Making a Dollar or Two- BOOK THREE

[Kernel Kraken]

In thee words of Jeb: Moar!

 

Edited September 25, 2017 by TheMadKraken2297

[Confused Scientist]

Chapter 18- Who Can it Be Now?

The four crewmembers of the Kraken's Spit stood in the middeck, waiting for the landing pad valves to refill the cabin with the oxygen they had dumped during their panicked landing. "About thirty more seconds," Jeb said. A controller in the secret base somewhere heard him, no one replied.

With a hiss and a puff of air, Bill wrestled the door open. "Good morning," he told the ground crew. "We're gonna need our landing gear looked at, and we might have damaged our thrust plate with all of the accelerations on the way down, but-"

"Bill Kerman," said a voice from far down the hallway. "I have been waiting for you." From the black depths of the corridor a tall kerbal strode confidently toward the hatchway. He had a dark green tan and a deep voice, both of which were novelties for the rich in space colonies. As he approached the crewmembers stood in a line and put their helmets under their arms. "You and I have the same goals," he said. "Kerbals want freedom, and the freedom must not be paid for the same way it was last time..." He pulled out a photograph that nobody else could see. "...Blood."

Jeb and Valentina glanced at each other. Who is this weirdo? Valentina thought. He reminds me of Hudson. Jebediah was worried where this was going.

The strange kerbal smiled. "But please, there must be time for formalities, even in war." He held out his hand. "I am Germbob Kerman. And you," he said, pointing at Valentina, "must be one of the brave pilots who drove that bird all the way to the ground. Yes, you must be courageous- a commodity that is in short supply these days, I'm afraid." Valentina opened her mouth to speak. "And, you!" exclaimed Germbob, cutting Valentina off. "You must be Jebediah Kerman, thrillmaster extraordinaire, the fearless leader of kerbals! Yes, from the virgin sands of Eve to the worn-out derelicts in Kerbin orbit, he is the one, the only, Kraken's Spit Commander! Now, come with me, and I will show you my master plan for the salvation of the Kerbol system from Kerbin's aristocrats!" And, without even acknowledging Bill or Bob, he started sprinting down the hallway.

The crew grudgingly followed him. Bob mumbled something under his breath, Valentina and Jebediah glanced at each other again. They each knew what was on their minds... We're going to leave right away, if that Germbob guy will let us.

Luckily for them, instead of entering Germbob's High Grand Office (that's the official name) an engineer came running up to the crew. He must not have known they were special guests at the mercy of Germbob Kerman; instead he merely identified their blue flight suits. "An IA bomber and two escorts are coming this way!" she shouted. "Get to the fighters and intercept them over Sherbart Crater!"

Jeb, Bill, Bob, and Valentina were happy to oblige. "I'd rather bail out of the fighter than head back to base with Germbob," mumbled Bill. It was a sentiment shared by all of them.

Edited June 5, 2019 by Confused Scientist

[Confused Scientist]

Chapter 19- Top Plasma Gun

The MX-19A Swordfish fighter is a beautiful machine. Sleek and streamlined, with variable wing geometry, it is a beautiful dual-engine VTOL craft capable of carrying two kerbals into orbit around Duna and back... twice. Instead, delta-v is sacrificed for payload mass and four Teamster air-to-air missiles are strapped under the wing. The other weapons include two batteries of lasers, four autocannons, and two air-to-ground missiles for precisely targeting secret bases that the Interplanetary Authority wanted wiped from the map without much fanfare... like the one that Jeb, Bill, Bob, and Val were standing in. "Four nineteens are inbound!" yelled a kerbal over the PA system as various pilots scrambled for their vehicles. Instead of Swordfish, the kerbals at Jackalope Base were equipped with only ten F-180 Roadrunner fighters to defend their territory. "Scramble all jets! Arm ground turrets!" continued the announcements as the Roadrunners were lifted out to their launchpads on hydraulic platforms. Armed only with two Teamsters and a single plasma turret, everybody knew that there was a long battle ahead.

The roar grew in the cockpit as Bob threw the switches to activate the two VTOL rockets on the side of either wing. "Jackalope, we are outbound," Jeb called as his aircraft rose into the air, throwing clouds of red dust out to either side of it. To his left he could see Valentina's Roadrunner doing the same. He pivoted the engines to face toward the Swordfish that were just visible over the edge of the crater rim that Jackalope sat in. "Bill," Valentina said in her own cockpit, "give me full throttle straight ahead." Her aircraft lurched forward, just one of ten that would hopefully come back.

