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Hyphen- a space station.


FlamingPotatoes

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Before she could get a job working inside a space station, Alexia had to get a job making a space station. No-one had thought of a space station in Kerbin orbit since the destruction of Pistol-Ancrese about 53 years ago, so she had to convince some very powerful people to take her seriously.

"Would Alexia Kerman please proceed to the high sector, thank you."

She knew the system was extremely flawed, the religious high elders of Ermon decided on everything and they didn't take too kindly to scientists such as herself.

"Alexia S. Kerman, you have an idea you wish to put forward to us then?" the supreme elder said grimly, like he had far better things to do,

"Yes, your elder, I propose a space station in orbit around Kerbin."

"And how would such an idea benefit society?"

She knew he really meant "And how would such an idea benefit me?"

"We don't have accurate knowledge of how materials and Kerbals react in 0g your elder, much is to be learned from this."

"Really now? But I'm afraid we think that the only valid source of such knowledge is the divine scriptures, don't you?"

Damn it, they used their favorite line. If she said no she would be in religious imprisonment, if she said yes she'd get denied.

"Yes, I suppose bu-"

"Then it is settled, your application is denied"

"But your elder I-"

"I said DENIED!" the high elder shouted, "Miss Kerman! Didn't you learn manners? Now leave this room at ONCE!"

She began to walk out of the room, no matter what, if it didn't conform to their bigoted views on Ermonism, it would not even have a drawing board to go back to.

"So, how'd the viewing go?" It was her friend and close ally, Jordan.

"Terrible, actually, they didn't even listen."

"You know that already, they're trained not to listen"

"Yeah, I suppose, I just wish there was someway to get past them"

"Well if society changes maybe there will, in about 2783 years"

Well that was the beginning of a story, tell me what you think and let me know of ideas.

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Interesting start and quite a bit different to the Space Race style of story we get a lot of here. I could see this being less about space travel and more about the actual kerbals - look forward to seeing more if you get the time!

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  • 2 weeks later...

The drive home was a long one, 342 km in the baking hot desert to her home in Virkeran city, but she used every minute of it thinking of as many little niches she could find in the system. Her application was denied, but that didn't forbid her from carrying it out anyway, although it did put her in an incredibly awkward position of funding. Where could she get funding? It was illegal to fund anything the high elders denied, and there were few things worse than having the high elders have an excuse to arrest you.

Ah,well, she'd have to think about it tomorrow, she had more pressing issues in mind. Like the Religious Police force blocking the road.

As she stopped her Phantom-OCC 4x4 beside the roadblock she was probed by questions,

"Hello officer, what can I help you with?"

"We need you to step out of your vehicle and answer any questions we ask you, is that clear?"

"Er, yes, I- I suppose."

"Do you have any affiliation with Francis Roman?"

"Who?"

"Don't 'Who?' me girl, Do you have any affiliation with the branded heretic Francis Roman?"

"No! I don't even know the man!"

"Good...Are you a firm believer in the scripted law?"

"Yes...and..."

"Because a certain Mr. Roman has tried to spread word that Treus 7:24 is invalid and immoral. Would you mind showing your faith by reciting that particular Iocene?"

"All guidance shall be rested on the elders and high elders and no-one shall question it, for it is the command of the savior."

"Well done child, the savior looks down kindly on you. Dismissed."

As she passed through the gate she began to wonder about where to go next, she needed petrol for the rest of the way home, but as she glance at her watch she found what needed to come first.

Church.

A brutally restrictive thing, church. While she drove down to the nearest stretch of road to the temple she saw many R.P.F units patrolling around, looking to find anyone out after the service begins, she saw a large of path filled with slow, lumbering church goers, the elders showing up at the last minute, all before she got within 600 meters of the temple. She was one of the last ones inside, so the service began almost instantaneously.

"To the highest power, we pray to thee for guidance, so we may prosper in our glorious days."

"So we may prosper in our glorious days."

Praying was a ritual that was hard to enjoy, even by the most adamant supporters, at times like these; The desert heat pressing down on everybody inside, the round glass dome above the building concentrating sunlight on the people far below, the R.P.F patrolling the inside to make sure everything was normal, the whole lot made her grouchy and tired by the end of it.

By the time she got back on the road it was getting on into the late afternoon and she was feeling terrible after another roadblock.

