This new ocean (Chapter 11: The Curse lives on)

[Ho Lam Kerman]

Welcome to my fanfic! I hope you enjoy it. I'll be targeting a weekly release, but I won't guarantee it as I have schoolwork. Please also note that I play 1.2.2.

As I do this in my main save, and I also play on a regular basis, I might not document each and every launch in the chapters. Instead, I will be posting regular The Kerbal Daily front pages to let you guys know what's going on in the save, so you guys don't find anything weird. These The Kerbal Daily posts are part of the story, they just let you guys know about things I do in the save that I don't feel are text-worthy.

Contents: 

Chapter 1: KSC, we've had a problem

Chapter 2: We launch. Tomorrow.

Chapter 3: Shoot for the Moon

Chapter 4: Where are we?

The Kerbal Daily (Year 37, Day 219)

Chapter 5: AAAAAHHHHHHH

Chapter 6: What's this?!

Chapter 7: Checkout

Chapter 8: Oceanite

Chapter 9: There's always more under the surface

Chapter 10: Homecoming

Chapter 11: The Curse lives on

 

Chapter 1: KSC, we've had a problem

     "Booster separation at T+41 seconds."

     "KSC, we've had a problem. Something seems to have hit the first stage. We've felt, uh, a big jolt and now we feel weightless. We've also heard a pretty big bang. 'Booster emergency' and 'ballistic descent mode' light is on."

     "Copy that. Can you confirm separation from launch vehicle?"

     "Affirmative, Capcom. LV sep confirm."

     "Soyuz contingency declared."

     "Roger that, KSC. Aleksey and I are preparing for ballistic reentry."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A few hours later, a press conference is held to discuss the implications of today's failed flight, its implications for the Kerbin Orbital Space Station, and the appropriate next course of action.

Gene: "So, let's reiterate again what we know. The Soyuz launched out of LC-1 today at 9:40 am in the morning. At T+41 seconds, the boosters separated, and the astronauts reported a loud bang, a big jolt and feeling weightless. They reported a booster emergency light and a ballistic descent mode light. The crew landed safely in the waters off Cape KSC at T+5 minutes and 52 seconds, after experiencing a max G load of 6.7. Val, what consensus has the investigation board reached so far?"

Val: "Based on flight telemetry, we infer that booster sep was uneven. We believe it is highly likely that one of the boosters' separatrons failed, causing it to smack against the fuselage. The first stage engine then failed due to loss of chamber pressure, and then the Soyuz abort system activated. By that time, the escape tower had already been jettisoned, but the shroud was still attached to the launch vehicle. The shroud engines were used to pull the capsule away instead. Please note that this a preliminary report and may be inaccurate or subject to change."

Gene: "Okay, so that bit's over. Second objective- what should we do with the KOSS? Can co-director of flight operations Manley Kerman radio Station Commander Jeb on his insights?"

Manley: "Jeb, this is Capcom. The team would like insights on your situation and what would fit the crew best."

Jeb: "Roger that Capcom. The crew of Expedition 36 is running low on supplies, as they should have been brought to us by the latest Soyuz. We do have a few months of supplies left over, but we're eating into reserves. My recommendation is a supply capsule ASAP.

Jeb: "Regarding the crew that should be on the station right now, my consensus is to take your time with the investigation, then send Soyuz MS-11 up when you guys feel like it. We can stay on the station for a bit longer."

Manley: "Yes Jeb, but your Command Module uses UDMH/N2O4 fuel. The problem with that is it will freeze, and it will also corrode your tanks. For that reason, we require you to land, in the CM, by November. We would like to keep the station crewed, but before we can qualify the Soyuz for flight again, you will have to land."

Jeb: "Roger that Capcom. We'll think about this. Keep my crew informed about the events to follow."

Manley: "Roger."

Manley: "Okay, so you heard the conversation- no consensus as of now."

Gene: "Okay. I'd like co-director of flight operations Emiko Kerman suggest a plan as for what to do?"

