Advancing Through Hardships - Chapter 24: The Wrath of the Kraken[Complete]

[Laythe Squid]

On 5/28/2017 at 10:46 PM, Alpha 360 said:

 

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“

“Kraken sees us. Kraken protect us. Kraken kill those who stand in our way. Kraken here. Kraken there. The Kraken is everywhere.” chanted the crowd inside a lonely cave in the mountainside. They came from all over the world, to pay homage to the Kraken. A figure stood in front of them, shielded by the shadows. The touches burned dim and the cave grew closer as the light abandoned them. The figure smiled, a nasty smile with too many teeth.

“Kraken haunting, Kraken searching, Kraken will find the Light. Kraken will devour the Light. Kraken will find the Resistor, Kraken will devour the Resistor.” The hundreds chanted, in eerie song. These where his subjects. The Dark Lord had given him a task and he completed it. Here were hundreds of World Leaders, Scientists, Engineers, Inventors, all paying their homage to the Kraken.

“Kraken will find those who flee, Kraken will hunt those who flee. The Kraken will be given hate, The Kraken will be giving hate to those who follow him.” On and on. The chanting would never cease. This crowd wasn’t even a tenth of the total amount of students he had.

The crowd reached its peak, “ALL HAIL THE KRAKEN!” Then darkness engulfed the place, silencing the chanting.

 

Yep. I'm creeped out.

[Alpha 360]

Glad to know that my mission report/alternate timeline turned into a horror/adventure story. I have a feeling the the metamorphoses is very, very rough. I'll probably one day finish this, edit it, then post it in the fan works section one piece at a time. Hopefully everyone forgets the story so that I can retell it, even if it is edited and changed. 

[Just Jim]

OMG...... I just read the last 2 chapters... that, my friend, was good!!!  

 

On 5/28/2017 at 11:46 PM, Alpha 360 said:

“Kraken sees us. Kraken protect us. Kraken kill those who stand in our way. Kraken here. Kraken there. The Kraken is everywhere.” chanted the crowd inside a lonely cave in the mountainside. They came from all over the world, to pay homage to the Kraken. A figure stood in front of them, shielded by the shadows. The touches burned dim and the cave grew closer as the light abandoned them. The figure smiled, a nasty smile with too many teeth.

Krack-heads???  lmao

Edited May 30, 2017 by Just Jim

[Alpha 360]

Chapter 18: Pushing On

This one's a lot more tame than the other two. Just the calm before the storm.........

Spoiler

The radio crackled, “This is NK. There’s new a development with Corkin. His telemetry has gone nuts and supposedly his ship in flipping out with a burst battery, a leaking fuel tank, and a CM in a complete vacuum. Everything has gone to crap with KASA. Werhner Von Kerman has left KASA, claiming that KASA asked him to kill somebody, and that he refused. Without Gene, Corkin has no way to be rescued. Jimbold himself quit himself because he disagreed with KASA.”

Jeb took the radio, “We know what is causing this. The Kraken. We just survived an attack ourselves. Wensie’s still unconscious and I am on medical care right now.”

He waited for an answer from Wefly. A minute passed, then Wefly answered, “Right. You have conformation that the Kraken is real. The press is recording this you know.”

“Get those reporters off now. I don’t want this information getting out. This is important. Wensie admitted that she was left on that station by KASA as a gift to the Kraken. She also says that there is this one person who has a, a society which he personally trained of talented Kerbals who worship the Kraken. She was one of those.”

“Right. Jeb, can I hear this story from Stelta to make sure it’s true and you’re not mad, no offense.”

“None taken.” Jeb pushed himself away from the radio and Stelta took his position.

“This is Stelta. Yes, the Kraken attacked our ship and really wore us out. I confirm everything Jeb just said. Now, we are approaching Minmus and I think we are still going to land. According to our calculations, we will reach periminmus in three hours. What does yours say?”

There was static for a few more minutes, then Wefly replied, “It’s the same down here. Sending up the maneuver node. By the way, I’m turning over to Helre for now. Good-bye.” Wefly turned off the radio.

Stelta sighed, then the group dispersed. Agagy and Kenski went downstairs again, and the unconscious Wensie was strapped into her seat in the CM.

They kissed again, distracting them from the fear they both concealed. They floated, the first Kerbals to see the little moon of Kerbin out their window. They kept tightly to one another, floating in the silence.

“Do you want to get engaged when we get back?” asked Jeb, hugging her tightly like she would slip through his arms.

“Yes.” Stelta looked at Jeb, his face radiating, “Do you think Kenski and Wensie will hook up?”

“Probably, but considering how much time Kenski spends downstairs with Agagy, I think his mind will change. Wensie would still have Kirvis.”

Stelta smiled at the thought of Kirvis and Wensie together.

“Jeb, capture burn in ten minutes, then pick your landing site.” crackled the radio.

Their moment was lost as soon as it started. Stelta gave Jeb a kiss on the cheek and he answered the radio.

“Right, preparing for capture burn.”

Stelta strapped in beside him and Jeb prepared the Genesis for the capture burn. Agagy had already strapped everything down, what was left though was the orientation, double checks on the fuel tanks, and arming the on button.

“5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Ignition!” Jeb slammed on the button and received half a Gee in return.

“Shutdown!” Stelta pressed the button again and the half-g left them floating in their seats. Wensie’s eye lids fluttered, then opened.

“Wensie, you’re awake?” asked Jeb.

“I feel like it.” She said groggily. She shook herself then her eyes popped into focus.

“Jeb! You’re feeling better. I figured out why you were attacked by the Kraken. Call everyone up.” Wensie unstrapped and hovered above their heads.

When everyone was assembled, Wensie spoke, “I never hear the teacher talk of the light side, but what I did hear him talk about was the Resistor. The Resistor will be a kerbal who has an unstoppable drive to space travel and will have special powers. The Resistor would be able to instill confidence in people, and can fight off a Kraken attack by force. Jeb, you were punched by the kraken while he was still invisible. He got me next. So he disabled the two people who would be able to mount an resistance. But you three managed to make him back off. What did you use?” asked Wensie looking into each of their eyes.

“Love. I used my love for Jeb, Kenski here used his love for Wensie. Agagy, whose love did you use?” Stelta turned towards Agagy.

She blushed, “I, I thought that Kenski here loved me. So, I used my love for Kenski.” 

Kenski turned a deep shade of red, “I love you to Agagy. But, but.” He swerved his head around to the two kerbettes floating right beside him. He chuckled nervously, “I’m, I’m sorry. I should have known this was coming.”

“Agagy come here.” Agagy floated right there next to him, he embraced her and kissed her. Jeb and Stelta clapped behind them. Wensie after a few seconds joined in.

