The Saga of Emiko Station - Complete

[TopHeavy11]

I sense two things. I sense there is something or someone who wants either Ekimo Station or...THE KSC! I also sense that kerbals are not alone in the universe.

[Just Jim]

9 hours ago, TopHeavy11 said:

I sense two things. I sense there is something or someone who wants either Ekimo Station or...THE KSC! I also sense that kerbals are not alone in the universe.

Perhaps... perhaps not..... or perhaps it's somewhat more complicated than that.....  hehehe...   

All I'm going to say is the story is about the station, even though I seem to be going off in different directions.

 

Edited December 22, 2015 by Just Jim

[Just Jim]

Chapter 5
Chariot to the Mun

 

A few weeks after Jeb and the team returned from the shakedown, several design modifications had been made to the Chariot, and Dr. von Kerman had devised a terrifying but ingenious sky crane system he promised could deliver it to the Mun. But when the fateful day arrived, everyone feared the worst. This was by far the biggest and most powerful thing they had ever attempted to launch. Furthermore, it was basically untested. Nervous tension was clearly written across everyone's face. Everyone but von Kerman, who stood watching the monitor and whistling calmly and the last few seconds were counted down:

"Three... Two... One.... Ignition, and..... Liftoff!"

It was a gorgeous launch, and cheers rang out throughout mission control. All but von Kerman, who still stood there still calmly watching and whistling. This was his baby, and he never had any doubt about it's success. In fact the skycranes were so successful a low orbital re-fueling turned out to be unnecessary; a fact Gene Kerman made sure to keep secret from CEO Stedler Kerman.

Once the chariot had reached Mun orbit, a series of maneuvers were plotted to land it in a region near the equator showing to be rich in ore, according to the orbital survey satellite. Only about 100 kilometers from the great arch they had discovered on their last trip to the Mun, this area looked quite flat and smooth, and landing the Chariot went smoothly.

Once they touched down, the exhausted crew were eager to go outside and stretch their legs. Bob went first, and immediately checked and re-checked his science equipment. Bill and Val then joined him outside, and climbed down to inspect the chariot for damage while Bob began to collect samples. 





But as he was gathering up rocks, Bob went silent, and soon Bill became concerned, and went to see if everything was alright. Bob was kneeling down, acting as if he was collecting rocks, but also slowly writing something in the Mundust with his finger:

There is something behind that big rock

And very slowly he pointed slightly south behind him to where a great rock sat. Trying to act as if he was also collecting samples, Bill slowly turned and looked. And to his shock and amazement, some....thing.... was indeed sticking out from behind the rock looking back at him!

The stunned astronauts stood and stared as the strange object, apparently aware its cover had been compromised, rolled into view. At this point Val also noticed it and gasped in shock as the bizarre looking thing began to glow an eerie and sinister red, and the front eye began to move and change shape... and expand???

Back in the Chariot, alarms began to ring wildly as Jeb screamed into his mike, "What's going on out there?"

Bill responded first, "There's something really weird out here Skipper, you should come take a look."

Jeb's voice was desperate, "Yeah, well, whatever it is, it just fried half the Chariot's electronics!  I need you all in here now before we lose everything!"

"But Captain," Bob countered, as the strange vehicle turned and headed east away from the Chariot. "It's getting away!  We have to find and study it!"

Jeb's voice was cold, "Oh, we'll find it. As soon as everything is repaired, I will definitely find it. And when I do, I'm going to run over it!"

 

 

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

Go to Chapter 6
Return to Index

Edited December 7, 2019 by Just Jim
pictures out of order

[Just Jim]

Chapter 6
Disaster at Home

 

Back at mission control, Gene Kerman looked out his office window and down onto the runway; concern clearly written across his face. Radio contact with the Chariot was now 3 hours overdue, and the tracking station was having a hard time getting a fix on it's signal beacon. Clearly something had happened, and he feared the worst. 

