Kerny Kerman's Journal (mission reports from a Kerbal's point of view) [Chapter 52: "You are to proceed in accordance to your orders"]

Plock 38, Y003

"You are to proceed in accordance to your orders" Chapter 52

"Captain," began Valentina. "I normally try to avoid contacting you when you are on your missions. I know you have a lot of things going on. Your missions are much different than my early space missions..."

"Yes, Commodore," I responded. "But the basic challenges are still the same."

She began, "There are times I think about going back into the space program. But those are far and few between. I never thought I'd enjoy an ocean-going vessel as much as I do. There's something about sailing from the equatorial waters to the polar waters and smelling the difference in the air... and you just don't have that in space."

"Yes, ma'am," I added. "That's true ---"

"Captain, I know that Bobak has tried to do his best to keep you apprised of what's been happening around the center since your current mission began." Valentina began, cutting me off in mid-sentence. "I've been ordered under Section 31 to contact you directly and inform you of the latest... what could not be placed in a normal data packet."

Almost immediately, the light in my small cabin changed to blue, indicating a secure channel had been opened.

"Yes, ma'am..." I began. Bobak had sent at least two to three data packets a day. "He's done a pretty good job at it ---"

"Kerny," the tone in her voice changed immediately. "The data packet I've sent to you is encrypted. It is not for general distribution. Consider it as a Section 31 restricted data packet. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Commodore," I replied.

"Have you recovered all your landers yet?" I had no idea Valentina had been keeping up with my mission progress.

"No, I still have both crews on the surface. They'll be aboard in about forty-five minutes." I answered.

"Ok, well," she replied, "Dr. Edmund has said that once recovery has been completed, you are to proceed in accordance with your orders..."

"Yes, ma'am" I answered.

"And Kerny," she added. "Off the record, you'll received another secure communication within a day. I hate to cut this short, but I've got a meeting with my senior staff about our next set of orders. Valentine out."

And with that, the channel closed and the cabin lighting returned to normal.

"Command deck to Captain," Obney's voice filled the cabin. "Lander Two is checking in ---"

"I'll take it back here, Obney." I responded. "What's the status of Lander One?"

"Lander One is in transit. Docking maneuvers are in progress and we'll be docked in about ten minutes. When I saw your cabin was indicating a secure channel I decided not to disturb you... I followed every procedure you've laid out ---"

"Obney, you're doing fine." I replied. "Please put the call through..."

"Captain," Immediately I could hear the mock concern in Karloff's voice. "It's Triy... I can't seem to get her back on board!"

"Commander ---" but before I could begin, he interrupted me, gasping for breath between the fits of laughter.

"I've uploaded the data packet regarding the first landing site." A more serious tone now filled Karloff's voice. "Everything appears normal besides a few small rocks here and there. The flag we planted during E-III is still there. If they're looking for a site for base construction, I'd recommend it..."

"Well, that will be good," I added. "Now about our cadet..."

"Sir, I've never seen anyone like this..." he began. "She's got a full facial smile ---"

"Oh, Commander, it's called the 'Jebediah Smile'..." I began. "And we all get it; I had it pretty bad, too!"

"But Captain, she's ---" Karloff began, "singing, laughing, and ---"

"Well, at least she hasn't done what you did, Commander..." I teasingly reminded him. "You kept climbing on top of the lander and saying 'Look how far I can jump now!"

"Oh, well..." Karloff replied rather sheepishly.

"What a great idea, Captain!" Triy's voice called out. "Do we have any more time?"

"No." I responded. "Prepare to return to the Excursion. We've been ordered out once you've returned."

"Yes, sir" both Karloff and Triy responded at nearly the same time. Both sounded disappointed. "Lander Two out."

By the time I made my way to the command deck, the monitor we had designated as the readout for the telemetry and tracking computer. The Excursion's orbit was yellow, a blue line indicated the path of Lander Two, but a third line - a white line - was now appearing on the monitor! The Excursion's tracking system was tracking a third object.

"Obney, is there any chance this could be one of the old Minmus Explorer probes?" I asked.

"Captain," began Hildi. She and Gilti had just returned to the command deck since their arrival on board. "From what I remember in training, Minmus Explorer II is the only probe remaining in high orbit."

"She's right, Captain." Obney added. "Minmus I crashed into the surface of Minmus after a faulty command ---"

"And Minmus Explorer III," began Gilti "was launched a year ago and never heard from again ---"

"Obney," I began, acting out of instinct. "Contact Lander Two and tell Karloff to get moving. Gilti, open a channel to tracking - get Bobak or Kuzzter."

"Sir," Obney began. "He will be coming in on fumes but will be docking in ten minutes --- "

"Good, track that thing," I ordered. "If it appears to move towards us... if you even think it's moving towards us..."

"Aye, Captain ---" but before Obney could finish, Gilti cut in.

"Sir, I've got the space center ---"

"Bobak, are you tracking this ---" I began.