“Don’t worry Wensie, Kirvis still is looking at you awkwardly every time you see him.” Jeb gave Wensie a slight shove.

Wensie smiled half-heartedly, “Well, I guess that I’m being a bit of a sore sport.”

“No, you’re not, I would act a lot worse if somebody managed to persuade Jeb to leave me.” Stelta protested.

“Right fellas, lets find that landing site.” Jeb called out, ending all conversations and acts of love, “Agagy, run the scanner, see if you can find a patch of flat highlands next to the flats? Stelta, buckle in, Kenski do another check on the fuel tank. Wensie preform an EVA to help Kenski and preform some science experiments.”

The spacecraft prepared for action. Three orbits later, Agagy climbed into the CM, “I found a spot. We have a mountain with a very flat peak right next to the greater flats. I have charted our course, we first land near the edge of the peak of the mountain, grabbing slopes reports. Then just a little burn of the engine takes us to the highlands, and finally we leave the mountain top to land on the flats. This is all on the equator so it will be easy to do.”

“Great job Agagy. Let’s land.”

“5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Ignition!” Jeb fired up the engine, which set them falling towards the ground. Suddenly the spacecraft started to tumble, Jeb looked through the window, seeing nothing but black.

“The Kraken has returned.” everyone glanced at Wensie. Her eyes turned red, and her face was blackened. She moved towards the airlock.

"Crap!"

 

Edited June 1, 2017 by Alpha 360

[Alpha 360]

Chapter 19: Arm's Length 

Spoiler

Wensie pushed herself off towards Jeb, fists clenched.

              “Stelta, get out of here!” Jeb ordered. He ducked underneath Wensie. Wensie kicked out at him and turned around.

              “Ow. I’m sorry Wensie.” apologized Jeb. He swung a fist at her face. Her hand hit his before he touched her. He went head over heels.

              He turned around, Wensie was flying towards the controls. He shoved against the wall and flew towards her. He hit her side on the two of them hit the wall. Wensie growled, then Jeb’s fist caught her on her unawares. Wensie looked at Jeb her eyes blazing.  

He threw the medical kit at her. She caught it then threw it at the controls. Jeb threw himself at it, but Wensie grabbed his leg and swung him against the wall, knocking him out. The medical kit hit the engine on button, accelerating the Genesis away from the predetermined trajectory.

Wensie smiled evilly, then suddenly a wrench smashed into her head. Stelta stood quivering as Wensie’s eyes fell shut.

She quickly shut-off the engine. There was still two minutes before the engine needed to be turned back on.

Jeb’s eyes opened, the light hurting them. He blinked again. He was strapped into a seat, he turned his head over and saw Wensie strapped down as well. Stelta climbed up through the hatch, her face breaking out into a smile.

“Jeb! You’re awake!” She unstrapped Jeb, and again they kissed, forgetting the pain that was on the way there.

Jeb stood up, gravity at last, “We’re on Minmus!” He hugged Stelta and the two of them jumped up, then floated back down, just feeling the gravity.

Jeb walked slowly to the ladder and climbed down. Kenski was waiting for him there. He smiled, and slapped him on the back, “Good job! Luckily Wensie’s not too hurt, she’ll recover.”

He struggled to get a suit on. Stelta climbed down into the already crammed space and helped Jeb put his EVA suit on.

“Cycling airlock.” Kenski said, pressing the button. The door to the ladder sealed and the air pumped out. He pressed the second button, and the door opened. Agagy was already there, science experiments all around her. A flag stood a little way off, made of metal, it would survive millions of years.

A video camera was set up where a shovel was stuck into the ground.

“Jeb! You’re alright?” asked Agagy.

“Yes. I feel sorry for Wensie though. She will have an ear-splitting head-ache.” Jeb looked over the site. It was nice. Jeb jumped up in the air, then looked all around. It was beautiful. The surface of Minmus was covered in a layer of ice and snow, reflecting the sun. He activated his rsc pack and puffed upward. As he reached 100 meters above the ground, Kerbin rose over the landscape as a bright blue dot.  

He reached inside of his bag, and grabbed a camera. He looked at it for a second, it had his initials on it, J. B. K. He looked through it and snapped a picture of the spacescape.

He looked down and took photos of the little dots, like ants, walking around the surface of Minmus. Stelta looked like she was heading back to the Genesis. He floated down, sighing in the delight of the scene. He reached 10 meters above the spaceship when the engine fired. His eyes opened wide, then the rocket slammed into him, sending him crashing into surface. He cried in pain, not hearing the hissing which the rsc pack leaking, slowly melting his suit.

              Stelta threw herself at Wensie, knocking her off balance. The rocket continued on its way upward. Stelta knew what she had to do. She had to isolate the fuel source in twenty seconds or she wouldn’t see Jeb again.

              “You blasted Kraken!” She screamed. She crashed into the controls, pressed a few buttons hurriedly then ducked, missing the punch that would have knocked her out. Stelta grabbed her fist and sent her spinning towards the middle of the room. Stelta’s head suddenly went spinning. Something had hit her in the head, blood dripped onto the controls. She flicked one more switch, then fainted. The engine stuttered. Wensie laughed, or what was left of Wensie, her body started dissolving. The work of the deceiver was finished. Kenski struggled up the ladder and attacked the rapidly disappearing body. He grabbed a wrench and hit her smack in the head.

              Wensie laughed again, and evil laugh. She was one with the Kraken, and the Kraken was one with her.

              She punched Kenski square in the chest, his eyes started to glaze over. He saw the body of Stelta drifting there, and the switch that needed to be flicked. He threw himself at the switch, his head hitting it. The engine shut-off, leaving the vessel in a free-fall.

              Kenski with an effort climbed into the pilot’s seat. Wensie had disappeared, or the Kraken. He flipped the spacecraft around and fired the engine.

              It had been on the spur of the moment that he had EVAed over to the Genesis as it was taking off. He did it, and it had saved his friends. Stelta woke up beside him, “What happened to Wensie?”

              “She, she deceived us all. She disappeared. It, it was dreadful. I even swung a wrench at her head and it just bounced off. She laughed in my face. So, I turned off the engine and now we are heading back to pick the rest of them up.”

              Stelta nodded, blood running from the back of her head.

              Agagy watched as the Genesis set back down, she lifted Jeb into her arms and carried him over to the Genesis. After cycling the airlock, she brought him upstairs and laid him down. Kenski climbed down the ladder along with Stelta. They sat around him, applying medicine to their wounds.

              Jeb shook himself awake, “What happened?”

              “Wensie was a spawn of kraken, right. Well, she told the truth but what it meant was that she took orders from the Kraken. We were an arm’s length from the Kraken the entire time.”

              Kenski sighed, “We were so short sighted.” They stared numbly at each other.

              “Do we have fuel for the trip home?” asked Jeb.

