Project Intrepid (Chapter 61 - The Sirens Of Moho)

[Ultimate Steve]

"Ever Tried. Ever Failed. No Matter. Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better."

-Samuel Beckett

Hello, KSP players! My name is Ultimate Steve, and this is my sandbox mode mission report, "Project Intrepid!" At its core, Project Intrepid is the story of Kerbalkind and their quest to evacuate Kerbin, but, really, it is so much more: Project Intrepid is also the story of Jebediah Kerman and his quest to defeat the Kraken. It is also the story of Thedney/Tedfry/Tomfurt Kerman and his quest to save the Monolith. It is also the story of Hudson Kerman and his quest for power. It is the story of space pirates, strange boulders, dramatic rescues, forgotten secrets, teleporting Kerbals, and dare I say, Time Travel...

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Project Intrepid is - well, you'll just have to read it to find out!

Mod list (Outdated, I went uber-visual mods around part 40):

• Kerbal Engineer Redux
• Kerbal Alarm Clock
• Reentry Particle Effect
• Time Control
• Hyperedit (Mostly for testing)

Inspiration:

•  @Kuzzter's wonderful series of Kerbfleet Graphic Novels (Which I couldn't resist referencing throughout this story )
• Note: For anyone who thinks I copied the name "Intrepid," I promise, it is a coincidence. The idea of a fleet of giant motherships, the first of which would be called "Intrepid," was floating around my head as early as 0.23.5. I have the notebook pages to prove it!
•  @Parkaboy's Plan Kappa (Again referenced in parts of my story).
•  @Just Jim's "The Saga of Emiko Station" (Referenced once or twice), in particular for inspiring the line I end each part with.
•  @max_creative for supporting me early on with the story. Thanks, dude!
•  @Monkey Taylor's Jool-Sarnus 10 challenge, for providing the grounds for an epic backstory (See: Nightmares, a Jool-Sarnus Ten Story).
•  And of course, @HarvesteR for his model rocketry adventures that later became the game we all know and love, Kerbal Space Program!

Notes:

• This was my first mission report. The first few parts are, uh, not up to par, to say the least. If you can muscle through the first seven or so, my writing quality improves greatly after that point. As of June I'm trying to edit the first few so I at least get all the names correct.
• An important piece of canon that is only really supported for the first few chapters: If Kerbals die, they release spores and can be regrown, but this is a process that only works if the spores can be recovered and it is not always successful. Kerbals are mortal, just a bit resilient.
• My other story, "Nightmares: A Jool-Sarnus Ten Story," is a flashback that chronologically happens decades before this story even begins, but should be read in between parts 35 and 36 for maximum effect.
• When I first started this story, I did not expect it to go very far, but it did! So, some of the information in the first few parts (timeline, spelling of names, consistency in "..." styles, etc.) may not be the same as in later parts. If two parts contradict each other, feel free to ask me which one is correct.
• MAJOR easter egg spoilers throughout the story, be warned.

Chapter list (Chapters were called parts for a while):

Spoiler

Page one:

• Parts 1 through 11 had their titles in the actual title of the thread. I never wrote them down, so the titles have been lost to time.

Page two:

• Parts 12 and 13, again, had their titles in the thread title and have been lost.
• Part 14: The tale of may burns! (Not to be confused with the mission report of the same name)
• Parts 15-17: Again, no title.
• Part 18: Read slowly for maximum effect!
• Part 19: Untitled. (I suppose I should just make up names at this point.)

Page three:

• Part 20: Lots of boring dockings.
• Part 21: Untitled. It was probably called "Phase One."
• Parts 24-25: Untitled. (I really should have wrote them down)

Page four:

• Part 26: Eve or and bust!
• Part 27: The Descent!
• Part 28: Sunset on Eve!
• Part 29: Return from Eve!
• Part 30: The Kraken's apprentice

Page five:

• Part 31: Defining History!
• Part 32: The Update!
• Part 33: The Meaning of Awesomeness!
• Part 34: 916 Kerbals to Minmus!
• Part 35: The Confession!
• (Nightmares: A Jool-Sarnus Ten Story should be read here. It has 13 parts and an epilogue.)
• Reference sheet.
• Part 36, What doesn't kill you

Page six:

• Part 37, Through Fire and Flames
• Part 38, The Time Traveler
• Chapter 39, Launch Everything
• Chapter 40 - Untitled Space Chapter
• Chapter 41 - Interplanetary Mountain Climber

Page seven:

• Chapter 42 - The Invasion of Tylo
• Chapter 43 - Final Glimpse of the Sun
• Chapter 44 - Driven by Loneliness
• Chapter 45 - J.A.V.E.L.I.N.
• Chapter 46 - An Unexpected Visitor
• Chapter 47 - Still Alive
• Chapter 48 - A Short Drive through a Radioactive Wasteland

Page eight:

• Chapter 49 - Four Worlds
• Chapter 50 - Not Again
• Chapter 51 - The Calm Before The Storm
• Chapter 52 - Running Away
• Chapter 53 - The End.
• Chapter 54 - Terms And Conditions

Page nine:

• Chapter 55 - The Hangar

Page ten, after a 4-5 year mostly COVID and university induced hiatus:

• Chapter 55.5 - With All Further Ado
• Chapter 56 - The Final Countdoen
• Chapter 57 - Picking Up The Pieces
• Chapter 58 - Starry Poles And Salty Oceans

 

 

 

Mega OP edit brought to you 3/12/2017.

Second mega OP edit brought to you 6/18/2018.

 

Enjoy the story! Any and all feedback is appreciated!

 

Part 1:

Spoiler

Nobody saw it coming until it was too late to be stopped. In this case, nothing could have stopped it even ten thousand years earlier, which is why everyone panicked when Kerbal astronomers detected that the Kerbol system was on a collision course with a black hole. In just under 200 years, the entire Kerbol system would be gone.

Almost instantly, a meeting of the world's leaders was assembled. Numerous ideas were proposed, from utilizing the Kraken (widely considered a myth) to move Kerbin, to escaping to a parallel universe. In the end, they were all split, but the general consensus was escaping to another star system with a habitable planet. However, nobody had been to space in nearly fifty years. In fact, nobody had been above the ground for fifty years after the great war...

At the ancient underground headquarters of the Kerbal Space Program, engineers began dusting off everything and uncovering the plans to the old space center. Half of them then suited up in radiation proof spacesuits and began reconstruction, and the other half began flipping through old blueprints, as nobody had built a rocket in decades. One fortunate intern stumbled across a folder marked "Project Intrepid - Top Secret." It contained two photographs.

The only other file in that folder was a sheet of paper noting that these were the only two remaining photographs of the only prototype ever made.

The intern then proceeded to take the file to the engineers and they all voted in favor of Project Intrepid as one of the planetary escape methods, especially now that they had an infinite budget and a substantial workforce. The engineers quickly rebuilt the KSC and began construction of the Intrepid Test Vehicle number 1 (serial number ITV-001). The philosophy behind these tests was to “fail better.” Everyone knew the first several would fail, but by fixing problems as they were discovered, Intrepid would end up being perfected (eventually).

 

After a week of hard work, ITV-001 stood on the runway triumphantly, piloted by volunteer Girdred Kerman. Unfortunately, there was an anomaly at launch. The rocket promptly exploded half a second after engine ignition. No pictures remain of this incident. Girdred was killed in the crash, although Kerbals cannot truly die (In my universe, when Kerbals die they release spores and can regrow themselves if there is enough left. This makes it moderately difficult to actually kill a Kerbal). Girdred is currently being hospitalized though the regrowth process…

A week Later, ITV-002 was ready for launch. Changes include about 20 more struts and an abort system.

The monster was piloted by Stabel Kerman, a former pilot in the war. This time, after the countdown was over, ITV-002 launched skyward!

“Mission Control, this is Stabel. We have passed 150 meters, and we are tipping but this thing is surprisingly very responsive and stable.”

“Copy that, Stabel. The rocket is stable.”

“The top section is wobbling a lot, though. Okay, we are at ten K, and I am going to detach the first set of boosters. 3… 2… 1…”

*BOOM*

“What was that?”

