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[AAR] The Grand Tour - Voyage To The Planets

czokletmuss

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Raptor831

Raptor831

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I think Jeb is teetering on the edge of sanity. He keeps dancing from one extreme to the other. C'mon Jeb, pull it together!

They need to go to Duna, to at least figure out what happened to the crew. And maybe what the heck the signal is, and what the heck that derelict station is doing there. So many loose ends...

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Itsdavyjones

Itsdavyjones

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I say that they should immediately head off to Eeloo after rescuing the Duna crew.:D

And what will happen to the ship, its barely space worthy with Berty out of commission, and moral is way too low. The only way I can see them going to Eeloo is when the return to Kerbin, the government holds them at gunpoint (or similar) and sends them off to Eeloo with Berty reactivated, or a new AI.

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BFGfreak

BFGfreak

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At this point, I'm not even sure if the Proteus make it to Duna, let alone back to Kerbin or Eeloo. I think they may have to use the Krussian space station to have any hope to get back, remember that that thing does have an engine on it, and aside from the hydrazine which can be purged simply by opening a window, holds the best bet for them to get back home or continue the mission.

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czokletmuss

czokletmuss

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i knew that they would involve bob

Well, it was an Eve flyby after all :)

So. Much. Suspense. Absolutey brilliant! Another amazing chapter and another not too far away, keep up the amazing literacy czok!

Thank you and yes, the next chapter is coming very Soon.

Go to kerbin! The kerbals will di-

Wait a minuite, Ike=station issue resolved

Carry on.

"Ike station" is something which I didn't forget about ;)

Great chapter, and screw the grand tour, to much has happened to continue the voyage to Eeloo.

Thanks :) Right now "Proteus" is half the way to Duna so it's not like they can change the trajectory without massive delta-v spending anyways. But yes, Eeloo means at least 3-4 more years - it would double the time of the mission.

I think Jeb is teetering on the edge of sanity. He keeps dancing from one extreme to the other. C'mon Jeb, pull it together!

They need to go to Duna, to at least figure out what happened to the crew. And maybe what the heck the signal is, and what the heck that derelict station is doing there. So many loose ends...

That's what keeps the story so interesting :D

Once again great chapter, I'm really looking forward to the next one. And there will even be a poll of what the crew should do? Sounds awesome! :D

Yeah, Jeb doesn't have it easy. But he was always incredibily stubborn so who knows what the future will bring?

Leaving loose ends would be a lazy writing, so I'm not planning to do this.

And yes, there will be a poll just after the next chapter!

I say that they should immediately head off to Eeloo after rescuing the Duna crew.:D
And what will happen to the ship, its barely space worthy with Berty out of commission, and moral is way too low. The only way I can see them going to Eeloo is when the return to Kerbin, the government holds them at gunpoint (or similar) and sends them off to Eeloo with Berty reactivated, or a new AI.
but and the failures and malfunctions? the ship is breaking down slowly and they're running out of spare parts, it would be so impossible to go there... and back!

Exactly what Itsdavyjones in the first sentence. Remember that they are not in the prime condition. Being so long in microgravity alone means that they would have big problems with even breathing in 1g on Kerbin, not to mention other problems.

No, they find an alien space saucer, strap it between the fusion drives, and then warp to Eeloo. Duuh! :wink:

Now that would be completely unexpected and crazy awesome twist, wouldn't it? :D

Wow I have been reading this for weeks and only now I realize your name is chocolate mousse! Great story telling dude!
He's Chocolate Mouse? Does that make me Deja Vous? 'Av we not met somewhere before Monsieur?' We'll be getting Omar Sherif next!

At this point, I'm not even sure if the Proteus make it to Duna, let alone back to Kerbin or Eeloo. I think they may have to use the Krussian space station to have any hope to get back, remember that that thing does have an engine on it, and aside from the hydrazine which can be purged simply by opening a window, holds the best bet for them to get back home or continue the mission.

:dun dun dun:

as berty was alright near the start i propose a idea

wipe bertys memory and reactivate him

So basically brainwashing?

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czokletmuss

czokletmuss

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CHAPTER 59

NIGHT

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***

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

We have completed the powered gravity assist and after small correction with RCS we managed to get Duna encounter. I don't know why but I'm exhausted.

Chief engineer's log, entry 5-A (302 days after deactivation).

We've done it. As I am writing these words, we're moving away from Eve and in four months we will arrive at Duna, just as planned. I hope when I'm done with the fusion cores we won't be able to see it with a naked eye any longer – she did give us a powerful kick. Honestly, I hope I'll never see this cursed planet again.

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Chief engineer's log, entry 6 (303 days after deactivation).

