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

[Andem]

I'm super excited for new chapters, although I understand that school can be quite the limiting factor... 

[DMSP]

1 hour ago, Andem said:

I'm super excited for new chapters, although I understand that school can be quite the limiting factor... 

Oh boy, it is. I'll try to get something out this week.

[TheEpicSquared]

@DMSP Hey, do you know how to make a link for each chapter that you post? I've been wanting to do it for quite a while for my KSP Megastructures series. Thanks  

[DMSP]

1 hour ago, TheEpicSquared said:

@DMSP Hey, do you know how to make a link for each chapter that you post? I've been wanting to do it for quite a while for my KSP Megastructures series. Thanks  

Well, it's like this. If you look in the top right corner of each post, you'll see something that looks like...

Wait...

What does that look like?

Anyways, click on that, and a thing pops up that says "Share this post". You'll see the link already highlighted for you.

Well, thanks for stopping by! I hope to see you soon!

 

And, to everyone else, FINALLY, I was able to play around with KSP for a bit. I have the photos for the Chapter.

I hope to find time to get two, yes, two, chapters in this week.

Right now, I'm writing up a couple thousand word essay on Georges Clemenceau. Not entirely boring as it seems.

 

So, to all you people who wanted to send me Tantares craft, please, send them to me in the next two days, otherwise It'll be October when they can be launched.

On the 22nd, I'm going to head out of country for a while, meaning I can't bring my computer that I play KSP on. Hopefully, I can take the photos now, and find some computer or phone I can post from.

Thanks again guys, always great to have you here.

Edited September 19, 2016 by DMSP

[UnusualAttitude]

26 minutes ago, DMSP said:

I'm writing up a couple thousand word essay on Georges Clemenceau. Not entirely boring as it seems.

Indeed, one of the greatest moustaches in French history. So thick, so bushy, with a magnificent nonchalant droop at the corners... And those eyebrows. He was into politics too, I believe.
 

Spoiler

 

 

Good luck with your essay. No sneakily launching things to space when you should be studying. We can wait... impatiently. 

[TheEpicSquared]

@DMSP Here's a (mostly) Tantares geostationary comsat I threw together rather quickly. It weighs about 1.6 tons, hopefully you can launch those weights.  

https://kerbalx.com/TheEpicSquared/Tantares-ComSat-1

Edited September 20, 2016 by TheEpicSquared

[DMSP]

@TheEpicSquared Thanks for the Sat!

I am back on my computer now.

Thank you so much guy for waiting. I'll try to get something out today but no promises.

You're all awesome.

[TheEpicSquared]

@DMSP Any idea when a new chapter will be coming out? Just wondering  

[DMSP]

3 hours ago, TheEpicSquared said:

@DMSP Any idea when a new chapter will be coming out? Just wondering  

Maybe once I finish my homework? Got a bit to do but then I should be right on my way.

[TheEpicSquared]

1 hour ago, DMSP said:

Maybe once I finish my homework? Got a bit to do but then I should be right on my way.

Ah I see. School's quite the limiting factor my mission report as well. Let's see, English essay, math test, French test, Swedish test, science lab report....  

[DMSP]

Ok. FINALLY.

Also, I'm thanking @Cydonian Monk for the Aluminum, and @Shamash for the KX-6 Yellowjacket. Check them both out on KerbalX.

Chapter 3-Aluminium Boostershire.

A chilly morning, for sure. Marmy looked around her, the bulky EVA suit restricting her movement, making her clumsy and almost dysfunctional. Slowly, she lifted her heavy feet and moved out of the control tower, towards the runway, where an aircraft was waiting for her. Around it, 3 engineers stood around, checking the last parts and making sure the parachute was correctly placed.

One, seeing the pilot out of the corner of his eye, climbed into the cockpit. The other two stood back. Marmy watched from a distance as the engines started to spool up, gaining power.

Now running, she nodded at the engineers, who began moving back towards the tower, and sealed the cockpit.

She then flipped a few switches, looked up at the tower, and gunned the throttle.

