[AAR] Outreach Colony: The home on Duna.

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 11: REVELATIONS

Shepdon: "Umm, Lemburry? Something has appeared in a slightly higher orbit that us, nearly 100km to our stern."

Lemburry: "Could be debris. From where that debris came is another question..."

Halemone: "Might be stray micrometeorites."

Shepdon: "I'm not sure. We'd have to get within 30km to fully identify it given the fact that sensors are sort of on the fritz again. Anyway, I'd like to look at the outer hull, inspect the old girl for myself now that we've been around here for a while."

Lemburry: "If you want. Just be careful."

Shepdon: "I'll be fine. I won't go any more than 20 metres from the ship, it's just a look-around."

Lemburry: "Well, at least that's within the EM shielding. That unusually large amount of fissile material in the orbit 10km below is giving off a fair amount of radiation."

Shepdon: "The only radiation I'm worried about is gamma. The material below is giving off alpha and beta, both of which the EM shields and my suit will block. Gamma is the tricky one, and that comes from the Sun. The shields will reduce the intensity, but I'll still be quick to keep my gray count as low as possible."

Shepdon: "Right, letting go of the ladder now..."

Shepdon: "Bow is clear."

Shepdon: "Portside is clear."

Shepdon: "Stern clear."

Lemburry: "Shepdon, the detector is going off again, but it's being much more precise this time. We're also receiving a distress signal from the same point. Finish off out there and come clean this up, please."

Shepdon: "You sure? Sensors haven't been fixed yet."

Lemburry: "I ran a diagnostic scan on the system; no problems with the anomaly detector."

Shepdon: "Ok, I'll be there in a moment, I'm almost done."

Shepdon: "Starboard side is clear. Returning to the airlock."

Shepdon: "What the? I think something just hit me!"

Halemone: "Really? I didn't see anything hit you."

Shepdon: "I can hear a hissing sound coming from behind me..."

Halemone: "Space snakes?"

Shepdon: "Not funny."

Lemburry: "Just get aboard quickly before your suit decompresses. Whatever ruptured it didn't register on sensors."

Shepdon: "Ok..."

Shepdon: "Now, lets -cough- look at this signal we picked up -cough-"

Lemburry: "Are you sure you're ok? You don't look completely healthy."

Shepdon: "I could use some aspirin. Maybe a drink as well..."

Lemburry: "Ok, one moment."

*Computerised beeping*

Halemone: "Umm, guys, might want to check this out."

Lemburry: "Is the signal all clear?"

Halemone: "As good as I could get it. Shepdon, any chance you could clear it out more?"

Shepdon: "-cough- Maybe. Let's see... there, that should do it. Now, what is it?"

Halemone: "Well, If I read that right, then..."

Lemburry: "Mother of Kerbin..."

Shepdon: "I'll be damned..."

Lemburry: "The black box of the Zodiac."

Edited April 28, 2013 by RogueMason

[Itsdavyjones]

Fun fact. Black boxes in aviation aren't black, but bright orange. And it would also make sense for this to be bright orange.

[RogueMason]

Makes sense. If they're black, they're hard to spot. Bright orange, however...

Although, the one aboard the Zodiac was probably bright lime green, as Kerbals are green and they want important things to also be green

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 12: THE FINAL EVIDENCE -- PART 1

Lemburry: "DAMMIT! What the hell happened to them?!"

Shepdon: "The probe they deployed last registered the Zodiac as being in a 15x15km equatorial orbit, so it was clear of all mountain tops."

Halemone: "Whatever happened, it was definitely an impact, explaining the fissile material below us as well as its dispersal."

Shepdon: "Lemburry, that object in the polar orbit is also 15x15km. Maybe..."

Lemburry: "The chances of such an impact are less than one in a billion, given the sizes of each involved in the collis -- potential collision."

Shepdon: "I don't know..."

Lemburry: "Wait, the probe also noted that this polar-orbiting object was somehow transmitting signals much like those from the south pole of Duna, although not in our audible range."

