The Delivery: A short Journey to Eve

[RogueMason]

The Delivery: A short journey to Eve.

------------------------------

He told his crew that they would visit Eve. He stayed true to that promise.

Lemburry, Shepdon, and Halemone return to fly the Libra to most hostile world visited by Kerbal-kind, delivering a valuable scientific probe to Gilly, and returning home. It will be a short journey for the long-time friends, but it should have long-lasting consequences to help advance the scientific understanding of the curious little rock around Eve...

Prologue

Chapter 1: The Package

Chapter 2: Eve

Chapter 3: The Problem

Chapter 4: Gilly

Chapter 5: The transfer home

Chapter 6: The final stretch

Epilogue

Edited June 20, 2013 by RogueMason

[Needles_10]

You've made a new story? Already? GREAT! I'm looking forward to reading this!

[RogueMason]

As the title probably suggests, this is a short story, only a few chapters long. The next big story is still in progress in-game

[ShyzyIndustries]

AH! AAAAH! AAAAAAAAAH!

*Fanboy screams!*

Anyways, the story may get me out of my post-mark-of-athena depression.

[ramnrmeul]

Post the short story SOONER! I want something to tide me over between your larger stories!

[Needles_10]

Post the short story SOONER! I want something to tide me over between your larger stories!

What he/she said.

[ramnrmeul]

What he/she said.

I'm a guy (I just felt like being generous with information).

[Specialist290]

Waiting eagerly. Always been a fan of your stories.

[botse]

This is going to be good:3

[Mekan1k]

Futurama's planet express ship comes to mind

[RogueMason]

PROLOGUE

One week after Odysseus transfer to Jool...

KSC: “Rodemy, you there?â€Â

Rodemy: “I'm here, control. Just having a look around my new posting. Pretty impressive, even if it isn't finished yet.â€Â

KSC: “It is pretty neat, and very useful. The bays should help repair and protect ships a bit more, which is good considering many think we should no longer be in space after the Mechani-Kraken incident.â€Â

Rodemy: “I just think it looks cool; very sci-fi. Anyway, you wanted something?â€Â

KSC: “Yeah, just informing you that the Libra is en route to refuel.â€Â

Rodemy: “What? Already?!â€Â

KSC: “They're going to Eve in a few days, so they need that fuel.â€Â

Rodemy: “Even with the drydock being incomplete?â€Â

KSC: “It's complete enough for this.â€Â

Rodemy: “Ok, I'll get things ready for their rendevouz.â€Â

A few hours later...

Lemburry: “Drydock, we are on fast approach, over.â€Â

Rodemy: “Roger that, I'm tracking you. Maintain heading and reduce relative speed, over.â€Â

Lemburry: “Copy that. Rendevouz in two minutes.â€Â

Shepdon: “Rendevouz complete, we're ready for docking.â€Â

Halemone: “Looks a bit too snug for the Libra...â€Â

Lemburry: “We've got plenty of room. Bigger ships might have difficulty though.â€Â

Shepdon: “Like Odysseus, for example?â€Â

Rodemy: “Like Odysseus, indeed, although they should still manage it.â€Â

Lemburry: “Ok, beginning docking procedure.â€Â

Lemburry: “Easy now...â€Â

Rodemy: “Just a few metres more, Libra.â€Â

Shepdon: “Almost, almost, aaaaaand.... there, docked.â€Â

Halemone: “Beginning fuel transfer. This should take about 5 minutes.â€Â

Lemburry: “You know, I feel safer already inside this drydock bay. It's very sci-fi, too.â€Â

Rodemy: “Heh, that's what I thought too.â€Â

A few minutes later...

Halemone: “Fuel transfer complete, according to our displays. Rodemy, you read the same?â€Â

Rodemy: “That I do, you're clear to undock, Libra.â€Â

Lemburry: “Shepdon, begin separation.â€Â

Shepdon: “On it... there, we're free.â€Â

Lemburry: “Here we go...â€Â

Rodemy: “Libra, you are clear of the bay, repeat, you are clear of the bay.â€Â

Lemburry: “Ok then, let's get back into our higher orbit and await our probe.â€Â

Rodemy: “Have fun around that hell-hole of a planet we call Eve. Take some nice pictures for me.â€Â

Shepdon: “I can do that.â€Â

Lemburry: “Thanks Rodemy. Enjoy your new posting.â€Â

Halemone: “Engines ready and waiting, Lemburry.â€Â

Lemburry: “Let's punch it.â€Â

[Needles_10]

That's some design. I wonder what they may encounter on their way to Eve, and what they'll find on Eve as well.... I can't wait for the moment when you churn out another chapter!

