KSP, the story of third Kerbin war

[ZoidPool]

KSP, Part One

“Jeb! Hey Jeb!!â€ÂAn intern chased after the legendary me, the most famous of the three brothers, Bill, Bob, and of course, me. I turned I oversized head, characteristic of the kerbal race*, to face the one calling him. “Yeah, what is it, kid?†He caught up, panting, and handed me a file, “Wernher von Kermal wishes to see you, it’s…. something important.†I nodded, and tapped into my wrist communicator, “Bob, Bill, get over hereeee….†I hopped on the nearest buggy, and drove across the KSC (Kerbal space centre) to the research department. The three of us assembled in Wernher’s office, ready to receive commands, news, or anything from KSP’s director. He turned about, his grey hair and moustache near;y glowing in the soft light of the room, “We have a new company, C7 Aerospace has joined KASA, allowing us a much larger array of spaceplane parts than what we previously had, allowing us to go further, and better, maybe even land a plane on the Mün!†We all shared a smile, knowing we would be the first to get there. I stepped forward, “So, when do we start?†Wernher laughed, “In two month’s time, you will fly to luna, but in two hours time, you will be test flying the Falcon, the newest in our line of spaceplanes, made entirely of these new C7 parts.†We saluted, and ran out of the room to our quarters, “Woah, we’ll be landing, in a spaceplane on the Mün!†Bill exclaimed, Bob continued, “Yeah! I can’t wait to see our new craft!†We changed into our flight suits, and rushed to a buggy, and from there, to the spaceplane hangar, where all of our planes were housed, including the failures, like the Ravenspear Mk.2 and the Aeris Hawk, in which two kerbals died. We strolled over to a large shape covered by a tarp, surrounded by ground crew, all grinning. One made a big show with his hands announcing, “Presenting, the Falcon SSTO Mark...ONE!†The crew drew back the tarp, revealing a ship of beauty.

It’s angular features looked aerodynamic, and deadly, with a force of pure shock accompanying it. The two tail fins pointing at an angle, its majestic gear bays deploying polished wheels, the UKN flag on its side. I walked up to it’s ladder coming out of the door of the cockpit, and walked up it, opening my eyes to the interior. Three comfortable reclining leather chairs sat in the room, one behind two others, the front two positioned at the front console, with all the instruments, but the third chair was behind and in the centre of the other two, with a panel to the side of each armrest, with a folding central console, fitted with pop-up joysticks, a screen, and numerous other functions. I walked back to the door in the rear of the cabin, and opened it, which revealed an airlock, which in turn lead into a cargo bay, which came back to a passenger section, capable of seating eight. I came out of it, in a high of glee, asked the crew manager, “And we get to fly this, like, right now?†He smiled and nodded. “Right,†Checking his watch, “Now, actually.†I jumped up and down in excitement, and took my seat in the central chair. “BOB! BILL, GET IN HERE!†I removed my helmet and put on the stand at the door, as my brothers did the same. Bill took the engineering console and Bob the science and data console. I however, got to pilot and command this fine craft, the Falcon. We all sat down, I raised my hand, and brought it down forwards, “Engage!†The hangar doors opened, letting beam after beam of sunlight shine into the bay, and we wheeled slowly towards the light, the runway, and pure adrenaline-induced excitement.

KSP, Part Two

The plane was on the runway, ready to fly up, up and away. I started the engine as soon as all the ground crew was cleared, and upped the throttle, and the high pitched whirl of the jet engines whined into the day. I pulled back on the stick as Bob started the science panel, gathering data on all aspects of the flight, and Bill was viewing his engineering panel, looking at readouts of all the structural integrity, the thrust output, overheating, and other egghead stuff. The plane moved smoothly along the paved strip of land, angling up, and leaving the ground, free from gravity, free from rocks, free from….everything. Falcon climbed into the sky, not caring about anything. I turned, and the plane did too, banking hard, I turned towards the tower, and flew right past it, probably giving a few heart attacks in the process. We flew on, for seventy miles out from shore, towards one of our little military outposts was awaiting our arrival, to help us on our quest to circumnavigate, then go into orbit of Kerbin, our world. We drew near to the air base, and saw a scene of ruination, the control tower toppled and smoking, the hangars destroyed, and the runway peppered with craters. We then decided to activate the cameras, and record this disastrous event. I peered through the camera’s view, and saw three tanks on the ground beneath us, bearing the flag of the NAT (Norther Allied Territories) and they saw us too, because they raised their guns, and opened fire, trying to lead their shots and hit us. But due to C7’s brilliant new engine, a RAPIER, which can switch between rocket and jet modes, we went into an almost ‘afterburner-y’ state, boosting past them. Bob pointed at the large radar display, “We’ve got six bogeys inbound, gaining on us. NAT signatures on them!†I switched my view to a rear one, and saw six Tiger class fighters following close behind, and firing. I turned to Bill, “Do we have anything in the bays?†Bill turned to me, “Yeah we’ve got some boxes of spare parts… no, that’s genius!†I twisted the stick, and we pulled upside down, while Bill hit a button, making the cargo bay doors open, and all the boxes opened, spare shreds, plates, and screws flying out behind us in a cloud of death. Four of them died, one was hit through his pilot’s head, the next two had parts stuck in their intakes, which sputtered, and then started to smoke, spiraling out of the sky, plummeting straight downwards. The last was hit in the intake, part of its wing sheared off, and some ammunition was detonated, the plane looping, dying, and flaming in the air, flying down into the sea, and exploding on impact. We felt the ship jump, and we were hit, one shot clipping Bob’s shoulder, He screamed. From the rack of helmets we deposited, they came up from it on little tracks, and dropped onto our heads. I hit a button, and the plane went into autopilot, utilising the new MechJeb system. We all scurried to the airlock, donning parachutes, and crash suits. We hurried back to the chairs, and disengaged MechJeb. KSC was only five miles out, and I angled the plane downwards, coming in for a landing of sorts. Four miles, three miles, two. I shut off the engines and reengaged mechjeb, putting in in for landing autopilot. We lined up at the door, and Bill, the youngest of us jumped first, Then Bill and I exchanged glances, and In that instant, I heard the mechjeb unit beeping angrily, and knew that he wasn’t coming along, not at least at the same time. “No,†I said into my mic, “It doesn’t have to end this way,†he held me to his chest, and hugged me one last time, then, with arms bonded, and shoved me out, a grim expression on his face, closed the door, and the plane veered down, going straight down towards the ground, and I saw him through the windshield, and he nodded. I spread my limbs, slowing my descent, I passed Bill, who had already pulled the chute, I, in my usual daring style, only 50 metres up pulled my chute, the force jerking me upwards, and only seconds later landing on the ground. I ran as fast as possible to the runway, awaiting Bob’s arrival. The two fighters continued to hound Bob, and one landed a direct hit with a cannon shot into one of the engines, sending shrapnel into another, but then the flames caught all the fuel lines, and the flames spread to all over the ship. I sat in awe and horror as the ship drew nearer, and nearer, the ball of flame almost close enough to touch. Suddenly a NAT gunship came out from nowhere, and opened fire upon the ship, completely destroying it in a ball of fire, and I knelt, deploying my radial shield, protecting myself. Once the heat dispersed, I stood and saw a silvery shape drawn into the gunship, and it disappeared in a boom. I only stood in shock as the fighters left, and Bill landed next to me, asking, “Where’s Bob?†I threw my helmet down and cried endlessly.

that day, we went out to our quarters, took Bob’s suit, put a statue of him in it, and buried all his most precious belongings. In a matter of hours, we had built a statue, memorial, and grave for our brother, comrade, and friend. No one there wasn’t crying. The statue stood akimbo, the sun rising behind it, showing Bob in one of his finest moments. We decided that day, that it was time for war, and preparations were made, all our planes were weaponized, we designed ICBMs, and launched space stations, some just stations, some were weapons platforms, some satellites to spy upon NAT, but one day, it was time for an assault.

KSP,Part Three

Five years after Bob’s death, after countless skirmishes, and countless technological advances, We, the First Aerospace corps stood at dawn, boarding all of our planes, since the war started many companies joined us, like winterowl, C7, Tetragon, KW, and OMB, along with a strange think tank of engineers and scientists called Interstellar, who were working with antimatter, reactors, and FTL drives, with weird engines. We were battle-scarred, and weary from this war. Bill, who had a scar stretching across his left eye, and and patch over it, I was unshaven, a beard clearly seen and many scars, but none as drastic as Bill’s. Our crew consisted of myself, who after Wernher’s assassination was declared the leader of KASA, and UKN, Bill, with the rank of Colonel as my second-in command, Nielfry an engineering officer, Gusto as the tactical officer, and many others, a thousand to be exact boarded the Wernher von Kermal, the UKN’s first and only flagship, a helicarrier to be exact bearing our flag on the flight deck, the underside holding militarised zeppelins. We boarded the shuttle to it, as it was currently in orbit around Kerbin, as did many, many other shuttles. Around three hundred shuttles launched from all around the UKN, all headed to the WVK, ready to do battle. We breached the atmosphere, and our escorts broke off, heading back to the planet. We landed inside of the main bay, and rushed to the bridge, all of us taking positions at our seats. I ordered the first wave of missiles to be fired from UKOWPS, the weapons station in orbit near us. Blast tube caps were shot off as twenty small Hydrogen Bombs were fired into the atmosphere, destroying NAT military bases wherever one hit. The WVK banked downwards, and engaged thrust, bringing our periapse low enough to re-enter orbit. And so we did, the flames of reentry splayed across our front viewer, a display almost comforting, reminding me of my childhood days, playing with my brothers near the fireplace. As we drew nearer to the surface, the four massive thrusters deployed from each corner of the craft, and engaged at full thrust, allowing us to avoid crash and hover. A swarm of our finest most advanced fighters took off, moving as a flock towards the main NAT base, strafing, bombing, and destroying wherever they saw fit.

Suddenly, many of them exploded, an opposing swarm of small silvery objects impacting our own. Another helicarrier of slightly smaller size appeared from behind the clouds, launching its own fighters. “Gusto! Activate AA defences!†He nodded and inputted his console with the code to do so, and hundreds of guns around the ship animated, firing into a crowd of dropships coming our way. A blue egg formed around us and our shielding mechanism activated, rippling whenever projectiles impacted it. But then, several large hatches opened on the sides of their carrier, firing large missiles at us. They hit, each and every one of them hit, destroying our shields. The dropships opened up, one pulling right up to our viewing window, and firing explosives into it. After three, it buckled, sending glass shards flying into the room. Gusto fell as five of them embedded themselves in his face. Nielfry dove to behind a large station, protecting all but his arm from the blast. Bill removed his Kluger pistol from his belt, we both had one, courtesy of Tetragon projects. He rolled to behind his chair, training his gun on the hole, and I did the same. All our security personnel knelt, or stationed themselves with some kind of cover, ready for the storm. Three dropships pulled up, their rears going directly into the hole, and opened, NAT troops, around fifty strong flooded the area, and all of us opened up, including one soldier who fired a rocket into one of the dropships. One blew up entirely, one other was damaged, and both of them fled, five troop falling to their doom as they jumped, not expecting the planes to leave, one was even squooshed by the door as it closed, half a kerbal sticking out. The damaged one listed to the side, smoking, and the cockpit exploded, causing it to careen into its companion, destroying both entirely. I rolled across to another console, firing along the way, trying to avoid Gusto’s corpse. About fifteen enemies lay dead. Ducked out from behind my cover, rolling a frag grenade into the midst of them, taking another twelve out of the battle. But the battle wasn’t won. We started taking heavy losses once they positioned themselves. Most of us were gone, and more troops landed inside, storming Bill and I, and surrounding us, we raised our arms in surrender next to Nielfry, and knew that the battle was lost, or was it?

