The Call of the Void-New story, New Thread.

[DMSP]

Three words. Hi, I'm back!

Let's go.

Table of Contents:
Prelude-The two remain.
Chapter 1-Learning the ropes... Again.
Chapter 2-Meddeling around the Mun.
Chapter 3-Aluminum Boostershire.
Chapter 4-Take to the Skies.
Chapter 5-One step to the Stars. (New!)

 

Prelude-The two that remain.

The room inside the office was definitely damp. Not too cold, something like what you would feel when Kerbol was high in the sky and a cold breeze would come in from the waters off the KSC and flow through the buildings. Roughly that cold. The lighting was awful in the room as well, wi-

"Listen to me. Was the Republic of Kolonia in possession of any nuclear devices when it broke apart last month?" The Kerbal, shorter than her, was being quite annoying now. This whole situation was relatively annoying. The Katax Union, although not the direct cause of the breakup of Kolonia, was an annoyance ever since Megra and I had arrived. It's not fun being reminded every second by people around you that your nation had broken up.

What added insult to injury was that the majority of fragment states that had come out of the turmoil supported the Alliance of Working states.

The Kerbal sighed. "Marmy! Talk to me! I'm trying to be nice here but you're seriously getting on my nerves!"

"I'm telling you, I was an astronaut, not a Kerbal in the military! I don't know anything about our nukes, and I don't know if we had even had any!"

"Alright. Now, tell us a bit about your space program."

Us? He was the only one in the room. Ah. There were probably cameras and microphones.

"Well, that would just be time wasted. You already know all you need to know, the news and your intelligence officers have definitely figured everything out already. It might be better if you told me about yours."

The Kerbal moved slightly back. "Hmm. Alright. But the second I start talking, you're automatically a legal employee of our space program."

"Deal."

"Ok then. Welcome to the Katax Union Space Administration, or KUSA."

"KUSA! Hah! That's almost like a jok-"

"I can still fire you. And I'm not sure where a Kolonian would get another job out here. Anyways, we started launching right about when you were getting your second manned flight into orbit." The Kerbal smiled, as if remembering such a moment with joy and pride. Heck, he probably was. "It was old wartime technology, half a decade old. Up it went on that peaceful day. We were cheering, celebrating. You should have seen the look on everyone's faces."

"It just headed into the sky. Off it went. When we received the news it had reached space, we didn't know what to say. We had done something that had only be done by one other country."

"It was such a large success that the space program would be given the funding and technology straight away, and we immediately moved on to our newest version of the rocket, which, by the way, was called the Flare mk1."

"The Flare mk2, however, made our second launch a bit fiery, but it was still a step forward."

"Our third launch brought us once again, above the atmosphere. We collected so much data from that launch, and we were able to collect all of it from the radio antenna we had onboard the mk2.2."

"It burnt up in quite a spectacular daylight fireball, which people across the Katax Union saw. The funds started to pour in from there."

"We made orbit the next week."

"And then it was just launch after launch."

"Our new rocket design was dirt cheap, and we saw some absolutely incredible things with it. To be honest with you, from colleague to new colleague, I'm extremely jealous you have seen what's up there with your own eyes. I hope to do it too someday. My name's Rufred."

"Well, Rufred." I said, "Tell me the rest about KUSA."

"After that, it was just probe after probe after probe. We scattered communications satellites in various orbits around Kerbin, which dealt with the small error of lack of cummunications."

"Some days we had these launches that were so incredible, everybody would come out to see them, especially the ones early in the morning, because the rocket would tip into the sun's light far before the ground, and it would just flare up in metallic reflected light."

"We actually first learned about the end of your program when we launched another high orbit communications satellite, which we had launched slightly too low. It turned out ok, and pulled through, but it passed right over your space center. Radar images proved it was in wrecks. I'm sorry to tell you this, but a fair share of cheers and rounds went around when the news got out."

"We shot out probes everywhere."

"But of course, there comes a time when you can't randomly throw probes up the gravity well, and so we set up a powerful Stationary Orbit satellite above the Katax Union. You had a few of those, right?"

