The LPC Commonwealth, Crafty Storytellings and other Adventures

[LPC]

Welcome to the LPC commonwealth, where we provide the biggest ships with the lowest part count -or atleast we try to-.

This tread will chronicle what happened to the LPC commonwealth, and what kind of ships they build to face the Kerbal universe.

If you want to visit our craft file shop, you can click here: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/67945-The-LPC-Commonwealth-Craft-Corner

Chapter 1, Our first contract: http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/78798-The-LPC-Commonwealth-Crafty-Storytellings-and-other-Adventures?p=1135811#post1135811

Chapter 2, The maiden voyage of the LCS Dragonfly:

Chapter 3, A year later:

Chapter 4, a Misplaced sundae:

Chapter 5, Hello, is it me you're looking for:

Chapter 6, Be gentle:

Edited May 4, 2014 by LPC

[LPC]

''Is This a Dis-tr-o-jur, Sir?''

I looked up from the daily newspaper, there was still no sign of the Spirit of Kerbin: ''She should have been home by now'', i mumbled.

''Sir?''

''What is it now Theodore Kerman''

''Well Sir, we hit a bit of a snag''

''What kind of snag.......Theodore?''

My hands clasped the side of the newspaper i was holding.

''Wel now sir, ehh we designed a De-stroi-ur, like you asked, but we went a wee bit overboard with the armor plating. And well, we sorta neglected to en-count for well, ehh...

Theodore hesitated.

''We made it to big sir''

My hands began to itch with a desire unbeknownst to a Kerbal like myself, to be honest i wanted to send dearest Theodore towards the nearest celestial body strapped to a rocket only attached with struts.

''How big did you make it Theodore''

Theodore chuckled, but soon straitened his face when he saw my angry scowl.

''It can carry up to and above fifteen missiles sir, and its double armored, like you asked''

''Do not try to dodge the question Theodore, How big did you make it!''

I screamed, unbefitting a kerbal of my stature but his behavior made me feel afire, the itch had became a burning sensation, enveloping everything.

Well the engine and missile launch parts are over 300 pieces, and well when we try to attach the front of the ship, the ship sticks out of the hanger bay, but that is not the worst part''. Theodore paused ''Every time we try to launch it, it snaps in two like a twig''

''I waved my hands around like a mad kerbal, while shouting ''Do you have any idea how much this is going to cost us, this mistake will ruin us!''

Theodore cringed, not because of my anger but because of my hands, alight with fire.

''Sir''

I looked up and noticed that a few giggling kerbals, part of the refueling team had lit my newspaper, which was now happily burning in my clasping hands. luckily The smell of oxidizer calmed my strained nerves somewhat.

''Get out all of you, and Theodore?''

''Yes Sir?''

Scrap the plans for the missile destroyer, and bring me some pen and paper, ive got an idea; and if it works, and it will..........we can finally go in search of the spirit of kerbin.

Edited May 4, 2014 by LPC

[LPC]

''Sir''

''Yes Theodore, come in'' I answered, quite pleased with myself looking at the plans of the LPC dragonfly.

''The plans you sent us'', ''Shes ready''. Theodore Kerman blurted out the words as if he wanted to tell me the good news in utmost haste.

''Already, but i drew her up just yesterday, and you're saying that in this short amount of time you've gotten the materials, fuel and have build a space faring craft with all the specifications, doesn't that seem somewhat quick to you?'', i asked full of surprise.

''Yes sir, and if you are as quick, you can see us launch it''

Theodore Kerman smiled smugly.

''We did well sir?''

''You did well Theodore, you did very well, now please tell me you didn't forget the satellites''

As soon as i finished my sentence Theodore rushed out of the room, with a somewhat worried look in his eyes. He had forgotten the satellites.

O well he did impress me, he did. Kerbal engineers can be speedy when space exploration is on the line, building a craft of over 300 parts -200 if you don't count the satellites-, in a single afternoon.

Maybe just maybe we could find the spirit of Kerbin.

As i looked over the blueprints of the LPC Dragonfly, Someone knocked on my door.

''Sorry to disturb you o great engineer, but the launch was called of and they said you gave the order to delay it.''

I gently nodded, stood up and put out my hand, ''commander Jebediah, i appreciate the enthusiasm but the ship youre piloting missed necessary cargo'', Please take a seat and let me explain''.

Jebediah, agreed and sat down.

