[AAR] The Grand Tour - Voyage To The Planets

[team.leit]

So, is Sid officially KIA? That hopeful part of me needs to know!

Excellent chapter as well. After all this, they better save someone on Duna...

He hasn't updated the crew list yet, so who knows? I don't

[Raptor831]

He hasn't updated the crew list yet, so who knows? I don't

I figured that would be updated to show the Truth. Still has him as healthy, which is why I asked. I need closure...

[team.leit]

I figured that would be updated to show the Truth. Still has him as healthy, which is why I asked. I need closure...

I understand how you feel, I just told my dad about this AAR and he asked for a link, so we will see what comes of that.

team.leit

[PwnedDuck]

........... I have nothing to say.........

Just... Can't... Word...

Not... Of into sentence

[silentdragon]

Epic chapter. I still think that it's nonsense to go to Duna, because by the time they get there it will likely be too late anyways (no matter what happened) - basically I get Rozers point and I think he is somewhat right. Right now I actually tend to like Rozer more, because he is acting more rational and Jeb is just a wreck. (I mean, you can't really blame him, but he's not able to lead a crew right now).

Anyway, I'm still curious to see what happened at Duna and I think the Eve encounter will be... Interesting I also still hope to see BERTY get switched back on, but maybe Rozer is going to do something in that direction.

[czokletmuss]

Yes yes yes yes yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As in I am happy for the new chapter

You are welcome

Whoa. This was a chapter and a half. Eve again, huh? That certainly feels right... makes perfect sense in a way.

Yup, it's quite long. But I'm glad you like And I too think that it feels right.

Poor Sid *le cries*

Is this finally the part where the station comes in, or is the station just a red herring, or is it a green herring?

Or is it a double, reverse red herring?

Now you are thinking like a TV Troper! Of course, even double reverse Red Herring may be subverted or parodied or even Lampshaded

Great chapter, czok Can't wait for more

........... I have nothing to say.........

Just... Can't... Word...

Not... Of into sentence

Thank you (I think) but please, no polandball speak. It's into destroyings my English. Sooning it of ruin my gramma and there is of no more stories - oh noes is of happening!

So, is Sid officially KIA? That hopeful part of me needs to know!

Excellent chapter as well. After all this, they better save someone on Duna...

He hasn't updated the crew list yet, so who knows? I don't

I figured that would be updated to show the Truth. Still has him as healthy, which is why I asked. I need closure...

Thanks! I'm going to update the crew list and other tables today, so please be patient

I understand how you feel, I just told my dad about this AAR and he asked for a link, so we will see what comes of that.

team.leit

Nice. Welcome, team.leit's dad, I hope you will enjoy the story! BTW does your dad play KSP?

Epic chapter. I still think that it's nonsense to go to Duna, because by the time they get there it will likely be too late anyways (no matter what happened) - basically I get Rozers point and I think he is somewhat right. Right now I actually tend to like Rozer more, because he is acting more rational and Jeb is just a wreck. (I mean, you can't really blame him, but he's not able to lead a crew right now).

Anyway, I'm still curious to see what happened at Duna and I think the Eve encounter will be... Interesting I also still hope to see BERTY get switched back on, but maybe Rozer is going to do something in that direction.

Thank you for sharing this with us. I'm glad that nobody(?) is treating this story as if with Black And White Morality. And about Eve encounter, well... it may be different than what you are expecting of it

EDIT: Here we go.

Crew status:

Mission plan:

Edited February 6, 2014 by czokletmuss

[The Error]

"Unknown."

You are a very mean guy, czok.

It's less Anyone Can Die and more Everyone Will Die, I feel.

[Deadpangod3]

I founds myself yelling "THROW HIM OUT THE AIRLOCK JEB!!!"

[Raptor831]

I founds myself yelling "THROW HIM OUT THE AIRLOCK JEB!!!"

In one sense Rozer is right. Jeb's the reason for all the craziness. I think Rozer is oversimplifying to imply that Jeb's caused all of these deaths, especially since Rozer is equally to blame. Had Rozer not been a total prick in the first part and figured out a working relationship with Jeb, they would have avoided this stuff as well. Cuts both ways. And as much as I can't bring myself to hate Rozer, he's still a prick.

[team.leit]

[...]