KSP, Part Four

Before I continue on, I must elaborate on what happened in those five years. After the memorial was built to Bob, we got down to business, Bill, myself, and a newcomer, Nielfry, the most experienced of the other astronauts, joined Wernher in his office. A new chair waited for him, Bob’s chair having been put in his memorial. “Gentlemen, I won’t elaborate on our loss, but we will be discussing NAT. You managed to snap some images of their fighters and tanks. Their designs are quite advanced, and judging by their swept wing design, they’re allied with Ferram Aerospace company, or FAR as we refer to them by. The Skillful armoury seems to be a part of their repertoire. However we have BahamoutoD armoury pieces, so we need not worry about their weapons. Thier intakes aren’t very advanced, as screws managed to bring them down. They managed to bring down a non-armoured cargo plane, not a very big achievement, but their news sources are going insane with hype, I say we bring that down a notch.â€Â

The next day, we all began to plan a new plane, a fighter this time, heavily armed for strafing and dogfights, still a three-seater, however. It had the same cockpit, but the design was sleeker, and way more compact, missiles mounted under each wing, a machine gun poking out from under its nose, and cannons on the wings. After three weeks it was completed, and We three got into it, none of the previous exuberance that existed before, no adrenaline rush, just eh panels coming alive, the hangar doors opening, and the takeoff initiating. Our mission was to scout out the island again, if possible to land and investigate. A turbojet-powered squadron of fighters was ready to follow if needed, and a small flotilla awaited about 25 kilometres south of the island, prepared to go in, guns blazing, and rescue us. We were a kilometre up when we leveled off, and then descended to get a lower view of the airfield. Now it looked abandoned entirely, which was hopeful as we snapped photos of it, that is until the hangar doors to both surviving hangars, and one spilled five tanks, the other three VTOL fighters, meaning they could take off like helicopters, and fly like jets. They streaked towards us, bullets shrieking past as tanks opened up with their howitzers, each shot growing nearer, and nearer, until, BOOM! One flak round exploded near us, and a piece of shrapnel flew towards us, penetrating the exterior armour, and shredding a fuel line underneath Bill’s panel, sparking and exploding the console. He flew out of his chair, bleeding uncontrollably from his face, many, many pieces of metal stuck inside his head, and possibly dead. I couldn’t focus on my brother’s apparent death, because I was busy trying to get Nielfry and myself from dying, which was growing more difficult by the second as I started to lose a terrible amount of blood from the gash in my arm caused by a piece of flying metal. My vision started to darken, and I had to force myself to stay awake. I hit the emergency call button, telling the fleet and the fighters to move in, and destroy everything.I blacked out from the blood loss, and awoke as the plane was flying straight downwards, Nielfry strapped a parachute onto Bill, held the ripcord in his hand, and shoved him out of the plane, unconscious. He helped me to my feet, and gave me one, putting one on himself at the same time, setting an autopilot to the KSC runway, so that at least some data could be retrieved, but not before he let loose all the explosives of our plane loose on the airfield, causing massive, fiery blossoms of pure heat-death. With his arm still around on my shoulder, he dragged us to the door, and jumped out, pulling both of our chutes at the same time, and relieved, I saw Bill’s parachute, thinking At least I’ll be able to bury this brother, and blacked out again, awakening in a hospital at KSC, the harsh light stinging my eyes, Wernher’s and Nielfry’s worried faces hovering above me.

KSP, Part Five

I sat up abruptly, not realising the presence of Wernher, and hitting him in the face with my forehead, and he fell laughing, “Good morning to you too, Jebediah!†I sat in shock, and Nielfry punched me jokingly in the arm, and I normalised, and started to laugh uncontrollably, until I remembered, Bill, “Nielfry, how’s Bill, he’s not… you know,†He chortled, “No, he’s just a little… jarred, he really wants to see you, and know that you’re all right, he’s in R&D right now.†I jumped out of the bed, feeling the bandage wrapping my upper right arm, stained green with Kerbal blood.

I burst into the research labs, seeing the back of my brother’s head, and ran to him, “BILL!†He turned about, and I was taken aback from his appearance, and eyepatch over his left eye, a scar stretching from above his eyebrow to his cheekbone through his eye, smaller scratches all over his face, and his arm in a sling. “you look like hell, Bill, but a little more badass with that patch.†He laughed good-naturedly, “Well, you look a little haggard as well, here†he said, grabbing a small reflective thing from a work table. I saw in it a different man than the one I had seen in a mirror for the last time, over two months ago, instead of a smooth, youthful aviator’s face, I only saw a bearded, scarred, sad, soldier staring back at me, and let me clarify, none of us were soldiers, we weren’t trained for any of this, not for one of us to be killed by the NAT, or to be attacked, only for things to go wrong on a flight, not to fight. “Agreed, let’s get lunch at the cafeteria, eh Bill?†He nodded in agreement and we walked out, hijacking the nearest ground crew vehicle, and driving to the food court.

A year later, on the anniversary of Bob’s… Yeah. When we arrived, one person yelled, “JEB! BILL!†and everyone turned, stood, and saluted in respect for Bob’s memory. We walked up to Wernher’s Burgers, and the cook there told us, “Don’t worry, whatever you want, on the house, no questions, and that’s final.†We thanked him, and walked to one of the tables where Nielfry and a newbie were sitting, and sat down, unwrapping our food and drink, enjoying ourselves for the first time in a year, “To Bob!†I toasted, to which all kerbals in the court raised their glasses to.

I read the new guy’s name tag, Gusto Kerbaliis, I spoke up, “Kerbaliis, eh? Are you related to…†He looked up, shocking me, his face and demeanor reminded me of a dreaded mirror of myself two months before now, “Tomfrey Kerbaliis, yeah, my dad! You’re Jebediah, right, can I call you Jeb, Oh my dev, you’re him, and how was your first launch, and blah blah….†this is how I heard the seemingly never ending energetic questionnaire from the cadet until I heard, “And Bill, you look really, really, badass with that eyepatch!†I chuckled, “Hey, I thought I was the badass one here!†He looked really scared for a second until he realised that I was joking, and then laughed nervously. The intercoms rang out, “all Kerbonauts report to Bob Kerman field, Jebediah, Bill, please report to Wernher’s office, that’s all!†I rose from my seat simultaneously with Bill, and it seemed as if our habit doing things at the same time wasn’t gone, even if one of us was.

Strolling to the office of our uncle, we opened the door to see him reading a script, or maybe a speech? He looked up, “Thanks for coming on such short notice, guys. I’m doing a little memorial speech for the anniversary, and I want you two there with me to help reinforce it.†We looked uncomfortable, “I know, just, they need hope, they need morale to win this against NAT. If there’s one force still driving us after last year, it’s revenge, and I want to reinforce that belief that NAT has to pay.†Bill and I agreed, and minutes later, we stepped into the harsh sunlight, ready to deliver the speech that would hopefully refuel everyone’s desire to destroy NAT for what they had done, and to take action against our looming destruction

KSP, Part six

Kerbol shone brightly upon the stage, reflecting eerily on Bob’s memorial plaque, the glare coming off of Wernher’s glasses. I saw another glare shine from a thing on top of the VAB, our rocket assembly building, but paid it no mind. Wernher stepped to his podium, teeming masses of all kerbals from the space centre, as media wasn’t allowed. All kerbals, whether they be men, or women, ground crew or engineers, scientists or PR officials, Pilots, soldiers, and kerbonauts took the front seats though, their actions honoured somehow, even in this small act. Wernher tapped the microphone, and commenced, “Greetings, fellow Kerbals, one year ago, tragedy befell our space program. our newest craft, the Falcon was being launched, to celebrate our new partnership with C7 Aerospace, but while trying to land at one of our island bases, they were attacked by the Northern Allied Territories, or NAT. Six fighters befell them as tanks opened up below. In a last ditch attempt to destroy this threat, Jebediah, Bill, and *sighs* Bob Kerman flew their plane to the KSC. The plane was already flaming, but only two kerbals parachuted out. Bob was still on board, and he…†Wernher took off his glasses to wipe away a tear, “He died aboard the Falcon, not due to mechanical malfunction, nor poor piloting, but malicious attacking forces. A dropship boomed from nowhere, destroyed the remains and then flew off, not giving a DAMN about what we had just lost.†again we wiped away his tears, now streaming freely down his face, “And now, we commemorate his death, our loss, and we stoke the flames, because in this past year, more companies, and more research, and more planes have been created in our fury, and NO! For you skeptics am I in no, Goddamn way saying that we’re better off without him, quite the opposite. But we need to stoke our flames, and fight back, we need to utterly DESTROY NAT. We need to act n-â€Â. A shot rang out, coming from the direction of the VAB, and I looked back at Wernher, and time slowed to a near stop, as the bullet entered his skull, and his face opened in shock-horror, and the bullet exited from the back of it, his face, and body now slack. Time re-sped up, and Bill screamed in loss, I could only stand in shock as my Uncle hit the floor, all life erased from his form, all his genius, gone in an instant.

I remembered when I was a child, growing up on the Kerman family farm, and uncle Wernher came over, always our favourite event, and this time he was more energized than ever, he held in his hand a stack of papers, and he picked me up in his arms and spun, set me down and rushed into the house, to tell my father all the new things that had occurred, a new space program was being founded, after the utter failure of the last one, and he was to be the chief scientist! I elected to go live with him, and my new toys were no longer little wooden Korses, or Kerbal dolls, but Jet simulators, and little rockets, and occasionally, a man named Gene Kerman, now our mission control manager, would allow me to sit on his lap while he tested the new jet fighters. But now, that could be no more. He was dead, and that was final. I fell to my knees, catching his body, and I cried into it, I cried for what felt like days over Wernher von Kerman’s death, that is until a gasp erupted from the crowd, and machinegun fire sounded off, and I arose, not feeling sadness, nor pity, nor anything but a void of pure hatred and rage.

I saw a parachute descend slowly from the VAB, bullets streaming from it. A soldier handed me his K-17 automatic rifle, and I walked powerfully through the people, the crowd splitting for me. I stopped walking right about twelve metres from where I thought he was going to land, and aimed upwards, priming the gun in the process. I shot most of the magazine into the parachute, the man falling from the sky, and landing with a crunch on the ground. He tried to stand, but that could not be permitted, I shot into his kneecap, which was bending backwards at the moment. Then I fired the rest of it into his other leg. I walked to him, and kicked in a swiping motion through his face, green blood spattering my boot as part of his skull cracked. A small spattering of it spilled from his mouth. He sat up, and leaned against the wall of the building. I held the rifle as a staff, and slammed his face with the stock, slightly crumpling it. Two flight crew, ones who had been on staff for almost two decades now, who had known me as a child, held his two arms, and held him up. I thrust my fist into his gut with a force unparalleled by any Koxer, and he let out an exhausted grunt. “Why? Why in the name of SQUAD did you do this?†I threw another punch, this time denting his skull on the left. A soldier handed me a combat knife, and I plunged into his ribs, more of his blood leaking from the wound. I kept on hitting him, and beating him until his face was unrecognizable as a pulp, but could still see. I took a pistol from a soldier’s belt, and officer’s edition Tetragon Projects K2199, and felt the cold of the handle pressing into my palm. I held it so tight the magazine release mechanism cut into my hand, and I lowered it to his forehead, and unlocked the safety. “Die, you Activision-Spawn ........†and fired, spattering what was left of his head all over the side of the building.

Moments later, I dropped to my knees, dropping the pistol onto my boot, the bright silver polish now green tinted and smudged by my use, the whole muzzle coated in green blood. I fell not because of physical exertion, but my adrenaline rush was gone entirely, and my emotions resurfaced, no longer the uncontrollable rage, but now overwhelming levels of depression, sadness, and utter loss, now two parts of my heart carved from my chest. I collapsed in a bout of crying, and I slept. I woke up in my room, and was going to cry, when I saw Bill in black dress uniform, holding his hand out, biting his lip to avoid sobbing, his face contorted with the lines of one who is about to uncontrollably cry. I knew it was time, time to bury yet another member of my family.

