The Venturer Program: Tour of the planets

[VelocityPolaris]

I don't know about Buzz. Maybe if they wack him again he'll be okay. AWESOME STORY

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 21: STOPPING BY – PART 2

ANSI/Stanley: “T-minus 10 seconds to atmospheric entry. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0. Enterprise has entered the atmosphere.â€Â

Bob: “Slight rise in external temperature and pressure, same as usual.â€Â

Jeb: “Good.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “ETA at periapsis is two minutes.â€Â

Lengas: “Umm, hull integrity is falling, Jeb.â€Â

Jeb: “How quickly?â€Â

Lengas: “We’re at 93.5%, down from 94%. Still decreasing.â€Â

Jeb: “Uh-oh.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “I think we hit a pocket of turbulence. That may have been responsible for the strain on the hull.â€Â

Lengas: “Actually, now that I look, the integrity isn’t dipping any more than the normal rate of decrease, so that was probably it. External temperature is 2000K and rising.â€Â

Bill: “We’re nearly in orbit. I’m targeting Mun so we can get aligned with the equator.â€Â

Jeb: “Got it.â€Â

Bob: “It’s weird that, how Mun is perfectly equatorial in relation to Kerbin…â€Â

Bill: “Can we please talk about that some other time? The Gs are starting to get to me.â€Â

Bob: “Yeah, alright, they’re getting to me, too.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “Current acceleration is 3.3Gs. Predicted maximum of 3.31.â€Â

Bill: “Orbit achieved, passing… periapsis now.â€Â

Jeb: “Excellent.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “We’re almost out of the atmosphere. Acceleration at 0.4Gs and decreasing.â€Â

Jeb: “Bill, finish the trajectory changes. Control, this is Enterprise, do you read?â€Â

KSC: “And I was just there watching these guys doing… wait, Enterprise? Oh right yeah, Enterprise! Sorry, Control here, what can we do for you?â€Â

Jeb: “We’ve just aerobraked and are setting up our final orbit. We’ll get the details to you later but for now, get a couple of fuel tankers prepped for launch.â€Â

KSC: “Roger that, Jeb, we’ll get on that ASAP. We’ll also send another few supply packs up and you can ditch the empty ones, over. Say, you didn't hear that conversation I was having, did you?â€Â

Jeb: “That's a negative, although you've got me curious now, CAPCOM. Anyway, roger on the supplies. Jeb out.â€Â

Not long after…

Bill: “Ok, our orbit is as flat as a pancake, Jeb. Now we just need to circularise and we’ll be done.â€Â

Jeb: “We’ll be done for now. How long is it until the Duna transfer?â€Â

Bill: “A few weeks. We won’t be around for too long.â€Â

Jeb: “Ok then.â€Â

Later…

Bill: “Orbit is circular. Well, I’m done. I’ll be somewhere if you need me, Jeb.â€Â

Jeb: “Ok then. Say, what’s all that in the higher orbits?â€Â

Bill: “Hmm, not sure. The symbols look like rocks.â€Â

Jeb: “Rocks… Lengas!â€Â

Lengas: “Oh boy, what is it?â€Â

Jeb: “There, what are they?â€Â

Lengas: “Asteroids.â€Â

Jeb: “… Sorry, I think I misheard you. Did you sayâ€â€Ã¢â‚¬Å“

Lengas: “Asteroids, yes.â€Â

Jeb: “Asteroids.â€Â

Lengas: “Asteroids.â€Â

Jeb: “…Well, what the hell? There certainly weren’t any space rocks in orbit around our home before we left!â€Â

Lengas: “I seem to recall you being excited about the new claw they developed to grab these things.â€Â

Jeb: “Oh, The Claw. That makes sense, now. Still, dragging giant rocks into orbit around Kerbin doesn’t seem like the most intuitive idea, and it probably got a load of doomsayers all excited.â€Â

Lengas: “Only if terrorists get their hands on them will they be a threat. Giant space rocks become perfect WMDs if dropped on a planet.â€Â

Jeb: “Let’s hope that doesn’t happen then, eh?â€Â

Lengas: “I’m sure it won’t. Anyway, I’d like to get outside and do an inspection.â€Â

Jeb: “Go for it.â€Â

Lengas: “Ok then.â€Â

Meanwhile…

KSC: “Ascent is nominal, pitch and roll good. Enterprise, the first fuel tanker is en route now.â€Â

Bob: “Copy control. Cal, get your butt up here, we’re gonna need you soon.â€Â

Cal: “Ok, Bob.â€Â

A few hours later…

Cal: “Ok then, let’s get this thing docked.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “Tanker at 10 metres from docking port and closing at a rate of 0.5ms-1. Please decrease relative velocity.â€Â

Cal: “Decreasing relative velocity. How’s that, Stanley?â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “Much better, Cal.â€Â

Cal: “Good to hear. Lengas, prepare to refuel.â€Â

Lengas: “I’m already on it.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “Docking successful.â€Â

Lengas: “Beginning fuel transfer.â€Â

A couple of tankers later…

Cal: “Thank Kod that was the last one.â€Â

Jeb: “You look exhausted.â€Â

Cal: “Maths hurts after a while even if it’s simple addition.â€Â

Jeb: “I didn’t know there was any maths in your job.â€Â

Cal: “A fair bit, actually. I need to calculate timings and velocities.â€Â

Jeb: “Huh, I guess that makes sense. Now go and get some rest.â€Â

Cal: “Will do…â€Â

Jeb: “Stanley, how are we looking?â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “All systems are go. Lengas has been working to bring the ship back into a like-new condition, and I daresay he’s come close to fulfilling that objective completely. Fuel is also at maximum.â€Â

Jeb: “And the crew?â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “Hardly my area to comment on, but everyone bar Buzz seems normal, though he does seem to be recovering.â€Â

Jeb: “Hmm, I guess I’ll check in with Mac and Ed. I should probably convene another meeting, shouldn’t I?â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “Only if you feel the need to do so, Captain.â€Â

Jeb: “Right, thanks Stanley.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “You’re welcome, Jeb.â€Â

[Rhyunix]

Ooooh... all going smoothly eh? For now... *evil cackle*

[wasmic]

Yay! Another chapter!