Halemone: "Natural signals again, ugh..."

Shepdon: "I first noticed the signals the first time we flew the Libra to Duna. Every time we've returned, it's been the same signal pattern; very regular, and consistently repeats, although it has been faint most of the time. Maybe Outreach could check it out..."

Lemburry: "Control, this is Libra, do you copy?"

KSC: "Libra, we read you. What is it?"

Lemburry: "Control, we have reason to believe the Zodiac was destroyed in a collision with another orbiting object around Ike, as unlikely as that sounds. However, it's the only viable conclusion we can come to."

KSC: "What? Are you certain?"

Lemburry: "There is an unusually high amount of fissile material in their former orbit, identical to that found in our NERVA engines, plus we discovered their black box on the ground. Sending the final picture to you now."

KSC: "This is troubling news. Are you clear of any debris?"

Lemburry: "Yes, we should be. Control, we need to open comms with Outreach again, there's more to this than we realise."

KSC: "Hmm... If it's really so important that you're dragging the colony into the situation, then go ahead. I just hope this doesn't backfire in our faces. Control out."

Lemburry: "Right then. Outreach, this is Libra, do you read?"

10 minutes later...

Lengun: "Ok Lemburry, thanks for the update. We were worried about you down here. As soon as we get any information on this signal, we'll let you know."

Lemburry: "Thanks Lengun. Libra out."

Lengun: "Chadsy, Lubart! Take Rover 2 to the South Pole, we're looking for some signal."

Chadsy: "That one we detected on the way in? That's been bugging me a bit. No problem Lengun, we'll get on it in the morning. It will be a few hours before we get anything, but we'll find it."

Lengun: "So, how have the translations from that stone head gone?"

Hanlin: "This is going to sound completely insane, but the characters inscribed on that thing were recognised by the database as soon as they were catalogued."

Lengun: "Recognised? How so?"

Hanlin: "Lengun, that head has the same alphabet as the obelisks found at the desert temple on Kerbin. Complete match."

Lengun: "That doesn't seem possible..."

Fertbert: "It ISN'T possible! The first documented space flight of Kerbals was the Pioneer program, way back when we only knew of Kerbin, Mun, and the Sun!"

Lengun: "I'll send these findings to KSC. Maybe they'll know what to do with them..."

A few hours later...

Chadsy: "So, Lubart. Any idea what we should look out for once we're at the pole?"

Lubart: "I think listening out for things would be more appropriate for this mission."

Chadsy: "I guess you're right, but there must be something generating the signal, which we can look out for."

Lubart: "I suppose..."

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 13: THE FINAL EVIDENCE -- PART 2

2 hours later...

Chadsy: "This terrain is awful! Either that, or the rover is malfunctioning."

Lubart: "There aren't any system complaints appearing on the monitors back here, so I'm more inclined to say the terrain, despite it being one of the more level regions of Duna."

Chadsy: "Which is what has me confused. The ground is fine, only some sand and pebbles as far as I can tell."

Lubart: "Yeah, pebbles for sure. This entire area was underwater at some point in the past, but then the seas disappeared."

Chadsy: "Just disappeared? No fancy terminology?"

Lubart: "They could just have frozen; you've seen the polar ice ca -- OOF!"

Chadsy: "WHOA!"

*Crashing sound, rover flips*

Chadsy: "Well damn, we lost the main aerial."

Lubart: "I'll extend the backup antenna that came with the rover, one moment..."

Chadsy: "At least the RTG is still attached. If we'd lost that, we'd be losing power consistently."

10 minutes later...

Lubart: "Nearly out of sensor range of Outreach."

Chadsy: "Communication is going to be difficult at these ranges with this backup antenna. The messages will be overlain with a fair amount of static."

3 hours later...

Lubart: "This is it! This is the source of that signal!"

Chadsy: "A hill? A hill is generating that thing?!"

Lubart: "This is pretty impressive, I must say. Pretty loud too."