To this, I just nodded. We put up two, and TellDeuterium. They were probably offline and tumbling now.

"After that, we developed a rocket, that, although slightly pricey, would surpass anything that had been put out into our orbits before."

"It worked perfectly, and we had so much fuel left over in the probe that we decided- Hear this- We decided to send it to Duna."

This shocked me. These guys had never been to interplanetary space, let alone the Mun, and they already had a probe on the way to Duna? They really hadn't been asleep whilst we were up launching our probes.

Rufred was obviously excited. "The photos are amazing, Kerbin really does get so small!"

"The last launch we did put another communication satellite into a super elliptical orbit."

He took a breath. "And that's where we are now."

I wasn't buying it for one bit. "So you're telling me that you've had one accident in your whole program?"

"Well..."

"We've also lost a booster after its engines cut off. We only have one photo of it, and that was just after it lifted off, mainly because the camera crew was running for their lives."

"So. That's our space program."

"Well, it's a nice one, that's for sure. How can I be assured that I won't be put into some death contraption and flown off to my doom?"

"I'm not going to answer that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to request for you and Megra to become citizens of the Katax Union. Legally, you are the only two people from Kolonia left in the world."

Edited January 10, 2017 by DMSP

[SpaceplaneAddict]

Well, joke's on them cause there's a cubesat and a MicroSat on it's way to Eve if I'm correct!

[Andem]

40 minutes ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

Well, joke's on them cause there's a cubesat and a MicroSat on it's way to Eve if I'm correct!

lol.

 

\o/ It returns!

[SpaceplaneAddict]

Just now, Andem said:

\o/ It returns!

I can't into references, mind telling me what this means? thanks

2 hours ago, DMSP said:

To this, I just nodded. We put up two, and TellDeuterium. They were probably offline and tumbling now.

But really, what has become of the probes of the Private-series launches?

[Andem]

2 minutes ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

I can't into references, mind telling me what this means? thanks

You mean the "\o/"? Old(?) emoji is probably the best description for it... It's a stick man throwing his arms up in joy/satisfaction (depending on the circumstances)

[SpaceplaneAddict]

Just now, Andem said:

You mean the "\o/"? Old(?) emoji is probably the best description for it... It's a stick man throwing his arms up in joy/satisfaction (depending on the circumstances)

Ahh, I thought it was some sort of reference. I'm not that young ya know!

[DMSP]

1 hour ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

Well, joke's on them cause there's a cubesat and a MicroSat on it's way to Eve if I'm correct!

Yes, along with three Duna probes! Suckers.

29 minutes ago, Andem said:

lol.

 

\o/ It returns!

Yes, yes it does!

28 minutes ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

But really, what has become of the probes of the Private-series launches?

I think we'll have to wait and see...

 

[Kerbalstar]

3 hours ago, DMSP said:

Three words. Hi, I'm back!

Let's go.

And Snip awesome prelude

Awesome! Classic DMSP style! It looks awesome and I eagerly await the next installment!

[insert_name]

Will the katax be doing something similar to the private launches

[DMSP]

1 hour ago, kerbalstar said:

Awesome! Classic DMSP style! It looks awesome and I eagerly await the next installment!

I have a style now!? AWESOME (That means I am doing something right ).

25 minutes ago, insert_name said:

Will the katax be doing something similar to the private launches

As far as we know, the Katax Union doesn't exist right now. Let's see where the story goes.

[SpaceplaneAddict]

10 hours ago, DMSP said:

the Katax Union doesn't exist right now

A secret spacefaring nation becoming a rising power?

[DMSP]

5 hours ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

A secret spacefaring nation becoming a rising power?

No, it's just that I'm trying to get people to refrain from jumping to places that are far away with no knowledge on the place that they're going.

On another note, I'll be putting out another chapter in a few days.

[Dogenutt]

Very much enjoying this series as much as the last, and it is nice that we get to know the two who stayed weren't attacked by bears! 