[The Error]

Asteroids?

Asteroids.

[RogueMason]

Asteroids?

Asteroids.

Asteroids.

[wasmic]

You still haven't gotten around to the Skrabble rematch between Jeb and Lengas. SKRABBLE!

[Needles_10]

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/USLI/2014/Site/images/blog/asteroids.jpg

Asteroids.

Methinks this is a huge development in the making!

[RogueMason]

You still haven't gotten around to the Skrabble rematch between Jeb and Lengas. SKRABBLE!

It'll happen, I'm sure of it

Methinks this is a huge development in the making!

Ah, if only. Methinks that maybe I'll make an asteroid gauntlet and fly a starfighter through it

[Needles_10]

Ah, if only. Methinks that maybe I'll make an asteroid gauntlet and fly a starfighter through it

Methinks you should do just that, damnit!

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 22: ONWARDS TO DUNA

2 days before the Duna transfer…

Jeb: “Anyone? No? Seriously, this is the last chance anyone will get to bail out before we head off to Duna.â€Â

Jim: “Jeb, if I may speak for everyone here, we signed on for this because we wanted to explore the entire system. Hell, even Buzz, who’s in his pretty delicate state, said that he wanted to stay on the ship despite the recommendations of the guys back on the ground.â€Â

Jeb: “I was only checking. Considering the things that have already happened, it was logical to assume that some of you would be deterred from the rest of this mission, even though I’ve promised all of you that nothing more will happen. Well, if no-one wants to leave, then you’re all dismissed. Bob, tell control that we won’t be needing any crew shuttles.â€Â

Bob: “Aye.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “Captain, it may interest you to know that we are sharing this transfer window with hardware for the Duna Spacedock. We may not be able to utilise their facilities until this new fuel tank is docked.â€Â

Jeb: “We’ll worry about that when we get there, and besides, it won’t take long, surely.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “Yes, Captain.â€Â

Jeb: “Right, well, I suppose I’d best eat something. My stomach was growling the whole way through that meeting.â€Â

Lengas: “Mind if I join you?â€Â

Jeb: “Not at all. So, how’s the ship looking?â€Â

Lengas: “It took all my effort, but I brought her back up to 99.7% hull integrity, and the fusion core is nominal. We’re good to go when necessary.â€Â

Jeb: “That’s good news.â€Â

Lengas: “Yeah, it is. Hey, Ed, watch that greenhouse hatch, Jeb and I are coming through.â€Â

Ed: “Ok, let me just shut it for a sec.â€Â

Lengas: “Ok, thanks.â€Â

Ed: *muffled by the hatch* “No problem.â€Â

Jeb: “So, you’re all set for this trip to Duna?â€Â

Lengas: “Yes. At least this time, I won’t be stuck in a prototype spaceplane for the duration of the transfer.â€Â

Jeb: “Oh yeah, before we picked you up with Lonestar. Interesting mission.â€Â

Lengas: “What, my spaceplane or Lonestar?â€Â

Jeb: “Both, obviously, but the spaceplane must have been annoying without a hab.â€Â

Lengas: “Beyond belief. Anyway, what are you having?â€Â

Jeb: “Pasta, I think.â€Â

Lengas: “Hmm, noodles for me.â€Â

Bill: “Jeb, the transfer trajectory is set.â€Â

Jeb: “Ah, good. Thanks, Bill.â€Â

Bill: “No problem.â€Â

2 days later…

Jeb: “Ok, let’s get going. Lengas?â€Â

Lengas: “Engine ready.â€Â

Jeb: “Good.â€Â

Bill: “2 minutes and 30 seconds to burn point.â€Â

Bob: “All systems are checking out.â€Â

KSC: “Enterprise, this is control, just informing you that the fuel tank for Duna Spacedock is on its way now. Also, despite previous situations, good luck on the rest of the mission. Hopefully we won’t see you until you’ve been everywhere else.â€Â

Jeb: “Hopefully I won’t have to listen to your annoying voices all the time ‘til we get back, too. Anyway, thanks control, and see you in a few years time, again.â€Â

KSC: “Haha, alright Jeb, control out.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “Burn point imminent.â€Â

Jeb: “Got it, throttling up now.â€Â

A few minutes later…

Bill: “Duna encounter confirmed, 1 year and 8 days.â€Â

Jeb: “Good. Now then, I think we can all just sit back for a bit.â€Â

Lengas: “You may be able to, but I’ve got samples to look at with Matton, so… yeah, I’ll be doing that.â€Â

Jeb: “Right then. The rest of you can go off and do whatever you want. Don’t forget that we’re watching a film in the hab, tonight.â€Â

Bill: “Aw yeah.â€Â

Bob: “As long as we don’t watch The Great, The Worse, and The Hideous again, I’ll be ok.â€Â

Jeb: “Hey, that’s a good film.â€Â

1 year later…

Captain’s log, entry 14: Holy Mother of Kerbin, it’s been a while since my last log. Moho was the last one, and we’re 5 days from Duna. Oh well.

So yeah, we’re 5 days from Duna now and heading into an aerobrake. The station’s fuel tank will be arriving a few days after we do, so we’re gonna be stuck in orbit until they can dock the damn thing and refuel the lander. Our top priority is recovering Franklin, and only then will we head for the grand tour landing site.

Man, 2 landings on Duna? How’d I get so lucky… oh, wait. Bad ending to the third Venturer mission. That’s how. Hmm.