"Tracking what?!" It wasn't the voice of Bobak that began. But this voice, Kuzzter's, was full of panic. "We've got all kinds of things going on here and you want me to do what?"

"Put Gene on..." I ordered.

"He's been ordered to New Kerbin City ---" Kuzzter began. "Look, I don't know what's going on, but right now Bobak's been placed in command of the space center operations until Gene's back from his meeting with two members of the Triune Committee ---"

"Well, where's Bobak ---"

"Captain, Bobak's meeting with Dr. Edmund and Dr. Haywood." His voice cracking under the pressure he was under. "When was the last data packet you received from Bobak?"

"Mid-day yesterday," I began. "Space center time, of course."

"A lot has happened since then ---" Kuzzter began. "sir, I've got to close the channel. Proceed on your orders immediately --- and that was just flash messaged from Dr. Edmund!"

"Excursion out..." and with that I closed the channel.

I decided that whatever had happened on Kerbin may be in that data packet Valentina sent to me during the conversation. Knowing I could not review the data packet on the command deck, I had no other choice. "Lieutenant Gilti, you have the con until I return from my cabin. Proceed with docking with Lander Two - even if you have to adjust our orbit to bring her in sooner ---"

"Aye, sir..." she began.

"And for the sake of the gods, keep your eyes on that ---"

"Other object..." she finished my order.

Once I secured my cabin door, I pressed the button on the console to review the data packet sent to me by Valentina. Like normal, it showed an image of an early morning air patrol around the space center.

"Nightowl," the voice was clearly Kuzzter's. "This is KSC Tracking. Unidentified radar source at absolute bearing three-four-seven. Please verify"

"Roger, Tracking." Lieutenant Megy began. "What's the chance it's one of those stolen aircraft, Kuzzter...?"

"I dunno. All I know is I have a blip on my radar and no transponder number ---"

"Lieutenant," another voice came across the channel. "I'm picking up what Kuzzter's tracking. It's heading for us ---"

"My gods ---" Megy interrupted. "I see it! It looks just like the one ---"

"KSC Tracking, permission to go weapons hot ---" the other voice came over the speaker. "Again, KSC Tracking, permission to go weapons hot ---"

"I'm weapons hot," Megy began. "Waiting for target lock ---"

"Speed of object increasing!" Kuzzter called out. "it is zero-seven point 5 kilometers from the center. Intercept and destroy ---"

"We don't have a lock." Megy began. "Doodbas, we're going to angle back around. Track it and give me the numbers ---"

The tracking image included in the data packet showed the two-Kerbaled Aakab swing towards the south, then change course to engage the unknown contact. The Aakab was made for speed and at nearly 370 meters per second, Lieutenant Megy was able to quickly reengage the unidentified craft.

"We have tone! We are locked on target!" Doodbas called out.

"Fire one," Megy called out. "Fire two!"

"Doodbas, I'm losing power!" Megy called out. "Fire three!"

"Nightowl," Kuzzter called, "What's your status?" the chaos at the space center tracking center could be overheard. Gene was already ordering the remainder of the KSC defense wing into the air.

"We've been hit with some sort of..." Doodbas began, "pulse. For less than two minutes, we lost all electrical power. Still tracking it --- wait! It has a lock on us!"

"It has a what ---" Kuzzter's voice called out over the radio.

"Hold on, Doodbas!" Megy called out. "you don't get out of this so easy --- " And with that, the tracking screen showed what happened next. Under full throttle, she pulled the Aakab back into pursuit of the alien craft. "It didn't shoot anything, but I'm not going to let this go!" Not only was she straining the engines of the craft, she was nearly pulling 6 Gs of force on herself and Doodbas. Every pilot of the Kerbin Defense Force knows that six Gs is the upper limit of tolerance and even some of the best pilots can have what is called "fog out." Seven Gs simply makes any Kerman fall into a light sleep.

"Lieutenant, we have tone!" Doodbas began. "We have a lock!"

"Fire four, away!" Megy's excitement filled the speakers.

In the distance, the small greenish silhouette - the all-too-familiar shape of those unidentified alien craft - could be seen in the distance as the missile's internal guidance system locked onto it's target. But just as the missile seemed to be closing the distance between it and the alien craft...

"Negative impact! Repeat, negative impact ---" Doodbas called out. "Impact /static/ surface ---"

"We've lost power again! I have no throttle control.../static/ I have no... /static/" Megy interjected. "KSC Tracking, this is Nightowl ---"

"Dammit," Doodbas screamed out. "It's stopped. It's directly underneath us!"

"It can't ---" Kuzzter interjected. "It was being tracked at over 4-- /static/ per second! Nothing can stop ---"

"Hold on, Doodbas!" Megy shouted out. "Kuzzter, we're punching out... three... two..."

"One!" both Doodbas and Megy shouted at the same time. The speakers were filled with the sounds of a crew ejecting from a defeated and dying craft.

"Dammit, Megy, Doodbas, what's your /status/ status --- " Kuzzter could be heard shouting over all the static.