[RogueMason]

I'll assume you're referring to the Libra. It's based off the USCSS Prometheus, from Prometheus (duh...?), and the class has been around since 0.17, but was updated in 0.18. It appeared in Outreach, and is one of my best ship designs for medium-range interplanetary travel, and I'm quite surprised no-one else has made anything like Prometheus, really. Oh well, just me an my uniqueness I guess

[Captain_Doug]

I'll assume you're referring to the Libra. It's based off the USCSS Prometheus, from Prometheus (duh...?), and the class has been around since 0.17, but was updated in 0.18. It appeared in Outreach, and is one of my best ship designs for medium-range interplanetary travel, and I'm quite surprised no-one else has made anything like Prometheus, really. Oh well, just me an my uniqueness I guess

That's why I recognized it. I thought I saw it in one of your story's. can't wait to see what happens next.

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 1: THE PACKAGE

A few days later...

Shepdon: “Our package is here, and I must say, that's an odd looking probe.â€Â

Lemburry: “We have extra fuel for this mission, just to be on the safe side. We've never taken a Libra class vessel anywhere except Duna and Minmus, and Minmus was just--â€Â

Shepdon: “A trial for the Libra here, yes, I was there, remember?â€Â

Lemburry: “I know, I know. Anyway, could you go out and check it's secure? It's got Quantum Struts so I want to be certain we're fine for transfer.â€Â

Shepdon: “Isn't that more Halemone's speciality?â€Â

Halemone: “It is. I'll suit up.â€Â

Lemburry: “Ok then.â€Â

KSC: “I still think it's a bad idea to go without weapons, Libra. We have time to send an armed replacement to that package if--â€Â

Lemburry: “I believe Jeb said no to arming an exploration vessel before flying off in Odysseus? Same applies to us. Besides, I don't think we'll have a problem with anything out around Eve.â€Â

KSC: “And why's that?â€Â

Lemburry: “The equipment on Moho has been there for years now and will likely be defunct, and everything we've sent to Eve has absolutely no ability to get off its surface again, so why would the Kraken go for us around there?â€Â

KSC: “Ugh, alright, but this doesn't mean I like it any more. If you run into trouble, we can't help you.â€Â

Lemburry: “It's a risk we'll run. Thanks for the concern anyway, control.â€Â

Halemone: “Looks good, struts are fine. I'm heading back in now.â€Â

Lemburry: “Alright, good to hear.â€Â

Shepdon: “Course is plotted, we just need to wait for the transfer point. I've accounted for the extra mass we're hauling for the first leg, so no need to adjust the trajectories.â€Â

Lemburry: “Nice forward thinking. This should be simple enough, even with Eve's inclination.â€Â

Halemone: “Hull integrity is my main concern. The Libra is an old ship, after all.â€Â

Lemburry: “We'll be fine. And if we do suffer, I'll... I'll do the repairs myself.â€Â

Halemone: “I wouldn't trust you with a screwdriver, let alone a welding torch!â€Â

Lemburry: *Jokingly* “I'm offended...â€Â

A few hours later...

Shepdon: “We're at the burn point, Lemburry.â€Â

Lemburry: “Beginning burn. We'll be done in a few minutes.â€Â

Lemburry: “Burn complete, how are we looking?â€Â

Shepdon: “Eve encounter, 25 days until we reach the SOI.â€Â

Lemburry: “Huh, takes about ten times longer than that to reach Duna.â€Â

Shepdon: “Yeah, but Eve's closer and we'll be travelling faster, so it only makes sense that we'll be there sooner.â€Â

Lemburry: “Fair enough. Halemone, how are the engines.â€Â

Halemone: “They've seen better days, but they still work fine. We'll just have to see what aerobraking in Eve's atmosphere will do to the ship. Now, we need to jettison the spare fuel tank, it's empty.â€Â

Lemburry: “Oh, ok then, do it.â€Â

Shepdon: “I'll take control of the probe.â€Â

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 2: EVE

Almost 1 month later...

