Sacrifices Must Be Made

[IcarusBen]

AU: Couldn't tell if this went in Mission Reports (for it's retelling of a mission) or Fan Works (for the whole fanfic-y premise) so I settled on Fan Works. Mods are free to move it if I accidentally broke a rule.

MODS I USE:

Procedural Fairings

FAR

Deadly Reentry

It was a fairly normal launch. I had just unlocked the BACC SRB and I decided to use it for my launch state. I stuck a command pod with a heat shield on the bottom and a parachute on the top above a nice big SRB, stuck some winglets and goo on it, and went to launch.

Today's pilot was Captain Jack "Harkness" Kerman, a fairly courageous and intelligent pilot, who could always tell when something was about to go a bit explodey. He had previously been my very first test pilot for a series of suborbital launches on my sandbox save. I trusted Jack, and he trusted me.

I launched the rocket and things went okay for a while. I got an apoapsis of around 240 kilometers by the time I finished my burn. I got up to that height, measured out my mystery goop and did an EVA/Crew report, and got back in to prepare for reentry.

I deployed the parachute and turned myself for the atmospheric reentry process.

I was at around 20 kilometers when the unthinkable happened. Despite all my precautions, the parachute exploded.

With no chutes to protect it from the harshness of gravity, doom was envitable. I could only gaze upon the terrified expression of my kerbal, as if he was pleading with me. "Why? Why me?"

The pod crashed in the mountain range west of the space center. Through sweeps of the area were hopeful, all that was recovered was a small capsule, a strange gooey substance, and a charred spacesuit.

I held a small memorial service, at which I gave a small speech.

"This kerbal has layed down his life in kerbalkind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

He will be mourned by his familiy and friends; he will be mourned by the nation; he will be mourned by the people of the world; he will be mourned by a Mother Kerbin that dared send one of her sons into the unknown.

In his exploration, he stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in his sacrifice, he binds more tightly the brotherhood of kerbals.

In ancient days, kerbals looked at the stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic kerbals of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Kerbalkind's search will not be denied. But this kerbal was the first, and he will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every kerbal being who looks westward at the Redstone Mountains in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of some unknown valley that is forever kerbalkind."

I gave his family my deepest condolences. I cannot mope and feel sorry. Science requires sacrifice. The real question is whether we are ready to make that sacrifice.

Edited June 7, 2014 by Icarus_Vice
Accidentally pasted twice XD