Emiko: "Cool! Why not? I suggest we do as Jeb says- send a resupply capsule up tomorrow. I've been up there myself, and I know exactly how it feels to be up there, eating into reserves. But I don't really agree that we should keep his crew up there. I say we land Expedition 36 and leave the KOSS unmanned until either we re-qualify Soyuz for flight, or Dragon 2 or Starliner comes online. We just have to hope the KOSS survives and doesn't need to much reparing once we get back up there."

Gene: "Doesn't sound fun, but it'll have to do, I guess. We've completed or attempted to complete all major objectives, so I say we call it a day."

As Gene makes his way back to the Astronaut Complex, he mutters under his breath: "This new ocean is going to be hard to conquer indeed."

Edited June 26, 2019 by Ho Lam Kerman

[SuperMiiBrother]

It was only a matter of time before someone made something in the forums to do with Soyuz MS 10. Also, What does Gene Kerman mean by This new ocean? I do not get it.

[Ho Lam Kerman]

4 hours ago, SuperMiiBrother said:

What does Gene Kerman mean by This new ocean?

This new ocean is a metaphor for space. 

[Ho Lam Kerman]

Chapter 2: We launch. Tomorrow.

     Gene: "They've decided on launching CRS-16 tomorrow. You people at SpaceX will need to hurry up."

     Hanson Kerman: "But... the Falcon 9 and the Dragon needs a few weeks to prepare!" (@HansonKerman)

     Gene: "You'll have to try your best. Now go on with the inspections, we don't have any time for a static firing. Inspections will have to do."

     Hanson: "We'll think of this."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

     A few hours later, the SpaceX team is working into the night.

     Hanson: "We've inspected the vehicle fully. We've also come up with a clever plan to integrate the firings into the launch- we will fire the engines at T-10s, then launch. We use pad fuel during the fire, then use onboard fuel during the actual flight."

     Gene: "Nice work. So you'll be ready for launch tomorrow?"

     Hanson: "Yup! The team's been working really hard."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Liftoff! We have a liftoff! 51 minutes past the hour, liftoff of CRS-16!

Jeb: "Finally! A Resupply capsule!"

We have first stage landing.

Jeb: "We have a visual on the capsule."

Jeb: "Wait. I don't see the docking receptacle. KSC, the docking receptacle is not armed. Repeat, docking receptacle is not armed."

Manley: "Copy that, station. Send manual receptacle arm command."

Jeb: "Capcom, we still do not see any sign of receptacle arm."

Emiko: "Station, abort docking procedure. Land and recover Dragon now."

Jeb: "Copy that, Capcom."

As Val hears about the news, she mutters, "Two failed launches in a row... somebody might be sabotaging our efforts to conquer this new ocean..."

Edited October 16, 2018 by Ho Lam Kerman

[Ho Lam Kerman]

Chapter 3: Shoot for the Moon

     "Have you heard that news? They've decided to make it modular."

     "What modular?"

     "The Mun base."

      

"Yup. In light of the recent failed Kerbin orbital launches, they've put KOSS on hiatus, and while they're at it they've told us to refocus our efforts at the Mun. That Mun base no-one's visited since Val left a decade ago? We'll be refurbishing that, and making it modular. Haven't you heard of that? It was making the front page of the Kerbal Daily! It was designed to be modular, after all, they just haven't secured the funding to realize that project; so you really shouldn't be that surprised."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Status check to proceed with the terminal count!

Titan-
Boosters? GO! 
Ignition systems? GO!
Stage 1 AUX pump systems? GO!
Stage 2 AUX pump systems? GO!
LOX? GO!
LH2? GO!

Centaur-
Ignition systems? GO!
Centaur AUX pump systems? GO!
LOX? GO!
LH2? GO!

Flight termination system? FTS is armed and ready for flight.
Range safety? Range safety officer is GO for flight.

We are GO to proceed with the terminal count.