"Honestly, you don't need two roadblocks on one piece of road!"

It was another 5 hours, sundown at this time of year, before she got into the outskirts of Virkeran city but by now the novelty of roadblocks had worn off. Why so many? Is it all for one guy? Perhaps this Francis Roman was to be listened to after all...

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Torrents of snow came pelting down onto the research base as the two researchers came inside.

"Damion, Norman, CQ-65"

"Roman, Francis, XC-25"

The machine bleeped as it let in the two hooded men through a blast proof door and into the main compound where there were large mugs of cocoa waiting for them on their desks. Francis slipped a note to his co-worker before heading off down to the simulation lab to run some tests on new designs of rockets that could be used in the military.

"S81c- mark 9. S81d- mark 10. S81e- mark 8. Standard payload, 10 megaton nuclear unit. God, this is boring."

"Yeah, well, those tests are needed on the 19:00 report. And besides, you've only got to do until the S95 series."

"I suppose, S82a- mark 10. S82b- mark 7. Wait, hang on."

"Got something Francis?"

"I think I have, S82a can carry the same load as a satellite, into orbit."

"A satellite? Come off it!"

"No, think about it. We could start making scientific endeavors in space rather than just looking at how something could kill your family and irradiate your home."

As Damion was making his way upstairs he read the note Francis had given him.

Damion,

Science needed,

On the run,

Get Alexia.

"Alexia? She's thousands of kilometers away!"

He shook his head in disbelief as he made his way to phone and called Alexia's mobile.

*beep* *beep* *beep*

"10700 triple 8."

"Alexia? Is that you?"

"Damion? I thought you were in the arctic!"

"I am, and I need your help."

"Why?"

"Have you heard of Francis Roman?"

"Yeah, they've set up roadblocks around the country to catch him."

"HAH! Yeah! He's in the arctic with me and he says he can launch a satellite into orbit, but your the only person he can trust."

Alexia was shocked, this was just the thing she needed.

"Why me?"

"He heard about your report on space stations in orbit. He says he can get the launch facilities for you if you help him with his science goal."

"I'm in"

She put down the phone and was close to tears.

It was what she had dreamed of, coming true.

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This is extremely well-written! I like the idea of kerbals being these heavily-religious race rather than a naturally curious one, like most other stories portray. Keep up the good work :)

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"Three, two, one, Mark"

*FIZZLE* *BOOM*

"God dammit! I need these engines to be up and running for the first flight!"

"Everything alright Francis?"

Alexia handed over a mug of Kofey.

"No. These engines always break down!"

"Have you tried reinstalling te bearings?"

"Yes! Twice! I think the rotor fan keeps getting clogged."

"You could try and get a cleaning system."

"Where would I put it though?"

"You could mount it on the outside of the rotor fan."

"Or you could try refining the fuel."

It was Damion walking out onto the ice flats with even more flasks of Kofey.

"Hmm, that might work. How would I do it though?"

"Centrifuge off some liquid hydrogen and oxygen and place that in the tank."

"Rather than regular kerosene?"

"Yes, kerosene is a very inefficient fuel. I'm a chemist, I should know."

"I'll get the workshop lads to hook me up with some. Thanks."

As Francis dashed off down to the chemistry deck Alexia and Roman walked over to the steaming hunk of metal that was ,technically, C.L.F.R 0.616.

"You can see where the rotor blade keeps breaking"

"Yeah, right on the shaft. You really think liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen would stop this?"

"Yes, the exhaust keeps heating the internal core too hot, and thus when it clogs and breaks it destroys the structure entirely. Look, you can see where the broken rotor has smashed and melted it's casing, causing total internal collapse."

"Couldn't we make it out of a more heat resistant material?"

"In theory that would solve most of the problems but we're getting to the limits already."

THE NEXT DAY

"OK, test of the C.L.F.R 0.7, this time with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fueling. Three, two, one, Mark."

*FIZZLE* *WHOOOSSSSSHHHHHHHHH*

Timing at 5...10...15...20...25...30...fuel nearly out...35, cut out!"

*THUNK*

"Perfect flight! Heat signature nominal throughout the flight, stress capabilities exceeding expectations, we have our first proper test!"

