story? (credit to you at the start of the chapter of course.)

Sure, have fun.  

2 hours ago, Zhetaan said:

You already had a 'curve ball' at the Armstrong Memorial.  Not to mention your ultimate grand tour contract.  You also had no way of knowing that they were going to throw Magic Boulders back into the game.  Let's not forget Emiko Station itself.  Add in the parts you came up with completely on your own--Scottish Kuzzter is hilarious, by the bye--and I think it's fair to say that these little twists are almost more central to the story than the intended plot.  Kudos to you for being able to roll with the punches and make a good story out of them.

In fact, woven narrative punctuated with completely random chaos pretty well sums up this story for me:  'Emiko Station!  Come for the story, stay for the hopelessly romantic boulders!'

hehehe.... and to think I hate most romance movies... 

As for the curveballs, I look forward to them now. It's a lot of the reason Emiko has evolved the way it has. This newest one was the Diamondback crashing. I screwed up and hit pitch instead of roll, and... well... let's just say it was a KSP moment I couldn't pass up.  

1 hour ago, Alchemist said:

But on the map, it looks more like 1000 km above the surface

By the way, why was the Diamondback using jets and airbrakes at once? or was that hacked first?

Anyway, what a great ending! The Boulder surely knows how to add some magic to a romantic moment. And how to help to avoid breaking the tradition started by Harfield

I proofread that three times.. how did I miss 100km???  lmao. Anyway, it's been fixed, thanks.

As for airbrakes and turbo jets, it's probably a little odd, but that how I come in for a final approach and keep the speed just over 200 m/s. If it gets too slow I'll toggle the rapiers on and off for a couple seconds. You can see the speed in this screenshot. I was just getting her lined up with the runway when I hit the wrong key and... opps... lol... 

Oh, FYI, I'm using Emiko's Magic Boulder at the KSC for a target. 

Edited December 13, 2016 by Just Jim