Down on the runway, the engineers were making final checks on KASA's new SSTO prototype in preparation for today's landing tests. Like most of KASA's prototypes, standard procedure during this phase of testing was to fly out to the old island airbase located a few kilometers off the coast, land, and then return. Because the base had been abandoned years ago, the runway was old and pitted and the perfect place to test landing on a somewhat rough surface. 

"At least this will be easy enough," Gene though to himself as he watched a young test pilot named Kerenna Kerman climb into the cockpit, fire up the powerful engines, and head down the runway.

Take-off went perfectly, and at 1000 meters Kerenna throttled back and headed out to the island. It was a beautiful day for flying, and the SSTO handled like a dream as she made her final approach for the old runway. Gene had just started to relax for the first time that day, when suddenly Kerenna's horrified scream ripped across the radio!

"Holy Mother of......  There's something on the runway!!!   Mayday, repeat, mayday.... there is an object in the runway... I repeat, there is an object in the runway!!!"

Screaming, Kerenna wrenched the mighty plane to one side and fought to maintain control as she narrowly missed the mysterious object blocking her way. But despite her best efforts, she lost control, and the doomed SSTO started to flip.

"She's breaking up... She's breaking up!" Kerenna screamed and sobbed into her radio, "Oh please... I don't want to die!!!"

Horrified, Gene and the crew at mission control watched the main monitor as the ship broke apart and started to slide down the airstrip slope. No one spoke for what seemed an eternity as piece after piece blew apart.

Gene was devastated, and buried his face in his hands.... until someone began to cheer, and soon the whole room joined in. When Gene looked up to the monitor, tears welled in his eyes. To his amazenment, he watched and joined in cheering as Kerenna Kerman climbed from the battered cockpit and set off running after the thing that caused her to crash.

But before she could get within 50 meters of the strange probe, it closed up it's antenna and launched itself, turned out over a cliff, and crashed into the ocean, leaving a battered and confused Kerenna Kerman standing there on the empty runway, sobbing into her radio for someone to come get her.

 

 

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

Go to Chapter 7
Return to Index

Edited December 7, 2019 by Just Jim

[Crystal_Mace]

Someone obviously means the KSC no good.

Even with a mechanical intruder on the island, I know what trying to land on that old strip in an experimental craft can be like....

[Just Jim]

NOOO!!!!!!!!!!

I feel sick.... the game crashed!  I went to the tracking station, tried to load up Emiko Station, and got that horrible Kraken thing were everything disappears.

I have lots of physical backups, but I don't know if they'll work, or how far I'll have to go back...

I don't know what to do. 

 

[GarrisonChisholm]

Just try, that's all you can do.

Your eager fans will be patient and understanding, fret not.

Post for any help you might need- we will support you if at all possible.

[Commander Zoom]

I've had that happen where reloading the very same save works just fine the next time.

You might not have to go far back at all.

(Good idea to make a copy before you try loading, though.  Just in case.)

[Just Jim]

OK, this may be salvageable.  I've been backing up copies of the saved game folder, and it's happening on quite a few of them.  But one I saved right after the wedding still works.  I'm going to copy and paste the craft files for the chariot and robot-spy rover from the newer game into this one. 
If they work OK, then I may consider using something I'm normally very opposed to, Hyperedit, and put them back on the Mun were they should be.
If it works, I should be able to pick up where I left off.  But I'm still really concerned it may happen again.

[TopHeavy11]

KILUMANATI KONFERMED! Seriously! This is messed up, and you think your game krakening is a koincidence? NO! SAVE YOUR GAME AND KILL THPSE PROBES!!!!!!!!

[Just Jim]

19 minutes ago, TopHeavy11 said:

KILUMANATI KONFERMED! Seriously! This is messed up, and you think your game krakening is a koincidence? NO! SAVE YOUR GAME AND KILL THPSE PROBES!!!!!!!!

 

I was starting to think.... lol.