*Sensor beeps*

Shepdon: “Eve's on sensors properly now. Looks like my little fix worked.â€Â

Lemburry: “So it did, good job! Now we still need to prepare for this aerobrake. I'm not entirely sure the ship will hold together that well, to be honest.â€Â

Halemone: “I've reinforced the hull as much as I've been able to while we were docked to the Kerbin Orbital Outpost, as well as replacing the circuit boards and some casings on the engines to avoid meltdowns.â€Â

Lemburry: “Wait, you exposed yourself to the blutonium rods in those nuclear engines?!â€Â

Halemone: “...Yes. To be fair though, I did have my suit on with extra radiation shielding.â€Â

Lemburry: “So all this time you've been complaining of headaches, blurry vision, and joint pains...â€Â

Halemone: “It's very minor radiation poisoning. It hasn't impeded my work, plus I have been seeing my doctor. The anti-rad stuff he prescribed me works well enough, and the symptoms have been fading, although it's taking longer than I'd have liked.â€Â

Lemburry: “You should have said something, Halemone. We'd have helped you out!â€Â

Shepdon: “Yeah man. Next time, just ask; we're here too, you know.â€Â

Halemone: “If you insist.â€Â

A few hours later...

Shepdon: “We're getting close now.â€Â

Lemburry: “I don't know how well the Libra will lend her flying abilities to us in this godforsaken atmosphere, so REALLY make sure you're strapped in. I hear the G's are quite high, too.â€Â

Halemone: “As long as the ASAS is active and you don't pull any stunts, we'll be fine. Treat it like any other atmosphere, even if it is somewhat corrosive and hellish.â€Â

Lemburry: “Joy...â€Â

½ hour later...

Shepdon: “Huh, nice view out the windows, check it out.â€Â

Lemburry: “A shame I can't see from this lower seat. Props to the engineers who thought of sticking the middle seat below the others.â€Â

Halemone: “Yeah, you're missing out big time!â€Â

Lemburry: “Fine, I'll go on EVA once we make the required orbit!â€Â

Shepdon: “If you want. Anyway, we're entering the atmosphere right about...â€Â

Shepdon: “...now.â€Â

Halemone: “What gave it away, the fact that everything suddenly became tinted purple?â€Â

Shepdon: “No, of course not! Well, maybe...â€Â

Lemburry: “Ok guys, enough fooling around for now, we need to be careful here. Shepdon, keep an eye on sensors. Halemone, watch hull integrity.â€Â

Shepdon: “Sensors... are registering... temperatures beyond those the... Libra has experienced before! 6500... K!â€Â

Halemone: “Structural... integrity is suffering with all... these... G's we're pulling!â€Â

Lemburry: “Hold together just... a little... longer...â€Â

Shepdon: “We're ascending... again.â€Â

Halemone: “Ok, I can breath a little easier now, figuratively and literally.â€Â

Lemburry: “Let's see... well, we pulled 7.5G in that aerobrake and we held together.â€Â

Halemone: “Just. Structural integrity is steady at 78.4%.â€Â

Lemburry: “Ouch, that dropped a lot. The next aerobraking passes won't be so vicious.â€Â

Halemone: “Wait, MORE?!â€Â

Lemburry: “We went over this before we left. We don't have enough fuel to burn right into the acceptable orbit without further aerobraking.â€Â

Halemone: “I don't like this. We could always ask for a refuelling vessel.â€Â

Lemburry: “We don't need to. Besides, we held together on that pass, didn't we?â€Â

Shepdon: “Sensors may have melted a bit...â€Â

Lemburry: “Well, other than tha- wait, melted?â€Â

Shepdon: “Some circuits may have fried... again. Don't worry, I'll fix them.â€Â

Lemburry: “Alright then.â€Â

Several aerobraking passes later...