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Francis was tied up with anxiety, this was the first proper rocket they had built. C.L.F.R 0.711 engine, VN-400l fuel tank, DXNY-223 decouplers and a specially fitted computer monitoring

device with a radio antenna attached, the Detached Rocketry Control System version 4, or DRCS-4. All of the systems had been properly tested and the rocket was attached to the launch pad with 2 large clamps that would release 0.1 seconds before take off. 10 minutes to go, the ground crew was scurrying about left right and center trying to fix minor issues, establish a constant radio stream to the rocket, removing the thermonic insulation that kept the fuel from evaporating all before the final moments. By 2 minutes all foreseeable problems had been fixed and the rocket was ready to leave kerbin. "T-5, 4, ignition sequence start, 3, 2, 1, separation nominal, we have liftoff of the Anatolia 1 rocket! Designed to touch the stars!"

Francis took a big sigh of relief, the rocket had taken off successfully! All communications with the on-board computer were perfect as the internal heat sensors and pressure sensors showed that the new, cleaner fuel had managed to stop critical failure.

"See that?" Damion asked while pointing at the now white blur moving steadily upwards, "That's your progress right there. The engineering of you and your team have gotten 20 tonnes of explosives into space!"

"Are getting." replied Francis "We're not there yet."

"Just you wait and see! 2 decades from now you might even land on the Mün!"

"Or aboard a space station" Whispered Alexia.

Sorry for small update. Will probably do more quick short ones than hard-to-make long ones.

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Just some friendly criticism:

I like your vivid descriptions, they really convey the whole 'Conform' feeling of the setting. However, in writing a dystopia like this, an important thing is to not be preachy. You can just feel it pushing the theme of "THEOCRACIES ARE BAD, KAY?!" down your throat, and that can be a turn-off even to people who agree with you. Still, it's an interesting idea, and I hope to see more!

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"Orbit secured, how's it going up there?"

"Amazing, I can see more of Kerbin than anyone since the 1960's"

The crackling transmission abruptly ended with a sharp crack as Anatolia IV disappeared behind the planet. One orbit had been completed by Rouge in the tense moments since liftoff, and now kerbalkind was back to the stars .

"Did you hear about Frequency Aerospace? They've just launched a kerbal into space themselves."

"I heard! It appears we have someone on our tail."

"I wonder how Rouge is doing..."

---UP IN ANATOLIA IV---

This is the diary of Rouge Desmond Kerman,

Today I went into orbit! My craft has officially passed over the same spot of land! I feel so happy. There was one moment of the launch where I thought I would die in a cascade of rocket debris and fire, but luckily that didn't happen! Anyway, time to note down some important events. Theorodica has now launched a full scale hunt for Francis Roman. I just hope he's alright. A couple of planes got hit by a missile off the coast of Agraristan. And, best bit of all, the U.P.A.R (United Protectorate of the Arctic Region) has officially gained recognition from the Kerbal Grand Council and is currently being assisted by Medwedia. I think that's all. Rouge out!

Rouge sighed as he closed the recorder. This was one of the best moments of his life, but it would soon end. Coming up over the southern Agraristanian ocean was the point he would have to engage his engines in order to land at the ice flats that the base was located.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, mark. Re-ignition. Burn count 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50. Engines cut. Trajectory pointed over to the ice flats."

*THUNK*

Now decoupled, Rouge could see the stage that had put him into orbit drift slowly past as he readied the craft for reentry.

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"Mission Control, I see fire."

"OK Rouge, that's to be expected. Can I get some readings?"

"Patching through now."

The computer whirred as it calculated weather the situation was bad or not.

"Everything nominal except heat patterns. 9.83% above safety margin and rising."

"Re-orienting."

The reentry was stressful, despite a mere 2 minutes before touchdown at the ice fields the maneuvers seemed to take an eternity to take action. Beads of sweat ran down Rouge's face as the gyroscopic stabilization unit put the craft more heat-shield first.

"That any better?"

"Marginally, it's stopped rising and has fell to 7.13% above safety margin, try to get it more center on."

"It's stopped going below 6.92% Will that kill me?"

"Hard to say at the present time, 30 seconds left till you start shedding heat."

"Come on Rouge you son of a Kerm, you can do this." He muttered to himself as he started engaging landing procedures.

"Parachute deployment in 45 seconds and counting."

"Gotcha."

"..."

"Control, repeat."

"Y..t..f.a...s...a.b.d"

"Control, repeat."

"Engage parachutes now!"