"Teamsters are armed," announced Bob. "Blue Leader, Roadrunner 17 is ready for combat. Over." Bob's call reached the ears of a pilot at the tip of the Blue Squadron, who would be in charge of four other aircraft. "17, we copy you ready. You may fire at will." On the other side of the squadron Valentina and Bill did the same.

"Tallyho on the enemy!" shouted Red Leader. Four aircraft approached, burning full speed toward Jackalope Base. "All even-numbered planes scramble and attack a Swordfish from the right. Odd numbers, attack from the left."

Both formations broke, and Jeb and Valentina steered their jets toward the same Swordfish. "Bill, get ready for some shooting!" shouted Valentina. Bill unlocked the safeties on his missiles as Jeb pivoted his jet and matched pace with the Swordfish. Bob peered through the sights of his guns and shot off a few plasma rounds.

"Jeb, get out of there!" Valentina called her comrade just in time for the other pilot to gun the rocket motors and avoid a Teamster missile. "Bob, how about some fire power?" Jeb asked. "One Teamster is gone," Bob said. In the other plane, Bill said, "I'm going to fire off another missile. They won't be able to avoid two."

The Swordfish twisted and turned, and gunned the engines, but only one of the Teamsters shot past over the horizon and the other one caught the fuel tank in the right wing. "Blue Leader, one Swordfish is down," Jeb said. "I am turning toward another target." Valentina looked out her cockpit at the parachutes of the crew that had bailed out of their destroyed vehicle.

Then, as Jeb was about to turn around and head back into the battle, a few random shots of laser fire from kilometers away caught his right engine. In seconds, the entire right wing was in flames. "Blue Leader, my right engine is on fire. I am declaring an emergency and returning to Jackalope." Bob fired the last missile back into the fray to lighten the load, and Jeb gunned the engines and roared back to base. "Distance?" Bob said. "Twenty kilometers," Jeb replied. "I'm not sure if we'll be able to make it before the hydraulics fail."

Meanwhile, Valentina was still battling the Swordfish. "Bill... fire the second Teamster!" she shouted as she tracked a fighter out over the desert. "Teamster two is gone," he said. The Teamster raced ahead, faster and faster, toward the Swordfish... and missed.

"I am initiating the flyaway maneuver," Valentina said, but it was too late. The Swordfish turned around and tailed Valentina all the way back to the battle. "I have him locked on but the plasma gun isn't doing much," Bill said. He tightened his grip on the ejection seat handles.

Then another Swordfish appeared from out of nowhere. Valentina and Bill were trapped between two fighters. Each one had two missiles. "Blue Leader, we may have to bail out," Valentina said. Just as she was about to commit to taking one of the Swordfish before the other one could obliterate her, a Teamster flew in and detonated against one of the enemy jets, and the debris obliterated one of the other jet's aerospikes, which caused it to immediately spin out of control. "Where did that missile come from?" Bill asked. Valentina looked out toward the horizon and could see nothing. "I..." Then she saw the contrail of a single fighter, burning straight for Jackalope. "Jeb, you crazy, lucky flyboy!" she shouted. "That was your missile!"

"We can't run the aerospikes anymore," Bob told Jeb. "They'll take too much damage and they'll shut off too soon for us to make a vertical landing."

"Copy," Jeb said. "We are gliding the rest of the way to Jackalope." The jet rolled over hills, canyons, and plains. "Velocity two hundred fifty meters per second," Bob announced. "We're about fifty meters per second above our stall speed."

"I know... look, here's the Jackalope crater rim. It's one kilometer to the pad." And with that, Jeb took the stick and made his second improbable landing at Jackalope in less than a day.

Back in the battle, there were eight Roadrunners left and only two Swordfish. "I'm going in for the kill-" Valentina said before a frantic call from Red Leader. "Attention all jets! There is a Torus-class bomber inbound to Jackalope. We estimate an antimatter bomb payload!" The Roadrunners peeled themselves from the action and flew to the Torus. It was more than twice the size than a Swordfish, but its weapons were severely lacking. "Bang, bang. You're dead," shouted Bob as he poured dozens of plasma rounds into the side of the Torus. Within minutes, the antimatter bomb was an antimatter fizzle.

"Well, that was easy," said Valentina. "Now let's try to figure out how to deal with Germbob."

