[Old] CONCORD: Beyond the Horizon

[HippieGold]

*This story is currently being rewritten*

*******

In the year 135, space faring corporations have colonized most of the solar system.

After being on the edge of bankruptcy for years, one of these corporations, Concord Research and Engineering, is offered funding by the ANK, Kerbin's most powerful nation, under the condition that they settle a colony on Duna in the next three years.

The company works hard to accomplish its goal, as shadowy forces attempt to sabotage their efforts.

At the forefront of the defense against this unknown enemy is the crew of the CSV Javelin, known as the Heroes of Poseidon after defeating a gang of terrorists at Minmus.

As the deadline and their enemies draw closer, it is up to Concord to persist despite adversity, and continue their quest to explore and colonize the cosmos.

To push forward, beyond the horizon.

*******

 

Contents:

Chapter One - It's Good To Be Back

Chapter Two - The CSV Hurricane

Chapter Three - Alert Level Red

Chapter Four - Big Brown Rock

 

*******

Map of Kerbin:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Edited May 14, 2019 by HippieGold

[HippieGold]

Chapter One - It's Good To Be Back

 

Spoiler

Nelvey Kerman

April 18^th, 137

When I was four, my dad gave me a book called, "The Wonders of the Kerbol System". In it, I discovered a whole new frontier that until then had been unknown to me; Moho, Eve, Duna, Jool, and of course Kerbin, my home, all in plain view to see. Even Eeloo had its own page (it was still considered a planet back then). There was a two page long cover, stretching from end to end, that was a map of the whole system. I loved it. I cut it out of the book, much to my dad's dismay, and hung it on my wall for quite some time. Some days I’d just lie in my bed and stare at it. Outside of my house, my city, my country, there was more, so much more than I could have ever imagined. Finding that out as a kid was a mystifying experience.  That was probably when I first became fascinated with space.

"I want to be an astronaut daddy!" I would say.

"Well if you eat your vegetables and do well in school, someday you could be." He'd respond with a smile.

A lie of course, but he didn't want to discourage a wide eyed child. Well, lie or not, I took his advice to heart. Although my vegetable eating skills were lacking, I did work my ass off, and got accepted to the most prestigious school in the country for orbital mechanics. Of course the degree only really netted me an absurdly expensive piece of paper, but the program gave me the opportunity to get my hands on some high tech simulations. Before long I was king of those sim, best in my class; once even landed on the Mün with one hand behind my back to show off. I suppose that was the real eye catcher in my resume to Concord, more so than the piece of paper. They were looking for kids like me, big idiots with hearts of gold ready to plunge head first into the unknown. I'd sent in applications with all the major companies, Titanium, Kerman Interplanetary, Munar industries, but Concord was the one that called me back. I suppose the rest is history now. I wonder sometimes what I'd tell my old self, that optimistic kid with that book, if I was given the chance. Probably something along the lines of: "space is no place for wide eyed children."

Though it's not as if he would have listened if I did.

 

 

I look out the window of the shuttle just to see the towering R&D building pass us by. This place always ends up being bigger than you remember. The shuttle pulls to a stop in front of the doors of a wide building.

"Astronaut Complex." the intercom barks.

I pick up my bag and step outside the doors, taking in a breath of the crisp ocean air.

It's good to be back.

"Hey, Mr. Nelvey!"

A man in a navy coloured suit waves me over to him.

"I'm guessing you're the one expecting me?"

He reaches out and shakes my hand.

"Daniel Kerman, it's an honour to finally meet you in person. I'm the staff manager here."

"Nice to meet you Daniel."

"Here, come on inside."

As I step through the doors into the complex's foyer, I'm greeted by a large banner hanging from a balcony with the Concord logo on it. The last time I was here it was packed to the gills with reporters.

"I watched the Minmus landing you know."

"You mean you watched the Minmus crashing." I reply, with a smirk.

"Eh....we'll, yes. Sorry."

"I'm just messing around don't worry about it."

"Still though, you survived out there, all by yourself, and for 3 whole days! I don't know anyone who could've endured that. Truth be told when Sean Kerman opened up that hatch we were half expecting to find a corpse."

I think back to that day in that capsule. Air running out, power dwindling, no guarantee anyone was coming for a rescue. I was terrified, but....

"You think that's bad? That's nothing compared to what I had to go through on the Duna mission."

"Right, that pirate attack you encountered must have been awful. I can't believe you were able to defeat such a large ship with your destroyer."

Huh? We didn't defeat that ship. I'm pretty sure that Kosmos ship swooped in and.....

That's right. That was the official story the company gave.

"We'll I am kind of a bad ass you know?"

That gets a chuckle out of him.

As we begin to walk up the stairs a thought crosses my mind.

"Are any of the others here?"

"Others?"

"The crew? Of the Javelin?"

"Oh, yes! Nedtrey is in the lounge, Wendy is around here somewhere, and I believe Lando is still on his way. Aren't you keeping in contact with them?"

"Uh, not really."

I haven't spoken to them since we went our separate ways.

"Oh, I see. Things are cold between you guys?"

"No, I wouldn't say that. It's just that, we spent plenty of time together already you know? Felt good to get some space. Er, no pun intended."

Daniel breathes a sigh of relief.

"Good, wouldn't want this reunion to be awkward."

As we continue down the hallway we walk past a mural with a funny looking ship on it. Or is it a space station?

"What's this here?"

"Oh, that's Olympia, our first orbital shipyard."

"Orbital ship yard? First orbital shipyard? Does that mean we have more?"

"Only two so far, but a third one is in the works. Concord's been pretty busy since you were gone."

I had no idea they were up to this.

"Come, the lounge is over here."

As we walk I begin to wonder just what the company has been up to in the last year.

"So, we have shipyards now. What else is new?"

Daniel's face brightens up, like a kid asked to show a parent his toy collection.

"It's quite remarkable actually. We've finally moved on to near self-sufficiency. Materials are being mined and processed on Minmus, 3D printers turn the materials into more complex parts, and then the parts are sent into orbit where our engineers assemble them into ships. You have no idea just how dramatically we've reduced costs around here. No longer are we restricted by the tyranny of the rocket!"

"But most space faring corporations do that already right? Or at least the independent ones?"

"Exactly, which means we can finally compete on the world stage with the best of them. Er, the interplanetary stage? Whichever stage."

He leads me through an archway into a large open room. There are glass tables accompanied with leather chairs all around. At one of them, sits an old friend.

"Well, if it isn't Nelvey Kerman, in the flesh."

He comes over to greet me and shakes my hand.

"Good to see you again, Commander."

"How many times have I told you to just call me Ned?" Nedtrey replies with a cocked eyebrow.

"Just giving you a hard time." I say with a smirk.

"By the way, that's Captain Nedtrey to you now."

"You got promoted?"

"Yeah, a week or so after we got back they told me they were moving me up in pay grade."

"There wasn't any ceremony?"

"The company's been keeping its head down since we got back. Guess they didn't want to make a fuss about it."

Ever since the attack at Duna, it felt as though the company had shifted its tone. I suppose a near death experience like that would shake anyone up (myself included), but all of this secrecy? Duna is a dangerous place; I'd figured they would have expected something like that.

Daniel makes a motion toward us; clearly he was patiently waiting to butt in.

"I'm just going to leave you two to it. The briefing should be underway in ninety minutes; I'll come get you when we're ready."

As Daniel leaves the room Nedtrey waves me over to him.

"Come check this out."

He brings me to a corner of the lounge with a pool table. On it, instead of the usual numbered balls, the balls are the various celestial bodies of the solar system.

"Pretty cool huh?" Nedtrey says as he picks up a cue.

"But, how are we supposed to play?" I ask.

"I think it might just be for novelty purposes."

He uses the cue ball (the Mün) to sink Eve into the corner right pocket.

"So Nel, how’ve you been? Did you enjoy your vacation?"

"Sure did. Family and I went to Azentine for a few months. The beaches of that place are beautiful."

"Yeah I've heard."

Nedtrey nearly sinks Duna into the side left pocket, but misses.

"Shoot."

"What about you Ned?"

"Not much really. Visited my mother, she's still doing alright. She hates the home though."

"And your Dad?"

Nedtrey lines up another shot, this time aiming for Dres.

"He passed away some time ago. I left some cigarettes on his grave but that was it."

"Cigarettes?"

"His favourite brand."

Suddenly, a voice comes from behind the two of us.

"Well looky here!"

I turn around to see one Lando Kerman, decked out in a bomber jacket and aviators.

"Lando!"

He jogs over to the pool table and bear hugs me off the ground.

"Good to see ya again little buddy!" he says as he squeezes the air out of me.

When he lets go I drop to the ground and gasp for a breath.

"I see you’ve still got that energy of yours." says Nedtrey.

"Well I'll be, that is one helluva pool table. Which are stripes or solids?"

"I'm pretty sure it's just a novelty." I choke out as I clutch my ribs. I hope he didn’t break any.

"Hey what's this here?"

Lando points toward a wall full of portraits several paces from the table.

"Why ain't our pictures up there? Ain't we heroes or something? That's oughta count for employee of the month yeah?"

"That's the wall of heroes." Nedtrey says as he reaches for a flask in his coat pocket.

"Yeah didn't I see we was heroes?"

"Fallen heroes, Lando."

"Oh." says Lando, who pauses for a moment.

"Well then, guess its a good thing we ain't up there huh?"

After wiping away the booze from his mouth, Nedtrey puts his arm around me and grabs my shoulder.

"Well we would be if weren't for this kid. You saved our asses Nel."

"I mean, it was your plan, I was just following orders."

"And sometimes that's good enough. Here's to you pal." he says before taking another swig.

As we turn away from the wall, I catch a glimpse of a few familiar faces.

We spent some time there catching up on where we'd been. Lando had gone back to see his parents in Hoverca, where his father congratulated him on a job well done. Coming from a military family, Lando's folks praised him for "taking out the pirates" at Duna, unlike my parents, who nearly tore me a new one for almost getting myself killed. Lando told us that he left the air force there to become a space fighter pilot, but that he was rejected for his lack of space flight experience, disappointing his father. So when his dad had heard of his deeds, not just at Duna but during the terrorist attack on Minmus as well, he couldn’t have been more proud.