KSP,Part Seven

I had barely enough energy to get up out of bed, and then to put on dress uniform, and go out to a funeral. But I managed somehow, Bill and I getting into a new vehicle, and driving to Bob’s memorial, where, since apparently three days had passed, a statue of Wernher was built, with a giant tarp over it, on a massive base, which contained his tomb, with his body, Kenin-style freeze-preserved in a glass case, clutching a blueprint. The entire staff, setting aside the security staff was here, in a line with a red carpet leading to a podium, with the insignia of the KSP on the front, not the UKN. I joined everyone in line, not acting higher than anyone as the casket passed us. Then I realised I was to give a speech after he was put in the mausoleum. I strode to the podium, and cleared my throat. “You’ve all come here today, to hear the speech my late Uncle had prepared, but you won’t hear it, I’m going to deliver my own address. Yesterday, we felt an even more crippling blow to our space program. Bob’s death was hard enough, but now, with Wernher gone, nothing will be the same, and I know this, the UKN’s most brilliant mind, now reduced to a corpse. No one will be as sorely missed as this brave man. He never flew our planes or rockets, or orbited the Mun. But he designed all the things we fly, and fixed our air system on the Kerpallo thirteen, saving all three of us, Bill, Bob, and myself. But we need not reminisce, We need to act, we need to do something about NAT. I will be having a conference with UKN military advisors, and all of my senior officers, and- hey, what’s this?†A little boy ran up to the stage, tears lining his face, and he deposited a little flower on the stage and hugged my leg, “Why, what is-what..?†He looked up, “You looked like you needed a hug.†It sounded incredibly childish, but he was right, all I really needed was a hug right now, and I picked him up, and embraced the kid for a minute or so, put him back on the ground, and gave him a little cufflink from my jacket, shaped like my Mun thirteen mission badge, and he ran back to his parents. Then, hundreds of flowers flew to the stage, thrown by the audience, and little teddy bears, with other things flying down to my feet. I heard a whining of a jet engine and hit the deck, protecting myself with my hands, but when no one screamed, I stood in a rain of flower petals being dropped from one of our bombers. I dried my eyes and continued, “I have been elected director of the KSP, and this will be a new age. Once we defeat NAT, then all our military planes, stations, and so forth will be scrapped, and relaunched as vehicles of exploration, aid, and communication. Once this war is through, I have a vision of a new Kerbin, the United Federation of Kerbin, the UKF. No nations, just Kerbin, alone to explore our solar system, and colonise planets, like Minmus, or Laythe. Maybe we could travel to Eve, or orbit Moho, or even create gas mines on Jool. Possibly even terraform Duna into a tropical paradise. This IS what will happen when this is all over, and I promise this, nothing will get in my way, not even the strongest of armies. This is all I have to say, the Space Centre will resume normal schedules next Kunday, thank you all for coming.†I stepped off the podium, and got back into the vehicle with Bill as the crowds dispersed, “Wow, may I just say, Wow.†I nodded and smirked, “Yeah, but now i’m the director, which means, responsibility, starting tomorrow, I meet with the UKN’s highest officials, and we go to war with NAT.â€Â

KSP,Part Eight

Wearing a formal suit, and all my ribbons for achievements in our space program, and with the newly reinstated military, I walked through the doors of the Octagon, the most secure building in all the UKN, and headquarters of their military. I sat at the table, already packed with the three leaders of the military, and the four national leaders, ready to hear anything that would protect them from NAT, as bombing raids had already happened, leveling two cities, Kalingrad, and Kresden. The moustached leader pounded his fist on the table, his large ‘satche quivering from the impact, “Gentlemen, SHUT UP!†he went on in his thick Krussian accent, “Our guest is here, hopefully to help, and not to slap, eh, Jeb?†I nodded, and opened my briefcase, the army’s five star general peered over my shoulder, and oohed. I set up our holographic displayer, and shut down the lights in the room. A blue model of our latest design appeared, a 3-D display of the mighty battlecarrier, which had no name yet. Many just stared, the blue light bathing their faces in glory, the military admins scratched their chins, and busily wrote on their Kpads. “This,†I elaborated, “Is our newest design, a battleship, carrier, and spaceship, the same size as our Kimitz class, if not a little bit bigger. This, this is the pinnacle of military engineering, and I need your help to build it. It will be our main weapon in crushing NAT, and wiping them from the face of Kerbin.†The general reached out to touch it, and the animation changed, displaying instead a scene on pause, with four NAT Battleships, in the ocean. I smiled, this is what I had been waiting for. “Gentlemen, if you will indulge me.†The general tried to touch it, but pulled his hand back in disappointment, as he couldn’t. A keyboard appeared from my suitcase, and connected to the display. I hit the play button, “This, my fellow comrades, is a virtual simulation of the ship versus four NAT battleships, if you will watch, that would be greatly appreciated.†I began the scenario, and readied the canons of the ship. I aimed them for the rightmost ship, which was seven kilometres away, and fired the frontal battery, and all eight shots landed, crushing the ship into the sea, sinking it with all hands. Next I set it’s engines to full, propelling it at high speeds towards the enemy fleet, and stopped in the middle of them. they all aimed their broadsides at me, and fired. I quickly hit the command for our shielding, the egg of interlocking hexagons appeared, rippling from the cordite explosions, and went offline, showing not a scratch on its hull. The point defence cannons activated, meant for fighters, but firing explosive ammunition, opened up on the nearest ship to the left, the rounds cut across the deck, separating the guns from their mountings, and the superstructure from the base, the bridge toppling onto the deck and into a magazine, detonating it. The ship cracked in half, and sank. Another code inputted, and the fighters launched from three separate flight decks, a swarm of them bombing and strafing the last one to the right, no kerbal escaping the bullets, or the water. The last ship had reloaded its guns, and the shield was still offline for another minute, so, I demonstrated its second best feature. From the front,and back sides, emerged four thrusters, which engaged, vaporizing the water beneath them, and raising the ship from the oceans. the water poured off of the model as it flew, and exposed the four zeppelin/submarines that were hitched inside of the bottom of the ship. All of them detached, and splashed down, firing torpedoes into the hull of the last remaining warship, and sank it. The carrier lowered itself back into the water, and the subs returned to their moorings, as did all the aircraft. But, from nowhere, and my surprise, a swarm of at least 200 NAT fighters appeared, swarming the ship. I hit a red button labeled ‘AA’ and the point defence cannons reactivated, taking down scores of fighters, but then, tongues of flame erupted from the launchers, bathing the assailants in the fires, destroying the remainder as the program ended, and the holoprojector deactivated.

“So, gentlemen, that wasn’t just a computer program, we have the tech to do this, just not the resources.†the army general stood, “KILL! ANNIHILATE, KILL KILL DESTROY KILL!†The admiral put his hand on his shoulder, and pushed him back into his chair, calming him down substantially. The Krussian, then the UKS, then the UK, and finally the Keutches leaders all stood and applauded, as did the military officials. The Krussian leader spoke once more, “I agree with this project, but it needs a name. I heard of your uncles recent assassination, and I knew him, I think he should be honoured, If the ship is to fly, then its name shall be Wernher von Kerman.†another round of applause sounded, and I announced, “Then it is decided, the ship, and her class shall be named, Wernher von Kerman, after the greatest mind in all Kerbal history.†The military officials saluted, and the politicians shook hands, I gave a smaller salute upon my exit. The taxi ride to the aeroport was uneventful, I only was absorbed in my success, now to deal with my chief engineer, Donfrey. But first, I had to fly there, and I had a private jet waiting for me, and not one of those Klearjets, but a real fighter, our new Bader class jet, a red and black beauty, swept forward wings, and a knack for killing. The vibration and whine of the intakes starting and the engines being injected with fuel cleared my head, and I was shoved into my seat by the pure acceleration of the plane as it angled up, and boosted away. The KSC appeared after only an hour, and I decided to have some fun, Top Kerbal style. I angled it towards the flight control tower, and banked so that my cockpit was facing the window, and jetted past, Thumbing up Gene, who slapped his face, disappointed, most likely. I saw a big red button, which pulled me in, all my life I loved pushing buttons, and this, this was a big, red, button, how could I resist? I flew to right near the flagpole, and hit it. The engine pitched downwards, and I hovered, this, this was pure badass. And I floated to the ground, getting out, quite exhilarated from my flight. I walked to my office, and took a nice, long nap after such an eventful day.

KSP,Part Nine

Someone shook me awake, I flailed, and hit someone in the face. Opening my eyes, I saw it was only Bill, come by to get me ready for the next test flight. I sighed, and left my comfy chair, moving into the hangar. A VTOL dropship awaited us, and the back opened, showing some of the generals, all dressed in flight suits, along with some engineers. Bill, Nielfry, Gusto, and I all got on flight suits, hooking our helmets up on the rack, with all the others. I directed my queries to the admiral, “Why, exactly are you here? Where are we going?†He chuckled and raised a finger to his mouth. I heard the hangar open, and the engines started, lifting us oh-so slightly off the ground, and flying slowly out the doors, and There I saw it, hundreds of our spaceplanes, some carrying, some tugging cargo containers. Even a few copies of Falcon were there, and a ton of VTOL dropships were on the side of the runway, and as soon as the pilots saw us, they saluted, and boosted upwards, tilting 90 degrees, and flew into Kerbin’s upper atmosphere, keeping pace with us. I looked through the rear window, and saw military, KSP, and UKN flags all over the ships, some carrying pilots, others marines, and some with scientists, experimental weapons, and many, many more carrying engineers and builders. Staring further into the distance, I saw all the spaceplanes taking off, and we looked like a cloud, streaking off into orbit, to build, something. The lights went red inside, and dinged, our helmets went on the rails and deployed onto our heads, and we fastened them, a hiss coming from each one as it was secured. Again, looking out the window, I saw the UKNSS, our national space station. We docked at the highest dock, and clambered inside, feeling the familiar oddity of zero Gees. Bill and myself were the only ones who really knew how to move in such an environment, as we had been the ones who had founded the UKNSS. Station commander Doodbro Kalan pulled up to us, “Director Jeb, good to see you again, you too Lieutenant Bill!â€ÂI saluted in return, but could contain my curiosity no longer, I went over to the observatory section, and Peered out. All the spaceplanes were in orbit, and I thought that if anything moved, everything would be destroyed, but as if choreographed, they all boosted backwards at the exact same moment, and the cargo was either released, unhitched, or thrown out. Every piece acted as if it knew what to do, the boxes all unfurled, kitchens, living quarters, recreational areas, turrets, and hangars all flew towards the station, and I tackled Bill behind a small console, waiting out the worst, but then I heard clacks and clicks, hisses and chunks, I looked out again, and the station was building itself! When it had all stopped, the station was around five times its original size. All the dropships went to one hangar, and the spaceplanes mostly departed towards home, some fighters docking inside another hangar. Taking a self guided tour, I saw that it was now a floating drydock and military base, hundreds of marines and pilots lived here now, and the original staff still manned the base modules, but they controlled the whole thing. A kitchen for every three barracks was deployed, and more engineers than soldiers were now living in space as well. In the cargo bays were stockpiles of material, ready to build WVK. The Admiral, who’s name constantly escaped me suggested, “There’s three small NAT stations, and one main one, whaddya say we destroy ‘em?†to which I turned about and smiled. Minutes later, we had assembled our motley fleet of three dropships, and twelve Bader fighters, refitted with RCS to compensate for space travel, and with an armament of four 20 millimeter cannons, six stinger missiles, and a nose mount chaingun. We fired our thrusters towards the nearest station, and readied ourselves teh destroy every last vestige of NAT’s exo-Kerbin control.