Edited June 5, 2019 by Confused Scientist

[Confused Scientist]

Chapter 20- Much Ado About Everything

The Kraken's Spit crew was back in Germbob's High Grand Office, facing an execution squad, or maybe it was just Germbob's normal way of congratulating people- it was hard to tell. "Oh, you wonderful, wonderful kerbals, what would we do without you? Ah, yes, our debt to you must be repaid- how about a limited edition silver dollar? It will be shipped from Kerbin, and arrive in two years' time. Oh, that would be magnificent. In fact, I'll order it now, from this spectacular website I found." Germbob turned to one of the seven solid gold laptops on his desk and typed in the URL "www.legitcoins/buzzfeed/downton_abbey.biz" "Er, that's strange," Germbob said, gesturing to an error message. "Error 401: Webpage not found," he said, reading from the computer. "Maybe I can find it somewhere else." He then stared off into space for twelve point nine seconds while Jeb, Valentina, Bill, and Bob squirmed uncomfortably. Then Germbob blinked, licked his upper lip, adjusted his blazer, and squirted three milliliters of hand sanitizer into his palm before returning his focus to the laptop. "Maybe the news can tell me where that website went!"

A window popped up on the news site. "BREAKING NEWS" an announcer said as the screen faded to black and was replaced by the image of a smoking crater on the virgin sands of a Laythe beach. "I'm here live at the crash site of Government Flight 921 from low Laythe orbit to Magellan spaceport on the surface, where an Ares-IIB spaceplane has just impacted this beach. We have received news that the shuttle experienced an unidentified hydraulic malfunction and spun out of control at twenty kilometers altitude while traveling at fourteen hundred meters per second. At the time of the crash, the Ares was twenty-three kilometers from the spaceport. Government officials aboard the shuttle confirmed dead include Minnmus Second District Representative Kenneth Kerman, Fourteenth Spacewing Brigadier General Lucille Kerman, and Interplanetary Authority Director Nando Kerman. That final death comes in the wake of a system-wide manhunt for the fugitive Kraken's Spit crew, and here to comment on the future of the search is the new director, Mason Kerman."

A large, buff kerbal appeared onscreen. His hair was combed to either side, so that it helped his brow ridge cast a dark, menacing shadow over his eyes. He had a sullen demeanor, muscular arms, and a large, wide head with a big, flat nose. "Director Mason, what can you tell us about the continuation of the manhunt?"

"It is simple." Mason's voice was cool, calm, and deep. "We will hunt them down, and we will show no mercy."

Germbob closed the laptop. Nobody spoke. "Or..." Germbob said, "instead of a silver dollar, we could give you a nice weapons module for your spacecraft. Yes, I think that would be quite nice." 

Edited June 6, 2019 by Confused Scientist

[Confused Scientist]

Chapter 21- Stranger Things (Have Come to Be)

"...And quadrant R-2 is free of crash debris," Valentina said. "I believe that concludes our search of the Torus crash site?"

"Yep," a Jackalope engineer said. "Okay, load up the debris and take it back to base. Once we're there, reverse engineer everything. We need to figure out better ways to fight these things, because they're just going to keep coming."

As the team of engineers walked back to the rover that had brought them to the Torus crash site a few kilometers from Jackalope crater, Valentina returned to the Roadrunner Jeb was sitting in. "Let's do a loop of the area on our way out and make sure we didn't miss anything," she said.

Jeb tilted the engines to their vertical position and added ten percent thrust. "Jackalope Control, I am making a loop around sector 9A, over." Jackalope Control's answer squaked in their helmets for a second and then the only noise was the distant hum of the engines. "So," Jeb said, attempting to break the silence, "the Laythe launch window opens in four days. How soon can we launch?"

Valentina replied as she peered out the canopy at the passing terrain. "Currently, the weapons and fuel module is being installed where we used to have the docking adapter. That will be installed in a week, and then we'll have another two days while we get a glass cockpit and-"

"Tell them I don't want a glass cockpit. More susceptible to EMP."

"Okay. Well, in that case you'll be happy to hear that the fly-by-wire system they're installing is just a backup. The hydraulics will still be fully functional. Apart from that... uh..."

"What?" Jeb asked.

"Do you see that?" Valentina asked.

Jeb turned in his seat and looked out of the cockpit. "I don't see..." His gaze settled on a large black slab sticking out of the Dunian sand. "Uh-oh. That looks just like something I saw on Eve!"

The Roadrunner set down a few hundred meters from the monolith's edge. "I don't know what it is," Jeb said as he climbed out of the cockpit. "It was just... there. Jet black, and one meter by four meters by nine meters. I couldn't find any trace of any electromagnetic, ultrasonic, or radioactive disturbance." They paused in front of the tablet.

"Do you think whoever made it is still alive?" Valentina asked. "And do you think they might come back someday?"

"Good questions," Jeb replied, "that no one can answer." They stood silently and stared with their necks craned upwards.