              Agagy burst into tears and put her head on Kenski’s lap. Jeb sat up, and Stelta told him, “No, we don’t.”

 

Edited June 1, 2017 by Alpha 360

[Alpha 360]

Chapter 20: "They're all Liars!"

Sorry about limited photos, when the cousins are here I'm not allowed to play electronics, but I am allowed to write.

Spoiler

Kenski wiped his helmet. He was sweating under his 30 kilo eva suit, hooking everything up to the Genesis. It had been a week on the surface so far, and the mining equipment was just in place. Jeb or Kenski would shovel ice into a bucket which Agagy or Stelta would carry inside where a converted water splitter would create hydrogen and oxygen to be fed into the fuel tank. Jeb estimated that it would be another two weeks before they would get off the ground.

              Well, that was the original plan but then he suggested to make an automatic scooper and a pipe to carry the ice. Everyone thought that would be best so they got to work. Since they had the manual system already in place Jeb and Stelta volunteered to work it while they get the automatic system running. “Don’t you worry, everything will work out in the end. The Kraken has other eggs to hatch, not us.” Kenski replayed Jeb’s words in his head as he worked.

              The sun beat down upon him, never forgiving. Agagy was right next to him, sweating it out like him. To relieve the pain in his arms while he worked, he thought of their first kiss, how beautiful she looked, how he held her in his arms.

              “Kenski?” Kenski almost jumped, but restrained himself, “Agagy.”

              “Were you listening, Jeb told us to come back in.” Agagy walked into the airlock. Kenski followed right behind her.

              They cycled the airlock and entered. Jeb and Stelta were sitting on the floor with a lot of papers around them, Velcro-ed to the floor. Jeb lifted on up and handed it to Kenski.

              The engineer looked over it for a few minutes, then looked up, “You’re insane.”

              Jeb shrugged, “Nothing new.”

              Kenski handed it to Agagy who also looked it over, “We’re going to get rid of all that? What would happen? The gee forces will be tremendous. I’ll looking at, fastest kerbal in the history of space travel.”

              Jeb gladly explained his thought-out plan, “You see, we don’t need a lot of food for the three days from Minmus. We can eat as much as you want today, then feed off of that for three days. You’ll just be a little hungry. That’s 180 kilos right there. Then we can get rid of 300 kilos of water, 100 kilos of oxygen, the landing legs will detach once we launch, solar panels will go, decoupler will go. That gives us two hundred meters delta-V, which is plenty.”

              Agagy frowned, “Can we go a slower route which means we won’t have to get rid of some of the stuff you just listed?”

              Jeb tapped the paper, “This what Mission Control sent. They want us home pretty quick apparently.”

              “It has been almost a month, but still. I’ll hate to die because of rashness.” said Kenski, he then added, “How do you know that Rockomax sent this message?”

              “Alright. We need all of our heads together to figure out another way. We have 330 m/s, I must say though, if this message isn’t from Rockomax, we can assume that we will have no help from them. Which means we will have to plot our departure burn, without the help of their computers. We will need a lot of brain power for what comes ahead.”

              The next day the camera shook and rattled. Right in front of its face the engines turned on, sending a spray of ice all over the place. The lander rose up, tilted to the right, and disappeared from view.

              Minutes later inside the Genesis Jeb leafed through the papers that they had compiled, “Hopefully this will do. Kenski! Grab a sextant and find our orbit.” Jeb ordered.

              Several hours later Kenski reported, “25,671 meters by 18,922 meters.”

              “Get everyone together, lets plot our maneuver node.” It took another hour of hard math until they found the best, least expensive way to return home.

              “Here, we can get home in eight days by using 189 m/s. I’ll go out and detach our landing legs.” Kenski volunteered.

              Jeb nodded, “I’ll think we could release the atmosphere in here to give us,” Jeb did some hurried calculations and continued, “41 m/s, should prove useful.”

              Down in NK, Wefly hit his consul with both hands, expressing him anger at the delay. Two of the large telemetry dishes were in repairs and the third unmanned. They had no telemetry on Genesis. He couldn’t trust any of the information given to him, it was just improbable or unbelievable.  Communication was impossible when the telemetry was undetermined.

              “Flight, Gene is wanting to talk to you.” Wefly looked up to the speaker, one of the runners who carried messages between controllers.

              Wefly stood up and walked to the VIP visiting room, there Gene stood pacing. Gene gestured to the private viewing room on the side. When they closed the door, Gene could hardly control himself.

              “Do you accuse me of being the Kraken’s ally!? Do you think that KASA is an establishment of evil? No! All of them are lying, I helped make KASA, I begged on my knees in front of countless politicians for it. I was fighting the Kraken, and now it strangles my accomplishments of the last decade.”

              Wefly stood back from Gene, surprised at his outburst. Gene sat down in a chair, and breathed deeply.

              “I, I received a message from Genesis. They said that Wensie was left on a makeshift station by KASA.”

              “SHE’S A LIAR!” Gene hit the desk that Wefly was sitting at, “She stole a rocket and converted it into a station. I personally have no idea how she did it, but she had help. I never alerted anybody about it, it’s now state secrets. I’m telling you a lot.”

              “I have one last question, did you attend the Teachers meetings?”

              “Yes.” Gene closed his eyes and wept silently. Wefly understood, he was an outcast of both societies, the Good, and the Bad.

 

Edited June 1, 2017 by Alpha 360

[Alpha 360]

Chapter 21: The Endeavor

Chapters are going to get longer and more infrequent, sorry about that. It hurts me as it much as it hurts you.

Spoiler

Jeb kissed Stelta. It had now was a daily habit as they floated in Zero-G.  Stelta hadn’t protested and it didn’t upset the other inhabitants of the Genesis so he continued.

              “What would your parents think of you marrying your boss?” asked Jeb, still embracing Stelta.

              Stelta smiled, “Not to best thoughts, but they haven’t met you yet. They’ll like you. What would your parents think of you marrying your employee?”

              “Parent, they got a devoice when I was eight. I stayed with mother, makes life a little easier. She doesn’t care much about what I do, it will be an affirmative there.”

              Kenski called up from downstairs, “Reentry in thirty minutes.”

              “Readying up!” replied Jeb. He released Stelta and pushed himself over to the controls and started to orientate retrograde.

              Suddenly the radio crackled, “Jeb! Our communication dishes are finally back online and we have been tracking your trajectory, it looks like you will be reentering just above the JSC and will be coming over the KSC.”

There was silence for a few seconds, then Wefly started, “Gene paid me a visit in the private VIP area. He claimed that the reports that you’re hearing are lies and that KASA is against the Kraken. But he admitted that he was a part of the Kraken Association, that’s the band of folks under the Teacher. He defected from them so he knows everything about the kraken you want to know.”