Nice. Welcome, team.leit's dad, I hope you will enjoy the story! BTW does your dad play KSP?

[...]

Not yet, I am working on getting him into the game.

[czokletmuss]

"Unknown."

You are a very mean guy, czok.

"It's less Anyone Can Die and more Everyone Will Die, I feel.

We'll see about that

I founds myself yelling "THROW HIM OUT THE AIRLOCK JEB!!!"

In one sense Rozer is right. Jeb's the reason for all the craziness. I think Rozer is oversimplifying to imply that Jeb's caused all of these deaths, especially since Rozer is equally to blame. Had Rozer not been a total prick in the first part and figured out a working relationship with Jeb, they would have avoided this stuff as well. Cuts both ways. And as much as I can't bring myself to hate Rozer, he's still a prick.

I don't remember who said that but "for every expert out there there is an anti-expert with equal experience", ergo there are enough reasons and arguments to support almost every point of view. This isn't exactly true but hey, if you were arguing with someone in real life you can easily notice that despite your superior and obvious arguments sometimes people just have another idea how things works - and they dare to support their claims with not-so-silly arguments too!

Not yet, I am working on getting him into the game.

Good luck!

[czokletmuss]

"Unknown."

You are a very mean guy, czok.

"It's less Anyone Can Die and more Everyone Will Die, I feel.

We'll see about that

I founds myself yelling "THROW HIM OUT THE AIRLOCK JEB!!!"

In one sense Rozer is right. Jeb's the reason for all the craziness. I think Rozer is oversimplifying to imply that Jeb's caused all of these deaths, especially since Rozer is equally to blame. Had Rozer not been a total prick in the first part and figured out a working relationship with Jeb, they would have avoided this stuff as well. Cuts both ways. And as much as I can't bring myself to hate Rozer, he's still a prick.

I don't remember who said that but "for every expert out there there is an anti-expert with equal experience", ergo there are enough reasons and arguments to support almost every point of view. This isn't exactly true but hey, if you were arguing with someone in real life you can easily notice that despite your superior and obvious arguments sometimes people just have another idea how things works - and they dare to support their claims with not-so-silly arguments too!

Not yet, I am working on getting him into the game.

Good luck!

Thanks to VirtualCLD some of my errors and typos in the last chapter were corrected - thank you very much, VirtualCLD!

[SpaceSphereOfDeath]

Teh epic double post.

[czokletmuss]

Oops.......

[The Error]

Double Post for Double Effect.

[Rhyunix]

Quite- Oh I do love reading this AAR, it just gets me every time

[Lundmunchkins]

I really hope you make a Mid-Chapter that details Sid's life on Laythe. That would be great!

[czokletmuss]

Life on Laythe?

[Wayfare]

Life on Laythe?

[TheDataMiner]

Life on Laythe?

The pictures of Sid walking into the ocean were of Sid committing suicide, he couldn't survive under"water"

[team.leit]

http://static.rogerebert.com/redactor_assets/pictures/far-flung-correspondents/the-pursuit-of-powerlessness/Cast_Away_Wilson_face.jpg

Nice touch with Wilson

[czokletmuss]

Sneak-peak into the next chapter (which is coming Soonâ„¢):

[Krevsin]

Life on Laythe?

1000 years later, Kerbals return to Laythe only to discover an entire ecosystem had evolved from Sid's remains.

[czokletmuss]

CHAPTER 58

EVE FLYBY

***

Commander's log, entry 108 (77 days after deactivation).

Today we've left Jool's SOI. Now we are far enough from this cursed planet to run our calculations again. With Jool's gravity grasp weaker with every hour, it has less and less influence on “Proteusâ€Â, thus enabling us to make sure our trajectory is correct. Eve flyby is going to require very precise maneuvers during our journey. We can't make any mistake, not with the everpresent threat of the core instability.

Commander's log, entry 109 (79 days after deactivation).

We weren't precise enough.

The transfer burn almost gave us encounter with Eve – but almost is not good enough. On our current trajectory we won't enter Eve's SOI for years. But together with Danrey and Mallock we've found a solution. Being still months away from our target it won't take much to change the trajectory. We've run simulations and it seems that we need only 80 m/s if we execute the correction manoeuver at the right time, which is more than 3 months from now.