It looks like I'll be OK.  The arch-wedding backup is working, and I only need to catch up on one thing.  In this current backup, Kerenna, heroine of the last chapter, is still in orbit needing to be rescued.  Simple enough.  I'm just glad I accepted the contract before the Kilumanati caught up with me.

The next four chapters are going to be very, very fast paced, so I think I'm going to post them at the same time.  This will end Part-1.
My brain is swimming with ideas, and if the game co-operates, I foresee at least two more 10-chapter parts, maybe three or even four.

There are plots within plots, and if you think you see where I'm going with this, I promise, I will do my best to prove you wrong... bwaahahaha.

[TopHeavy11]

ANNNND I'm nervous...

[Just Jim]

6 minutes ago, TopHeavy11 said:

ANNNND I'm nervous...

You should be.... hehe 

No, seriously, this is going to be fun.  Nothing violent... well, too violent... no real weapons.  In case I didn't mention it, other than maybe using Hyperedit to reposition my rovers where they were before the Kraken struck, this is a stock game.  I'm trying to avoid mods until after 1.1 comes out and the mod-makers have had a chance to catch up. 

Also, no Kerbals will be killed or harmed (too seriously) in the making of this.   Again, I want to be fun.  Think older kids animated series or movies, similar more or less to the old Jonny Quest cartoon.  That is about the closest to what I'm going for I think, only a little more complex... I want to keep everyone guessing for a while longer. 

[Mister Dilsby]

Cheating to redress a glitch is not cheating at all! Do what you have to do and keep these great stories coming. I've had my share of odd Kraken events as well--sometimes it's been a bad orbit on just one ship that threw the whole save in disarray, and manually editing that one ship fixed all. Maybe that's the case for you--if not, ALT-h away and good luck

[AmiableRogue]

I don't see how you do it!!! You're both a fantastic engineer AND a great story writer!

[Dobelong]

Reminds me of that time I tried to brake an aircraft at the runway before it ran into another one. Good times(Although Bob disagrees)

Awesome book/comic by the way.

Edited December 25, 2015 by Dobelong

[Just Jim]

Chapter 7
Code 7

 

A small jet was immediately dispatched to pick up Kerenna on the old island airstrip, and a couple hours later she was safe and sound back on the KSC runway. So concerned was Gene Kermin he personally rode out on the shuttle to escort her back. 

On the way to the the Astronaut complex, Gene and Kerenna rode alone together in the back. Right to the point, Gene turned and asked, "Are you alright?  What was that in the runway??"

"I'm alright," Kerenna shook her head, "But I don't know what that thing was.  Some sort of probe?  It went by so fast, and then later it took off before I could get close enough to see it good."

"What could you see?"

Kerenna's voice got quiet, "It was covered in electronic equipment, and glowed red with power. And sir, it had a large, gold antenna dish of some sort pointed right at this space station!"

Gene gasped, "Here?  Are you sure?"

Kerenna nodded, "The dish was large enough, it's the one thing I'm sure of. I think it may have been watching us.... perhaps spying on us?"

Gene sat quiet for a few moments, his mind racing. Why would someone spy on them? Was a rival company trying to steal KASA's technology?  Perhaps Zaltonic Electronic up to their old tricks???

"Keranna, I want you to keep this information strictly confidential for now, understood?"

"Yes sir", she answered as they pulled up to the Astronaut Complex entrance.

"Good. Now go get checked out at medical, then get some rest. Debriefing will be at at sunrise tomorrow."

As he rode back to Mission Control, Gene began to feel something was terribly wrong. Nothing added up, and maybe he was just over reacting, but something in his gut felt... wrong... and he didn't like it. So instead of going to his office, he stopped at the communications center.

"Patch me thru to Emiko Station."

"Yes sir," the technician replied, handing Gene a headset and adjusting the frequency for Emiko Command.

"Emiko Station, this is is Mission Control, do you copy?"