KSP, Part Ten

We shrieked towards NAT outpost four, the nearest of the stations, and loaded our weapons, ready to destroy anything wearing green. We came in range of it, a dilapidated little thing, comprised of a large hangar, and a bunch of spy modules smooshed together, alongside some defence turrets, with one antimatter reactor inside of it, a wire hub on either end of it. Firstly, I angled my fighter towards the neck of the hangar, where It was connected, a forcefield powered by the reactor keeping everything and everyone from spilling out into the vacuum, and fired my chin cannon, severing the hangar, and everything flew out, except for two fighters, already prepped, but from the force of the explosive decompression, one was shredded to little bits when pieces of the crumpled up-hangar flew through it. The last fighter, however, managed to get a shot off on one of our dropships, flaming out the central engine, but it still had the two wing engines, so I didn’t really matter. Two other fighters blasted it to pieces a second later, and it passed from my mind as I fired my wing cannons into the upper wire hub, cutting off electricity for all of the station, but not the reactor. I parked near the station, getting out my shiny silver pistol, the one I killed the assassin with, and loaded it, the 14-round magazine clicking as it did. Depressurizing the cockpit slowly, and I crept out into the void, wearing my pressurized flight suit, and compression helmet, blocking out our sun, Kerbol’s bright glare, and allowing me to see. One dropship opened behind me, around twelve troops spilled out, all wearing combat EVA gear, wielding assault rifles only meant to pierce flesh, and not to damage the station. I counted one my fingers, signaling to go as soon as I finished, and I pinned myself aside the airlock door, and finished my countdown, shooting out the door’s hinges, and kicking it in, flooding the room with soldiers. We breached the second airlock, and all but one NAT personnel present were sucked out, their eyes exploded from lack of air pressure. The last one I punched, telling him, “Open the door, or I kill you slowly, or you can open it now, shut the airlock, and I’ll kill you instantly, choose. He nodded nervously behind his visor, and opened it, cringing at the prospect of death, and I lowered my pistol, put my hand on his shoulder, and whispered into the now taken off helmet, as air was restored, “Boost yourself out of here, get into a dropship, with these handcuffs on, and put your hands in a surrendering gesture, he’ll take you in, and you’ll be treated well.†He thanked my, nodded, and put his helmet and cuffs on, leaving as soon as we were out of the room.

We burst into the observatory, And I snuck up behind the Kerbal in the chair, put my pistol behind the headrest of the chair, cocking it in the process. I fired, and a messy green goop plastered the observation screen, and we moved onto the nearest spy module. The door opened, and several NAT soldiers awaited, guns pointed at the entrance. As we were in zero Gees, I ran along the wall, spinning as I fired, taking down two of five. I backflipped off of the ceiling, and crossed my arms, my two guns pointing towards the backs of two others, fired, and spun about, face to face with a gun barrel, He grimaced, “Time to die, UKN fiend!†I shook my head, and ducked, jumped, and somersaulted midair, landed behind him, and beat his head with the butt of my gun, knocking him out. I dragged the body to the main control centre, where the staff were being rounded up. They all stood in a line, nervous, and righteously so, considering what I was about to do. “All of you, listen closely, you will hand over station control to us, now, or I systematically kill one of you every thirty seconds you don’t, and no funny business, because we, unlike you, have spacesuits.†One, the station commander spoke out, “No! We’ll never submit to you bastards!†He spit on the floor near my feet, “Glory to the Northern Allied Territories!†He cringed, expecting to die, but I waved my hand, and the soldiers fired, messily killing three others. I stepped up to his face, “Do it, or now, every fifteen seconds, we kill two!†I pushed aside a floating body, leading him to the control panel. He beat his head, and entered a code, unlocking both the system and a door near us. From that door burst five NAT commandoes, probably station complement, all firing. Everyone ducked for cover, and only one was caught in the bullets, dying near instantly. I however, grabbed the commander, and held him in front of me, feeling him spasm, and released him as I heard them reload. Launching into more 0-G acrobatics, I spun, and landed behind them, firing my last five rounds, but only wounding the sergeant, belting him across the back of the head, and leaving the body there, tied to his counterpart, and taking the remaining station crew prisoner on the newly appointed prisoner dropship. We left the platoon there to keep things running, protected, and to clean up the mess, as we moved onto the next, this time planning far less mercy upon the next crew, far less. None would survive this attack.

KSP,Part Eleven

The subsequent attack was much easier after we adopted our strategy of “Shoot everythingâ€Â. The next station we came upon was severed at both ends of the reactor, and left there, in twelve hours, every kerbal on board would die of asphyxiation, and we would take over, no hardware damage. The last of the smaller stations was over a piece of land that we didn’t honestly care about, so every attack ship stopped in front of it, targeted the core with their missiles, bombarding it until the field failed, and the antimatter annihilated with the matter of the station, destroying each and every last vestige of it. Eventually, we reached the final station, NAT-1, an orbital emplacement almost rivaling ours in size, but not complexity. Our cluster of ships stood at attention, destroying the hangars wherever we could, but one was activated in time, and two hits were scored on my fighter, hitting the tiny nuclear reactor onboard, destabilising the power plant, and I bailed as quickly as possible, grabbing my two pistols before I Cracked open the cockpit, and escaped. I activated my tiny boosters on the suit, flying towards a dropship as fast as I could, and I spun around as I attached to the side out of curiosity. The middle of the craft glowed red, and it softened, bending the metal towards Kerbin, and it exploded, literally vaporising the remains. I knocked thrice on the side of the walls, telling them to allow me to board, and so the doors opened, and closed as I entered, everyone removing their helmets, and I spotted a familiar face, “Gusto! Good to see you so well! Ever been in combat?†He shook his head, “It’s not glamourous, but you make the most of it! Say, is there any spare pistol ammunition, and weapons?†He pointed to the locker towards the front of the ship, and I nodded, walking towards it, and removing several extra magazines for my two pistols, and an assault rifle, with a semi automatic taser, infinite solar charge, meant for fun. Communicating to the motley fleet through my headset, I ordered all of them to stop, for fighters and bombers to await officer’s artillery pointing, and for dropships to halt course, and release their troops, from there, marines would position at each airlock they could find, and breach, meanwhile, the dropships would join all the others in support roles. We depressurized, and leaped out, the force of the air being sucked out, an 0G forces propelled us to an airlock door. I fired the taser into it, sending electricity into the system, overloading it. The door opened, and two NAT soldiers flew out into space, their skulls partially caved in. I fired again, and it closed, pressurizing the room, and we flicked off our visors, not currently needing them. I saw through the glass door a squad waiting for us, and drew my rifle, killing the one who was reaching for the door control, and spraying the group with bullets, none remaining. We advanced into a small hub nexus, connecting to around ten doors all around the near-spherical room. We decided to split up, one group for one door. Gusto and I opened a door near us, and Four rounds of ammunition sped towards us, not hitting anything but my rifle, oddly enough. Not liking the bulky weapon anyways, I drew my pistols, their silvery polish glinting in the artificial light. Crossing my arms, I hit all four targets, square in the chest. We left the habitation chamber, and moved onto a section where one of our sections was having trouble, having already lost a man. I leaped over them, firing in front of me, as I twisted midair, grabbing onto a handle, and pulling myself towards the line. The section had already lost pressure, and because he was the last remaining one, I turned him around, and pistolwhipped his visor, cracking it into spiderwebbed pieces, his skull turning into messy goop, and we left the chamber, sealing it off as we exited.

after much of this, room clearing, mess hall massacres, and medical bay irony, we arrived at the control centre, where the executives were lined up, all kneeling (relatively) and hands bound behind them. The rest of the company was there as well, having only taken minor casualties. “Look, I’m getting tired of this, interrogation through group punishment, so…†I shot one of them through the head, who was wearing a ring, and another cried out, and was silenced as such, “This is what happens if you don’t talk…†I pulled out my taser, and fired at the nearest Kerbal, killing him slowly, through painful electrocution, “This is what happens if you try any funny business, and it won’t be you, it’ll be your best friend, wife, or colleague who gets it. Now, if you could kindly hand over control of the station, mister Station commander.†Sweating, he shook his head nervously, and I sighed, wondering when this would end, so I could eat something, or drink, or sleep, and shot another through the eye, the one next to him shrieking. “Really?†I inquired the commander. He cringed, and jumped up, dropping something, which beeped. I shot out the window, throwing it out. He started to be pulled out, and I grabbed his hand, Please stop he mouthed, “No.†I smirked under my helmet, and whipped out my taser, and a knife, I cut off his hand, and tased him, his other hand going slack, and flying out into the void as the field came on, allowing us the continue. A lieutenant walked up to me, “Sir, with him dead, we can’t unlock the station. I held up his hand, in asking for a high five, which the officer did, then realised what he had done, and vomited off in the corner.

I took the hand over to the console, unlocking it, and I put my hand next to it, transferring control, and the NAT insignia faded off the screens, and the UKN’s appeared, the highlights going from green to blue, and the station coming back online, humming with energy. After a job well done, we returned to the station, and drank ourselves to sleep. But I couldn’t sleep, because I was terrified, not of the battle, but of my attitude during it, worrying that I had become something I didn’t want to be, A monster.

KSP,Part Twelve

Kerbol rose over the Kerbin horizon, the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, its rays spreading over the planet, warming, and sunning all who lived on that half, growing crops, and providing life in general with dawn. Gusto walked into the room where I was, sleepless and hungover, He tapped my shoulder, and I gained full consciousness, “Good SQUAD, Gusta...Guzmat... Gustun? Never mind, but, dear Romfarer, what is that fiery ball in the sky?†He laughed, “Gusto, sir, and that, sir, is the sun!†he said this with a taunting tone, and went to step down, but didn’t remember the zero-G, or my drunken state, and plowed headfirst into a console, lights flashing into my eyes. Gusto grabbed my hand, and led me to a detox chamber, just inside the next hallway. I stepped in, knelt, trying to incoherently make a joke, and put my palm to the door, “You were...and always could be...my acquaintance.†and started to uncontrollably laugh, and the spray began, and I stood, er..floated at attention. Sobered, I pushed out, and sort of space-swam alongside Gusto. We opened a door, and seven NAT soldiers, all dressed in EVA suits, but not armed, were holding on the handholds, and chatting “You set the charges?†“No, was I ‘possed to?†said an underling, presumably drunk. One slapped his helmet, the head bobbling inside, “You Idiot!! Now we have to go and set them!†He took a sack from the other one, and I shut the door, hopefully not being noticed. I grabbed a baton from an unconscious crewman, and handed another to Gusto. The bomber stepped through the door, and I clubbed him, descending from the ceiling. He went out immediately, but his friends didn’t notice. “Gusto? Stay here, and let me do my thing.†He nodded, and I opened the door, and their backs were turned, hovering about a metre above the ground, I launched myself, sliding face up along the ground, slid under one, grabbed his ankle, and smashed his head into a railing. Jumping up, I gave one a fierce uppercut, and his mask shattered, leaving little shards of glass just hovering in the air. I spun about, kicking one square in the chest, right towards the open door, and I heard a Whump as Gusto clubbed him. Only three left, and I grabbed another by the ankle, and swung him hard into the other one, propelling him into the wall, taking him out of the fight, but not from his conscious state. The former, however went out like a light, leaving only the commander to deal with, who I bashed his faceplate in, making impossible a space escape. His nose bled profusely, little globlets of blood floating around the room. “Are there others?†He looked at me confused, and I hit him again, most likely not raising the chances of information, but lowering my stress level. His eyes rolled independently, and snapped back, “Are. There. Any. More. Groups?†He put his hands up, and cringed readying himself for more punching, “No… we’re the only ones.†I sighed, hoping for more to shoot, or at least hit, and I absentmindedly swung my hands backwards in disappointment, and my fist made contact with a face, and I turned about, throwing a roundhouse punch, and turning the kerbal’s face behind me into a bowl, a bloody one at that, but a bowl nonetheless. I turned back to the officer, who now fled, oblivious to two of his comrades bodies floating in the hallway, and Gusto gently booped his head with a stick, and he continued on his momentum, flying into a door, and stopped, completely out.