After some time, Daniel came back to the lounge to lead us to the briefing room.

The room has the lights off, and there is a projector pointed at a screen. In front of it are dozens of fold-able chairs. It's hard to tell who's here in the dark but I think I spot a familiar face: Wendy Kerman.

"Nice of you to join us gentlemen." says a voice coming from the front of the room.

I squint to see if I recognize the man, and I do.

It's Richard Kerman, the CEO of the company.

"Take a seat over there." He motions to some empty chairs on the right hand side.

After I sit, I take a look at the screen.

 

 

 

 

"We're going to be discussing the parameters of Operation Violet Sky, our manned mission to the Eve system, along with the roles each of you will be playing on your ships."

The CEO begins to rattle on about things I already know for the most part.

There will be two ships involved in this mission, a large exploration vessel called the CSV Hurricane, and a light cruiser escort, the CSV Chariot, the ship that I’ll be aboard. The first part of the mission involves sending two probes down through Eve's atmosphere to collect data from the surface. Next we’ll go to Gilly and send a lander down to the surface to collect more data and some samples, the standard sort of stuff. The only thing about the mission plan that was kind of vague was a rendezvous with a Kosmos Industries ship called the Zvezda. It will probably be some kind of pseudo-shakedown but if so I’m not sure why it had its own place on the itinerary.

Richard begins to list our various roles. Mine was decided to be helmsman of the Chariot instead of XO like I was last time on the Javelin, though I’m still unsure as to why, given my poor track record when it comes to piloting.  Nedtrey is our captain (obviously) and other than that I don’t recognize anyone else a part of our crew, save for some names I’ve heard in passing before. As for the Hurricane, I’m surprised to hear that much of the same crew of the Tempest, the research vessel we accompanied to Duna, will be on the Hurricane as well, including their old captain Corcott Kerman. Wendy is given the role of chief engineer on this ship (another obvious choice) and Lando the role of pilot, specifically for both the Raindrop II lander and the short range shuttle, should we ever use it. Other than that, most of the other names, with exception to the few I got to know on the Tempest, are unknown to me.

“So, are we clear?” says Richard as I tune back in.

The room gives a resounding ‘yes sir’, and the briefing concludes.

“All crew of the Chariot come with me and we’ll get you prepped for launch.” Daniel calls out to the crowd.

What? We didn’t even get a chance to say hi to Wendy.

I wave to her to get her attention.

“We’re leaving!” I call out to her.

“I’ll see you on the ship!” she responds.

On the ship? But that’s more than a week from now…

I don't have much time to think about it as Ned and I are hurried through the door.

“Hey we’ll get to see them kid, don’t worry about it.” says Nedtrey, as we continue down the hall.

 

 

 

“So Nedtrey, this was why they made you stay?”

“Yup. Seems like there’s always a ship that needs commanding, and I have the best track record. I would have told you but, you know, it was a secret.”

“What about the others?”

“I think Wendy might know more about that, I haven’t heard from them since.”

A young man walks up next to us and makes pace.

“Um, excuse me, are you THE Nelvey Kerman?”

“Uh, yeah, you’re a member of the crew?”

“Yeah I’m Lenbus, I was the helmsman for the CSV Sirius a while back, but I’m serving as a mechanic aboard the Chariot.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you.”

“I just wanted to let you know, you’re the reason I became an astronaut. After the Minmus landing, how brave you were, you really inspired me.”

“Uh, thanks kid. Hey could we talk more about this on the ship?”

“Uh, oh, yeah sure.”

Lenbus slows pace and falls behind us.

It feels so weird to be popular. Even back home during my vacation I'd have random strangers come up to me and ask for a picture, although they were only ever big space nerds. The attention feels, uncomfortable. All I did was my job, it's not like the local WcDonalds guy has people asking for his autograph just for flipping burgers, so why me? "Hero" is the last word I'd use to describe myself.

“Why don’t I get any fans?” bemoans Nedtrey, although I assume he's being facetious.

“Because you’re not as handsome, obviously.” I shoot back at him.

 

 

 

Eight years.

That’s how long it’s been since I’ve gone into orbit on a launch vehicle. I’m not excited for what comes next.

“It won’t be that bad.” says Nedtrey, who has clearly spotted the worry on my face.

“I know exactly how bad it'll be Ned, you can’t lie to me.”

“T-minus ninety seconds.” chimes the loud speaker.

“It’s just like a roller coaster, it’ll be over before you know it.”

“This your first time?” calls a man on the seat across from us.

“No but it’s been a while.”

The woman next to him nudges him.

“That’s Nelvey Kerman you idiot.”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t recognize you. Must be the haircut.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” I reply with a smile.

Finally, someone who doesn’t recognize me. They’re not a part of the crew, must be replacements for the astronauts at Minmus.

 

 

“See Nelvey, these guys aren’t worried. Why should you, the great hero be?”

“T-minus sixty seconds.”

“Oh boy.”

Nedtrey gives me a patronizing look.

“What, do you want me to hold your hand?” he says mockingly.

“Whatever, let’s just get this over with.”

“Archangel is now switching to internal power.”

I try to push everything from my mind. Rockets are safe, safer than airplanes. Big safe metal cylinders filled with explosive material.

Oh god.

“T-minus ten, nine, eight,”

“Here we goooooooooooooo” Nedtrey is cut off by the vibrations caused by the engines' ignition.

“Five, four, three, two, one.”

 

 

I don’t even hear the word ‘liftoff’ before my head is bombarded by the deafening roar from the gargantuan thrusters.

I want to scream but try as I might I just can’t. Whether that is due to the paralyzing fear or the crushing g-force, I simply don’t know.

 

 

Dear god it is so goddamn loud I can barely hear myself think.

The next five minutes feel like an eternity. I’m fighting for every breath, my body is in agony. This hell of pain and noise goes on and on and on for what seems like an eternity, and I feel as though I'm going to pass out.

Then, suddenly, the pain stops, and I drift up in my seat.

 

 

Nedtrey turns to me, a visible look of pain on his face.

“See…that wasn’t…so bad.” says Nedtrey in between breaths.

I have no strength to answer him.

That was awful.

 

 

Even as awful as it was, I can’t help but be swept away by Kerbin’s beauty. It’s been so long since I gazed upon the clouds from above. It’s a wonderful reminder.

I did it, I’m back.

 

 

Over the next two days, I had mostly passed the time watching movies on my phone. I’d learned my lesson the first time: space can be ferociously boring, or at least when it isn’t trying to kill you.

 

 

The thrust from the engines pins me to the back of my seat. It isn’t nearly as bad as during ascent, only about 0.3G, but after two days in weightlessness it feels like a hammer.

When the burn stops Nedtrey grabs my shoulder and with it my attention.

 

 

“Do you see it Nel?! There she is! She’s beautiful!”

I take a look out the window to see for myself, and sure enough there it is.

 

 

The Renegade Class Light Cruiser, CSV Chariot: twenty meters long, three and a half meters across, and weighing in at eighty-seven and a half tons. Armed with eight fifty-caliber automatic turrets with storage for twelve-thousand rounds of ammunition, six Jackdaw torpedoes, active radar, and a molten salt reactor, all pushed with four CCGC-7.2 atomic engines giving it a total of six-thousand meters per second of deltaV. A nimble beast built for large escort and front line battle.

And I’m its helmsman.

 

 

I’d seen the schematics for it but being up close is something else entirely. It’s in a completely different league from the Javelin; a real work of art. So much so it’s hard for me to believe our company built it. But here it is, after all these years, a reliable and effective warship, capable of interplanetary flight, close quarters and long range combat; a true marvel of modern science and engineering.

And I am its goddamn helmsman.

Damn it, why me?

I promised myself I’d never fly again, but when the boss told me I'd be the helmsman of a cruiser, well I didn’t really have a choice. It was either that or quit my job and lord knows that’s not happening. I mean, after crashing the lander on Minmus all those years ago, and then crashing a shuttle on Minmus again, I figured me piloting a ship of any kind was off the table. Even if it isn't, I simply can't trust myself at the wheel.

 

 

I suppose there’s a chance that my propensity for crashing may just have to do with landing on Minmus specifically, but still, if I can’t do that what can I do? Of course, the silver lining to this is that most of my job involves plotting courses and running the auto-pilot, which means I don’t have many chances to screw up, but if we're put in a combat situation then I have to take manual control.

I have trained for this, but I just don’t know. When push comes to shove, will I be able to do it?

 

 

Frankly, I’m probably worried about nothing. Violet Sky is nothing but a simple drop off mission. Just, push these stupid thoughts from your head, and you’ll be fine.

“We have docked. All crew for the CSV Chariot proceed to the airlock for boarding.”

“That’s us.” says Nedtrey. “Let’s go check this bad boy out!”

 

 

 

“Oh wow, can you believe this Nel?”

I can’t believe it at all. Living aboard the Javelin was like living in a packed sardine can. Now here we were, in a room big enough for someone to live in, and it’s only the cargo deck of the ship. Spacious doesn’t even begin to describe it.

“Now this, I could get used to.” I tell Nedtrey.

“They even have our ship patch painted on the floor! Now that is cool.”

“Didn’t you serve on a battleship Ned? Surely this can’t be big by your standards.”

“Well my standards shifted after spending a year on the Javelin.”

“Point taken.”

Nedtrey looks at me with a spark in his eye.

“Alright then, it’s time to go address the crew. Let’s go.”

 

 

 

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m Captain Nedtrey Kerman, the commanding officer of the CSV Chariot. To my left is your executive officer, Ensign Adam Kerman, the star pupil of the Spacecraft Division, and to my right, our helmsman Lieutenant Nelvey Kerman, a man I’ve served with in the past, and a good friend of mine. For those of you who may not know, Nelvey and I were a part of the CSV Javelin’s crew, a ship that was responsible for saving the old Capricorn station from terrorists, and the exploration vessel CSV Tempest from pirates in the Duna system. As you can see, we tend to get into trouble.”

