The Saga of Emiko Station - Complete

[Torgo]

But you have manatees!

[Kerbinchaser]

1 minute ago, Torgo said:

But you have manatees!

true.

[Ultimate Steve]

@max_creative I do make my own model rockets, also. However, the corn just started growing... no more high altitude rockets for me, this summer.

[Just Jim]

Chapter 52
The Darkest Side of the Mun

 

High on the edge of Kerban Space, several days had passed. But despite their best efforts, Captain Kuzz and the crew found no sign of Carlenna Kerman anywhere, and they now faced an inevitable decision.

"Mates," Kuzz began, "I'm afraid we no longer have a choice. We nearly out of air, and snacks, and we can't find Carlenna. I think it's time we called for help."

"But sir," Theo asked nervously, "Won't that expose us?"

"Yes... yes it will," Kuzz replied, "But I have a plan that just might work."

With a sly smile Kuzz turned to Geo. "Send a standard distress signal, but send it on this frequency [frequency classified] only, understood?"

"Understood," Geo chuckled grimly, "You do realize, sir, that Gene Kerman's head will likely explode when he receives this?"

Kuzz smiled back, "Realize it??? I'm counting on it!"

 

*          *          *

 

Some 20 minutes later, Gene Kerman was busy inspecting one of the large water towers when his assistant ran out with an emergency dispatch.

And just as Geo had predicted, Gene took one look, and felt his head explode!

Enraged, Gene turned to his assistant and shouted, "What do you mean, Zaltonic Electronics need rescuing?"

Gene's assistant faltered, then answered meekly, "We have no official record of any ships in that area, but it was on their standard frequency, sir."

Gene shook his head in frustration, "They promised no more secret flights... they promised! I assume you've already contacted the Zaltonic representative?"

"Yes sir, and they deny any involvement."

"Yes," Gene scowled, "Of course they do. Very well, is Starbird still at Minmus station?"

"Yes, sir."

"OK, send them out to investigate. And make the usual excuses to the tourists"

Then as Gene's assistant and he had started down the tower ladder, Gene heard a familiar bubbling in his headset.

"Gene... Gene Kerman <gurgle, gurgle>  Am I interrupting?"

"Yes, Thompberry, you are. But the way this morning is starting off, I find I really don't mind. Now what do you want? And why are you being polite?"

"Gene, I'm contacting you to inform you <bubble bubble> that we will be leaving Duna space in approximately 2 hour. And I have <gurgle> promised Kerenna Kerman I would no longer <gurgle bobble> interfere..."

"What is this?" Gene demanded as he reached the ground. "Who is with you.... Kerenna? Is she there with you? You better not have harmed her..."

For a few seconds there was silence, then Gene felt his legs turn to jelly as Kerenna's soft voice came over his headset.

"Gene... Gene dear? It's me..."

"Kay???  Oh Kay......" Gene felt the words freeze in his throat.

"Gene, it's OK." Kerenna could barely hold back her tears as well, but continued, "Gene, dear... I have to tell you something... and I don't know how you're going to like it, but..."

And for the next couple hours Gene stood and stared at the old Space Center monument, and listed in horror as Kerenna told him everything that had occurred to her, and of the terrible decision she had made regarding Thompberry.

After she finished, Gene heard her burst into tears, "Oh, Gene... please don't hate me... please?"

"Kerenna, darling....." Gene spoke quietly, still trying to absorb all he had heard, "Darling... I could never, ever hate you."

"But Gene.... What if I'm wrong? What if....."

"Kerenna, shhhhh..." Gene consoled her, "You have the most loving heart of any Kerban I know, and if you feel this is right... then as weird as it seems, I.... I support you."  

"Gene... Oh.... " but she choked on her words. And just then Thompberry interrupted.

"I'm sorry <gurgle> but Kerenna, we are 5 minutes from burn."

"Thank you, Thompberry." Kerenna replied, trying to choke back her tears. "Gene, I have to go. But before I do, I need you to do something for me." 

"Anything, dear," Gene replied.

"Gene.... I... I was afraid, and well, I you need to to contact Val and Jeb and the boys and let them know we're gone. Gene, I'm scared... I'm so terribly frightened they'll hate me for what I'm doing."