"Jeb..." Valentina whispered. "Please tell me you don't see what I see..."

"Yes?"

"When you look at the edge of the monolith, does it look... purple?"

"Uh..."

"And can I see... Kerbol's disc?"

Jeb looked at the image of Kerbol at the edge of the monolith, and then he twirled around and stared at the image of Kerbol setting in the other sideof the sky. "Holy kraken..." He fiddled around with his smartwatch and brought up the feed from a camera he had left on Eve, pointed at the monolith there. He focused on the edge. "It looks..." he said. "It looks..."

"Red," they finished together.

Edited June 6, 2019 by Confused Scientist

[KSK]

"Hey, Sarge - what's that bubblin' noise?"

"That's the plot, son. It's thickening."

[Confused Scientist]

Chapter 22- Hit the Road, Jeb (Reprise)

"Before you leave," Germbob told Jeb, Bill, Bob, and Val, "you have your choice of whatever spacecraft you want to take to Laythe." The Kraken's Spit crew looked at each other. None of them wanted to give up their spacecraft, but it wasn't the most up-to-date model. And besides, they all wanted to be rid of Germbob. "First, we have this stylish tilt-wing SSTO," he said, gesturing to a massive spaceplane in the Jackalope's underground hangar. "Built for VTOL operation from Kerbin to Laythe and back, it has plenty of fuel for-"

"Uh, Germbob," Bob interrupted, "this thing barely has enough delta-v to get into orbit. It can't even lift its own weight."

"Okay, then." Germbob moved over to the next vehicle. "This SSTO, built to outrun and outwit the Flat Kerbin Party, is capable of traveling to Eeloo in an eight-ton package."

"Komrade," Valentina said, "that will take over two hundred years. It can't take off from Duna and- I don't see a cockpit. Do you guys?"

Jeb, Bill, and Bob shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, if you don't like that, how about this triple-wide SSTO, capable of taking two hundred Kerbals to Eeloo from Kerbin? The RAPIERs will probably break down in the first two weeks in orbit, but... how about it?"

"Uhhh..."

"I see. Well, that just leaves your old spacecraft, the new, improved, Kraken's Spit. Good luck! Don't die! But if you don't, do you think you could you bring me back a Laythe martini?"

__________________________________________________________________________________________

"It's right through here," a nameless Jackalope engineer said. "We've got a new weapons module, some engine and landing gear upgrades, a fly-by-wire backup, and..." She flipped the lights on in the hangar. "...We touched up the paint."

Jeb, Bill, and Bob gawked at the revamped color scheme. All of the old, faded details were back, along with a new green racing stripe down the side. The ship's name was painted over the hatchway in bold black paint ink again, just like it was years ago. The Kraken's Spit was state-of-the-art again.

"It's beautiful," gasped Bill. "It's just like it was when we did our first drop mission." Jeb nodded. "It really is something. The aging was even worse than normal because we were docked next to Station One's acid exhaust port."

"Acid exhaust por-" began the engineer. "Long story," Jeb interrupted. "Look, the point is, we're grateful." And then, turning to his crew, he said, "Let's fly."

__________________________________________________________________________________________

The Kraken's Spit left Jackalope among a cloud of mist and steam and red dust. "Twelve NERVs at a hundred," Valentina said. Within two minutes the ship was out of the atmosphere and already on an escape trajectory. "Right now four IA satellites have a lock on our location," Bob announced. Nobody seemed worried, and a few seconds later he said "They've gone below the horizon."

Right away Jeb and Valentina rotated the Kraken's Spit through a hundred and eighty degrees and hit full throttle. "We'll be back at Jackalope in ten minutes," Bill said. The Kraken's Spit made her second descent through the Dunian atmosphere, and set down perfectly in the Jackalope landing bay. There she was refueled, and without even opening the hatch the crew strapped back into their seats, and returned to space. "Looks like the IA has sent out some ships to intercept us on the other trajectory," Jeb said. "That was a brilliant idea, Val."

"Thanks, Komrade. I practiced it in the war- but that was with normal airplanes. Now, let's go get tans on an extraplanetary beach." And with that, they began their long journey to Laythe.

Edited June 6, 2019 by Confused Scientist

[Skylon]

52 minutes ago, Confused Scientist said:

"First, we have this stylish tilt-wing SSTO," 

"Uh, Germbob," Bob interrupted, "this thing barely has enough delta-v to get into orbit. It can't even lift its own weight."

shots fired

[KSK]

"Hokey wings and unreliable engines are no match for a solid chunk of blutonium or two, kid."

"You don't believe in SSTO's do you, Jeb?"

