Commander Val

[hidude398]

COMMANDER VAL:

THE HEROIC TALE OF THE GREATEST WING COMMANDER IN THE HEXIS NAVY

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Heatwave

Chapter 2: More Than Three Weeks

Chapter 3: 32 Days Later

Chapter 4: Jeb's Salvation

Chapter 5: No Rest For The Weary

Chapter 6: It All Comes Together

Chapter 7: Agalotte

Chapter 8: Spy Games

Chapter 9: No Plan Survives First Contact

Transmission Log 1: Read it HERE

Chapter 10: Knights and Rooks

Transmission Log 2: Read it HERE

Chapter 11: Change In Initiative

Transmission Log 3: Read it HERE

Chapter 12: Survival Floating

Chapter 13: Last Stand/The Phoenix

Edited January 17, 2017 by hidude398

[hidude398]

CHAPTER ONE: HEATWAVE

UT: 0145

Jebediah woke up to the sound of a gentle beeping down the skyway inside the command module. He unbuckled himself from the seat he had been napping in, and scampered to the command module as quickly as possible. Swiftly unlocking the pod’s computer, he entered his encrypted password for personal communications and was greeted with a familiar face:

“Hey, Jeb.”

“Hey yourself, Val. What’s kicking on Kerbin?”

“You know how it is. Mom’s breathing down my neck as usual, Autumn is on her fishing trip, and I’m stuck here crossing the West Bay into Ketri. How’s Katya doing?”

“I’ve only been here for a week and I’m already getting tired of this rock. I can’t wait to get down from here. I mean, it’s cool that I’m on a space station strapped to a captured asteroid, but, Val, to be honest, it’s boring up here. Especially without you.”

“Good thing you only have three weeks to go. Let’s take a waterstrider to that island when you get back, okay, Jeb?”

“Sure thing Val. This is Katya Station, signing off with love.”

And with that, Jeb turned and floated blissfully down back into the cabins to continue preparing the Katya for the 24 tourists she would be holding soon. He accessed the terminal inside his cabin, and began preparing the station’s systems to come online fully, floating without a care above the troubled blue marble he called home.

On the surface, Valentina prepared to steam towards the Ketri region. War-torn for years on end, Hexis had established a small outpost inside a crater in order to assist other members of the West Bay Defense treaty. Valentina had been given orders to carry a large cargo of supplies, power units, and rations to the small forward operating base in order to assist the refueling operations there. For the last six months, the region had been relatively quiet, thanks to an increased presence of Ketri Government Defense Forces, and WBD member nations hoped that the quiet would continue. In order to assist the KGDF, they had established the Joint Aerial Forward Operating Base and Command Center, providing the local forces with air support in their mission to restore peace in the region.

An hour after she left, Valentina decided to tune in the radio. Although the insurgents in the region didn't know it, Hexis had decrypted a signal from a rebel-controlled radio tower and built a decoder for that channel, allowing the WBD to spy in on coordinations carried out by rebel leaders, and for the P.R. department of Hexis to create counter-propaganda. The crew in the back of Val's BL-4 listened intently in order to gain some foreknowledge of the situation they were about to enter into. Moments after Valentina turned on the radio, the following exchange was heard:

"This is Rebel Thunder to Warbird, Rebel Thunder to Warbird, please copy."

"This is Warbird to Rebel Thunder, you are [*STATIC*] engage. Good luck Rebel Thunder."

Suddenly, the channel filled with static, and Valentina quickly had to shut the radio off to protect her hearing. The incident remained on the crew's minds, and despite the fact that nobody asked about the transmission, not a single recruit wasn't thinking about the transmission for the rest of the flight.

Val landed a few kilometers from the base, in order to aid the camouflaging of the airship from potential rebel planes. The base already had a rover waiting, and Val began to unload her cargo into it. Had she looked up, she might've seen Rebel Thunder as it reentered the atmosphere, streaking across the night sky towards the Space Center. 

 

[UnusualAttitude]

Wow, flying an airship into a potential combat zone. Now that is bad*ss.

Interesting. I would love to see some pictures of your vessels and station. 

[hidude398]

Chapter Two: More Than Three Weeks

Valentina was too busy overseeing the cargo to hear the radio transmission in the blimp. She didn't really trust the people she had ferried out, since she hadn't met them, but she was surprised to see a friendly face. Jumping in the air, she nearly lost her composure as a wing commander.

"Bob! What are you doing here? I thought Scientists weren't allowed to enter Ketri, it's so dangerous!"

"Valentina, you sound exactly like Gene when I told him I was taking my protégé out to the FOB. We're going to help out two scientists already there with something special."

"Ok then. If you brought your protege, where is Millie? We need to catch up on the ride over."

"Millie's sitting inside the cabin still. Do you want me to get her? We can help poor Cergy unload the BL4."

"Sure thing. I'd like to get to the FOB before day, because there's a chance that it could get messy here. I'm sure the rebels heard my landing, we were so heavy it was hard to set the BL down gently."

Valentina lined the crew up and counted them off, ensuring all five Kerbs were present, then had her unknown passengers announce their names.

"One:"

"Val, it's Bob.

"Two:"

"Millie here!"

"Three:"

"SSG Cergy, Corps of Engineering, Sir!"

"Four:"

"PFC Edtrey, Corps of Engineering, Sir!"

"Five:"

"ENS Calrie, Naval Aviator Brigade 2!"

"Alright. I'm CMD Valentina, from Naval Aviator Brigade 3. If we want to get to the FOB before we have visitors, I suggest that we all get these crates loaded."

As the crew continued the arduous process of loading crates into the Dune Buggy, Val climbed inside the BL4 and began to shut everything down to preserve it until it was needed again. With the rover finally loaded, Val turned of the lights of the BL4 and boarded the rover at sunrise to make headway for the FOB.

Valentina began to slowly and arduously maneuver the laden buggy across the foothills, but made little headway. It was two days before they had traveled the 4 kilometers in the buggy, and to make matters worse, the buggy had no antenna of any type, so the crew couldn't contact their homes, the FOB, or listen to the radio. Valentina decided that next time, it didn't matter how many bullets she had to fly through, she wouldn't ever load a dune buggy in such a way ever again, however, she was grateful that she had managed to avoid a firefight in the buggy, since it was lightly armored and only had a single turret. When she finally arrived, she expected a hero's welcome for bringing the much need supplies, however, the commander of the FOB was the only one she saw, and she didn't like the look on his face.

"Bill. You don't look very excited. I thought you'd be happier to see us, especially with those new generators we brought."

"Val, it's been a rough two days since we last talked. You need to come inside, we need to talk."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"You're gonna be even more upset after what I tell you"

With that, Bill walked inside one of the housing units and motioned for Val to follow him in and get outside of the sweltering heat. Taking off her helmet, Val and Bill sat down. Bill turned on a television screen, and entered the password for the base's computer screen. Val looked up at Bill, who sat down and began to shake his head. Teary eyed, he motioned for Val to watch the screen and pressed play.

With a buzz, the radio crackled to life. Val watched intently, ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach, determined to find out why Bill was so upset.

Tonight, on Khannel 5 News, we bring you an update to the attack on the HNSC. For our Viewers now tuning in, two days ago, a missile barrage struck the Hexis National Space Center. Using satellite photography and atmospheric sensors, the Skyshield corporation has tracked the origin of the missile to an area in the mountainous regions of Ketri. The progression of the attack is as follows:

At sundown, Y2D153, an atmospheric anomaly was detected. Investigators witnessed a bright white glow streaking across the desert sky, and an amateur astronomer captured an image of a solid rocket launching into the stratosphere.

Two minutes into the flight, the rocket pitched onto its side. After the solid rocket booster burned out, the rocket jettisoned its fairing and began a burn towards the HNSC. Ten minutes later, it aimed itself at the VAB and began to burn one final time.

Witnesses report seeing multiple objects fall off the rocket and explode into thousands of small orbs at ~1000-2000 feet. These orbs, packed with explosives, destroyed the fueling systems of the SPH. The main body of the rocket continued to burn for the VAB until the motor burned out. The resulting kinetic impact leveled the building, bending multiple steel beams into massive curves, and flattening the central construction zone. 

Among the systems now offline, asides from vehicle production, are the fueling systems for the SPH and Runway, high-speed internet communication to the Katya station, and CIWS-R Praxis Runway Defense Systems. Until the communications blackout can be repaired, there will be no launches into space. Among the casualties stand 54 workers in serious condition, 167 with major injuries that did not require hospitalization, and one Kerbonaut currently aboard the Katya station, now stranded for at least a month until a rescue craft can be sent into such a high orbit.

Valentina leaned back in her seat. Her heart was thumping so hard she could hear the blood flow in her ears, and for the first time in a very long time, she began to cry. She barely whispered "Jeb." under her breath, before running down the corridor and locking herself inside a bunk room.

Up in orbit, Jeb looked out the window. He had just received a radio broadcast informing him of his situation. Gazing out, he muttered, "Sure thing. Just three more weeks, that's all. You can come back in just three weeks! Oh well, I guess I can't blame the HNSP too much." He floated down to the galley and made a sandwich, before opening his card deck and setting up a game of solitaire. "How ironic," he remarked under his breath. "A perfect game for a perfect situation."

[hidude398]

Chapter Three: 32 Days Later

Thirty two days later, Valentina climbed into the rover at the base and prepared to take a lonesome journey home. She had been given orders to return as soon as possible to the HNSC by Gene himself. She waited until nightfall, when the desert temperatures began to fall, making travel much easier and reducing the likelihood that her rover's engines would overheat. The crew she had ferried over unloaded the remaining equipment that Valentina wouldn't need, and bid her adieu.

Peeling across the desert, Valentina was determined to get home as soon as possible. She knew something was going on, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Oh well," she remarked, "I'll find out when I get home." She arrived at her airship at around three o'clock in the morning. Before she left her rover, she disengaged the fuel cells and parked it nearby. She did a full walk-around of her airship, and was disgusted to find that one of her landing gear had been destroyed by vandals. "Even if it isn't terrorists, this whole region is just full of wonderful people." Muttering under her breath, she was relieved to find that the airship hadn't been broken into, and she was especially happy when she found that all the fuel was still present. She clambered aboard, eager to return home and see what Gene had been fussing about. She made great headway across the desert, and was quite excited when she reached the shores where Ketri bordered the West Bay. Fifteen minutes into the flight, her low fuel light came on, as well as the tank breach alarm. Sixty kilometers from the FOB and its refueling outpost, she had no choice but to continue steaming across the bay. Remarking to herself, "Just what I needed, a critical tank failure," Val crossed her fingers and pushed the craft further across the bay. Her engines cut out at 0343 in the morning, with no land in sight, in the middle of the West Bay. "Kraken crap," she commented to herself, "this is about to get interesting."

At 0350, the HNSC received a distress signal from Valentina's BL4. The transcript reads as follows:

"This is HNSC Emergency Channel, please identify yourself."

"Emergency Channel, this is HN5095, Buoyant Lift Type Four Aircraft, Pilot In Command Valentina Squawking an out of fuel mayday"

"Roger that. Do you know your current position?"

"Negatory. Navigational systems seem non-responsive, as does the throttle and cabin pressurization. I've activated the emergency homing beacon."

"Understood. HN5095, Gene wants you to ditch the blimp and await rescue. We'll dispatch a seaplane to your location the moment we have a confirmed location, understood?"

"Understood"

Val set the BL4 down as gently as she could and prepared to wait. At the HNSC, construction companies had restored the facilities in a record time. The VAB stood tall once again, and the SPH was back in business. At  0411, a Mallard taxied onto the runway and ran through the final preflight checklist.

The plane lifted gracefully into the sky and turned towards Valentina's downed airship, powering its way out of Hexis and towards the West Bay. Moving as quickly as he could, CPT Neilfred pushed the Mallard to its limits in the hopes of getting one of the most beloved Commanders in the service out of contested waters as quickly as possible. Soon, CPT Neilfred found himself flying along the West Bay, with Commander Val's airship barely visible on radar over the horizon. He began to lower his altitude and speed in preparation for a water landing. Neilfred glided peacefully along, readying his cockpit for landing and radioing the BL4. Aboard the BL4, Valentina was furiously kicking the air conditioning unit in an attempt to shut it off. Unfortunately, the electrical controls for the BL4 were located inside one of the now submerged parts, and as the BL4 was never designed to land in water, had shorted out, causing the air conditioner to malfunction and chill the cabin as much as it could. With a great thud, Valentina managed to break the fan control unit free of the vent, and leaned back, enjoying the newfound lack of frigid air blowing against her face. Neilfred, meanwhile, entered a steep glide slope in order to avoid overshooting Val. At 0448, Neilfred touched the plane down and maneuvered over to Val's BL4.

Val EVA'd and swam over to the waiting seaplane. As they left, she could see a multitude of holes in the bottom of the airship. "Strange," she commented, "those holes weren't there when I inspected the airship." The flight back to the HNSC was uneventful, and Gene sent a dune rover out to greet Valentina. Ten minutes later, she found herself at the front of the Mission Control Building.

"Gene."

"Valentina. We think we have a way to bring Jeb home."

 

 

Edited December 17, 2016 by hidude398

[hidude398]

A Message from the Author:

Due to issues with imgur being blocked on school computers now, these are going to be more spread out, as I have to transfer the pictures in order to upload and link them. Also, sorry for the delay, but I've been sick the past few days, so updates to the story are fewer and further between. That said, I'll drop a tiny spoiler in saying that the holes in the blimp Valentina and her crew noticed are going to be revisited. Feel free to speculate!

 

Edited December 17, 2016 by hidude398

[UnusualAttitude]

On ‎17‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 4:03 AM, hidude398 said:

I'll drop a tiny spoiler in saying that the holes in the blimp Valentina and her crew noticed are going to be revisited. Feel free to speculate!

Well, they weren't there when she made her complete inspection of the BL-4 before taking off (I assume a pro like Val wouldn't have missed something like that). So the damage must have occurred in flight. Were the rebels taking pot-shots at her ship? Or is it something more sinister?

On ‎13‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 1:53 AM, hidude398 said:

"Valentina. We think we have a way to bring Jeb home."

The damage caused by the attack on the HNSC was repaired, right? Is there any reason why they shouldn't get him home using conventional means (rocket or spaceplane)?

[hidude398]

6 hours ago, UnusualAttitude said:

The damage caused by the attack on the HNSC was repaired, right? Is there any reason why they shouldn't get him home using conventional means (rocket or spaceplane)?

Yup, the HNSC was repaired. However, the docking ports on the Katya are unfinished, the original plan was to have a mast which extended past the solar arrays. I had to design a ship which was an actual rocket, unlike the spaceplanes I think I'm going to use when it's finished (They'd probably collide with the solar panels as the station is now). That said, the rocket I built hadn't been tested before, so when I finally get around to posting that chapter, you'll be reading about me launching a rocket which has never been tested before. I just threw something together and held my breath. 

Edited December 18, 2016 by hidude398

[hidude398]

Chapter Four: Jeb's Salvation

Hours later, CDR Valentina found herself strapped into a command module next to Flight Engineer (FE) Moina. Running through preflight checks, she recalled Gene's parting words before she had stepped into the waiting bus to the launchpad: "Please note that although the Salvation is easily capable of reaching the orbit required to reach the Katya, we've never actually flown a rocket like this before. If something goes wrong, there's no launch escape tower, either. I consider it a failure on the part of the lab boys, but Wernher was insistent that the solar panels required atmospheric shielding. That said, most of the flight systems are automated, so you really can't mess it up." Despite his attempts at reassuring Valentina, Gene had trouble reassuring himself that launching an untested lifter system was the best idea. However, the fuel pumps that operated the pipeline under the HNSC were still being tested, and Engineering was reluctant to bring the pump turbines past 30% capacity until they could verify the new turbines were thoroughly stress tested, so the normal asparagus staging was out of the question. The lab boys had solved that problem by attaching solid boosters onto a liquid core instead. The rocket was predicted to fly slightly slower than most launches from the HNSC, but a longer-burning second stage had been assembled to make up for the lower base speed once the craft left the atmosphere.