“Is KASA being dismantled?” asked Jeb.

“Yes, but there will be enough workers there to be surprised. Gene hasn’t been fired yet, but he could help us—when he is fired—as another flight director.”

Jeb considered Wefly’s thoughts, then answered, “Alright, you can give me the information in full once we return, but we have only twenty minutes until reentry so we’ll ready for that. Jeb out.”

Twenty minutes later they started to feel the effects of reentry. A slight G force could be detected, like a small correction burn. The walls started to heat up and the radio cut off. The SAS started to oscillate the capsule back and forth slowly, trying to keep on the retrograde node. They couldn’t hear anything until they reached thirty kilometers, then they could hear the windows shaking slightly, but any sound was amplified because of the relative silence inside. Gee forces climbed up to three, making it feel like the launch. Suddenly all their ears popped, painfully as they drifted down through the upper layers of the atmosphere. Again at fifteen kilometers and at 3 kilometers their ears popped. At two kilometers Jeb activated the drag chutes and at five hundred he activated the parachutes, slowing down the spacecraft to a gentle 4 m/s.

They touched down, the gravity felt heavy on their bodies. It had been just over a munth since they launched on their way to Minmus. Jeb was the first to unbuckle, Stelta was second. They all stood up while Jeb wrestled with the door down in the airlock. Reluctantly the door creaked open, revealing their position.  They landed on the grasslands right next to the KSC. On the road next to them, drivers of the massive trucks, sent to steal from the buildings from the space center, stared at them with open eyes.

Jeb climbed out of the capsule and bowed, then a truck which in the back tooted his horn. The other trucks continued their way, but the last truck drove right next to the capsule and with the crane picked it up. Luckily the rest of the crew had piled out so the four of them sat there, blinking in the sunlight. A van ran along the road in the distance behind, so they just waited. Five minutes later the van arrived, burning rubber to slow down. The doors opened and they entered. The doors closed and no trace was left of the expedition.

A week later Stelta knocked on the door to her parent’s house. Jeb stood awkwardly behind her, waiting impatiently for the door to open. He had prepared a speech, which he expected would go to waste, but it was better to have something than nothing.

A kindly woman—no older than sixty—opened  the door, “Stelta! Oh, how good to see you!”

Jiji, Stelta’s mother, hugged Stelta then ushered them inside, “Come in, come in. Ronald would love to see you. Who’s this?”

She asked—obviously meaning Jeb—who stuck out his hand, “Hello, I’m Jebediah, though I like to be called Jeb.”

“Hello. Are you coming in?” They entered the little house in the suburbs of Kouston. A kerbal with an extra-large newspaper sat in a cushioned chair at one end of the room. To Jeb’s left was a fireplace with a large panorama shot of the bay where the KSC was located. A basic mantel piece sat above the fireplace. On it were several trinkets including a model rocket, a 2-inch China booster standing proud and tall over the living room. A basic carpet covered the entirety of the floor, with a couch on the opposite wall from the chair. Behind the chair was a stair leading to the second floor to his right the kitchen opened into the living room. The result equaled one of the homelier houses Jeb visited.

“Who is it?” asked the figure.

“It’s Stelta and a friend.” replied the mother.

The kerbal folded it up his newspaper and looked at Stelta, “Well, this is a welcome surprise! Come and give your old man a hug.” Stelta hugged her father while Jeb looked around slightly embarrassed.

He was about to make a remark when Stelta stopped hugging and gestured to Jeb, “This is Jeb, meet Ronald.”

He shook hands politely with Ronald, and smiled a smile which he could tell showed his discomfort at the situation. They were ushered onto the couch, to break the ice between him and Stelta’s parents, he asked, “Is that a China rocket there?”

Ronald nodded, “Yes, that’s the China 1. I remember Corkin’s face when he climbed into that rocket. He was very excited at being tapped to be the first kerbal in space.”

“So you were in the astronaut corp?” asked Jeb, feeling the ice break slightly.

“No, I was on the engineering team. I was given the assignment to work on the capsule, it was a difficult job. I had to get a group of engineers to work on the most sophistic piece of technology that held a kerbal’s life in the balance.”

Jeb could tell that Ronald felt best when talking about KASA, so Jeb continued, “I was on the early Helios missions. On the first actually.”

Ronald’s bushy eyebrows raised, “You were? Hm, that would make you the Jebediah that the courts ruled innocent of stealing those engines from the Helios, am I right?”

The last remark at the end was a mere formality, Jeb felt like he was being weighed to see if he had a good heart, “Yes, I was wrongfully blamed of stealing the blueprints. Corkin was just jealous. The last I heard of him he was spiraling off into space when the.. I mean when everything went to crap.”

Jeb added crap to the end of that sentence to mask the words he was about to say.

Ronald smiled, “These are state secrets, but since I’m fired from KASA, I’ll tell them to you.” He began, “You two have just landed on Minmus right.”

Jeb and Stelta nodded, Jeb was a little amazed that Ronald knew that he was on Minmus since there was only a small minute or two on the official news channel and only four smaller channels had covered his landing on Minmus.

“The reach Corkin waited several more days was because he wanted the best window to Eve.”

“That’s impossible!” cried Jeb, “A trip to Eve would take two years of supplies, and twice the delta-v than landing on Minmus!”

Ronald grinned, “You see, there is a spacecraft ready to reach Eve, just outside Kerbin’s SOI to keep eyes off it. Corkin along with Bob have reached the Deliverance and are about to go to Eve.”

“Isn’t KASA getting shut-down?” asked Jeb confused.

“You don’t know how the government works. It says it will do something, then headlines will stay on that topic for several days, then it gets forgotten. The KASA will still operate. Then when Corkin reaches Eve, headlines will stick to that and the government will say it will boot KASA back up again while it has just been running in the background. So the government saves face and the space program continues working.”

The ice was broken, so Jeb foolishly decided to bring up the topic of Stelta, “Mr. Ronald, sorry to change the subject but me and Stelta were thinking of getting engaged. I was wondering if you approve.”

Ronald broke out into a belly laugh, Jeb shifted uncomfortably in his seat, “It always happens. When a Kerbgent and a Kerbette are stuck in a tin can for a month, they either love each other or hate each other. Looks like everything is positive here so, yes, it is fine with me if you two get engaged.”

Stelta glanced meaningfully at Jeb, then hugged her father, “I knew you would agree! Thank you dad!”

“Your welcome.” Ronald nodded at Jeb over Stelta’s shoulder, Jeb nodded back.

“Now, would you like to stay for tea?” asked Jiji.

The next day Jeb walked back into mission control. The first week he had spent in rehab, after a long journey, and now had an important meeting with Wefly. Helre was sitting at the flight director’s seat. Apparently there was some small communications satellite being launched, so Jeb stepped quieted behind her. Wefly waited in Jeb office. Jeb took his seat behind the desk and Wefly sat in one of the chairs.