 

[KSK]

And on a serious note, I'm still really enjoying this tale. It has a fun, classic sci-fi comic vibe about it (think Dan Dare or something similar) but with enough serious moments to stop it getting cheesy. Thumbs up.

[Confused Scientist]

3 hours ago, Skylon said:

4 hours ago, Confused Scientist said:

"First, we have this stylish tilt-wing SSTO," 

"Uh, Germbob," Bob interrupted, "this thing barely has enough delta-v to get into orbit. It can't even lift its own weight."

shots fired

Actually, all of the SSTOs are from YouTubers... but that one's definitely my favorite.

[Confused Scientist]

Chapter 23- Calling On, In Transit

"It's Radio Free Kerbol!" Jeb shouted. "And we're here to remind you that if you haven't bought a pumpkin to carve yet, it's too late. Happy Halloween!"

"Now," Valentina began, "we want to talk about the recent crash of the Ares spaceplane on Laythe. As you all know, the director of the Interplanetary Authority was aboard. Although the failure was put down to hydraulics, investigators have uncovered other debris that says otherwise. Now, before we delve into the facts, let's review the situation: The Administrator Nando didn't want to give the IA the massive resources to continue the manhunt for us. He felt that to do so would be unconstitutional, even though most kerbals were thirsty for blood. Now, his spaceplane goes down at just the right moment, and he is replaced by a power-hungry strategist who won't stop at anything just to blow two kerbals to smithereens. Now, here to discuss the spaceplane itself, we have Bill Kerman."

"Right." Bill cleared his throat. "The Ares-IIB began its deorbit burn about half an hour before it impacted Laythe's Sunrise Beach. In between that time, something happened that caused the spaceplane to lose control in the hypersonic region of Laythe's relatively dense upper atmosphere, where it spun out of control and broke up due to aerodynamic forces. The investigators said it was a hydraulics failure, but the Ares-IIB was designed so any one failure of any system would be survivable. In the case of the hydraulics, there would have had to have been a triple failure of the main system and the backup fly-by-wire within five minutes of each other. That has never been documented before on any spacecraft, ever, and certainly not one of the finest spaceplanes ever built transporting important politicians. And it's that last part, the politicians, that make us wonder if some... 'foul play' was involved."

"Instead," Bob said, "we intercepted a secret transmission from Laythe to Duna that there was evidence of a strong blast from inside the fuselage, and that the wreckage of an antimatter bomb was found inside the cargo bay. It doesn't take very much imagination to see the ob-"

And then the transmission was cut off. Televisions across the solar system returned to their normal programming, and all of the lights went out aboard the Kraken's Spit. Scariest of all, Jeb, Bob, Bill, and Valentina all drifted against the rear wall of the cockpit- but the throttle was at zero.

Jeb tried to fire the RCS and maneuver out of the attitude he was in- no luck. Bob tried to call someone on the radio- no luck. Bill tried to go on an EVA, but the hatch wouldn't open- no luck. Valentina took what should have been the first step and looked out the window.

She was in luck.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" she yelled. "What's wrong?" Bill said as he drifted over. Valentina only panted and pointed out the window.

"What?" Bob repeated. "I don't see anything. Just black." He looked closer. "Nothing..." he said, growing pale, "but black."

The stars had gone out.

Edited June 6, 2019 by Confused Scientist

[Confused Scientist]

Chapter 24- Darkness

Jeb was still staring out the windows. "There's nothing out there," he said. "Any idea what's causing the acceleration?"

Valentina shook her head. "Either we've had a complete instrumentation failure- one isolated from the electronics- or something weird's going on."

Bill shivered. "Do you hear something?"

Everyone was silent. From out of the distance they could hear a howl, like a distant tornado touching down or an airplane starting its takeoff run. "It's getting louder," Jeb said.

"Look!" Bob shouted. He pointed out the window. A faint streak of purple was visible. Within seconds more colors appeared and got stronger, just as the howl began to reach conversation-level noise. "I don't like this. I don-"

The Kraken's Spit shuddered and pitched hard to port. The lights cut off, and a cacophony of static burst from the radio. A high-frequency vibration began rattling the structure of the spacecraft as fireworks blossomed out the window.

And then, as the four kerbals sat in their seats, terrified, a tall creature appeared in front of them. The beast towered over them, and its legs were just as tall as the rest of its body. And the worst part was, its flesh was pink. Bill yelled as his eyes searched for any hint of green.

The creature opened its mouth. "To be or not to be," it said, "that is the question."

Jeb screamed. Valentina whispered, "Is this the Apocalypse?"