Valentina finished inputting the flight pattern data that Mission Control had given her, and engaged the autopilot. Moina brought up a graphical representation of the craft alongside a staging screen, and selected the bottom four engines. With a start, the two kerbelles felt the engines kick to life, and a moment later, a loud explosion confirmed separation with the launch towers. The lifted off into the sky, powering towards Katya with a prejudice.

As they orbited, waiting for their rendezvous, Moina and Valentina began discussing the finer points of web censorship and online image hosting.

"Y'know, Val, it's really stupid for people to do things like set up massive firewalls. All it does is make people angry. 90% of the time, whoever set up the firewall is worrying about something that's a non-issue."

"I have to agree, Moina. Last week, I was posting on the Human Space Program forum while waiting on the little FOB. Believe it or not, the web connection there is routed through the Hexis National Military Academy. Turns out, the HNMA blocked imkur! Something along the lines of it containing unsavory and corrupting images which our future soldiers didn't need to see. I don't think the admins were thinking about all the benefits web hosting offers, just jumping to conclusions about the honor that their students had. It's almost as if they expect their students to trust them, but they don't trust their students!"

"Oh well. At least there's dropboks. Believe it or not Val, I've been using it to post on that forum ever since the HNSC routed its web cable through the HNMA. You'd think that a planet this big would have more than one institutional internet provider, but nope! Turns out the only government ISP is HNMA. The Academy is full of the nerds who enjoy running it, so they monopolized govt. ISP without even meaning to, and it just stuck."

Hours later, the Salvation uneventfully docked with the Katya. Val's smile was recorded by the ship's internal cabin cameras:

Val turned on the intercom, bounding with joy.

"Jeb? Can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear. It's good to hear your voice again. How was Ketri?"

"Absolutely boring and pointless."

"I'm going to have to cut off the intercom now and EVA over. Love you."

"Love you too."

Jebediah opened the hatch at the end of the station, near where the AGU held the assembly near to the asteroid. Carefully, he maneuvered himself into the void, and allowed the capsule to close behind him.

As he maneuvered through the ring which had been his prison for the past five weeks, he could only wonder as to when kerbs would be back up to the station. He drifted down to the end of the structure and knocked on the door of the Salvation. He heard the sound of helmets being clicked on, and with a hiss, the capsule depressurized. When the capsule door opened, he saw one of his favorite faces on the planet. 

"Hey Val. Too long?"

"Too long. Welcome aboard!"

With that, Val yanked Jeb inside the capsule and shut the door. With a squeak, the handles locked into place, and moments later, the capsule repressurized. Val worked swiftly once Jeb and Moina had buckled back in. Maneuvering over to the flight commander's seat, she input a few final commands into the computers of Katya and Salvation before finally navigating to the Docking Controller.

Hours later, the trio found themselves suspended beneath a group of parachutes, finally home.

 

 

Edited December 19, 2016 by hidude398

[hidude398]

Chapter Five: No Rest For The Weary

"Gene! Spy satellites have picked up something strange in the Ketri Region! We all remember the missile attack last month, right? We found something!"

"Okay, send me the briefing. Good job Linus. Tell the boys in Research and Intelligence that this is good work."

"Right away sir. Linus out."

Gene leaned back in his seat and began to read the intelligence briefing before him:

At Y2D190, around noon, satellite imaging picked up 2 ominous shapes on the desert soil. Despite only having a top-down angle, analysts were able to identify what appeared to be a stationary ICBM launcher. The launcher is surprisingly close to the FOB in the area, and, combined with CDR Valentina's reports of ominous holes in the side of her BL4, Analysts believe the other shape to be an anti-air gun of some sort. The image is depicted below:

Before further action is taken regarding the matter, it is the professional opinion of LTC Linus that a long-range, high speed surveillance flight be conducted. Given that the FOB is located 3.4 km from these two objects, LTC Linus further recommends that the base be placed on lockdown, and further resupply flights suspended until further notice. The greenhouse at the FOB should produce more than enough food for the time being.

Gene picked up the phone by his desk and dialed CDR Valentina.

"CDR Valentina, who is this speaking?"

"This is Gene. I'm uploading flight plans to your computer. Keep this quiet. I don't want anything getting out about this, especially given its involvement in the downing of your BL4 and its location near the base. Do you understand?"

"Roger that. Any special requests?"

"Yeah. They're in your flight plan."

"Valentina out."

With that, Valentina began fueling an SR71. Ten minutes later, CDR Valentina and FE Moina were cruising over Ketri. They suddenly heard the sound of an explosion. Panicked, FE Moina pulled up the vessel displays, but there weren't any problems. Curious, Val aimed the camera towards the two targets, before starting to laugh. "Look at those fools! Those rebels overheated the reactors on that AA gun! They had no clue what they're doing!" Valentina took some pictures, and turned back towards the base to report her findings. On the way back, the mood was so jovial, Valentina forgot to watch her altitude. She drifted to over 30,000 meters before her engines flamed out. Swearing, she restarted them when she was back inside the silk. Then the two laughed some more. When they landed, however, the two quickly sobered up as they saw the look on Gene's face as he walked from his rover to their plane.

"Gene. What's going on?"

"Val. You remember what brought down your BL4?"

"I remember having to ditch it. What I can't figure out is how something silently poked holes in the fuel tank like it were made of cotton candy."

"We have a situation, and we think that the two events are connected."

"What's going on?"

"An hour ago, something just randomly blew through the ceiling of the tracking station, mission control, and administration."

"Was anybody hurt?"

"72 kerbals are now in the ICU at the Hexis Military Hospital and Trauma Center. Most of them took shrapnel, but every place something metal went in or bounced off is surrounded by burn marks."

"Is everyone going to be OK?" 

"The doctors think everyone will recover within two months, except for one kerb. He was working on a tracking dish. It's amazing he's still alive. The doctors think that had he not been wearing his helmet, he would've completely fried. As it stands, he nearly cooked in his spacesuit. Doctors think it will take him a year to recover. Wernher has a theory, but he needs you to test it."

"What does he need me to do? I want to make these [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] [redacted], lousy, no good [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] pay."

"Valentina, as it stands, Wernher has suggested that you ferry him to the site of the downed BL4 and allow him to remove the backup flight computer. The black box we recovered isn't showing anything out of the ordinary, so maybe the backup flight computer can help. He also wants to do a thorough visual inspection, so you'll need to assist him. I keep telling him that he needs to take care of himself, but that 65-year old is convinced that he's still 25."

"Roger that, Gene."

"And Valentina?"

"Yes Gene?"

"Watch your language around superior officers. Godspeed."

"Thank you sir. Wernher and I will report back with our findings."

With that, Valentina climbed aboard one of the many base shuttles, leaving Moina to finish the storage of the SR71. Gene walked inside Mission Control to assist with the cleanup effort. On the ride over, Valentina texted Jeb:

"Hey. Rough day, huh?"

"Yeah. I don't really want to talk about it."

"That's ok. My brave rescue-kerb needs his rest anyway."

"XD. Any info declassified enough for a Test Pilot to hear?"

"I wish. There's hardly any info at all."

"Oh well. Keep your helmet on and stay safe. <3 Jeb."

As Valentina roved along, she noticed that every member of the ground crew was now wearing their helmets, even though the temperature was balanced enough that the suit's heating and cooling elements weren't required. Recalling Gene's description of the incident involving the burns and the helmet barely saving the poor worker, she wondered what could have caused such large scale damage without making a sound. Most certainly it couldn't be a kinetic or explosive weapon, unlike the attack last month. A young Kerbelle, maybe no more than 20 years old, poked her in the side.

"What's a famous commander like you doing taking the shuttle? Don't you have a limousine or something?"

"Only for Press Conferences. Otherwise, I'm like every other Naval Aviator here. Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Agalotte. It's been a pleasure to meet you, sir!"

"Thank you. Are you a ROTK member?"

"No, I'm an Apprentice scientist on loan from the Hexis National Aerospace University. I'm studying under one of Wernher's students."

"Good luck then. Maybe I'll see you on a mission one day."

"Maybe. This is my stop. If you ever need me, I work inside the wind tunnel offices."

Valentina got off at the East entrance to the main R&D building. She walked to the third floor and followed the hallway down to find a receptionist at her desk, typing an email to another receptionist in the building. The girl waved her hand, barely looking at Valentina: "Go on in, he's expecting you." Valentina heard the buzz of an electronic lock, followed by a pneumatic woosh as Wernher's door slid open.

"Valentina! It's been what, 3 weeks? You hardly visit anymore!"

"Sorry Wernher. It's not because of lack of wanting, I can assure you."

"Really, it's of no consequence. We've known each other for what, ten years now? I remember the day you dropped your application on my desk for the Astronaut Korps, back when this was still a naval aviation post. It's crazy to think that in just ten years, the space program and the navy have linked so closely together. Back when I was a lad, this type of cooperation between the military and scientific branches of the government was almost unimaginable. Now, look where we are."

"Wernher, I saw it all happen too. I hate to interrupt your monologue about the history of the Hexis Aeronautical Division of the Navy, but we really do need to go if we want to reach my old BL4 by sunset."

"Fair enough. I'm assuming you've already been briefed on our current safety protocol regarding activity on the base until this mystery is solved once and for all?"

"Yup. No helmets are to be removed out-of-doors if at all possible. Heat-resistive clothing is to be worn by all personnel working out-of-doors for extended periods of time. Crew working far away from the base should ensure that their in-suit fire suppression systems are up to date."

"Good. I think I know the cause of this incident, but we need to be sure."

With that, Wernher lifted a metal briefcase from his desk and sealed his helmet. Striding through his door, he called out: "Sherri! Forward all my calls to Gene, and send away any other visitors today!" With surprising speed for his age, Wernher strode down three flights of stairs and practically leaped into the waiting car. Fifteen minutes later, Valentina found herself sitting in the cockpit of an SE1 Submarine, gliding under the surface.

"So much for making it by sunset."

"If my theory is correct, Commander, you'll be quite glad to be under the water and not exposed in the air."

"You still haven't told me what this is."

"I'll tell you if I'm right. If I'm wrong, this will be one of my most absurd hypotheses ever created."

"Well, I hope you're right. Every time you are, you also have a solution to back yourself up with."

"I hope I'm right, too. The alternatives to my hypothesis are rather frightful, and would likely turn the world on its head."

"That bad?" 

"How bad do you think breaking the laws of physics is?"

Thirty minutes into the journey, Valentina's external temperature gauges began to register a slow increase of heat in the water above the sub. Wernher simply grinned and motioned for Valentina to dive down. He flicked a switch in the crew cabin, extending a small thermal periscope ten feet above the craft. He logged the temperature data for the next four hours. Retracting his periscope, pulled up the weather data over the past two hours, and compared the temperature changes with the weather. Deep in thought, he pulled out the slide rule that Gene had given him years ago and began to calculate. Graphing the temperature spikes, he calculated the time between the end of one spike and the beginning of the next, and compared the maximum temperature of the spike with the cloud cover percentages measured by a group of Hexis Weather Satellites above him. The spikes began around every 45 minutes and lasted for around a minute. "Valentina, I've found something. We only need your BL4 to prove my theory correct now." Valentina smiled, put the sub on autopilot, and fell asleep. The small craft still had a day until it reached its target, and Val was beginning to feel like a little kid on Khristmas eve waiting to find out what Wernher's theory was and what had been causing all this trouble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hidude398]

Chapter Six: It All Comes Together

24 hours later, the commander found herself finally coming towards the BL4. In the back, Wernher was sleeping like a baby, snoring and such. He had come down with seasickness a few hours ago, and Valentina was glad he'd fallen asleep. Nothing against the poor rocket scientist, but he'd caused quite a mess, and she had to come close to the surface in order to extend a periscope and refresh the cabin air. Now that he was asleep, and not losing his lunch inside a confined space, Valentina could finally focus on piloting the small submarine. In Wernher's capsule, an alarm was counting down from 45 minutes, with only 1 minute left on the display. Valentina began her final preparations to drift to the BL4 and rose to the surface so she could see he target. She slowed the engines to a crawl and extended the snorkel to refresh the cabin air. A beeping noise lured her to the cabin in the back. Wernher's stopwatch on his desk was frantically beeping, alerting everyone who could hear that there were only 20 seconds left in its countdown. Valentina was only left to wonder for a moment as to why Wernher had purchased such an alarm clock, that would beep before it actually went off. Wernher woke to Valentina shaking him, pointing to his clock. "What's the timer for, Wern..." She was cut off by the sound of a THUD followed by the sound of grating metal. She heard Wernher mutter [REDACTED] before the sub's floor suddenly tilted over at a 90° . Valentina saw Wernher's shocked face, and then slammed into the back of the crew cabin.

Valentina awoke to light streaming in through the top of the command module through the tunnel to the bottom of the crew capsule. Her eyelids fluttered as she came to. "Aghhhh."

"Shhhh, Val. It's ok. Don't move, just trust me, ok?" 

"Wha--- What happened?"

"I'm not sure. If I can see the engine, I'll know."

"How long have I been out?"

"About a day or so. I've been doing my best to keep you still and supported. The First Aid kit is a bit limited, I'm afraid."

"Do you have a way out?"

"I think so, but you needed to be awake in order for me to get us home."

"What's the plan?"

"First, I'm going to hoist you into the seat in the command capsule. Once I have you strapped in, I'm going to close the partition between the command and the crew modules. The airlock isn't functioning, so i'll just have to flood the crew cabin."

"Wernher. How deep are we? I can't let you go on a suicide mission."

"Valentina, I'm going to let you wake up a little bit more. We are maybe 2 feet underwater. Sunlight and blue sky are visible in the command module window. All I have to do is slip on my helmet and swim out."

"Then what?"

"The backup electronics aboard the BL4 should still work. Our 4 RTGs are offline, I can't get any power aboard this piece of junk."

"Alright, I'm with you. Let's do this."

Once Wernher had Valentina's consent to his plan, he lifted her up into the command module of the sub. She was surprisingly light, but the bulkiness of the pressure suits they were wearing made maneuvering her into the capsule an arduous process. Once he had her in the seat, he reached out to the strap. Grabbing him, Valentina swung him around into the seat and buckled him, before dropping down the hatch into the crew module and sealing it behind her. Wernher quickly undid the harness, but not in time to open the hatch. Banging on it, he bellowed: "COMMANDER! WHAT ON KRAKEN'S GREEN KERBIN ARE YOU DOING?"

"Sorry sir. I don't have a choice."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN? OPEN THIS HATCH THIS INSTANT!"

"I'm afraid I can't sir. You have information vital to the Hexis Department of Defense. I don't have a clue what's happening, sir, but I need to ensure that the information you carry gets back to Gene. That means I can't let you go into a freezing, oxygenless, and potentially radioactive environment. I'm sorry sir, but the mission is too important."

Valentina paused, and for a moment, Wernher didn't say anything. Then, he called out: "Val."

"Yes?"

"Seal my papers inside a waterproof bag, and put the metal slide rule on the table inside one as well."

"Okay. Anything else back here you don't want soaked?"

"That's it. I don't agree with this one bit, Commander, but I obviously don't have a choice."

"Thank you, sir. I really hate doing this, if there were any other way, I'd let you go."

"I know. By the way, Val, just in case those RTG's are open and spilling out radiation, I just want you to know that it's been a pleasure serving alongside you."