Three months before the course correction. It's less than one forth of the whole journey but it feels like an eternity. Once I thought there's nothing worse than these long periods of inactivity, of complete stillness. Now I know I was wrong but it doesn't change the fact that even with “Proteus†functioning perfectly well this may be too much for us to handle.

Commander's log, entry 110 (93 days after deactivation).

Another fire in the service module. Short circuit. I thought that without exposure to Jool magnetosphere it won't happen again so quickly. But we can't hide from cosmic rays.

Commander's log, entry 111 (118 days after deactivation).

We're getting 5-6 minor malfunctions per day. So far nothing critical – life support system and fusion cores are nominal. “Proteus†has got old. After all these months in deep space it's aging visibly, perhaps even quicker now when there's no BERTY to oversee every subsystem and make sure all of them are working properly. I have no idea that “Proteus†is so prone to breakdowns and malfs. It's only now we can truly realize the magnitude of what BERTY was ordered to do – protect the spacecraft and the crew.

Commander's log, entry 112 (139 days after deactivation).

Cambo has released him from the infirmary. We need every pair of hands – we work in shifts to keep the ship running. Johndon is very concerned about our life support system. We have all the schematics in the database but in case something happened, without Neil's experience it may took to long to repair the damage. Of course this system has the most redundancy and was built to survive even rapid decompression or severe electrical failure. Still, because of all this precautions it's not so easy for it to break down completely, but when it does without an expert it may be impossible to make it work again.

Commander's log, entry 113 (176 days after deactivation).

Almost four months has passed since the transfer burn and there are still more than a week ahead of us before the course correction. So far the need of constant repairs is keeping everyone focused and certainly it's better than doing nothing. With nothing to do people start to think, to question. To concentrate on the past. That's the last thing we need. On the other hand, the malfs never end. How long can one fight to keep the ship alive? We're slowly but steadily running out of spare parts. And with varying power output from the fusion cores the problems with short circuits will never end. At least that's what Ned is saying. But he knows what he's doing. He's the best expert on nuclear propulsion there is.

Sometimes I miss them so much.

Commander's log, entry 114 (185 days after deactivation).

We've completed the course correction. As Ned pointed out, using engines would be to risky – they need to be operational if we want to ever get to Duna. Or Kerbin. That's why we used RCS. It took some time but it was the safest option, plus we have more than enough supplies of both monopropellant and kethane to do this.

So we're back on course. Not that anybody really cares – after 120 days the apathy starts to kick in I suppose. And we still have another four months ahead of us. They should have something to do besides constant repairs. But what? All the entertainment files from Kerbin – movies, songs, images, books – were already used by everyone five or six times. We have samples from all the celestial bodies we've visited but nobody wants to investigate them, not even Mallock. Only Johndon is busy with refining the code for the Payload C transfer burn, maybe even happy to have a distraction from the pathetic state we all are in. There must be something for them to do.

Commander's log, entry 115 (191 days after deactivation).

We've got confirmation – Payload C has completed the burn. Now we only need to wait two more weeks before it leaves the system to check whether it needs any trajectory corrections.

There almost was a fight between Ned and Rozer yesterday. I tried to intervene but neither of them wanted to talk with me. I don't even know what they were arguing about.

Commander's log, entry 116 (203 days after deactivation).

Payload C is on course. Predicted Duna encounter in 270 days. Two hundred and seventy days, my Kod... This is good news but it made me realize once again how long it would take before any of us set a foot on Duna's surface. Will we even get there?

Commander's log, entry 117 (211 days after deactivation).

I run some simulations to make sure Eve flyby will give us Duna encounter. I wasn't able to get it. It scared me to death – what if we won't get an encounter? I tried over and over and over but the best I got was 653.872 kilometers. Closest approach more than half a million kilometers away from the planet. I know that it's nothing we can't compensate for later with another correction and that we will get better accuracy when we're closer to Eve. I know that “Proteus†emergency main system isn't best suited for the advanced calculations for orbital mechanics – Kod, we had to copy the navigation software from LAMGML to the mainframe to even make it work. But still... I feel like a captain of a ship with broken compass and inaccurate maps. Will I get them there safely at all?

Chief engineer's log, entry 1 (225 days after deactivation).