I waited until everyone had been detoxed, and I made an announcement, “ Hello, and good morning, all you sober ones, you, great party. But we need to look out, Gusto and I just encountered and defeated a squad of Seven NAT saboteurs, and defeated them, you’ll find them in the brig. If you see any NAT personnel, except those in the brig, call security immediately, that’s all, and good day!†I stepped away from the mic, feeling good about how this war had been going since the beginning of course, we had NAT on the run at every turn, and would soon have them routed, and broken. Gusto and I decided to return to Kerbin, along with a few fighters as escort. We both took separate Bader-class fighters, and deorbited, burning around a third of our fuel, leaving around five hundred miles of flight time left. To avoid burning up on reentry, we deployed airbrakes, slowing our descent enough to not die. We plunged towards Kerbin at alarming speed, though. In my usual badass style, I pulled up dramatically when only twenty metres up, and the plane shuddered, warning me as to not do that to a more extreme degree. The others followed my lead in a safer fashion, and pulled up next to me, a squadron of nine, flying over to the KSC.

When we arrived, I saw smoke billowing from the horizon, and immediately kicked in the afterburners, boosting towards the centre at maximum speed. Only then did I see the complex damaged, burnt, and destroyed in some cases, swarms of tiny NAT fighters and bombers destroying the space viciously. I was furious, and then that drained away as I thought of what I would say to Bill when I came back, “This is why we can’t have nice things, Bill!†Pushing forwards on the stick, I flew towards the masses, and seeing no need to spare the buildings, launched a hellfire missile into the midst of a formation flying in to assist in the coming battle. At the sight of the KSC ruined, now the adrenaline gone, I could only worry and despair over the fact that it could all be over.

KSP,Part Thirteen

Swooping in low, I immediately called the station, “Commander, General, anyone, this is Director Kerman, the KSC is overrun, and possibly destroyed, request immediate backup, repeat, KSC is under attack, backup needed!†a crackling reply sounded, “This is general Kabernathy, sending air, land, and sea backup to your position now.†Feeling only slightly less worried about the predicament, I clicked off the radio, knowing the reinforcements were going to take at least a half an hour, I started downwards, firing cannons into the crowds of enemies, and destroying any I saw. The other squadrons pressed the assault on the enemies, trying to drive back the forces of apparent evil from our home. I swooped low, trying to inspect the damages done, and I saw tanks, some bearing our flag, but most NAT insignia, along with ground troops and dropships floating, dumping their payload, and flying off to collect more troops. A tank noticed my slow flying, and aimed its main gun, and fired. The shot broke apart midair, revealing a cluster of bomblets, flying through the air towards me, some exploding in the wings, but most damaging, most in the intakes. The jet sputtered, and I set the MechJeb unit to autopilot, and leapt from the cockpit, pulling my chute low to the ground, but before I dismounted, I made sure I had my pistols. Only a metre up from the ground, I tore the chute, and freefell to the ground, and rolled upon impact, My jet crashing into a cluster of enemy units, probably killing most of them, but I didn’t care, I merely tore off my helmet, clicked my magazines into the guns, and charged the enemy lines.

Jumping over a line, I fired midair, killing two, landing behind them, I fired multiple times, taking out the entire line, and slammed two fresh mags in. Inspired by the opening, our troops charged, a fierce battle cry echoing through the ruins. I hopped up onto an enemy tank, and a soldier tossed me a grenade, I shot the hinges off the hatch, and killed the gunner, tossed the grenade in, and pushed the hatch back on, and kept it there, until I heard a thump as it went off, disabling the tank. Sprinting to a dropship, I jumped off a tank, firing behind me, and reloading as I grabbed onto the chin of the craft. I clambered up and saw the two pilots, side by side, so I shot my guns, side to side, dispatching them with ease. Climbing in, I pushed the bodies out of the chairs, and set the craft to hover. Unleashing a burst of chaingun fire on a section of incoming dropships, I downed them with a considerable lack of difficulty. Turning my attention the the infantry, I opened up with the full armament of the craft, decimating the lines. Finally, I let go of the stick, and jumped from the window, downing the craft on the still strong right flank. Landing on a NAT corpse, I grabbed his rifle, and led the allied troops to victory, charging into the side of the opposing force, still tying down our right flank. Smashing into them, and taking them by surprise, I sprayed my rifle, killing multiple personnel. Somersaulting onto the deck of another tank, I jumped ecstatically in front of the driver’s windshield. He opened it, pointing a pistol out of it, and I fired off the last of the rifle’s ammo, killing the driver, and I clambered in, shooting the other tank crew, and taking control. I aimed the turret towards another tank, and destroying it, showering the surrounding infantry with shrapnel. I ran out of the tank as I saw it being aimed upon by one of ours. I retreated to our own lines, holstering my pistols in my flight suit.

Seeing the command tent, I ran to it, and shoved aside the entry curtains, and saw the only thing I wanted to, my brother, still living. We embraced, and got down to business. “So, what’s the damage?†I inquired, “Rocket construction’s gone, as is mission control, yes, Gene’s alright, admin, and observatory has taken damage. But other than that, nothing.†He grinned, and I chuckled, and went over to a telescope, and saw it, a red cloud of UKN fighters incoming, a small armada following, and I ran to the top bit of the tent, and saw a battalion of UKN soldiers, backed up by artillery, tanks, and anything else you could think of, marching in behind the NAT forces, already taking them down in surprise. The cavalry had finally arrived, and the battle was hopefully won.

KSP, Part Fourteen

In a matter of minutes, all the offending air forces were either destroyed or routing, their little flotilla annihilated, and their army surrounded. Taking a position on the barricades of the temporary HQ, I manned a machine gun, and was shocked as the NAT forces, with only a couple hundred left, mounted a charge, hoping to overrun us, and have a defensible position to stakeout the reinforcements. A rousing battle cry erupted from their lines, and all of them charged, from above, it would have looked like a forest-green blob charging smoke, but from ours, it was a wall of fanatics, ready to give up their lives to make us forfeit ours. “Men, hold your fire!†and the only sound was that of charging men, and burning buildings. The opposing force was closing, five hundred metres, four hundred, three hundred, two hundred, a hundred, fifty…. “FIRE!†My strategy was not Ill-executed, or received, as an entire company opened fire simultaneously, mowing down row after row of NAT soldiers. The ranks of enemies thinned the closer they got, and the pile of bodies grew taller, until one climbed it, holding a large handkerchief tied around a pole, and we lowered our weapons, and tended to our wounded. I, however, walked with Bob and Gene, along with Nielfry and Gusto over the corpses, a truly grim sight, but one of victory, yet still overwhelmingly macabre.

We met with the remaining dozen or so of NAT personnel, consisting of a Major, a Lieutenant, two Sergeants, and the rest were only green conscripts, probably drafted from their families, and their first battle, judging by their level of shock at the mountain of dead comrades. The major broke a sheet of metal with his bayonet, and put it on top of a palette, and pulled up a number of small boxes. “Thank you for accepting our surrender, I know you could easily have wiped us out,†He gestured to the mound, “but, we do not hold this against you, I was against this assault, I knew it would cost us, but not this much.†I was confused, “Aren’t you the commanding officer?†He shook his head, “No, that would have been General Kalin, who you killed during your battlefield rampage.†I let out a quiet, “Oh†“We do not wish to be imprisoned, but to defect, NAT is going to lose, and we don’t want to lose anything else, so we want to join you, and expedite this war of ours.†The statement hung in the air in an almost tangible level of awkwardness, “We accept your proposal, but know that you will be watched.†He nodded, and rose from the table, his eyes widened, and he pointed behind me, and I spun about, seeing four of the eight conscripts charging us. I punched one in the face, and he fell, clutching his nose, I drew my knife, and stabbed another, but wasn’t paying attention, as one smashed me over the head with a crowbar. Dazed, I walked in a half circle, facing the action, and had trouble staying stood up. One of the sergeants drew his rifle, but instead of shooting us, he jammed the bayonet into the gut of one conscript, and slammed the butt of it into the last’s face, and the latter fell, hand over their face. The first one hit, however, rose, but as soon as he did, the Major drew his weapon, leveled it with the assailant’s face, and fired, leaving green goop all over the ground. A final one rose, blood dripping from his face, and one of the non-rebellious conscripts put him down. After that, we walked away from the carnage, and went to organize a cleanup effort.

It was soon nightfall, and all military personnel, and over a hundred and fifty prisoners and defectors gathered outside the ruins of the astronaut complex, the tattered and pockmarked UKN flag still fluttering in the chilled breeze. the fires now only crackling. We stood around a hundred metres from the bodies, which now did not just contain the bodies of former enemies, but of UKN soldiers, and all the other fallen from the battle, as well as most vehicle wrecks. I walked to the front of the crowd, to deliver a quickly made speech. As I reached my destination, I whipped out the papers, started to clear my throat, but then made a decision. I held out the script, and took our a lighter, and set it aflame, the embers floating down to Kerbin, extinguished on contact. “Soldiers, Pilots, Scientists, Kerbals, Today, we have lost much, an unexpected attack took place, and parts of our home was destroyed, but more importantly, we lost people, good people. But now, we have allies, and we can press the offensive on NAT. Rebuilding efforts are already going on, but for now, tonight, we honor our fallen comrades and brothers.†I held out my hand to the hill, and three fighters, the centre one from NAT designs, and insignia, burst in, and when above the mound, let loose with incendiary rounds, setting the pile ablaze. One soldier started to sing a song we all sang as little Kerblings, and soon two more voices joined, and then thirty, and so forth, until everyone was singing, and It didn’t sound as if a weary, battle-tired battalion sang, but with the chorus, it sounded like a glorious army on parade, and all spirits lifted, as the fallen were honoured.

KSP, Part Fifteen

All we did for days was call ships filled with supplies, call down builders from the stations, and scrape survivors and corpses from the rubble. Almost in a poetic sense, the statues and memorials of Wernher von Kerman and Bob Kerman remained untouched, glistening as a reminder of further loss. I was sitting in my psuedo-office, and suddenly my phone rang, “This is Jeb, who’s this?†“Admiral Dunfrey, and I have news for you, Jebediah Kerman.†I waited, “go on…†He continued on, “We have a temporary KSC for you while this one is being rebuilt.†I paused, “Where?†He went on in an awkward tone, “Well, it’s on the island, the old military base. I hope that’s alright.†I paused again, “Yes, that’ll be fine, two things, however, one; how is it functional, it’s been destroyed, and two, when is KSC going to be rebuilt?†He flipped through some notes, judging by the noise coming from his end, “Question one, We rebuilt it, in many ways, two, that’ll be around, three months, at most.†Shocked, I only one response, “Amazing! I have to go!†He managed to fit one last thing in before he I hung up, “A dropship will meet you and your senior staff in front of the astronaut complex in five, see you there, Jeb.â€Â

I had to round up Bill, Gene, Doodbro, Nielfry, and Gusto in five minutes, which as accomplished, and we rushed out to the flagpole. Hot air flew at us as the VTOL’s engines pointed downwards, slowing its descent enough to land. The rear door opened, but the craft was still about a foot off the ground, and we took his hand and he pulled us aboard, the door closing and the ship moving as soon we were on. This was a newer, more advanced model than the one I had been on recently, and suddenly, I recognised it. A design we had been working on recently for a new, improved dropship over the older Keagle class troopships. I guess it, along with other experimental designs had made it out of the KSC before it was destroyed. We flew at high speeds, and then stopped suddenly, and because of that, Gusto flew out of his chair and into a wall. We lowered ourselves to the ground, and landed, the door opening like a bizarre tongue, and stepped out into daylight.