Chadsy: "I'm going to drive us on top of this thing. We might get a signal boost from there."

Chadsy: "Outreach, this is Chadsy, do you read?"

Fertbert: "Bar.... There's a lo.....static on the cha...l, plus tha... ignal."

Chadsy: "Fertbert, focus the natural signal, and relay it to Libra."

Fertbert: "...oger that, Chadsy. Outreach ou..."

Lubart: "So, are we staying for the night?"

Chadsy: "I guess so. Heat the cabin up, and turn the reciever off. This signal could get annoying."

In Ike orbit...

Lemburry: "Thanks Fertbert, this is exactly the signal we've recorded each time we've been here."

Fertbert: "Not a problem. Good luck finishing off. Outreach out."

Shepdon: "Lemburry, you know that object that appeared about 100km to our aft a few hours ago...?"

Lemburry: "Has it disappeared?"

Shepdon: "Quite the opposite; it's on an intercept course for us."

Lemburry: "WHAT?" *Looks out window*

Shepdon: "The scans failed to recognise it as anything familiar, and the external cameras failed as it came into range. One thing is for sure, it isn't friendly."

Halemone: "OW!"

Lemburry: "What is it?"

Halemone: "Electric shock; engine systems surged for a moment. I can get them operational again, but I'll need a few minutes."

Shepdon: "Maybe this thing, whatever it is, responded to the fact that we found the source of the signal on Duna, but it's hard to tell."

Lemburry: "Something wicked this way comes..."

*Reciever crackles, silence from everyone*

Lemburry: *Grabs headset tentatively* "This is Libra, who's there...?"

*More crackling, silence in cabin is broken*

Unknown Vessel: "The architects of your dissolution."

[ruiluth]

This just got way more interesting. Also great design for the alien ship!

[Miniboyss]

Interesting, I hope you continue this series.

[Itsdavyjones]

great alien ship, and great chapter

[redmario14]

This is so well written, it could be the script for a movie!

[RogueMason]

Ah, it's nice to see that last chapter went down well

Honestly, I thought it was going to be quite a controversial way to go, but apparently I was mistaken! Also, that alien ship? A pain in the backside to fly. I need the RCS and ASAS active to keep it on course when burning, which is weird because I could have sworn it had the centre of mass in line with the centre of thrust

I'll take the moment to say that I've finished everything off in game relating to the story and have the final chapters waiting to be uploaded (in a word document, in case we lose the forums again...). Thank you all for the praise, I appreciate it

[Darth Lazarus]

one word: awesome

keep going, it's a realy wonderfulyl stor,y but i' mafraid to work on my own AAR

[Wait- Was That Important?]

Oh wow, the plot thickens much. I can't wait to see how the static-y hill and the alien ship are tied together with the Zodiac!

Great work with the story!

[Chozo Nomad]

Fun read! Just one noobish question... what does the [AAR] stand for?

[RogueMason]

AAR: After Action Report

[Andellmere]

*stares at alien ship and hears a voice at the back of his head* We are the Harbingers of your destruction.*panics*

The alien ship is very Reaper-esque and that fills me with an unnamed terror. Those poor Kerbals. I hope they've got weapons.

[The Error]

I'm sure Jeb will come winging back and crash a tanker into them or something. He seems to be able to fly around the system at will.

In the end, as the saying goes, you don't mess with Jeb.

[RogueMason]

*stares at alien ship and hears a voice at the back of his head* We are the Harbingers of your destruction.*panics*

The alien ship is very Reaper-esque and that fills me with an unnamed terror. Those poor Kerbals. I hope they've got weapons.

Yes, the design was very much influenced by the Reapers

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 14: SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES

Lemburry: "The architects of our dissolution?"

Unknown vessel: "Yes."

Lemburry: "Be more specific than that!"

Unknown vessel: "If you must know the true nature of our identity, then we shall divulge your request by using the name forged by your language; the Kraken."