“Houston, we appear to have lost an engine.”

“Stabel, don’t panic. We went through this before, it was always going to fail ten times. Remember Tomas Kermison? He failed a thousand times to make the light -”

“Well, this lightbulb costs over a million funds!”

“The loss of an engine isn’t that crippling, but the ship is beginning to flex dramatically without the first booster struts!”

*BOOM*

“Houston, we have structural failure!”

*CLAPCLAPCLAP*

“Well done, Stabel. We didn’t expect it to even make it this far on flight two!”

“Well, what am I supposed to do? I’m sort of hurtling to my doom right now?”

“Honestly, we didn’t get that far. Can you test the core engines for us?”

“Uh… sure, I guess.”

“Hey, you can sort of fly it! I just lost the “control from here” docking port, so the steering’s a bit messed up.”

“What about the eight nuclear engines? Won’t they pollute everything?”

“Not any more than the war did, Stabel.”

“Okay, Houston, I’m detaching the cabin!”

“Chute is good!”

“And… Touchdown!”

“Good job! You survived!”
“Can I do that again?”

…

The ITV-002 was way more successful than the 001, but it still had plenty of problems. The engineers added more struts, more sepatrons, and a large strut network built out of SRB’s. The result was the ITV-003.

…

“Stabel Kerman, reporting to mission control! Ready for launch!”

“Copy that, Stabel. Initiating countdown. T-59…

“Boring!” *SPACE*

“Woah! We’re pitching down!”

“Noted. Will fix soon.”

“Okay, we’re vertical again at 600 meters! Everything looks good!”

“Beginning gravity turn…”

“First booster tanks near empty, preparing - I mean, bracing for stage separation!”

*BOOMBOOMBOOM*

“AAH! That was a bigger boom than before!”

“This is mission control, Stabel! Do you copy?!”

“Oh, hey. That actually worked! Why is the bottom stage shaking like it’s kraken possessed?”

“Uh… this one didn’t make it as far, Houston. We lost the entire bottom stage and the right nuke pod.”

“Test the left pod and abort!”

“Sorry, Houston. I didn’t hear you. Just abort, you said? Nothing else?”

*FACEPALM*

“Hey, this pod actually glides pretty well! I think I can almost hit KSC!”

“Noted.”

“Yay! I didn’t die again! Next week?”

“O...kay. Someone get the boat.”

…

The ITV-003 failed worse than the 002. However, a great multitude of things were learned. First, more struts to prevent the Kraken-like shaking. Second, MOAR SEPRATRONS! A great deal of smaller things were also changed, and a week later, Stabel was back in the pilot seat.

…

“YEEHAW! This never gets old!”

“Also noted, Stabel. Looks like you lost a fin.”

“Yep, we lost a fin. Still controllable, though.”

On second thought the pilot wouldn’t survive that angle. The cupola looks cool there, though. Kerbals are known for being resilient anyway.

“Mission control, I think something is wrong.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing, Stabel. Jettison the boosters in 3…”

“Uh… *gulp*”

“Stabel?”

…

Despite the loss of Stabel Kerman, whose recovery is expected to take longer than most due to the wide scattering of the spores, Project Intrepid picked up pace dramatically, completing the ITV-005 in less than five days. 004 featured additional struts, and removed the “flea” boosters and added even more sepratrons. This time, a Deep miner named Patfrey Kerman was selected.

…

“We have liftoff!”

“Roger that, Patfrey. Looks like that same fin fell off again.”

“Patfrey, could you steer away from the new KSC?”

“Oh, sorry. I’m not the best pilot.”

“Because you’re a miner.”

“One of the best miners, hopefully that makes up for the lack of piloting ability.”

“Coming up on booster separation…”

“Patfrey… you actually are a great pilot!”

“I am?”

“You righted her with ease!”
“Oh.. probably this awesome game I play, “Human Space Program.” It’s very -”

“Patfrey, the boosters.”

“Oh, right.”

“Does it bother you that this has never worked before?”

“Nope.”

“You… shut off the engines to do the separation?”
“Yep!”
“Patfrey, that’s genius!”

“Preparing for stage one-and-a-half engine ignition, 3… 2… 1…”

“Okay, preparing for separation of second boosters!”

“Wait… aren’t the booster strut segments connected to the second boosters? We’d never get out of that! It’s like taking a mining truck out of a standard size doorway! Even if it does work, it would be structurally insound!”

“Burnout.”
“Roger that, Patfrey.”

“Detach!”

“Houston, the mining truck did not fit through the doorway!”

“Still, you failed better!”

“That’s a lot of debris…”

“Darn, 67K. Wait… maybe if I…”

“Patfrey, do you copy? You’ve gone silent.”

“It’s so… beautiful.”

…

“Patfrey, what are you doing? You need to jettison the hab module!”

“I was thinking I was going to save it, but yes, you’re right. I’m going too fast.”

*SPACE*

*BOOM*

“Patfrey?”

…

And sadly, Patfrey Kerman, the first Kerbal in space in 50 years was lost due to a malfunction in the separator. He will most likely recover, of course.

 

I guess that’s the end of Part 1, I guess. I am open to any suggestions, and I have flown the missions up to ITV-008. No spoilers, though!

Part 2:

Spoiler

The first thing Patfrey Kerman said when he came out of recovery was "Remove the doorway!" Patfrey's recovery was speedy, surprisingly, and his mind was considerably more intact than most. Probably because he only really had to fall 40 meters instead of 20,000...

Anyway, the engineers took Patfrey's advice and mounted the doorway" of booster struts on decouplers and added separation motors. They also added sepratrons to the escape pod, with a "control from here" jr. port connected to the pod, to avoid frantic vessel switching during a failure/ejection. It was also made standard to shut off engines before discarding boosters. This was the ITV-006.

By this time, the buzz about the world ending had died down. They had 200 years, right? The 006 took ten days to build. The pilot was Shercott Kerman, a close friend of Patfrey and avid player of "Human Space Program."

"Mission control, the ITV-006 is ready for launch."
"Roger that, begin countdown."
"What kind of name is "ITV-006" Anyway? Let's call it Warrior!"
"The plan is to name them once they reach orbit. No sense wasting a perfectly good name on a failure. We learned that lesson, apparently with Spaceship Infinity Spire, several decades ago. My grandfather was there, he says it was quite a fireworks show."

"We have Liftoff!"

"It looks like that fin fell off again. I wonder what is causing that."

"Shercott, you're drifting."
"I know, I know. Correcting."

"Nearly out of fuel in the boosters, going on detach."

*BANG*

"Uh, we've lost an engine! And a tank! I thought you said that this would work!"

"Limiting the thrust is not helping!"
"Okay, Shercott. Try testing the second decouplers.
"Why is there even a pilot here anyway? There's a probe core right there!"
"Random solar activity, we're in the middle of a rather large solar storm right now and it's interfering with our probe cores. Should be over in a few days."
"Why are we launching during a solar storm?"
"Because we can! Now, test the doorway remover!"

"AAH! FIRE! EXPLOSIONS!"

"Oh, hey. That actually worked! We sort of blew the front door up, but it worked!"

"I can't seem to get her pointed upright again. I think I'll test the cores."
"Roger that, Shercott. Jettison everything!"

"Okay, the engines all work! Minimal wobble on the side pods!"
"Great job, Shercott! Trigger the abort now."


"Hey, Stabel is right! You actually can glide in this!"

"Patfrey, I have avenged you!"
"You wanna fly the next one in a week?"
"Sure!"

...

The ITV-006 proved that the stage one detachment mechanism was not foolproof. It also managed to test the ship's nuclear side pods, and the new abort system. The ITV-007 was again piloted by Shercott, with improved sepratrons and some more struts.

...

"Shercott Kerman, Reporting in! I got a great camera angle of the new abort system."
"That's great, Shercott. Ready for launch?"
"You bet!"


"Hey, we didn't tip over! The fin is still there!"
"Yep. Turns out, this whole time the engineers had installed two launch clamps inside of the fuel tanks. Don't ask me how. I have legitimately no Idea."