Valentina saluted Wernher through the hatch. Inside the command module, Wernher heard her click on her helmet. He switched on his suit's short-range radio, and connected it to Val's helmet. "Ready?" he called into her helmet. "Roger that, flooding the module now." Valentina crawled through the open internal door of the airlock and looked at the external door which lead to the unknown. "It's not going to let me open the exterior hatch without flooding the airlock, and the airlock won't flood without closing the interior door." Wernher sat and pondered for a moment, before he spoke up. "Open the maintenance hatch." "Roger that." He heard a thunk below him, and Valentina spoke again. "I see the airlock computer, a fusebox, the deadlock switch, and five pipes. Each pipe has three valves, one manually operable and two attached to the deadlock and computer systems." "Take the wrench in the toolbox to the left and use it to break open the deadlock on each pipe." "Okay." Wernher heard a rummaging sound followed by metal bouncing off metal. Suddenly, he heard a CRUNCH and the sound of aluminum being twisted free. "I have the deadlock pressure switches free." "Okay, close the valve labeled 'Ballast.'" "Wernher?" "What?" "Nothing says 'Ballast.'" "Val?" "It's all in Krussian. Why the [REDACTED] is it all in [REDACTED] Krussian?!?!"

"What?" "Everything is labeled in Krussian." Racking his brain, Wernher tried to remember which pipe vented what, but couldn't. "Valentina, we're in a bind. If you can't open the hatch due to pressure, and we can't call for help, we're gonna either suffocate or die of dehydration. And if you accidentally open the ballast and external water lines at the same time, then the ballast tanks will flood, we will sink, and then we'll get crushed under pressure or get stranded on the seafloor." "I don't like any of those options." "Neither do I." Valentina was suddenly hit with a burst of inspiration. "Wernher, I'm going to close every valve." "Huh?" "The external door is only held closed by the mechanical locking mechanism and pressure from the water outside, right?" "Yes, but I don't see your point. That piece of information is only useful if you can flood the capsule without pressurizing the ballast tanks. As it stands, I managed to jettison the lead to keep us afloat when you flood the crew compartment." "I'm taking the physical approach. You need to improvise more, Wernher." With that, Valentina picked up the metal chair that had fallen against the rear bulkhead when the sub crashed, and sent it flying into the glass of the crew compartment window. It cracked, and then the pressure of the two feet of water above it were enough to cause it to implode. In seconds, Valentina was completely submerged. Thankful for her helmet lights, she turned them on and floated over to the now equalized airlock. Disengaging the manual locks, she opened the hatch and swam out of the sub as it listed over and floated on the surface upside down. She climbed onto the back of the sub and radioed Wernher.

"This is incredible. The entire engine is just... gone. However, there are traces of slag and metal which melted and re-cooled on the side of this ballast tank."

"This isn't how I thought we'd do it, but you've just confirmed my theory. Is your suit's dosimeter going off?"

"Thankfully, it appears as if the RTGs didn't break. As it stands, my best guess is that without the engine's fuselage that they were mounted to, they sank to the ocean floor. I think we got very lucky. Had they melted, I think you and I would be glowing right now, lead ballast tanks be [REDACTED]."

"Okay. I know you just got knocked out yesterday, so take the swim over to the BL4 easy. Now that we know that you won't be well-done by the time you reach the blimp, you can go ahead and take your time."

"Okay. I'll get you out of that locked box as soon as possible. There's a drill in the pilot's seat, go ahead and make yourself an air-hole in the roof."

"Will do. Why didn't you go through the roof?"

"The glass on the front of the sub isn't as weak as the glass in the crew cabin, and the original plan was to go through a malfunctioning airlock that we knew how to operate."

"Fair enough."

With that, Valentina began to swim the 300m to the BL4. About five minutes later, she made it to the BL4. "I really need to work on my stroke. I'm going on vacation with Jeb as soon as I get back." She was upset, but not very surprised, to discover that the electrics had completely drained in her absence, even though she clearly remembered shutting down the entire balloon. Breaking out the emergency generator, she wired the radio to it and began to turn the crank.  Thirty minutes later, the portable batteries were full, and she turned on the radio. 

***BZZT***

"Hello? This is CDR Valentina to HNSC Emergency Channel."

"This Emergency Channel. Gene's on the line. We've been trying to get in touch for the past day. Our satellites were picking up some serious interference."

"Our radio was dead, and there was a possibility that the RTG systems had broken."

"Is everything alright?"

"No. I got knocked unconscious, and Wernher is locked inside the command module of the SE1. The crew cabin is flooded, and the both of us likely need medical treatment."

"Roger that. We'll send a Medivac Mallard. Anything else we should know?"

"I'm not sure. You need to talk to Wernher, though, he has some vital information."

"Understood. Stay put. Don't try to swim back to the SE1. Don't try to move too much. The doctor says that you should hold still and drink plenty of fluids. He wants to inspect you for brain injury when you get back."

"And Emergency Channel?"

"Yes Val?"

"Tell Gene that Wernher says to use Prototype #008-47B."

Valentina turned off the radio and settled in. For the second time, Gene scrambled a Mallard to Val's location, but this time, under much more trying circumstances. He personally saw the fitting of prototype #008-47B to the top of the aircraft. The flight and retrieval was rather uneventful. When the Mallard finally taxied to a stop, two ambulances rushed out to the pad, sirens screaming wild. Kerbals dressed in EMS gear jumped out and grabbed both kerbals, gently loading them into gurneys. They all stood back, before a kerbal in a white medical officer uniform walked up, holding a box in his left hand connected by a wire to the baton in the officer's other hand. He ran the wand over the bodies of both kerbals, noting the numbers. Shouting out "CLEAN!" he walked to a tent set up twenty feet away. The two kerbals were unceremoniously loaded into the ambulances, and as they were wheeled away, Valentina thought she saw the apprentice she had met on the bus consulting with the medical officer before she felt a prick in her arm and the whole world went black.

 

Edited December 23, 2016 by hidude398

[hidude398]

Chapter Seven: Agalotte

"Valentina, you're the luckiest Kerbal alive. I've never seen someone so well-off after slamming their head into a large metal object and passing out. You seem to have escaped with minimal damage. Of course, you still have a concussion and massive bruising on the back of your head, but you'll get better eventually."

"When can I go back in the field?"

"Valentina, you've suffered a head trauma. I can't really be sure, but I'm signing medical leave orders for you for 3 weeks. If you have a vacation you'd like to take, now's the time to do it. We can talk again in three weeks and get another X-ray, but as it stands, you should just be glad you don't have a broken skull or vision problems."

"Ok. Anything else?"

"Avoid any vehicle that goes fast. That means no SR71s to your vacation spot, you're taking a charter plane or something similar. I don't want you to come back in three weeks and hear about how you've been breaking the sound barrier by the SPH tower."

"Sir, do you think I'm that irresponsible?"

"No, but I deal with male test pilots on a day to day basis. It's a legitimate concern with you pilots."

"Fair enough. Have a good day, Captain."

"You too, commander."

Valentina strode out of the medical building and boarded a bus. The bus pulled away from the medical wing of the R&D department and drove towards the Astronaut complex. She took the elevator to the third floor, and walked up the stairs to the roof. Looking out across the ocean, she saw a water strider speeding towards the island group nearby. She heard footsteps behind her, and turned around.

"Hey Jeb!"

"Hi Valentina. What'd the doctor say?"

"No good news, I'm afraid. No physical exertion for the next 3 weeks. I'm on leave starting noon."

"Well, I have some leave saved up. Let me go talk to Gene, I'll see if he'll give us an island-hopper."

"That would be nice. I've been wanting to take a vacation with you for a while now."

"Okay. I'll go talk to Gene."

Jeb turned around and walked down the stairs to the ground floor. Valentina looked out across the sea again. She went downstairs and packed her bags before taking the bus to the SPH. Jeb was there already, loading his things onto an island hopper and conversing with their pilot, 2LT Stelby. She was a hopeful spaceplane pilot candidate, and the HNSC was helping her with flight time in jet aircraft by allowing her to ferry passengers. Forty five minutes later, Stelby found herself wishing the vacationing couple well. She glanced out her window one final time before leaving the two to themselves.

Back in the HNSC, Agalotte opened her desk drawer. Despite working inside the Wind Tunnel building, Agalotte was a biomedical student studying the effects of space on plant life. She was attempting to determine how well plants would grow in the low gravity environments of space and Duna in order to determine how best to feed the upcoming mars projects. She soon found herself boarding a bus over to the medical building. Inside, she went down a hallway into an airlock. She donned a Biohazard suit and sprayed herself with disinfectant before entering the pressurization chamber. The chamber filled with steam before the airlock opened, allowing her access to the clean room. Every plant she was currently studying was kept in a carefully controlled environment, free from disease, foreign biological matter, and extreme temperatures and humidity. It was a hassle to don the suits, but Agalotte appreciated the reliability her and her instructor's methods provided. Removing a potato from the soil, she measured it and took its weight before slicing it open. With a flourish, she used a set of test tubes to sample the cores of both halves before plugging each tube with a rubber stopper. Returning to the airlock, she depressurized the small annex and entered the gear room. Removing her suit, she put the two tubes in a box and boarded the next bus to the micro-science lab. There, she stamped her box with a bold label that read "TRANSMISSION ELECTRON" and wrote her instructor's name and her Experiment/Trial ID on the side. Then, she took the bus back to her office. Sitting at her desk, she opened her emails. She was surprised to find an email marked CLASSIFIED LV2: FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, OPEN IMMEDIATELY. Those types of emails were rather rare, so she excitedly opened it.

HNSC SCIENTIFIC COMMAND:

LV2, CLASSIFIED

     AGALOTTE, as you well know, we've reviewed your application to study the effects of microgravity on plant cell biology. We know that you're a cell biologist, and at first glance SCICOM thought that your application was macrobiological in nature, and was denied as the effects of microgravity on plant life has been well studied in regards to entire organisms. However, your instructor has informed us that your experiment is, in fact, microbiological in nature. With this in mind, SCICOM has approved your experiment for launch to the KSS. However, at the moment, there exists no efficient system for food production in microgravity. This said, SCICOM has decided to slate you for launch to the KSS in order to develop a food production system. As you are a scientist, not much will be expected of you in regards to astronaut training. It is estimated that you will be trained for 2-3 weeks in regards to your duties. You will be aboard the station for a grand total of 3 months if all goes as planned. We are allowing you two days of leave in order to prepare your sleeping quarters and clean your office for an extended absence. Report to the astronaut training center at noon on Y2D220. SCICOM recommends that you talk with a senior astronaut or naval officer in regards to your upcoming launch. If you do not wish to accept this mission, reply to this email as soon as possible.

Agalotte quickly replied back with a letter stating her intention to carry out the mission. She then called Bob.

"Hey!"

"Hey Bob. I need your help."

"You sound worried."

"My experiment proposal was accepted, but SCICOM wants me to carry it further and launch to the KSS."

"Do you want to?"

"Absolutely, but Bob, I'm scared."

"You'll be fine. You've got a good head on your shoulders, and you already know a lot about the Soyuz rocket. Almost too much for a microbiologist"

"I guess that comes alongside minoring in aerospace. Do you have any recommendations?"

"Yeah. Talk to Valentina. She and Jeb have the record for most hours in space. I think the two turned it into a competition."

"Thanks Bob."

"No problem. Fly safe, Agalotte."

Agalotte called Valentina next.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Agalotte, the scientist you met?"

"Yes?"

"I was calling you to let you know that I've been slated for my first launch, and Bob told me to call you."

"Oh, congratulations! I'm assuming you know that I'm staying on the island where the astronaut training complex is, right?"

"I do. Any recommendations?"

"Come over as soon as you can. I'll help you through training. These next three weeks are going to make your head spin."

"Ok. Anything else?"

"Pray that you don't get spacesick."

With that, the young scientist found herself sitting aboard an island hopper, waiting for takeoff. She had plenty of flying experience in small planes, but she had never before been to space. Her pilot thought that it would be hilarious to subject the poor kerbelle to some serious G's, and immediately after he retracted the gear, he kicked the two Juno engines to the max. That day, a new speed record was set for the Island Hopper, and Agalotte wound up using not one, but two airsickness bags. She enjoyed the trip once her lunch was gone, however, and laughed at the hotshot pilot flirting over the intercom. She finally arrived at the island, and stepped off to see her home for the next few weeks.

She walked over to the commander, who was standing next to Jeb.

"Sir?"

"Hi! I was just explaining to Jeb what you're doing here. I love coming to the astronaut training center on breaks. It's such a quaint little place. You'll love it here!"

"Thanks for the welcome. What's first?"

"Go ahead and report to the cadet quarters and get your equipment in place. Then meet me by the mock Soyuz and we'll do a little training."

"Okay."

Agalotte walked inside the cadet quarters. They were completely empty, but signs of the past crews which had trained before her were still present. For every crew that trained here, a sticker holding their mission patch stood affixed to the wall. She gazed in awe at the pictures hung in the radio room of the original Mercury 9, Kerpollo 11, and Minmus Expedition 1. She sat down at a computer console and booted it up. She found her bunk assignment and placed her gear inside, before closing the door and walking to the Soyuz Trainer. Val and Jeb were waiting at the entrance to the trainer.

"Go ahead and climb in. Take the pilot's seat, today we're gonna go over emergency escape procedures." 

"Ok," replied Agalotte, "are you coming with me?"

"Jeb's going to sit next to you, and I'm going to control the scenario from the external computer."

Agalotte climbed in and sat herself down, and Jeb followed her. Sealing the capsule from the outside, Valentina said "Good luck." before the windows went black and starry. Val's voice came in over the intercom. "Today you will be training for an emergency evacuation of the KSS. You have successfully entered the craft and sealed the docking port. Assume you're alone, and your pilot isn't present. The checklist is tucked into the seat cushion. This excercise is timed. The faster you complete it, the better your score. Most trainees get a C or D in timing and accuracy this first go-around, so don't worry. You'll be doing drills like this quite a bit. Start by booting the craft." Agalotte quickly ran through the startup procedure. In less than 15 seconds, she had the computer navball up and the undock screen open. Deftly moving at the controls of the simulator, she undocked the craft before maneuvering the simulator so that the craft was directed away from the KSS. She got around 250 meters away before aiming the ship retrograde in its orbit. She pushed the throttle to the max and entered a ballistic trajectory. "Good job," Jeb remarked, "most people don't do so well their first time. You've managed to get at least a B+ on that undocking, maybe more." Agalotte deftly staged away the orbital and service modules. The trainer shook to simulate the shock of reentry, and Agalotte piloted the capsule by spinning it to change its trajectory to land. She staged the parachutes at 10 kilometers, and moments before touchdown, the capsule shook again to simulate the firing of the landing rockets. Valentina rushed from behind the computer when Agalotte stepped out of the simulator.

"That was incredible. I've never seen a rookie fly so well. Are you sure that you're a scientist and not a test pilot?"

"I'm afraid so. Jeb, what was my final score?"

"87. You broke the 1st run high-score. I think we won't be here for three weeks."

The three ate a hearty meal that night to celebrate Agalotte's achievements. Back in Ketri, Bob was reading over SCICOM's amendments to Agalotte's experiments. Everything made sense, except for the flare dispenser and a block of C4 that was to be sent up on a Progress supply module. Bob couldn't figure out why on earth a group of scientists would need military flares and high explosives. At the HNSC, however, Wernher was sitting in Gene's office, explaining something very sinister.

"You see Gene, at first I thought that my hypothesis was insane. I could hardly believe that this could happen."

"What are you talking about, Wernher?"

"Back when the missile hit the HNSC, the R&D department had a break-in. We didn't find any evidence of theft, but a lab was trashed. We didn't think to check the computers, it just looked like vandalism. We wrote it off as a [REDACTED] with nothing better to do. The missile hit had us distracted, so we figured one of the ground crew just drank a little too much hydrazine and committed a crime of opportunity. This morning, however, one of the IT guys phoned me. He'd been upgrading our malware detection systems, and he found something connecting to an unknown IP address in Krater Bay."