The crew chuckles at the captains remark.

 

 

“But that’s why you’re here isn’t it? Every sensible person you know probably told you that this job was a bad idea, and that you wouldn’t have to worry about depressurization working at a job behind a desk. Yet here you are, on the edge of the frontier with smiles on your faces. Those are the kinds of people I love to work with: people with the courage to face danger smiling. You see, aboard this ship, three words hold more value than any others:  Defy the Odds. No matter what the risk may be, and just how dangerous things may get, we will overcome anything the universe throws at us, no matter what. Can I get a hooah?”

The crew salutes, and echoes Nedtrey’s “hooah” before putting their arms back by their sides.

 

 

“Our mission is clear. Operation Violet Sky involves us escorting the CSV Hurricane to the Eve system as it performs its research objectives. We’ll be in the heart of Kosmos Industries’ territory, a corporation I’ve worked with in the past. They're well trained, and good at their jobs, and lucky for us it doesn’t look like they want to kill us. However, these days you can never be sure who the enemy may be. We have to stay sharp, we have to be prepared for anything, even an attack from Kosmos. But whether or not we come across a fight, I know you guys will carry us through the day, because here on the CSV Chariot, we defy the odds, no matter how fearsome they may be. Now, are you ready to go kick some ass?”

“SIR YES SIR!” the crowd responds after giving a salute.

“Then let’s get this show on the road!”

Nedtrey turns to me.

“You’re up buddy. Plot a course for Capricorn station, we need to make a quick stop there then we’ll be on our way to LKO.”

“Aye aye Captain.” I reply before giving a salute.

Nedtrey’s face brightens up as he grins ear to ear.

“I just love the way that sounds.”

 

 

I plan the next maneuver. Align inclination at ascending node. Execute.

“It’s a pleasure to fly with you Lieutenant Nelvey.” says Adam.

Guess he’s up here with me for burns.

"Pleasures all mine Ensign, I look forward to working together with you."

"Likewise."

I reach for the intercom.

“Strap in everyone, we’re getting ready to make our next burn. Next stop, Capricorn station.”

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 9, 2019 by HippieGold

[RocketMan-Explorer]

5 hours ago, HippieGold said:

Lando the role of pilot,

Was this a Star Wars reference?

[HippieGold]

51 minutes ago, RocketMan-Explorer said:

Was this a Star Wars reference?

Funnily enough, Lando is one of KSP’s randomly generated names (whish probably is a star wars reference). He became part of my roster a long time ago, and ended becoming a more permanent character in the story afterward.

[RocketMan-Explorer]

I once had a Rey Kerman. The look on my face as I brought up the Astronaut Complex roster was priceless...

[HippieGold]

Edited April 24, 2018 by HippieGold

[The Error]

What's this? Another Concord story? Count me interested!

[HippieGold]

Chapter Two - The CSV Hurricane

Spoiler

Richard

April 10^th, 137

 

Beyond the horizon.

Here at Concord Research and Engineering, that is our motto; to go beyond the boundary of what is thought possible.

Although kerbal kind has spent decades now colonizing the Kerbol system, I've always felt that the space faring corporations have lacked vision. If it weren't for kethane, karbonite, and the other riches that this system had to offer, their feet would remain firmly on the ground from which they came. Ever since the ten day war, since the space faring corporations banished Kerbin's nations to below keosynchronus orbit, colonization has only been about one thing: money. It is for this reason that there are no true cities on other worlds, no true self sufficiency. The entire structure of colonization is an industry top to bottom, one that exists to extract resources for profit and little else. Space is just a place where poor unfortunate souls can make a living in a dangerous environment, like the coal miners of old. But it can be so much more than that. It has to be, if we are to survive as a species. 

Years ago now, I gave a speech, one where I claimed that Concord would colonize every celestial body in the solar system. The most polite word people used to describe that speech was "delusional". 

Wildly ambitious? Yes. But delusional? I have to disagree.

People like to pretend like that speech was made in ignorance.

"What makes you think those corporations will let you settle their worlds?"

But I knew, I knew what accomplishing such a goal would take, what the implications would be.

Back then, I'll admit it was little more than a dream. But today? As our ships become bigger and more advanced, as our shipyards churn out more and more vessels, as the number of resources we extract increase more and more, the possibility of realizing that dream draws closer.

Closer, just beyond the horizon.

Just like the first brave explorers who leapt past that horizon, despite the odds that faced them, I too believe that even we can accomplish the impossible.

I believe that everything I do pushes me closer to that world, a world where children can frolic on the beaches of Laythe, where a family can call a place like Duna home, and where kerbals can see a future for themselves in the stars.

A future for all of kerbal kind.

For now, my work continues.

 

 

"How long has it been Harold?" I ask with a warm smile.

This isn't good. If he's here than that can only mean bad news.

"Almost two years I think. How have things been?"

"Wonderful, the support of the ANK has been an amazing help to us. Once again, thank you so much for your patronage."

I can only hope he isn't seeing through my suck up routine. I doubt it though, after all I already know why he's here.

"Can I get you something? Perhaps some whiskey?"

"At this hour?" he asks puzzled.

I head over to my cabinet and pull out a bottle I'd been saving just for this occasion.

"Sixty year old Arcadia's Finest." I display the bottle to him.

"Well then, how could I say no?"

I pour Harold a drink and place it in front of him.

"None for you?" he asks.

"I'm afraid not, I don't drink."

"You have a liquor cabinet in your office, and you don't drink?"

"I...quit very recently." A lie. I keep it stocked for guests.

"I see."

He takes a sip, lets it sit for a bit, and then locks eyes with me.

"So how's Red Dawn coming along?"

"The Duna colony? The SCD is already finalizing the schematics for the transfer vehicles."

"Schematics?"

S**t.

"Well-"

"So nothing's been built yet?"

 Come on Richard, you've got this.

"Umbra Space Industries’ new line of Tundra colonization modules has meant we’ve had to redesign our plans for the fleet. We were ready to ship out the old Duna modules, but you said that you wanted something state of the art, and so far, no one is using them outside of the Mün."

"That is true."

He swishes around the liquor in his cup before taking another swig.

Safe.

"Though I hope you can understand the fact that I have concerns, since over the last two years, you've decommissioned a number of outposts, ships, two space stations, and not to mention the one that blew up. Capricorn station right?"

I nod in response.

"Terribly sorry about that by the way, a real tragedy. But do you see where I'm coming from? It sounds to me like even with all the money we've been giving you, you're having to cannibalize your own assets just to remain afloat."

Goddamn it.

"The decommissions have been mostly just…spring cleaning. We've been getting rid of non-essential assets in order to focus more on the task at hand, the colony."

"I sure hope so."

Harold finishes his drink in one last gulp before placing the glass on the table.

"I know we're asking a lot of you, but the deadline is coming soon, and I just need to know if you'll need an extension."

"Not necessary. You said by 138. By the fourth quarter of that year, our fleet will be on its way. It would be sooner but, we'll need one last mission out there to scout out the colony grounds, as well as establishing a satellite relay."

"Well then, whatever you say. Just try not to get shot out there again alright?"

"Will do."

Harold gets up and makes his way to the door.

"Take care Richard. If you need anything, just give me a call."

"No problem." I reply, as he shuts the door behind him.

What a nightmare.

 

 

I crash through the doors of the board room, coffee in hand and talking points memorized.

"Roll call."

"Spacecraft division director Brimley, present."

"Colonial division director Kyle, present.

"Exploration division director Reaves, present."

"Station division director Selfel, present."

"And the director of the aeronautics division?" I ask.

"Fired." says Brimley.

"Again?"

"By you." Reaves remarks.

"Right."

I take a sip of my coffee.

Only four sugars, I'll have to have a word with Brenda about this.

"Okay I'm not going to sugar coat this, but the clock's ticking and if we don't come up with a solid action plan our ass is grass."

"Sir, we've been forced to completely scrap and redesign our plans several times now! How are we supposed to have a fleet ready if our payload is constantly changing?"

The colonization division's been hit the worst when it comes to redesigns. Every time they put together a working model Umbra Space Industries changes the game with completely new tech. I can only imagine the stress they've gone through.

"Don't you worry Kyle. No more redesigns, no more delays. We're putting this to the test now."

I pop open my laptop and connect it to the projector.

"Today we're going to outline our definitive schedule plan. Everything from today until the launch of the colonial fleet."

"First things first: we'll be sending the CSV Chariot and the CSV Hurricane on their way to the Eve system, where they will proceed with operation violet sky. While they're away, we will be proceeding with the next projects in the following order. Number one: we're building a karbonite mining outpost on Minmus. Since the kethane outpost shut down and the fuel refinery fell into disrepair, the fuel shortage has been smothering us."

"What about kethane, are we ditching those operations?" asks Kyle.

"For now we'll be putting kethane on the back burner, but we'll be coming back to it soon."

A solemn look appears on Kyle's face. After all, he'd put so much work into the kethane operations on Minmus.

"Next, we'll be expanding Poseidon."

Kyle immediately brightens up.

"After all this time?" he asks.

"Yup, and I want it to be capable of holding no less than two hundred people."

I'm shot with looks of disbelief from the other directors.

"Two hundred?" Brimley asks, baffled.

"We can do it in little under ten landing, with everything being built at the Dragon's nest shipyard. Speaking of landing, Brimley, please tell me the new MuMech autopilot fixed that bug with the landing guidance."

"I mean it's a little jittery, but it does wo-"

"Good enough. After that, we'll be building another manufactory, since we're going to need more parts being built if we're going to construct the fleet in time."

"Sounds good." says Reaves.

"The last ground based project will be a star farm. We want to limit the amount of food we'll have to export to Duna, so learning how to produce our own food will be for the best."

"So, what happens when we finish our planet side projects?" asks Brimley.

"From there on out, we alternate between building warships and building colony ships, until finally we complete the first colonial fleet. Our scope is to have a hundred people on Duna by the end of 138."