(Darn you, symmetry clipping!)

"That shadow looks amazing! But why isn't the smoke casting a shadow?"

"I don't know, Shercott. That's just how the universe works."

"Detatching boosters in 3... 2... 1..."


"Separation is nominal."
"Hey! First time anyone's been able to say that, Shercott!"

"Vector pods have ignited."

"Nearly forty kilometers, coming up on booster separation."

"Engines off!


"Houston, the front door has been jettisoned!"

"Uh... were we supposed to almost hit those?"

"We're wobbling!"
"Roger. Will add more struts."

"We're pointing almost straight up. Whatever, though! I'm almost in space!"

"Vector pod jettison."

"It really is beautiful..."

"Shercott, snap out of it. Prepare for circularization!"
"Okay, will do."





"All eleven engines are performing nominally. We are failing better!"
"Great job! Can you make orbit? If so, you get to name the ship!"

"I don't think I'm going to make it!"

"I'm dropping and I'm only at 1600m/s!"

"We're in the atmosphere!"
"Roger that. You're going into radio blackout due to the ionized air. You're on your own now."

"2100m/s!"

"Nope. I'm not gonna make it to orbit!"





 

It was at this point that Imgur capped my screenshot album. Will Shercott survive? Find out in part 3! Coming whenever I upload more screenshots!

Part 3:

Spoiler

Shercott was now alone as he was flying the ITV-007 through Kerbin's atmosphere.
 

"Easy does it, Shercott. Just you and re-entry heat."

"5KM and still going 1000 meters per second - time to abort!"



"This is mission control to Shercott. Do you read?"
"Ow, my head. Wha - Where am I?"
"Shercott, you blacked out due to G-forces! Deploy your chute!"
"Oh, right. That's where I am."


"Chute is good - Just so you know, mission control, the ship drops like a brick. Probably because it is still full of fuel and roughly aerodynamic."
"Noted, Shercott. It will have to be modified if we ever want to aerobrake anywhere."
*SPLASH*

"Uh, I guess I've got a nice view of the ocean. How long until the boat gets here? My seatbelt is stuck, and I'm sitting at a weird angle."
"It will be a while. I suggest you open the snack box."
"Snacks? I thought those didn't exist for 50 years!"
"We found an old snack machine and turned the production back on. Dig in, Shercott. You've earned it."

...
The ITV-007 almost made it. However, the Kerbal engineers would improve the design in the 008 version. They added SRB's to the upper stage and angled the ejectors on the "front door" so that they hopefully wouldn't hit the ship after ejection. Shercott Kerman, eager to visit space again, volunteered to pilot the 008. It was ready in eight days.
...

"Liftoff of the 008!"
"Fantastic, Shercott! How are the boosters holding up?"
"They're doing great and look awesome!"


"You're not saying much, Shercott. What's wrong?"
"Just enjoying the view, Mission Control."


"Where is mission control, anyway? And why do I keep calling you Houston? I don't think you're in actual Houston, the mythical city form Human Space Program."
"Houston's my name. I'm the capsule communicator. We're in the mission control building at KSC right now, we had been controlling from underground, but the renovations are going well and this will be our base of operations for quite some time."
"Also, the boosters separated perfectly."


"Preparing for second booster separation."



"It worked!"
"Good to know the engineers are working the kinks out. We're this close to having an operational prototype!"

"Burning for orbit! Maybe I'll get to name it this time..."

"Approaching apoapsis! Engage boosters!"


"We're falling again, Houston. I found more fuel for the core engines, though."
"Think you'll make it this time?"
"I can't say."

"Booster detach... not even 1700m/s! We're not making it!"
"Don't panic, Shercott. Even if it does fail, it will fail better than the first one."

"1750m/s!"

"Deploying radiators! 1850m/s!"

"Almost 2KM/s! We might make this one!"

"We're at 2.1km/s but we're falling rapidly!"
"Copy that. Brace yourself for re-entry."

"Oh, hello atmosphere."

"Aaaaand, no more radio contact. Please, don't explode!"

"I'm not getting back into space, am I?"

"It's slipping sideways!"



"That doesn't look good!"

"EJECT!"


"Shercott, this is Houston. Are you okay?
"I think so."

"There is no doubt now that the capsule can glide now This should be included in abort training."

"Chute is open, I'm coming down! Seems faster than usual, but... Uh oh. BAIL OUT BAIL OUT BAIL - "


"Shercott?"
...
End of part 3. Part 4 will be when the story starts getting interesting...

End of part 3. Part 4 will be when the story starts getting interesting...

 

Part 4:
 

Spoiler

The old man was watching the sky intently. After all these decades, it was still his relief from the stresses of his life. It had never failed him before, in its stark vastness and ever-reaching magnificence.

He stood in front of his hut. Any other Kerbal would find it pathetic... Until they went inside and found an extensive underground shelter.

This hut was built on the coast of one of Kerbin's many rivers. The old man had not chosen it by choice, his jet had crashed there. He had since repaired the jet, but had decided to stay here, with a great view of both the ocean and the stars. He couldn't bring himself to go back and face what had become of the world. Not without a sign, at least.

The old man looked skyward, again hoping for a better future. His past, and the world's past was... regrettable. He then saw a streak of orange crossing the sky. Probably more space junk, he thought to himself. It looked like a big piece, though, and the last time that such a large piece had fallen was decades ago... He wished that things could be the same as they were fifty years ago... before the war. Before the world had torn itself to shreds. The falling chunk of debris split into multiple pieces, and he watched the largest piece slam into the ocean about thirty kilometers away. A piece had never fallen so close before. Another piece continued to scream across the sky. Oh my, he thought to himself. This one's really close!


The old man ran over to investigate, only to find that there was nothing left. He spotted another piece falling though, as if under parachute. It looked to be going a bit fast. He saw that it had landed and that it was only twenty kilometers away. Finally, an excuse to use his fifty year old plane again. He looked up at the Mun, and uttered the first word he had ever said in perhaps twenty years.

"Please."




The old man felt excited and - alive. More alive than he had felt for fifty years. He decided to use the second seat on the plane, the one he would have always sprung for, with no hesitation, fifty years ago.

He felt the familiar controls in his hands, untouched for the longest time. Would it even still work?

With the engine started, he began the process of taking off. It was now a normal plane, stripped of the instruments of war that had been mounted long ago. No more missiles, no more bombs. No more guns.

He then targeted the debris. "ITV-008" he thought. Strange name for a space station. He had never heard of it, and he had followed every single launch of the space program, back when it had still existed. This could mean only one thing.





He walked towards the wreckage in anticipation.

He recognized a parachute in the heap, as well as some sepatrons. But was that a...? Surely it couldn't be!




"Who are you?" The stranger asked. "Where am I?"
"All in good time, Shercott Kerman. I have a few questions first."
"How do you know my name?"
"Oh, please. You literally have a nameplate on your EVA pack." Shercott looked at the man's. It had been removed. The man looked old, really old.
"Now, Shercott. You must tell me. Were you launched into space on that thing?"
"Uh... yes." When hearing his response, the old man broke out into a grin.
"YES! FINALLY!" The man began jumping around in a dance of victory.
"Are you from recovery?" Shercott asked.
"Well... no. Actually, I've been stranded out here for fifty years."
"Wait... survived the war? But how? Nobody topside survived the - "
"All in good time. Right now, we've got to go back to the space center. I assume it's been rebuilt." The man did not take his decision to abandon his base lightly. It had been his home for fifty years, but if there was any chance that things would be the same as they were before  - he would go. No hesitation. No regrets.
"Yes, it has. But how are we going to get there?" The man then pulled out a small remote and pressed a button.

The Thunderbird MK8 rolled over the ridge triumphantly, having been summoned.
"Take the cockpit seat, Shercott. Today, I go home!"

"Are you going to fill me in on the details about the new space program?" asked the man.
"I don't do well flying and talking."
"That's all right, Shercott. I'm flying this thing."