 

 

 

 

KSC, we have a pitch and roll program.

 

We have a clean sep of both side boosters.

The Eagle has wings...? (AKA the flying space car)

 

Commencing apoapsis raising burn to intercept the Mun 4 hours later.

We are in orbit around the Mun!

 

Descent towards Mun base.

 

We have landed on the Mun, systems checkout in progress. All payload systems are nominal, unfortunately we cannot say the same for the remains of the Centaur...

We have docked with Mun base. 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Heh heh heh," says the Kraken Lord. "They might have escaped this time, but Gene's right: This new ocean is hard to conquer indeed."

Edited October 17, 2018 by Ho Lam Kerman

[Chel]

Good story!

[Ho Lam Kerman]

Thanks, it means a lot.

(Step 1: gather support, done. On to step 2: conquer the UNIVERSE! MUHAHAHA! Oh sorry did I wake you up? )

[Kerbalstar]

20 minutes ago, Ho Lam Kerman said:

Thanks, it means a lot.

(Step 1: gather support, done. On to step 2: conquer the UNIVERSE! MUHAHAHA! Oh sorry did I wake you up? )

Yeah, I'm really liking it! 

Sounds like someone I know... @Just Jim

[Pascovian]

this is just...

awesome

[Ho Lam Kerman]

Chapter 4: Where are we?

     Jeb: "KSC, we have undocked with the KOSS."

     Emiko: "Welcome news! Now time to reconfigure your capsule into a reentry vehicle!"

"Oh here am I sitting in a tin can

Far above the world..."

     Jeb: "Service Module jettison in 3...2...1... we have confirmation of service module jettison."

     Manley: "Good work team- but don't get distracted. Reentry is up next- arguably the most risky part of any space mission."

  

Parachutes have deployed.

We have confirmation of full parachute deployment.

Bill: "KSC, we've landed."

Emiko: "Great news! The boys have landed!"

Jeb: "Wait. The gravity wasn't as hard as I remembered it..."

Bill: "The lighting wasn't as weird as I remembered it..."

 

Jeb: "I'll turn the capsule to get a better look at the outside."

To the whole crew's horror, they weren't on Kerbin...

Manley: "36, do you hear?"

Jeb: "We hear you loud and clear, Capcom. But we have the slightest problem: We're on Tekto."

Manley: "Holy Kraken."

 

Then, a voice came booming into their heads.

"I am the Kraken Lord, your galactic overlord."

Jeb, in his ever courageous tone, "What do you want with us?"

"I have come to tell you that your efforts at conquering this new ocean will be entirely futile!"

[Ho Lam Kerman]

Hello. As I do this in my main save, and I also play on a regular basis, I might not document each and every launch in the chapters. Instead, I will be posting regular The Kerbal Daily front pages to let you guys know what's going on in the save, so you guys don't find anything weird. These The Kerbal Daily posts are part of the story, they just let you guys know about things I do in the save that I don't feel are text-worthy.

The Kerbal Daily (Year 37, Day 219)

 

[Ho Lam Kerman]

Chapter 5: AAAAAHHHHHHH

     Jeb sat up in his bed, sweating like a pig.

     He notices a weird noise, but he thinks he's heard it before. He hasn't heard that noise since his childhood.

     He realises what it is. It's his screaming.

     "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

     He stops when he remembers who he is: Jebediah Kerman, daredevil extraordinare, former commander of the KOSS. Munwalker. Minmuswalker. Dunawalker. He gathers up his blankets, as if they were precious treasure, and hugs them tightly.

     He looks outside. He sees the VAB from his vantage point in the Astronaut complex, and a crescent mun hanging low over it. 

     He remembers. He needs to go see a launch to Mun base tomorrow, and next week he'll command a mission to the base.

     He tries, in vain, to get back to sleep. He can't stop thinking of the nightmare he just went through: a routine landing on Kerbin, then suddenly teleporting to Tekto, then... then...