"A hundred?!" The directors cry out in unison.

"It won't be that difficult I assure you. I have faith you can all get it done."

"Well as long as you have faith." Brimley says facetiously.

"Well then, let’s dig into the details shall we?"

 

 

Nelvey

April 30^th, 137

 

It's been more than a week now. Ten days I think? Hard to keep track in space. After spending so much time on Kerbin it's been difficult acclimating to a sealed environment, as well as zero g. I'm still getting used to walking with magboots. However, today I get a bit of a respite. Now that we're finally rendezvousing with the Hurricane, a ship with centrifuges, I'll get to spend some much needed time in one g.

"We just got a hail from the Hurricane. They're parked in a stable orbit and are requesting rendezvous. Bring us in for a hohmman intercept Nel." Nedtrey's voice speaks to me through my headset.

"Aye aye captain." I respond.

 

 

 

“Strap in everyone, we’re commencing our breaking maneuver.”

 

 

I select the view finder on my monitor and take a peek through the rear facing hull camera. In the distance I can just make out the shape of the Hurricane.

 

 

As our velocity finally slows to match that of the other ship, I'm able to get a better look through a different camera.

 

 

"It's massive!" I tell Adam.

"Yup, at 66 meters long, it's the largest ship we've ever built."

"How long did it take to build?"

"When factoring in resource harvesting, processing, and manufacturing, about three months. But this thing has been in the conceptual stages since a year ago now. I even helped design the main hull section."

"Wow."

I remember when the Tempest was the largest ship our company had built. This dwarfs it by comparison.

"You gonna call us in?" asks Adam.

“Oh, right. Ahem, come in Hurricane, this is Chariot. Requesting docking permission.”

A voice chimes back at me from my headset.

“Copy that Chariot. Permission granted, you may proceed.”

 

 

 

"You guys ready?" says Nedtrey.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I reply.

"Same here." says Adam.

"Alright, let's go."

One by one we enter through the airlock into the ship. Each of us kick our heels together, turning off our mag boots and causing us to drift slowly upward. I grab onto the frame of the air lock door and pull myself through. Floating effortlessly through the center of one of the ship's centrifuges, we make our way through another hatch, this time into a small hub with hatches on every "wall" (six in total). Nedtrey leads us through the one on our right. On the other side Commodore Corcott is waiting for us, with another man at his side. We click our magboots back on and plant our feet on the deck.

 

 

“Captain Nedtrey, Lietenant Nelvey, it’s good to see you again.” greets Corcott.

He shakes each of our hands.

“Long time no see Commodore.” says Nedtrey. “Hell of an upgrade you got huh?”

Corcott smiles. “She puts the Tempest to shame quite frankly. Quite the fitting name considering.”

Corcott eyes up Adam, realizing he’d yet to introduce himself.

“My apologies son, where are my manners?” He reaches out to shake Adam’s hand. “You must be the XO, Adam. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise sir.” Adam responds.

“Oh, of course. Gentlemen, this is the Hurricane’s XO, Ensign Camley.”

Camley wears a serious face and a furrowed brow. He stiffens himself and gives a salute.

“Sir. It’s an honour to have you aboard our ship.” he says.

“The honour is all ours.” Nedtrey replies.

Corcott suddenly replaces his friendly and welcoming demeanor with a more serious one, as if to imitate his XO.

“Before we continue, let’s get something straight. Command is giving you executive authority when it comes to mission security, but ultimate mission authority still lies with me. That means any change to the mission plan relies on my okay, are we clear?”

“Clear.” Nedtrey responds in a stern manner.

“I want this to go as smooth as possible, and that only happens if were on the same page understand?”

“Understood.” Nedtrey replies.

Corcott is really asserting his dominance here. Nedtrey may have been lauded as a hero on his return by most, but command really chewed him out for the disputes he got into with Corcott. The Commodore was probably told to keep Ned in line no matter what; I guess this is his method. Being the highest ranked serviceman in the company probably doesn’t hurt either.

“Keep in mind that we’re cutting it close here. We’re only ten days out from our interplanetary burn and we still need to refuel before departure. I need your crew ready and able when burn time comes; we can’t afford any setbacks.”

“My crew will be ready when the time comes, I guarantee it.” says Nedtrey.

Corcott’s serious face loosens up again, back to the friendly smile he was wearing earlier.

“Well then, now that that’s out of the way, how about you three introduce yourselves to the crew?” says Corcott.

“Sure thing.” says Nedtrey. “Come on guys lets go.”

Nedtrey leads us through the hatch to the other side.

 

 

We make our way past two different science labs, greeting the scientists along the way, before arriving at the hatch to the next deck. Through it, we see two familiar faces waiting for us: Wendy and Lando.

 

 

“Took your sweet time getting here huh?”

Wendy reaches out and hugs me.

“Good to see you again buddy.”

“Same here.”

Wendy turns toward Adam.

“So, how’s space been treating you?” she asks.

“It’s a bit…disorienting, at least at first. I think I’m starting to get used to it.” he replies.

“Sure beats hanging around computers and blueprints all day huh?” she asks with a smile.

“Uh, yeah for sure.”

“Ned, I heard you got promoted!”

Wendy walks up to Nedtrey and gives him a hug.

“You’re not gonna insist we start calling you ‘Captain’ now are you?”

“Well now that you mention it…” Nedtrey says grinning.

Wendy laughs and pats him on the back.

“It’s good to see you again sir.” she says.

I don’t think I remember seeing Wendy this happy before. On board the Javelin she was so mopey, always complaining about being homesick and about how the ship was so cramped. Now she’s all bubbly and optimistic. I guess the bigger ship really makes a difference.

“Hey, if ya'll are done with the reunion, how about we show ya around?” says Lando.

"Right! Come on guys, I'll give you the full tour." says Wendy, as she leads us through the hatch to the next deck.

 

 

 

After around thirty minutes or so, Wendy had shown us the various decks of the ship. The layout is as follows: in the front of the ship is the cupola where the helmsman’s seat is. Behind that is the airlock to open space (where we met Corcott and Camley). After that comes the hub. There you can access the two hab-rings (which also lead to the ships docking ports), as well as the ships inventory storage. Beyond that are the science labs, then the situation room/medbay, the observation deck, the bridge, the living quarters, the lounge, and then finally the engine room, Wendy’s domain.

The ship is technically massive, and yet it still somehow feels cramped, at least to me. It’s probably because the Chariot’s decks are wider, even though its ceiling is closer to your head.

 

 

“Well that’s about it. The only thing you haven’t seen yet are the habitation rings but, they really aren’t any different from the ones on Capricorn station so, you’re not missing much.”

“So, do you like it here?” I ask.

“Don’t know where else I’d rather be.” she replies.

“Well we’ll have to take you aboard the Chariot sometime, see if she’s up to your standards.” says Nedtrey.

Wendy chuckles. “Maybe later, I still have some tests I have to run on the engines. The CO wouldn't even let me show you around if I didn't get his permission.”

"Harsh." says Adam.

I hear the hatch behind me open up.

 

 

“Hey Wendy,” a voice calls. “Wilcott says he can’t find that thing you’re looking- oh s**t, it’s you guys!”

I recognize the voice. It’s one I haven’t heard in a long time. I turn around and come face to face with the man.

“Luke?”

“Nelvey! Holy s**t you’re here!” Luke waddles over and gives me a hug.

“Luke…it feels like it’s been years.”

Lando walks over to give Luke a firm handshake.

“Been too long friend.” says Lando.

“You three know each other?” asks Nedtrey.

“Luke’s a friend; we all lived on Poseidon together. Feels like another life ago…” I reply.

I guess I must’ve skipped over his name on the roster, or maybe he was a late addition?

“Man, you have no idea how proud I was of you guys when I heard about all the trouble you got into. Terrorists? Pirates? Sure beats digging out ice rocks on Minmus huh?”

“Yeah speaking of, how’d ya get yourself on this here ship anyhow?” asks Lando.

“I mean I am a geologist you know? All of that experience I got on Minmus probably helped too when they decided to select me.”

“Well, it’s good to see more friendly faces around here. We’ll have to catch up sometime.” I tell him.

“Yeah I think we’ll have plenty of time for that. Crazy this place huh? It’s bigger then Poseidon was back then.”

“Poseidon was just couple of old rusty shacks back then, kind of an unfair comparison.” I remark.

“Hey, state of the art rusty shacks! Or at least they were at some point.” he responds.

We both share a laugh. It really warms my heart to see someone else from back then.

“Hey Nelvey, is it true you’re helming the ship?” Luke asks me.

I’m caught off guard by the question; the last time I saw Luke I told him I’d never pilot again, and now here I was at the wheel of a light cruiser.

“Well most of it is just managing the autopilot anyway.”

“Except for that docking maneuver you pulled off earlier. Mighty impressive I must say.” says Luke.

“Haha, well you know, I wouldn't have had to do it if the auto-docking program wasn't acting up.” I reply.

Adam shoots a dirty look at me. "I already told you the renegade wasn't build to use auto-docking. There's nothing wrong with the program its just that the center of mass isn't properly aligned."

"Yeah yeah whatever." I reply.

Truth be told I’m still incredibly uncomfortable with my piloting skills, but I’ve been trying not to think about it so as not to psyche myself out. Fake it ‘til you make it as they say.

“We’ll I’m proud of you man, keep up the good work.”

“Uh, Luke?” Wendy interjects. “If Wilcott can’t find the multi-tool just tell him to bring me a torch and some pliers.”

“Huh? Oh, s**t, right! Yeah I’ll get right on that.” Luke turns to exit through the hatch. “Good seeing you guys!”

We wave him goodbye before he leaves.

 

 

Nedtrey

May 10^th, 137

“Don’t let anyone stop you from following your dreams. Especially not yourself.”

“You have responsibilities here! You can’t just leave!”

“Ty lyubish’ menya?”

“Da.”

 

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP.