''What do you know about Laythe comnmander?''

''A planet much like Kerbin, many cooperation's tried to establish colonies over there, with moderate success, the planet is highly contested.''

''Right, and traffic slowed down in the recent months has it not?''

''Yes sir, ever since the low return rate of colony and supply ships. Military ships where send to scout things out, but as far as i know nothing was ever found.''

''And most importantly the Spirit of Kerbin was never found, neither the ship nor the wreck.'' , ''And this is where we come in, a few days ago i was contacted by the partners of the LPC Commenwealth, to mount a search mission to laythe, with the possible goal of finding any trace of the spirit of kerbin.'' I paused for dramatic effect. , '' Ofcourse when the Carrier went missing we all thought she would turn up somewhere somehow, however many months have passed and we've received not even the smallest bit of conformation the crew is still alive and well.'' ''Rescue missions were send, but they did not return'', ''To be honest, i suspect the worst, the spirit of kerbin was a ''tough old bird'' more than capable to withstand the rigors of space.'', ''Its disappearance and the disappearance of so many other vessels makes us suspect a third party that tries to make laythe its own for whatever reason.''

I waited, for any reply of commander Jebediah, but he only listened within solemn silence.

''Now Sending another ship would be suicide, and sending an armed fleet would be to costly, besides if the spirit of kerbin and its defending ships could not fend off whatever is happening on and around laythe what chance would we stand.'' , That`s why I drew up and designed the dragonfly, its armored, yet stealthy, its maneuverable and fast, it can carry eight satellites , eleven crew members and can travel to laythe and back without refueling.''

''Nothing like this has ever been tried, at least not on such a grand scale.''

''Now commander, stealth and speed are your ally; as soon as a window opens up you are to travel to laythe under excuse of scouting Jool, make a wide course correction and swing past Laythe, drop of the satellites in different orbits and return asap'', ''The data collected by the satellites will be analysed on the way back by our scientists and the findings will determine what our next step will be. Take heed, we need that information, we need conformation so, when you encounter anything out of the ordinary use the boosters and get out of there, surviving is the imperative here''

I concluded my grand and boring speech, almost forgetting why Jeb came in here in the first place.

''The engineers forgot to load up the satellites, that's why i aborted the launch.''

''Jeb nodded, stood up and saluted. ''It is a honorable mission i will try to carry it out to the best of my ability's.''

I smiled Jeb was the best, the best kerbalnaut, Kerbin had ever seen, if someone could do it, he could.

''Be careful'', i added

''I always am'' he answered.

A few hours later, the Dragonfly launched, our engineers were pleased because the ship held, which is a small miracle in and of itself, so attested Theodore.

And while our engineers where celebrating the successful launch i worried about the future. It was frustrating to realize the only thing i could do now was pray for a safe return and hope that i didn't send another crew to its untimely death.

Logbook of Kenbert Kerman, day 30

We made course corrections for Jool, however somewhat inefficient, it seems that commander Jeb tries to get a wide orbit around Jool which would make it difficult for us to analyse the data coming from the planet.

Further more I've found out that this ships Armour plating make it almost invisible to active scan. and the way sound is handled is......., well let just say that the ships sends out space chatter, and obfuscates the sounds made by us and the engines. to such a degree that we need to shut the chatter off when we want to make scans or collect any data.

Lets hope well reach Jool soon, so we can get back to Kerbin.

Ive got a bad feeling about this.

Edited May 10, 2014 by LPC

[LPC]

A year had past and the dragonfly had not yet returned. We`ve had no return Ping for at least a month. None of the satellites seemed to have been activated. What had happened to the dragonfly around Laythe?

Several invested party`s are wondering if the commonwealth can free laythe from its curse, and protect its members.

''Sir''

''Yes Theodore''

''The Reports you asked for sir, If this dry spell continues we cannot refill our refueling stations, I've bought as much as we can afford but it will only last us and our partners for a week and after that our refuel silos are empty''

''Right, lets delay the placement of a automated refueling station around Duna then......anything else?''

''Why yes sir, look at this.''

''I looked but my mind was to distant to make anything of the scribbles Theodore showed me.''

''Sir?''

''Sorry Theodore, I am a bit preoccupied; The new pride of our navy, its crew and everything else lost.

''Understandable sir, however not everything is lost''

''What do you mean Theodore?''