     He tries not to think about it too much.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

     As the countdown clock for the ADAP-1 launch, affectionately known as "turtle", edged closer and closer to zero, Jeb hoped his nightmare last night wasn't an omen for things to come.

     "That's stupid," Jeb thought to himself. "Nightmares and teleportation can't possibly be real- can they?"

    "Can they?"

 Jeb pondered that while he watched Turtle climb towards the sky. 

From this picture it's pretty evident why it's called Turtle.

Shoot for the Mun! Let's hope we don't miss.

The base-building car has docked with the module.

Turtle has docked with Mun base.

Crater crawler has docked with Mun base.

As Jeb hears about the welcome news, he thinks to himself, "We've done it this time, but will my launch conquer this new ocean?"

Edited October 19, 2018 by Ho Lam Kerman

[Chel]

An interesting chapter! Can't wait for chapter 6!

[HansonKerman]

On 10/16/2018 at 3:10 AM, Ho Lam Kerman said:

(@HansonKerman)

(From Ch2) A ha ha. Just logged on again, gonna read this after scrolling through all my notfics.

[Ho Lam Kerman]

Chapter 6: What's this?!

     As Jeb, Bill and Bob sit inside the cramped Apollo capsule, ready for their return to the Mun, they get ready for their launch checkout, each crew member going through their own checklist and re-checking again and again until they're sure everything's okay.     

     "We have liftoff of Horizon 18!"

     From the inside, a Saturn V launch is much more powerful than watching it from the roof of the VAB.

     Everything's shaking. The gee forces build up. Jeb gets pressed down into his seat, which thankfully is tailor-made to fit him and him only to stop the vibrations from tearing him apart.

     The shaking and the gee forces stop suddenly. Then a loud bang.

     The shaking resumes. 

     Jeb realises they've jettisoned the 1st stage.

By some chance, Jeb sees a white dot moving quickly against the background stars.

It's the KOSS.

"I hope it's doing fine," mutters Jeb.

KSC suddenly booms into the headphones. "You are GO for TMI."

The three crew cheer as they hear the good news.

A day later, the Mun greets Jeb and his crew as they prepare to enter Mun orbit.

As Jeb pilots his spacecraft to a precision landing at Mun base, he's greeted by magnificent desolation.

"KSC, we have a landing at Mun Base."

And then, Jeb performs a ceremony that all crews visiting have performed: plant a flag to immortalise their mission, and commemorate all who have worked towards the goal of space travel.

"Expedition 3 of Mun Base has officially begun!"

"Welcome to your new home, Jeb."

As Jeb climbs the ladder to enter the habitation module (jetpacks are discouraged as they can damage the fragile solar panels), he receives a transmission from KSC, telling him what to do for the next ten days.

Expedition 3 schedule
Day 1: Perform science experiments and conduct research, conduct visual inspection of modules and rover
Day 2: Drive rover and conduct visual observations of surrounding area
Day 3: EVA and collect samples
Day 4: Perform science experiments, conduct research, research munar night
Day 5: Observation of Kerbin
Day 6: No activities- Munar night
Day 7: Help with docking of drilling module
Day 8: Perform science experiments
Day 9: Expedition to midland craters and lowlands
Day 10: Expedition to Northwest Crater

"Ha," thought Jeb. "This schedule gives me a lot of free time. The visual inspections and science experiments won't take long, so I'll have a lot of time to look at Kerbin!"

And Kerbin is beautiful indeed.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A day has passed. Jeb starts the day by eating a hearty breakfast, then crawls through module Turtle to make his way to the Crater Crawler.

"Hello again Turtle. Nice to see you again."

He then struggles into the Crater Crawler to begin a systems checkout and to conduct visuals of the surrounding area. It's already been done before, but mission control wants to make sure nothing has changed since then.

"All systems are GO. We are GO for undocking."

Little did they know, something had changed since Val left.

"KSC, this is Expedition 3. We have a visual of something dark up ahead."