"What just exploded?"
"The drop tanks. We don't need them any more. Now, turn the radio on. Unless radio stations aren't a thing any more. Which they probably aren't. Nevermind. Let's go!"




"So, what was that ship you were flying? The ITV-008?"
"Oh, that. It was a giant, uh, space carrier sort of thing."
"How long have you been launching?"
"Since a few weeks ago."
"Why on Kerbin would you need to build a giant carrier in a few weeks?"
"Probably the black hole."
"The what?"
"The Kerbol system is on a collision course with a black hole." The man was silent for a while after that.
"How long?"
"200 years." The man let out an audible sigh of relief, but it cut out about half way through. Shercott could no longer hear the man through the headset, only wind.



"WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!" The man shouted to himself. He was now reliving what his life was like fifty years ago. "FASTER!"




Quite a bit later, the duo arrived at the KSC.

"Shercott, we have a problem."
"What is it?"
"The gear sort of melted shut."
"Sorry, what?"
"No worry. We'll just have to do this in style!"
"What?" Now Shercott was panicking.
"Don't worry, you're in safe hands."

"Whose hands am I in?"

"All in good time, my friend."
"I think now is a good time!"


The man was thrown from the plane. After things had stopped exploding, he got up, brushed himself off, and ran towards Shercott's cockpit. He would miss the plane, of course, but he was now at the KSC. He was home.


"Hey look, the gear popped open!"
"Sorry, just who are you?"


The man smiled, with a grin that could only be described as legendary.


"Nice to meet you, Shercott. The name's Jebediah. Jebediah Kerman."

Part 5:
 

Spoiler

The arrival of Jebediah Kerman had completely caught everyone off guard. Most people thought he was dead, and the rest thought he was nothing but a legend. Jeb took control of the production of the ITV-009 and insisted on "MOAR BOOSTERS!" saying it would be more "Kerbal." Some people recognized the strange use of the species name as an adjective, although not many. The rest were just confused.

Jebediah added an ejectable sepratron powered cockpit that could carry three to safety, and the aforementioned moar boosters. He also added an extra fuel tank for the core engines.

"Why did I agree to do this, again?" Shercott asked aloud to himself.
"Because I asked you to, Shercott," Replied Jeb, who was sitting above him in the cupola module. "Prepare for liftoff!"



"WOOOOOOHOOO! Haven't done that in fifty years!" Jebediah yelled, a grin on his face.

"Preparing for booster separation!"
"Uh, Jeb? This is where it usually goes wrong."

"Well, you never get used to that."
"I don't think anyone ever should, Jeb."

"We lost both engines! I need you to manage fuel flow for me, Shercott. I'll activate the boosters and ditch unnecessary mass."
"Jeb, we're not going to make it!"



"Darn! We lost the only good engine in that separation! You were right, Shercott. We're not going to make it on this one."
"Okay. Just trigger the abort sequence."

Jebediah thought very briefly about what to do. He could, on one hand, abort and restart the mission, but that wasn't really awesome, and might demoralize the planet - nine failures in a row. On the other hand... he could do a thing. Something he had picked up from a very regrettable past, one more regrettable than the war. However, it was also a very useful skill - albeit one he could only use a few more times before the source ran out.

"Nope, Shercott."
WHOOOOOOOOSH!

"Where are we?"
"Booster separation nominal. We're about a minute ago, Shercott."
"What?"

"It's called a quickload."
"Quick-what?"

"A quickload. Have you never really heard of it?"
"Nope."
Jeb sighed. "Good. Some things are best kept secret."
"Wait, I want to know!"
"Trust me, you don't... maybe sometime. Much, much later. We're flying a spaceship right now, let's focus on that."


"Wow, she's really flexing."

"Apogee in space."
"Yay!"
"Also, we lost that extra fuel tank. We still might not make it."



"We are at 1800 meters per second and 115 kilometers high! We might actually make this!"
"Jeb? We only have the low TWR engines now. We probably won't make it.

"We're falling!"

"2200m/s, but we're about to re-enter the atmosphere."
"Yay, we failed. Next ship!"
"Not so fast, Shercott. I checked the audio logs. Didn't you say that this thing falls like a brick? And that you'd need inflatable heat shields if you wanted to aerobrake?"
"Surely you don't mean -"
"Yes. We're going to surf the atmosphere."



"30KM! We might actually make it this time."
"Yes! Then, do we get to name the ship?"
"Yep. This actually reminds me of a project I worked on a long time ago, called Project Intrepid."
"Well - um, this was actually based off of that."
"Well, you did a terrible job sticking to the source material! This looks nothing like it!"
"You saw the first vehicle?"
"Shercott, I flew the first vehicle!"



"It's starting to get really shaky in here!"


"Our apoapsis is dropping!"
"Okay, Shercott. Adjusting angle of attack."

"How has nothing exploded yet?"
"Lots of skill, and some luck."
"Let's hope the luck won't run out!"
"Shercott, you might have just jinxed us."

"Hey, we might actually make this!"
"You've said that several times, Jeb!"
"Which is a good sign!"

"Woah. That's going to be my screensaver for a while."
"How are we even getting these pictures, Jeb?"
"Long story, I'll explain the whole thing later. We have bigger things to do right now... Like celebrate."

"So, about the ship name, Jeb?"
"Yes, of course. I think we should name it after the program."
"Nice idea."
"Houston!"
"Yes, major Jeb?"

"This is the Intrepid. We have reached orbit!"

Part 6:

Spoiler

Gidrien Kerman sat with anticipation in the first passenger seat of the Intrepid Support Craft serial number 001. It was to be her second launch. This time, she hoped, she would not explode.

Nobody knew she was on board, of course, but she felt that the KSC owed it to her.

The audacity of those program leaders. They had gotten her name wrong, the first time. She was Gidrien, not Girdred.

So, she snuck onto the Mun lander. She had recovered from the crash of the ITV-001 by now.

It was Jeb's idea. The Mun lander, not the stowing away. Instead of starting to evacuate Kerbals right away, he said that the ships should be thoroughly tested before evacuation begins. It also gave him an excuse to go to the Mun, and potentially other planets.

But she would be there, too. There were four seats on the lander, and the KSC wouldn't go through the effort to send another ship just to bring her back down.


Well, even though she had piloted one very similar, even if it was for two seconds, the 009 looked impressive.


It was then that she realized that she didn't have an EVA suit and was trapped in the lander until someone found her. Whatever. She could wait.
........................
About an hour later, the Intrepid Support Craft 002 was ready for launch.

Its cargo was fuel for the vernor engines as well as six dockable reaction wheels.

The launch went flawlessly, and in no time it was nearing the Intrepid.



The anonymous photographer from behind the fourth wall marveled at how his dockings always seem to take place at sunrise.


At last, the Intrepid was ready for its test run to the Mun. It turned much easier with the reaction wheels.

"Shercott!"
"Yes, Jeb?"
"Can you go check the lander for the provisions that were brought up?"
"Uh, okay."


And then, Shercott entered the lander.

"Who are you?" Shercott asked, stunned.
"Well, I am sort of a stowaway, you could say. I wanted to see space, same as you."
"Uh, why did you have to stow away? You could have just volunteered for the  pilot program."
"I'm a scientist. And I did sign up. I just crashed one."
"You're Girdred?"
"Gidrien. That stupid report got my name wrong, and the guy forgot to take pictures, so I ended up forgotten."

"What's going on down there, Shercott?" Jeb asked.
"Uh..." Shercott replied, not sure how Jeb would take the news. "We've sort of got a stowaway, here."
Jeb laughed. "Tell me something new. I did it all the time decades ago."
"Shouldn't we do something about her?"
"No sense in sending her back, burn in five seconds."
"What?"

And in the day that followed, there was much interesting conversation.

"We're coming up on the Mun!" Shouted Jeb.
"Never in a million years," Gidrian said, "would I have thought that I would get to see the Mun up close."
"Me neither," Shercott replied.


"Okay, everyone. Into the lander!"

"Hey, Jeb! Can I name the ship?"
"Technically, Shercott, Gidrien gets to name it."
"How about Falcon?"
"You know what? That's exactly what I would have called it."