''A few days ago we picked up what we thought was static, however Ive reworked the static with some unscramble codes and, well it seems its a distress call.

''A distress call?''

''It hails from around laythe, its a genius piece of coding sir, the message seems to brake trough heavy static coming from the planet by riding on the very signal that blocks it, its probably commander Jeb`s handiwork''

''Interesting, what does it say?''

''Look for yourself sir, Theodore said while he pushed the paper under my nose yet again''

What it said was short and to the point first it gave us location and orbit information second it mentioned three survivors and the reason of disappearance: got shot, heavy gunship.

''Right, any plans theodore?''

''We should mount a rescue, shouldn't we sir?''

''Ofcourse theodore, but how?, we now know the static around laythe is there to mask operations of evil intend and we dont know how many of those heavy gunships there are. Furthermore because of the lack of mining rights fuel is scarce and our Commonwealth barely has enough means to keep itself afloat. No fuel means no income, no income means no rescue ship.''

''But Sir?''

''Your right, I will think of something, please consult the engineering team, maybe they will have any brilliant ideas to improve our armor or stealth ability's so we can incorporate them into a new design''

I paused for a moment, but before Theodore whom was standing at the door could leave, i asked.

''Could you send out contracts for mining rights for within the solar system, if we could get the rights to mine on other planets the commonwealth could just afford to bring our kerbs home.''

Theodore clicked his heals and waggled out in due haste.

I laid my head to rest in my hands, it was a dark time for the LPC commonwealth and there was no sign the clouds would be lifting anytime soon. I looked once again at the data theodore had left me and it left me to ponder, what out there was so powerful that it could destroy a heavy armored cloaked destroyer?

[LPC]

I pondered over the new redesign of the dragonfly, yes the part count could be lower but while it had more parts then its predecessor it was packing more bang for its buck. However would it succeed in rescuing our crew orbiting laythe and could the ship withstand assault?. The cloaking on the last vessel did not seem to help.

''Sir''

''Yes Theodore?''

''The dragonfly Mk 3 Has left the orbit, and the transfer was almost perfect, no course corrections are needed''

''Good theodore, lets hope the ship has a safe maiden flight''

''We all hope to see our comrades again sir, they've been in orbit around laythe for almost a year now.''

''I know theodore I know''

Logbook of Captain Adfred

""listen-up, you green wobbles, we are now around Jool and as of this moment we will go silent''.''The first Kerb whom dares to chew down on a single snack, slurp a single slushie or makes any sound whatsoever will be airlocked''.''We are homing in on the distress signal, in eta an hour we will rescue the survivors and if we do not make second contact we will leave the system in all haste, if we make second contact Jool help us all''.

Captain Adfred shook is head, laid its hand upon the shoulder of navigator Jerger and said: ''Steer us in Jerger, low trust stabilize orbit, and hope we do not encounter that gunboat''

''Right Jerger There they are, Approach Gently''. ''Communication officer Harby: after we have stabilized on 500M send out a evac signal.''

''They have received the signal, Bill is coming out, Jeb will be last''

''Well done Harby, Keep the craft stable Jerger''

''Have medical help on standby''

''It seems they are alright sir, no medical attention needed, Bill and bob have one request however......''

''And?''

''They want to steer the ship sir''

''.......''

''Jeb is reprimanding them as we speak.''

''Good Jerger, now lets get ready to get out of here, Harby, increase scanning range.......lets see if we can find this Gunboat jeb talked about.''

''I found something sir,.........Its the gunboat, and its firing!''

''Harby Sound red Alert, everybody brace for combat''

''Ready all missiles, Evade, and as soon as possible fire back!''

''Yes sir, firing''

''Look out, missile incoming, full burn.....NOW!''

''It missed sir.......''

''Good Job, Jerger now Harby tell us, did any of ours hit?''

'' Two out of four did hit sir but,........''

''What is it Harby?''

''The target doesn't show any sign of damage sir, Iam sorry''

''No matter Harby, this is something for the tech boys to figure out, try scanning as much of that ship as you can..........''

''Yes sir, Scanning''

''Sir another gunboat appeared form behind the planet''

''Alright, Jerger, its becoming to hot around laythe: Lets get out of here!''

''Yes sir, Course for Kerbin set''

Captain Adfred looked upon the instruments and saw they were not followed -re-leaved- he opened the intercom.