 

I reach over to my tablet to turn off the alarm; another s***ty night’s sleep. I press a button to my side and the entrance to my coffin opens up (at least it feels like a coffin). Today is the day. I stretch my arms out above me and let out a loud yawn. I can only imagine what kind of nightmare these ‘beds’ would be to anyone with claustrophobia. Glad I won the genetic lottery on that one.

“Requesting Captain to the bridge.” barks the intercom. It’s Adam’s voice.

The guy can’t cut me a second of rest huh?

I reach for my tablet and send him a message.

 

JUST WOKE UP, GIVE ME FIVE MINUTES.

 

I grab my toothbrush and toothpaste and head for the lavatory.

 

 

 

“Alright Ensign, give me a sitrep.” I say to Adam.

“We just undocked from the Hurricane. Our delta-v is currently sitting at 4,989 meters per second. Our trans-planetary injection burn will cost us 943 meters per second, which will leave us with 4,046 meters per second after burn. Then we’ll be re-docking with the Hurricane until our arrival in the Eve system.” he responds.

“Sounds good.” I reply.

I press a button on my screen, paging Nelvey upstairs.

“Nel, do you have our engines’ thrust synced with the Hurricane’s?”

“We’re unable to do a proper test fire without messing up our trajectory, but we should have matching acceleration when it comes time for the burn.” Nelvey replies.

“And how long ‘til that again?” I ask.

“Five minutes.”

“Okay good.”

I select another option on my monitor, this one patching my voice directly to the ships intercom.

“Attention crew. We are five minutes away from trans-injection burn. Get to your seats and fasten yourselves in until after the burn is complete.” I turn to Adam. “That means you too Ensign.”

“Right away.” he says, before heading up the ladder to the helmsman’s cabin.

 

 

 

“This is Lieutenant Nelvey speaking. Burn will be commencing in ten seconds.” says Nelvey over the intercom.

“This is it!” a crew member calls out, (Joerey I believe).

“Five, four, three, two, one. Engaging engines.”

 

 

The roar of our four lightbulb nuclear engines is heard throughout the ship, as we transition from weightlessness to the force of 0.3g pinning us to the back of our seats. The crew on the bridge erupt into cheers. After nearly two and a half weeks, we’re finally off to our destination. I feel the butterflies of excitement in my stomach.

So begins another journey into the void.

 

 

Edited May 1, 2018 by HippieGold

[HippieGold]

[HippieGold]

Chapter Three - Alert Level Red

Spoiler

Nedtrey

May 10^th 137

My father was the first man I ever came to respect.

“Ned,” he told me. “The world is small. People like us; we end up outgrowing it sooner or later.”

That was the last time I saw him. He was on the passenger liner Mobius heading to the Mun, the one that was fired upon by an ANK ship when its crew mutinied. Shortly after, the ten day war broke out. I was seven back then.

I didn’t understand what he meant at the time, I mean how could I? I was just a kid. But now, I wonder, maybe he knew this was how I’d turn out. Maybe it’s in my blood.

When I returned home after the Duna mission, my apartment was a mess. A break in they said, who even knows when it happened. Of course they tried to contact me but, well, how could they? If the rent money wasn’t arriving on time every month I’m sure they would’ve evicted me. Luckily, or perhaps ashamedly, there wasn’t really much to steal. A computer, some money, a TV; all easily replaced. I mean it’s not like I was ever broke. No, what really sucked was the cleanup. When sweeping up the shards of glass and cleaning up wooden splinters, all I had was time to think, about all the decisions that brought me to that moment. It wasn’t just the break in; the place was dusty as hell. There’d been mold growing in the bathroom, a window was broken, the whole place oozed neglect.

This is home? This is what I have to come back to? No people, no wife, no family, no friends, just…nothing.

The world is small.

Does that mean it’s insignificant? Isn’t it where we all come from? Isn’t it why we’re all out here, so that we can make it a better place? I don’t know anymore.

Mom barely looked at me this time. She’s ashamed of me, of the fact that I went down the same path as dad. Space took him from her, even before he died, and now it’s taken me too. The whole time I spent planet side I only saw her three times. By then I got the picture, I wasn’t wanted there. But how can I blame her? All of these pity visits for a few hours at a time, when she knows I’ll be gone again for who knows how long? What good does that do her?

That apartment felt like prison. Even given how small and cramped the Javelin felt back then, I’d have traded that apartment for it in a heartbeat.

Now here I am. Black as far as the eye can see. Is this really the world I chose? Is this where my future lies, somewhere in this endless inky ocean?

Like it or not, this is where this road’s lead me; through the pain, the danger, and the death, out into infinity.

 

 

 

 

“Sir, you wanted to see me?” I ask Corcott.

“Yes. Come with me.” Corcott rises from his seat and walks me toward the hatch to the next room.

 

 

 

“I’ll be honest, I was a little nervous about that burn. Glad it went off without a hitch.” says Corcott.

“Yeah, except we were late.” I tell him.

“Well that was command’s fault. They should’ve planned to send that resupply earlier. Nothing we could’ve done about it.”

Corcott and I take a seat at one of the tables.

 

 

“Then again, it was only a five hour delay. Given this company’s track record we’re lucky we didn’t have to wait for another transfer window.” I say.

Corcott laughs in response.

“I’m sure I’ve said this already but, it is good to see you again Nedtrey.”

“I’m pretty sure you have.” I say with a grin.

“Now, to business. I’ve been informed by command about your past with Kosmos Industries, as well as the nature of our rendezvous with the Zvezda. You’re going to be acting as some kind of emissary?”

When I had arrived back home from the Duna mission, the company had approached me about my record with Kosmos Industries. They planned on sending a diplomatic envoy on this mission from the beginning, but given the fact that I served with these people during the Joolian Blitz, they thought they’d have a better chance of striking a deal if they sent me. Of course, I didn’t really have the option to refuse.

“Looks like it yeah. I’ve still had to keep it under wraps from my crew. Orders are orders.”

“Command didn’t tell me the nature of this diplomatic mission.” says Corcott.

“There was probably a reason for that.” I reply.

Corcott gives me a dismissive look.

“I’m the Commodore; you don’t have to worry about me saying anything.”

I suppose it wouldn't hurt if he knew. Besides, it’d be best if we were on the same page.

“We’re trying to secure some kind of defensive pact. As in, if someone decides to attack us we want Kosmos to jump in and help, as well as vice versa.”

“You really think they’re going to agree to that?” he asks.

“You want the honest answer?” I ask back.

“Speak freely.”

“Even during the war, Kosmos tried to stick it out alone for as long as possible. They had, and still have, the industry to compete with any of the other Big Six corporations should push come to shove. Truth be told, in the grand scheme of things, we’re nobodies out here. Even with full reign over Minmus we have, what, one colony, a couple of stations?”

“So you’re saying you’re not optimistic.”

“Not at all.”

Corcott rests his chin on his hand as he begins to stare into space.

“If we’re asking this from them…” he pauses.

Then, he looks at me.

“Tell me Nedtrey, how’d you go from working with these guys to ending up here anyhow? The pay there must’ve been good, and being bi-lingual must’ve meant you were valued.”

“Ha, well they had a funny way of showing it.” My mind wanders back to the days of the war; tens of ships, thousands of people. Every battle felt like we lost more than half.

“So what happened?”

“You really want to know huh, why the sudden curiosity?”

“Do you want the honest answer?” he says, looking sly.

“Speak freely.”

“Command is telling me to be on high alert. Clearly they see these people as a threat, and here you are; one of their ex-employees, on my mission. Can you see now why I want to know everything you can tell me about your stay with them?”

I feel a lump form in my throat. Does he think I’m some kind of traitor? What can I tell him that will get him off my case?

I pause for a moment, thinking about what sort of response I should give.

“After the war, I went home. I’d lost a lot of friends. I didn’t feel like there was much tying to the company at that point, so when the time to renew my contract came, I handed in my resignation.”

“How long ago was that now?”

God, how long ago was it?

“Almost eleven years now.”

“And so where’d you go after that?”

“Well, it wasn’t like I could go back to some regular job; I had years of experience in this field. I had to do something but, I didn’t want to have to go back out there again. So I stayed local, did short term contracts for people, usually commanding prototype ships. We war vets tend to get work like that.”

“So, your last one of these contracts was with Concord?”

“Yep, and then they offered me a long term contract. It had only happened once before, usually companies wanted to get rid of me once my contract was up, but Concord was looking for people with experience, and I fit the bill. I guess enough time had passed at that point. So I said yes.”

“So the horrors of war were too much for you huh? That’s why you left?”

“How the hell would you know?” I snap at him.

A melancholy smile forms on his face.

“Duna, KIS Meridian, three years.” he says.

His words puzzle me at first, before I understand their meaning.

“The Dunan war? You were there?”

“I was. We had our own fair share of horrors back then too.” he replies.

“Just how old are you?”

He laughs when I ask him.

“I’m turning sixty-three next month actually.”

“The thirty year anniversary is coming up soon. That means you’ve been doing this since I was a kid.”

“I’m sure someone else will be telling you that very same thing one day.” he says, smiling.

“But why? Why did you never retire?” I ask.

“You know Nedtrey, people like us, have nowhere else to go. This is where we belong now.”

I nod in response.

“You’ve walked that path too.” I reply.

“I did.” he says.

“Where did it lead you?” I ask.

He tilts his head to look off in a different direction, as if remembering something he’d forgotten long ago.

“The same place as all the others.”

 

 

 

Richard

May 12^th, 137

 

 

As CEO I’ve had many meetings in this office, but today is perhaps the one I’ve dreaded most.

My secretary, Brenda, reminded me this morning that Jennifer Kerman, a diplomat from Crimson Corp., would be visiting to follow up on the recent vote to approve our colony plan. Any naïve man might mistake this for a formal ‘congratulations’, but I know better. You don’t send someone in person unless there’s a problem.

A knock is heard at my door.

“Come in.” I call out.

Through the door steps a tall woman, clad in a woman’s business suit wearing glasses.

“Hey there.” she greets me with a wide mouthed toothy smile.

“You must be Richard. I’m Jennifer, nice to meet you.”