Of course, Franklin could be dropping dead any time soon, so we really need to act fast. I suggested moving Enterprise in to dock with the Spacedock and donating fuel, but looking at the schematics, there’s no way we could dock the two together; our external fuel tanks will get in the way. We also suggested ferrying fuel around using our landers, but there’s no way we could get enough fuel to the Duna lander in the time frame we have. We’re just gonna have to wait for the new fuel tank.

-----

Lengas: “Ah, Duna. What a planet.â€Â

Matton: “And my second landing site of the Grand Tour. I can’t wait.â€Â

Lengas: “It’s a nice place down there, and you can just about glide in its atmosphere.â€Â

Matton: “You can?â€Â

Lengas: “Yeah, I’ve done it. You need pretty big wings to do it, but it’s possible.â€Â

Matton: “Cool.â€Â

Lengas: “Indeed.â€Â

Matton: “It’s just a shame that I’ll have to wait for Jeb and Bill to rescue Franklin before I can go down, but I suppose that’s a better thing than collecting rocks.â€Â

Lengas: “Not if you’re a geologist.â€Â

Matton: “Hah, yeah.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “Alert: aerobraking imminent. Please secure yourselves. And vacate the centrifuge, for pities sake.â€Â

Jeb: “Nicely said, Stanley.â€Â

Lengas: “Hey, you didn’t just make the AI say that, did you?â€Â

Jeb: “What? Of course not! Why would I do such a thing?â€Â

Lengas: “Oh yeah, sure.â€Â

Bob: “Solar panels retracted.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “We’ve entered the atmosphere.â€Â

Matton: “Nice view out the windows back here at the moment.â€Â

Jim: “Yeah, real nice view.â€Â

Jeb: “I’m sure it is. Buzz, you alright?â€Â

Buzz: “Fine.â€Â

Jeb: “Good.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “Alert: External temperature rising faster than anticipated.â€Â

Bill: “I think that may be down to our incoming speed, Jeb.â€Â

Lengas: “Don’t worry, I’m keeping an eye on it.â€Â

Jeb: “Roger that.â€Â

Bill: “Uh, we may not make orbit with this aerobrake.â€Â

Jeb: “Say what?â€Â

Bill: “I suggest we do a retrograde burn once we clear the atmosphere.â€Â

Jeb: “Umm, ok then.â€Â

ANSI/Stanley: “Affirmative, no orbit achieved, but we are close.â€Â

Jeb: “Well, that’s a new one. That altitude usually works.â€Â

Bill: â€ÂWe’re going too fast, remember?â€Â

Jeb: “Err, yeah, you only mentioned it a moment ago. Ok then, let’s do this burn.â€Â

Bill: “There, we have an orbit.â€Â

Jeb: “Yay.â€Â

Bob: “Extending solar panels again.â€Â

Jeb: “Now we just need to sort this damn inclination out. What are we targeting, the Spacedock?â€Â

Bill: “Yep.â€Â

Bill: “Ok, we’ll need to make another pass, but we killed most of the angle with that burn.â€Â

Jeb: “Good. Folks, take a break, but be ready for the next burn, alright?â€Â

Bob: “Cool.â€Â

Lengas: “I think I’ll stay here for now.â€Â

Later…

Jeb: “Just think, we’ll be down on the ground in a few days.â€Â

Bill: “I know, it’s pretty exciting.â€Â

Jeb: “We could use a little excitement right about now after what we’ve been through.â€Â

Bill: “I must say though, I don’t fancy getting caught in one of those dust storms.â€Â

Jeb: “We’ll hide in the lander if we get stuck in the middle of one, no worries.â€Â

Bill: “And if the lander tips over?â€Â

Jeb: “We’ll think of something, not that we’ll have to, because we won’t tip over.â€Â

Bill: “I like your endless optimism, Jeb, but I’m not sure if it’s fuelled by courage or stupidity… or both.â€Â

Jeb: “I’m just Jebediah Kerman, that’s all. Spaceflight legend, epic pilot… you get the idea by now, I imagine.â€Â

Bill: “I think I do.â€Â

A little while later…

[Needles_10]

Frak, that's a good read!

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 23: THE RED PLANET

Captain’s log, entry 15: Duna. Awesome planet. In a matter of hours, I’ll finally be walking on the surface, too. I can’t wait. Bill’s pretty excited by the thought of it all, too, and Matton, well… geologists love rocks from other planets, that’s all I’m saying.

Anyway, we got telemetry from the fuel tank intended for the station here just this morning.

It completed its aerobrake and is now on course for the Spacedock. It should be there within two hours, and once it’s docked, we’ll be heading over in Lander Alpha. Matton’s gonna be stuck on the station for a bit while Bill and I sort out this whole Franklin business, but he’s ok with it. He just told me to bring up the Volcas samples that were very abruptly left behind on the last Venturer mission.

A few hours later…

Matt: “Alright chaps, here’s our fuel. Alan, is the docking port ready?â€Â

Alan: “All good to go, Matt.â€Â

Matt: “Excellent.â€Â

Wehrgel: “MRIT has undocked from ze fuel tank, sir.â€Â

Matt: “Ok. Righty-O, let’s get these things docked. Wehrgel, you handle the MRIT. Shersen, you have the fuel tank.â€Â

Wehrgel: “Ya.â€Â

Shersen: “I’m on it.â€Â

Wehrgel: “I’m completing ze docking manoeuvre. Shersen, bring zat tank in now.â€Â

Shersen: “Will do.â€Â

Wehrgel: “Ok, MRIT iz docked and awaiting refuelling.â€Â

Matt: “Good, good. Archibald, Jerrick, what are you doing?â€Â

Archibald: “Science, that’s what.â€Â

Jerrick: “Also, I figure we’d better get the lander prepped, so I’m making some headway with that.â€Â

Matt: “Ah, of course. I’ll get in touch with Enterprise after we’ve docked this tank.â€Â