"What do the Kermunists have to do with this?"

"Just listen. The Navy shares its R&D computer system with us, just like they share their military astronauts for civilian operations. We didn't find the trojan at first, because it wasn't accessing our files, it was accessing Naval R&D through our computer. Since nothing was changing on our end, we didn't know what was going on, or something like that. I'm not a computer engineer, I'm a rocket scientist for heaven's sake. However, when the IT department looked through the backup system log, they found that our mystery man in Krater Bay downloaded a file containing the blueprints for an aerial laser."

"But those plans never worked."

"That's because we tried to power them with an airplane generator. But look at the data I collected on my submarine trip with Val. Val was deep enough that the sub couldn't be harmed, but shallow enough that we could be picked up on conventional radar. Val didn't know that I had a radar system installed on the sub. It was small, but it helped increase our signature to be the size of a plane or BL4. To an automated system, we looked like a fairly large watercraft. Look at these temperature spikes, Gene. Every 45 minutes, the water temperature increases by about the same amount one would expect if the water was being bombarded by a high powered laser. Thankfully, the water dissipated the effects of the beam, but if you look at the cloud coverage, the outliers aren't outliers at all. It all forms a beam dispersion/temperature ratio."

"What you're suggesting is impossible."

"No. Think Gene. If this were a plane, I'd agree. You'd deplete your battery too quickly. But every 45 minutes, through cloud cover, Gene."

"Oh my god. The Kermunists built a nuclear-powered, orbital anti-craft laser."

"Exactly. And then they attacked the HNSC directly. If we want to avoid all out war, we need to keep this quiet. Agalotte hasn't been briefed on her task yet, but when she flies the KSS in a few weeks, we'll brief her on the way. We're already loading a Progress with supplies. The plan is to use remotely control the Progress and use it to attack the orbital satellite. I used the orbital data I gathered on my expedition to pinpoint its orbit and allow the tracking station to lock onto it."

"I hope this works, Wernher. We're in bind if it doesn't. Who's going to fly the progress remotely, though?"

"Why, only the most famous commander in the force! Who else?"

Edited December 23, 2016 by hidude398

[Spacetraindriver]

Me like! I like the explanation of of why Kerbals wear space suits everywhere else too!

[hidude398]

2 hours ago, Spacetraindriver said:

I like the explanation of of why Kerbals wear space suits everywhere else too!

It was a bit unintentional, and the laser is temporary. However, In my headcanon, it's that the suit gave them an extra layer of security. For example, in the deserts of Ketri, the daytime temperatures can get extraordinarily high, so the suit protects them from their working conditions, and if any of them were ever assigned to a base in the Arctic, they'd need the suit's onboard heaters.

[hidude398]

Chapter Eight: Spy Games

Two weeks later and three days later, Neilfred started up a BL1 touring blimp and steered his way towards the island. Wernher had custom fitted stealth features onto all large blimps, and staff were once again free to take large vehicles out of the HNSC. He steamed towards the Island, not tarrying in the open water where his radar signature would be more visible. On the way, he tried to call his Krussian friend. The Krussians lived on the peninsula which jutted into the West Bay, and their space tech had proven invaluable to Hexis and its program. His call was instead patched in on Alexei's vacation line: "Hello, comrade. Alexei is not home right now. Likely shooting in rocket for motherland. Will be back to office later. Call again then." Neilfred laughed at Alexei's new voicemail. He changed it weekly. Today, it appeared Alexei was embracing the old Krussian internet meme. He decided to heed Alexei's voice and call later, instead focusing at the task at hand. Landing at the airfield, he started the BL1's drill and ISRU before calling Valentina.

"Val. Gene sent me."

"I know. Ready to take my protégé back to the HNSC?"

"Yup. Tell her she can come on over to my blimp. I'm fueling for the return trip. This thing doesn't have much of a fuel margin, so I'll be here a little while. If you're hungry, I've got some pretty good snacks in the back somewhere."

"Thanks, but I've got plenty."

"Alright. See you in a week, commander."

"See you in a week, captain. By the way, Jeb and I owe you at least two rounds of hydrazine for pulling me out of the drink by that stupid BL4 two times in a row."

"No problem, and no arguments here. See you later."

"Peace."

Agalotte ran towards the waiting BL1. In the past two weeks, she had picked up a new love for early morning physical exercise and the challenge of piloting. She was still dead-set to become a senior scientific advisor, but the past two weeks had given her considerable skill. Carrying her belongings in a cadet's duffel bag, she hurriedly boarded the BL1.

Gene was waiting when they arrived. 

"Agalotte. Get in the rover. We need to talk away from listening ears."

"Ok? What's going on?"

"I can't say, not out here."

Agalotte hated the tone Gene's voice was carrying. It scared her to see such a great man so frightened. Gene's rover drove straight through the VAB main doors and into the freight elevator which was normally reserved for lifting trucks and fuel tanks to higher levels of the VAB. At the top floor, he opened the door and motioned for the young girl to follow him. He pulled a brass skeleton key out of the inside of his spacesuit, and unlocked a small door in the side of an exhaust vent. Agalotte followed him into the cramped space. Gene closed the door behind him, and turned a knob behind Agalotte. Suddenly, a small drum light flickered on, and Agalotte could see that she and Gene were standing inside a small cylindrical cage attached to a cable. "Hold on" Gene said, before switching another knob behind Agalotte's back. They began descending down the inside of the main ventilation shaft. "Sorry for the cramped space," Gene remarked, "but I needed to be sure that nobody could hear us, bugs included." "What do you mean?" "I found a bug in my telephone at the desk where I hold conferences. Only the higher-ups are allowed in that room. Not even janitors can go in there, and the tapes are clean. Nobody tampered with the recording equipment either. It's VCR, it'd be easy to tell if they did." With a clang, they reached the bottom of the shaft. Gene opened the gate behind Agalotte and the two backed their way out of the shaft. "What you're about to see is neither to be repeated or recorded. Nobody except me, Wernher, Jeb, Bill, Bob and Valentina know this place exists. We were the original founders of this organization, and they've been with me since the beginning. The fact that you're here now speaks not only volumes as to your ability, but also to how well they trust you. Over the past few weeks, while you were away training on the island, I re-read your personnel file. I also sent agents to your house. They visited your parents, old friends, ex-boyfriends, anyone who had a connection with you in the past 15 years. That said, they personally reported everything to me. You have my stamp of approval. You're an upstanding Hexian, a scholar, and an explorer. Valentina can attest to your skill and aptitude. I do not give my trust easily, Agalotte, but in the past few days you've earned it." With that, Gene turned on the light, revealing an underground room, circular in shape. On one wall, a tube poked through under a computer. It was covered with an easily removable aluminum grate, and Agalotte could feel air coming in from the tube.

"Agalotte, remember when the HNSC was nothing more than an amateur rocket club?" 

"No, I was just 5 years old. You guys forget you're all in your forties, save Jeb and Val. Wernher's even older."

"True. Sometimes time escapes me. Nevertheless, I have a question. Do you remember gazing on the mission patches inside the astronaut center?"

"It was amazing. It was almost as if every astronaut was gazing back at me from the past."

"Hold still."

Gene threw a final switch, lighting up the center of the room. In the middle was an ancient looking computer terminal. "This was the emergency egress room for the original launchpad. In case of emergency, astronauts and the remaining tower crew would come down here in order to escape an explosion. It was built right after the government integrated the Amateur Rocketry Club into their scientific research program, the Centralized Scientific Bureau. Eventually, bureaucratic and political decisions turned the Hexis Space Agency into the Hexis Joint Space Command, partnering our civilian space center with the navy and the airforce. This room is a remnant of our pre-partnership space center, back when our focus was exploration first and foremost instead of peacekeeping first, exploration second. I had this computer terminal installed so that in an emergency, the crew could interface with the server complex below the pad. Today's events have forced me to play my cards early." "Sir?" "My original plan was to conceal a gun and some explosives inside a bio-experiment bag and sending it up to the KSS with you. I was going to brief you during the 2-day rendezvous procedure by having you seal the orbital module from the descent module and speak to me over the dm's comms. However, finding out that we have a mole this deep in the organization means that you need to know some critical information earlier than planned. I'm sending a senior engineer with you on the Soyuz, as you know. I have an uneasy feeling about him, and I want you to keep an eye on him. If it turns out that he has Kermunist ties, or if he tries anything, you and your pilot are to seal him inside the small orbital observatory. I'll send a crew of two Naval officers to escort him back here for confinement and interrogation. I don't want to endanger you, so this next part of the mission you will not mention, not even to your pilot, who I personally briefed somewhere else today. Aboard the Progress module I sent up are a weapon control module, an impact wrench, a flare dispenser, and a single block of C4 explosive. You are to go on an 'unplanned' and setup everything EXCEPT the C4 when you get my signal on comms. When you hear the radio message, "The dawn has arrived," you're to attach the C4 and set the timer for sixty minutes. At this point in time, another pilot on the ground, who will go unnamed for now, will maneuver the Progress into an intercept with a target. All you need to know is that there are no people aboard the target, it's too small. If the engineer traveling with you hears about what you're going to do, if he is a Kermunist mole, he'll almost certainly try to stop you, so only your pilot can know when you're going to make your EVA. Is everything clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. For your protection, I'm going to do something I've never done before."

"Sir?"

"This is a Hexis Navy N-9 Pistol. It's been modified so it can fire in the vacuum of space. If you're attacked by the engineer, I don't want you to be overpowered or killed."

"I can take care of myself, sir, and that gun makes me nervous."

"I want you to take it to the range today and get comfortable with it. I know you can take care of yourself, it's not like I didn't go through your entire history in the past 15 years. However, the man I'm sending is 113 kg, 182cm, and a master in Krav-Maga. I'll send you on a potential suicide mission when Eeloo catches fire and melts. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir. I don't agree, but I'll do as you say. You're in charge."

"Good. You have a good head on your shoulders, Agalotte, and I'd like you to keep it there. If there were any other way, I'd do something else. But as I said before, events today have forced my hand."

The two stepped back into the elevator and said nothing on their ascent. Gene dropped Agalotte off at the astronaut center, before heading off to his office. He walked inside and sat down at his desk. Wernher slipped in.

"Hydrazine, Wernher? It's been a long day, and this is good stuff. Straight from the fields of Krussia."

"Not today, Gene. I honestly don't think you should be drinking right now, given the circumstances, either."

"It's just one, today Wernher, and of all days, today I feel deserving of a rest."

"Nothing happened to you today, Gene."

"Sit down. Today I told my two new agents about how I found a bug in the conference room telephone."

"Hardly cause for your Jeb-like behavior, sir."

"Look at my window."

"There's nothing wrong... my god. Gene. You don't mean to say?"

"I'm afraid I do. Had I not spilled my coffee all over my carpet and bent down to pick up my mug, I wouldn't be sitting here right now."

"Did you look to see who did it?"

"No. I crouched behind my desk and called one of my specialty extraction teams. They dressed as a cleaning crew in order to deflect suspicion and suppress the hysteria that armed men storming a building tend to create. I was carted out of the building under the shroud of a cleaning cart."

"What's the plan, Gene. The Kermunists are in deep, and I fear that they are only getting sloppy because they know that they can afford to."

"We proceed with the launch tomorrow. We can't afford to take any more time eliminating that satellite. If all goes as planned, we conduct a strike as soon as the orbital laser is down in order to allow our more-high profile, high-altitude bomber to attack. With any luck, we'll push the Kermunists out of the Eastern side of the crater, maybe even deeper. Once we start bombing them, I'm going to start outfitting krussian ekranoplans for an invasion."

"Gene. You're beating the war drum. This can't end well for anybody."

"I know. But after the orbital attacks on us, I can't afford not to attack. I have MILCOM biting my heels, and the Hexis Congress is jumping at the bit. I'm afraid that we're going to be going to war, and I'd rather risk as few of our lives as possible if I have no other choice. So I say again, Wernher. Do you want a drink?"

Wernher leaned over the desk and picked up Gene's flask. Grabbing a glass off of Gene's desk, Wernher tilted the bottled over and poured himself an entire glass. "Maybe this isn't such a bad idea," Wernher remarked, before he and Gene closed the sunshades in order to further discuss Gene's plans for an unwanted war.

Edited December 24, 2016 by hidude398

[hidude398]

Chapter Nine: No Plan Survives First Contact

Agalotte placed the N9 in a holster Gene had given her, hidden in the space between her EVA pack and her space suit. She found walked downstairs to the clean room, dreadfully aware of the pistol pressing into her back. She was worried after what Gene had told her about the engineer he was sending up. She knocked on the door. "Come in!" Inside stood Günter Kerman. He clicked off her spacesuit's seals, locking the helmet into place. "Everything looks proper. Gene instructed me to not check your EVA pack. Everything looks good, and the machinery is running, so I will have to settle with that." Wernher put Agalotte in the back of a waiting car. In the back sat Neilfred and a man she had never met before. 

"Who are you?"

"I'm Hersy Kerman. I'm your Flight Engineer. I'm assuming you're Agalotte? Gene has told me a lot about you."

"Yes, I'm her. Nice to meet you, Hersy."

The crew didn't speak on the ride over. Despite the pleasantries, Agalotte found herself acting rather wary of anything Hersy did. After Gene's speech the night below in the old emergency egress room, she had trouble feigning trust. Her uneasiness was starting to show, but Hersy spoke up.

"First launch?"

"Yeah. I don't feel so hot."

"Heh. I remember my first launch. I emptied my lunch off the side of the tower before I climbed inside the capsule. Günter was ticked when I accidentally hit an engineer."

Agalotte felt herself becoming more at ease. The image of the friendly pad commander screaming his face off made her giggle a little. The car arrived a the pad, and Günter stepped out from up front and let them out of the back. The crew of three stepped into the gantry elevator and were lifted to the top of the R7. Günter stopped at the floor right before the gantry walkway to the fairing. "Last bathroom until orbit," he called out, "go now while you have a chance!" After the crew stopped by the toilet, they loaded back into the lift and slowly rode the final four meters to the hatch in the fairing. Two launch officials stood at the entrance, one civilian and one military. Before each crewman passed through the hatch, the officials followed the age-old tradition of a salute and handshake for each astronaut. Günter followed the three astronauts through into the hatch of the orbital module. He helped the three explorers into the seats inside the DM, before standing on each one's shoulders and tightening the straps of their harnesses. He climbed into the orbital module, but before he left, he remarked: "You guys are the bomb. Don't become one." With that, Günter dropped the hatch between the orbital and descent modules, and the crew watched the wheel spin shut, sealing them in. Agalotte heard the clunking of the Günter and the two launch officials closing the OM hatch. With a screech, the walkway between the OM and the fairing was removed, and the light streaming in the window went dark as the hatch in the side of the fairing was sealed. Agalotte looked over at the crew, Neilfred in the center, Hersy behind him, and felt totally isolated from the world for a moment.

Then the launch computers booted up, and the cockpit whirred to life. The computers came online and began to beep. The master alarm lit up, and then shutdown. "Don't worry, Agalotte," Neilfred muttered over the headset comms, "that's part of the startup sequence." The computers whirred to life, and Agalotte listened to the countdown on the radio.

"This is launch control to mission control, all systems nominal."

"Mission control to launch control, start countdown."

"Launch control to mission control, craft is now on internal guidance."

"Roger that. This is tower to launch control, fuel tanks reading full pressure."

"Affirmative, this is backup control, we're reading the same."

"This is mission control. All systems nominal, we are T-30s and go for launch. Begin spinning up turbopumps."