She firmly shakes my hand and takes a seat.

“So you said you were here to follow up about the vote?” I ask.

“Yes, and first allow me to be the first to say congratulations. It was quite the narrow victory wasn’t it?”

“I have to admit I was on the edge of my seat when they were reading out the results.” I say.

“Oh I can imagine!” she says loftily.

Her friendly and inviting demeanor irks me so slightly.

“So uh, if the vote was a success, what’s there to talk about?” I ask.

“Well, first let me say the good news is that you’ll be getting your colony as soon as we work out all the logistics.”

I feel my face become hot as I fear what she might say next.

“And the bad news?” I ask.

She adjusts herself in her seat before making eye contact with me.

“The fourteen colonies of Duna are owned by twelve different corporations, each one of them having a seat on the Dunan council.”

“Right.”

“Well, when the council convened to vote on your proposal yesterday, five voted ‘yes’, three voted ‘no’, and four abstained. Now, you have to understand; in the council’s history there’s never been a colony approved by less than half the council. You can understand the kind of situation that puts people like me in yes?”

“You’re saying there’s been some controversy?”

She nods. “Well given your relationship with the Allied Nations of Kerbin, an answer of yes would be putting it lightly. You see, the three corporations who voted ‘no’ were Kerman Interplanetary, the Tarro Conglomerate, and Kosmos Industries: three of the Big Six corporations. Needless to say they’ve been putting a lot of pressure on us to have you back out entirely.”

“Is that so?”

“And I mean you wouldn’t believe what some of these people are saying. There are people who want to make you guys out to be foreign invaders; there are even rumors that the ANK somehow rigged the vote. The whole thing is a mess.”

I lean in towards her.

“So, what are you asking of me?”

“I know your goal is to be landed sometime at the end of next year, but with the political situation as volatile as it is, I’d say we should push that to at least three, when things have calmed down more.”

I look her straight in the eyes with the nastiest look I can produce.

“No.”

She continues on, as if she hadn’t heard me.

“Now I understand what this decision means for you trust me, but Crimson Corp. is well prepared to enter negotiations about compensation.” she says.

“Let me make this very clear.” I tell her. “My company is being hired to complete a job. Our employers have put us on a schedule, a schedule I intend to follow. With the vote passed, and the proposal approved, we will be proceeding with our plans, on schedule, without interruption. So don’t come to my office and tell me to not do my job just because yours is getting too hard.”

The statement clearly takes her by surprise.

“Richard, I’m not sure what kind of game you’re playing, but you won’t survive long out there by making enemies.” she says, her tone and posture completely different than before.

“I’ll take my chances.” I reply. “Now, do I need to have security escort you out?”

“That won’t be necessary.” she says, before making her way to the door.

Before she leaves she turns back to me to say one last thing.

“I hope you reconsider.”

 

 

 

Nelvey

May 15^th, 137

 

 

It’s been three days now since we left Kerbin’s sphere of influence. Travel isn’t as bad as it was on the Javelin, not by a long shot, but I wouldn’t go as far to say it’s exciting. Well, maybe it is for the nerds in the science lab, they seem to be always busy. For me though, there’s not a whole lot to do as a helmsman when the ship isn’t moving, so instead, I try to spend what time I can hanging out with Luke, Wendy, or Lando, something I plan on going to do now. Ned’s been b**ching about me leaving my post but really, what post is there to leave anyway? It’s not like we’ll be making any maneuvers anytime soon.

As I step into the cargo bay I come face to face with Lenbus.

 

 

“Hey Nelvey!” he says cheerily, waving at me.

It’s been pretty weird having a fan running around the place.

“Hey, I got you something.” he says, before tossing me a small foil packet.

I catch it, and take a look at the label.

“Freeze dried ice cream?”

“I hope you don’t mind cherry flavour.”

“You get this from the ‘Cane?” I ask.

“I’ve been chatting with Wilcott lately. He pulled it out of storage. Oh, don’t tell anyone though; I don’t want him to start getting hounded.”

As much as I appreciate the gesture, taking supplies from the other ship is strictly forbidden.

“Dude, come on you could get me in trouble for this. You know you’re not supposed to take this s**t off the ‘Cane.”

Lenbus expresses a look of defeat.

“I’m sorry man, I just thought you’d like it. I didn’t think one packet would be a big deal.”

“Look thanks I appreciate it but I already got the Captain on my ass I don’t need-“

The sound of the elevator door behind me opening gives me a startle. Out from it pops Chaddred, the quartermaster.

S**t.

I quickly attempt to hide the ice cream under my armpit. He takes one step out and then pauses, giving the two of us quizzical looks.

 

 

“What are you to doing here?” he asks accusingly.

“I-I’m just checking life support, making sure everything’s running.” pipes Lenbus.

“Maintenance check was two hours ago.” Chaddred retorts.

Flustered, Lenbus attempts a response.

“Yeah…but I could’ve sworn one of the vents wasn’t blowing air, so I just came down here to make sure.”

He doesn’t seem satisfied with the answer, but instead of pushing further he immediately turns to me.

“You should be at the helm.” he says.

“Give me a break Chad, were coasting what use am I at the contro-“

Before the last syllable leave my tongue the ships speakers begin to blare alarms.

“Alert level red, repeat, alert level red. All hands to battle stations.” The voice over the intercom is Tanuki’s, our technician.

“S**t,” grunts Chaddred, before pushing past me.

“Lieutenant, get to the cockpit,” he grabs a helmet from storage and throws it toward Lenbus. “You, put this on and strap in over there.” he says, pointing towards a seat.

I waste no time getting into the elevator, and hitting the button to take me up to the bridge.

 

 

“Nel where’s Lysander?!” yells Nedtrey, trying to be heard over the alarm.

“I dunno! Probably his bunk!” I quickly yell back as I grab onto the ladder leading up to the cockpit.

I pull on each rung as fast as I can and plow through the hatch.

“Took your sweet time.” says Adam.

“Yeah yeah.” I reply as I quickly fasten my helmet to my suit.

I page Nedtrey down stairs.

“We’re green and good to go Captain.”

“Got it, prepare to depressurize.” he says.

I sit at the controls and wait. Ten seconds go by, then twenty, and then the alarm stops.

“Alert level is now green.” says Tanuki over the intercom. The next voice over it is Nedtrey’s.

“Good job team, ninety seconds isn’t too bad, but keep in mind most torpedoes can cover thirty clicks in half that time, let’s try to do better next time.”

“I knew it.” I tell Adam dejectedly.

“At least it gets the blood pumping.”

“S**t.” I realize I’m missing the ice cream. I probably dropped it during the commotion.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. Hey next time you see the quartermaster tell him to lay off would you; I don’t need Chad getting on my ass about crossing ships too.”

He looks at me unamused.

“Yeah, I’m not going to do that.”

 

 

 

Nedtrey

 

 

On the Yggdrasil, our combat readiness time was three hundred seconds, give or take. But that was on a battleship with more than a hundred people; a ship like this with a crew of only twelve should have a readiness time of at least sixty seconds.

 

 

I look up at Nelvey, descending from the cockpit.

“You know, you could’ve told me there was gonna be drill.” he says.

“There wouldn’t be much point of a drill if I told you ahead of time. You think the enemy’s going to give you a heads up?”

“And what enemy would that be?” he replies smugly.

“I’m sorry, did you forget the attack at Poseidon already?” I ask.

“Poseidon was forever ago. Whoever was behind it would’ve tried something by now if they were so hell bent on hurting us.” he says.

“Well it won’t be long until pirates start scoping out Minmus. When that happens we need to be ready.”

“I don’t see any pirates out here.” he says in a smarmy tone.

“Then it’s the perfect place to practise. Also are you going back to the Hurricane?” He’s been spending far too much time there. “You know you’re a crew of this ship and not theirs right?”

“Are you ordering me not to go?”

“Keep up that smart-ass attitude of yours and I just might.” I say, stabbing my finger at him.

“Why don’t you come with? Wendy and Lando would love your company.”

“Maybe later, but right now I have a ship to run. Lord knows it won’t run itself.” I sit back in my seat and begin to write up my report for the drill. “You can tell them I said hi.”

“Will do.” says Nelvey, before slinking into the elevator to the cargo bay.

Nelvey is a friend, a good one, but sometimes I feel like that gives him the idea that he can be insubordinate toward me.

“Tanuki,” I call out. “Good work during the drill.”

“T-Thank you sir.” she replies meekly. “Anything else you need me to do?”

“You’re good for now.” I reply back.

Now there’s a good crewmate. Tanuki’s been a big help; she’s done a lot to help acquaint me with the ships operating system, and is always offering to help with whatever responsibility she can.

She’s one of the few names I know by heart on this ship. Of course I know Nelvey and Adam, but other than Tanuki, there’s Chaddred, Joerey, Lysander, and who else…?

“Excuse me.”

 

 

The sight of my crewmate in front of me startles me.

“Yes?” I respond.

“Look, I know I’ve been putting this off for way too long but, honestly I didn’t even believe it was you at first and, you were kind of a dick to me back then so I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to let you know.”

I’m puzzled. What is he talking about?

“I’m Mersbey. I was the XO on the Halberd, remember?”

“Mersbey… That name sounds familiar. Wait a second; you’re that slacker from the Halberd!”

“I am not a slacker.”

The Halberd was the first Concord ship I served upon: a prototype destroyer. It was right after commanding that ship that I got reassigned to the Javelin. It’s been so long that I didn’t even recognize my old XO was on my ship.

“Look I just wanted to break the ice because it was getting pretty awkward. Besides you seem like a much better person tha-“

“Withholding the nature of our relationship from me is bordering insubordinate behaviour! Just for that you deserve a demotion! Now drop and give me fifty maggot!”

Mersbey sighs. “We’re in zero g sir I cannot physically do push ups.”

I laugh heartily. “I’m just pulling your leg son. Truth be told, commanding prototype ships back in the day bored the hell out of me, so after a while I started putting on characters for my own amusement, just to see what I could get away with.”

Mersbey’s eyes widen. “So that explains it!”