(Also the duna mission reminds of one of my first missions where I went to the mun and mininus all in one! Also I suspect someone is jealous now)

[DMSP]

15 hours ago, Dogenutt said:

Very much enjoying this series as much as the last, and it is nice that we get to know the two who stayed weren't attacked by bears! 

(Also the duna mission reminds of one of my first missions where I went to the mun and mininus all in one! Also I suspect someone is jealous now)

Thank you!

That's a pretty good flight. I've been on Mun-Minmus flights, but never Mun-Minmus-Duna.

Congrats!

[TheEpicSquared]

Looking forward to more  

[DMSP]

2 hours ago, TheEpicSquared said:

Looking forward to more  

Awesome stuff! It's good to have you here.

[DMSP]

Chapter 1-Learning the ropes... Again.

"Marmy, I understand you were the best pilot in Kolonia. You've told us what, sixteen, seventeen times now?" Rufred sighed, knowing that Marmy wasn't going to stop until he admitted that either she was the best pilot in the Katax Union, or he immediately gave her a personal aircraft or something.

Marmy, however, wanted a taste of Katax aircraft.

So, Rufred set up an Aluminum X4-C, the top tech available in the Katax Union, and instructed Marmy to fly it south.

"Just you watch me. I'll fly this plane better than anyone else!"

Rufred had to admit, her takeoff was excellent. With the Mun high in the sky, the Aluminum banked south and began accelerating, and Rufred could see that Marmy wasn't lying when she said she was a good pilot. She was keeping the thing in the air, which was insane, because most well trained Katax pilots couldn't get this thing off the runway!

With Marmy holding the aircraft steady, Rufred had seen enough, and Marmy looped back and touched down on the runway, small puffs of smoke rising from each wheel.

Back at the main space center, two probes were being prepared on lifters for liftoff. Both would be going places no Kerbal had been to before, and one would sit in silence for more than a year, waiting, the other would be active, throwing back data and discovering new things.

Anils-1 lifted off early in dark of night, towards a place well known throughout the ages, a place that once had shared the name of this probe, a place now know to all as the Mun.

The launch was more than successful, and the transfer burn went relatively ok. But this brought a problem up, a serious problem that was now beginning to take its toll on the mission designers, mission planners, and mission controllers. The inclination of the space center.

The probe had to execute three maneuvers to even get close to the Mun. And this was only a flight to the Mun. What about future manned missions to Duna, Eve, or Jool? Targeting the planets themselves was tricky from such an orbit.

It was almost clear that a new launch site was needed. Something deep in the desert down south of the center. The logistics, heck, the logistics would be a nightmare, but this really seemed like a necessary thing if the Katax Union was to ever get further that the Mun.

Minmus would even be an issue...

At the Mun, Anils-1 captured into its orbit, correcting its inclination to equatorial in one burn. Soon, it had swept across the Mun, accumulating gravity data which showed deposits of minerals, and searching for any spacecraft in Munar orbit.

Hours flew by. Controllers of the primary mission went home. Soon, just 4 Kerbals sat at the small mission control building. One, Inim Kerman, a radio communicator, was monitoring his screen, half asleep from the excitement of the day before.

He was, in fact, not noticing the data that was coming onto his screen, data that, if he had been noticing, would wake him up immediately.

[Anils01core-realign04dN113dE]

[Anils01core-panelaligncorrection]

[Anils01core-settingradiolock]

[Anils01core-settingdatalock]

[Anils01core-settingtargetlock]

[Anils01core-settingtargethold]

[Anils 01core-connecting]

[Anils01core-signallockon/OreSat01]

[Anils01core-restartsignalsent]

[Anils01core-connected]

Now with the sound of his second monitor booting up, Inim shook himself awake. Clearing his left eye, he looked back at his computer screen, and saw part of the data file. He then saw a map of the Mun loading on the monitor to his left, the monitor that he had switched off.

The map loaded down towards the equator, and suddenly, a red and blue overlay was appearing on the map. He immediately adjusted his headset and began typing onto his keyboard furiously, trying to figure out what had just happened.