"Roger that E3. It's probably a rock."

"Well, that's where my SCANsat comes in."

"Machines break, Jeb. Do remember that this thing has sat, on the Mun, unused for a decade. And it was used to drive around the Mun just before that."

"I'll still go check."

"KSC, This is E3. The anomaly I was talking about- it's clearly cylindrical."

"Holy smokes, Jeb. Are you sure it's not just your eyesight, Jeb? There's this new paper citing data that eyesight deteriorates in space..."

"No, KSC. It's clearly cylindrical."

"KSC, this thing I'm talking to you about- it looks like Kerbal technology. Do you guys have records on any ship that crashed into the Mun with a CRG-25 cargo bay and a Kelus-LV ladder?"

"No Jeb. This is weird. Can you report to us your current coordinates? We'll keep note of that. Please re-visit the anomaly on the return trip from the Midland Craters."

"Okay- my current location is 4˚ 30' 6" N, 46˚ 19' 50" E."

"Roger that Jeb. Please return to the Crater Crawler."

"Nah. There's a ladder- I'll go check what's inside."

"No Jeb. You don't know what's in there- it could well be a porthole to a Kraken's lair."

Too late. He's already up the ladder.

But hearing the word "Kraken" made him think of his dream...

He faints.

And he lies, unconscious, on the midlands of the Mun, thousands of kilometres away from any other kerbal...

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Half an hour later, he snaps back into consciousness.

Giddy and drowsy from the loss of consciousness, he staggers back into the Crater Crawler, and slowly drives it back to Mun base for a well deserved rest.

"I wonder what mysteries this new ocean holds," says Jeb as he staggers back into the crew quarters.

Edited October 21, 2018 by Ho Lam Kerman

[HansonKerman]

How did you do this: 

On 10/17/2018 at 8:26 PM, Ho Lam Kerman said:

 

  

 

?

Mod questions aside, this is a cool fan fic. And, although I slightly disagree with calling a CRG-25 "cylindrical" (and the fact that it looks a lot like our very own @Matt Lowne's Dunian vent), I do hope Jeb and his team investigate the unusual structure.

Best wishes!

[Chel]

Yay! New chapter!

[Ho Lam Kerman]

On 10/21/2018 at 10:56 PM, HansonKerman said:

How did you do this: 

It's a mod called "Reentry particle effects". https://kerbal.curseforge.com/projects/reentry-particle-effects 

On 10/21/2018 at 10:56 PM, HansonKerman said:

And, although I slightly disagree with calling a CRG-25 "cylindrical" (and the fact that it looks a lot like our very own @Matt Lowne's Dunian vent)

Well, from a distance it does look sort of cylindrical. Jeb wouldn't have known it's a CRG-25, so he called it "cylindrical".

And yes, it's based on the Dunian vent. More in the next chapter.

 

Regarding the next chapter, I haven't been able to produce them on a more regular basis as I've been busy re-watching From the Earth to the Moon, like I do every few months. (Apollo nerd incoming!) I'm currently starting Chapter 9 of FTETTM, so probably in two more days you'll hopefully be getting Chapter 7 of This New Ocean.

The reason I've been posting much more frequently in the past week was because I was having a holiday. This week I'll be getting back to school, but I'll start to have a bit more homework next week. I'll try to post more This New Ocean chapters, but the rate won't be nearly as frequent as last week.

[Ho Lam Kerman]

Chapter 7: Checkout

     Jeb stares at the screen, looking at KC-2, poised to lift off of the very same pad he and his crewmates lifted off from.

     Jeb: "Wow, that pad has a quick turnaround time, doesn't it? Especially after a Saturn V launch!"

     The crackly radio voice of the launch commentator roars to life. 

     "T-15... guidance is internal... 12, 11, 10, 9, ignition sequence start, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0... liftoff! We have a liftoff! 32 minutes past the hour, liftoff of KC-2, a triumphant return to the KOSS!"