I was expecting small temporary buildings, and a slightly repaired runway,, but no, this island was decked out, from top to bottom it was covered in a new space centre, even more advanced than the KSC. The runway was freshly paved, with new lights, glistening in the sun. Several large buildings stood above the rest, and a new mission control and astronaut centre stood proudly inside. Another skyscraper housed all the offices of the non-action KSC employees, and we found a little Keep, a small military vehicle, and boarded. We drove down the runway, and stopped around a kilometre off of it, directly overlooking a cliff. Dunfrey entered a command code into his watch, and a large door opened into a ramp. We started down it, and looked around, shocked, I realised that it was an underground VAB and launchpads! Rockets were under construction, engineers scurrying around, holding parts, welding things, and doing other things, of which I was uncertain what they were. We continued down the underground street, and ran into (not literally) battery of launchpads. We dismounted the Keep, and proceeded into the little control centre, where all the mission control staff were busy at work, making preparations for what seemed to be something big.They all turned their heads towards the door, and smiled. Many ran over to us, others yelled “I thought you were dead!†and there was happiness to be shared. After the main tour of the facility, I found out that the large buildings up on the surface were not offices, save one, but tall spaceplane hangars. The planes were housed, and when needed, taken by elevator down to the bottom, the widest, however, was where they were built, and designed.

At the end, Dunfrey turned to me, and spoke, “Jeb, I have something important to announce.†I motioned for him to go on. “We’re going back to the Mun! But this time, not just for science collection, we’re going to establish the first interplanetary colony, of twenty Kerbonauts, and You, Bill, Nielfry, and Gusto will lead it, until it’s up and running, then you’ll return!†I nodded slowly, considering this, “What could it yield for the UKN? Why the Mun?†He laughed, as if he were prepared for this question, “Fear, if they see that we have a Mun colony, they’ll EA themselves! Also, it would provide massive bounds in science, as well as intelligence, with a side helping of resources! Including Helium 3, a new element, as well as countless other minerals that are useful to the KSP as well as the UKN itself!†He stuck his hand out, “Mun VII launches next Kriday, what do you say, Jeb?†I shook his hand, eager for space travel in three days!

I gathered Nielfry, Bill, and Gusto in the conference room. “Gentlemen, You’re probably wondering why I’ve called you all here today.†Bill played with a pencil, “No, not really, I was just hoping that there would be snacks.†I tossed him a bag of Kringles, and he happily horfed them down. “Fine, i’ll admit, i’ve just been wanting to say that in context for a while, but,the real reason, is that, in three days, we’re going….†Nielfry spoke up, “To where, Jeb? To where?!†I continued, “To the Mun! To establish a colony, and head back!†Cheers and whoops erupted from the bunch, exuberant at the prospect of Munar travel. Three days had passed, and we piled into the launch tower, the elevator followed by five more, all carrying four Kerbonauts, straight up to the rocket, but before we got on, we got to see it…

KSP,Part Sixteen

The ship was massive, a huge control and colonisation module cluster sat at the top, a Mark I pod peaking it all with a lander assembly, and under it, a quad-coupler, each with a habitation stack and KAS systems. Each stack held five Kerbonauts, along with supplies, and whatever that stacks specialty was. Of them, one was for habitation, one for survival, another for science, and the final one for observation. Under those, were four stages of fuel, engines, and RCS ports. The thing was a monster, a rocket powered spear made to pierce the sky, and explore the heavens. We boarded our section, the Mark I control pod, specially modified with a low ceiling, door, and cupola module up top for the fourth. Gusto sat in the top, being the best rocketeer amongst us, and we sat in a circle, three chairs, on rotating mounts. At first we sat as normal chairs do, but as soon as the countdown started, the chairs re-angled, and we all sat skyward, our torsos pointing towards the sky. The engines rumbled, and ignited, the silo doors opened just in time, and we streaked out of it.

It was around ten minutes before we breached Kerbin’s atmosphere, and jettisoned the second stage. We angled ourselves prograde, and boosted to the Mun. It took four days of boosts, burns, and rocketing to reach the Mun. During those four days, BIll constantly inquired, “Can I have snacks? Pleaaaase Jeb?†And again I would say no, but eventually dish out dinners and breakfasts to the crew. Four agonising days, but at least we had TV’s and systems to entertain us rigged into the module, for those four days, I played my favourite game, one made by a company called platoon called Human Space Program or NASA for some odd reason. We finally reached the Mun, ejected the third stage and readied ourselves for the landing. I woke Bill, and we all took our stations. Gusto gunned the RCS thrusters, and I decoupled the last stage, making sure not to damage the docking port, as that was our return mechanism. The stack split into their fours, separating from the group, the four stacks fell to the Mun, firing thrusters to slow their descent. We followed a little later, landing perfectly, and before the others.

The stacks landed well, and deployed themselves. One unfolded into four large barracks, another into a science station, one per module, the next into a farm/replication centre, as well as recreation, and the final one needed to be built, but it would become an observatory, meant for watching NAT and the stars, two very different things, and purposes. We exited the craft, overjoyed to stretch our legs and escape the craft. Grabbing tools from the kit, we went to work, twenty-four Kerbals building a Munar colony. Bill and I were assisted by ten other Kerbals in assembling the observatory. We made great headway, and completed it in three short hours, now it was only a matter of setting up the KAS modules, interconnecting the separate emplacements, as well as providing oxygen, with electricity from an experimental portable atomic/hyperthermal generator, cooled by both the hyperthermal mechanism, and the vacuum of the Mun. Finally, all was finished, in less than a day. We decided to stay the night, waiting to return. For hours, though, we messed about with the ⅙ Kerbin gravity, jumping and throwing rocks at each other, which, in hindsight, may not have been the best of ideas, but, who cared? We were having a great time. The time came though, when it was morning, and we left, taking along twenty kilos of munar soil, minerals, and stone. Along with that, we took a bunch of snacks for the way home, including some of the plants being grown on board the colony. Piling in, we took off in our little lander, docking with the return stage, and took another four days to reach Kerbin again. We braced ourselves for re-entry heat as we ditched the last stage, leaving us with just our lander. We descended quickly, the flames engulfing us, but I wasn’t worried, the veteran of several spaceflights, no one was worried. But we noticed that we were off-course, and that we had been locked out of controls, just as we realised this, we saw a small black object hovering near the KSC, the older one, as NAT did not yet know of the existence of our new one, but the signal was originating from there, and I had to climb out the side, with parachutes on though, and manually direct the thrusters, positioning us directly above the ship, and I told the crew of my plan, and let go of our lander, falling gracefully onto the top of theirs. Ripping off the access hatch, I swung in, kicking an unlucky NAT flight crew in the face, knocking him out. I whipped out my pistols, which I carried with me everywhere, (You never know!) and blasted what looked like computers, the ship swerving, I grabbed onto the side of the walls, silently advancing, not caring that the gunshots had probably alerted them to my presence. I opened the last door, and saw a crew of four, sitting in pilot’s and observer’s chairs. I shot two of them, then as one reached for a weapon, dispatched him. unfortunately, my shots had broken the windshield, and the last was putting up a fight, so I picked him up, and threw him out the front, hearing him thump on the side of our ship, now below me. Setting the ship on a crash course, I climbed out of the window, and ran down the nose, leaping off the edge. For a moment, time stopped as I fell, body spread, but it resumed, and I hit the side, jarring it, but in the process, I hit my head, but luckily hooked my chute on the ladder. My vision went black around the edges, then entirely. What felt like moments passed, and I awoke, a parachute deployed, but looking down, the pod had no parachutes anymore, and was spinning out, flaming on one part. I reached out, hoping it was still close, and it hit the ground, explosions wracking the air and pod. I looked again, and saw that the main pod had survived, but not the cupola, along with that, the science module had survived. On closer inspection, a little body hung out the front of the cupola, and the main capsule was heavily damaged, and on fire. With no regards for my own safety, I cut the chute five metres up, fell, rolled, and ran towards the wreck, hoping that everyone lived. I reached a close distance, and a fireball erupted from the cupola, blasting me backwards, and sending shrapnel all over my body. I went down for the second time in an hour, with nothing on my mind, too dazed to think.

KSP, Part Seventeen

I stared up at the ceiling, and for the second time in a couple of years, it was a hospital, back at the new KSC. I felt cold, at my knees on down on my left leg, and the whole thing on my right. I pulled back the sheets, and sat, completely agape with horror. My legs, were...not there! They were metal, with little lights, and a cover, that retracted for charging and readouts. I stood up, and tried walking on them. I looked at my wrist, and there was a section of my forearm replaced, with a large metal cylinder. I opened the lid, and a screen lit up! It was a fully built Executive, upgradable Kpad, with holographic displays, extra functions, so many bells, whistles, gizmos and whatsits that I almost forgot the shock-horror of losing limbs. Reality rushed back to me, and I ran to the nearest mirror, wondering in terror of what would await me there. Thankfully, nothing bad had happened, and I let out a long sigh of relief. Running out to the hall, I tested my new legs, and they were amazing! I could run almost indefinitely, and do impossible things with them. I strolled now, right over to Bill’s room, who was completely intact, Nielfry as well, except for two fingers, but that didn’t really matter. We went to Gusto, who was the one hanging limply from eh Cupola, all battered. Opening the door, we saw him, one robotic arm, entirely done, three fingers, and both legs. Everyone, though, had the Kpad attachment, which was handy. “How are you even alive, Gusto?†He chuckled, “Well, being as how I have most of my limbs, including an eye now robotic, I don’t know if I’m fully ‘Alive’, but since you asked, I was near all the shrapnel’s epicentre, most of which went right into my bum, taking out my legs, but other than that, nothing to tell. I see you got some… Modifications too, eh Jeb?†Everyone shared a laugh, “Yeah, I was an idiot, and ran towards a flaming wreck, facing the blazing engine, so, most of it went right into me! You should try your new, self I guess? But really, try it, it’s amazing!†He rose from the bed, and his feet clanked onto the floor, taking tentative steps at first, and starting at a full-out run later. I raced to keep up with him, as everyone sprinted to the lockers to get dressed. Gusto ended up winning the race, and we got on our suits, not flight, but just our normal walking around military uniforms, except me, I wore my pinstripe suit I use when I’m at important meetings. We stepped out into broad daylight, and started towards Admiral Dunfrey’s office, housed inside the main Office building.

The elevator took ages to reach the 41st floor, just beneath my penthouse, which I shared with my friends who were with me. We walked through the door, ready for our debrief. Dunfrey’s chair spun about, “Gentlemen, we need to discuss your mission.†Bill rolled his eyes, “Obviously.†Dunfrey shut him up, “Was the colony a success? Is it functional?†I stopped his questions there, “Yes, all twenty made it, it’s all set up, and functional, the only thing that went wrong was the very end, and not due to system failure.†Dunfrey wiped sweat from his brow, “alright, good, but, do elaborate, what happened?†Nielfry launched the discussion at lightning speed, “Well, reentry was perfect, the chutes deployed, and we were floating down, until our systems were locked out. That’s when Jeb spotted the NAT dropship hovering above the reconstruction site, lept out, and killed everyone on board, which turned out to be the source of our issues. But one guy came out, probably trying to escape, hit us, and sent us spiraling!†I gestured in a way to get Nielfry to quiet down, “Sir, I was on board the dropship, as he said, and it was the source of the issue, but it was readying to fire on the old KSC, I threw an enemy out the broken windshield, afterwards I set it on a collision course in the ocean, and jumped out, trying to grab onto the lander, but ended up just hitting it instead. I was knocked out, but my parachute deployed, and I saw them crash, so only around… I’d say five metres up, I cut the chute, and fell the rest of the way, most likely still concussed. I ran towards the burning ship, seeing it explode while I was still descending, and It exploded again, peppering me with shrapnel. I’m afraid that’s about it, sir.†He scratched his chin, “Alright, good enough, two things, however, one; The Munar samples you recovered, they were retrieved, and are being studied now. Secondly, how are the prosthetics?†Gusto and I high fived, “Amazing sir, and the Kpad integration is great!†He pulled up a sleeve, “Everyone high-ranking or really badass has one.†Gusto piped up, “My eye is great too! I can access my Kpad from it!†Dunfrey was a little surprised, “Really? Wow. I want one now..†He went on and on about how we would be commended for our actions and blah blah blah, he dismissed us eventually, and we decided to fly to Kresden, one of the cities in Keutchland, by stealing a dropship, leaving a note, and having some snacks, and beer, but mostly beer-snacks.