“Wefly, do you think we can put together a Duna mission in thirty days?”

Wefly opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, “Yes. If I had the funds.”

“The funds shall be granted. Now the thing you need to know is that Corkin isn’t dead or dying, he has rendezvoused with a vessel which will take him to Eve. We must flex our muscles here, and flex them hard. Stelta has agreed to go if our marriage goes to plan on the week before the launch. Raydred wants to go desperately, and we have a new scientist who wants to go. Her name is Rosi, and she has expertise in planetology, which will be useful. Also, tell me everything about the meeting between you and Gene.”

Wefly nodded, “You see, when I got the message……”

Fifteen days later the biggest rocket that Rockomax had launched stood on the launch pad. It stood as large as the Helios 1 and it carried the core of the Endeavor, the first interplanetary spacecraft Rockomax had designed. It was designed to be modular, the core could be attached to different propulsion modules or habitation designed. The lifespan of the vessel was estimated to be twenty to thirty years in space before being deorbited and destroyed in the atmosphere.

“10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Ignition of the Endeavor! The first interplanetary craft bound for Duna!” cried thee loudspeakers.

The Endeavor was launching without crew, a shuttle would carry them up after the propulsion module got into orbit and connected with the core. Jeb himself presided over Mission Control, as the top dog in the corporation.

“Detaching first stage in 3. 2. 1. Detach!” the camera on the Endeavor watched as the booster fell backwards, slowly drifting away.

“It’s, beautiful.” remarked a controller as the camera video was put on the big screen.

“Yes, it is.” agreed Wefly.

They watched the second stage ignite, pushing the rocket into a low orbit. The second stage detached and it floated away, following the same path as its predecessor into the atmosphere.  

 

 

Edited June 3, 2017 by Alpha 360

[Alpha 360]

Chapter 22: "Son of a ***!"

Spoiler

(The wedding in the story is purely kerbal, not much is derived by normal human standards)

Jeb stood beside Stelta in the aisle, waiting for the priest to arrive. He shuffled his feet nervously, his eyes drifting over the audience. There was only about fifty of them, relatives and friends of Stelta, his mother and Valentina on one bench, and Wefly Kerman standing near the garden gate.

The priest stepped in through the gate, the asked, “Wasn’t the wedding supposed to be here?”

“Yes.” replied Ronald.

“Good, good.” He entered the house wearing the formal white gown.

He walked up to the makeshift platform then Jeb walked up there beside him. The priest took Jeb hand and lifted it up in the air, proclaiming, “This young man you see before you, wants to get married.”

“To whom?” asked the audience, as was customary.

“To Stelta Kerman, son of Jiji and Ronald Kerman!” cried Jeb, he was smiling now.

“To whom?” the audience asked again.

“To Stelta Kerman, kerbonaut and loving friend!”

“To whom?” asked the audience the last time.

“To Stelta Kerman, the most beautiful Kerbette I ever met!”

“Well then, let’s get it over with!” cried the priest, “Where’s the bride for this good young man?”

“Here!” cried Stelta Kerman, standing in her white dress.

“Where?” asked the priest, making a show of looking around.

“Here!”

“Oh, there you are. Now who would escort this lovely Kerbette?”

“I will!” yelled Ronald, getting up from his seat and stepping through the amassed kerbals over to his daughter. When he reached her, he led her up the side of the platform to Jeb and the priest. He then stood aside, to the left of the priest.

The priest took Stelta’s hand as well, then passed it over to Jeb’s hand. They were now, ‘linked’.

The priest then loudly asked Jeb, “Got your ring?”

“Yes!”

“Then put it on her!” Jeb went down on his knee to Stelta, and slipped the ring on reciting, “Do you willingly accept this ring as a sign of our marriage? Do you want to become my wife today?”

The ring slid down Stelta’s ring finger, she smiled a broad smile, “Yes, I do. Jebediah my love.”

“Come on, kiss her!” cried the audience. Jeb stood up and kissed her. This was easily the best day of his life. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement, but he dismissed it. Suddenly an explosion behind him sent the place into chaos. Jeb grabbed Stelta and they threw themselves to the floor. Jeb quickly slid underneath the platform, “Hurry!” he whispered to Stelta. She struggled to get in, her wedding dress getting in the way.

“Blast this crappy wedding dress!” she swore. She ripped the front and climbed out of it. Suddenly they heard a gunshot, then more. Somebody was shooting the kerbals witnessing their wedding. Jeb heard Wefly’s voice over the racket, “You blasted son of a ***, go to hell where you belong!”

More gun fire ensued. Suddenly outside grew silent. Jeb started weeping, his tears dropping into the dirt. Stelta wept as well. After what seemed like eternity, Jeb asked, “What kind of people wreck a wedding! Who did they want to shoot?”

Stelta’s body was shivering, “They, they wanted to shoot us. Me and you. They, they must have been possessed by the Kraken.”

“I’m looking outside.” Jeb said pushing himself out from under the platform. He looked up. A masked Kerbal pointed a large semi-automatic at his head.

“Get out. I know there’s two of you in there.” Jeb crawled out and stood up. The place was a wreck. There were about ten kerbals dying on the floor of what had been a wedding. His eyes turned to the corner where Wefly stood. A body slumped against the fence, its face turned away from Jeb. Stelta climbed out of the platform, glaring at the masked kerbal. She was only wearing her underclothes which the masked kerbal was looking at amused.

“Get over there.” He pointed to towards the house. Jeb turn around to face him, then walked backwards, keeping his eye on the figure. Stelta didn’t look back. She walked quickly and arrived at the house before Jeb. To Jeb’s horror the figure lifted the gun and fired two rounds. A bullet struck Stelta, the second must have missed.

“Stelta!” He cried. He grabbed Stelta and jumped through the window facing them. Stelta was faint but still alive. He went behind a wall and laid Stelta on the floor. Blood spurted from a wound, but it was invisible because of all the blood it had already vomited.

“Stelta!” He cried, he laid his head on her chest, feeling the beat of her heart.

“Get up!” cried a voice. Jeb stood up and faced him, crying “You son of a ***!”

The figure smiled, “Don’t worry, I killed that guy.”

Jeb recognized the voice, “Wefly! I saw you slumped against the wall!”

“No, you didn’t, that was his buddy. Luckily these folks are terrible shots and I always have a pistol on hand. Let’s see your wife now.”

Jeb breathed slowly, “She’s wounded.”

Wefly nodded, then felt around her body, “I wouldn’t think that the wound is fatal, but there’s a chance it could cripple her.”

Wefly picked up Stelta and draped her over his shoulder, “Jeb, call the police. They need to see this.” Jeb nodded.