"I will do that, Kay.... and I promise I will try and explain as well."

"Thank you... thank you," Kerenna whispered.  "I.... I love you, Gene."

"I love you, too, Kay. Stay safe, please?"

 

*          *          *

 

Meanwhile on the Mun, Piper and her crew were making their way further and further south towards the site of the third monolith. But as they traveled, Piper began to spot more and more floating boulders nearby, and was growing quite suspicious. There were just too many of them popping up, and Piper didn't like it.

As the landscape became darker, and the shadows grew longer and longer, Piper felt her mood growing darker as well. What was happening with her best friend, Kerenna? Had Thompberry somehow twisted her mind, broken her? Fear and worry filled Piper, and she swore to herself if Kerenna had been hurt in any way, she would personally deactivate that... thing.... that was with her.

 

Steadily she drove on, further and further south, until they were within kilometers of the pole, and Kerbol was skimming the horizon.

Then without warning, they crested a small hill, and Piper let out a gasp, and felt her heart warming once again. There before her peeking over the horizon, was Kerbin... home. And with a cry she brought the Chariot to a halt, and called to the others to come and look.

"We did it girls," Piper whispered in awe, "We've crossed the dark side of the Mun."

After several minutes they climbed back in the chariot, and Piper carefully drove onto their destination, now just a couple dozen kilometers away. But the terrain was horrific, and visibility terrible, and it was all Piper could do to see.

Finally Piper brought the Chariot to a halt by a steep cliff, and crawled out to investigate.

As the Rocklady and Frannie joined her, Piper said softly, "It appears we have a problem."

Frannie looked out at the treacherous vista and asked, "Is it out there, then? Do we have to drive thru... that?"

"No..." Piper said with a sigh. "No... it's not out there..... It's down there, below us.... down in that pit!"

 

*          *          *

 

Quietly monitoring the situation from on board the Diamondback, Thompberry suddenly began muttering.

"Oh nooo <gurgle> So far down..... that's not good... <gurgle gurgle>  that is really not good..."

"What?  Kerenna asked urgently, "What is not good?"

"That monolith...... <gurgle>  It's what I feared <gurgle bubble> but I need more information <gurgle>  to confirm..."

"Confirm what? Thompberry... talk to me. Just what's going on? What is it you fear? Does it have to do with that warning you made earlier to Piper about the Mun saucer? Please.. talk to me...."

Thompberry was silent for several minutes, then answered quietly, 

"I... I don't know <gurgle gurgle> exactly what's going on. I only <bubble> suspect....."

"Then what is it you suspect?" Kerenna asked, "Thompberry, we've come this far, haven't we? Please, trust me.... tell me what's going on."

"All right <gurgle gurgle> Kerenna Kerman... I will tell you.... everything...<gurgle>  But for you to understand <bubble gurgle> I need to go back to the very beginning <gurgle> to my own childhood"

"I understand," Kerenna answered.

"Good <gurgle> It all began when I was a child <gurgle bubble> I was given a book <gurgle> a book that would eventually change my life."

Thompberry paused, as if collecting his thoughts, then continued....

"Tell me, Kerenna, <gurgle gurgle> are you familiar with the writings of the late Emiko Kerman?"

 

The Saga of Emiko Station is now on pause....

The Tale of Emiko Kerman is about to begin....

Go to Chapter 53
Return to Index

Edited December 7, 2019 by Just Jim

[Mister Dilsby]

Welcome to Backstory Week here in the Graphic Novels section of Mission Reports! Readers, we swear we didn't plan this  

And oh my I cracked up audibly when Gene's head exploded. I might use something like that someday  

 

[Mjp1050]

25 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

The Saga of Emiko Station is now on pause....

The Tale of Emiko Kerman is about to begin....

This saga just keeps on getting better and better. I can't wait!

[SpaceplaneAddict]

Thompberry Kerman, the perfect example of the ability in everyone to be a good person!

*Determination.

 

[RA3236]

Now THIS is beginning to get interesting....

[Andem]

Forgive me moderators.

Gaah!! This is gonna be so amazing!!!

[Moose Rocket Science]

lol.