The responce was quick as always, "Mission Control, this is Emiko Station, we read you loud and clear, how may we help you?"

"Captain Piper, can you patch me thru to Dr's Harfield or Jandolin please?"

Gene waited, wondering...hoping he was making the right dicision.

"Mission Control, this is Harfield Kerman, how may I be of assistance?"

"Harfield, Gene Kerman here. I need you and Jondolin to do me a favor. We've lost contact with our Chariot rover on the Mun. It's probably nothing, but that Mun-lander prototype you currently tested is still docked at the station, correct?"

"It is, sir.  And you want us to go and check in on the Chariot?"

"Correct. The ship is fully automated, and can practically fly and land itself. The two of you have more experience on the Mun than anyone else I have available. I... I just want to you verify they're not having some sort of difficulty."

"I understand, sir, we will leave immediately."

And with that Harfield and Jandolin climbed into the Mun-lander, programmed in the coordinates, switched on the auto-pilot, and sat back while this ship pulled away from Emiko Station.

Back at Mission Control, Gene was just about to breath a sigh of relief when alarms rang thru the corridors.

"Emergency, Emergency, this is a Code-7 evacuation, I repeat, a Code-7 evacuation. 
All personnel are to follow evacuation procedure immediately!
This is no drill!!!
Repeat, this is no drill!!!"

 

 

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

Go to Chapter 8
Return to Index

Edited December 7, 2019 by Just Jim
spelling, what else??? lol

[Just Jim]

Chapter 8
Mun Tag

 

Meanwhile, on the Mun, Bill and Bob have spent the last few hours patching together the electronics and theorizing what had happened. Their best guess was they were hit a high powered radio and scanning beam, covering a range of frequencies, and powerful enough to short out all nearby electronics. A sort of poor-man's EMP.

But when Bill explained to Jeb, his responce was, "If it was a radio beam, then why didn't we hear anything thru our headsets?"

Bob shook his head, "That's the interesting question. We should all be deaf. That thing hit us with a wide range of frequencies, but only those it needed to cripple us. The really important question is how did it know which ones to use? There, the survey scanner is back online."

Val looked up from the panel she was repairing, "What about the main antenna?"

Bill shook his head, "Still down. That took the biggest hit. I'm still not sure it can be repaired."

Suddenly Bob's panel blipped, and Bob looked up, "Skipper, I think I have something."

Jeb looked surprised, "On a surver scanner?"

Bob smiled, "I readjusted it to scan for any refined metals, and sure enough, our friend showed right up."

Val dropped her wrench, "Let's go get it."

For the next few hours they followed the blip. The sun was getting lower and lower, so Val decided to ride up top for a better view. 

Finally they spotted the weird probe trying to blend into some rocks at the bottom of a hill, and the chase was on. 

Closer and closer they got, until they came to the edge of a large crater, the sun barely visible on the horizon. Jeb stopped and yelled back to the rest of the crew, "If it goes up there it'll box itself in, but we can't follow it up that slope."

And they watched as the glowing probe climbed to the rim of the crater, the turned south and extended it's antenna again, and the equipment squealed, but this time nothing exploded.
Then, to the crew's amazement, the object turned and drove itself over the lip of the crater to it's doom.

 
Back at the Chariot, the crew sat dumbstruck for several minutes, until Jeb finally broke the silence, "Bob, Bill, did one of you get a fix on where that thing signalled?"

Bill reached over and checked his equipment, "I believe... yes.  It was directed due south of here."

Jeb crawled back into the driver's seat, "OK people, our top priority is to find out what that thing was, and if there are any more like is. So buckle in, kids, we're heading south."

 

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

Go to Chapter 9
Return to Index

Edited December 7, 2019 by Just Jim

[Just Jim]

Chapter 9
Armageddon

 

Back at KASA, the evacuation went smoothly, and within minutes the entire staff had been shuttled to a safe distance.