Shersen: “Commencing docking sequence… there, we have fuel!â€Â

Matt: “Ah, thank Kod for that. We can actually go and explore the surface again, now.â€Â

Meanwhile…

Bob: “Jeb, incoming transmission from Duna Spacedock.â€Â

Jeb: “Patch it through to my terminal.â€Â

Bob: “Aye.â€Â

Jeb: “Duna Spacedock, this is Captain Jebediah Kerman of the IEV Enterprise. I assume you know what’s going on already.â€Â

Matt: “Yeah, we know, Jeb. This is Matt Kerman speaking, for the record.â€Â

Lengas: “Holy frak, Matt? What are you doing all the way out here, buddy?!â€Â

Matt: “Lengas? Oh man, it’s been a while, pal. How’ve you been?â€Â

Lengas: “Stuck with Jeb, that’s how I’ve been.â€Â

Jeb: “Hey…â€Â

Matt: “Ha, I’ve heard the stories about the crazy and awesome Jebediah Kerman. Must be quite cool over there if he’s around.â€Â

Jeb: “Well, at least someone appreciates my epic-ness.â€Â

Lengas: “Don’t get to full of yourself, Jeb. Anyway, Matt, I suppose I’d best let you carry on with your discussion. Besides, I’ve got a fusion core to manage. We’ll talk later, alright?â€Â

Matt: “Sure thing, Lengas. Anyway, Jeb, we’re already preparing the lander for you guys. There’s only one free docking port on the station and it’s opposite our lander. You weren’t planning on bringing Enterprise in to dock, were you?â€Â

Jeb: “Kod no. This is one hell of a big ship, Matt. We’d cause problems everywhere if we tried to dock with the station. No, we’ll be dropping by in one of the landers we've got. In fact, Bill, get Lander Alpha ready, would you?â€Â

Bill: “Uh, ok then…â€Â

Matt: “Well, I suppose we can accommodate a lander. The station’s pretty ramshackle at the moment; there are no two identical modules docked here. That should change in the future, but it’s crazy at the moment. How long are you going to be?â€Â

Jeb: “Err, let’s say… 2, 3 hours?â€Â

Matt: “Ok. Oh, and just so you know, we managed to get a very rough comms link with Franklin. He knows you’re coming, but we really need to skedaddle. Judging by the telemetry that we recovered, the base unit is dying. He got hit by a nasty dust storm the other day.â€Â

Jeb: “Right, we’ll be there ASAP. Anything else, or can we get cracking?â€Â

Matt: “Get cracking. See you in a bit. Matt out.â€Â

Jeb: “Bob, you have the bridge.â€Â

Bob: “Yay!â€Â

Jeb floats through to the hab.

Jeb: “Right, Matton, get to Alpha and buckle up. Dean, I want you at the helm, and Jim, you’ll be his back-up if needed.â€Â

Dean: “Oh, sweet!â€Â

Jim: “Rock on!â€Â

Matton: “Let me just get some sample tools and I’ll be right through.â€Â

Jeb: “Five minutes, Matton. We’ve got to hurry.â€Â

Matton: “Ok, ok.â€Â

Dean: “Hey, Jeb, is it alright if Jim and I take turns at the helm until you get back?â€Â

Jeb: “I don’t see why that would be a problem. Oh, don’t do anything unless you absolutely have to, ok? I don’t want to see the ship orbiting Ike when we try to return.â€Â

Dean: “You bet, Captain.â€Â

Matton: “Right, I’m sorted. Let’s go.â€Â

Jeb: “Good. Bill, how are we looking?â€Â

Bill: “Systems are Go.â€Â

Jeb: “Excellent. After you, Matton.â€Â

Matton: “Thanks…â€Â

Jeb: “Ok, this puppy’s sealed up. Undocking now.â€Â

Bob: “You’re clear. Kodspeed, folks.â€Â

Jeb: “I’ll see you when we get back.â€Â

Bob: “Don’t worry, the ship will still be here. Now get going, would you?â€Â

Jeb: “Later, Bob. Bill?â€Â

Bill: “I’ve targeted the station. It’s all yours.â€Â

Jeb: “Excellent.â€Â

Bill: “Periapsis is acceptable. We’ll perform the changes when we’re there.â€Â

Jeb: “As per usual. Matton, you alright?â€Â

Matton: “Yeah. I don’t suppose you could rotate the ship and bring Duna into view? I just want a look.â€Â

Jeb: “Uh, ok then.â€Â

Matton: “Thanks. Man, it’s beautiful. I can’t wait to get down there.â€Â

Jeb: “Nor can I. I’ve never been down there.â€Â

Matton: “What, really?â€Â

Jeb: “Uh-huh.â€Â

Matton: “Seriously? Jebediah Kerman has never walked on Duna?â€Â

Jeb: “Ding ding ding.â€Â

Matton: “Wow…â€Â

Jeb: “I know, right?â€Â

Bill: “For the record, I’ve never been there, either.â€Â

Matton: “Holy…â€Â

Half an orbit later…

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

Bill: “Separation of about 900m in one orbit. Let’s just sit back for a bit.â€Â

Jeb: “That’s something I can do.â€Â

One orbit later…

Bill: “There it is! Wow, it’s pretty big.â€Â

Matton: “Bigger than I thought it would be.â€Â

Jeb: “I’m correcting our trajectory now. Bill, open a channel.â€Â

Bill: “Right… there, channel open.â€Â

Jeb: “Matt, it’s Jeb. You there?â€Â

Matt: “I hear you. We’re tracking you now. Don’t forget to slow down, would you?â€Â