[RocketSquid]

2 hours ago, Kuzzter said:

Welcome to Backstory Week here in the Graphic Novels section of Mission Reports! Readers, we swear we didn't plan this  

Also in the Classic section, since I posted an infolude and people ACTUALLY READ IT!!! That might have been the first one anyone read...

[AviosAdku]

(Picks up jaw off the floor)

I have only two words to say in this: I'm excited!

Can't wait (well, actually I can but I hope you understand the sentiment)

Edited July 5, 2016 by AkuAerospace
Removed "sign off"

[Just Jim]

2 hours ago, Kuzzter said:

Welcome to Backstory Week here in the Graphic Novels section of Mission Reports! Readers, we swear we didn't plan this  

And oh my I cracked up audibly when Gene's head exploded. I might use something like that someday  

It's true... we didn't plan any of it.  As for Gene's head exploding, I'm somewhat surprised no-one thought of it before me.  

Everyone, thank you!  I just ran out of likes, so I'll catch up with some of these tomorrow.

[Crystal_Mace]

Oh my God....Gene's head exploded....and then he was alright!  Gene the Fifth Cylon!   Ummm...I mean the fifth Kerbal that respawns!  (Sorry....I'm in the middle of Battlestar Galactica for the fourth or fifth time, and the Final Five are on my mind.)  I'll be switching to Babylon 5  after this.  Then my head'll be full of Vorlons....and Shadows.

I love this chapter!  I think now that he's no longer marooned on the outskirts of the Solar System Thompberry's Kerbality is reawakening....sort of like Otto Octavius in Spiderman 2...Ironic if he ultimately saves the day...

Carlenna's gone...?  And what does the Very Deep Pit do to the challenge to circle the Mun..?

Edited June 11, 2016 by Crystal_Mace

[Draconiator]

OOOOOH side story....hehe...and where are you finding these floating Munrocks?  I was driving a rover the other day trying to find a suitable place for a Munbase (and found and sent it, In a small crater) and I did not find any.

[Just Jim]

40 minutes ago, Draconiator said:

OOOOOH side story....hehe...and where are you finding these floating Munrocks?  I was driving a rover the other day trying to find a suitable place for a Munbase (and found and sent it, In a small crater) and I did not find any.

The best places to find floaters seem to be really rough terrain, or along the edges of a crater.

As I got closer to the south pole, I found these rippled areas where they showed up everywhere. You can see the ripples on the left side of this pic. But be warned, driving thru this area is a nightmare. 

And a lot of it is random chance.  But bear in mind, I've now driven over 1600km in real time around the Mun, and I've gotten good at spotting them from a distance.

14 hours ago, Crystal_Mace said:

Oh my God....Gene's head exploded....and then he was alright!  Gene the Fifth Cylon!   Ummm...I mean the fifth Kerbal that respawns!  (Sorry....I'm in the middle of Battlestar Galactica for the fourth or fifth time, and the Final Five are on my mind.)  I'll be switching to Babylon 5  after this.  Then my head'll be sure of Vorlons....and Shadows.

I love this chapter!  I think now that he's no longer marooned on the outskirts of the Solar System Thompberry's Kerbality is reawaening....sort of like Otto Octavius in Spiderman 2...Ironic if he ultimately saves the day...

Carlenna's gone...?  And what does the Very Deep Pit do to the challenge to circle the Mun..?

Oh, I'm a huge fan of B-5, and there are actually a couple parallels going on in my story.

In fact, Commander Piper is based very, very heavily on Commander Susan Ivanova, who is one of my all time favorite sci-fi characters.... ever!  Her story is so wonderfully tragic.... I could only hope to write something that heartbreaking and make it work. 

And strange as it might first sound, Thompberry is loosely based on Ambassador Londo Mollari  

As for Carlenna... she's gone, but not dead, just MIA.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Just Jim

[Crystal_Mace]

I o

4 hours ago, Just Jim said:

Oh, I'm a huge fan of B-5, and there are actually a couple parallels going on in my story.

In fact, Commander Piper is based very, very heavily on Commander Susan Ivanova, who is one of my all time favorite sci-fi characters.... ever!  Her story is so wonderfully tragic.... I could only hope to write something that heartbreaking and make it work. 