"This is tower, turbopumps up to speed. External fueling is beginning the ignition sequence."

"Ignition sequence started. Guidance readings are good. T-10s, abort mode is now set to option 1."

"Roger that. Main engines have ignition. Tower is away, T-5s"

"Switch fuel pump to internal tanks. Clamps away."

"Tower confirming craft is internal, clamps are away."

"This is mission control, we're reading engines to full throttle."

"This is launch control, affirmative. We have liftoff. All systems nominal"

Agalotte felt herself being forced into the back of the seat. Once the sustainer stage quit burning, she unbuckled and undid the hatch to float up into the orbital module. She locked the door, giving the crew below the excuse that she was changing into a flight suit from an EVA suit. She looked out the window and down onto Kerbin below. "Whoah."

She had a job to do, however, and took off her EVA suit. Removing the N-9 from her backpack, she tucked it down the inside of her flight suit. The flight suits were a more comfortable version of the EVA suit, but they were still spacesuits in every right. She unlocked the orbital module and floated back down into the DM. It was an uneventful flight to the station. When they arrived at the station, however, the autopilot suddenly shutdown. Neilfred reacted quickly, slowing the craft and backing away from the solar panels that the autopilot had aimed the craft at. Gently, he maneuvered the ship so that the docking ports were lined up, and manually docked the ship. The crew unloaded the progress rocket and placed the plants inside the lab. Without warning, Agalotte jumped down inside the airlock. She put her EVA suit on and depressurized the module.

"AGALOTTE! COME INSIDE AT ONCE!"

"Sorry Hersy, I have another mission."

"Huh? Neilfred, she can't be serious."

"Sorry we didn't tell you. Gene wanted to keep this need-to-know only."

"Oh. So she's following orders?"

"Indeed."

Gene came on over the intercom. "The sun has risen, Agalotte, the sun has risen."

"Why does she have C4 explosives?"

"Honestly, Hersy, I don't know. She doesn't know. Our only orders were to attach it to Progress. Somebody else is going to fly it."

A lightbulb turned on in Hersy's head. "Sorry Neilfred, I can't allow this to continue." Grabbing Neilfred by the collar of his spacesuit, he threw him down into the orbital observation module and closed the hatch. "I'll explain later. I swear I'm not Kermunist, but this is one of Gene's worst ideas." As Hersy tried to reach the airlock, Agalotte opened the door, preventing him from opening the internal door due to the pressure difference.

"Agalotte! Listen to me! We need to get that bomb off the Progress!"

"I'm sorry Hersy. Back away from the door."

"Agalotte, I can't do that!"

"HERSY! BACK UP!"

"Agalotte, please! Just listen!"

Agalotte pulled the N9 from the inside of her suit. "I have a gun, Hersy. Back up. We can talk if you back up." Hersy gave up the fight when he saw the gun through the airlock's window. Agalotte pressurized the airlock and stepped inside. "Let Neilfred out." Hersy backed down the modules and and unlatched the hatch. Neilfred floated out, visibly ticked. Hersy sat down inside the capsule.

"You need to listen to me. Gene didn't think this through. You just endangered the lives of everyone aboard a spaceship in orbit. Have you ever heard of the Kessler syndrome?"

"Hersy, what could you possibly mean?"

"Think, Agalotte. You're a brilliant scientist, and Gene's a great tactician, but he didn't think this one through. If that explosive detonates nearby our mystery satellite, or anywhere near the progress for that matter, the resulting shrapnel will take on random orbits. Do you want to be responsible for creating a belt of micrometeorites around Kerbin?"

"How do you know this will happen, and how did you know about the satellites without being told by someone in the Crater Bay?"

"Agalotte, I'm an engineer. I spend my time in the tracking station and the R&D department. Do you think I wouldn't notice a red dot on the tracking screen near the corners at every 45 minutes? You should talk with the programmer who makes the orbit-censorship program and have him check the visibility settings. Anyways, with a sufficient telescope, it was very easy to capture a picture of an orbital laser with a massive Sickle and Hammer painted on the side."

"So you deduced the orbital characteristics of a secret satellite by what, looking at random dots on a map?"

"Not without raising some suspicion, obviously. I had to call in some favors all at once, and obviously it raised a few flags with Gene."

"Okay. I believe you. So what could this belt of micrometeorites do?"

"Oh, that's easy. Best case scenario, the debris scatters but de-orbits. Worst case scenario, the debris will smash into another satellite or ship, creating a chain of destruction across LKO. We could accidentally shut off any space exploration routes for the next 30 years ago until the orbits decay."

"That's bad."

"Extraordinarily so. Now do you see why I was in a panic to remove that explosive?"

"Yes, but what do you plan to do?"

"Every satellite has a downlink to connect to the country it needs to. What if we were to attach a docking port from Progress onto our sattelite, then steal it with the Soyuz and carry it into a deorbit?"

"That's a lot more dangerous."

"To us, but what about the fifty or so astronauts on other stations doing routine work?"

"Alright, we have a deal. Radio Valentina."

"That's who's flying the Progress?"

"Yup!"

Valentina picked up the phone inside the remote command station. "Uh huh? ... Really? ... Every last one? ... I guess we're doing this your way then." She picked up the red phone and called Gene. "There's been a change of plans. You've got some real heroes up there today." Back inside the KSS, Hersy was prepping the Soyuz.

"Did you plan to stay up for as short an amount of time as this?"

"Nope. I thought I'd be studying plants for three months. Then I thought I'd be blowing up a satellite and having a crew of commandos storm the KSS."

"Trust me. This is for the best."

"I know, but Gene's gonna have not only you and me, but also Val and Neilfred court-martialed."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Once we explain why this is happening, his protective nature will kick in. He'll beat himself up, but he'll get over it."

The Soyuz backed away from the KSS and aimed itself for an intercept with the satellite. Soon, they caught up the Progress module which Valentina had flown next to them. They docked with it in order to use the remaining resources in order to get supplement the ones that they carried aboard the Soyuz. They aimed towards the mystery satellite and began to maneuver towards it. As soon as they had the two craft docked, they snuck up behind the satellite in order to avoid triggering the radar tracking system which fired the laser. Agalotte went on EVA and moved the docking port from the Progress to the back of the laser.

Agalotte made her way back into the OM of the Soyuz. Neilfred maneuvered his way until the Soyuz was directly behind the offending satellite, and proceeded to dock the two spacecraft together. With that, he swung the spacecraft to face retrograde, and waited. Valentina faced the Progress vehicle retrograde, and fired until she guaranteed it would enter the atmosphere as fast as it could. Neilfred waited until his deorbit would guarantee him a landing in the Hexis continent, and prepared for reentry. The capsule overshot the KSC and landed in the ocean, but Agalotte was glad to be home. Three hours later, she found herself in Gene's office.

"I'd like to congratulate you on accomplishing all of your mission objectives. It's not often we have someone as capable or as decisive as you. You managed to determine the allegiances of our suspicious engineer, de-orbit a Kermunist device, and not kill anyone in the process. That takes some serious skill. In fact, MICOM has ordered me to offer you a full time job in espionage."

"Sorry sir, at heart, I'm still a scientist. It's just that my country needed me, that's all."

"I can respect that. Now that you know about the emergency egress room, however, I can't simply allow you to return to normal life. I'm going let you in on another secret. Look at my windows."

"Sir?"

"Is anything different from last time?"

"Now that you mention it, they're a shade grayer, and thicker."

"You're perceptive. Most people don't see anything."

"Why are they like that?"

"Someone on the base tried to kill me the day before you launched. That's the real reason I moved the launch date up. I needed to make a power play, and I needed to know who to trust."

"Was there ever a bug?"

"Yes, but the fact that someone tried to kill me means that there are multiple moles in our organization."

"What sent you barking up Hersy's tree?"

"He tried to access the classified tracking data through a friend. His friend came and told me instead. Though, thanks to your actions, we know he's really just a well-meaning scientific type, similar to yourself. You scientists never really know when to quit, and your curiosity seems to get you in trouble a lot. Not that I'm complaining, of course. Without you people, we wouldn't be standing in this building, and there never would have been an HNSC. Curiosity is a double-edged sword."

"So from your words of praise, I can assume I'm safe from a military tribunal?"

"Likely so. I'll speak to the board of inquiry tomorrow. Heck, the three of you will likely get medals if what you did up there gets out."

"Thank you sir. Have a good day."

"You too."

Agalotte went back to the Astronaut Center and laid back on her bunk. In Gene's office, Wernher ran in. "Congress just voted. We're officially releasing these events and declaring war tomorrow morning. Get Valentina on the line. We need our Commander back."

 

Edited December 25, 2016 by hidude398

[hidude398]

Transmission Log #1:

Ketri, [REDACTED]

Y2D[REDACTED]

MILCOM OFFICIAL ORDERS: TO MAJOR [REDACTED]

At Y2D[REDACTED], a small outpost was spotted on satellite. As you well know by now, a group of 16 scientists, engineers, and pilots defected to the Crater Bay States as of [REDACTED] days ago. General [REDACTED] has personally placed you in charge of a preliminary strike. As you well know, the HEXIS congress has decided to declare war tomorrow morning. It is the belief of analysts that the outpost has three purposes: (1) It serves as a ground base for Crater Bay State air support. (2) It serves as a way for the West Bay to coordinate attacks by radio with Kermunist sympathizers. (3) It is in a location such that it may allow scientists to observe the [REDACTED] phenomenon exclusive to that region of the world. Purposes (1) and (2) have raised flags among MILCOM officials, and have marked the base as a strategic target. Normally, we would coordinate an airstrike on the area and be done with it. However, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) officers from our Krussian Allies believe that it may be wise to preserve the base for our own uses. Although we are quite capable of setting up a FOB for an aerial offensive campaign against the Crater Bay States, MILCOM has decided to capture the base. In addition, Military Intelligence (MILINT) officers within the Hexis Intelligence and Investigative Administration wish to capture as many of the personnel as possible, in order to extract information concerning the [REDACTED] phenomenon. This has created a unique situation for us, so your orders are as follows:

1. You have been granted the use of (3)three MV1 Light Tanks, (1)one Prisoner Transport, and (1)one M-25 Assault Mothership Craft, equipped with (6)six assault mechs.
2. Your men have been granted access to MILCOM's experimental targeting eyesights.
3. Using the specialized equipment granted to you, capture every defector.
4. Avoid killing defectors if you can.
5. DO NOT destroy the base. You may disable critical systems, but leave the base intact for our uses in the future.
6. Under no circumstances are you to mention the [REDACTED] phenomenon.

We're counting on you, Major [REDACTED]

[hidude398]

Chapter Ten: Knights and Rooks

Y2D238, 2:50

Ketri, [REDACTED]

MV1 Bravo, stay here with the prisoner transport. MV1 Alpha and MV1 Charlie, move up on that ridge.

This is MV1 Alpha, in position.

This is MV2 Bravo, in position.

Good. I'm driving over the ridge to drop the assault mechs now. Target is 500m away, I don't think they know we're here.

Roger that. We don't see anything up here. We think you'll be fine.

Understood. Assault mechs, stay cool unless something happens. Remember, you're aiming for infrastructure, not people. Keep your weapons away from the HAB modules. The only fair game is solar panels, fuel pumps, and other devices like that unless you're attacked.

This is the Mech Crew leader. Any other requests?

Nope. Stay frosty.

Roger that. See you in ten minutes.

Major Derler maneuvered his Assault Craft into position. Despite being a great scientist, his psychological profile boasted a great capacity for tactical thinking, and that was how he found himself directing a combat team in covert ops. Years ago, he had applied to the Shock Troopers from his job in SCICOM. He was originally accepted as a chemical munitions expert to ensure troop safety against chemical attacks, but his strategic mind made him an exemplary leader, and he soon found himself rising up the ranks. Tonight, he had been tasked with achieving a strategic victory which would place West Ketri in the hands of the West Bay Allies. Sneaking in on the base was easy enough, as it was run by mostly undisciplined scientists with a few military members scattered throughout. He crested the final hill and began to lower the assault pods. He watched as the mechs descended on the base like small glowing monsters. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire filled the night. Major Derler watched in satisfaction as the base's drilling system melted. The mechs moved closer, destroying everything in their path.

A scientist with a rifle burst through the door, firing at one of the mechs. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the side. The mech spun on its base to face the threat. "This guy's an idiot, Major. Response?"  "No bloodshed today, Captain Sigly." Captain Sigly deftly spun the controls to face the mech to his oncoming attacker. "Nonlethal it is, then." A laser sight at top of the mech popped up and faced the enemy. Captain Sigly flicked a switch and pulled the trigger. A loud THUNK emanated through the mech. The attacker barely had time to react. He had just enough time to reach up to his neck and feel the feathers before his body went completely numb. He fell backwards, and despite his best attempts, could not stand, talk, or even move his vision. He saw a blue light fly close to his face, and thought it landed on his stomach. The mech commanders left their machines when they finished the utter destruction of the base's infrastructure. The scientists huddled together at the back of the main command structure. The squadron of six warriors kicked open the door. They threw in a bottle of CS gas, before pulling down their gas masks. The scientists stumbled out the door, but were cuffed and placed facedown by the mechs by the waiting commandos. Two commandos entered the door and pulled out the remaining military staff. Two pilots had managed to grab gas masks when the bottle went in, but were tranquilized in a manner similar to the man outside with the rifles the commandos carried.

It's done. Bring transport over.

Roger that. Go ahead and prep the mechs for loading.

Sure thing. We count 16 kerbs and kerbelles. We need three syringes full of antidote for the tranquilizer as well.

I'll send it with transport. Everyone clean?

Roger that. We swept the base. There's nothing obvious. We'll be waiting.

The transport truck took about five minutes to arrive. The cleanup crew walked over to the red beacon on the ground, and lifted the kerbal under it. One of them pulled out a syringe and injected it into the kerb's arm. His eyes fluttered as he slowly came to. The two privates helped the scientist into a seat on the transport truck, then handcuffed him to the armrest. A third private stood guard with another tranquilizer rifle. The commandos walked out of the building, carrying the two pilots over to the waiting truck. When the gas masks came off, the crew was surprised to find a gentle-looking kerbelle was the threat which had scared the living crap out of the two commandos who had gotten jumped. Major Derler cuffed her to the the co-pilot's seat of his craft before he hit her with the antidote. She came to screaming bloody murder, in sharp juxtaposition to her leader.

"Who are you!?!? What have you done to us!?!?"

"Nothing... Why?"

"I know your type. Hexis scum. Only here to enslave us all anyways."

"Sure thing. Want a chocolate bar?"

"Wha..?"

"Ehh, too slow." *arghf nom nom nom* "I have another one, y'know. Hungry?"

"Why would you feed your enemies?"

"Because you aren't a threat. Hungry?"

"Sure. It's not poisoned, is it?"

"If I really wanted to kill you, I have 6 war mechs with deadly weapons on the side. Why would I spend that much money on poison."

"Fair deal. You're not like what I thought a West Bay... citizen would be."

"Propaganda does that. You know why we're here, right?"

"I thought I did. Now, I don't really know. Obviously you aren't all ruthless killers."

"You're a pilot, right?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm. I have an idea."

"What?"

"I won't tell you for now. I'd hate to get your hopes up. What's your name, by the way?"

"2LT Eiltina."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Major Derler. Meet the Screaming Commandos of the Shock Troopers."

Back at the HNSC, the boardroom inside the Mission Control building had been turned into a war-room. "Field position confirmed, Gene! Outpost has been conquered!" A whoop went through the room, and a man placed a dot labeled "Screaming Commandos" on top of the outpost on the holographic map. Gene picked up the phone. "Is she ready for departure?" "Yes sir. The base doctor here at the training center has given her clearance to leave." With that last hurdle out of the way, Gene dispatched a transport pilot to the island. Valentina found herself walking up to her quarters inside the HNSC only 15 minutes later. Opening the door to her quarters, she was surprised to find an envelope waiting on her bunk. She turned it over, glancing at the CLASSIFIED tag, before opening it with the knife on her desk.