Jeb: "Nice work team! I'll be watching from above!"

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

An hour later, the team is silently watching as the suspense builds up. 

"50 feet out, closing in at 2 feet per second."

Each foot in is a thousand more reasons the mission could fail.

"20 feet out, stopping for GO/NO GO checkpoint."

Anything could go wrong right now. Will KC-2 dock? Will the docking probe fail to extend? With nobody on the station, no-one can tell.

"Control, this is flight. GO/NO GO checklist commence."
"Pyro?" "GO!"
"Aux propulsion?" "GO!"
"Docking mech?" "GO!"
"CTRL?" "GO!"
"Attitude control?" "GO!"
"Payload and scan systems?" "GO!"
"KOSS?" "KOSS preliminary telemetry indicates GO for docking. Docking command sent."

"We are GO for KC-2 docking, 10 feet out, closing in at 1 feet per second."

Will KC-2 miss the docking port? Will it impact and irreversibly damage the solar panels? Will it run out of power? Will it lose attitude control at the very last minute?

Jeb ponders that, 25000 miles away on the surface of the Mun. Before he knows it, the crackly radio voice roars to life aboard Mun Base:

"We have docked with KOSS."

The crowd gathered at Mission Control erupts into applause. Jeb, along with the rest of Kerbankind, thanks all that has happened in the past few hours, and secretly takes Holy Communion.

"Checkout of KOSS.

"All hydraulic and electric motor systems are looking good.

"Solar panel deploy/retract are in working order.

"Cabin pressure has been maintained.

"All systems are GO. We are currently transmitting collected data from KOSS..."

"Hey, the resource scanner appear to have found something."

"Hey von Kerman, can you come look at this? This bluish terrain... appears associated with seawater... this might mean the discovery of a new mineral... the first terrestrial mineral to be discovered by space observation..."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

And as Kerbol sets on Mun base, Jeb calls it a day and goes to sleep.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mun base is surrounded by pitch black.

Nothing can be seen. Nothing can be heard. Mun base is just floating, floating in the vast void.

The heavy air is thick with the suspense.

Jeb sits in a corner, scared.

He awaits the morning.

Hours pass. Days pass. Jeb can't tell. To him, each minute is an hour.

And suddenly, the voice booms into his head.

"I am the Kraken Lord, your galactic overlord."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For the second time in a week, Jeb sits up in bed, sweating and screaming.

It wakes his fellow astronauts Bill and Bob up, orbiting in their Apollo capsule.

Careful not to break any FCC regulations, Bill says, "What the holy kraken, Jeb?! Why would you ever do that in the middle of the night?"

"I... uh... no... nothing. Nothing at all."

"Then why were you screaming?!"

At this point, Mission Control intervenes. 

"If you three value your life, please stop."

Bill: "Okay, fine. I would not like to lose my life in this new ocean."

Edited November 12, 2018 by Ho Lam Kerman

[Ho Lam Kerman]

Chapter 8: Oceanite

     "KSC, this is SC-1. We are approaching the site."

     "Roger SC-1. "

"We have a visual. Confirm blue colour, confirm association with seawater."

"We have braked at the sampling site, sample collection in progress."

Now let me whip out this flag and plant it here so we can mark the collection site."

(By the way... slight teaser- note that I have a Kerbin => Duna transfer window alarm set... hehe)

A few hours later, the team carefully lays out the samples, 75 pounds in all, on the sterilised tables.

Wernher: "Interesting... this new mineral must form in the presence of seawater. What a journey this little rock must've taken." 

Minmus Kerman: "Sir, the composition and molecule structure data of the minerals have come in. It apparently is Cu(OH)2."  (@The Minmus Derp )

Wernher: "Yup, that confirms it's a new mineral. Publish the results, but what should we call it?"

Minmus: "Minmusite, after the moon I discovered?"

Wernher: "No, that would give it the false impression that it was discovered on Minmus. What about Oceanite?"