Jeb: “Hey, I’m not crazy.â€Â

Matt: “Uh-huh, sure…â€Â

Jeb: “My Kod, is my reputation really like that?â€Â

Bill: “Yep.â€Â

Matton: “Pretty much.â€Â

Jeb: “Huh. Well alright then.â€Â

Bill: “You’re not upset, are you?â€Â

Jeb: “Upset? Why would I be upset? I know I’m slightly crazy.â€Â

Bill: “Uh…â€Â

Matton: “That’s not exactly the most comforting thought in the world when one considers you’re flying the ship around a space station.â€Â

Jeb: “You’re worried about my flying skills?â€Â

Matton: “Actually, now that I think about it…â€Â

Jeb: “Exactly.â€Â

Jeb: “There, see? We docked nice and safe. Are the solar panels retracted?â€Â

Bill: “Yeah, they’re stowed.â€Â

Jeb: “Good.â€Â

Matt: “Guys, welcome to our humble abode. The lander is straight across from you.â€Â

Wehrgel: “Don’t scratch it, ya?â€Â

Jeb: “Don’t worry, I won’t be wrecking anything. Matton, are you sure you’re alright staying here?â€Â

Matton: “Of course.â€Â

Matt: “Time’s wasting, guys.â€Â

Jeb: “Alright, alright, we’ll be back soon. Bill, come on.â€Â

Bill: “Later, folks.â€Â

The hatch to the station’s lander seals.

Alan: “Were they really Jeb and Bill?â€Â

Matt: “Yep.â€Â

Alan: “Huh.â€Â

A moments pause permeates the station.

Wehrgel: “I thought zey would be taller.â€Â

[Solivagant]

This is amazing. Keep it up! (I just realized, the crew is gonna have a roller coaster of a time with Jool aerobraking, when that comes.)

[VelocityPolaris]

Just hope they remember to vacate the centrifuge first.

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 24: THE MAN ON DUNA

Jeb: “All systems check out, undocking now.â€Â

Bill: “We’re clear, Jeb. Bring us out a bit and fire up the nuke.â€Â

Jeb: “Nuke… why are you calling it a nuke?â€Â

Bill: “Shorthand. I could say NERVA, if you wanted.â€Â

Jeb: “I don’t care what you call it so long as you get the point across.â€Â

Bill: “Then why are you questioning ‘nuke’?â€Â

Jeb: “I don’t know. I typically think of nukes as being giant bombs.â€Â

Bill: “Rockets practically are giant bombs.â€Â

Jeb: “... I’ll admit, you’re right on that account. Throttling up.â€Â

Bill: “You didn’t just spray the station with that exhaust, did you?â€Â

Jeb: “I hope not.â€Â

Bill: “Ugh, they probably have radiation shields. I hope they do, anyway…â€Â

Jeb: “All the way out here away from any safe magnetic fields? Nah, I don’t see why they would have shields.â€Â

Bill: “Ok, stop. Trajectory is looking mighty fine. We should be passing over Mt. Volcas at a reasonable height.â€Â

Jeb: “Good. The last thing I want is to crash into the side of that.â€Â

Bill: “Me too.â€Â

Several minutes later…

Bill: “Time to throttle up again. Parachutes are armed and ready to deploy.â€Â

Jeb: “Ok, here we go.â€Â

Jeb: “External temperature rising, fuel levels optimal.â€Â

Bill: “Hey, we can toggle the radial engines if we need to.â€Â

Jeb: “Ok, I’ll fire those up for a bit. Oof!â€Â

Bill: “Well, they’ve got a bit of a kick to them!â€Â

Jeb: “Just a bit!â€Â

Bill: “We’re nearing ‘chute deployment.â€Â

Jeb: “My Kod, we’re going fast!â€Â

Bill: “You don't say?!â€Â

Jeb: “OOF!â€Â

Bill: “ARGH!â€Â

Jeb: “...We’re slowing down, I think. However, I must say… that. Was. AWESOME!â€Â

Bill: “Only you would say such a thing. Anyway, yeah, we’re slowing down alright. Frakking parachutes…â€Â

Jeb: “Hey, they worked at least. We won’t be pancaking on the surface.â€Â

Bill: “I suppose.â€Â

Jeb: “Almost there, almost there…â€Â

Bill: “Jeb…â€Â

Jeb: “Throttling up… and that’s it. My Kod, we’re on Duna, Bill!â€Â

Bill: “Yeah!â€Â

Jeb: “Now then, we undershot the base, so we’ll have to fly over there.â€Â

Bill: “There it is!â€Â

Jeb: “Yeah, I see it.â€Â

Jeb: “Ok, let’s power the engine down so we don’t get hideously irradiated.â€Â

Bill: “Done. The ladder’s extended, too.â€Â

Jeb: “Let’s do this.â€Â

Jeb: “Hey, there’s a bit of a drop between the base of the ladder and the ground, Bill.â€Â

Bill: “You can jump quite high on Duna. Shouldn’t be a problem.â€Â

Jeb: “Yeah, but what about Franklin?â€Â

Bill: “We’ll help if we need to.â€Â

Jeb: “Right.â€Â

Jeb: “Ok, come on out. Kod, it’s crazy beautiful out here! I’m on Duna, baby!â€Â

Bill: *whistles* “Dayum. Nice place. Well, I suppose we’d best get to work.â€Â

Jeb: “You go check the rover module for any telemetry. I’ll head to the hab.â€Â

Bill: “Ok.â€Â

Jeb: “Ah, feels good to stretch my legs. I don’t know about you, but this is nice.â€Â

Bill: “I think Laythe has some competition concerning my retirement plans.â€Â

Jeb: “Ooh…â€Â

No way. I’m not seeing things, am I? My Kod, they’re really here!

Time to grab my stuff, I guess.