"Code-7," Gene thought, "Incoming debris? How is that possible, we haven't launched any rockets in days!!!"

But as he stood atop one of the shuttles, the air was ripped apart by a series of sonic booms, and Gene's face filled with shock as the incoming object exploded over and over thru the air, and finally smashed into the tracking station! The KASA staff could do nothing, only watch in silent horror as explosion after explosion wracked the station.

It wasn't until late into the night before they could approch the devistated tracking station, and Gene was at a loss what to do. Without the station they were blind, all communications would be cut off... and it would take weeks to repair!

KASA was blind.....

 

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

Go to Chapter 10
Return to Index

Edited December 7, 2019 by Just Jim

[Just Jim]

Chapter 10
Abduction

 

In the space above Kerbin, one by one all of KASA's satellites went dead. And at Emiko Station, Captain Piper Kerman watched as her nav-computer's screen suddenly went blank.

"Odd," she thought, the system was working, just getting no signal.

"Solar flare?" she wondered, switching on her mike, "Mission Control, this is Emiko Station, do you read?"

But all she got was static. She switched frequencies, "Mun Station, this is Emiko Station, come in." But again, only static.

"Must be a solar flare," she thought again, "I just talked to Mission Control an hour ago."

She switched the frequency again, "Mun-Lander One, this is Emiko Station. Jandolin, do you read?"

"Emiko Station, this is Mun-Lander, we read. Is something wrong, Piper?"

"I don't know, Jan. Radio and Nav-com seem to be down. So far you're the only one I can contact. Could it be a solar flare?"

"I'm not aware there was any solar activity, but that's not my field of study. My guess is you're right, and it'll will clear up soon enough. Our maneuver burn isn't for another four hours, we'll be within a few hundred kilometers of the station until then. I'll keep this channel open"

"Roger, Mun-shuttle," Piper answered, setting down her mike.

Back at the Mun-shuttle, Jandolin and Harfield settled back and relaxed, completely unaware something was lurking behind them... something horrible.

And when it was just meters from the doomed Mun-lander, the terrifying ship began to open, like some monsterous maw, and glow a sinister red...

Back at Emiko Station, Piper Kerman was just beginning to settle down when Jondolin's terrified scream ripped across the radio,

"Piper, Piper, help aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh... it's got us!  HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP...................."

And the radio went totally dead..... and Piper Kerman knew she was alone.... and she screamed and screamed...

But no-one heard her...

 

 

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

Go to Chapter 11
Return to Index

Edited December 7, 2019 by Just Jim

[Dobelong]

GASP! Is it an ancient race of pale skinned, tall, tiny headed "Things" apparently called Hoo-mans? Another moneythirsty rival company like StrutCo?  

Loving the comic by the way. It's like a book!

Strange/Weird/Cool antenna things by the way.

Edited December 25, 2015 by Dobelong
Add words

[AmiableRogue]

GASP AGAIN! This is so cool. Maybe I can publish this to my school? Mind if I copy it onto a sheet and... turn it into a book?

[Just Jim]

9 hours ago, AmiableRogue said:

GASP AGAIN! This is so cool. Maybe I can publish this to my school? Mind if I copy it onto a sheet and... turn it into a book?

A book for school?  I'm flattered, but I'm also not sure how to respond.  I'm not sure if it's a wise idea.

See, the story is mine, but the game isn't. The game belongs to Felipe and Squad, so something like that would ultimately be up to them, not me.  If you or someone were to try and sell this book, then there could be serious copyright problems.  I honestly don't know what the procedure would be, if any, and I would hate to see anyone get in legal trouble.

[Mister Dilsby]

Great stuff, love the craft designs of 'team red' as well as our KASA heroes. That chomper ship is truly terrifying!

[AmiableRogue]

How? I can't even get a ship to Mun, or dock a station, or anything. Tell meh how!

 

 

 

Also, how do you make the red and blue glows? mods?

 

Edited December 27, 2015 by AmiableRogue