Lemburry: "The Kraken?! That thing is long gone, destroyed by the Krakensbane device!"

Mechani-Kraken: "This unit is not as the Old One was. We salvaged the remains of your 'Zodiac' vessel after it crashed on the surface of this moon; studied its technologies, adapted its equipment for our own use. The result is what you now see before yourselves, immune to your Krakensbane."

Lemburry: “And why are you here now? You could have appeared at any point.â€Â

Mechani-Kraken: “The signal emitted by the pyramid on Duna was modified by us long ago to detect extensive activity beyond the reaches of your Kerbin sub-system. When this unit received information on your activity in this sub-system as well as the Moho, Eve, and Jool sub-systems, we moved to investigate.â€Â

Halemone: "The Zodiac wasn't armed; it was a science and exploration vessel, yet your manifestation here is armed."

Mechani-Kraken: "As we previously inferred, we studied your technologies, including those found in your databases. The Sunbeam Laser design was amongst these records and we decided it would be wise to utilise."

Lemburry: "Why would you possibly want to arm yourself with our technology? Your 'Old One' seemed to do a good job at just tearing our ships apart."

Mechani-Kraken: "Our initial approach was not intended to bring harm to your people, only to coax you into ceasing your exploration of our space. However, your persistence in exploratory missions has proven to be an inconvenience to us, therefore we adopted a new strategy, one that should send a clearer message to your people."

Lemburry: "You can't simply stop us from exploring our system! It's in our nature, and it's our right to visit our neighbouring worlds!"

Mechani-Kraken: "Yet you have already succeeded in exploring your system fully. Your ancients were... most intricate with their work."

Lemburry: "Our ancients?! Even if they did reach the other worlds in our system, they aren't around anymore, so we're taking their place!"

Mechani-Kraken: "Very well. Your people scattered throughout the system, with the exception of the civilians on Kerbin, will meet the same fate as your ancients, but we feel that it is justified to begin the dissolution with you."

*Impact sound, alarms*

Lemburry: "Halemone, full power to engines NOW! I'm getting us out of here!"

Halemone: "FULL POWER! GO GO GO!"

Lemburry: "Shepdon, damage report!"

Shepdon: "EM shields are still operational and actually reduced the impact from those lasers, but the hull has been burnt enough to expose some wiring for the stern sensors. Other than that, nothing to report."

Halemone: "Engines may have overheated a little, but at least we're clear of that thing!"

Lemburry: "We're in way over our heads here, and we have to warn everyone!"

A few hours later...

Lemburry: "Alright, aerobraking trajectory established."

[Itsdavyjones]

Getting better and better every time.

[Miniboyss]

This is amazing, I admire your work and envy the design of your kraken ship, mind posting a .craft file for the kraken?

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 15: THE RACE HOME

Shepdon: "We're approaching the aerobrake point."

Lemburry: "Brace yourselves. The damage we've taken may do any number of things to us."

Halemone: "The thing I'm most worried about is the re-entry plasma. Here in Duna's atmopshere, it won't be so bad, but Kerbin..."

Shepdon: "That small breach could be huge trouble for us when we get home."

Lemburry: "We can try to patch it up on the way back, if we have the materials to do so."

10 minutes later...

Shepdon: "Ok, we're now in a 340 x 340km orbit. The transfer window will be open shortly."

Lemburry: "Get me Outreach, KSC, and the Beluga; we'll need to warn them."

Shepdon: "One moment... there, channels open."

Lemburry: "Everyone, this is the Libra. This is a warning; a hostile vessel confronted us in Ike orbit, claiming to be the architect of our dissolution. It took the form of the Kraken, and if you don't believe me, here's everything we've gathered and recorded."

Lengun: "I don't believe it..."

KSC: "Libra, it opened fire on you, how bad is the damage?"

Shepdon: "It could be worse, but right now our biggest worry is aerobraking around Kerbin. We'll be coming in at over 4km a second through a thick atmosphere with a hull breach; it couldn't be any more problematic."