And so it starts again. After the flyby the old rhythm comes back and somehow it's even more tiring. Wearisome maintenance duties, sleeping in a bag, drinking processed ****. Damn, I don't know how we are going to be able to live without microgravity and urine for a drink. I know I should be glad that the life support system is still working but still, it's hard when you start thinking about this. So I do what everyone does – I'm trying to not think about this at all. Duna in 4 months.

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Commander's log, entry 122 (305 days after deactivation).

In five days we will reach periapsis. We'll be half the way to Moho's orbit. The solar wind is increasing with every day, the inverse-square law working against us since “Proteus†doesn't use solar panels. The Sun is already unrealistically big and it's still getting bigger, bombarding the spacecraft with charged particles. We're so close now that even with the thick hull between us one can't stop thinking about this fiery, gigantic heart of our solar system.

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And although I don't want to admit this, I can feel its rays going straight through “Proteusâ€Â. I can hear its calling. I'm not going to repeat what I did when “Kadmos†was as close as we are right now or even closer. Going for EVA so close to the Sun... it was incredibly foolish of me. I wasn't thinking clearly back then – and my Kod, it was what, 25 years ago? I know that long after I'm dead and even after Kerbin is dead the mighty Sun will still be there, slowly breathing, giving live and death. I know I can't do this but some part of me wants to get out and see it once again. It's hopeless, really. Like a moth drawn to a light-bulb in the dark night. Like a little bug...

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Chief engineer's log, entry 7 (310 days after deactivation).

Periapsis. We're getting lots of radiation in the whole spectrum, cooling systems are working at highest efficiency. So far no problems – thank Kod we still have the heatshield. I don't even want to think what would the solar wind do if we couldn't hide in its shadow.

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Commander's log, entry 123 (310 days after deactivation).

I'm trying to ignore the Sun and concentrate instead on the next maneuver. We've run several simulations and it appears that it would take only a tiny correction to get the closest approach at more or less 1300 kilometers rather than 30.440 kilometers. We still have more than enough fuel so this small correction won't really change much but there's something soothing in working with numbers right now. I don't know, maybe it's the Sun. The Sun is... magnificent. Just magnificent.

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Chief engineer's log, entry 8 (312 days after deactivation).

I don't know whether he noticed this or whether he cares but damnit, it's getting worse again. I'm talking about morale, crew spirit, this kind of ****. So far it was bad but at least stable, with the planet and the periapsis to preoccupy everyone's thoughts. But now it's the same thing – sleep, eat, repair, exercise, sleep, eat, repair, exercise. Over and over and over again, the same day repeating indefinitely, with only malfs being different every time. We will run out of spares eventually and it worries me a lot. Plus there is also this thing about Duna encounter Rozer is talking about. Frak, why there always have to be something? And when there are no problems it's getting repetitive and dull, mind-numbing really... I guess that's what space exploration really is – you're either bored and tired to death or you are desperately trying not to die when something finally happens. At least from an engineer's point of view – eggheads at least have their science.

Mallock just told me through an intercom that there was another problem with the inflatable module C, cooling system this time. I feel like a fraking plumber.

Commander's log, entry 124 (319 days after deactivation).

I couldn't resist. I used the external cameras to take a look. I couldn't sleep anyways. My Kod, this is incredible. The Sun is so powerful, so mesmerizing... It's like staring at Kod's face and not being burned by the sole act of such incredible arrogance. And truly, is there anything more godlike? It gives us life, it gives us light, it's the source of so much beauty it's hard to even try to describe it. It's not surprising that people once worshipped it.

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When I look at it I don't feel the burden of responsibility. I don't think about “Proteus†or Duna, I don't even think about going home anymore. I just want to be able to stay here and admire the greatness of it. When I look at it I realize how insignificant all we do is. Why we struggle? What have we achieved? In the face of something so overwhelming what's the value of all this? One day the last being is going to die on Kerbin – it's going to happen, it's just a matter of time. On that day, the life of our planet will fade forever, unless we find a new home somewhere. And the Universe will not even notice.

Somehow I find peace in this. The pain goes away, even if for a while.

Chief engineer's log, entry 9 (320 days after deactivation).

The shower facility broke down. We're almost inside Moho's orbit and we don't have hot water anymore! I'm more and more worried about “Proteusâ€Â. I knew it's super-advanced-cutting-edge-yadda-yadda spacecraft but without BERTY it seems like every subsystem is slowly dying. I wrote about this I think but now I'm certain about it.