Jeb: “Oh dear, I didn’t see this before. Bill, the hab’s lost two of its legs, the comms dish, and a solar panel.â€Â

Bill: “Kod, that must have been a nasty storm. Anyway, I’ve pulled the data drives from the probe core and I’m heading over to you.â€Â

Jeb: “Copy that.â€Â

Jeb: “Wait, Franklin’s just come out!â€Â

Bill: “I’m coming!â€Â

Franklin: “My Kod, you… you’re finally here. Well, you took your damn time, eh?â€Â

Jeb: “Franklin, I’m Jeâ€â€Ã¢â‚¬Å“

Franklin: “Jeb, I know, and that’s Bill.â€Â

Bill: “Hey, what did I miss?â€Â

Jeb: “Nothing. Damn, you alright, Franklin?â€Â

Franklin: “Hardly. I’ve been stranded on Duna for a few years. Listen, I’ve no doubt the science guys want their samples, so I’ve got ‘em all bagged and tagged and ready for transport. Just get them out of the hab.â€Â

Jeb: “Bill, if you could.â€Â

Bill: “Sure thing.â€Â

Jeb: “Come on, let’s get you out of here.â€Â

Franklin: “Thanks…â€Â

[VelocityPolaris]

Woohoohoo! Franklin is ALIVE!!!

[VelocityPolaris]

Say... It just occurred to me that Duna would make a great place to play football. They might put a field there by the time Bill retires.

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 25: ASCENT FROM VOLCAS

Franklin: “It feels strange to finally be getting away from this place. It’s like a home, you know?â€Â

Jeb: “I’ll bet it is, but you’ve got folks back on Kerbin who thought you were dead. When the guys at KSC brought them in to tell them the news, they were… well, to say they were shocked would be a massive understatement, as I’ve been led to believe.â€Â

Franklin: “Yeah, and not a day went by when I didn’t think of them. Kod…â€Â

Bill: “Hey, Jeb? It’s looking like we could be getting a storm here pretty soon, so we’ve gotta move.â€Â

Jeb: “Ok, let’s haul a** and get out of here.â€Â

Franklin: “Sounds good to me.â€Â

Franklin: “Sigh…â€Â

Franklin: “Hmm, it’s certainly been a while since I’ve been in here. Looks just like I remember it being.â€Â

Jeb: “You strapped in?â€Â

Franklin: “Yeah, I’m good for liftoff.â€Â

Bill: “Same here. Let’s go.â€Â

Jeb: “Ok, powering the engine up… green lights. We’re out of here.â€Â

Franklin: “Well, this thing flies quite well, actually.â€Â

Jeb: “It is surprisingly good.â€Â

Bill: “You’ve got to give credit to those nukes; they’re pretty good.â€Â

Franklin: “You call the engine a nuke?â€Â

Jeb: “Don’t bother, I’ve already had this conversation, Franklin.â€Â

Franklin: “Huh, I don’t blame you. Nukes are giant bombs.â€Â

Jeb: “Yep, that’s what I said.â€Â

Bill: “And then I said that the whole ship practically is a giant bomb considering the fuel and whatnot.â€Â

Jeb: “I do want to point out, however, that we will not be blowing up at any point.â€Â

Franklin: “Good. That’s the last thing on my agenda for today.â€Â

Bill: “We’re making good progress, Jeb. If you want, we can speed it all up withâ€â€Ã¢â‚¬Å“

Jeb: “With the radials, I know. I think I’ll fire ‘em up in a moment.â€Â

Franklin: “More than double the thrust with those, am I right?â€Â

Jeb: “Yeah, you’re right.â€Â

Franklin: “At least I can remember some stuff about the hardware I was meant to work with.â€Â

Bill: “Apoapsis is sitting at over 90km now, Jeb.â€Â

Jeb: “That sounds good. We’ll make orbit from there.â€Â

Franklin: “Excellent.â€Â

Jeb: “You know, I’d have thought you’d have been a basket-case by now, Franklin. When we rescued the crew of Odysseus from Ike way back in the Kraken War, their captain, Dilcott, was suffering pretty badly, and he wasn’t stuck down there for nearly as long as you were on Duna.â€Â

Franklin: “Oh trust me, I have my moments of wild and dangerous behaviour.â€Â

Bill: “Great, just what we need.â€Â

Jeb: “What?â€Â

Bill: “Buzz.â€Â

Jeb: “Oh, right. Well, Franklin won’t be with us, will he?â€Â

Franklin: “Say what?â€Â

Bill: “That’s true enough.â€Â

Franklin: “Err…â€Â

Jeb: “We’re heading to the station to drop you off, pal. There’s a ship being readied around Kerbin now, the Libra. You heard of the Libra?â€Â

Franklin: “Damn right I’ve heard of that ship. It’s legendary. But as I recall, the Libra class is a rather small science vessel; why is it on ferry duty?â€Â

Jeb: “You can ask the boffins back home about that, because I sure as hell don’t know.â€Â

Bill: “Alright, we’re in orbit. Let’s change inclination and get that intercept.â€Â

Jeb: “Yeah, umm, I know. I am the Captain here, Bill.â€Â

Bill: “…Sorry.â€Â

Jeb: “It’s ok.â€Â

Franklin: “…â€Â

Franklin: “That’s a view I’ve not seen for a while… and microgravity too…â€Â

Jeb: “Let’s not get too deep now, shall we? I don’t think I could handle it.â€Â

Franklin: “Haha, ok.â€Â

A little while later…

Jeb: “Duna Spacedock, this is Legacy Lander, do you read?â€Â

Matt: “Jeb, we have you. Is Franklin…?â€Â

Franklin: “I’m sat right here.â€Â

Matt: “Oh, that’s excellent. Job well done, chaps.â€Â

Jeb: “Indeed. I think you can just chill out on the station, Franklin.â€Â

Franklin: “Hey, I’m still a kerbonaut, you know? If I can help out in any wayâ€â€Ã¢â‚¬Å“

Matt: “Whoa whoa whoa, buddy, don’t get ahead of yourself now. The doc’s going to have a look at you and we’ll talk then, alright?â€Â

Franklin: “Argh, doctors...â€Â

Jeb: “Docking successful. Welcome back to civilisation, Franklin.â€Â

[VelocityPolaris]

Awesome chapter!