All at once, the beast disappeared, only to be replaced by another one just like it. This one had darker skin. He stood behind a podium, and there was something in the background- with a gasp Bob realized they were thousands of the strange creatures- and this one also spoke. "I have a dream," he said. "A dream that someday-"

The images came more frequently- and with them, the voices. "-Ask not what you can do for your country-"    "-You'll float, too.-"    "-I read the news today, oh boy-"         "-That's one small step-"   "-score, and seven years ago, our-"   "-It's full of stars!-"   "-Radio Free Europe, Radio-"   "-have broken the 108-year curse!-"   "-If you liked it then you should have put-"   "-am left with only one option: I'm going to science the-"   "-Watson, come here. I want to-"   "-take is equal to the love you make.-"   "-the South Tower has collapsed and-"   "-Either these drapes go or I-"   "-I'm gonna make him an offer he can't-"   "-by the dawn's early light-"   "-Enola Gay, you have clearance to-"   "-been shot in Dallas!-"   "-am not a crook.-" "-go at throootttttle uuuuup..."

As Jeb, Bill, Bob, and Val watched seven orange-suited creatures fly into space, the image slowed and distorted, and then stopped. Light flowed in the windows, and once Bob collected his thoughts he could see Laythe. But it was Jeb who had the most shocking view: The ship's chronometer, four minutes behind what it was when they left Duna.

Edited June 6, 2019 by Confused Scientist

[KSK]

Fascinating. *raises one eyebrow*

I mean that - very interesting developments and a good selection of partial quotes too! Boy are the kerbals in for a shock when they learn about extraterrestrial potato planting.

 

Edited November 13, 2017 by KSK

[JK_Kerbineer]

1 hour ago, KSK said:

Fascinating. *raises one eyebrow*

I mean that - very interesting developments and a good selection of partial quotes too! Boy are the kerbals in for a shock when they learn about extraterrestrial potato planting.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if green space potatoes were the kerbals greatest invention.

[Confused Scientist]

5 hours ago, KSK said:

Fascinating. *raises one eyebrow*

I would like to hire you for my Witty Commentary Department. Please report to the area on the Sea of Galilee where, looking south at midnight on the winter solstice, the Libra constellation aligns with the pyramids of Giza. When you arrive you will be taken to the seafloor by a Soviet-era nuclear submarine piloted by the ghost of Ronald Reagan and given an advance on your first year's salary: 1,000 butterfly tears and David Bowie's soul.

[KSK]

Mmmm, sweet juicy butterfly tears.

Tell you what - have the transportation provided by legendary Shoviet shubmarine commander, Sean Connery and I'm in.

[Confused Scientist]

17 hours ago, KSK said:

Mmmm, sweet juicy butterfly tears.

Tell you what - have the transportation provided by legendary Shoviet shubmarine commander, Sean Connery and I'm in.

No can do. Our parent company, Satan Incorporated, just went bankrupt, resulting in a mass insurance payout to their parent company, Wells Fargo. However, we can still give you a hundred butterfly tears and Nikola Tesla's skull. 

We apologize for the inconvenience.

[Confused Scientist]

Chapter 25- We're Going to the End of the Line

The rebels at Laythe were everything the rebels at Duna weren’t. As Jeb guided the Kraken’s Spit the last few meters to the landing pad, he could already tell that an oxygenated, habitable atmosphere made all the difference for a planetary base. As soon as the engines were safed, they cracked open the hatch and breathed in the sea air.

“Ho, Valentina!” a kerbal called from the ground. “Where does this power umbilical plug in?”

Valentina smiled as she leaned out the hatch. “Next to engine two,” she shouted.

“Thanks.”

Jeb, Bill, and Bob were busy unpacking the storage compartment with their luggage and other cargo. As Valentina passed she saw Bill handling the case with the space crab. “This needs to be placed in a secure environment immediately,” he said. “Can we take this to the surface yet?”

Valentina returned to the hatch. It was over thirty meters to the ground, but a gantry was being rolled over by a tractor. She could see that there was a small cargo elevator next to the more conventional spiral staircase for crew access to ground level. “There’s a crane headed over right now.”

“Good.” Bill strained his muscles as he lifted up the heavy space crab container. Valentina set it onto the crane before carrying over the rest of the luggage and engaging the lift. As the cargo descended, she could see happy kerbals swarming around the base of the rocket. She smiled as one of them loaded the bags onto an electric cart.

“That’s good enough for now,” Jeb said. “Let’s power down and leave.” Bill and Bob climbed up to the flight deck while Valentina stowed the now-unneeded pressure suits. Then they stood at the edge of the hatchway while Bill and Bob came down the ladder.