We talked today about the incoming correction burn. Rozer and Danrey argued that it may be tweaked in such a way that we may get free return trajectory to Kerbin in case engines fail during orbit insertion burn. Of course it would mean that there will be a big problems with stopping in Kerbin SOI but first things first. I don't know whether what they were talking about is a viable option – Jeb didn't show up. Plus I don't even know are we going for an orbit insertion burn or aerobraking. I'm afraid that even he doesn't know this. Luckily the one thing we have in abundance is time, so we don't have to hurry with the decision.

Commander's log, entry 125 (321 days after deactivation).

It's like an ocean of light, every sunspot the size of Kerbin. Compared to this we're dust, nothing more.

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***

DANREY: Jeb? Jeb, it's time.

JEB: …

NED: Jeb!

JEB: Hmm? Yes, I'm going. Come.

DANREY: Jeb, listen. We, uh, we've been thinking about the correction burn.

JEB: Mhm.

DANREY: Yeah. So, there's this thing that it turns out that if we don't change our velocity for 3.0 meters per second but for 2.4 meters per second...

NED: Are you listening?

JEB: Yes, yes. Go on.

DANREY: Well, if we do this it appears that we can get a free return trajectory to Kerbin!

JEB: Oh?

NED: Now listen to this.

DANREY: Thanks to Duna gravity assist we should get an encounter with Kerbin in more or less 150 days after Duna flyby. So even if the engines fail during the orbit insertion burn or, I don't know, some other malfunction-

JEB: Flyby? There won't be any flyby. We have to get to the surface. You know this.

DANREY: Sure. But if something goes wrong, we're going to have a guaranteed safe return to Kerbin.

JEB: …

NED: You ain't happy about it? Free transfer to Kerbin, Jeb.

JEB: Yes... Are you sure about this?

DANREY: Absolutely. We've done the simulations and everything. Plus even if it turns out it didn't work, we can just burn RCS thrusters for few more seconds to-

JEB: Wait. “We�

DANREY: Uhm. Me and Rozer. Actually, it was his idea, he figured it out first.

JEB: I see.

NED: Jeb, I know what you are thinking. He's a sociopath and what he did with- what he did is enough to not trust him. But I checked the calculations myself. It's legit. We should-

JEB: I trust your judgment. We're doing it. After all, we can always correct like Dan said.

DANREY: Yes! This is great – I'll tell everyone that-

JEB: Let's just do the correction first, shall we? We can celebrate after we got confirmation.

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***

JEB: Kerbin encounter in 147 days and 17 hours.

DANREY: Yes! Oh Kod, yes!

NED: Holy ****. Kerbin encounter... is it real?

ROZER: Absolutely.

JEB: Captain.

ROZER: Commander.

JEB: Good work.

ROZER: Pleasure is all mine.

DANREY: I'm sorry, I have to tell everyone. Johndon! Mal!

NED: It's un-fraking-believable. After all these months finally we have Kerbin encounter.

ROZER: We're not there yet. And we won't be if we manage to get into Duna's orbit.

NED: Listen, you slimball, maybe you did something good but it doesn't mean- where the hell are you going?

JEB: I have something to do.

NED: Like what?

JEB: You know... stuff.

ROZER: Stuff?

NED: Shut up, he can do whatever he wants now that we're after the trajectory correction.

Don't worry about me, old friend.

JEB: What? I don't worry about you.

NED: What?

JEB: You said that I shouldn't worry about you.

NED: To you?

JEB: Yeah.

NED: No, I didn't.

JEB: You didn't?

ROZER: What are you talking about?

NED: Shut up. Jeb-

JEB: I better go. I'll be in my bunk.

ROZER: Yes, I'm sure “stuff†can't wait.

NED: I said shut the frak up.

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Chief engineer's log, entry 10 (326 days after deactivation).

We did it and we have confirmed encounter with Kerbin in just 146 days now. This is incredible. It's much easier to get through every day knowing that even if something happens – and it usually does – we have a free ride to our home's doorstep.

But what's worrying me the most now besides constant malfs – we almost had another fire due to a short circuit – is the Duna encounter. What will we find there? Even if the orbit insertion burn fails we should be able to pick up their transmissions while passing a thousand kilometers above the planet. That is, if we are going to use the engines. Jeb didn't decide yet it seems and both pilots disagree about what should we do. Dan thinks that the insertion burn is the right option considering all we need is to get in orbit, even highly elliptical and then we can circularize even if it's going to take days. Of course this piece of **** Rozer thinks we should aerobrake to make sure we get into orbit even if all systems fail. He doesn't seem to notice that the very aerobraking may cause severe troubles – we're talking about several gees of acceleration and high temperature, not to mention we need to enter the atmosphere in a very precise corridor. Even small mistake may send us towards the surface of Duna at supersonic speed or worse, throw us away into space. Or at least that's what Dan said about this.