''Alright Kerbs Listen up, The rescue mission was a success, however we did confirm the existence of two ships, both of them hostile''.''How we will overcome these obstacles, i do not know however we will live to fight another day..........snacks for everyone!''

A Cheer went up around the craft followed by a contend sounding chewing noise. Every Kerbal gets hungry after a Job well done, it could be one of the natural laws.Lets hope they have enough snacks to reach Kerbin.

''Captain adfred, we`ve reached Kerbin, dropping off cargo.''

''Good, commander Jeb seemed to be in a hurry to debrief the commonwealth, send down all the information he asked us to send down and lets go and refuel, maybe some of us even want some shore leave''

Soft snickering filled the bridge.

''Good one sir''

''Joking aside, the Dragon could use some fuel, Jerger Set course for the refuel station, and lets hope we will get a new mission soon.''

Edited May 6, 2014 by LPC

[LPC]

Logbook of captain adfred

We had arrived at ''station orbit'' to refuel our craft. However no ping was received from the manned orbital refueling station, i assumed the worst.

''Refueling station Alpha, respond please.''

''..........''

''Hail them again, Jerger''

''This is Lieutenant Jerger, Piloting the Dragonfly, please respond''

''They are not responding sir.....''

''Scan the area, try to find any debris or signs of combat''

"scanning sir,.........unidentified object.........there is an small satellite where the refeulingstation should be...........nothing else.''

''It seems the mission is not over, be on your guard and cloak the ship, lets approach this satellite with the utmost care.''

Back at LPC HQ

''Theodore, Jeb.........Be welcome, am I glad to see you.........''

Jeb dropped a few pieces of paper on my desk, a quick glance told me they where debriefing papers.

''The mission transcribed as well as i could, with telemetry data and vessel analyses''

''When did you have the time to.........never mind, Theodore why are you standing by the door come in, Jeb wont bite...........his return needs to be celebrated, here take a Kigar''

''I am sorry sir but ive got a private message for you, your eyes only''

His demeanor betrayed the importance of the bad news he was holding, poor Theodore: he hadn't brought me good news since the launch of the first dragonfly.

''Jeb, if you would excuse us......?

Jeb clicked his heels, saluted and left. Theodore entered the room proper, and while watching the floor the whole time handed me a official looking document........signed by the head kerbal himself.

''.........''

As of today, all assets of The LPC Commonwealth are impounded until further notice, its orbital facilitys are downed, its planetary holdings seized. All current missions are to be put on hold, all crafts should return to the planet Kerbin to be dismantled.

As ordered by the Kerbin Goverment.

''.............''

The document went on detailing the assets, not forgetting every last Kerbit our commonwealth owned. I red trough the document multiple times, trying to find a reason, a single reason why the government would curtail every activity.

''Does the government even have the authority to do such a heinous thing Theodore?

''It seems so sir, Sorry sir''

''Why Theodore, Why would the government shut us down so suddenly?''

''They seem to be interested in the data we have collected sir.....''

''Why do you think so Theodore?''

''Well sir, yesterday a team of government officials tried to raid our secured data storage, and they would have succeeded to if i wouldn't have been there''

''WHAT!..........Why wasn't i notified''

''well sir, they expressly forbid..........''

''I don't care........''

A rage came over me but before it could manifest in a slowburning stream of smoke and fire, a roaring could be heard form the engineering bay

''What the.......''

Theodore rushed out, to return only to return few seconds later

''Sir, Jeb took one of our new research vessels and Jim T Kerman chased after him.............''

''Jeb, stealing one of our few remaining vessels..........''

''No sir, It seemed to be a matter of principles, Jim T dared Jeb that he would reach the mun faster and well, Jeb accepted the dare............''

This simple act of defiance made me smile, not because of the simple fact that the research vessels were ion and atomic powered, not because both of them could gather a crew of 8 Kerbins to have a space race, but because of this folly the defunct LPC commonwealth had three ships in orbit still.

''Shall i call them back sir,.........?''

''No Theodore, let them, and upload new mission objectives to both of vessels and to the Dragonfly aswell...........let them find out what the government did with our assets around the mun, minmus and most importantly Kerbin itself, and maybe because of there haste Jeb and James will find some of the answers we are looking for, before our enemy's have had time to clean their tracks.''