Gaining speed, she felt the air pushing on the Aluminum, and slowly lifted the joystick up. The plane gracefully floated into the air, still gaining speed, and she banked it toward the country of Irandenburg, which had collapsed hours earlier, mainly because of the fall of Kolonia.

Gaining altitude on her cruise, she tried not to look at the countryside zipping below here. This was not her home. No Place was her home.

She, however, did notice the mountain cluster coming up over the horizon. Looming ahead of her, she knew that this was the end of the safe zone.

This was confirmed by Rufred warning her about "Arrows" over the radio. Arrows were a type of missile, originating in Kolonia, capable of being used against literally everything. Once they were launched from the Tri-team "Bow", they were extremely hard to stop.

Not even two minutes afterwards, she noticed flashes near the Doranelle River. Two streaks started to climb towards her. He heart started to pound. A tracking alarm turned on in the cockpit. Watching the Arrows climb, she reacted in seconds. Slamming the joystick to the Right, the plane rolled and pulled away from the Bow launchers. She, completing a barrel roll, pushed the stick away from her, slamming towards the surface at a thrilling 250 m/s.

In the dive, she spotted the airfield, Boostershire Farms, and confident the missiles were out of fuel, leveled out.

It was only when she took a deep breath did she notice how utterly short the runways were.

"For the love of SQUAD..." She muttered.

Nevertheless, she still had to complete the mission. Adrenaline surging and heart pumping, she turned on the reverse thrusters, locked the brakes, and put her left hand on the Chute cord.

The Aluminum hit the dirt runway roughly, bouncing. Mid-bounce, she pulled the parachute cord, and brought her free hand to the ejection lever.

Still at 60 m/s, the seconds ticked away. She could hear the engines running, the parachute pushing her forward, and the brakes grinding against the runway.

The Aluminum screeched to a halt.

The parachute cut, and was blown away into the wind.

She climbed down the ladder, and looking in awe at the aircraft, Marmy stood there for a good 5 minutes.

She then parked the aircraft to the side, and remembered the pistol under the chair. She pulled it out carefully.

Enough to take a Bow crew down.

Luckily for her, she never needed to, so she just planted the Katax flag with a transponder on in into the soil, and took off to head home.

Later that afternoon, Marmy touched down on the concrete runway of Lake Dermal.

She was then asked to fly a KX-6 Yellowjacket back where she just came from.

Marmy, was thrilled at doing something like this for once.

Off she went, back to the land of Short Runways and collapsed countries.

[DMSP]

Alright, I'm wondering, how often do you guys think a new chapter is good? Roughly every week?

I'm wondering if there should be a set time when I release one.

[TheEpicSquared]

Roughly every week would be nice. Then we would have a set day/time to look forward to.

[DMSP]

In this chapter, I have to thank @Cydonian Monk for the Aluminum structure and @Raptor9 for the nice little ATV.

Chapter 4-Take to the skies.

Launch day.

The spacecraft was ready. 5 tons of fully fueled Munar probe, meant to be a marker for bases, and a test for satellites and precision of orbital calculations.

Meant.

The launch crew sat hunched in the control center. Some spectators clung around the building, watching the rocket's engines swivel as a test.

The launch crew, confident with the launch checks, gave the ok to the controllers, who then began the launch countdown. At zero, the engines of the rocket ingited.

The rocket stayed on its course for less than a second. It then proceeded to loose thrust in an engine, and came smashing into the tower and tumbling off the edge. The structure began to fall onto the launchpad.

The rocket then nosedived into the ground.

Dozens of tons of rocket fuel exploded, spreading to the fuel tanks nearby. The water tower toppled, and instead the fuel burnt brighter, reactive compounds spreading around. The launch crew shuffled the spectators inside, watching the cloud of burning toxic smoke head towards the building, sealing the doors and heading to the emergency downstairs bunker.

Others, further away from the launch center, ducked into hangers or the ATC tower at the airport. The flames continued to burn for 30 minutes before dying due to lack of fuel.

Dusting themselves off, with emergency gas masks on, the Kerbals regained themselves at the airport Terminal, and waited for assistance.

The launch site was ruined.