“I forgot how real oxygen smells,” Bob said. “We’ve been breathing the canned stuff this whole time.”

“I forgot what the wind feels like,” said Valentina. “The air conditioning circulation didn’t cut it.”

“I forgot what clouds look like,” said Jeb. “They disappeared behind the Mun so long ago.”

“I forgot what such strong gravity feels like,” said Bill. “It’s been so long.”

They walked down the stairs and stepped onto the landing pad. Jeb was reminded of a time when, as a child, he had flown to some remote island for vacation and, expecting to disembark the plane via jetway, was instead pleasantly surprised by the old staircase that had been rolled up to the door. Tractors and workers scurried everywhere, checking the landing gear integrity, safing the nuclear engines, or draining the fuel tanks.

“Good morning!” a voice called from near the door to the base. Jeb, Bill, Bob, and Val turned around. “I’m Lucy Kerman, head of the Pro-Divisional Union, Laythe Chapter. How was your trip?”

The Kraken’s Spit crew exchanged glances. “Uh…” said Jeb, “fast.”

Lucy nodded and smiled knowingly. “Good. Welcome to Eden Spaceport- but we call it End of the Line, for there are many travelers like you and I, but only a few go past here to the icy wastes beyond.”

“Have you?”

“I’ve been to Eeloo, but that was while it was traveling past its periapsis. There’s still no permanent settlement there. But come, let me show you around the End of the Line.”

The base was low-key and comfortable, unlike all of the other pressurized hulls and flying rust buckets that Jeb, Bill, Bob, and Val had lived in for so long. They passed a memorial to the First Expedition before visiting the control room, where a few kerbals sat around screens monitoring the Kraken’s Spit post-touchdown procedures. “It’s more useful as a command center and early-warning facility if the Interplanetary Authority attacks,” Lucy said. Then they passed the galley, with a “four-star chef who wanted to join the resistance” and took a look at the Swordfish fighters- a blessed sight after the old, beat-up Roadrunners back at Jackalope.

“This is the heart of the whole base,” Lucy said as they entered a multi-leveled, brightly lit room with one wall full of windows looking out on the beach. “The commons room is a workplace, recreational area, performance hall, and forum available to anyone who wants it.” They passed two kerbals in a heated debate over the merits of free trade versus a more regulated economy. “We estimate that everybody spends at least half of their time in here.”

Jeb nodded just as he was pulled aside by a messenger. “Sir, could you please tell us what size umbilical the N-12 propellant feedline on your spacecraft requires?” The rest of the group continued through the commons as Jeb answered. “Thanks,” the boy said, and ran off back toward the landing pad.

“And over here-” Lucy was interrupted by the sound of a guitar- and then someone began to sing.

Was quite a sound ‘round the station’s tug.

Ship came in to dock, crew was thinkin’ of

Rocking and a-rolling through the centrifuge wheel.

You know the band was jamming the real big deal!

Stardust rock!

Stardust rock.

Everybody that the ship’s band caught

Was a-jamming to the stardust rock!

Now the commander come down from the cupo-la.

He was wearing a frown, say “Ain’t anybody told ya,

You can’t rock and roll in the station,” he said.

The band went ‘round and the commander hid!

Stardust rock!

Stardust rock.

Everybody that the ship’s band caught

Was a-jamming to that stardust rock!

Now everybody that the ship’s band caught

Was a-jamming to the stardust rock.

Was a-jamming, jamming jamming!

Was a-

Jeb stopped singing as he noticed everybody else in the commmons noticing him. He grinned self-consciously and clutched the guitar like it might be taken away from him. “This is a nice guitar you’ve got here,” he said. “Best one I’ve seen in… well, it’s the only one I’ve seen since leaving Kerbin.”

“That’s some nice playing, son,” one of the kerbals in the crowd said. “Wish I could do something like that.”

Lucy nodded. “We’ve had it for years, but no one knew how to play.”

“Well,” Jeb replied, “there used to be one at Station One back during its glory days. They used to listen to us play-”

“Us?”

“Yep,” Bob said. “Jeb was on guitar and vocals, I was on saxophone, and Bill was on the drums and harmonica.”

Everyone looked at Valentina expectantly.

“I can play a keyboard,” she said. “I can also sing. I just thought I would never have the chance again.”

“Well,” Lucy replied, “you will. We’ve got a full collection of instruments- all of them made on Laythe for the thinner atmosphere. Would you like to do a concert sometime?”

Valentina considered it. “I think we’d be idiots to turn it down,” she said. “Jeb? How does that sound?”

Jeb wasn’t listening. He was playing the guitar.