He was startled so it took him a few seconds to respond. Parachutes billowing upwards he felt a huge jolt as one of the ripped free.

"Rouge! Abort 3! Abort 3! Fire descent eng..s.a.w.d"

Then static.

"Control, repeat. Control, repeat! I said repeat Kod Damnit!"

The abort engines kicked in as a final jolt threw him into blackness.

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

On mission controls end.

"Parachute deployment in 45 seconds and counting."

A faint crackle returned before a reply came in "Gotcha"

"Wait! You're too fast! Abort!"

"Control, repeat."

"You're too fast! Abort failsafe 1!

"Control, repeat."

"ENGAGE PARACHUTES NOW!" Francis yelled as all telemetry returned failure.

"Rouge! Abort 3! Abort 3! Fire descent engines! one of your parachutes has failed! Dammit!"

"What is it Francis?" said Alexia as she rushed into the control room.

"Rouge's comm's line is dead, his last telemetry readings gave failure on altitude, speed, heat and pressure and the on-board computer has stopped responding!"

"We'll have to scout out the crash site."

"Agreed, fetch the jeeps and let's head out of here."

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  • 1 month later...

The bumpy ride over the ice ridges twisted Alexia's nerves. Rouge was almost certainly dead. She knew that. But this certainty didn't help her.

"Alexia, I see smoke, 30o clockwise. About 1.9 kilometers away."

'So, we've found it.' she thought, 'we've found the crashed ship of our first astronaut'

"Alexia, don't beat yourself up about it, rouge's death was tragic, but it was not any particular person's fault. We checked, double-checked and triple-checked all systems. Rouge knew that. He wouldn't want you to go on like this." said Roman

Maybe he was right. All systems were stress checked more times than can be counted.

"If everything was perfected, then tell me why his ship heated up past the safety margin and the parachute was torn off." Alexia replied her voice trembling.

"We need to investigate the crash site to be sure, but we think it was due to a dodgy entry angle and fast winds that ripped the parachute off its cord."

One thing was for sure, they were going to find out soon.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Chadley Kerman had a quiet life. Nothing was too much hassle. He made his wage from the rocketry steel in the town far below and he lived in a group of 7 houses clustered on a hill.

One thing that was particularly special, at least to him, was his wife Tiffany, who was about to have a child. His child.

4 days later as he came home from work, Chadley noticed a small wailing coming from his home. He rushed in to find his wife slumped in bed holding a little baby kerbal in her arms. This young Kerbal had a dazzling spray of red hair, like none seen before. They both set on a name almost instantly, Rouge. The tiny kerbal sat in a small cot drifting off to sleep as his mother sang to him. "You will shine, you will be bright. Like a rocket in the night. When you fall you'll think you're done, but Rouge I know you'll never give up."

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

"Rouge! Are you alive?" yelled Alexia as they jumped out of the jeep near the blackened hulk of steel.

"Yes, what a great question to ask!" replied Francis "Now pass me the metal saws, we need to get this open!"

One by one they cut open sections of metal until they reached the inside of the cabin and saw Rouge lying there, unconscious and battered but not mortally wounded.

"Get him out of here! Relay a message back to base! Get the examination crews to have a look at this cabin!"

"Yes sir! Outbound squad Alpha to hometown, Outbound squad Alpha to hometown."

A quiet, crackling audio came through the other side "Outbound squad Alpha, this is hometown, what is your message?

"We're outside the wreckage of the Anatolia I capsule, the Anatolia IV. Send engineering squads Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Echo to examine"

"Roger that, they're on their way."

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

Blackness, inky blackness

Like a squid. I like squids. Or should I say liked?

Am I dead? I might be, maybe. No-ones said, "come towards the light"

Well, there is no light, only blackness. Like a squid, or an octopus.

Did I like octopuses? I think I did. They're like squids. And I like squids.

Any sound? No? Wait...There is something.

"Rouge, come to!"

What was that? Was it a squid?"

"Rouge! Come to!"

Hold on, I remember that voice.

Slowly, rouge opened his eyes.

"Where am I?"

"Hospital" said Alexia, smiling down at him.

"At least I'll be taken care of. I had one hell of a nap."

"Rouge, you almost burnt up in the atmosphere."

"Hmm, did I? Oh well. And tell the doctors to get me a fish tank with a squid in it. Oh, and I would like fried calamari for lunch.

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