My first entry. I dunno what Jeb was thinking – is this really gonna help anyone? Writing one's thoughts down? What's the point? Frak it, it's not like I have anything better to do anyways. So yes, my first entry. Well, we're in a deep ****, so nothing new I suppose. The fusion cores are capricious and kinda unpredictable, which honestly freaks me out when I think about this. These are fusion cores, for Kod's sake – two tiny suns of superheated plasma, so hot that the electrons are stripped out from the atoms, magnetically confined so we can harness its power. If the cores became unstable enough to trigger chain reaction... well, if “Proteus†was in orbit above Kerbin the EMP could easily fry electronics on half of the planet. Just imagining the whole hemisphere suddenly going dark, like turning it off with some fraking cosmic light switch... sweet Lord. Of course nobody would even notice if this was to happen here, one tiny dot getting slightly brighter for a moment. Certainly we won't notice it. I think we wouldn't even feel anything – expanding plasma would evaporate us before the nervous system would transfer the sensation of pain to the brain. I hope so at least.

Damn, I think I feel kinda better. Maybe this isn't such a stupid idea after all.

Chief engineer's log, entry 2 (233 days after deactivation).

Wake up. Eat. Repairs. Exercise – very important, we're all suffering from severe osteopenia, says Cambo. Fancy word for a bone and muscle loss. Anyways: exercise. Repairs. Eat. Repairs. Exercise. Eat. Try to write down something in this fraking log. Sleep. Wake up. Every day is the same, the only thing which is changing are these bloody malfs. We do what we can but “Proteus†is slowly falling apart, there's no doubt about this. And we're getting closer to the Sun. With every day the solar wind increases, slowly destroying the outer layers of the hull. But that's nothing, the ship can handle this. If, however, a coronal mass ejection happens – or solar proton event, for that matter – and we'll be on it's way... Frak, we may survive hiding in the radiation cellar but I doubt “Proteus†can handle proton storm. For Kod's sake, you bloody idiot – you may have doomed all of as by deactivating him. We can only hope it won't happen.

Commander's log, entry 118 (256 days after deactivation).

Rozer argues that the flyby is too dangerous. He says that it's going to make us pass to close to the Sun. He also says that the whole idea of going to Duna is pointless, considering months has passed since we received the distress signal. It's no surprise he's saying this now – I'm sure that was his opinion from the beginning but he knew nobody would listen. Now, hundreds of days after Laythe, he's trying to earn the trust of the crew to manipulate them against me. Again. But this time it won't happen. No more mistakes, no hesitation. I have to save them.

Chief engineer's log, entry 3 (267 days after deactivation).

Jeb's is behaving strangely lately. Frak, we all are, trapped in this can in the middle of nothing. Cutting edge technology, huh? Without BERTY it's slowly turning into derelict ship. I thought that killing BERTY was going to be like a blow to the head – that “Proteus†will never recover, despite still strong fusion hearts providing power. But it's more like Alzheimer.'s Various bits of software, small circuits here and there, all slowly decaying and cease to work, just like an infected brain. “Proteus†is slowly loosing her memory. Already it has troubles with some smaller things, but it's not going to stop. Soon it's going to start forgetting about the basics. And one day it'll forget how to breathe or worse, how to control his hearts and this will be the end of it. Hell, maybe this son of a ***** is right – maybe going to Duna is a mistake. Despite how much I hate him this piece of **** may be right. We may never reach it. We need to start thinking about changing the plan.

Commander's log, entry 119 (288 days after deactivation).

There's no doubt about this – he's scheming against me. What may be the other explanation for what he's doing? He know that we can't change our trajectory now without huge delta-v. We're too close. So why he's keep trying to turn them against me? There may be only one reason – he wants to seize the leadership. Over my his dead body. I know what he would do, he would judge rescue mission as pointless and abandon them. I can't allow it. Too many have died already. He says that they are already dead, that distress signal from Duna is to old that there may be any chance that they are still alive there. True, we don't know what happened. But I'll be damned if I let this murderer to take a life of another innocent. They are alive. They must be. I know this.

Commander's log, entry 120 (295 days after deactivation).

Cambo found mold in the food. Apparently one of the freezers stopped working – warmth and a little humidity is all that's needed. One third of our supplies wasted. Luckily the contamination didn't spread – we had to clean this mess with oxium mask so that nobody get infected. It could be disastrous but there are only 7 crew members on board instead of 14 for whom the supplies were prepared. Dear Kod, there's only seven of us here. Only seven...