The pause seemed like it took forever. Megzy activated her helmet camera in time to see the powerless Aakab slam into the surface of Kerbin. And between her and the fiery explosion, she could see a second chute, indicating that Doodbas had survived the ejection process.

"Tracking, this is Nightowl," Megy's voice sounding frail above the winds as she descended to Kerbin's surface. "I see a second chute. No sign of the alien craft. It is almost as if it simply disappeared once it saw the two chutes ---"

"Lieutenant," an equally weak voice, that of Doodbas answered. "It did just that ---" And with that, the data packet sent to me by Valentina ended.

+++

I sat there for a couple of minutes, not sure of what to make of the entire situation. It was time to return to the command deck to check on the progress of the recovery of Lander Two. In the last data packet sent by Bobak, I had been sent orders promoting Triy to Ensign. It was felt that the one scrubbed mission complete with evacuation and this actual mission would fulfill the multiple-hour simulator training sessions.

"Excursion, this is Lander Two," Triy's voice came clearly over the command deck speaker. "Requesting permission to begin docking procedures."

"Permission granted." Obney replied. "Proceed to the port side docking port."

"Now you do remember which side is port right?" Karloff could be heard teasing Triy.

"Yes, sir." She replied, rather confident. "It's the side with the red winking lights..."

The entire command deck broke out in laughter. Technically she was right. Port was the side with the 'red winking lights.' Her answer made good sense as any since orientation in space is relative to the object you're on. It's easy to become disoriented in space. We all knew this was not the answer that Karloff was wanting. This ship, the Excursion, is built around a trimetric design. This means that it is based in a pattern of three - which makes having a left side and right side - and appear to be absolutes - difficult at best. But keeping red for port and green for starboard for spacecraft was a decision made long before I had even been accepted into the training program.

With Lander Two now safely docked to the Excursion, it was time we began preparations to get underway. Once Karloff and Triy were aboard and had a chance to change into their duty uniforms, I ordered them to the command deck. It was time for me to address my crew.

"Before I get into our new orders," I began, "there's something that I must do as captain of this vessel."

"Yes, Captain." Karloff began. "All crew members are present as ordered."

"Cadet Triy, will you please, um, float over here..." We all watched as she made her way to the spot I had pointed to just a few seconds earlier. In just a matter of seconds, she had gone from making jokes with Gilti and Obney to having a flushed, pale green appearance and sweat beads on her forehead.

"Sir, Captain," She began to make some sort of explanation. "I'm..."

"Upon my recommendation and the approval of the Kerbin Defense Forces, you are promoted to the rank of Ensign, effective 2:00 hours, 37th of Plock, Space Center Time."

"You mean I'm..." We watched as she became overwhelmed with emotion.

"Yes," Karloff began. "You're not a cadet any more. You are an ensign and a permanent part of this crew."

"You mean this..." She began through her tears, "I'm not going to have to go back to training? This is real?"

"Yes, Ensign," I answered. "This is for real. I knew your promotion went through before you and Commander Karloff made it back to the surface. I decided to wait and promote you here, in front of your crewmates ---"

"I won't let you down, sir!" She exclaimed. "I won't let this crew down!"

With the festivities of the promotion continuing and not wanting to disturb the mood of Triy, Hildi, and Obney, I asked Karloff and Gilti to join me in the science lab. It was time I told them about the change of orders.

"So. just like that --- they change our orders?" I could understand Karloff's frustration. "There is still much we could learn from this one mission that would put the colonization of Minmus ahead of schedule ---"

"Captain, I agree with Commander Karloff!" Gilti began. "I mean ---"

"Believe me," I explained. "I understand totally. But we are still members of the Kerbin Defense Force --- even out here! These orders came from the Triune Council. Gene or Dr. Haywood had nothing to do with the decisions which were made."

"Ok, so we are returning to Kerbin orbit ---" Karloff began. "But we have something orbiting with us around Minmus. Shouldn't we at least try to figure out what it is, Captain?"

"Absolutely not!" I couldn't tell them why I objected to this idea. The data packet playback of the last confrontation still fresh in my mind. "It doesn't seem to know we are here so let's don't go poking around. We don't know ---"

"Captain, I think you're wrong!" Karloff protested. "I don't mean any disrespect by this, but you know you're curious just like me..." Karloff is right. I do want to find out what it is. But I also know what these craft are now capable of doing. And if we lose batteries or the ability to generate energy out here in space, as did the Aakab on Kerbin, we won't be as fortunate as that crew.

"And the Captain has told us," began Gilti, "he doesn't really have a choice on the matter. We are to be in Kerbin orbit in five days. According to my calculations, this gives us just another thirty minutes - the next ideal window - before we must leave orbit. The next window for an ideal trajectory burn won't happen for another seven hours. And these orders, baring an emergency, just don't give us that much time!"

"The order is given," I added. "We leave orbit in thirty minutes."Kerny Kerman's Journal (mission reports from a Kerbal's point of view) [Chapter 52: "You are to proceed in accordance to your orders"]

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