“There was one ship where I pretended to be a pirate.” I tell him chuckling. I still can't believe those guys thought I was being serious.

“Well then, that’s a relief. That’s all I wanted to talk about, good to see you’re not an uptight dick after all.”

“Give me time and I might surprise you.”

Mersbey laughs nervously. “Well then, back to work.”

 

 

 

Richard

May 12^th, 137

 

Lucky’s is a bar I’ve passed by on my commute almost every day, but today is my first time actually going inside.

I take a seat at the bar.

“Can I get a pineapple juice?”

The bartender gives me a weird look.

"Uh...we don't have that here." he says.

"What kind of fruit juice do you have?"

"We have water..."

I sigh. I don't know what I was expecting.

"One water please."

“Coming right up.” he says.

He reaches under the bar for a drink gun, and then pours me a glass.

I wait there, sipping periodically while checking my phone. The Hurricane and Chariot left Kerbin’s SOI tonight. They’re only six weeks out from reaching Eve.

I hear the door to the bar open and spot Sophia, my assistant, walk in. I wave her over.

“I have to say Richard, this is the last place I expected to meet you.” she says after taking a seat.

“Well why not? The centre’s closed and my house is a mess.”

The bartender wanders over.

“Anything to drink darling?” he asks.

“A glass of wine please.” Sophia replies.

She looks at my drink and gives me a concerned look.

“It's water.” I tell her.

“So what did you want to talk about?” she asks.

“Crimson Corp. sent over a diplomat today. She wants us to put the colony on hold.”

Sophia is taken aback. Her eyes widen as she shows an expression of disbelief.

“What did you tell her?” she asks.

“What do you think?” I say before finishing my drink. “I know how these people work. First it’s just on hold, then the hold is extended, then it’s indefinite. I don’t plan on letting them crush my dreams that easily.”

“But the vote passed, why would Crimson Corp. do this?” she asks.

“Apparently they’re receiving pressure from outside forces. They see us as a threat.”

“Why?”

“I guess our relationship with the ANK threatens to cut into their competition.”

Sophia looks down, visibly trying to wrap her head around the situation.

“So what do you think?” she asks.

“Either Crimson Corp. is telling the truth, and any number of the Big Six on the council are trying to shut us down, or they’re the real ones who want us out of the way, and are trying to cover their ass. Either way, my gut tells me that this is going to lead to a war, sooner or later.”

Sophia tries to absorb the gravity of that statement. A war, sooner or later; it isn’t something I say lightly. Hundreds will most likely die, maybe even thousands. Every move we make from now on should be to put us in a more advantageous position for when that time comes.

“Whoever’s the one trying to pressure us into stopping the project, do you think it’s the same people behind Poseidon, Duna, and everything else?”

I’ve thought about that a lot today. I can only give her an honest answer.

“I don’t believe in coincidences.”

“Should we arrange a meeting of the inner circle?” she asks.

“Soon.” I tell her. “In the meantime, keep up your work sniffing for spies. If there are any more leaks in the company we need them plugged.”

“I won’t let you down.” she says with an air of determination.

When I had called upon Sophia to join me at this company years ago, I wasn’t sure if she would even answer me. Now here she is, a loyal companion devoted to the cause, the only one I know who has believed in me no matter what. ‘I see something in you,’ she’d tell me. ‘You’re one of the few people out there with a strong enough heart to achieve greatness.’

For all our sakes, I really hope she’s right.

 

 

Edited January 11, 2019 by HippieGold

[HippieGold]

Be sure to give me feedback on what you guys think so far 

Edited May 1, 2018 by HippieGold

[RocketMan-Explorer]

It's a really good story, I like it a lot! It is a bit long though....

[HippieGold]

On 5/1/2018 at 8:08 PM, RocketMan-Explorer said:

It's a really good story, I like it a lot! It is a bit long though....

Thanks for the feedback! I'll try to make next chapter a little shorter (or at least more dense)

[HippieGold]

Chapter Four - Big Brown Rock

 

Spoiler

 

Nelvey

May 30^th, 137

 

 

 

“He just seems, off. Like something’s bothering him.” I tell Wendy. “I mean a combat drill, all the way out here? Then I ask him to come hang out with us and he says ‘maybe later’. I mean it’s not like we’ll have time when we get to Eve.”

Concern is written on Wendy’s face.

“Have you tried talking with him?” she asks. “You know, like a heart to heart.”

“A heart to heart, with Ned? I don’t know, he’s always been tight lipped when it comes to his feelings.”

“Well maybe you should try. I mean we all deal with stuff right? If he had someone to talk to it could help.”

“I dunno. It just feels, weird.”

Wendy rolls her eyes at me, looking visibly frustrated.

“Look just, talk to him okay? If something’s weighing on him we don’t need it jeopardizing the mission. Whether it makes you ‘uncomfortable’ or not doesn’t matter.”

Maybe she’s right. I’d feel pretty stupid if Ned suffered a break down all because of my social awkwardness.

“Okay, okay I’ll do it.” I tell her.

“Good. Keep in mind Nedtrey has a lot on his plate right now, so try to see things from his point of view okay?”

“I’ll try.” I reply.

Wendy pats me on the back.

“Good, and if push comes to shove, I’ll talk to the Commodore, okay?”

I give her nod, and begin to think about what I plan to say.

 

 

 

“Hey sir.”

“Lieutenant.” Nedtrey responds. “I know you snuck off to the Hurricane last night.”

I bet Tanuki snitched on me.

“Yeah I know. Look I think we need to talk.”

“I’ll have to write you up for this you know?”

“Fine write me up whatever, but we need to talk.”

“About what?” says Nedtrey, almost accusingly.

“You’ve seemed a bit on edge recently.” I say, meekly.

“On edge how?”

Truth be told I don’t think I’ve seen him smile since we left Kerbin. He always looks tired, constantly snapping at people and barking orders. I never knew Nedtrey to be this strict.

“Well…do you think you can loosen up on the crew a bit?”

Nedtrey’s expression sours.

“I don’t need a loose crew, I need a professional one. One that’s ready for anything. Defy the odds, remember? How are we supposed to do that if I go easy on you?”

I think I chose the wrong words.

“No…no it’s not that. You just seem, out of it, like something’s bothering you.”

Should I press him? The last time I brought it up…well he didn’t really want to talk about it then.

“And what do you think is bothering me, Lieutenant?”

Just talk to him.

Right, just talk to him. Screw it.

“Is it about Jool?”

That word, Jool, the moment he hears it he looks like I’ve shot him in the chest.

“We’re not talking about Jool, Nelvey.”

“Look Ned, I know that some bad s**t happened to you out there, and that coming here, to the heart of Kosmos Industries, maybe it’s brought back some bad memories-“

“I said we’re not talking about it.”

The finality of his words prevent me from pushing further.

“We don’t have to talk about it, not now. But look, you and I have been through the thick of it together, so if there’s anyone in the whole system that you can talk to, it’s me.”

Nedtrey softens his expression a bit, though while still looking solemn.

“It’s been two years you know.” I tell him.

He looks at me confused.

“Two years since what?” he asks.

“Since we all met, on Orion station.”

He furrows his brow, his look turning from confusion so curiosity.

“Really, it has?” he asks.

“Well…not exactly two years. We actually missed the anniversary earlier this month, but we only found out yesterday. We’re gonna have a little celebration tomorrow—uh, with your permission of course.”

Ned sits back in his seat and ponders.

“Two years…”

“The attack at Minmus was on the tenth. Quite the adventure that was huh?”

 “Yeah…”

“Wendy asked me to invite you. I mean, we're already missing three members so, we need as many as we can get.”  I say letting out a nervous chuckle.

He turns back to his monitor. “I’ll think about it.”

Looks like that’s all I’m gonna get out of him today.

 

 

 

“So, Nel tries to bring her in for a closer landing, and then BOOM, smacked her right into the ground. Hell the ringing in my ears was so damn bad I thought I had tinnitus!” Lando lets out a chuckle, with Wendy and Luke joining along with him.

“And lord did he scream and scream.” says Lando.

My cheeks flush with embarrassment.

“It isn’t funny, I nearly got us killed!”

“And you wouldn’t believe the look on the medics face when we told her all this. I swear to god it looked like she wanted to give us some extra fractures.” says Luke.

I remember him taking me to Capricorn station that day. The dread I felt was so immense, I thought for sure they’d fire me.

“I can’t believe you never told me this story before Nel!” says Wendy.

“W-why would I?” I try to avert my eyes from her gaze.

My embarrassment is thankfully cut short when, surprisingly, Nedtrey enters the room.

 

 

“Ahem, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” he says.

“Not at all!” says Wendy, who waves him over.

“I’m glad you decided to join us.”

“Well you know, I had Adam to cover for me and I figured I’d drop by.” Nedtrey replies.

I pat him on the back.

“Glad you made it Captain.”

“Too bad not everyone could.” says Lando.

“Ribney, Sarah, Aaron… Where do you think those three are up to now?” I ask.

“I bet Rib’s finding himself in all sorts of trouble.” says Luke.

Wendy chuckles. “You know his personality really did grate on me after a while, but now I kind of miss him.”

“From what I heard Sarah decided to retire. She did have a family after all.” says Nedtrey.

“Yeah. No word on Aaron though. I think he may’ve quit too.” says Wendy.

“Well the man was no socialite.” says Lando.

“Yeah…”

The group falls silent.

“You think we’ll see them again?” I ask.

“One day, I’m sure.” says Wendy.

I raise my drink in the air as to signal a toast.

“Here’s to them.”

 

 

 

“You coming Ned?” I call to Nedtrey.

“Yeah.” he replies.

He walks over to me.

“Look Nel, about earlier…I just want to let you know, I just want us to be prepared, you know? I’ve already lost enough people for one life time.”

“Hey, I get it.”

He looks away from me, as if ashamed.

“No.” he says. “No you don’t.”

 

 

June 19^th, 137

 

 

 

“STC this is CON 4621 Whiskey, requesting insertion burn for Eve orbit at twelve and a half thousand clicks, inclination 34.6 degrees, followed by transfer to Gilly, over.”