When he saw what Anils-1 had connected too, he stopped, and looked back at the data. He then got the equatorial gravity map that Anils-1 had made and matched it with the red and blue overlay. It matched perfectly with suspected Ore and Mineral deposits.

Thinking fast, he called out to the leader of mission control, whom he suspected to be in the room.

"Nyla?" He called. Then, seeing Anils-1 begin connecting to another probe, he yelled.

"Nyla!"

 

The next few weeks continued along quietly. Contact was lost with Kenecula-2, Muna-8 was brought online, and contact was made briefly with Muna-6. The decision was made by Scientists and Mission Controllers alike that another probe was needed at Duna. So, Merch-2 was given the go ahead to roll down the crawlerway and be put upright.

The most powerful lifter in the Katax stockpile was created just for this moment. New tech was developed, including solar panels that would be able to get power out at the red planet, along with new scientific tools for the "Nerds in lab coats" (as Marmy calls them) to play around with.

And it was on its way, setting course corrections and carving a path through space ad history.

1 year till arrival.

Nobody could wait.

 

[Edit]: I forgot to thank @Cydonian Monk for the Aluminum X4-C, it's an awesome craft, and if you check his story, Forgotten Space Program, you can see it in action on some distant, watery worlds!

And @KerbalOmmex, it seems like OreSat-1 is still working after Kolonia collapsed!

Edited August 30, 2016 by DMSP

[SpaceplaneAddict]

But i need to know what happened to my precious baby the Private-series launched rockets ;(

[Andem]

Awesome! Are you actually using something like Antenna Range or Remote Tech?

[DMSP]

1 hour ago, SpaceplaneAddict said:

But i need to know what happened to my precious baby the Private-series launched rockets ;(

I dunno! When the Katax Union took over, I lost all track of the Kolonia stuff. Please. Help. Before they... Oh no... *Door opens*

15 minutes ago, Andem said:

Awesome! Are you actually using something like Antenna Range or Remote Tech?

Nah. But I actually try to have it in range of the antennas for something to "activate".

[SpaceplaneAddict]

2 minutes ago, DMSP said:

Oh no... *Door opens*

Don't tell me they found you to-

hey what are you-

STAY AWA-

*Agonized Screams*

 

Edited August 30, 2016 by SpaceplaneAddict

[OrbitalBuzzsaw]

IT'S BACK!!!!!!!!

ENCRYPT/DECRYPT CODE 9993F-88224NV

FROM : BUZZSAW_COMMAND

TO : FOLUS_COMMAND

ORS-3 PICKED UP A STRANGE SIGNAL FROM THE SAME LOCATION AS THE "KSC-2"

ALL MILITARY ON FULL ALERT

READYING THE MK-III RECON DRONES

DIRECT LINK FROM TVKST TO BUZZSAW HQ ESTABLISHED. PREPARING FOR 'OBSERVATION' OF THE "KATAX SPACE CENTER"

END TRANSMISSION

Edited August 30, 2016 by OrbitalBuzzsaw

[Wildcat111]

Great work @DMSP!

[DMSP]

2 hours ago, OrbitalBuzzsaw said:

IT'S BACK!!!!!!!!

ENCRYPT/DECRYPT CODE 9993F-88224NV

FROM : BUZZSAW_COMMAND

TO : FOLUS_COMMAND

ORS-3 PICKED UP A STRANGE SIGNAL FROM THE SAME LOCATION AS THE "KSC-2"

ALL MILITARY ON FULL ALERT

READYING THE MK-III RECON DRONES

DIRECT LINK FROM TVKST TO BUZZSAW HQ ESTABLISHED. PREPARING FOR 'OBSERVATION' OF THE "KATAX SPACE CENTER"

END TRANSMISSION

Oh goodness. Here comes Nuclear catastrophe MkII...

45 minutes ago, Wildcat111 said:

Great work @DMSP!

Thank you!

 

Unfortunatly I'm out of Rep Likes for today. Sorry guys!

[Plecy75]

so are private launches still going to happen? it took a while to design that ore scanner and space station, and I was really looking forward to them getting used

Edited August 31, 2016 by Plecy75