 

The days after the explosion, it was quiet at Lake Dermal. Some were working hard, at the launch site to repair the pad, which would take weeks after the disaster. Some of the people still behind included Marmy and Megra, the latter called to fly out to Irandenburg again, with another pilot called Matner who had caught a transport from the launch site that morning.

The unrest in Irandenburg had declined dramatically, the country being moved into by Katax ground forces from the south, with the Ratest States pushing down from the North. The remaining Kerbals had headed to the mountains, which soon were surrounded, but they kept "throwing" arrows down at the forces, causing the defenders to be bombarded for a few days. They mostly surrendered.

There was an airfield by the Doranelle River, up a couple kilometers from Boostershire. Three large aircraft had departed that morning, and despite attempts to be shot down, they had all escaped towards the Darfax Commonwealth. As such, the airfield was abandoned, and it was decided to send these two North to capture it.

Coming up above the river, the typical Kerbal runway sat on the cliff's ledge. It was long and skinny, with buildings and a control tower on one end.

The aircraft, the newest version of the Aluminum, was landed perfectly by Matner, who, with assistance from Megra, had successfully made it into this territory in one piece.

The aircraft taxied to the parking zone, and Matner stepped out. Megra unlatched the window of the crew cabin, and, with a rifle in hand, prepared for anybody or anything to come out of the building.

The door opened. Megra focused the weapon. Matner put his hand to the side of his bulky suit, where he had his emergency flare gun. Anything would be better than running slowly in the bulky suit.

But, to their surprise, the figure stepped out of the doorway with her hands above her head. Matner signaled her to switch to her suit's short range communications, as the suits were nearly identical, being modified mining and exposure suits.

As soon as she got on the frequency, Matner ordered her to keep her hands in the air.

"Will do." She responded, taking a few steps forward.

Watching her closely, Matner searched her figure for any weapons. Nothing he could see.

"Make your way slowly to the aircraft. I need your name and why you are here." He looked back at Megra. "No games. We will fire."

"I'm here because I led the evacuation of those aircraft you tried to shoot down! My name is Theresa Kerman. I am unarmed!" Theresa then proceeded to step towards the plane.

After stripping her of her suit and checking her down, Theresa boarded the Aluminum with the other two and they took off towards home. Megra kept the rifle pointed at Theresa the whole flight, interrogating her.

By the time they landed, the crew knew that they had just successfully scored a new science member.

 

With no working launchpad, KUSA's directors talked to Rufred about the plan for the next weeks. Rufred promised them that he would develop a shuttle prototype and test it over Dermal.

It took two weeks, but the construction was completed swiftly and firmly by the team of scientists and engineers at Dermal. Getting one of the two stationed Aluminums, they bolted it on top and talked once more to Matner, tasked with flying the untested strap on flying spam can.

Gleya Kerman was set as pilot for the mission.

They were silent as the mission started, listening to the wind go by in the prototype shuttle was enough to keep Matner quiet, knowing that the walls were about as thin as the outside of a plastic home storage box.

Gleya followed the flight plan. Gaining speed and climbing over the updrafts around the lake, she then sped away from it, and looped back for the drop.

"Matner!" She called over the intercom. "I'm going to drop you!"

Matner shuddered at the thought.

"Do it."

The shuttle was released. Matner clenched the controls and immediately saw the Aluminum shoot away through the front camera.

He was alone.

The shuttle began to fall. The couldn't keep his eyes off the screen. He saw, on the right of it, his vertical velocity become greater than his horizontal velocity.

Matner... He thought. Matner...

Suddenly he was shaken back into reality. "Matner! Matner respond!"

"Matner, you're dropping far too fast! Pull up! You'll slam into the runway!"

Matner took a second to understand what was going on, and then recognized the danger.

The shuttle on the verge of tumbling, he took control a few dozen meters above the airfield, cut the drop, and aligned with Lake Dermal's airstrip.

He then slowly eased the controls, and the shuttle touched down at a mere 30 meters per second, slowly drifting to a halt.

Gleya, waiting in the air, proceeded to put the Aluminum behind Matner on the runway.

The airport's ATV then came to drag the aircraft away.

The next day, Theresa led the construction of a new Aluminum at Dermal, thanks to the plans she had of the "Whiplash" engine, built by Kolonia and apparently used on their aircraft.