[The Error]

Yaaaaay!

Tenchars

[RogueMason]

CHAPTER 26: THE GRAND TOUR CONTINUES

Captain’s Log, entry 16: We did it, we saved Franklin. He was stuck down there for, what, 5 years in old time? He doesn’t know about the new time regiment that was introduced, so when one of the guys on the station said that he’d been down there for more than 10, he was shocked. Anyway, he’s recuperating now. The doc’s (Jerrick, I believe) looked at him and he seems to be alright, albeit a little malnourished. Now we can refocus on the grand tour landing.

-----

A few hours later…

Jeb: “Matt, we’re pulling away now. See you later.â€Â

Matt: “Copy that, Jeb, have fun down there.â€Â

Jeb: “Oh, I plan to, mate. I plan to.â€Â

Bill: “So long as it doesn’t involve flying recklessly, I’m ok with it.â€Â

Jeb: “Flying a lander with reckless abandon? That doesn’t sound like me at all…â€Â

Bill: “Oh yeah, whatever Jeb.â€Â

Matton: “…â€Â

Bill: “Now’s the time, Jeb.â€Â

Jeb: “Punching it.â€Â

Matton: “Yay, I’m finally going down there.â€Â

Jeb: “It’s neat, alright.â€Â

Matton: “Oh, and thanks for bringing the Volcas samples up. Gives Lengas and I a bit more work to do, I guess.â€Â

Jeb: “I think some of those are going back to Kerbin on the Libra, Matton.â€Â

Matton: “Yes, and some of them are coming with us.â€Â

Jeb: “Alright, as long as you’re happy.â€Â

Bill: “We’re nearing burn completion.â€Â

Jeb: “Ok.â€Â

Bill: “That’s it, stop.â€Â

Jeb: “Cutting power. There we go, we’re en route now. We did re-pack the parachutes, didn’t we?â€Â

Bill: “… I think so.â€Â

Matton: “I bl**dy hope you did.â€Â

Bill: “Hold on… yeah, they’re all set.â€Â

Matton: “Phew…â€Â

Jeb: “Good, good. For the record, Matton, the descent is quite crazy, so brace yourself.â€Â

Matton: “Crazy?â€Â

Bill: “He means that we’ll be screaming through the atmosphere until we’re nearly on the ground.â€Â

Matton: “Oh… ok then.â€Â

Bill: “Hey, we need a course correction.â€Â

Jeb: “What? Why?â€Â

Bill: “I’ve just noticed something. There’s a massive dust storm in the area we’re landing in, and I want to avoid the worst of it.â€Â

Jeb: “Someone should have told us this beforehand, Bill.â€Â

Bill: “I know, I know, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is making sure we don’t get blown horrendously off course, so if you would…â€Â

Jeb: “Ok, I’m on it.â€Â

Bill: “Perfect, we should be dropping through a less dangerous section now.â€Â

Matton: “So, uh, why didn’t we just abort the landing and go somewhere else?â€Â

Jeb: “This is our spot as dictated by the mission parameters. Anyway, I can handle this, it’s just a bit of crosswind.â€Â

Matton: “Just a bit of crosswind, he says…â€Â

Jeb: “Yeah, I do say that, so don’t worry.â€Â

Matton: “Alright, if you say so.â€Â

Jeb: “We’re in the atmosphere.â€Â

Bill: “Descent rate is nominal.â€Â

Matton: “My Kod, you weren’t kidding when you said we’d be going fast. This is remotely terrifying.â€Â

Jeb: “Seriously, don’t fret, I’ll get us down safely. Hell, I managed it with a giant volcano beneath us not too long ago.â€Â

Matton: “I guess you did…â€Â

Bill: “External temperatures are peaking now, and we’re nearly at the ‘chute deployment altitude.â€Â

Jeb: “Got it.â€Â

Matton: “HNGH!â€Â

Jeb: “Ugh!â€Â

Bill: “Well, those were the ‘chutes…â€Â

Matton: “No kidding, ow…â€Â

Bill: “Right, I think we’re about to hit the top of that dust storm.â€Â

Jeb: “Not that I can really see anything from my seat below you 2 anyway.â€Â

Bill: “Well, I’m telling you right now that I can’t see s*** out there. The storm is completely blocking out everything. I’m keeping an eye on the radar altimeter.â€Â

Matton: “He’s really not kidding, it’s fully obscured outside.â€Â

Jeb: “Hmm, should be interesting once we’re on the ground.â€Â

Bill: “Less than 500m to the surface.â€Â

Jeb: “Throttling up again.â€Â

Matton: “Oof!â€Â

Jeb: “That’s it, we’re down. Shutting down the engines and extending the ladder.â€Â

Matton: “Excellent!â€Â

Bill: “Hold on, are we going to wait this storm out?â€Â

Jeb: “…Nah, I’m going outside.â€Â

Bill: “What?!â€Â

Jeb: “Look, it doesn’t seem to be too violent, this one, it’s just kicked up a load of dust. We’d be hearing a lot more howling than this if there were greater winds, even despite Duna’s thin atmosphere, surely?â€Â

Matton: “Actually, Jeb’s right, it doesn’t seem too bad, this one. You picked a good calm for us to land in, Bill.â€Â

Bill: “Oh, well, alright then.â€Â

Jeb: “Let’s suit up, folks. We’ve got science to do.â€Â

Jeb: “Ok, it is a bit blustery, so watch out when you get off the ladder.â€Â

Bill: “Ok, thanks.â€Â

Jeb: “Wow, you can barely see the Sun through all this dust. Anyway, where’s my flag… ah, there we go.â€Â