I dunno, I hope Jeb is working on a solution of some kind 'cause we're gonna need it.

Commander's log, entry 126 (330 days after deactivation).

I can't sleep. All my nights I spend watching the stars. Among them is our Star, slightly dimmer with every day. But what is a night here in the dark? Only artificial lights of “Proteus†tell us which hour it is, trying to simulate the normal rhythm, every “sunrise†bright enough to wake us up. It's a lie. The truth is there are no things like dawn or dusk here. There is only endless night in this infinite vastness.

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Commander's log, entry 127 (343 days after deactivation).

Two months left. Weird, I thought we still have at least 80 days left. It's hard to tell. It's like being trapped in a infinite loop, every day repeating itself over and over again. It's like the time stopped.

Chief engineer's log, entry 11 (353 days after deactivation).

I'm sure about it know – he doesn't know what should we do. Aerobraking? Orbit insertion burn? He has no idea. I've tried to talk with him but he's being... erratic again. It's not like the rest of us is holding any better. Johndon is programming new code for the Payload, despite the fact we won't need it for months. Dan is reading the Krussian dictionaries he already read them multiple times. Mal is just floating there, listening to the classical music I guess. Cambo's cataloguing our supplies, samples and other items, Kod know what for. And Rozer... well, for all I care he may be learning how to EVA without a spacesuit. We all know we need to do something about this but, I dunno, it's like dreaming – you can talk with anyone you want but they don't listen because they are not really there.

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Commander's log, entry 128 (365 days after deactivation).

One year. One year since what happened above Tylo. Almost one year since Laythe.

I had a dream today. A spacewalk in low orbit, it was Bop or Pol, I'm not sure. I was in my spacesuit, everything nominal. I saw another kerbonaut drifting in space nearby, his lights turned off. I used the EMU thrusters to get closer. I don't know why but I was sure it was Bill... I shouted to him through the radio that I'm coming for him, that everything is going to be alright. But when I got close enough to grab him, I looked at his face and it wasn't him up there. It was me. Drifting through space with no light.

What is going on with me? Am I finally loosing it?

Chief engineer's log, entry 12 (378 days after deactivation).

I'm seriously worried about him. Today I wanted to talk with him about the incoming encounter but he was arguing with someone, so I decided to wait. When they finished, I get inside his bunk – but there was nobody there. Honestly, he's starting to freak me out. I know that probably we all need professional help but with long range comms dead and our only psychologist deactivated months ago we can't count on it. How ironic that the only one among us qualified in psychology was a machine – and Jeb killed him.

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Commander's log, entry 129 (408 days after deactivation).

They wanted to talk with me about the Duna encounter. They say we need to decide what we are going to do. Dan thinks we should use the engines for the orbit insertion, Rozer thinks we should aerobrake. After they explained their positions I told them I'll tell them in a day or two what's the best option. Mal wanted to vote on that but Cambo pointed out that there are only three pilots on board and that this was never a democracy. I know he meant what happened after we left Duna, despite that it was BERTY who forced us all to continue the mission. This reminds me that nobody seems to care about the classified data I gave them access to. Besides Rozer I think none of them even read this. But I understand why they don't care anymore. This “Source†on Duna and second one on Vall are no longer part of our mission, whatever they really are. We have only two goals now – to save our team on Duna and to return to home. That's all that matters.

But even this may not be easy to accomplish. I really need to focus but it's surprisingly hard. I prefer to write this down here or observe our Star than to calculate angle of attack for the aerobraking or required delta-v for the insertion burn. I don't know why really. Maybe I just don't want to think about what we are going to find on Duna. Or maybe what I really want is just to go home using the free trajectory we're on now.

I feel so tired. But the decision must be made. I have to choose. So what is it going to be? Aerobraking or the insertion burn? What would be the best for us all? What should I choose?

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***

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MISSION STATUS

***

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Edited by czokletmuss
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czokletmuss

czokletmuss

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POLL - AEROBRAKING OR ORBIT INSERTION BURN?

Jeb have to choose. Whatever the choice is going to be, it would have immense impact on what's about to happen once “Proteus†arrives in Duna SOI. But this time you can help him.

Please vote by posting and please use this format in your comments:

Aerobraking

(thougthful arguments why this is a better option)

or

Insertion burn

(thougthful arguments why this is a better option)

or

Other option (combo approach, direct landing and rendez-vous et cetera)

(describe what it is)

(thougthful arguments why this is a better option)

The poll will be closed at midnight on Monday (24:00/12:00PM, Central European Time [GMT+1]).

This is a test of some interactivity I'm planning to introduce in my upcoming secret project. Oh and your arguments will be used in the story by characters!

Have fun! :)

Edited by czokletmuss
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