Minmus: "Oh, well. We'll call it Oceanite, for this new ocean."

Edited November 3, 2018 by Ho Lam Kerman

[Chel]

Ah, good! Interesting chapter Ho!

[Alpha 360]

Just as a tip, @Ho Lam Kerman. When you said in the previous chapter, 

On 10/27/2018 at 3:06 PM, Ho Lam Kerman said:

An hour later, the team is silently watching as the suspense builds up. 

this is extremely cheap. I feel like you started off great in the beginning, but now you resorted to cheap phrases like this. Please give us the suspense that you say is occurring. Sure it might take ten minutes and an extra hundred words, but it ups the quality of your work very much. 

Just a little tip. Looking forward to the Kraken finally decimating the populace.

Happy Explosions!

[Ho Lam Kerman]

On 11/5/2018 at 11:49 PM, Alpha 360 said:

this is extremely cheap. I feel like you started off great in the beginning, but now you resorted to cheap phrases like this. Please give us the suspense that you say is occurring. Sure it might take ten minutes and an extra hundred words, but it ups the quality of your work very much.

Tell me if that's any better. Thanks for the advice!

[Alpha 360]

Certainly better. Maybe mention from an outside source the anxiety Jeb is feeling, leading to his decreased performance. After all, if a fully functioning Jeb is at the wheel, then the docking could be accomplished no sweat. 

Happy Explosions!

[Ho Lam Kerman]

Chapter 9: There's always more under the surface

     Since the launch of the mining module, Draconis, was scrubbed, Jeb had a day's worth of extra time. Mission Control put him to work, obviously, with him already having had a day's worth of free time looking at Kerbin. So they put him on a full day of dedicated excursion to investigate the anomaly.

     As Jeb starts up the ladder for the second time, he hopes he doesn't hear... that.... k-word... again.

He climbs to the top. 

He hesitates to look down. Will it be a porthole to a kraken's lair?

He looks.

He slips.

And he falls.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As he descends into the hole, he feels a strange sense of calmness.

And before he knows it, he's touched down.

"Wow! What is this place? It looks like kerbal technology to me."

"Is this a light switch? I'll need it. It's a bit dark down here."

"There we go. Wait, what's this? KSC, this looks like a tunnel!"

He walks up to the end of the tunnel.

Or what he thought was the end.

"Which way do I take? Meeny meeny miney mo..."

"I'll take the left first. The right can wait."

"Hey, these canisters... they look like they contain something. I'll take a small sample back to the lab."

"Down to the other end... these look like canisters too, but they look different. I'll take a sample of these too."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Back in the safety of Mun Base, Jeb pores over the samples he's collected. He puts small amounts of each in the onboard spectrometer. 

"KSC... take a look at this! The square samples apparently contain large amounts of copper! There's hydroxyl groups in there too!"

Wernher: "Hey, show me a picture of this?"

Jeb: "Okay, Wernher. Yeah, this stuff is quite obviously blue."

Minmus: "Hey- that looks like Minmusite!"

Wernher: "Oceanite, Minmus."

Minmus: "Oh, right. Oceanite."

Jeb: "You guys mean the stuff KOSS found while nobody's on it?"

Wernher: "Yes, that stuff. But we thought it was associated with water...?"

Jeb: "We'll get onto that, later. But what about the stuff in the round cans? It's a dark, olive green, but my spectrometer isn't making any sense of it. I'm not, either- it was white, but once I repressurized the cabin, it turned green."

Minmus: "That sounds like Fe(OH)2. Anyways, whatever you do, just keep the samples with you as you return to Kerbin. We've got much better spectrometers in R&D. Oh, and get a sample of white Fe(OH)2 and seal it before you repress."

Wernher: "Now, back to the Oceanite thing: if it really is associated with water, we will either need to reevaluate our understanding of the Mun, or somebody's been in this new ocean before us. And I don't mean Val."

Edited November 12, 2018 by Ho Lam Kerman