Jeb had started a race for the survival of the LPC Commenwealth, the race for answers had begun with a simple dare, a race with all odds stacked against us, and yet when I listened to the cheering kerbals outside on the launchpad waving towards the two racing trails of smoke, hope washed over me.

''by the way, How did you stop those government agents theodore?''

''Well now i was eating my Sunday sundae, when they burst in the door and tried to tie me up so my sundae dripped onto the secured motherboard shorting out every circuit in the center.......''

''That was an oddly destructive Sunday sundae, was it not?''

''Not if you know what you're short circuiting sir.........''

I patted Theodore on the shoulder, he nodded, smiled and left.

[LPC]

Logbook of captain Adfred

''We have arrived at the way point sir.''

''Good, scan the object Harby, Jerger keep her steady.''

''Yes sir.''

''It seems like a simple drone sir, two docking ports, ion powered''

Sir, it seems to have been coded to dock with the missing refueling station but.......''

''Let me guess..., it missed its target and is drifting along this orbit because it lacks any kind of orders''

''Indeed sir''

'Jerger, would you be so kind as to dock with the craft so we can take a closer look, maybe it even has some records of what the hell happened here.''

''Docking sir''

[LPC]

Logbook of captain Adfred

''Docking complete, sir.''

''Good job Jerger, Harby download the data.''

''.........''

''What does it say Harby?''

''It seems that someone tried to erase the data and send a self destruction code, but connection was cut before both of the codes were send completely.''

''and?''

''This was one of the automated shuttles send to blow up the refuel stations, it was part of a squad of four. I can find no data on who send it or who wanted to blow up the refueling station, sir.''

''I tought you said it was coded to dock with the refeuling station?''

''Well sir it has a friendly FoF signifier, i just assumed.........''

''Its alright Harby this whole situation doesn't make sense. Secure the data and send it to the boys on the ground, my guess is they are interested in this enemy missile launcher.''

''Will do, sir''

''..........''

''Sir?''

''Yes Harby''

''Iam not getting a return ping''

''Check again''

''I already did sir, scanning.........None of the LPC ground or orbit assets are sending a ping''

''What the kraken happened out here?''

''Jerger alter our orbit so we can fly over KSP, but make sure we have a low energy pattern...........i don't want to attract unwanted attention.''

''course laid in sir, and sir.........?''

''Yes Jerger''

''Our fuel reserves are running low''

''I am aware of that, but there is nothing we can do about it now is there?''

''We could go out, and push the craft in or out of orbit sir''

''............right, Harby whats our status''

''no return ping or any activity sir''

''......., our company cannot have disappeared in the time weve been away now can it?''

I dont know sir, but.

''Yes Harby''

''Our best bet seems to be other refueling stations and ships still in orbit, maybe they know what is going on down there''

''Indeed, there must be some life still out there.''

Logbook of captain Jeb

We`ve won the race, no sign of James T Kerbin, but my estimation is that he will be here within a few days.

''Jeb......''

''Yes bill.''

''Seen as we`ve arrived first can we have a celebratory snack?''

''Soon bill, i believe bob did not pack any snacks on this race to safe time''

Bill gave a vile glance in the general direction of bob.

''You can go look for some leftovers still on board, who knows maybe the engineering team left a stash somewhere.''

''Bob secularize our orbit''

''But i want to go and look too.............''

''Bob''

''Awww, alright Jeb''

''But before Bill could leave the radio started crackling, Captain Jeb........, This is captain James T Kerbin of the LCS Ionfly, we've lost connection with KSP and the Commonwealth, do you have the same problem?''

''bill?''

''Yes, we've lost the signal,........almost two hours ago''

''And why didn't you tell me bill?''

''Well, with radio turned off our craft had more energy to spend, and I was redirecting that energy to our engines for the extra boost''

''Alright alright......., Yes, James we do have the same problem, however we do not know what is causing it.........''

''Another signal is incoming Jeb, its a encoded distress call''

''Encoded?'' alright lets hear it''

''To all LPC commonwealth vessels this is the LSC Dragonfly, captain Adfred speaking, we've lost connection to KSP headquarters and every other asset owned by The LPC commonwealth we request advice on the matter and any clarification you can provide.''

''Bill, let them know that we will rendezvous around the Mun 60000km out, circularized orbit''

''Yes Jeb''

''Lets hope we can figure this mess out, and bill......,''

''Jeb?''

''No snacks for you, today''

Edited May 4, 2014 by LPC