MILCOM OFFICIAL ORDERS: TO COMMANDER VALENTINA

Commander: As you are aware, in the past 2 weeks, Hexis has gone to war. Fifteen minutes ago, the Screaming Commandos captured a Crater Bay FOB. Although further analysis is required, the data captured at that base suggests that a certain natural phenomenon may be the result of the high content of finely ground silicates and ferrous metals in some of the deeper soil layers. Crystals which grow in the area seem to exhibit rather strong electromagnetic properties, and the "dancing sands" may actually be a result of changing electromagnetic fields in the crystals interacting with the finely ground particles of ferrous metals such as iron present in the sand. One of the captured pilots surprisingly volunteered information regarding mining operations in the area. There is a possibility that the Crater Bay is experimenting with unknown technology. We need you to pilot a SR71 from the base to the Crater Bay and take photos of a certain location. The coordinates will be loaded onto your plane's GPS system. Proceed to the SPH tonight with FE Moina. Tell nobody else, and make sure you aren't followed. Without knowing what these crystals are being used for, we can't successfully invade the Crater Bay.

Valentina lit the paper on fire before pouring the ashes down the drain. She sat down and ate a sandwich, before turning on the small TV in the corner of the room. She listened, pondering the use of crystals, until she was interrupted by a knock on her door.

"Come in!"

"Hey Val. Heard you were back in the neighborhood. I need some help."

"Sure thing Agalotte. Hungry? I just had a sandwich, I can make another one if you'd like."

"No thanks. Gene briefed me on your mission, and I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"About an hour ago, our team detected an anomaly in the ionosphere from one of our scientific satellites. Be careful out there, ok?"

"Sure thing. I didn't get here by acting like Jeb."

"Ok. Have a good night, Val."

"You too, Agalotte."

Agalotte gently slipped out the door, closing it behind her. Time passed slowly until sunset. Val could feel her blood pumping. It had been more than 2 weeks since she had broken the sound barrier, and she was eager to do it again. The sun had just fallen over the Hexian central mountains when she climbed into the cockpit of the SR71. FE Moina started playing AC/DC on the comms while Val booted up the computers and shot the engines. In less than a minute, Val was screaming down the tarmac. She streaked west, towards the setting sun. It was amazing to watch the sun rise in reverse from the cockpit of the craft. You knew you were doing something right when that flaming ball called Kerbol went backwards across the sky. When the two finally arrived at the location, they picked up a strange source of radio interference. "Fly closer, Val, and I'll photograph whatever's making this mess." The crew flew closer to the strange source of interference, and Val could hear Moina operating the camera controls as they flew by.

"

"Moina, send those pictures to Agalotte immediately. I want to know what that is." "Right away, Ma'am." When Agalotte replied, it was a video call, and she looked stressed.

"GET OUT OF THERE NOW!"

"What's going on, Agalotte?!?!"

"I'LL EXPLAIN ON THE WAY BACK. GET BACK TO BASE NOW!"

"Roger that. Agalotte, we don't have enough fuel for a return to the HNSC. We can only get to our new base in Ketri. I don't know if we can land."

"Are you out of the Crater Bay region?"

"Yes, I am now. What was the big deal?"

"My department figured out what that was. It's a massive electromagnetic disruptor beam."

"In a wing commander's terms, please, Agalotte? I majored in business, not advanced physics."

"It's a massive electromagnetic death-ray, powered by those crystals you found. It's amazing you weren't shot down."

"Don't think that they'll let their security be broken again."

"I know. I need to go now, it looks like it's going to be a rough landing."

The landing was somehow smoother than Val was expecting, especially for the Ketri region. She landed a kilometer short of the newly captured (and just as quickly abandoned) base and coasted downhill the final 700 meters. Despite arriving and parking perfectly, Val discovered that all engineering tools had been removed and there was no way to fuel the SR71. She was very upset, but she was able to arrange for a pickup by the tank crew in the area. 3 days later, a crew picked up the SR71. Back at the HNSC, Val stepped inside the war room.

"There's no two ways about it, we have to strike now!"

"Look, general, I know you're upset by this development, but we need to be cautious if we want our invasion of the crater to be successful."

"Gene, I don't care! It's clean and clear cut! We launch a preliminary strike against this death-ray before they can use it, then we invade their capital once their defenses are down!"

"General Atkins, listen to me."

"NO! The dangers of allowing the Crater Bay to continue on the warpath is clear-cut! They now have a weapon that can not only destroy ships, planes, and star-ships, it also has the power to wipe out bases, outposts, entire cities! This is a small version of the weapon. Think of what would happen if a large one were put into orbit!"

"General, I'd advise some restraint here. If we go attacking now, after already poking them with a flyby, they'll simply shoot us down. Listen to the intelligence officer's plan. It's much more sound."

"Excuse me, gentlemen, may I interrupt?"

"Val?"

"We have 16 prisoners from the Bay's FOB. Major Derler told me that one of them shows great potential as far as assisting our cause. She's been somewhat disillusioned with the Bay after finding out what Hexis really is. I think I should go talk to her, maybe see if she might be willing to give up some of the Bay's secrets regarding the weapon."

"It couldn't hurt. I'll make my final decision on the matter tomorrow. Gene, I suggest that you and the commander figure something out before then, or else I'm going to order an all out aerial assault. Understood?"

"Yes sir. Val, come with me. We have a lot to discuss. I'll go ahead and order a SSTO to our prison station."

As the General, Gene, and Val were preparing their next move, in the Crater Bay, a group of kerbs were hard at work.

"Prepare for activation of shield. Is everything ready?"

"Yes sir. Shield generator is online and charged for activation. Opening generation ring now."

"Good. Power to full, activate shield."

"Shield generator is good, sir. Defensive mechanisms online!"

"Good. Make sure the commanders know that the device is now secure."

Edited January 2, 2017 by hidude398

[Spacetraindriver]

Notifications, why u no notify?!?

[hidude398]

Transmission Log #2

Department of Corrections, Asteroid Kepler

 

Y2D242  

Request for Acquisition:

Prisoner: #CB-015

Full Name: Eiltina Kerman | Gender: Female | Eyes: Brown | Height: 162.56 cm | Weight: 54.43 Kg | Hair: Brown | Status: Prisoner of War

Reason for Request: Prisoner may be critical to information which could aid the destruction of [REDACTED]. Request immediate release into Hexis Naval custody. Require response soon. Without prisoner, drastic measures may have to be taken to ensure victory.

Authorization:

Gene Kerman

Atkins Kerman

 

[hidude398]

Author's note: With school back in full swing (and AP Biology breathing down my neck again), I can't make these on a day-to-day basis though. I'll still try to release one about once a week, but they won't come as often anymore. However, I will try to make them longer to help make up for the lack of activity on my end. I'm still going to need to see how my schedule works out, but from here forward, I will likely be releasing the majority of these on Saturday or Sunday. Cheers, and Happy New Years!

-hidude398, the author

(duh)

[hidude398]

Chapter Eleven: A Change In Initiative.

SITUATION REPORT: FOR THE EYES OF THE DIRECTOR ONLY

12 HOURS AGO, MILCOM held a briefing without your consent or presence. The intelligence your pilots had proved invaluable in determining our next move, however, MILCOM needed more information as of the nature of this "Electromagnetic Disruptor Beam." Despite knowing the general nature of the device, without some sort of edge, we decided it best not to attack and allow the lines of attack pushing towards the Crater Bay to come to a temporary standstill. In order to attempt to gather surveillance, MILCOM discreetly deployed one of our Ghost troopers on site. The plan was for our trooper to infiltrate the site, incapacitate, and assume the role of a guard, and find information pertinent to the weapon. However, our plans last went awry. This was one of the last radio logs our trooper, codenamed "Phantom," transmitted before he disappeared:

"Phantom, you are go for landing. Are you ready for ballistic entry?"

"Roger that, this is phantom, ready for reentry and low opening."

"Understood. I don't need to remind you, but this is an intelligence mission. Try not to blow it."

"Don't worry, no Screaming Commandos aboard this vessel."

"You're approaching the orbital landing zone. Ready yourself reentry."

"Alright. See you when I'm through the silk. I'll start transmitting pictures once I'm close enough."

"Good luck, Phantom."

Upon atmospheric entry, Phantom opened the re-entry pod's revolving frequency radio, and began scanning for enemy transmissions. His antenna locked on to a radio signal which, before today, was scarcely used by Crater Bay forces. For the past few hours, our top crypto-analysts have been working to decrypt the signal. We had a breakthrough fifteen minutes prior to the writing of this report. Phantom's pod continued recording on this channel until it suffered a sudden power failure 6 hours ago. Among radio snippets captured were:

• Discussions of troop movements on the front
• Potential of the weapon to defend the waterfront of the Crater Bay
• Data Storage/Transportation/Security
• A data transmission for something called "Project Timeguard"

The most concerning of transmissions is the data file we intercepted for "Project Timeguard." It simply contained analysis of previous attempts to get a vague, cylindrical object to perform to task. However, the unwanted results are absolutely terrifying:

Trial:	Pilot Name:	Result:	Desired?
1	Tarkin	Spontaneous explosion upon activation. Pilot lost.	No.
2	Katrina	Ship disappeared. Radar registered odd-shaped object ascending near light speed.	No.
3	Ivan	Ship hovered mid-air. Pilot phased through the floor of cockpit and was incinerated.	No.
4	Irina	Shield formed, expanded to 4km, then imploded. Test facility A destroyed, no survivors, further tests moved to facility B in Ketri.	No.
5	Alex	Shield expanded to desired size, then imploded.	No.
6	Alexei	Shield expanded and stabilized. Pilot began to age rapidly, as if time inside the shield had sped up.	No. (Promising, however!)
7	Galina	Shield expanded, stabilized, and began to function properly. Bullet fired at shield passed through and killed pilot.	Almost.
8	Trent	Shield expanded, stabilized, and began to function properly. Bullet fired at shield passed through and killed pilot. Mathematics reviewed (shield isn't helpful for high-speed objects).	Very Close!
9	Fiona	Shield formed properly. Missile fired at side of shield bounced off and killed ground crew members. Test considered first true success.	Yes.
10	[REDACTED]	Now on duty at the [REDACTED]weapon facility. Shield online and functioning.	Yes.

As you can see, the results of Project Timeguard appear to be catastrophic, however, the device is obviously unstable, given its tendency to destroy the pilots on vessels which tested the device. Despite not knowing where the device is, we predict with a high degree of accuracy that the device is currently guarding the large Electromagnetic Disruptor Beam on the coast of Crater Bay. Data gathered from radio snippets regarding the transmission and storage of scientific data repeatedly highlights a certain list of coordinate pairs. Because of this, MILCOM has maneuvered a spy satellite to gather information, and was shocked to find a small tank driving about in the deserts of Ketri from one set of coordinates to another. We believe that by capturing the truck, we may be able to steal the plans, or a backup of those plans, from the Kermunists, and use those plans to determine a way to destabilize the weapon. If Timeguard's shield is working properly (and we have no reason to believe otherwise), without those plans, there is no way to safely break the stalemate on the front lines or destroy the superweapon the Kermunists have created.

Gene was absolutely bewildered. He was a soldier, true, but until a few weeks ago, he had never had to direct an all-out war, nobody attempted to kill him, and he was never concerned by the Crater Bay. Now, his world was flipped upside down, and he wasn't quite sure what to do anymore. He called the CO for the Marine battalion stationed about 160 km east of the front lines. 

"Lieutenant Colonel Gusford. We have a situation."

"What is it, sir? The boys are dying for some action."

"Let me explain. This is important."

About fifteen minutes later, Gene had spelled out the importance of the mission to follow to the Lieutenant Colonel.

"Well, [REDACTED], sir. That is awfully important. We can brief your pilots once you arrive."

"Roger that. I want this done as soon as possible. The longer this takes, the longer we stay out of the Crater Bay, and the stronger our enemies get. I hear they have new recruits rolling out to stations on the coast all over these days."

"Understood sir. We won't fail."

Inside the Astronaut Center, the entire Red squadron was standing in formation. Valentina had just finished explaining the situation to the Naval Aviation Brigade 3 commander, and he had ordered her to take the Red squadron out. Valentina picked the most battle-hardened platoon, and sent the rest back to bed. Then, she picked up the phone and called Gene.

"Do we have the prisoner yet, sir?"

"Not yet, but she's on her way in a drop pod. Her landing prediction looks good, so she'll definitely land at the HNSC."

"Okay. Come get me when we make it back, I want to talk to her about something."

"What's going on in your mind?"

"I was thinking about creating a squadron of POWs and putting them to work in a place they can't do any damage as a trial run. It's not like they really do much when we stuff them into a tin can at 500,000km and leave them there."

"Would you be able to vouch for such a program? It's insane enough it might just work."

"Maybe not now, but post-war, we might be able to give them pardons in exchange for their services when we start exploring the rest of the solar system."

"We can talk about this one later. If it's well thought out, we can pitch it to the top brass."

"Deal. See you later."

Valentina hung up the phone, thinking of anything she may have forgotten to take care of before she , Valentina walked upstairs and knocked on Jeb's door.

"Val! What're you doing here? Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"I have a few minutes. This campaign is going to get rough before this is over, I'm afraid."

"Stay safe out there Val. I'd do anything to be out there flying in a wing with you."

"You may wind up there before this ends. I overheard Gene and Wernher  were thinking of giving me control of an Ace squadron."

"Well, I'd have to become an ace."

"Jeb, I'm pretty sure you already are. You need like, 5 aerial takedowns, and somehow, a TEST PILOT manages to get himself tangled up so far in a war-zone that he has ample opportunity to shoot down as many airplanes as he needs in one night."

"Okay, fair point. But seriously, stay safe and don't pull a me out there, ok?"

"Okay. Love you, Jeb."

"Love y-"

Suddenly, a large explosion rocked the base. Jeb and Val were thrown together, and dust rained down from the ceiling. The two picked themselves up and quickly left the room. In the main hallway, pilots rushed down the stairs and towards the doors closest to the airstrip. The entire Astronaut Center now had a definite lean away from the Admin Building, and looking out the window, Val saw that the Admin building now had a definite lean away from the Astronaut Center. The flagpole was replaced with a large, charred crater, which was still smoking and igniting fires around it. Val and Jeb turned their suit comms on, and were suddenly overwhelmed with the sound of angry, worried, stressed, and scared mission controllers.

"This is the tracking station to anybody who will listen! We have a missile cruiser coming in from the east! Where did they come from?!?!"

"This is Gene Kerman. It doesn't matter where they came from! Scramble as many fighters as you can!"

"Roger that! This is the SPH, we're fueling some anti-ship planes now! How did we miss them!?!?!"

"That's not important either! Focus on the task at hand! Give me a damage report!"

"One missile struck a tracking radar, but we still have 2 left! Another has barely missed the Administration building!"

"We need to hit that boat before they prep for launch!"

Jeb and Val raced towards the SPH. They both beat their 400m sprint times, and soon found themselves running towards the emergency defense craft. Over the intercom, an announcement was playing on a loop: "PILOTS: THE HNSC IS UNDER NAVAL ATTACK. PROCEED TO DESIGNATED ATTACK CRAFT IMMEDIATELY. PREPARE FOR BOMBING RUN. ALL NON-ESSENTIAL PERSONNEL MUST NOW PROCEED TO THE BUNKERS." "Crap," Jebediah remarked, "it seems as if we might wind up flying in the same squadron anyways." The crew already had 3 Aeris-3B short-range attack planes, and were ready to launch within two minutes. CDR Val, TP Jeb, and CPT Neilfred taxied onto the runway. Behind them, there was the sound of another explosion, and the three turned around to see the SPH begin to cave in. 