"Has this thing ever been tested?"
"Well, this is the test flight, Shercott."
"Great. Is this going to happen often, flying untested spaceships?"
"That could be the title of my autobiography," said Jeb. "Or the job description."



"Oh my," They all said at once as they noticed Kerbin.
"That's beautiful," Remarked Gidrien.

They all breathed a sigh of relief as the Falcon touched down.
"Now, question of the day," Jeb announced. "Who's going first?"
"Jeb, I think you should. Without you, we wouldn't even be here."
"Well, good point."

"Alright, kids. Can I call you the kids? You aren't but you're still young compared to me, at least."
"Um... I don't-"
"Too late, you're stuck with it. Now let's set up the equipment."
"Equipment?"

An hour later, the trio had set up the equipment.
"Some tent," Shercott remarked. "Can't even fit into it. Did the person that designed it even test it?"


"And what's that supposed to be, anyway?"
"Top secret until I need it, kid. Wait, no, that sounds weird, I'm not going to call you the kids anymore."

"And who cares what a bunch of goo does anyway?"
"You're the scientist, Gidrien. You tell me."
"I don't even know what it's made of!"
"I know what it's made of. Only a few people do, of course, it's the program's most closely guarded secret."
"Is it dead Kerbals?"
"No, Eww! That would be disgusting and immoral! Gidrien, can I see the antenna for a bit? There's something I need to check," Jeb asked.
"Sure, I guess."

"Hmm. That's very interesting," Jeb said.
"What is?" the others said in unison.
"Top secret. But you know that other top secret thing I talked about earlier?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, I need it now."

"I'm sorry to say this, Jeb, but that... thing makes you look a little bit..."
"Yeah, Gidrien, I know I look dumb on this. Who wouldn't. Let's see here... someone installed the probe core upside down, but not a problem."
"Where are you going?"
"I'll be back!"

"So, now he left us."
"Basically, yeah," Replied Gidrian.

"You can see Minmus from here, you know. Right next to Kerbin."
"That looks amazing, Shercott."
"Wait... do you hear that? It sounds like the negative gravioli detector alarm! I'll need to che -"

..........
Hundreds of kilomeers away, Jebediah Kerman approached a strange base after dismounting his "rocket scooter."

"But it can't be..." he muttered to himself.

"I thought all of the Munbases were destroyed in the solar storms." Jebediah approached the ancient looking base module with caution.

Jebediah boarded the base. He gasped. "But, how?"
"Hello, Jeb. It has certainly been a while."
"Yeah, It's good to see you again. Are you sure we're not hallucinating?"

"Bill? Bob? But how?"

 

Edited August 8 by Ultimate Steve
New Part!

[max_creative]

Most of your pics a broken, but from what I can tell, it's huge and awesome! Subd.

[Ultimate Steve]

@max_creative Broken how? They're fine on my end. I also managed to miss the spoiler box when pasting... so it is a bit messed up, but I need to go to bed now. I'll fix it tomorrow.

Also, thanks!

EDIT: Ah, that's what you meant about the pictures. I'm not sure what's causing that. Give them enough time, they'll load in eventually.

EDIT: Part 2 is up!

EDIT: I finished uploading the screenshots, and part 3 is up!

EDIT: Now part 4 is up. As you can tell, I generally try to avoid double posting.

Edited June 7, 2016 by Ultimate Steve

[Ultimate Steve]

Part 5 is up!

[max_creative]

If you need a rescue anytime soon, just ask me. My biggest rescue ship is actually an asteroid hauler. It can haul the weight of 2 small class D asteroids. I'm slightly suprised when Jeb introduced himself he wasn't all "MY NAME IS JEBEDIAH KERMAN!!!" With an explosion behind him. I guess 50 years probably does that to everyone. Even Jeb. AND BILL AND BOB ON THE MUN?!? If you say Val is on Minmus my head is going to explode. Repreprepreprepreprepreprepreprep!!!

[Ultimate Steve]

Okay, I'm back from the campout! New parts are going to have their own post now. The original one is getting very laggy.

EDIT: The pictures are taking a VERY long time to load in. Try opening the OP spoilers and scrolling for about 30 seconds. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Part 7:

Spoiler

Thousands of Kilometers from Jebediah Kerman, a missile stood ready on the launch pad.

Not the regular one. The ancient one, long ago forgotten, but to a few. An ominous voice came over the PA system.
"3... 2... 1..."


The missile streaked skyward and began to tilt to the southeast, carrying a deadly nuclear payload.


Soon it passed the sound barrier, and began to experience shock heating.

It screamed over Kerbin's Western Desert, flying low to avoid detection.

The missile had spotted its target and began veering downwards.




Well, what is there to say? It exploded. The effect was devastating.




The attackers thought they had won. In fact, they had only won the battle, not the war. They had also ensured their own eventual defeat.

Earlier that day, the ITV-011 had launched. Don't ask about the 010. It was a huge disaster. The attackers had aimed for destroying the 011, but they showed complete disregard for the time zones. It wasn't something they believed in (hint, hint).

The 011 carried Stabel and Patfrey, the last two veterans of the first ITV's, into space. As they were flying through the sky, they spotted a streak on the radar that looked a lot like a missile and reported it to the KSC officials. There was nobody around to see the detonation.

The 011 used angled sepratrons, as well as half full fuel tanks on the upper stage to reduce the time it would take to circularize. It also helped that the extra fuel tank survived this time.



"I swear," Stabel announced, "All of the awesome things happen at sunrise."
The ship performed a miraculously flawless insertion burn and now awaits in a seventy kilometer orbit.


Meanwhile on the Mun, Gidrien and Shercott were recovering from a massive negative gravioli surge.

"Shercott, are you sure it's safe? I felt like I was going to die for a minute. The lander is probably broken in fifty different places!"
"Don't worry, Gidrien. I studied negative gravioli particles a while back. It should be fine."
"Are we going back to the Intrepid?"
"No. Jeb wants us."
"How do you know?"
"I can't explain it. The gravioli storm put a thought into my head."
"Me too, but it is about another Kerbal... seems like they got her name wrong... sort of like me, but much younger..."
"You're not making any sense."

"Gemma? Like a diamond gem?"
"No. You messed up her name, like the KSC messed up mine. It's not Gemma, it's Gemna. I swear I've heard that name before, I just don't know where."
"Why are we seeing the astronaut complex? Who is "Valentina Kerman?""
"You don't know who Valentina Kerman is?" asked Gidrien.
"No, but - "
"Wait! You see the astronaut complex too?"
"Uhh, yeah, I guess." Gidrien immediately thought this was weird... she thought about Kerbin.
"And now I can see Kerbin!" said Shercott.
"Wait a second, you appear to be reading my mind! How are you reading my mind? Wait - oh my. I can see your mind too."
"What number am I thinking of?" asked Shercott excitedly.
"921413 and a half!"
"We must have been reading Gemna's mind when she showed us the astronaut complex. Weird, I can't get it to work with her again..."
"Weird... this "Gemna..." She says she's from a different universe, and merged them for a split second to tell us something..."
"I can't remember it though. I hope it wasn't that important..."
"She barged into our universe. It was probably important."

"There's Minmus again."
"I know. I can see that, too."

"We're on our way, Jeb."
Meanwhile on Kerbin, a figure approached another figure next to the ruined space center.

"Hey, Wernher. It's been a while, I thought you were dead," Said Gene.
"Likewise, old friend."
"Do you know anything about what caused this?"
"Actually - yes. I assume that's why you summoned me?"
"Correct."
"To start with, that missile was launched by the Flat Kerbin Society." Gene groaned.
"Oh no, not them. You can't get anything into the heads of those conspiracy theorists. They - "
"Don't start ranting my friend. Back on topic, the society has been gaining a foothold on the world for the last two months, simply because the public doesn't want to believe the world is ending."
"So they believe everything is fake instead?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"So, what do we do now?"
"Contact my friends at the island airport. We couldn't build a new Intrepid from there, but we certainly could build and launch support craft."
"How are we going to get there, though?"
"Did I mention that my rover was also a plane?"
"What?"
"We go there tonight. I just wanted to tell you..."