Edited June 6, 2019 by Confused Scientist

[KSK]

Got a big grin going now - that was a great chapter! Got a real sense that the End of the Line was a much more professionally run place - nice job with the writing there.

Incidentally - you're not a Travelling Wilbury fan by any chance?

Don't have to be ashamed of the ship I fly (end of the line)
I'm just glad to be here, happy to be alive (end of the line)
It don't matter if you're by my side (end of the line)
I'm satisfied.

[KSK]

Well now I got that tune stuck in my head...

With apologies to Dylan, Harrison, Lynne, Orbison and Petty.

Spoiler

 

Well it's all right, riding around in the black
Well it's all right, cos my crew, they’ve a got my back
Well it's all right, doing the best you can
Well it's all right, as long as you lend a hand

 

You can sit around, wait for the Authority to win(end of the line)
Waiting for someone to tell you everything (end of the line)
Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring (end of the line)
Maybe nothing.

 

Well it's all right, even if they say you're wrong
Well it's all right, sometimes you gotta be strong
Well it's all right, as long as you got somewhere to stay
Well it's all right, everyday is judgment day

Maybe somewhere back on Kerbin aways (end of the line)
They’ll think of us, wonder where we are these days (end of the line)

Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays (end of the line)
Them Stardust days.

 

Well it's all right, even when push comes to shove
Well it's all right, if you got someone to love
Well it's all right, everything'll work out fine
Well it's all right, we're going to the End of the Line

 

Don't have to be ashamed of the ship we fly (end of the line)

We're just glad to be here, happy to be alive (end of the line)
Matters knowing you're all by my side (end of the line)
We're satisfied

 

Well it's all right, even if you're old and grey
Well it's all right, you still got something to say

Well it's all right, remember to live and let live
Well it's all right, the best you can do is forgive

Well it's all right, riding around in the black
Well it's all right, cos my crew, they’ve a got my back
Well it's all right, even if Kerbol don't shine
Well it's all right, we're here at the End of the Line.

 

 

[Confused Scientist]

On 11/24/2017 at 5:39 AM, KSK said:

Well now I got that tune stuck in my head...

With apologies to Dylan, Harrison, Lynne, Orbison and Petty.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Well it's all right, riding around in the black
Well it's all right, cos my crew, they’ve a got my back
Well it's all right, doing the best you can
Well it's all right, as long as you lend a hand

 

You can sit around, wait for the Authority to win(end of the line)
Waiting for someone to tell you everything (end of the line)
Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring (end of the line)
Maybe nothing.

 

Well it's all right, even if they say you're wrong
Well it's all right, sometimes you gotta be strong
Well it's all right, as long as you got somewhere to stay
Well it's all right, everyday is judgment day

Maybe somewhere back on Kerbin aways (end of the line)
They’ll think of us, wonder where we are these days (end of the line)

Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays (end of the line)
Them Stardust days.

 

Well it's all right, even when push comes to shove
Well it's all right, if you got someone to love
Well it's all right, everything'll work out fine
Well it's all right, we're going to the End of the Line

 

Don't have to be ashamed of the ship we fly (end of the line)

We're just glad to be here, happy to be alive (end of the line)
Matters knowing you're all by my side (end of the line)
We're satisfied

 

Well it's all right, even if you're old and grey
Well it's all right, you still got something to say

Well it's all right, remember to live and let live
Well it's all right, the best you can do is forgive

Well it's all right, riding around in the black
Well it's all right, cos my crew, they’ve a got my back
Well it's all right, even if Kerbol don't shine
Well it's all right, we're here at the End of the Line.

 

 

I have an appointment over at the "what song is stuck in your head" thread. Nice!

EDIT: Why didn't I put Bill on the saxophone? When you ask me to name a saxophone player, his first name is Bill.

Edited December 14, 2017 by Confused Scientist

[Freyja]

I'm loving this! The chapter headings are pretty sweet, too.

[KSK]

2 hours ago, Confused Scientist said:

I have an appointment over at the "what song is stuck in your head" thread. Nice!

And as a totally random and self-aggrandizing aside, your line-up fits pretty neatly with how 'my' Jeb, Bill and Bob would play! Can't see Jeb on anything else than vocals and lead guitar and Bill would be a born drummer.  I already have headcanon for Bob as a guitarist but he's a talented kerb - pretty sure he could turn in a decent sax solo if required.  

Edited November 24, 2017 by KSK

[Kernel Kraken]

On 11/22/2017 at 11:46 AM, Confused Scientist said:

End Of The Line

Im not sure but this may be a sneaky Tron reference