A few minutes later a dozen police cars drove up and police-kerbs jumped out carrying small arms. An ambulance came right behind them and medical personal loaded the injured on stretchers. Jeb stepped out into the lawn, shocked.

He looked around. Most of the kerbals escaped by way of jumping over the garden walls or hiding under benches. He looked around at the wounded. Jiji lay on a stretcher, blood seeping through her clothes. She was unconscious. One still figure looked familiar, he rushed up beside it.

“Val! Val, no Val!” he wept not stopping when the medical personal picked up the stretcher and carried it to the ambulance. He continued crying, knowing that Stelta herself might be dying in that ambulance.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned around expecting Wefly and found a police officer standing there, looking slightly confused, “Sir, this was a wedding, right?”

“Yes.” He shook himself.

“Who do you think caused the attack?” The officer continued asking.

“Go to Hell.”

“Please sir, I realize that it has been a hard day, but we need your cooperation.”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Jeb stated to close the subject.

“Please sir.”

Jeb got to his feet and walked to his car, calling out behind him, “The Kraken!”

He waited beside Stelta’s bedside. Two bullets had struck her, one passed through her hand and the other had struck and fractured her hip. 

“She’s going to be okay. It will take about two munths until she will be up and about.” Jeb knew who was talking, the head doctor had been instructed to take special care of Stetla, and several thousand dollars made sure that she got only the best.

He stood up, looked at Stelta. She was still breathing, but life had to go on if he was going to get to Duna. His mind turned to the TV in the corner. On it the news channel blared, attack on private wedding. The news broadcaster on was interviewing a witness, a neighbor, who was describing what he heard, “It happened suddenly, it sounded like right after when Jebediah kissed the bride. I saw it then took his leave.

Wefly hadn’t been injured during the fire fight, so he was back to his job the next day. Jeb watched the engineers welding together a large fuel tank with eight large nuclear engines. The engineers fondly called it, “James” for no apparent reason at all.

“How’s work on James?” asked Jeb, eyeing the ugly booster.

“Doing good. It will be finished in eight days and can be loaded and launched in two.” replied the chief engineer.

“Good, good.” Somebody caught his eye.

“Raydred, come over here. I need to talk with you.” Jeb called Raydred over to where he stood.

“You are going to be the commander of this mission. We’ll also put Kenski on board with you so you have an extra engineer.”

Raydred nodded, “Sorry about Stelta, sir.” Noticing Jeb’s wince, he changed the subject, “I’m going to get married the Siberta when I get back.”

Jeb patted his shoulders, “Once you do, if you want to resign, I won’t blame you.”

The next week Wefly took over the launch of the James. The rocket was even larger than the Endeavor, now big as the second and third Helios missions.

“Ignition!” cried Wefly, pressing the red button. The James was probe controlled, and was also designed to stay in space and had two docking ports. One on the top to connect to the Endeavor core, and one on the bottom for service and repairing.

The rocket lifted-off the pad easily and it soon docked with the empty Endeavor. The next day Jeb spectated the debriefing with the crew. Raydred, Agagy, Kenski, and Janda.

Wefly started, “You four will be the first kerbals to visit Duna. We won’t have the best connection so here is the big deal. The commander decides what action happens. In space, deciding as a group won’t work. Raydred, you will make decisions for the entire crew, remember that. That was the most important item on this list, so let’s continue down it. The flight plan is that you will reach the Endeavor, then spend three days prepping the Endeavor for the departure burn. You will reach Duna in about one year, then you will enter orbit and preform all available science. I want you to find at least one Ike fly-by and it should be possible for you to dip into the atmosphere to tell us its make-up. You will return on the next Duna->Kerbin window and you should have just enough fuel to make orbit. You will run yourself dry, then a tanker will take you to the Arbitrary for full maintenance. That’s the flight plan.”

The conference lasted for three hours then as the kerbals dispersed Jeb asked Gene in a quiet whisper, “Something’s wrong.”

Wefly kept his expression calm, “What is it?”

“I don’t know, but one of those four, one of those four is going to cause trouble.”

“How do you know?”

“Well, lately I think I have become a Kraken specialist. The Kraken possesses one kerbal for every mission to try to ruin it. We know that Corkin is infected with the Kraken, I’m not sure if Bob is too, though I doubt it. I, I am now petrified by the Kraken, I am probably wrong but it doesn’t help to be cautious.”

Wefly nodded, “Yes, sir.”

“After this mission, I’m going to retire to some place, not in the way of the Kraken.” sighed Jeb.

“Yes, sir.”

 

 

[Alpha 360]

Chapter 23: Retreat

Sorry for the long while you had to wait, this story is closing up in the next week or sooner. Thank you for waiting patiently. 

Spoiler

Stelta sat up, breathing hard. She was in a hospital, and she was in a private room, not very large but it was private.  She started to breathe slower. She could remember what happened, but it was like a dream. The wedding, gunshots, Jeb beside her as scared as her. Them running then pain in her side and hand. Then everything black, black as midnight, black as evil.

She lowered herself back down on the bed with her right hand. Her left hand was wrapped in a band-aid, her leg in a cast. She closed her eyes once more and fell asleep.

A second late she woke up with a start. There was a nurse in the room. She evidently replaced her band-aid on her hand and the cast on her leg and was cleaning around the bed.

“Where am I?” asked Stelta, repeating the age-old question.

“You’re in Kilin hospital, don’t you worry about a thing. Everything is covered.” replied the nurse still cleaning up.

She looked over her shoulder at Stelta who was tense, “Go back to sleep, the best you can do for your body is sleeping.” Stelta nodded and returned to sleep.

A month later, Jeb visited her. She could stand now with the help of crutches and her hand had completely healed up.

“Hello honey!” cried Jeb happily, or seemed happy. The off-handedness seemed to mean that he was thinking deeply about something, something which disturbed him greatly.

“What’s up? Did the launch of the Endeavor go well?” she asked. She was only fed bits and pieces of news by the nurse who was assigned to the room.

Jeb smiled, “Yes! In fact, I came to tell you that they are on their way to Duna right now.”

“Jeb, we need to talk.” She stated, Jeb’s happy attitude was masking something.

Jeb sat on the foot of the bed, “Yes, I need to tell you something. I’m going to retire soon.”

Stelta frowned, and Jeb continued, “You see, I don’t want to risk you again, right after you were almost taken from me forever.”

“You are willing to give up your dream, just because of me?” asked Stelta.

“Yes, I will give ownership of Rockomax to Wefly, he deserves it after all he has done for me.”

“How are we going to support ourselves?”

“We’ll find a way. I have calculated how much money I have in the bank and it looks like we can easily live in piece somewhere.”

“Somewhere?” asked Stelta, “You got to do better than that.”