"The KSC still stands."

 

 

Edited June 19, 2018 by Ultimate Steve

[max_creative]

The flat Kerbin society! I hate them! Can I please bomb them? Maybe send some hypersonic fighter jets to destroy them? Oh wait... The ksc 2 can't be destroyed. Aw man... 

THOSE DARN CONSPIRACY THEORISTS!!! SMASH THEM WITH 250 TON CRUISERS!!!

[Ultimate Steve]

Part/Chapter/Segment 8:

Spoiler

Gidrien and Shercott had arrived at the strange base. Jebediah was not responding to any hailings on any frequency. Nobody was in sight.

"There appears to be nobody in this thing, Shercott."
"Wait, there's a hatch!"


"There's a ladder! It's just like Jeb's little hut with his underground base!"
"It's pretty huge by the looks of things, but what's that blue glow?"

"Ah, you must be Gidrian and Shercott!"
"Who are you two?"

"I am Bob Kerman. You may have heard of me."
"Nope."
"I am Bill Kerman."
"Never heard of you, either. Why does your voice sound so strange? What is this place? Where is Jeb?"
"Jeb is... downstairs, working on the experiments."
"But Jeb's not a scientist!"
"He is. He just doesn't show it. Our voices sound weird, because fifty years of living on the Mun will do that to you."

"What do you need so many negative gravioli particle detectors for?"
"DON'T TOUCH THAT! I mean, *ahem*, It would not be in our... best interests for you to touch that, Gidrien." Gidrien didn't feel right. Shercott looked like he was having the time of his life, but something seemed strange about this whole thing.
"Where is Jeb?" Gidrien shouted this time.
"We told you," Bob replied, "Downstairs working on the experiments."
"Well... there's no ladder. Tell me where Jeb is, or else I'll touch these!"

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Where is Jeb? I can sense something isn't right." Bill and Bob looked at each other, then back at Gidrien and Shercott. Was it her imagination, or were their eyes glowing red?

"Please, stand still," Bob said in a menacing voice. Without hesitation, Gidrien shoved her hand into the array of negative gravioli detectors. Gravity began to shift, then...





Bill and Bob were gone. The base appeared to be intact. Where Bill and Bob were standing was now a pile of smoldering circuit boards.

A panel in the wall had fallen away. There sat three Kerbals.

"MMMMFF!" Shouted Jeb. The other two Kerbals looked the same as the robots, but older. Gidrian began untying the first one.
"Finally! This duct tape has been on my face for the last ten years!"
"And you are...?"
"Bob. Bob Kerman. I should have never built those robots."

============================================

A short time later, Everyone was untied and introduced to each other. Apparently, when Jeb had arrived, the robots had captured him and held him with Bill and Bob, who had built the robot clones eleven years earlier. They had taken over the base and began using it to perform experiments on Gravioli Particles.

"So, what were they planning to do with all those graviolis anyway, Bill?"
"I know it sounds crazy, Gidrien, but they were supposedly working on Time travel. They didn't get very far, but they did succeed in almost killing Bob and I about..."
"87 times, Bill."
"Thank you, Bob."

"Well, now that that is out of the way, it's good to see you again, Bill and Bob! I assume you've already refueled the lander."
"Yes, Jeb," Bill replied.
"Wait... the lander only has 4 seats!"
"Well... 6 seats. You just need to be a bit more daring."

"Base self destruct in 3... 2... 1..."


Jebediah Kerman switched his communicator off. Nobody could hear him, now.

"I need more explosions," He said to himself.

"I need to be more of the Kerbal I was fifty years ago."

"I only did that by cheating logic, though. I need to be better this time. If only I had some more magic to work with..." He shook his head. Never again, he swore to himself, would he make a deal with the -

"Ow!" He shouted. "There already, then." He switched his com back on.
"Where to next, then?" Bill asked him.

"I want to go to Duna."
"Why Duna? The Jool window's sooner -"
"Duna. I've got a feeling. Something I haven't felt in forever..."
============================================================

Far away, a Jet took off from a space center. Not the desrroyed one, though...
"Thedney, prepare to launch the missile."
"Uh, okay." He felt like he wasn't up to this, but he was the only pilot in the Society.


The missile streaked upwards, and upwards some more.


The engines cut out, and the projectile reached its apogee. It took this picture.

"Dark, but it proves our point. The KSC is hacking our cameras, still. Even after we destroyed their space center..."
"Well... maybe Kerbin is actually rou-"
"No! Remember all of the water trough results! We proved Kerbin was flat a long time ago."
Thedney took a deep breath. If Kerbin was truly round, then people ought to know. He would be their puppet no more.

"Thedney, what are you doing?"
"What I should have done a long time ago."

"You have one problem, Thedney. You can't aim."

"Correct, Master. I cannot aim missiles. I can aim planes, though."
"Thedney?"

"THEDNEY?"


Thousands of kilometers away, on the Mun, a base packed with Gravioli detectors blew up. This was not a coincidence. That energy had to go somewhere anyway, so the universe stepped in and borrowed some.

Thedney looked around, dazed and confused.
"Where am I?"
"Look, Thedney," Said a sly and ominous voice. A different one, though. "I want to defeat the society the same as you do. Crashing planes into indestructible buildings isn't going to defeat them."
The stars looked all wrong, although Thedney was in the same place.
"I'm going to give you a better chance. Look around, Thedney. Tell me what you see."
"But it can't be... I thought you were a myth..."
"Oh, yes."

======================================================
Wernher Von Kerman sat in the cockpit of the smallest space vehicle built in years.

He had always intended to go to space himself. However, when he was on the pad one day, almost there, fifty years ago, a missile hit. Then another. Then another, and another, until there was nothing left. He went underground.

The big resupply mission would not come for another week. He had simply borrowed a few parts and made this. His mission: deliver the ITV-011's nameplate.


He felt the second stage kick in. He was finally almost there. Perfect rendezvous, he was right on target right away.



Werner approached the massive construction. "This is the Spider-1, requesting permission to dock."
"Granted, Werner."
"Thank you, Patfrey."

"So, Werner. What are we calling this thing, anyway?"

"This is the ITV-011 "Creativity." Jeb thought of the name. It was a friend, a long time ago, I think. Now, please disarm the aesthetic explosives Jeb installed on the nameplate. Or not. The Jeb fifty years ago, and probably the Jeb today would want them to remain. But put eight safeties on the button."
"When do we get to see the light show?"
"Whenever he deems necessary."

 

Edited June 19, 2018 by Ultimate Steve

[max_creative]

Evil robots... Good thing the IVT doesn't have bay doors... 

Oh hey! I think the creativity can fit inside the creativity! Moar boosters = moar Kerbal! I guess Kerbal is a verb now... Actually, I think it became one a long time ago... Maybe the 010 was a secret launch to Jool! To try and find the kraken! Dun dun dun! 

I need moar booster...

[Ultimate Steve]

Part 9:

Spoiler

It was a busy day at the Island airport, with 3 launches planned that day, along with several more in the following days. The first launch was the biggest:

Why the need for so many launches? Let's go back a bit.
=================================================
"Hey, Wernher!"
"Yes, Patfrey?"
"What are we going to use this ship for, anyway?"
"Uh........" Werner pulled up his transfer window calculations.
"Let me guess. Nobody planned this far ahead?"
"Uh..." Moho was the soonest transfer window. But that couldn't be possible with a single stage ship...
"Well, do you know or not?"
"Jool! Yes, that was the plan all along!" Jool was the second transfer window coming up, after the Moho one.
"Right."
This conversation was followed by a flurry of designs from all of the engineers.

"Jeb?"
"Yes, Wernher?"
"This Tylo lander design you gave me seems a bit... unimpressive for your tastes. Is there something you haven't told me?"

"Well, there is something I haven't told you..."
"Oh, no."
"I've got an ARMY OF THEM!!!!"