"This one's for the lost, gentlemen."

"Roger that, commander. This is Test Pilot Jebediah, ready for takeoff."

"Roger that, commander. This is Captain Neilfred, ready for takeoff."

"Let's go make'em pay, then."

With that, the three engaged their afterburners and lifted off into the afternoon sky. They entered a formation and began their attack. The ship was brazenly close to the HNSC, and the three of them wondered why any sane captain would come so close for a missile strike. They dropped down to 2000 meters and selected afterburners to gain speed. 7 km from the ship, Val broke radio silence:

"Jeb, loop around his left flank. I'm going to fall back and line up a shot. Neilfred, I need you to draw his fire off the right flank."

"Roger that. This is Neilfred, beginning flanking maneuver for flyby on right flank."

"This is Jeb, breaking off to left flank for bombardment."

Valentina approached the boat from the back. Not only was the captain stupidly brave by bringing the ship so close, he was also plain stupid for parking the ship with the rear facing the HNSC. It wasn't exactly a secret that the Hexis naval planes were commonly equipped with heat-seeking missiles, and Val could see eight juno jets surrounding a wheesley. She laughed, flipping the fire selector over to heat-seeking. She heard the familiar buzz of the targeting system, and lined up her shot as she approached the boat. She saw Captain Neilfred come across the right flank at maybe a 5° angle to her, and the missile's buzz grew to a low roar. She pressed the trigger, but nothing happened. She looked at the targeting computer, and swore. Not only had she forgot to flick the safety off, but she had also targeted Captain Neilfred's engines. The boat's engines were off, and wouldn't attract any heat-seeking missiles, so the missile had locked on to the only other heat signature in the scanning radius: the intense heat of Neilfred's recently used afterburner shroud. Suddenly, the radio sprang to life yet again as she passed over the boat fast enough to knock over some loose barrels on the deck.

"This is Jebediah, commencing attack run. Switching to unguided rockets, can't find a heat signature from this angle."

"You won't find any. He's got his engines off."

"This is Neilfred, circling around. I went over so fast, I'm pretty far from the action. You'll need to deal with not having me for about 2 minutes."

"Roger that. Jeb, continue attack run. I'll circle back around."

Valentina circled the plane for her attack run, and began lining up for a final attack. She saw Jeb cruising from the right of the boat. Suddenly, the CIWS gun on the port side of the boat sprang to life. BZZZZZZZZZT.

"Val, I'm hit! He got my left wing rudder! I'm returning to base, you're on your own. Don't attack until Neilfred arrives!"

Val saw Jeb pull up and bank right back towards the runway. She flanked off to the starboard side of the boat, and the starboard CIWS lit up behind her. She spiraled the plane to prevent the radar from locking on a creating a decent firing solution, before turning the plane perpendicular with the boat. Out her left window, she saw Jeb's plane limping to escape the combat zone. Down below, the movement of both CIWS guns caught her eye. They had both lined up to face directly towards the aft of the ship, lining up on Jeb. Val didn't hesitate. She pulled 5g dive-turning the plane to face the ship, before deftly flipping the "ripple" switch on the joystick to ON. She squeezed the trigger, and sent 46 SKOM rockets towards the central hull of the cruiser. She pulled out of the dive at 50m and closed her eyes. Suddenly, she heard an explosion rip through the dull drone of her engines. She held her breath, hoping that the explosion was the boat and not Jeb. "This is Neilfred, just now arrived again. Sorry for overshooting the target on the first run like that. I saw what you did. I think every one of those rockets found their target. Nice shot, Val! Target destroyed!"  She let out a sigh of relief. She banked around to see her handiwork, and was rather pleased to see a cloud of dust and fire where the missile cruiser once stood.

 

Neilfred and Val banked back towards the runway. Jeb was making his final approach, and Val could see him nudging the plane right ever so slightly every few seconds. She didn't realize she had started holding her breath again until she saw Jeb touch down safely on ground without a hitch. Val followed him in, with Neilfred bringing up the rear. When they landed, the grounded pilots and crew-teams surrounded the three of them. Jeb, Val, and Neilfred were lifted into the air and carried to the waiting Jeep. The three of them were hustled inside the Administration building and straight to Gene's office.

"Nice work, all three of you. I want you three to get settled, we have a long road ahead of us. First off, forget about the massive super-weapon death-ray thingy on the east bank of the crater. It's not important anymore, since we can't do anything about it. The remaining two tracking radars have picked up a small armada behind the island where the astronaut training center stands. The island itself is now under Crater Bay control, and I have reason to believe that they're beginning to erect an anti-air embankment there. About half of our air-force is out of commission, either injured or killed, and the remaining crews now have no way of reaching their ships in the underground hangars, as the lift from the hangars to the spaceplane hangar is now buried under a few thousand metric tons of concrete and steel. We have the three Aeris-3Bs, a CIWS AA gun, and lots of assault rifles to fend off the coming invasion. Not at all ideal. Any ideas?"

Jeb quickly raised his hand.

"I have one that MIGHT just give us a fighting chance. Val, remember when you wanted to take a water-strider out to the island back when I was on the Katya? I think you're gonna get your wish, but you better expect Marine Recon and some Screaming Commandos to be tagging along."

TO BE CONTINUED

[hidude398]

Transmission Log #3

BRIEFING FOR THE PRESIDENT OF HEXIS:

Six hours ago, the HNSC was attacked by long-range missiles, which severely limited our warfighting and defensive capacity. A squadron of three pilots managed to destroy the immediate threat to the HNSC, however, the HNSC is still in clear and present danger. As we stand, the HNSC is now under Naval Siege, and an invasion threat still stands. An armada of 4 carriers, alongside 4 invasion craft, and 3 missile destroyers (formerly 4), have blockaded the seas immediately surrounding the HNSC and invaded the Island Air Station, which also contains the Astronaut Training Center. The crews who survived the missile attack are now carrying out emergency provisions to ensure the survival of the military base. Our crews in Ketri have yet to be attacked, but without the support of the HNSC, they are mostly limited to the air support already in the area. In addition, a superweapon has been developed by the Crater Bay with the power to destroy small cities. If we are to have any hope of survival, the crew at the HNSC MUST successfully defend against the coming invasion. They've already erected a second air defense weapon, and are busy constructing an in-situ runway for the construction of fighters. It is the Defense Committee's opinion that the Special Forces Unit #008-47A and #008-47B both be deployed to the space center as reinforcements. In addition, we recommend drawing all forces in Ketri to defensive strongholds until the HNSC can provide support to their operations. Finally, the committee suggests that you move the DEFCON level for the Air Force to DEFCON 2, and for the rest of the armed forces to DEFCON 3. Should the resolution of the HNSC situation be resolved in our favor, the Air Force needs to be ready to make an immediate attack on the superweapon on the Eastern Rim of the Crater Bay in order to prevent retaliation. Once the weapon is down, we can retaliate full force, but as long as it stands, no ship is safe in those waters.

 

[hidude398]

Chapter Twelve: Survival Floating

Gene had gathered his officers in the war room. 

"Does everyone have damage reports for our facilities?"

"Yes sir. Would you like them read off, sir?'

"Yes, let's hear it. Spaceplane hangar first."

"Fueling systems nominal, underground hangar access is busted, half the flight crew is injured or worse, and we don't have any form of ATC."

"Alright, how about VAB?"

"Fueling systems nominal, nothing was hit. It appears we weren't a target this time."

"R&D, how are you guys doing?"

"R&D is good, as are the main fuel pumps to the access pipeline beneath us."

"What about Astronaut housing and the Administration building?"

"Engineers have been pouring concrete and erupting temporary supports to ease the stress on the internal structures of the leaning buildings. We'll be re-erecting those buildings last, so for now, everyone's gonna be sleeping on an incline."

"Okay. Tracking station?"

"We're online, but have suffered critical damage. The Southern antenna has been taken offline, so our comms network is being rerouted through our other ground stations."

"Anything else we need to worry about, facility wise?"

"No sir, everything is accounted for."

"Alright. Now we need to focus on our battle plans. Has everyone here been briefed on Jeb's plan? Good. We all need to work together to make this work and survive."

At the launchpad, a very special rover had just been launched. Aboard it was a prototype runway to build and launch planes from.

Bill was sitting in Ketri at the FOB with Millie, and the two of them were drawing out plans for a rover which could be used as an amphibious assault vehicle. Valentina, Jeb, and Neilfred were lining up the remaining air-crew, and coordinating lines of defense with the Marine squadron at the base. A second anti-air gun was placed at the end of the runway, and an anti-ship battery was being erected by rovers. Despite having very little air power, the Hexis forces had managed to scrape together an enviable line of defense by using the VAB to recycle the salvaged parts from the crates that had been inside the SPH. The tracking station engineers were hard at work utilizing the remaining two radar dishes as early-warning systems. Despite the horror which occurred a few hours ago, the Kerbs and Kerbelles of the HNSC had managed to scrape together something from nothing, and Gene's chest filled with pride as he watched the crews ready themselves, bracing for what may very well become a last stand. He sat back and opened his last bottle of high-octane hydrazine, pouring it into a crystal glass on his desk. A live-feed of the compound's security report was playing on his television screen. He picked up the phone, and tried dialing the Island Air Station. Nothing, as he had expected. It appeared as if the Crater Bay had overrun everything the HNSC and Hexis stood for, treading on the back of democracy as if it were nothing. He hung up the phone, and opened his computer. Thankfully, he still had internet, and he loaded up the Kerbin Times on his computer. The headline, of course, was "BRAZEN ATTACK ON THE HNSC LEADS TO CHAOS." He put his feet up on the desk and scrolled down, anxious for some news that he wasn't a major part of. He thought he could hear a strange beeping noise in the back of his head, but shrugged it off as a symptom of sleep deprivation and the hydrazine. Yet, the beeping grew more intense, picking up its pace. He stood up, looking about the office for the source of the offending noise. He walked over to the window, and glanced down. There, just below the window, was a somewhat large, irregularly colored brick. Suddenly, Gene's mind clicked, and he sprinted for the door, throwing it wide. He dove for cover just as the bomb detonated.

Gene grabbed the sniper rifle hanging above the entrance to the administration building, once used long ago for blowing up rockets which misfired during launch. He loaded up a round, and stepped outside. He saw rovers begin to rush towards his location, and the sirens were blaring. The whole base had stopped what they were doing, and time seemed to stand still. Out in the distance, Gene saw a small rover speeding off towards the mountains. He shouldered the rifle, exhaled, and squeezed the trigger. He lowered the rifle, watching as the rover's back wheel popped. The driver overcorrected to the left, and the vehicle flipped once, twice, three times and came to a rest upside down, the driver suspended in the air by his seat belt.

 

The saboteur crawled out of the cab, somewhat bewildered, and began to walk away, but another shot from Gene, just to the kerb's left, quickly convinced him to stay where he was. The security team saw the rover flip, and diverted four cars to the bomber's location. Gene walked up to the security consultant. "Put him in the cell alongside the prisoner we pulled down from the asteroid." The officer radioed the orders to the team, then left the scene. The fire officers were busy extinguishing Gene's desk and the small flaming puddles of hydrazine scattered about the room. Gene waited until the officers were finished, then walked over to his desk and opened a fireproof safe inside the bottom right drawer. He pushed aside letters and photographs to reveal a single manilla folder. He pulled it out and placed it in a briefcase. He climbed into the rover, and drove towards the propulsion laboratory.

* * *

"Another attack? The Crater is getting brazen."

"They have us surrounded, there's not much to do. This facility HAS to stand, and reinforcements are still days away. They know if they capture this base, any spies they activate now can be freed as soon as possible."

"Val, come on. You don't think we'll collapse yet, do you?"

"Jeb, it doesn't matter what I think. What matters is what the enemy thinks, and they think this is the weakest we've ever been."

"So what do we do?"

"We do what we have to in order to keep this facility out of the hands of our enemies. We can take a land war with the bay, but only if they don't have both their aircraft AND our aircraft. So, worst case scenario, we lose, and Gene gives the order to destroy the place. Best case scenario, your plan works and we push them FAR back."

"I hope my plan works then."

"I do too."

* * *

The Screaming Commandos and the Marine squadron was readying in the armory when an alarm rang out: "SKZZZZT....... ALERT! ALERT! HNSC LASER FENCE REPORTS BEACH INCURSION! ALERT! ALERT! ALL MEN TO BATTLE STATIONS!" The televisions all switched to security camera feeds, and three landing craft were clearly visible on the beach. The Marines loaded into a APC and drove out of the VAB, ready for battle. The commandos loaded a jeep and began driving to their rendezvous point. Val was sitting inside the astronaut lounge with Jeb when she heard the alarm. She grabbed a sniper rifle from the emergency armory and ran as quickly as she could to the top floor of the astronaut center, throwing open the window, while Jeb grabbed an assault riffle and two duffel bags before leaving to set up the defenses inside the Astronaut Center. The hallway doors entered lockdown mode and were pneumatically sealed, and all was quiet throughout the base. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire broke out. A plane, seemingly appearing from nowhere, dove towards the remaining radio towers, and the dawn sky lit up with tracers fired from the CIWS-Praxis anti-air turrets to the north of the space center. Val heard an explosion, and turned to the right just in time to see the remnants an armory building at the R&D department fall back down to kerbin from the sky. Two more planes dove from the North, strafing the anti-air turrets. The one near the airstrip managed to take down a fighter, but the one further back was blown to smithereens. Oily smoke began to plume into the air, and the dawn sky was beginning to darken. The sirens were still blaring, but paused for an announcement: "SM units, abort Defensive Operations and proceed with operation Epsilon." Val picked up her rifle, training it on a diving aircraft heading for the only operational AA gun system. She powered the scope's targeting computer, and lead the craft by about 500 feet. She pulled the trigger, and smiled in satisfaction as the plane suddenly rolled left. The pilot barely pulled up in time, avoiding being smashed into oblivion, but his plane was irreparably damaged by the effect of the rifle's specialized EMP rounds. The plane skipped along the ground, spinning all the while, until the plane stopped moving and burrowed into the ground engine-first. Val slung the sniper rifle over her shoulder, grabbing an assault rifle laying against the windowsill. She pulled a telescopic bar out of an emergency descent kit kept on the upper floors in case of fire, and extended the bar so it sat in the hall outside the room and could not pass through the door. She clipped the descent cable into the bar, before throwing the other end out of the open window. Lastly, she hooked a descender onto her suit and stepped outside into the open air. She rappelled down the wall as quickly as possible, clambering into a rover left unlocked in the back parking lot. She started it up and tore towards the shoreline, heading southeast. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw a fighter bearing down on her.

She heard a whizzing sound steadily approaching her. She redlined the little rover, and the pilot pulled up. Val saw him pass overhead and begin to circle around. She booted up her suit's life support systems and sealed her helmet. The plane had made it back to her tail again, and he wasn't playing this time. She heard a loud *click* and an unmistakeable whistle. She slammed on the brakes, and the bomb glided over her and slammed into the dirt maybe 50 meters in front of her. Val accelerated again, and the fighter circled back towards the HNSC. Obviously he had bigger fish to fry. Val arrived at the rendezvous site and walked to the waiting commander. They stood and watched for a moment at the destruction going on behind them.

"Commander Val, do you have anyone in there right now?"

"Yeah. Jeb's holding the line inside the astronaut center. All part of the plan."

"I've got a girl inside, too. Smart, brave, courageous, kind. All I see is heroes in there."

"What should I call you, commander?"

"My codename will do for now. I am Phantom, and these other four men are the top infiltration members of the Screaming Commandos."

"Nice to meet you sir."