One week before the encounter. I run several simulations with Danrey and it seems we're going to need a small correction before the actual flyby. Good thing we have enough monopropellant for this and that the RCS is still working. Ned is taking care of the engines since we've left and still I wouldn't trust my life on them working. Of course, I don't have a choice but to trust the life of all of us on this.

Sometimes I'm thinking about going out.

Commander's log, entry 121 (302 days after deactivation).

We're almost there. We did it – we made it to Eve. When I'm writing this there are less than 4 hours before we arrive in the planet's SOI and before we may check our calculations again. Please Kod, let them be correct!

Commander's log, entry 121-A (302 days after deactivation).

We frakked this up. I don't know why but our estimates were completely off from what “Proteus†is showing us now! We need to correct trajectory ASAP, I'll write more later.

Commander's log, entry 121-B (302 days after deactivation).

It's done. Luckily one of my simulations have data we could use to execute the correction burn. Dan says that he expected this – after all I've been running them for months. But I failed. We're on course know but I put the crew in danger. I put them in danger! If the RCS were to stop working... Lord, I don't even want to think about this. And I did it. I made a mistake...

Commander's log, entry 121-C (302 days after deactivation).

We have less than 5 hours before the flyby. Everything seems to be working, all systems nominal so far. But I can't calm down. Frak, I'm still shaking – I put them in danger, all of them. And this planet, good Kod, this damned planet, this furious purple inferno which consumed Bob. I can see it with a naked eye, growing with every minute... I will never forget what happened to “Kadmos†when we were aerobraking in its atmosphere. It's like a curse on both of them, Eve and Jool. They claim at least one live every time someone gets close to them. And we are going to get really, really close this time, almost skimming the upper atmosphere. They are like some primordial dark powers, demanding sacrifice... Where are the fraking stress pills-

Chief engineer's log, entry 4 (302 days after deactivation).

Eve. Fraking Eve is out there, getting bigger as I write this down. I hate this planet. I fraking hate it. I would blow it up if it was possible. Whatever is going to happen, I hope it's going to be the last time I see this fraking purple abomination of a planet.

I hate it. I really fraking hate it.

***

PROTEUS: PERIAPSIS IN T MINUS 5 MINUTES.

DANREY: Would you like to check everything one last time?

JEB: Yes. Attention – please report your status. Johndon?

JOHNDON: With f-fire extinguisher in s-service m-module, I'm r-read.

JEB: Cambo?

CAMBO: Infirmary is ready and I'm ready.

JEB: Life support system?

MALLOCK: Nominal, I'll be at the control panel B all the time.

JEB: RCS?

ROZER: Go.

JEB: Engines?

NED: So far so good, but I can't guarantee anything.

PROTEUS: PERIAPSIS IN T MINUS 4 MINUTES.

JEB: SAS?

DANREY: We're good. Ahem. And pilot?

JEB: I'm fine.

DANREY: You, uhm, you are still shaking a little, you know. Maybe-

NED: He'll be fine, Dan. And you don't even think about taking another pill.

JEB: I need to stay focus. We all need to stay focused.

NED: I know, but good Kod Jeb, you can't overdose things like this.

JEB: I need to stay focused. I'm fine. And Dan, if anything happens to me-

DANREY: I don't want to talk about this.

JEB: -if anything happens, you'll finish this burn. Do you understand?

DANREY: …

PROTEUS: PERIAPSIS IN T MINUS 3 MINUTES.

JEB: Do you?

DANREY: Yes, but nothing's going to happen. It's just another maneuver.

JEB: It's the maneuver. We're going burn through 1472 meters per second of delta-v at 1.1g of acceleration, 10 months since the engines work for the last time. We need to do this if we want to save the team from Duna. So I ask again – do you understand?

DANREY: Yes. Yes, I... I understand.

JEB: Thank you.

NED: Sunset.

JEB: Attention everyone, prepare for the acceleration. It's going to be rough but we've been through worse, just like “Proteusâ€Â. Remember, it's only 1 minute and 58 seconds. Are you ready?

MALLOCK: Roger.

JOHNDON: Copy that.

CAMBO: I'm ready.