Lemburry: “Beginning orbit making burn.â€Â

Halemone: “Fuel looks good for now, should be plenty for the Gilly transfer.â€Â

Shepdon: “There, cease burn. We now have equatorial orbit over Eve.â€Â

Lemburry: “Alright then. Shepdon, could you work on our transfer trajecto---â€Â

*Loud bang, ship rocks, alarms*

Halemone: “What the hell is that?!â€Â

Shepdon: “Pressure, temperature, and radiation alarms, corresponding to engine 3!â€Â

Lemburry: “I'm suiting up!â€Â

Lemburry: “Oh no...â€Â

[Scotius]

Blue glow near your nuclear engine? Bad thing. Don't keep us on the edges of our seats too long

[JelloTickles]

Erhmagod these are so good. I WANT MORE!

[ramnrmeul]

I'm not sure that blue glow of yours is realistic, RogueMason. You need liquid water for that, and I'm pretty sure nuclear engines wouldn't have water to dampen the radiation in them, since that very radiation is used to expand the propellant.

[RogueMason]

I'm not sure that blue glow of yours is realistic, RogueMason. You need liquid water for that, and I'm pretty sure nuclear engines wouldn't have water to dampen the radiation in them, since that very radiation is used to expand the propellant.

Might be electrical sparks

[Mekan1k]

Or it could be bullonium gas, as that could be blue...

[Captain_Doug]

Might be electrical sparks

What ever it is I'm certain it's not gonna be jeb who put a glow torch next to the engine and waited to see how long it took them to find it.

[RocketPilot573]

Don't worry, I'm sure its just a blue light bulb and some steam put on there by one of the Kerbals as a joke...

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 3: THE PROBLEM

Halemone: “Lemburry, stay away from that leak, we're reading high levels of radiation being emitted in that trail, plus some electrical cables blew out.â€Â

Lemburry: “How long will my suit hold against it if I get too close?â€Â

Halemone: “Three and a half minutes.â€Â

Lemburry: “That's enough time, get me some plating and the welding torch, now!â€Â

Shepdon: “They're by the airlock, come get them!â€Â

Lemburry: “On it. Contact control, they'll want to know about this.â€Â

Shepdon: “Aye.â€Â

Halemone: “Be VERY careful, the casing is incredibly hot, not to mention the blutonium rods!â€Â

Lemburry: “I'll be fine. If not, you're sharing your anti-rad meds.â€Â

Halemone: “Deal. Now hurry before pressure is too low to restart the engine!â€Â

A few minutes later...

Lemburry: “Just a bit... more...â€Â

Halemone: “You have 30 seconds left! HURRY!â€Â

Lemburry: “Almost, almost... DONE, I'm out of here!â€Â

Shepdon: “And not a moment too soon, Control wants answers.â€Â

Lemburry: “I bet they do...â€Â

A moment later...

Lemburry: “Alright, I'm back. Put control on comms.â€Â

Shepdon: “Channel open.â€Â

KSC: “Libra, what the Kerbin happened out there?!â€Â

Lemburry: “We've had a problem. Engine 3 had a breach; we were losing pressure and temperature in the reactor chamber, and radiation was leaking out everywhere.â€Â

KSC: “Is the situation under control?â€Â

Lemburry: “As under control as it can be, all things considered. We've lost some electrical power and it'll take a few hours to restore the necessary temperature, but *cough* we're fine otherwise.â€Â

KSC: “As a group you may be, but are you yourself ok?â€Â

Lemburry: “*cough* I hope so, otherwise I'm sharing anti-rad meds with Halemone.â€Â

KSC: “Alright then, be safe, and let's see the mission through, shall we?â€Â

Lemburry: “But of course. Now, Shepdon, are we good for transfer to Gilly?â€Â

Shepdon: “The trajectory is planned. We just need to wait a few orbits for the burn point.â€Â

Lemburry: “Ok, so wait we shall. Now, I need a drink...â€Â

A few orbits later...

Lemburry: “Transfer complete, one day to Gilly encounter. Thank Kerbin the engine held out. Halemone, try and figure out what the hell caused that breach."

Halemone: "As if I haven't already been looking into it. Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this."

[Captain_Doug]

CHAPTER 3: THE PROBLEM

Lemburry: "Halemone, try and figure out what the hell caused that breach."

JEBEDIAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited June 17, 2013 by Captain_Doug
Spelling of jebediah