I really hope they don’t respond in Vlodiskovan.

“Copy 4621. You are clear for burn at 12.5k clicks, inclination 34.6 degrees.”

Well, would you look at that, not even an accent.

“4621 burning at 12.5k clicks, inclination 34.6 degrees, ETA 33 hours, 52 minutes.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 24^th, 137

 

 

 

As the engines slow to a stop, I feel the weight of the thrust lift off of me. I turn to Adam.

“Here we are, Gilly. Is it everything you ever dreamed of?” I ask him.

 

 

“Well, it’s a big brown rock. Just about as much as I was expecting.”

From where we’re sitting we could practically kiss the surface; only 7 kilometers between us and that big brown rock.

“It’s a bit of a disappointment compared to Eve.” he says. “Still can’t get enough of it. It’s just, so much more different than a picture. Like I can reach out and grab it.”

 

 

Ever since Eve came into view Adam has had a romantic obsession with it. The rest of the crew isn’t too different either. Looking at it makes you feel, calm. Like the sound of the ocean but, visually. Well, I suppose Eve does have oceans on it, just not the type you’d want to swim in.

“You gonna see Lando off before he has to get going?” Adam asks me.

“Ah it’s Lando, he’ll be fine. Besides Ned will really chew me out if I leave my post twenty minutes before a burn.”

“Well wish him luck at least.”

“Adam,” I tell him, “it’s Gilly. Worst case scenario he jumps a bit too high and we have to pick him up in orbit.”

“Well hey he’s your friend.”

I suppose it couldn’t hurt.

“Alright I’ll do it."

 

 

Lando

 

 

 

Damn, been helluva a while since I had this suit on. Ah s**t, now my nose is itching.

“Hey Lando,” Nelvey’s voice chirps at me through my headset, “good luck out there man. Try not to run out of fuel.”

Run outta fuel, on Gilly? Damn thing’s as light as a feather how am I gonna-

Ah, I see what he’s gettin’ at.

“Yeah ha ha smartass, I’ll try to keep my temper.” I switch channels to the Hurricane. “Hurricane this Raindrop 1, requesting permission for separation.”

“Raindrop 1 this is Hurricane, you have permission to separate.”

I feel my little pod jostle as it disconnects.

 

 

I use the RCS to push away from the ‘Cane, keeping an eye out so I don’t bump into anything. After a minute or so, the two ships, joined at the hip, come into view.

 

 

“Well shucks, don’t you two look cute together from out here.”

“Raindrop 1, proceed to de-orbit point and commence burn, over.” the radio operator responds.

Dorf usually ain’t so uptight, but I guess today is show time day.

“Roger, proceeding to de-orbit point for burn, out.”

 

 

The engine barely makes the squeak of a mouse as the ship burns retrograde. The gravity out here is so damn small it takes barely any thrust at all. Before I know it I’m on my collision course.

 

 

“Raindrop 1, proceeding to suicide burn point.”

Bit of a haughty term considering the lack of danger. I'd reckon there's more of a risk of me burnin' myself out into deep space then crashin'.

I hang there for a bit, watching the dusty rock below get closer and closer. Whole thing is uneven, like a lumpy bit of cookie dough. Hope it ain’t too much of a hassle touching down.

 

 

Almost there.

“Raindrop 1, getting ready for touch down in twenty seconds.”

The autopilot ignites my engine. I start feeling the sweat. Gilly may be tiny, but a wall’s a wall when you hit it at forty meters a second. This time I can really feel the thrust, guess suicide burn ain’t too far off after all.

 

 

“Forty, thirty, twenty, ten,” as the lander’s voice calls out altitude readings, I keep my eye on the surface radar.

 

 

Almost there…and…

 

 

“Hurricane this is Raindrop 1, we have touchdown, ready to continue mission.”

 

 

Nelvey

 

 

 

“You’re going to the Zvezda?” I ask Nedtrey. “I thought that was supposed to be shakedown not a…uh, what exactly are you gonna be doing over there?”

“It’s a diplomatic mission. Concord wants me to broker some kind of deal with Kosmos.” Nedtrey replies.

“What kind of deal?” I ask.

“I don’t think I’m at liberty to say.” he says.

Must be something important.

“But depending on how things go I might tell you later.”

The sound of the hatch entrance to the room depressurizing is heard, and Lando enters, carrying a crate full of what I assume to be surface samples.

“Back so soon?” I ask him.

He shoots me an annoyed look. The man clearly looks exhausted.

“Goddamn, feels like I was down there forever.” he says between baited breaths.

One of the crew members motions toward Lando.

“This way Junior Lietenant, we’re gonna get you cleaned up.” he motions to another. “You, grab the samples, let’s get them to the lab.”

Lando walks toward Ned and puts his hand on his shoulder.

“Look Captain, I’mma catch some shut eye, couple hours at least, then I can take ya to yer ship, alright?” he slurs somewhat coherently. The man hasn’t slept in 18 hours, so I feel for him.

“Sure thing Lando, you just get some rest.” Ned tells Lando.

Lando and the two crew members make their way out the next hatch and down the ship.

“Well Captain, I wish you the best of luck,” I tell him, “and remember, if you need to talk afterward, I’m free anytime.”

I didn’t know Nedtrey would be interacting with anyone from Kosmos. He may even run into some of his old colleagues. If so…what’s bothering him could get worse.

Ned shows me a melancholy smile. “Sure thing buddy.” he says.

 

 

Nedtrey

 

 

 

Eleven years.  I wonder how much has changed since then.

“Zvezda this is Hurricane 1A, checking in.” Lando speaks into his radio.

A female voice thickly accented responds to him.

“Hurricane 1A, zis is Zvezda. Proceed to dock four.”

“Roger Zvezda, proceeding.” Lando replies.

 

 

 

 

 

One of the Zvezda’s crew members comes to greet us. The man is young, probably a newbie.

“Captain Nelvey, you can come with me.” he says as he waves me to his direction. I turn back to Lando.

“I shouldn’t be gone long, keep my seat warm junior lieutenant.” I tell him.

Lando smiles, and replies “Sure thing, I’ll keep the engine running.”

 

 

Well this is the moment of truth. The future of our entire company may very well be decided by this meeting. My thoughts wander back to the words of Richard Kerman.

If only you knew how bad things really are.

When I returned to Kerbin from the Duna mission, the CEO himself pulled me aside for a special debriefing, one I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about. I was so sick of all the secrecy up to that point, I mean the fact that we had to keep the second attack at Duna a secret? I damn near lost my life, and all they cared about was covering their asses, or so I thought.

So I confronted him, right then and there. Why? Why did everything need to be kept tight lipped? What the hell was even going on with this company?

Then, that was the reply he gave me.

Sure enough, later that day I found out just how bad things were. They told me everything.

Apparently, they believe that the terrorist attack at Minmus and the second attack we suffered at Duna were perpetrated by the same people: a mercenary group known as The Devils Wings. Of course if it was mercenaries, that means someone hired them.

What I didn’t know was just how much of a stir Concord’s rise has caused. Most of the major players in the solar system, the Big Six, have been in there positions of dominance for decades. Kosmos and Kerman Interplanetary have been there from the very beginning. So when a no name fledgling company comes out of the woodwork and claims it’s going to colonize every body in the system, it turns some heads. What really gave us our bad attention though was the Duna colony project, operation Red Dawn.

Duna is a mess. The members of the Duna council have been skimping on their contributions to Crimson Corp’s fleet, and now as a result piracy in the area is at an all-time high. That means when company’s want to protect their investments, they need to send in warships, something that’s strictly forbidden in the Dunan accords, but of course Crimson Corp can’t really enforce them. Besides, they’re probably relieved to hear that other companies are helping to pick up the slack, even if it is unofficially.

Here’s the problem though, there’s a good reason why warships are banned from entering the system. The Dunan war started in the first place because troops and ships got a bit too frisky when it came to inter-company disputes, that’s why when the war ended everyone agreed to form a neutral company that would receive funding from everybody, one that would be charged with protecting and administrating the system: Crimson Corp.

So now that warships are starting to enter the system again, it could lead to another disaster.

That’s where we come in. A private space agency receiving government funding that’s been tasked with sending a colony to Duna with an armed escort; clearly a statement like that raises a lot of red flags.

Of course an armed escort makes sense when piracy is such a rampant issue, so it’s hardly a declaration of war, especially when everyone else is breaking the rules. However, there are people out there who see our guns as an extension of the ANK’s, and in a solar system where governments are banned from leaving keosynchronus orbit that’s definitely going to ring some alarm bells for people.

So with that all said, it’s no real surprise to me that when the vote to approve our colony was called, every Big Six member on the council voted ‘nay’. In fact, what’s more of a surprise is that the vote passed at all.

So that narrows down the list of suspects a bit, the Tarro Conglomerate, Kerman Interplanetary, and Kosmos Industries all want our hands off the red planet. Any one of them could have hired those mercenaries to try and deter our pursuits in the system; and whoever hired those mercs probably has spies within our company, after all those terrorists at Minmus were only able to hijack that freighter because they were able to mimic our transponder signals, info they could have only gotten from a man on the inside.

Which is of course why everything has been so secretive; should’ve been obvious now that I think about it. Not only does Concord not want valuable intel to end up in the hands of the enemy, they also don’t want anyone knowing that we’re starting to catch on; probably why we were told to keep quiet about the attack at Duna.

“Right through here sir.” The crewman gestures toward a door.

Now I need to broker a defensive pact with one of the largest space faring companies in the solar system, just in case this cold war of ours turns hot. I doubt it’ll be that easy but then again I doubt that’s the only reason I’m here. After all, Kosmos themselves are on the list of suspects.

Through the door I enter what appears to be some kind of situation room, in the middle of which is a table surrounded by chairs. At one of them sits the man I need to speak to: Anton Glazkov.

“Take a seat captain Nedtrey.” says Anton, his accent muted but noticeable. “We have much to discuss.”