Bill: “Aww, you already planted it, damn it.â€Â

Jeb: “You snooze, you lose, buddy.â€Â

Bill: “Apparently so.â€Â

Matton: “I’m coming out now.â€Â

Jeb: “Copy that.â€Â

Matton: “Huh, it is a bit gusty.â€Â

Bill: “Alright, what’s the order of business today, Jeb?â€Â

Jeb: “First things first, do not stray far from sight in these conditions. If we lose sight of you, we may not be able to track you down. Comms are also a bit static-laden, so really, really, really stick close by. Other than that, err… science. Now off you go.â€Â

Matton: “Yay.â€Â

Matton: “So, uh, anybody got anything to talk about?â€Â

Jeb: “Hmm, no, not really.â€Â

Bill: “I got nada. What about you?â€Â

Matton: “It might interest you to know that Enterprise contacted the station. They wanted to try and get through to you guys, but for whatever reason, the signal died. Anyway, Mac’s saying that Buzz is doing quite a lot better now than he was the other day.â€Â

Jeb: “That’s good. I’m not sure how much longer anyone would have managed if he’d stayed in that state.â€Â

Bill: “That’s assuming he’s back to normal, Jeb.â€Â

Jeb: “It’s still progress.â€Â

Bill: “True, although how much progress remains to be seen.â€Â

Jeb: “Hey, whoa, Matton? Why are you going so far out? Did you forget what I said already?â€Â

Matton: “No, not at all. At least you can still see me, so this must be alright.â€Â

Jeb: “I… yeah, ok, good point. Just don’t go much further, alright?â€Â

Matton: “Don’t worry, I’ll be by this boulder.â€Â

Matton: “Is it just me, or is the storm clearing up?â€Â

Bill: “You know, I think it might be dying.â€Â

Jeb: “Good, I was getting a little annoyed at all the dust blowing into my visor.â€Â

Bill: “And our suits won’t be getting eroded nearly as much, now.â€Â

Jeb: “Not that there was much erosion going on, anyway.â€Â

Bill: “No, but still.â€Â

Jeb: “Hey, Bill, check this stone out. It looks like a star or something.â€Â

Bill: “A star shaped stone? Cool.â€Â

Matton: “Wait, what?â€Â

Jeb: “Yeah, it’s almost perfect, too. Quite small, though.â€Â

Matton: “Grab it for me, would you?â€Â

Jeb: “Yeah, alright.â€Â

Bill: “Yeah, that storm has definitely buggered off.â€Â

Jeb: “Nice, now we can actually go a bit further out.â€Â

Matton: “All the better for me.â€Â

One hour later…

Jeb: “Oh bl**dy hell, another storm.â€Â

Bill: “You only just noticed? It’s been coming at us for the last 20 minutes!â€Â

Jeb: “Yeah, I wasn’t really looking that way, in case you hadn’t noticed.â€Â

Bill: “Never mind, this one’s stronger than the last one. Whoa, geez! Alright, we’re going to get blown away, here, Jeb!â€Â

Jeb: “I agree. Matton, get back to the lander, now!â€Â

Matton: “I’m on it, let me just finish with this core sample.â€Â

Jeb: “Now, damn it!â€Â

Jeb: “Oh frak!â€Â

Jeb: “Ow!â€Â

Bill: “Jeb, are you alright?â€Â

Jeb: “I think so… hit my arm pretty bad, but I’m walking. Let’s get out of here.â€Â

Bill: “Matton, come on!â€Â

Matton: “Alright, I’m packing the drill up now! For the record, it’s not windy behind this rock, so I’m pretty safe here, you know?!â€Â

Jeb: “Just get you’re a** over here!â€Â

Matton: “I’m on it, damn it!â€Â

Matton: “Damn it, geologists never catch a break… hey, you did keep that star shaped rock, didn’t you?â€Â

Jeb: “Yeah, yeah, we’ve got it.â€Â

Matton: “Thanks.â€Â

Matton: “Ok, I can see why you were panicking, this is strong. I’ll start running.â€Â

Jeb: “Make it snappy, we’re powering the lander up now.â€Â

Matton: “Ok, ok, I’m running as fast as I can with all this stuff that I’m carryâ€â€WHOA!â€Â

Jeb: “Matton?â€Â

Matton: “Argh… ow… damn it…â€Â

Jeb: “Matton, are you alright?!â€Â

Matton: “I’m here, I’m here… oh frak, my suit, the visor…†*cough*

Jeb: “Matton, get up and run, now!â€Â

Matton: “That’s what I’m trying to -- *cough cough* -- ah, frakking hell! I can’t see anything throught this visor, it’s cracked to hell and there’s a -- *cough* -- a breach.â€Â

Jeb: “Mother of Kerbin, run!â€Â

Matton: “I’m trying!â€Â

Matton: “AH! OOF!â€Â

Bill: “Good Kod, he’s not gonna make it, Jeb!â€Â

Jeb: “I’m opening the hatch!â€Â

Matton: “No! *cough cough cough* I’m almost there… agh!â€Â

Matton: “Agh, frakking… son of a Kraken… agh!â€Â

Bill: “Son of a Kraken?â€Â

Jeb: “That’s a new one… damn it, he’s getting delirious!â€Â

Matton: “No… nearly… *cough cough* nearly there…â€Â

Jeb: “Come on, grab my hand!â€Â

Matton: “Yeeaaarrgh!â€Â

Jeb: “Gotcha, now come on!â€Â

Matton: *light, fast breathing*

Jeb: “Bill, get us out of here!â€Â

[Rainbowtrout]

Very dramatic chapter! Will Matton die?

[Michaelo90]

I knew something would happen to Matton from the moment Jeb asked why he was so far away

Edited July 2, 2014 by Michaelo90

[RocketPilot573]

Oh, no... Not Again...NOOOOOOOOOO!!!