"MUAHAHAHAHAH!"
"Jeb! Why on Kerbin would you need SIX TYLO LANDERS? There's no way the Creativity can dedicate fifty tons of payload to just Tylo!"
"No, it's perfect! I have it all planned out. It's epic, and the final stages can be re-used for Vall, Bop, and Pol. Half our mass budget for four out of five moons? I think that's pretty efficient."
"Finally, you've learned to be practical."
"..."
"Please don't tell me you stole Bill's blueprints."
"Maybe... half of them?"
===================================================
Anyway, back to the launch. Creativity was being outfitted for a massive Jool five mission attempt. (Although it actually won't qualify for the actual Jool 5 challenge because, let's face it, the occasional justified cheat has been used). It would need between seven and ten launches to do this. The first one was a refueler.

Remember, the rockets need to be assembled on their sides now. We're launching from the island air base.





The last stage was two thuds. This made the refueler have really low acceleration, and it bumped into the Creativity at about 2 meters per second.
"Oof! Patfrey, what was that?"
"It was the refueler, Stabel. Have you been paying attention for the past hour?"
"Nope. Been working on an idea for an Intrepid VOTL, so it can refuel on Minmus."
"That's actually a great idea. Go talk to Wernhe- Oh, he just sealed off the docking port."

The refueler did its job too well. There was well over a thousand liquid fuel still in it by the time the Creativity was fully fueled. It then proceeded to de-orbit itself.




"Hey, Shercott? Are you getting these photos?"
"Yeah, why?"


"What in the world is that?"

The second big thing to happen that day was Wernher's de-orbit, one orbit later. He hoped to investigate the strange anomaly, but his capsule was really low on fuel.





"Magnificent desolation." Wernher had never been to Kerbin's deserts. They were startlingly beautiful.
================================================
"Hey, Gene!"
"Yes, Jeb?"
"I have Bill's blueprints for you!"
"Isn't that Wernher's thing?"
"He's in the desert. No comms. You're the only one I can talk to right now."
"Allright, let's see them!"
"I'm sending you the file now. The internet around the Mun is terrible. Should be about an hour."
"An hour? It shouldn't take that long."
"Maybe it's just dramatic delay."
"A what?"
==================================================
The second launch that day was a docking adapter. One of two. This was the smaller one. The ship's docking ports were a bit too close to accommodate all of the Jool ships, so two custom adapters needed to be sent up.

This was probably the smallest orbital vehicle launched in fifty years.







It was a flawless docking. The stage de-orbited. The next launch was the other adapter... It was a bit more asymmetric.




This is where the engineers goofed. The adapter had to be connected by the port that the lower stage was attached to. Eventually, they undocked it and moved the Creativity to dock with it.

Then it was de-orbited. However, there is now some debris on an escape trajectory form Kerbin travelling at 6KM/s... Totally not me getting bored and re-entering at high speeds with HyperEdit...
========================================================
"Hey, Gene! You know out blueprints for the Jool Creativity outfit?"
"Yeah? The ones you said had, like, seven ships attached to it?"
"They should be done transmitting in about 3... 2... 1..."

Side note: It only takes a pizza and a notebook to plan all of these ships, but it can take days to build and test them. Now I just have to launch them

Edited June 19, 2018 by Ultimate Steve

[max_creative]

One word: 

yes!!! 

how's the vtol going? Usually works better when it's smaller. Your going to need a lot of struts...

[max_creative]

Oh hey,if you ever get stuck, I made something for you... 

The Intrepid Rescue Vehicle. 

99.9 meters tall. My computer hates it. 559 parts. 5441.4 tons.  I spent 45 minutes on this lagfest. 

Everyone needs to be rescued sometimes.

[Ultimate Steve]

Yeah, thanks for the VTOL idea earlier  I've started building it into the ITV V2, but no spoilers yet.

100 meters... woah. I guess the

And at this point, the pictures loaded in  That's a huge beast! Also points out how long the pictures take to load in this thread.

When everything is docked to the Creativity, it will probably be over 600 parts, so yeah. I'm designing the V2 to be low part count.

EDIT: 200th post!

 

Edited June 21, 2016 by Ultimate Steve

[Ultimate Steve]

Part 10:

Spoiler

In the middle of the night, another rocket was set up on the island runway.

This was the SSTO for Laythe.
The engineers could have built a conventional rocket to launch it, but this was easier and less boring.


After the SRB's flamed out, however, there was still fuel in the tanks attached to the boosters. So, the boosters stayed on for a while longer.


Then, they were detached without event.

Soon, the Laythe SSTO reached the Creativity.

It docked to the first adapter.

Houston, the mission controller, introduced this next rocket with a loud voice.
"I present to you, the AMAZING-"

"Oh. Uh, I present to you the AMAZING-"



"Stop doing that! I present to you the AMAZING-"




"LAYTHE AERONUAT III AND SUBNAUT I!"

If you weren't clued in by that, this is two vessels: A laythe plane for flying around, and a submarine.

However, there was a problem yet again. By the time it reached the Creativity, it had exactly FOUR meters per second of Delta-V. This would test the abilities of the pilots sitting in mission control quite a bit.

Almost...

There! A docking with only 4m/s of DV!

Next up was the - uh, one of the ISRU's! Yes.


This was the Laythe ISRU and Scansat. It would refuel the Laythe planes as well as scan Laythe for ore before the ISRU lands.


The docking went flawlessly.

After that was the Tylo ISRU.

The Kerbal engineers were now getting tired of launching from the island airport. However, KSC would be irradiated for a few more days until the workers cleaned it all up.


Another flawless docking. Now, it was time for the (very frustrating) TYLO ARMY! To launch.

"Behold! The AMAZING TYLO ARMY!"

"Uhh... the TWR is a bit low..."
"Yeah. Forgot this was fifty tons. Should have built a bigger rocket."
"Okay. Try again next pass?"
"Yep."
"Lunch break, everyone! Except the assembly workers! We need a bigger rocket!"

"Why do Mammoths like the ground so much?"
"I don't know."
"Whatever. LAUNCH!"

"Mmm, these snacks taste amazing!"
"Stop it! I said LAUNCH, not LUNCH!"

"Behold..."

"THE TYLO ARMY!"


"Okay, coming into dock, everything looks good!"

"No problems so far."
"Uh, sir? Do you see what I see?"
"No, what?"
"Someone added the wrong size docking port."

ERROR! RageQuit.gif not found.

=============================================================

"How in the world did we miss that? The Engineer report should mention that!"
"Okay, TYLO ARMY! Take 87!"
"Why is it Krakening on the runway?"
"Okay, TYLO ARMY, Take 88!"




"TYLO ARMY, take 89!"



"Sir, we've lost contact with the rocket and we can no longer move!"
"Ignore it, no time will pass. For us it will only last a second."
====================================================
Me: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GAME CRASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!1!!!!11!!!1!!ONE11!!!!!



 

Today I fail at launching the TYLO ARMY!

Edited June 19, 2018 by Ultimate Steve

[max_creative]

Ha ha! 

Maybe don't launch its in one piece...

[rlin]

A classic case of RUD: rapid unplanned disassembly on Take 88. 

[Ultimate Steve]

RUKID: Rapid Unplanned Kraken Induced Disassembly.

The image loading is getting progressively worse and worse - if only we could get it to the second page!

Part 11:

Spoiler

In a different universe, far beyond the fourth wall, a boy sat at his computer desk and fiddled with the settings.

Well, I needed to reset all of my controls for 1.1.3, so, yeah.
The Kerbals had made great progress with repairing the KSC, and could now launch from the runway again.

(Also because I didn't have HyperEdit installed)

"BEHOLD! THE TYLO ARMY!!!!!!"

"Take 172."



"Okay, we've got the right sized docking ports this time. The plane is in the way, though. We need to undock it."
"Roger, Patfrey."

"Okay, now we need to move the other plane."
"Okay."




"Creativity is almost done being outfitted for Jool!"
"Yes, Wernher. Now, only one thing is left."
"The Crew?"
"Recovery Systems?"
"A Webcast?"
"Nope, Nope, and Nope. The T.A.S.C.!"
"The What?"
"The Tylo Army Support Craft!"
"..."
"It's basically a bunch of dockable fuel tanks so that the landers can reach Bop and Pol."
"Oh, okay."