Go to the next bit, which is being posted...Now!

Edited November 5, 2014 by ZoidPool

[AmpsterMan]

I am aproving this post, but it seems this may have been plagarized. If you are the legitimate author, I apologize. Otherwise, this is otherwise known and as theft and dishonesty. Please confirm it is you, otherwise this thread will be locked and you will be publicly shamed.

Thank you.

For those of you enjoying this content, a quick google search seems to point to this individual as the author. Also, this is his latest story. Thank you all for reading.

Nothing to see here folks, move along, move along, move along.

Edited November 5, 2014 by AmpsterMan

[ZoidPool]

yes, this is in fact my story, I can see where you may think it isn't me, as I am using EnterElysium's nation of the NAT, but other than that, It's all me.

[ZoidPool]

KSP,Part Eighteen

Landing on a random helipad on a skyscraper, I dropped the keys into a butler’s hands, the kerbal instantly recognising us. We took the extreme way down to the street, equipping parachutes, and leaping from the helipad. The others deployed parachutes two hundred metres up, but I, I had a different approach. At a two hundred, I deployed mine, not a normal chute, but a hang glider. Gracefully flying above the crowds, I buzzed officer buildings, but eventually landed, the hang glider folding itself back into its backpack form, the others landed next to me on the sidewalk, their parachutes functioning the same, folding and storing. We walked about, looking for a suitable pub, and finally found one, the Drunken Pug and odd name, but a good bar. We entered, and everyone cheered, instantly recognising the faces of the KSP. When we strolled up to the bar, the bartender simply put four pints in front of us, some of the finest beer in the UKN, along with two bags of snacks for each of us, “On ze house!†he announced, I waved my hand, and put down a hundred Kerbit bill, and yelled out, “Drinks and snacks for everyone!†The bartender said, “Really?†I nodded, and he took the bill, and held it as if he was treasuring it, I looked at him, “Are you, like, having trouble with the Drunken Pug? If so, we have a spot open for a bar at the new KSC, if you want…†The old man jumped up and down in excitement, nodding vigorously. We left him to his euphoria, and drank to the memory of fallen comrades, as well as missions gone well, and victories hard-won. We were in the middle of a drink when an explosion wracked the street. We all exchanged glances, and ran outside, looking up. What was seen was horrifying, terrifying, and shocking all at once, NAT dropships and fighters swooping in and strafing, dropping troops all over the place. We stared out at the skyscraper where we ‘Parked’ and the support to the helipad was shot out, the whole thing, dropship and all came tumbling down and exploded on a building. “.....†Bill muttered, Nielfry only stood in shock, “Great SQUAD!†I took out my pistols, shedding my nice suit, revealing a military uniform, with my robotic legs sticking from the knees of it. An conveniently placed gun store was across the street, and we ran into it, shoving the door away. The kerbal at the counter merely gestured to the collection, and grabbed a shotgun for himself. I grabbed as much ammunition as possible, and a semiautomatic assault rifle. Bill grabbed a machine gun, the big kind, with four more ammo belts, Nielfry grabbed twin SMG’s, and Gusto a shotgun. We stepped out into the dessicated streets, and rushed out into action.

Ksp,Part Nineteen

A squad of NAT saw us, and proceeded towards us, Bad Idea I thought, as I grinned and charged. I strapped my rifle to my back, as pistols were better for the job. Using my new legs, I jumped over them, shooting two of them in the head. I landed behind them, pisolwhipped one in the back of the head, grabbed him, and shot two others. With nine left, it was easy, Gusto blasted one to shreds with his shotgun, Nielfry killing another two with his SMG’s, and Bill mowing down the remainder. I flipped around my prisoner and kneed him in the gut, he bowed over in agony, and I put him down, blasting a massive hole in his head. We proceeded down the street, clearing out shops, and buildings.

Before we knew it, NAT had called dropships on us. Three of them bore down on us, trapped in a small plaza. It was too late, and the troops all dropped down, but, I managed to kill the pilots of one, which caused a chain reaction, destroying the other two, and shutting off the plaza with the twisted metal hulks. Around forty NAT soldiers circled us, and things seemed hopeless, Bill threw a stick of gum in his mouth, “I’m here to kill NAT and chew gum, and I think I’ll just do both.†At that, we all knelt as Bill emptied the last of his ammunition into the crowds, killing around eighteen of them. His machine gun useless, He picked up a rifle from a fallen soldier, and we broke out into pure killing machines. I ran into the middle of a crowd, shot out two mags, and holstered my guns, wanting to save rounds, and drew my unfolding blades. They did as the package said, unfurling into .6 metre long blades. The soldiers closed, hoping to knock me out to capture, but I sprang up into the air, and came down a whirlwind of doom. I spun from target to target, slicing and dicing foes wherever my blades met flesh. Only three left in my group. I used my pommel to jam into one’s gut, forcing him to drop his gun, and recover. The other two, however, were not so fortunate, as I stabbed one through his eyes, and crossed my blades, bisecting his head, I backflipped to the next one, locked his head in my elbow, and pulled his back into my blade, the end coming out of chest, like a gruesome flower. Shifting my focus to the last, I chopped his head off in one fell stroke, the skull plopping on the ground. I watched Bill as he pounded their heads against each other and blasted others point-blank in their face, pulverising some. Gusto used his shotgun to its full potential, killing off multiple enemies in one shot, and then swinging it with great strength, caving skulls inwards. Finally, Nielfry was ducking and rolling, mowing down crowds with considerable ease.

At the end of the battle, we looked up, weathered and tired, ready to just sleep, and saw UKN fighters flying overhead, taking down NAT aircraft, but it was all too late, Kresden was ruined, and we heard over our Kpads that Kerbingrad had suffered similarly, as well as Kidenurough, all massive cities in three of five UKN countries. Oddly enough, the Bartender had managed to get into the plaza, and was carrying a platter of drinks and snacks. We were amazed by the kindness of the man, and how he had survived. We all grabbed a beer, and snacks, while the bartender did the same, and we shared a drink, until a UKN dropship lowered itself to us, the doors opening, and two UKN bodyguards, heavily armed and armoured held out their hands, and we boarded, not forgetting the kindness of the bartender, we took him along, so he could continue on at KSC, where he would be greatly appreciated. The VTOL zoomed off towards the KSC at lightning speeds, and as soon as we were on the plane, however, we slept until we arrived, six hours later.

KSP,Part Twenty

Landing on the helipad at the office building, we proceeded not to Dunfrey’s office, but to the UKN emergency council room. The massive doors opened, revealing a large conference table, seating the leaders of each country and their militaries, who, oddly enough, were shouting and yelling at each other, accusing one another of treason and so on. As I stepped in, everyone shut up. “Alright, all of you, it wasn’t anyone from the UKN, it was a full-fledged NAT assault on Kresden, Kidenborough, and Kerbingrad. I was just there with my men, and it was most certainly NAT intervention. The United Kates leader spoke up, “New Kork was also attacked!†I nodded, and motioned for him to sit down, “Alright, all nations within the UKN have suffered attacks from NAT, and this must be retaliated. Unfortunately, our military is spread thin along borders and defending those cities. I propose that we launch an orbital strike on the city of Keijing, and in north Kerbea on Kyongkang. UKN 1 has been set up, is fully functioning, and we have control over three of their orbital emplacements, the other being destroyed. We could hack into their reactors, deactivate the safety, or launch NAT’s own missiles at their cities.â€Â

The leaders all scratched their chins, and discussed amongst themselves the best courses of action. Eventually, a decision was made, Kyonkang would be bombed and overloaded, and Keijing would be strafed, assaulted, and bombarded by the Twelfth fleet. The four of us took the tram to a spaceplane hangar, suiting up, and getting into a dropship, we boosted towards the heavens, off to UKN 1. We reached space, the helmets came down, and we docked half an hour later. Walking on the deck towards the control centre, we had to pass though guards at every door, part of the new security measures designed to keep NAT out. We entered, and there it was, the big red button. I love buttons, they’re the best, and when they’re big and red, well… yeah. Doodbro came up to me, “Sir, the ICBMs are ready for launch.†He pointed to said button. I walked over to it, hovered my hand above, but realised that would launch them into the lids on the space station AKA: not a good thing. I input the coordinates of Kyonkang, hit the READY button, retracting the lids, and deploying the missiles. finally, it was ready, and I resumed my ogling of the button, its redness beckoning me, and I jammed my fist on it, and alarms sounded as the rockets fired.

Their contrails were left as the only remainder of them as they flew through the atmosphere at high velocity, five of them in total, all small tactical nuclear bombs. We zoomed in on the city, but not enough to penetrate the cloud layer. The missiles hit home, and the clouds were disintegrated as the air bubbled, the seas boiled, and the ground melted. Massive fireballs rose up, convecting the air around them, and the city was no more. Shifting our focus to the launch bays, battalions of fighters, bombers, and drones took off, from us, and from dozens of runways scattered about the UKN. The swarm closed in on Keijing, and razed it to the ground. Buildings crumbled, homes caved, offices died, and an entire populus yelled out, and were silenced by the thousands of explosions wracking the city. Turning off the screens, I turned to everyone, toasting with wine glasses, and those from the ruined cities celebrated especially, feeling sweet vengeance for the destruction of their homes. Not too big on parties, the four of us boarded our dropship, and commenced our return.

Something caught my eye, however, a slight ripple in the light, characteristic of the cloak we had designed. I investigated further, and upon being too close, the cloak functioned no more, and something amazing was revealed. The main hull of the Wernher Von Kerman was already built, but only the hull, it would still take another two years before it would be complete, and after that, NAT would hide in fear, the WVK too powerful for even that warmonger to handle. Deorbiting, the flames spread against the cockpit, and we slowed, bringing ourselves gently down onto the runway, and flying into the SPH, docking, and resuming our daily lives in the KSC. Nothing happened, nothing major, anyways for the next one and a half years, that is until we were attacked, on both fronts.

KSP,Part Twenty-One

It was a cold, foggy morning, small drizzles were happening everywhere, the reconstruction on the KSC was almost done, despite the previous estimate, and reconstruction on the four cities was well underway. NAT had still not yet recovered from the nuking of Kyonkang, and the razing of Keijing, and constantly made empty threats about attacks and such, but none ever came, except tiny little raids on convoys and such, and they had still yet to find out about the Wernher Von Kerman, and all was good. I looked out my office window, the rain vaguely covering the window in little drops, and fogging it up, but it didn’t matter, still a beautiful view. I sipped on my coffee, feeling the warm fluid go down my gullet and heat me from the inside. In the last year or so, we had made so many scientific breakthroughs, like ionic fuel and engines, solar sails, and more nuclear weapons. Still gazing, I saw a kerbal run onto the launchpad, screaming about something, I paid no mind, as protesters loved to storm onto here, but then he opened up his jacket, cringed, and blew up. Literally exploded. I was taken aback by shock, and then looked up, and there it was, a massive bomber, the same as one that was hijacked along with three others zoomed towards the KSC, straight at me! I grabbed my emergency chute from the closet, grabbed the PA system, and shouted quickly, “This is Director Kerman! Evacuate Immediately, repeat, get out NOW!†I jumped through the window, my mechanical legs boosting my leap, and I fell, pulling my parachute, I cut it only seconds later, crashing to the ground and staring in awe as the plane barreled into the office building, exploding, taking out several floors, but at the same moment, a fireball erupted from the lobby, and I ducked behind a Keep to stay safe, and as I felt the fireball stop, I came out. The building was wrecked, utterly wrecked. Smoke and flame billowed from the top floors, as well as the lobby. I looked closer, and there were a few office kerbals hanging out the window, probably a last ditch attempt at escape. Bill, Nielfry, and Gusto came quickly, mounted on a Keep. They stood in shock, just as I did, Bill could only say one thing, “.....†Nielfry as well, “SQUADdammit!†finally, Gusto, “Mother of Harv.†We piled into the Keep, and found out that all the officials had survived the blasts, and proceeded to the underground complex, where Gene sat, dumbfounded, pointing at the screen. I watched in horror as a second plane crashed into the New Kork military base, and the last at Kresden supply airstrip. All of them bore NAT’s flag.