Marmy was given the "honor" of testing the aircraft first.

"Holy SQUAD! This is a monster" Were the words she spoke as it roared down the runway, drawing the attention of every single Kerbal at the airfield.

Spinning around, she gracefully turned the rocketing aircraft, and then pulled straight up.

She got to 34 kilometers, higher than any manned aircraft had gone before.

On the way down, she reached one kilometer per second.

Flying to Irandenburg in less than a minute, she looped around, and headed home.

The aircraft landed softly, as if it hadn't just broken 4 world records and gotten halfway to space, and had burnt a trail in the sky so bright it was visible for a sphere of a hundred kilometers.

Marmy walked over to Theresa after the flight and said one line.

"There's more about you than we know."

Edited October 13, 2016 by DMSP
Always thank the masters

[UnusualAttitude]

There is nothing quite like messing around with aircraft in KSP.

I love that souped-up Aluminium. Can it outrun the Arrows? 

[DMSP]

10 hours ago, UnusualAttitude said:

There is nothing quite like messing around with aircraft in KSP.

I love that souped-up Aluminium. Can it outrun the Arrows? 

Well, it can't outmaneuver them, but at top speed those missiles would be left in the dust.

I just hope we never have to see...

[KAL 9000]

Oooh... Just found this, and I like it! 

KAL 9000 SPACE AGENCY - UNMANNED DRONE #34: LOG: MOST RECENT ENRTY:

CURRENT MISSION: EXPLORE AN AREA ON KERBIN 

MISSION GOAL: FULFILL CONTRACT 

--PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN SPACE CENTER DETECTED: CHANGING COURSE TO INVESTIGATE 

--"PEEKING IN" ON COMMS TRAFFIC... SPACE CENTER APPEARS TO BE PROPERTY OF "KATAX UNION"

--RETURNING TO KSC, CONTRACT COMPLETE 

--OPENING DIPLOMATIC CHANNELS WITH "KATAX UNION"

LOG END

[DMSP]

I'd also like to thank @purpleivan for taking this screenshot and turning it into something wonderful. He's an amazing artist.

[DMSP]

Ok, ETA for the next chapter is probably Friday. I have three exams tomorrow and Friday we have the whole afternoon for a 4K running event. I'm feeling sick already...

Otherwise, prepare yourselves, I really think the next one is a big one.

[DMSP]

Chapter 5-One step to the Stars.

'It's your craft!' They had told her. 'We won't fly something that's not ours!'

Theresa Kerman, walking towards her aircraft on the runway, would show them. She would take her design, and under her control, she'd get it to space. There wasn't a need for any of that rubbish.

Marmy watched on from the cockpit of one of the standard Aluminums. She had the runway after Theresa, and ever since her remark the week before, they'd been butting heads and keeping a close watch on each other. Two Kerbals, born in the same nation, separated by what day they were found by the country that destroyed their homeland.

Slightly Ironic.

Theresa, giving a smirk to Marmy, gunned the engines of her aircraft.

Marmy shook her head. "She doesn't have enough fuel to escape, right?" She awaited the tower's response.

Rufred responded swiftly. "If she doesn't complete the mission, yes. But she'll be shot down before that. Oxidizer is heavy... We've made sure she can't dump it."

They both watched her climb away, looking on as the aircraft sped up, climbed, started to descend, and then vanished from her view.

"The military will have radio contact with her now. Marmy, you're clear for takeoff."

Theresa, in the meantime, was flying down towards the Katax countryside. She couldn't see their military, but she knew they were there. She thought she saw a glint of metal, but dismissed it. They wouldn't shoot her if she did what she was told.

She waited. 600 m/s. The ground drew closer. Proximity alarms sounded.

At less than 800 meters from the surface, and traveling at 760 m/s, she carefully banked the Aluminum X-4S upwards, until it was vertical.

"Come on." She muttered to herself. "Engage, Engage..."

She felt a kick in the back, and was thrown forward. Peering in the cockpit's "Rear View Mirror", she confirmed what the thrust was.