"HO - LY - MO - HO - WHAT - IS - HAPP - PEN - ING!"
Me: Ugh, I hate this lag. Reminds me of when I used to play on an ancient Windows XP laptop.

"Alright, who put the submarine in front of the docking port?"
"We'll have to move it, boss."
Me: I need to be somewhere right now, I'll move it later.

"Let's just dock it to that port for the time being."
"Good plan."

"I can't see anything out of this Cupola!"
"Don't worry, we'll move it later."
Me: When I don't have five background programs running!

Me: 556 PARTS? That means, I have a new record! It is no longer held by Space Station Epic IV!
You're probably wondering what SSE IV is.

This is SSE IV. It is actually quite a bit smaller than it was supposed to be in the long run. If I ever get back to it, It will have four labs and an asteroid!
===========================================================================
Tedfry Kerman was trapped in his plane.

"Hello? Weird voice? Where am I? And how is my plane intact?"

"Weird voice?"
"Tedfry... I have done a number of things. I have teleported you to make this easier."
"Where Am I? And who are you?"
"You are at the KSC, can't you see?"
"No. I can't get out. My plane's upside down."
"Ah, one second."

"That's better - you'll also notice I attempted to reassemble your plane."
"Where are you, even?"

"Who are you, even?"

"Tedfry - I have changed your name to Tomfurt - look over here."
"Sorry, what? My name is Tedfry! Or Thedney, I guess, that's what everyone at the society called me."

Tomfurt saw only blackness where the stars should have been.

He stepped through it.


"Who are you?"
"Tomfurt, I am this big black thing here. You'll see that I've grown recently."

"You're huge!"
"Yes, I am. And I need your help."
"How?"
"You see - the black hole that is going to destroy the Kerbin system - will also destroy me. I have seen, you are the only one who can help me."
"How?"
"You must figure out that for yourself."
"Who are you? You still haven't told me!" The monolith paused for a second, and then answered.
"Let's say I'm a bit of an... overseer. There are many copies of this universe you call home. One of me is in each one of them. In some universes, I act as a portal, or a message, or simply eye candy. We were built to observe. Now, in this universe, I am going to die in 200 years. I cannot be moved, I am made of a really dense material, sometimes called "vabolarchium." We cannot move the black hole , the solar system, do anything else to avert impending doom, not without more magic than this universe has left - "
"Magic?"
"Yes, of course. Each universe has a different amount of magic in it. This magic is split evenly between three entities - myself, the Kraken, and a strange one called "The Player." This magic takes many forms, they are referred to as "editing the persistence," "mods," "updates," and many more.
"Can you tell me about these?"
"They are really complicated. Basically - the universe is made out of a medium called the Persistence. The Persistence follows various natural laws - to change the persistence, one must use magic.
"Explain updates, I think I'm getting this. Maybe."
"You can never fully understand the multiverse. There is much that even I don't know. Updates are one of the may ways that time flows - there is also "player time," "regular time," "persistence time," and "update version time." Update time comes randomly, and is decided by forces outside of our control. However, the update cannot advance beyond a certain update determined by an even more mysterious, and unknown entity... When an update is applied, sometimes the universe merges with the update. Sometimes, the universe is copied over and merged with the new update. It is very confusing, even to me."
"Why are you telling me about this?"
"A new update was released into this universe - things have changed, and I've gotten bigger and more powerful."
"So?"
"I am still immobile as ever. The starships that the KSC is designing - they can never move me. That leaves us two options to save me - we gather enough magic to move the planets out of harm's way, or we make a portal so I can go to another universe."
"Okay, then.
"I need you to get a surface sample from all eighteen bodies in the Kerbol system."
"EIGHTEEN bodies?"
"The planets, Jool, and the Sun."
"How?"
"I don't know."
"And why? That's only Seventeen bodies?"
"This universe is... running dangerously low on magic. The Kraken is dead, and Jebediah Kerman, one of the only magic users left, has used up most of his remaining supply. A lot of magic is required to move the planets, so that is not an option. We must instead build the portal. This requires an element made out of the samples. So, Tomfurt… what do you say? I'll teach you the magical ways, and you help me escape the universe."
"I'm in," said Tomfurt without hesitation.
"How much magic does moving the planets require?"
"More than this universe has. However, there is a very slight hope..."
"What sort of hope?"

"..."

"A long time ago, several updates before this universe was conceived, there was... a boulder made of pure magic... It has long since been destroyed. But there may be another."
=======================================================================================
"Okay, Gene! the blueprints are done!"
"Yes, Wernher. Do we have another volunteer to fly it?"
"Yeah, some dude named "Teddy" or "Tomfree" of something."
"But first we need to make a lifter for it."
"Yes. It will be done Soon. Soon^tm."

 

Edited June 19, 2018 by Ultimate Steve

[max_creative]

Your going to need a lot of struts for the V2... 

I assume the irsu equipment is inside the cargo bays? And that the thuds are evenly balanced? And the engines have action groups? And the heat management equipment and solar panels are in protected places for landing? 

Your going to need way more sas or vernor thrusters to keep that stable. 

Also, I'm waiting for you to say that I can press the space bar and launch my inter-universe hyperdrive ring and go to your universe...

MUST... GET... ANOTHER... PAGE! THE... LAG... IS... KILLING ME!!!

[Ultimate Steve]

@max_creative,

Actually, I need less struts for the V2. Instead of boosters radially attached, I have rotated MK3 fuel tanks. Should be much more Stable.

The ISRU stuff is in the bays. The thuds should be as balanced as they can be, but I am planning to move them to cargo bays as well. I have yet to do action groups, because this is not the final version (yet). The radiators are in the back.

There are SAS units in the cargo bays, as well as quite a few vernors.

1 hour ago, max_creative said:

inter-universe hyperdrive ring 

Just... A... Few... More... Posts... Until... Page... Two!

Also, your rep is 555.

Edited June 23, 2016 by Ultimate Steve

[max_creative]

15 hours ago, Ultimate Steve said:

@max_creative,

Actually, I need less struts for the V2. Instead of boosters radially attached, I have rotated MK3 fuel tanks. Should be much more Stable.

The ISRU stuff is in the bays. The thuds should be as balanced as they can be, but I am planning to move them to cargo bays as well. I have yet to do action groups, because this is not the final version (yet). The radiators are in the back.

There are SAS units in the cargo bays, as well as quite a few vernors.

Just... A... Few... More... Posts... Until... Page... Two!

Also, your rep is 555.

But anything that big will wobble bad when thrust is applied to it. Even if your connections are stronger. And they weren't very strong in the first place. If you intend to land, you need action groups! 

After this only... 5 more posts?!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

[Ultimate Steve]

5 posts after this (this is #20).

I've tested it now, and it handles perfectly fine... I've added the action groups, and the biggest issue so far is the turn rate, even with a Mk3 bay full of SAS wheels

It also looks 5000% cooler than the originals.

[max_creative]

1 hour ago, Ultimate Steve said:

5 posts after this (this is #20).

I've tested it now, and it handles perfectly fine... I've added the action groups, and the biggest issue so far is the turn rate, even with a Mk3 bay full of SAS wheels

It also looks 5000% cooler than the originals.

 

Turn rate is important though, because when it takes of it has to rotate 180 degrees (or something similar to that) in order to get back to a proper orbit. And it has to react relatively fast to maneuver for landing. 

4 posts...

[Ultimate Steve]

Well, I've now gone to Minmus with it and it turns decently well, so...

3 posts... It's The Final Countdown...

[max_creative]

46 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Well, I've now gone to Minmus with it and it turns decently well, so...

3 posts... It's The Final Countdown...

Which you made an awesome video of! 

We needed one of these sooner! MOAR BOOSTERS!!!

[insert_name]

1 hour ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Well, I've now gone to Minmus with it and it turns decently well, so...

3 posts... It's The Final Countdown...

following

2 posts