“Somewhere is the best I can do. I want to live in a place where we can live self-sustainingly for the rest of our lives. And somewhere remote, just in case.” Jeb didn’t finish his sentence, but Stelta knew what he was talking about.

They stayed silence for a few minutes. Then Jeb leaned over and kissed Val.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” replied Stelta.

Jeb raised his body from the bed and started to make for the door, then he turned around, “Stelta, I forgot to tell you. Your mother, Jiji, died a week ago. I’m sorry.” Jeb walked through the door.

Stelta turned over away from the door, in shock. Jiji, dead. Shot by bullets meant for Jeb. By drunken maniacs who worshiped the devil. Her body shook as she wept, was revenge an option? Could revenge heal the hurt? It didn’t matter right now, Jiji was gone from the world. And she wept for her.

Another month later she left the hospital. Jeb was waiting for her on the driveway, pacing back and forth.

“Jeb!” cried Stelta.

Jeb looked up from the ground, his expression of impatience transformed into an expression of pure joy.

“Stelta!” he cried, running up to meet her.

They met up in the middle of the parking lot and swiftly kissed. Jeb pulled away for a second then led her to his car.

“I found the house I’ve been looking for. It’s up the mountain, and overlooks the grasslands. You’ll love it!” exclaimed Jeb.

“Alright, come on then.” said Stelta, quickening her pace.

The two of them entered the car, then Jeb hit the gas and drove recklessly out of the hospital.

It had been two days since Jeb and Stelta entered the house when Jeb received a call. Jeb smiled at Stelta, “My first call in this house.”

              Stelta waited patiently while Jeb took his call. Jeb was relaxed during the entire call, she could see that from the bed and hear his voice. Jeb put the phone down after a quick five minutes and grinned at Stelta, “I’m invited to go to a grand meeting of all the aerospace agencies at KSC. All the companies will be there so I’ll represent Rockomax. Don’t worry Stelta, you can come with me if you want.”

              Stelta weighed the thought. There seemed to be a chance that there would be an attack against the KSC, since everyone was there. But, she still didn’t have enough of Jeb yet after two months in the hospital.

              “Sure.” She replied as she slid out of bed.

              They packed and left the house. Stelta took one last look at it as it faded away into the distance.

              When they arrived at the KSC, cameras flashed in their faces. A whole battalion of reporters strode by as they drove up. There were several dozen other cars there, ranging from black Jaguars to white Toyotas. Jeb parked his modest car up next to them and the two of them exited the car. Camera’s snapped around them, anybody coming here became celebrity.

              When they entered the administration building, Stelta felt weary of company. There a hundred people here from all over the globe to talk about their programs and to applaud at other’s feeble attempts at their space programs.

              “Kerbgents and Kerbettes! Jebediah Kerman and his newly wed, Stelta Kerman.” cried a loudspeaker, introducing them to the crowd. Luckily most of the throng didn’t listen and the few who did promptly shook their hands and returned to their business.

              “I need to sit down somewhere.” Stelta panted.

              “There’s some seats over on the farside, now please excuse me.” Jeb hurried off to meet some leader of some space company.

              Stelta sat down on the benches outside of the noise and commotion of the gathering. The plush air-conditioning made the room slightly bearable. She sighed, then she noticed a kerbal coming towards her.

              He sat down a few feet away from her and gave a long sigh, “I shook one too many hands here, there’s a crowd here tonight no mistake.”

              He turned to her and put out his hand, “I’m Kerbert Kerman, one of the newer flight directors here in KSC.”

              Stelta shook his hand, “Stelta Kerman, retired Rockomax astronaut.”

              His eyes popped for a second then dilated back to focus, “The Stelta Kerman who used to work here years ago?”

              Stelta nodded, smiling to herself at how large her reputation had grown.

              “The Stelta Kerman who went to Minmus? The Stelta Kerman who just married Jebediah Kerman, the most famous astronaut in history?” he asked incredulously.

              Stelta laughed, “Yes, now why are you here?”

              “Public relations of course, rot it all.” He replied spitting on the ground.

              “Well, Jeb was on public relations duty, and he didn’t like it as well.”

              Kerbert looked around then said secretly, “There will be an attack here tomorrow.”

              Stelta nodded, trying to act calmly, “I expected as much.”

              “Everyone knows that an attack would happen, but this meeting is necessary.”

              “Why?” asked Stelta perplexed.

              “Because, because. Because…….” Kerbert lingered on his words, not knowing what to say.

              “What!” Stelta said aggerated at him  

              “The, the Kr, Kraken.” Kerbert stuttered. His body started to jerk around, his face convulsing.

              “Security!” cried Stelta. Police ran through the crowd and one mammoth kerbal picked up Kerbert. His arms started to flail around and seemed to stretch as well as his legs. The mammoth ran out the door. Everyone fell silence, everyone could hear the poor Kerbal poof, and everyone knew the reason. This was beyond everybody.

 

[Alpha 360]

Chapter 24: The Wrath of the Kraken

This is it. Moderator, be close at hand for the closing of this thread.

Spoiler

“Kerbgents and Kerbettes, you know why we are gathered today.” Gene stood on the podium looking out at the gathered crowd VIPs.

              “We are here to discuss the threat of the Kraken. The evil of this age and of all ages. It has been moving through the space agency like a virus. We have conformation that the Kraken’s greatest enemy lies in space, and that it is trying to stop us from reaching this deity, a deity that is many times stronger than the Kraken. The goal of this meeting is to find out how to hold off the Kraken until we can reach the deity and enlist him on our side. Jebediah Kerman ass you all know has encountered the Kraken many times and knows how we can defeat it. Jebediah, come up here.”

              Jeb stood up and walked pass the staring eyes up to the podium, “Kerbals, I have encountered the Kraken before on Genesis 1, and in my own wedding. The Kraken is a master at deceiving, he will fool you easily. His spawns are everywhere, infiltrating every government, passing unseen through every net. I loved one of these Kraken spawns without knowing her past, and she almost killed me. Expect these infiltrators to be your close friends, relatives, and even lovers.”

              “There is said of one to be the Resistor. One kerbal who could withstand the might of the Kraken for extended periods of time. This Resistor will be our only hope. There is evidence that this resistor might be myself, but there are several other candidates. One being Corkin on his route to Eve and another my wife, Stelta. If the resistor could find his full strength. Then, and only then, will we be able to fight off the Kraken to reach the deity. We have confirmed that this deity is located around Dres, confirmed by Probabobadyne’s probes.”