Then, she felt the thrust die. The jets had run out of oxygen. She watched the altimeter. 30 kilometers. 35.

But then it slowed. She couldn't keep the nose up.

And at 37,893 meters above sea level, more than half the way to space, the Aluminum X-4S dropped.

With no way to shut off the engines, it continued to gain speed as it fell. Theresa's heart began to race. She was going far too fast.

Before she could say anything, she was cut off by the harsh sounds of reentry.

She shuddered as the aircraft shook with the heat and plasma of the fire. Everything was going wrong for her. She looked back over her shoulder, in time to hear a loud pop.

The aircraft fell. She could hear the air whistling outside, as the aircraft tired to gain stability, tumbling in the process. She noticed that she had lost an engine. With no time to check if the aircraft would work, she hit the throttle and rotated towards Irandenburg.

She sighted the Doraelle River, and the airfield that the Katax Union found her in was near. A place to land.

She pushed the throttle forwards once more, and nosed up. Her fuel was running low. She knew she had no time.

And, seeing the airfield overlooking the river, her last engine cut out.

She glided with the altitude she had gotten before, slowly succumbing to gravity. But lift won.

She hit the tarmac hard, so hard enough for her to bounce and hear the tires burst.

But, the aircraft settled, and with tires that didn't work, came to a halt on the runway above the river.

She was alive.

 

The Aluminum X-4S almost got there. But it was all in the almost.

The Irony of physics; in certain problems, only 100 percent will do; 99.9 percent is still a complete miss. You can't go just by wanting too.

So it was Gleya Kerman who took off that day, to chance the course of the Space Program forever.

Gleya flew her plane rapidly, gaining more and more speed in a gentle climb. Then, she pulled the aircraft straight up. The Aluminum X-4R climbed towards the heavens.

The plane preformed beautifully, its altitude and speed increasing rapidly, even holding at 70 degrees. She could here the engines running, and could faintly here wind and the gentle shaking of the aircraft.

Soon, the air started to thin, and, watching the Altimeter, Gleya switched to the reserve oxidizer.

The Aluminum shot up once again.

But it was over all too soon. She was 9 kilometers short.

"By SQUAD, the view..."

Soon, she nosed down and prepared for a harsh reentry to come. Before blackout, she opened a final channel with Lake Dermal.

"I'm holding steady at 25 degrees. My reentry is right on course, and I'm beginning to see plasma."

She awaited the response of the ATC.

"Roger that Gleya, we're loosing contact. We'll switch you to Rufred at Ground Post #12." He paused. "Blackout in Three, Two, O-"

The Aluminum X-4R hit the blackout zone harsh. Gleya held the controls as the plane began to vibrate, its wings shaking with the fight of Gravity and Lift, always fighting each other, where a victory on either side could lead to death. She hummed to herself to try to ease the pressure, and watched out the window as paint was burnt and thrown off behind the plane. Burn marks now scorched the nose, which she held up at 4 degrees.

Deeper into the atmosphere she went, until eventually, the plasma went away, and she could see the Doranelle River on the horizon, and she began banking for home. She switched on her radio once more.

"-Eya? This is Ground Post #12. Gleya, do you copy?" The radio beeped. She heard the message play again, but didn't let it finish.

"This is Gleya." She responded, "I'm coming home!"

Cheers went up on the other side of the radio. She could here clapping and whistling. She smiled in complete delight.

"Next time! Next time I'll get there!" She had gotten to 61 kilometers above the ground. "If we cut back on the Aviation Fuel, we'll be able to get there!" She punched her right fist up in joy. "Next time..."

"Ok, I'm over the Doranelle River, banking down now, I have more than enough fuel to get ho-" She was interrupted by a quick rapid-fire alarm. "Wha- Crap. I'm being tracked!"

The cheering stopped.

"Gleya! Gleya hang on. Oh Moho. We have a launch! A missile is in the air! Gleya!"

"I'm seeing it on my radar! Diving in a spin!"

"Gleya, this is Rufred! We're setting up a jam! Barrel left!"

Gleya was stuck. "I'm already in a dive! I'm making evasive maneuvers!"

"Moho, Moho, Gleya, it's still closing! We can't jam it!"