ROZER: Wilco.

PROTEUS: PERIAPSIS IN T MINUS 2 MINUTES.

JEB: Kodspeed, “Proteusâ€Â. Ned?

NED: I'm on it.

JEB: Dan.

DANREY: SAS online.

JEB: Captain.

ROZER: RCS online, commander.

PROTEUS: PERIAPSIS IN T MINUS 1 MINUTE.

JEB: Here we go...

PROTEUS: MANEUVER NODE ACHIEVED. EXECUTING PROTOCOL EVE_FLYBY_7C. FULL THROTTLE.

JEB: Uh! Ned?

NED: Cores nominal!

PROTEUS: POWERED GRAVITY ASSIST IN PROGRESS.

DANREY: Jeb!

JEB: I see!

PROTEUS: WARNING. INSTABILITY IN FUSION CORE B DETECTED.

NED: ****!

JEB: Ned, I need the engines!

NED: I know!

PROTEUS: PERIAPSIS ACHIEVED.

DANREY: I've got power fluctuations!

JEB: We're half way there! Ned, koddamit!

NED: I'm doing what I can!

PROTEUS: WARNING. INSTABILITY IN FUSION CORE B DETECTED. LOWERING FUSION EFFICIENCY TO 10 PERCENT.

JEB: Override!

PROTEUS: NEGATIVE. CATASTROPHIC CHAIN REACTION IMMINENT.

JEB: Ned!

NED: I can give you 30 seconds, after this we're toast!

JEB: It's not enough!

JOHNDON: Fire! Fire in the service m-module!

PROTEUS: WARNING. CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTED IN SERVICE MODULE. PLEASE PUT ON YOUR OXIUM MASKS.

DANREY: Crap, we've lost reaction wheel 4B!

JEB: Ten seconds!

PROTEUS: LOWERING FUSION EFFICIENCY TO 10 PERCENT.

NED: Six seconds, Jeb! Five!

JEB: Frak!

NED: Three!

PROTEUS: EMERGENCY ENGINES SHUTDOWN COMPLETED.

JEB: Status report! Johndon, come in.

JOHNDON: There's crap ton of s-smoke here but the s-situation is under control.

DANREY: Four-b is dead for good it seems...

JEB: Damn. I'm calculating our trajectory.

ROZER: What for? We're short of one or two seconds, we won't get an encounter without another correction.

JEB: …

NED: I'm sorry Jeb, but few more seconds and we would turn into expanding cloud of plasma. There was nothing I could do.

JEB: …

DANREY: We still have RCS, we can – what's this?

NED: What?

DANREY: Some sort of probe in low orbit?

ROZER: I'm picking it too. But it's not a probe.

DANREY: So what is it than?

JEB: It's Bob.

DANREY: …

NED: Kod…

JEB: …

ROZER: Commander? We need to make another correction ASAP.

JEB: Copy that.

DANREY: After all these months, he's still-

NED: Dan. Please.

DANREY: …

JOHNDON: I d-don't want to interrupt or something b-but was the b-burn successful? Are we on course?

JEB: Not yet. Let's get to work.

DANREY: Will this be enough?

ROZER: You've seen the numbers. RCS is a go, we may proceed. If commander Jebediah gives us his permission, of course.

JEB: How are the cores looking?

NED: It'll take a while before they are ready, even more before we can safely use them. A day or so, I would say.

JEB: RCS it is than.

***

JEB: Five. Four. Three. Two. One. And done.

DANREY: Checking the trajectory.

NED: Let's hope that's enough.

JEB: It should be.

NED: And what if it isn't?

JEB: Then we will have to-

DANREY: We've done it! We have Duna encounter!

NED: Yes!

JEB: When?

DANREY: One hundred and nineteen days!

ROZER: And the Payload? Will we arrive before it?

DANREY: The Payload will arrive at Duna in... 173 days. This gives us almost two months – just like you said, Jeb!

JEB: Yeah.

NED: Ha! You see, we're still on course. We've met this fraking purple ***** of a planet and we survived. We should- where are you going?

JEB: I'll be in my bunk.

***

MISSION STATUS

***

[team.leit]

Dang, you like teasing us don't you? All in all, a well written chapter. I didn't notice and spelling errors, but that because the story enthralled me.

team.leit