KSC: "OK, patch it up as good as you can. Jeb, it's too dangerous to bring the Beluga back with this next transfer window, so you, Bill, and Bob have to remain in Duna orbit for now."

Jeb: "REALLY? You're just going to make us stay in orbit around Duna while you blast that thing to Hell and back?!"

KSC: "Jeb, you have to trust our judgement here. I know you want to help, but the Beluga is just to risky to face that thing with! Besides, we don't want to lose some of the best Kerbonauts in the agency now, do we?"

Jeb: "Ugh, fine then. Lemburry?"

Lemburry: "Jeb?"

Jeb: "Make sure that thing goes straight back into whatever black hole it came from."

Lemburry: "That wasn't in the job description... but we'll see it through."

Jeb: "Good luck, my friend. When we get back to Kerbin, the first round is on me."

Lemburry: "I'll hold you to that."

Lengun: "Outreach had everything we needed that didn't involve us starting an interplanetary war, eh?"

Lemburry: "Sure could have used equipment like that right about now..."

Shepdon: "Lemburry, the Kraken is leaving Ike orbit!"

Lemburry: "Ok, let's get out of here. Plot a course for Kerbin."

Halemone: "Yes sir."

Shepdon: "We're on route. ETA 101 days from now."

...

[RogueMason]

This is amazing, I admire your work and envy the design of your kraken ship, mind posting a .craft file for the kraken?

I've put it on the spaceport, but I'm not sure how long it will be before it appears there. You definitely need this though:

SUNBEAM laser

The craft may also include the KSPX parts, but I'm not sure, so it's better to be safe than sorry.

[Itsdavyjones]

Ahh sweet, .craft is being posted, and another great chapter.

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 16: KERBIN -- PART 1

Halemone: "I can see Kerbin, Mun, and Minmus to the portside of the ship. We're nearly there..."

Shepdon: "Just a few more hours now."

Lemburry: "Brace for aerobraking. Control do you have a visual on us?"

KSC: "Copy that Libra, we're tracking you overhead now."

Halemone: "Let's hope our repair job holds up to this re-entry..."

Shepdon: "Sensors are registering extremely high temperatures in the region of 5000K!"

Lemburry: "Come on, hold together, hold together..."

Halemone: "Heat sinks 1 through 4 are being overwhelmed!"

KSC: "Libra, your aerobrake is nearing completion, just a little longer!"

Shepdon: "Sensors are gone!"

Lemburry: "Get them back online when we're finished with orbit-making, if you can."

Shepdon: "I'm not sure if I'll be able to, but I'll certainly try."

Shepdon: "Aerobrake complete. For all that happened, we surprisingly took minimal damage."

Lemburry: *Sigh of relief* "Halemone, prepare engines for circularisation."

Halemone: "The reactors will have to cool for a bit longer before I can reactivate them. That aerobrake was pretty intense."

Lemburry: "How long will they need?"

Halemone: "An hour and a half, so we should have plenty of time before the apoapsis to get sorted."

Lemburry: " Alright then. Control, this is Libra. I reckon we have about 2 days before the Kraken reaches us. We should use that time wisely."

KSC: "We already have the Callisto in orbit, and we'll no doubt be sending up a fighter escort for her. Other than that, there's not much more we're able to do."

Lemburry: "The Callisto? She's a frigate, isn't she?"

KSC: "Yes, and she's also the only operational military vessel we have at the moment."

Lemburry: "I just hope it's enough..."

One hour later...

Lemburry: "Beginning circularisation burn."

Halemone: "The engines should manage now, but they have been stressed a lot. We'll need a major overhaul and repair session once this is all over. I'll contact the Kerbin Orbital Outpost."

Lemburry: "Ok. We'll need some major R&R after this too..."

Shepdon: "Orbit achieved."

Lemburry: "Thank Kerbin for that. Now it's just preparations we have to worry about."

...

[Chozo Nomad]

AAR: After Action Report

Thanks for the info:)