Gleya started to yell. She looked desperately for the missile.

"No! NO!"

"Gleya, stand by. Stand by!"

"It's almost here! I can see it!"

"Gleya, Eject!"

"I can't! I'm in too much of a turn! NO!"

"Gley-"

"Tell Nyla I love her."

"Gleya, Eject!"

"I don't want to d-"

The radio operator at the Ground Post stood up.

"SQUAD's grace!" He said, "We've lost contact." He quickly bent down to pick up his headset. Rufred grabbed it away from here.

"What is it!" He screamed.

"This is Supply Convoy #7, we've just witnessed a fireball above us! Something exploded and is tumbling down towards us from the sky!"

"Gleya..."

"It's heading towards the ground!" He head him drop his radio. "Crew, Brace for Impact!"

He stood blankly over the radio.

"Sir." He turned to see a soldier with a K16 Rifle tap him on the back. "Look."

Rudfred aligned his view with where the soldier was pointing. He saw a yellowish trail of smoke, and, following it with his eyes, watched as behind a low lying hill, a dark grey cloud rose, almost Black with aviation fuel.

He turned to the ground crew.

"We move!" He yelled at them.

"NOW!"

[OrbitalBuzzsaw]

TO : FOLUS COMMAND

FROM : BUZZSAW COMMAND

A KATAX AIRCRAFT HAS BEEN SHOT DOWN. PERPETRATOR UNKNOWN. PREPARING LOKI OBS SYSTEM FOR TACTICAL NUCLEAR STRIKE ON MISSILE LAUNCH SITE. WE ARE NOT SEEKING APPROVAL FROM KATAX. LAUNCHES AT 04:22 TOMORROW. EST. IMPACT 05.03 TOMORROW. REQUESTING PERMISSION TO DESTROY LAKE DERMAL IN SAME MANNER. WE MUST END THESE KATAX SCUM. ALSO, A HACKING ATTEMPT BY SOMEONE IN WHAT WAS KOLONIA OCCURED APPROX. 03:11 YESTERDAY. THEY WERE PARTIALLY SUCCESSFUL, TAKING CONTROL OF OVERSEER-2 AND THE MUNAR COMSAT NETWORK. WE HAVE COUNTERHACKED THE MUN COMSATS BUT WE CANNOT DO THE SAME FOR OVERSEER-2.

END TRANSMISSION

Edited October 22, 2016 by OrbitalBuzzsaw

[DMSP]

7 hours ago, OrbitalBuzzsaw said:

TO : FOLUS COMMAND

FROM : BUZZSAW COMMAND

A KATAX AIRCRAFT HAS BEEN SHOT DOWN. PERPETRATOR UNKNOWN. PREPARING LOKI OBS SYSTEM FOR TACTICAL NUCLEAR STRIKE ON MISSILE LAUNCH SITE. WE ARE NOT SEEKING APPROVAL FROM KATAX. LAUNCHES AT 04:22 TOMORROW. EST. IMPACT 05.03 TOMORROW. REQUESTING PERMISSION TO DESTROY LAKE DERMAL IN SAME MANNER. WE MUST END THESE KATAX SCUM. ALSO, A HACKING ATTEMPT BY SOMEONE IN WHAT WAS KOLONIA OCCURED APPROX. 03:11 YESTERDAY. THEY WERE PARTIALLY SUCCESSFUL, TAKING CONTROL OF OVERSEER-2 AND THE MUNAR COMSAT NETWORK. WE HAVE COUNTERHACKED THE MUN COMSATS BUT WE CANNOT DO THE SAME FOR OVERSEER-2.

END TRANSMISSION

No nukes, Please!

[Andem]

THIRTY ICBMs!  GET THEM N THE PADS! PREPARE FOR LAUNCH!

[DMSP]

15 minutes ago, Andem said:

THIRTY ICBMs!  GET THEM N THE PADS! PREPARE FOR LAUNCH!

No no no no no no no no noooooooooo...

That may come later...

[SpaceplaneAddict]

6 hours ago, DMSP said:

No no no no no no no no noooooooooo...

That may come later...

You're right. What we need is good 'ol conventional warfare