              “The unfortunate thing here is that the Kraken has booby-trapped this meeting, and sometime soon, some of us will die because of this attack. We all knew that this meeting was risky, and we all came by our own will. I will let the public know that we aren’t afraid of the Kraken, and that we will stand against the Kraken with the might of the Resistor and with our will. To talk about the Kraken’s weaknesses, he has only one chink in his armor. Only one. A kerbal can resist the Kraken using the power of love, your love of Kerbin and everything and one in it. The Kraken’s main strategy is to divide and conquer, which means if we all unite together, we have larger chance at surviving. That is all from me.”

              Jeb left the stage, no applause greeted the end of his speech, the audience too much in thought. Jeb walked outside, when he sighed. He gazed around at the space center, kerbal’s accomplishment against the Kraken. Stelta met him on one of the benches surrounding the Administration building.

              “Stelta, do me a favor and get away from here.” asked Jebediah.

              “Why Jeb, I’ll die with you if I have to. I’m not leaving.” Stelta put her foot down calmly, without raising her voice.

              Jeb put his hand on her stomach, “You will leave, not for me but for our child. You will leave because Kerbin needs you alive and well.”

              They kissed one last parting kiss. Jeb stood up, and embraced Stelta, “Take care of our child, if I’m gone.”

              Stelta started to cry into his shoulder, “First, first I lost my mother. Now I’m going to lose you.” Her body was raked with sobs, and she clung to him.

              “Don’t worry. I’ll give the Kraken a good long fight for you, and for your child.” Jeb soothed Stelta. He caressed her face, tears welling up in his eyes.

              “Everything goes to you Stelta, our house, our child, my love. I will still love you when I die, from heaven.”

              “You, don’t know if there’s a life after death! What if, if there’s nothing beyond death. You’ll be gone, gone forever!” She wept some more.

              “Stelta, honey. I’ll be in your heart, if I’m nowhere else. I’ll be in your heart.” Jeb sniffed.

              Jeb loosened himself from Stelta’s arms and kissed her swiftly on the cheek.

              “Jeb! No! Don’t go back in there!” cried Stelta, tugging on his arm.

              “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, that I must go. I’m sorry for entering your life only to be thrust away from it.” Jeb turned around and entered the Administration building. Gene was talking on the achievements of Kerbalkind and how kerbals will hold on to the little that they were given. Jeb paid little attention to the speeches. He was here to tempt the Kraken, to tempt the Kraken here while the manned launch to Dres was underway. All this was a show, to keep the Kraken’s mind here, so that Kerbals everywhere would be able to live free, away from the Kraken’s power.

              Suddenly, everything went to Hell. Bombs exploded outside, and inside. Rubble went flying, and the walls and ceiling crumpled. Jeb ran out the collapsing door, the cement landing centimeters from the back of his head. He heard of the thud of stone hitting kerbal flesh. Everything was burning. The grass has been replaced with ashes. The VAB tottered backwards, threatening to topple down on the remains of the administration building and on the remaining kerbals. The SPH exploded in a burst of flame, fiery fragments flying. The dishes on the tracking station collapsed, rolling onto the tracking station main hub.

              The wrath of the Kraken had been released. A kerbal stretched and turned into dust in a poof. The sky turned red, in the background an enormous thud sounded. As Jeb looked at the city, it turned into glass by a nuke. The Kraken’s wrath had been released, it was killing Kerbin. Its goal was being acted. The last act, the final fate had been written. Kerbin would die, it would suffer the ultimate punishment. He saw his car racing towards him over the grass. He could see Stelta inside, driving recklessly. A piece of flying concrete smashed through the roof of the car, and Stelta flew through the window.

              “STELTA!” cried Jeb. He ran even faster towards her. The VAB was collapsing slowly, chunks flying here and there. He reached the body, it was limp. He turned to weep, then a knife sank into his back like butter. Time stood still, he turned. Stelta stood there, with red eyes and black skin.

              “Fool! Couldn’t you tell that I! Stelta Kerman, was the Kraken herself! You fool! You will die, you will suffer the fate which should befall all kerbals!”

              “Why do we need to die!?” cried Jeb. The knife in his back burned, pained licked through his mind. He was going to die insane.

              “Because you are allies of the PROGRAMMER. Yes, I said his name, his mistakes created me and his fortunes were created by you!  You gave him power, you were his power. Now that I have destroyed you, his power will diminish and mine will grow! I just want to be embraced by him, not thrown away like the piece of rubbish I am.”

              Blood flowed down Jeb’s back, his scream seemed like a whisper, his pain was amplified.

              “I hate you! I have hated you since the day you were born. I put myself into Stelta to crush you! You loved Stelta like no other kerbal, and that is why I hate you! I remind me of the love that should be given to me! Me and you are works of the PROGRAMMER’s hands, and you are loved and I am hated! Hate your time in Hell, because I will enjoy every moment of hatred you pour into me!”

              Jeb touched the hard, stony face, “I, I love you. Stelta.” Jeb’s mind fell blank and the world ended, everyone dead, everything dead. He was drifting interstellar space, nothing around him, nothing moving inside of him. He couldn’t see a thing. He would never feel Stelta’s lips on his, never feel the vibration of a rocket launch, never see the Mun closely approaching. He was beyond Kerbin, beyond time, beyond pain. But he was not beyond love.

                                                                          THE END

 

Edited June 8, 2017 by Alpha 360

[Alpha 360]

Epilogue

Spoiler

Jeb floated in interstellar space, his body froze and melted. He drifted through the cosmos, unaware of anything but his own pain, and love. The memories gnawed at his mind, the suffering. Kerbin was dead, that Kerbin. He heard tales of alternate universes, but never believed them. 

"Jeb."

Jeb couldn't move a muscle but his heart stuttered. This was the first voice he heard in a long time, in an eternity. He thought his answer, his mouth was shut and would stay shut. Who are you?

The voice stayed silence, but the owner of the voice answered him telepathically, I am the Player.

Who is the player?

I am the player, I am the one who gives the PROGRAMMER power, I am the one who has weapons to fight the Kraken. And I will resurrect you in a new universe of your own. Come with me.

Light shined around Jeb, his opened. He was laying down on the sweet grass of Kerbin. Except it wasn't Kerbin. There were hideously tall mountains surrounding him. The KSC sat on the edge of the waters, and it sat on sandy beach. 

This isn't Kerbin.

No, it isn't. This, my friend, is Gaia. 

 

Edited June 12, 2017 by Alpha 360

[Alpha 360]

Spoiler

opps, this post here was an accident

 

Edited June 12, 2017 by Alpha 360

[Just Jim]

9 minutes ago, Alpha 360 said:

Ah, moderator? are you listening?

(no offense)

This was really good... why close it? People might want to comment after they read it.

Oh, BTW... this was really good.

 

Edited June 8, 2017 by Just Jim

[Alpha 360]

Let's finish this story once and for all, moderator. Do your thing.

[NISSKEPCSIM]

Just so you know, though I'm out of likes, that doesn't mean I don't like this.