And strange as it might first sound, Thompberry is loosely based on Ambassador Londo Mollari  

As for Carlenna... she's gone, but not dead, just MIA.

Ivanova had such great lines....:)  Her dialogue wasn't bad either!   :giggle:

Londo....yeah, I can see that now that you bring it up.  Even when he was bad, Londo was always as much a victim of his owm machinations as anyone else was.  It does beg the question who's pulling Thompberry's strings....?

Carlenna's NOT dead.....of course none of us are dead.   Yet.   Muahahahahaaaaah!  Sorry.  Lost my mind momentarily.

Loosely based....hmmm......in the old "Mad Adventures of Captain Klutz", the Episode entitled "Gorgonzola, The Mad Monster Who Lives Only to Terrorize and Kill" was labelled to be 'Based VERY loosely on "The Sound of Music".'  

Edited June 9, 2016 by Crystal_Mace
punctuation error

[Draconiator]

wait a minute....Emiko has not been seen in 50 years...we're gonna get to see BEFORE KSC existed?  Count me in!!

[DualDesertEagle]

The more of this stuff is posted the less I can wait for the next chapter! I wish I would've found this when everything was finished, now I'm just forced to wait for the next chaper everytime I've read one of 'em.

 

But at least I only joined after chapter 50 so I've skipped ALOT of waiting already.

[Just Jim]

1 hour ago, Draconiator said:

wait a minute....Emiko has not been seen in 50 years...we're gonna get to see BEFORE KSC existed?  Count me in!!

yup....  

13 minutes ago, DualDesertEagle said:

The more of this stuff is posted the less I can wait for the next chapter! I wish I would've found this when everything was finished, now I'm just forced to wait for the next chaper everytime I've read one of 'em.

But at least I only joined after chapter 50 so I've skipped ALOT of waiting already.

Truth is, a lot of times I wish I could go faster as well.  A lot of this is already written out in my head, and the only real time consuming part is getting the screenshots.  Plus dealing with real life, obviously.  I hate when reality gets in the way of my sci-fi fantasy time, but sometimes it can't be helped.

On average I get a new chapter posted every 3-5 days, sometimes a week. 
In the meantime, there are lots of other great fan-fiction stories on here I would highly recommend checking out as well as mine.  

Edited June 10, 2016 by Just Jim

[Mister Dilsby]

12 minutes ago, Just Jim said:

In the meantime, there are lots of other great fan-fiction stories on here I would highly recommend checking out as well as mine.  

I happen to know that some of them even feature flying saucers and kerbal pre-history!

[Just Jim]

3 minutes ago, Kuzzter said:

I happen to know that some of them even feature flying saucers and kerbal pre-history!

Figures... I just ran out of likes...  

But, yes, some of the very best, in fact, have had very recent saucer sightings I believe!  

[spacebrick3]

How did you get a flag down there to mark the Monolith?

[Just Jim]

6 hours ago, spacebrick3 said:

How did you get a flag down there to mark the Monolith?

I didn't post pics, because it didn't fit into the chapter, but same way I got to the top of the arch: Doodlebug!  

 

 

[Geschosskopf]

On 6/8/2016 at 1:46 PM, Just Jim said:

"Understood," Geo chuckled grimly, "You do realize, sir, that Gene Kerman's head will likely explode when he receives this?"
Kuzz smiled back, "Realize it??? I'm counting on it!"

Ah, finally, I got to have some schadenfreude

 

On 6/8/2016 at 1:46 PM, Just Jim said:

"No..." Piper said with a sigh. "No... it's not out there.....  It's down there, below us.... down in that pit!"

I've been wondering how a Chariot would deal with this one.  I've been there.  It even inspired me to do poetry and my poetry, while not quite on the same scale as that of the Vogons, is still pretty horrifying.  Read at your own risk.

 

On 6/8/2016 at 1:46 PM, Just Jim said:

"Tell me, Kerenna, <gurgle gurgle> are you familiar with the writings of the late Emiko Kerman?"

So!  It was Emiko who really wrote the Necronomicon, not Kabdul al-Kazred!

 

Edited June 11, 2016 by Geschosskopf