"Likewise. Are you ready to do this?"

"Not really, but we don't have a choice. Let's get this done. For Hexis?"

"No. For our brothers in arms, the ragtag gang pinned up inside those buildings we are watching collapse. For those who won't didn't make it out. For those who gave up everything for us to have a chance. For Hexis, but not just Hexis. For Hexis and her ideals, what she represents. The hope of democracy, and the hope of victory."

"Cut it out, commander Phantom. I know you like to make epic monologues with deep, meaningful insights, but they can wait until we finish the mission."

"Shut up, Slicer, you just don't get it, do you?"

"I get it all too well, Phantom."

"Sorry for the interruption, Commander Valentina. This is Slicer, my go-to hacker and cyber-intelligence agent. To your left is Broadhead, and he's in charge of blowing things up. To your right, next to Slicer, is Butterfly. She's our squad sniper, and legend at the academy is that she once ricocheted a round into the barrel of a tank from a mile away, and I've personally seen her take down planes without a bulky targeting computer. And lastly, likely one of the most important men on the team, is Motorhead. He's down by the water-strider right now. He can fly, drive, or sail anything with an engine. I've never seen anybody quite like him, and it's something else to see him go to work."

"Thanks for the introduction. I'm assuming you know our objectives?"

"Yes ma'am. Deep infiltration, stealing a ship from the island, sabotage, stopping an invasion. Then, extraction via escape rafts back to the shores of Hexis. The island group will likely have to surrender, and that'll be that."

"Good. If your men are ready, load into the water-strider. I'm ready to go as soon as you are."

"Roger that."

Val and the Commandos loaded into the waiting vehicle. The jet engine started, and soon they were skimming towards the backside of the island that the astronaut training center was on. True to Phantom's word, Motorhead was at ease piloting the ship through the contested waters and towards the island. They saw an invasion craft sitting off the coast of the island, ready to deploy more landing boats if need be. Thankfully, the water-strider was small enough that it didn't create much of a radar signature, and that combined with the presence of a large landmass nearby made it nigh impossible to detect the crew. They slipped behind the island, and the carrier fell out of view. They turned, and landed on the back of the island behind the mountain. They unloaded the craft, and began the hike to the vantage point. Along the way, they began to converse over radio.

"So, Phantom, your girl at the HNSC. Who is she?"

"You probably wouldn't know her. Her name is Agalotte. She doesn't look like much of a fighter at first glance, but she's done some impressive stuff behind the scenes"

Valentina smiled inside her suit. "I'll bet."

"Y'know, you never told us much about yourself, commander. Obviously, we can't offer much, but if you're open to random officers walking up to you in a restaurant someday and sitting down for a chat, we can speak on better terms then."

"Deal. So what do you want to know?"

"What drove you to become a pilot?"

"Believe it or not, when I was a kid, I wanted to be a nurse for the longest of times. When I was a senior in high school, I met Jeb. He was four years in as a test pilot for the Navy, before the test pilots got moved over to the space program when it kicked up. I went to an airshow with him on a date, and that led me to do a quick 180 on what I wanted to do. I enrolled in the Academy, and became a pilot after graduation. That's all there really is to tell."

"Commander, you never cease to amaze. There are a lot of people who think you'll replace Gene one day."

"I just strive to go beyond the call of duty every day. Consider it my personal mantra."

"Well, it's a good one to have."

The crew climbed on in silence towards the top of the mountain, slowly closing in on the target. By the time it was 2:00, they were near the summit.

* * *

At the HNSC, the world was falling apart. The assault craft had unloaded their crews after air support took out the remnants of the HNSC's warfighting capability. The final radio dishes had fallen, and the tank of Marines had been disabled. The Marines, valiant as always, split into small groups and lead the enemies as far away from the space center as they could, buying the inhabitants more time. One by one, the lines of defenses fell. Slowly, the invaders pushed inland, and by 0900, had taken the VAB in its entirety. When the attack had begun, a small group of kerbs had scrambled through the wreckage of the SPH and down into the tunnels below, full of armaments, planes, boats, and tanks that had yet to be used. They took as many explosives as they could, and ran back to the astronaut center. The engineers had placed concrete slabs in front of the doors, and most kerbs were dispersed throughout the top floors, waiting with the salvaged explosives in hand for a signal on their comms. The HNSC may fall completely, but if it did, it wouldn't keel over and die quietly. The kermunists, satisfied with their progress, had reinforced the VAB and prepared for a standoff. A programmer had managed to hack his way into the kermunist comms, and the ragtag group of resistance listened in on the channels.

"We have taken their VAB. Fortify this position, and proceed with caution. The Hexis nationals are likely very frustrated, angry, and will likely act like a cornered animal. They have nowhere to run, and we have nowhere to go, so take your time."

"Roger that. We have taken the comms building. Of course, it's not of much use, since their dishes are destroyed, but I can confirm that there is no resistance."

"Is that as far as we've gone so far?"

"Yes, they seem to have holed up inside the astronaut center. I'd be careful about R&D, though, there are so many choke points and vulnerable areas. Go ahead and clear administration while you're out and about, then report back to the VAB so we can start a siege on the Astronaut Center. We'll save the R&D for last."

"Roger that."

Jeb stood on the top floor of the Astronaut center. He had noticed the cable missing from Valentina's room, and hoped that she was okay. "Get control of yourself, Jeb. You have a job to do." He sat down on the floor and meditated for a few minutes. "She will be okay. She can take care of herself. Why am I scared? Because I lover her. She will be okay. She can take care of herself. I don't need to be scared. I'm still scared." After a few minutes, his radio blared up again.

"Alright, Jeb, you've got a job to do. We see a squadron leaving the VAB. Watch and wait for my signal."

Jeb stood and opened his binoculars. He could see a low-ranking officer leading a group of men into position. He pulled two duffel bags over to the window. He opened the first one, and pulled out a tripod. He popped open the legs and adjusted the height to about chest level. Next, he opened the second duffel and pulled out an M2 Browning. He hefted the gun to the tripod and locked it in place before removing the top cover. He slid a belt of ammunition into the feed, and closed the cover. Along the top roof of the Astronaut center, many other kerbs were repeating this action. Jeb pulled the charging handle back and let it go with a loud *CLANG*. With a swift flick, he opened the rear sight, dialed it in, and waited.

* * *

The infiltration party reached the summit by 3:00. Butterfly pulled her sniper rifle off of her back and laid down in the grass. She was ready for what came next. Slicer sat next to her and opened a laptop. He pulled out a laptop from his gear bag and booted it up. Next, he took a small satellite dish and aimed it skyward.

"Internet connection. Through it, I can do a lot. Here are some USBs and NanoGrenades. If you need a computer hacked into, plug the USB into it and press the green button on the back. That will let me remotely patch into it from here. If you see something on the ship that looks like a server..." 

"Slicer, speak english."

"Sorry, Broadhead. If you see something that looks like a kerb-sized box but has a USB port, plug the USB in and I might be able to control a lot more than 1 computer. If you need a computer, or any electronic device, for that matter, to go offline, just throw one of these into the room with it. The nanobots inside that ball HATE silicon. They'll eat straight through it and ask for more."

"Thanks, Slicer. Anything else I should know?"

"Nope, you're good, ma'am."

Val put the grenades on the side of her EVA backpack, and the USBs in the pocket of her suit up front. Phantom, Broadhead, and Val loaded up their assault rifles, while Motorhead carried a PDW and another laptop. They began to march down and in on the Camp. Suddenly, Phantom held up a closed fist, then motioned for them to get down. He took a laser designator out of his pocket, and aimed it at a man who had just walked out of the hangar. Butterfly watched him, but waited for something to happen. The man turned around, and walked inside.

"Okay, Val. Now we know where they are. I'm also guessing that they're in the control tower as well. I was told that you and Jeb used to skydive from it, so I'm going to put you and Motorhead in charge of taking the top. Broadhead and I are going to do some ground pounding inside this hangar. Kapeesh?"

"Roger that. Let's go, Motorhead."

Val and Motorhead crawled along the ridgeline. They watched as Phantom and Broadhead made their way down to the entrance of the Hangar. Suddenly, Phantom opened the door, and Broadhead threw a cylinder into the building. Val saw them put their gas-masks on, then charge in behind it. The two heard a muffled thud, but no alarms were raised. "That's the Phantom-Broadhead special. Phantom cooked up a nasty sleeping gas, and Broadhead put it in a canister before surrounding it with flash powder. The initial shock is caused by the light and sound of the flashbang, but the effects last longer than a few minutes of blindness because Phantom's gas hits you and knocks you out for a while. It takes about a minute to take you out normally, but the flashbang also makes your heart beat faster, so it's something like 30 seconds. Those two are a dynamic duo in the field." Motorhead and Val pressed on to the base of the tower. "Alright," Val commented, "ready to do this?" "I'm always ready." "Let's go then." The two began working their way up the stairs. About halfway up, they looked over their shoulders and saw Phantom and Broadhead. The two were sneaking their way towards the beach, but couldn't move without being spotted from the top of the tower.

"You up there yet?"

"Halfway. Hold position."

As the two climbed, they talked about their lives and careers. At first it was just small talk to fill the dead space, but slowly it became more complex.

"Motorhead, do you have anyone fighting at the HNSC?"

"Not anymore. I used to be married to an engineer who worked at the SPH. She was one of the flight crew members who didn't make it out."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You don't have anything to be sorry for. You got in a plane and made sure that there wouldn't be more tragedy than there was that day. The guys at the top of this building are the ones who ought to be sorry. And they will be. Jeb's plan has worked so far, and that's what I'm holding on to."

"Then let's go get'em."

The two reached the top of the tower, and there was only a flight of stairs between the open air control center and the two warriors. Val spoke up.

"Do you want to do the honors?"

"Sure."

"On my signal."

"Okay."

"Breach in 3.."

"2..."

"1..."

"FLASHOUT!"

Valentina threw a flash grenade into the control center. She heard a thud and a few screams. "GO! GO! GO! FULL BREACH! FULL BREACH!" Motorhead rushed the last flight of stairs, flicking his weapon off safety. As he came around the corner, a man stumbled in front of him holding a pistol and covering his eyes. Motorhead shot him twice in the neck, then proceeded to the room. Val was right on his heels. The two rushed into the center, throwing technicians from the consoles into the center of the room. It was over as quickly as it started.

"Valentina to Phantom, proceed with the plan."

"Roger that. Thanks, glad to know you've got our backs."

"Always. Get Butterfly and Slicer down here."

Val plugged in a USB to the console, and Slicer went to town.

"Not much here, this is mostly stuff we already know or stuff we created, but there's a passcode here. I'm going to save it for future reference."

"Roger that."

After flexi-cuffing the technicians to the growing daisy-chain of passed out mooks and officers inside the Hangar, the infiltrators met up at their enemy's invasion craft. They had lunch inside it, and familiarized themselves with the functions while waiting for the cover of nightfall to continue with their mission.

* * *

At the HNSC, the kermunists had cleared the administration building and mission control. Reluctant to press the final two buildings, they regrouped inside the VAB. The officers were gathered around a RT5 FLEA engine that had been turned on its side to be used as a table, and the rest of the crewmen were cleaning their weapons or raiding the VAB's ample snack supply. The officer's table was producing nothing but the sound of silent agreement.

"I suggest that we push the Astronaut Center before nightfall. The only way that this can end well is if they are seized before they can organize a stronger resistance."

"Yes, but there are dangerous things hidden inside the R&D department. Shouldn't we neutralize those threats first?"

"I hardly see how it could be an issue. It's not as if the R&D department is a real threat."

"I wouldn't underestimate those scientist types, but I think that the Astronaut Center is still our most viable target."

"Okay, then let's have a vote. I am the highest ranking officer, and I vote Astronaut Center, so we're going to the Astronaut Center."

"Okay, comrade. To the Center it is."

* * *

Jeb heard the radio buzz to life: "NOW! THEY'RE MOVING NOW! EVERYONE WAKE UP!" He had been daydreaming of Val and what they had before this terrible war, but snapped back to reality when his radio chatter rose to a fever pitch. He stood ready at his machine gun. On the floors below, kerbs had set up miniature trebuchets for lobbing explosives, and on the ground floor, rigged booby traps in the hallways. In the basement, a group of kerbelles had commandeered the airshaft to the underground medical center and set up a field hospital. Jeb looked out the window, and saw the troops marching towards the building, armed with menacing looking rifles, ballistic shields in the turtle formation, and electric batons. The enemy's sole purpose today was to cause as much pain as possible for the HNSC, and Jeb was determined to make them hurt back. He re-checked the firing mechanism on his machine gun, and his fingers curled around the trigger. His radio chattered on, before the acting commander's voice rang out sharply over the din.

"Wait....... Wait until you can see the whites of their eyes. Conserve ammunition, one shot per target only. Bomb-lobber crew, have the secondary man on standby for bomb-lobbing. Hammers back to the windows now. Machine gun nests... wait..... wait.......... waaaiiiitttttt......"

"LIGHT 'EM UP!!!"

Jeb squeezed the butterfly trigger under his thumbs. The weapon sang out its song of fire and death. The window in front of him shattered into a thousands shards and rained down to the street below. All along the building, machine gunners were picking targets, taking their shot, and moving on. On the floor below Jeb, the secondary bomb-lobber crews broke the windows with hammers and wrenches. The primary crew loaded a round and pulled the lobber arms back. The counterweights swung free, and the arms swung forward, flinging blocks of C4 explosives out the windows into the group below. The bombs dented the shields, but the enemy was largely unaffected. The explosions and gunfire continued, both parties now fully active in the battle. Jeb focused on important-looking people, trying to eliminate demolitions experts, engineers, and heavy gunners. The turtle formation continued its surge to the center, where they were too close for the C4 lobbers and the machine guns to fire. Molotov cocktails fell from the sky, but were largely unaffected. Suddenly, the phalanx swarmed backwards away from the building. Jeb stopped firing and listened. The other gunners did as well, and suddenly, there was silence. It only took a moment for Jeb's mind to process what had just happened, but time slowed down and that moment felt like an eternity. Jeb ran back towards the opposite side of the building and screamed into his radio. "IT'S A TRAP! GET OUT! GET OUT! THEY PLANTED A...." Suddenly, with a bright flash and an earth-shattering boom, the supports of the astronaut center gave way and the entire front of the building collapsed inwards towards the army. The back, now unstable, began to lean away from the explosion. The continued fire from the Army rocked the unstable structure, and a few rocket launcher strikes were all it took to completely level the complex. Jeb was buried in the rubble. He began to work his way out, calling for his brothers-in-arms, but head nothing but the sound of shredding steel and collapsing concrete. He moved a panel of wood over and emerged into daylight once again, and immediately found himself staring down the business end of a Kermunist made machine gun.

* * *

Gene heard the destruction of the buildings behind him, and knew he didn't have much time. He did his best to motivate the lab techs, but they were positively stumped.

"Sir, this design. You know what it's for, correct?"

"Yes, I do."

"This is a terrible idea, sir. You'll kill us all."

"Not if my idea works, I won't. Otherwise, we're either all dead or laborers in a Kermunist gulag for the rest of our lives anyways."

"Fair enough. The only thing we're missing is fuel, but we can't find any left in storage."

"Don't we have a few NERVA engines laying around in the back?"

"Ah! You're brilliant, sir. I hope you know what you're doing."

"I do too, kiddo. I do too."

* * * END CHAPTER 12 * * *

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 13

Edited January 14, 2017 by hidude398

[hidude398]

Hold on folks, some of the screenshots didn't make it into this chapter (Wrote it at 1:30am). Will rectify by tonight. 

EDIT: Fixed. That last one didn't have too many screenshots, but you all at least deserve the ones I give you XD.

Edited January 15, 2017 by hidude398