Seconds later I received a call from the space station, and Doodbro’s worried voice echoed on the line, “Sir, we have pinpointed where the planes took off from, and there are six more, all taxiing, should we take action? We have around fifteen minutes.†I had only one question, “Where?†He seemed surprised, “Seventy Kilometres southeast of you, Director, shall I send down a squadron?†I approved, hung up, and took an elevator to one of the SPH’s, taking a Bader, and zooming off into the distance, followed by my comrades.

We closed on the island, and the first plane was already taking off. I sighted the wingtip, and opened up with the chaingun, shearing off the entire wing, sending them into a downwards spiral, and splashing down in the ocean. I angled my plane downwards, put their tower in my sights, and let loose two missiles, both locked onto the skinny midpoint. They impacted, destroyed it, and crushed the rearmost plane as it fell. Three hangars were deploying plagiarized bombers, and they too were destroyed with ease. Swooping in again, I fired off the wing cannons into the line of offending planes, destroying each that was hit. Peeling off, We let the incoming reinforcements take care of the rest, as we were running low on ammunition, and fuel. The only thing I could think of, was how well everything had been, how beautiful the morning had been, and the unthinkably dramatic twist it had taken from utopian, to bloody massacre. Many more NAT outposts anywhere near the UKN were eradicated without mercy, base after base annihilated, enemy after enemy destroyed.On my return to the KSC, the ruined office building stood as a grim reminder as to the events of the day. I couldn’t stand it, so as I always do, I slept in the Keep, not resting peacefully in any way.

KSP,Part Twenty-Two

A month had passed since the attacks, and the WVK was ready. Not thinking we would necessarily need it yet, I saved it for a moment when it would be crucial, and surprising. But my waiting was not to be, because from UKN-1, we saw a large NAT fleet, around forty strong, including three carriers, two battleships, and many, many, landing ships, as well as cruisers and destroyers. The trail of ships was a mile long, bearing in on our biggest port city, Kan Franbillco, located in the United Kates. If they reached it, then civilian, military, and material casualties would be untold. I called a meeting, including Doodbro on video conference. “Gentlemen, a NAT armada is currently heading towards Kan Franbillco, with over twenty large landing ships, I don’t think their intention is the secret Kanta party. We don’t have many options, that being said, the options are, One, we can let them destroy the city and start a land invasion. Two, we can send in as many fighters, bombers, and little ships as possible, hoping to take them down, or we can deploy WVK.†Everyone was stunned by the very thought of WVK being launched so soon. Doodbro spoke first, “I think it is the lesser evil of the choices, and the necessary one, as well.†The vote was unanimous, so we proceeded to the launchpads, and suited up, boarding the Drakon One a small rocket designed to dock with UKN-1. We took off,the G-forces pulling our lips back into grotesque smiles, and finally, we arrived two agonising hours later. Boarding the station, we made the following demand, “I want WVK functioning in an hour, all available personnel should report to their positions, and all aircraft are being moved as well, SQUADspeed gentlemen.â€Â

The following rush was amazing, an entire battlecarrier was brought online in 45 minutes, and the crews all assembled, planes docked, and ammunition loaded. I strode down the pipe leading to the bridge, and a beautiful sight beheld me. The bridge was massive, controls and panels everywhere, two stations at the front, and finally, two amazing command chairs sitting in the centre, obviously meant for Bill and I. We took our stations, and luckily, they were not alien in design, so no one had to spend valuable time figuring anything out. The station fired a small tactical nuke into the fleet, disabling a third of it. We then proceeded to undock, angle ourselves prograde, and fire the thrusters. Reentry was smooth, nothing damaged, except a few snacks left laying out on the flight deck. Clearing the area of reentry, we angled the four main thrusters downwards, and burned until we hovered. At that point, we activated our cloak, still not functioning perfectly, but enough to get the job done right. Around only a kilometre away, we stopped accelerating forwards, and hovered once more, floating above the enemy fleet. The Zeppelins on the belly detached, and splashed down, but the NAT fleet thought it was only a pod of whales. The subs did their mission well, sinking the remaining troopships, and pulled away, speeding off towards Kan Franbillco, to warn them of a possible threat. We angled the ventral guns towards the carrier decks, which had, unfortunately aired around ten squadrons before being disabled. This is when the fighters were deployed, swarming the enemy air-fleet. The battleships decided to coordinate their fire, and shot straight upwards, a risky gamble, for if we weren’t there, the shells would impact on themselves. Unfortunately, we were there, and it disabled our cloak. We shut off the engines, descending fast into the sea, floating as a normal ship does. Turning our guns towards the two ships, we shot out holes in their hull, sinking them. Turning our attention to the carriers, we fired a drillshot into their magazine, detonating it, and sinking it instantly in two pieces. The other two sank under the stress of so many shots taken on them.

Afterwards, we counted up the fleet, but only thirty-eight ships lay either capsized, sunk, or burned. The other two were nowhere to be found, but luckily all the aircraft were accounted for. Deciding it was too much work to track down the last two ships, and not worth it either. We collected the subs, and ascended to the heavens. Docking, the Wernher Von Kerman looked like it was still new, save the small score marks on the bottom, but it had passed its first test with flying colours, ready for combat, I left its glorious bridge behind as I returned to Kerbin, landing at the KSC, still under repairs from the recent attacks. I couldn’t wait to have the WVK in major action now, it was my only dream, my only passion now, to strike at NAT’s heart with the ship carrying the name of the one they had killed, killing them with irony. I chuckled at that prospect, and strolled down to mission control to tell of the news.

KSP,Part 23

Gene sat in his mission control controller chair, (Yes, rather redundant, I know) The four of us sat down as well, in the gloriously comfortable chairs, and Gene pulled us all out of our relaxment, “Kerbonauts! What happened out there?†I snapped back to attention as Nielfry started jabbering, “Well, Wernher was a success! We destroyed them before they got in even telescope range of Kan Franbillco! We-†I cut him off, “It’s true WVK was a massive success, but two ships got away, heading full speed back to a NAT port. But I wouldn’t worry, we were cloaked most of the time. The fleet was massacred, no survivors from the ones we did destroy.†Nielfry crossed his arms frustratedly, and sighed angrily. Bill volunteered information as well, “The tactical mechanisms worked like a dream, smooth, well executed, and instant. The weapons themselves were amazing, high explosive, automatic cannons? Swarm missile launchers, what genius designed it?†Gusto was trimming his nails with a small penknife, and Gene slapped his palm to his forehead, “Gusto…?†He looked up, surprised, and stuttered out, quite unlike himself, “erm, y-yeah, it-it w-w-was great, j-j-j-jus-just great, the, the… erm, engineering thingy was amazing.†We looked at him disdainfully, and noticed the silver flask in his hand, and went back to the meeting. Gene continued on, “So, all in all, it was a brilliant success?†Everyone at the table concurred, with various statements of “Yeah†“I’d say so!†“Holy Romfarer, it was great!†and Gusto, “Yup, it wassss a doozy, wasn’t it? Best ride of my li-li-life!†Gene just shook his head, “Alright, Gusto, go on, and get detoxed down the hall, and try not to assault anyone this time, alright?†Gusto waved his hand around in the air as he left, “I make no pormisses, occifer!†seconds later, we heard a stack of papers fall to the ground and a grunt as a blow contacted. Gene gestured, saying get out in his gesticulations. “Well boys, I think you deserve a break, so I won’t make you fill out any forms for this time, but don’t expect it every time, alright?†Everyone nodded, and Gusto, still inebriated, burst into the door, “You got it cossiminer!†and blacked out, falling face first on the floor. A couple of security guards came in, grabbed him by the arms, and dragged him to the detox booth.

The bright sun, Kerbol hurt our eyes as we ascended to the ground level, standing proudly as we piled into a little yacht, speeding along the Keberanian bay, the waves feeling good as the mists rolled over the deck. Cheering our military and scientific success, we all toasted with cans of kerbalade, our favourite drink, some of the fizz spilling into the oceans. My phone rang, and Dunfrey’s voice was excited, a little too excited in my opinion, “Jeb, you’re gonna love this! the first KSC has been rebuilt and retrofitted! We’ve got silos, new hangars, more-†I cut him off, “Alright, I get it, we’re on our way!†I closed the phone, and clambered up to the controls, and turned the boat around, cruising at full speed towards the old KSC, hoping it wasn’t too different.

KSC-1 came into view, and the skyline of the town-like sized centre had changed drastically. The KSC was now the size of a small city, an entire community of engineers, scientists, military kerbals, and pilots lived there now. The community centre was now the size of a mall, now including more food, theatres, rec centres, and so much more. The original SPH and VAB still stood, but multiple ones had been built, akin to the ones at the new KSC, an underground complex rivaled the new one in size and complexity. NEar the community centre, there lay massive buildings, that were now the new astronaut complexes. A new office building stood, proud and tall. Now, mission control was better, and stronger. With three launchpads, all corresponding to a VAB, and five runways. The tracking station was no longer a building with a satellite dish, but a cluster of satellite dishes with a central building, coordinating all the emplacements. Finally, there was an entire defence and naval emplacement, cannons, AA guns, VTOL underground lifts, and a naval base, complete with drydock, ports, and submarine docks.

Entirely revamped, the space centre was massive, and amazing. Four silos opened simultaneously, and four rockets all took off, leaving massive contrails behind them as the engines glinted through the flame. No doubt they were delivering more supplies to the station and WVK. We nabbed a Keep, and drove off to the tracking station. entering with pizazz, we threw open the door, sunlight flooding the artificial lighted room, shadowing our figures. We strode in, watching the main tracking screen. It showed a map of all our exo-kerbin vehicles. from Kerbin to Minmus. Around Kerbin was UKN-1 through 4, and masked signal, WVK, along with these, hundreds of satellites, and the four supply rockets showed up. Shifting over to Minmus, the further out moon of Kerbin, akin to a large blue mint, had several research stations, only automated, many, many satellites, and a large spaceplane inbound for a kerballed exploration. Going back to the Mun, We saw the massive satellite network, the colony, but then something happened. Three satellites went offline, and five objects, accompanied by a large destroyer, apparently one just retrofitted from terrestrial use, to fly in space, quite shoddily done, really. Seeing them descend on the colony, it was over for them, their weapons were not well stocked, and fifteen died before surrendering, leaving only five left. They started into the science lab, a squad of ten entering the complex. I ran to a panel, draining all the data, and self-destructing the lab, killing the ten inside, and disabling two dropships with debris. Tired of not having a single break, We sprinted to an SPH, assembled three dropships of marines, and took off, hopefully reaching them in an hour, either that, or any Mun influence would be lost, and information would be extremely hard to gather on NAT, this would change the course of the war if NAT won.

Edited November 7, 2014 by ZoidPool