[u]150 Years Ago[/u] Flight Log, [i]KSS Spaaaaace![/i] [0:00] Ignition and Lift-off [0:45] Booster seperation [1:45] Separation of Stage 1 [1:50] Stage 2 ignition [3:00] Catastrophic fuel gauge failure [3:17] Rock-O-Matix engine on fire (I knew we should have gone with Rockomax! -Bill [3:25] Emergency command module decoupling [3:28] Rock-O-Matix engine fails rather exothermically [3:52] Parachutes deployed [7:01] Touchdown in Kerbin's desert. Mysterious temple nearby. [8:12] Took picture with mysterious temple. Harder than it looked (see Addendum 1). [8:20] Bored. Broke out cards, played solitare. [21:42] Rescue plane arrived. Belatedly realized that Ace of Spades was left at mysterious temple. Recommend recovery mission. -Bill | [i]Went to Mun instead. -Jeb[/i] [hider=Addendum 1][img=http://i.imgur.com/uhwZ6vn.jpg][/hider] --- [u][i]KIS Jebediah[/i], ~19,500 ly from Kerbol[/u] |Mission: Investigate Big Glowy Cloud (Long Bar, near galactic center) |Course: Somewhere to the left of the Big Glowy Cloud (in the general direction of the Septonium Concordant [actually, quite near to the Septonium Concordant]) [hider=|Crew:] Barlas Kerman - Backup Pilot/Mechanic Chris Kerman - Pilot/Navigator Gregera Kerman - Repairman Hadfrey MkNemra - Rockomax Representative Danman Namrek - Space Scientist/Navigational Advisor Ferfen Namrek - Land Scientist Stacey Rekman - Alkubierre Drive Expert [/hider] [u]Living Module[/u] Chris stared at the porthole. It was noticeably dark outside. Stars slowly drifted aft (while others, of course, simply stayed stationary in the background). According to Danman, they could extrapolate the distances and locations to each of those stars based on their velocity. Chris didn't really care about that; he was much more concerned with the lack of a Big Glowy Cloud filling the porthole. They should've been there by now. Oh, well. He was sure that Danman would've mentioned something as Navigational Advisor if they were going the wrong way. Maybe they passed it. Chris hoped not. Space was overwhelmingly large, and Chris didn't want to get any more lost than they probably were. Rationally, if they just turned around, and accounted for stellar drift, and followed the same path through space (Danman kept claiming that space was littered with ideal faster-than-light paths, like lanes on a highway, where space could be more easily bent), then they'd get back to Kerbol. If their ship didn't fly apart before then. "Just look at how well those Rockomax™ brand fuel tanks are holding up! Golly gee, what a site, eh, Chr?" Hadfrey said, clapping Chris on the back. Chris hated being called "Chr". It reminded him of when he was very young and still got Space Meals™ from MkRocket's. Well, truth be told, Chris had eaten a Space Meal™ for lunch, but that was only because of the Rockomax sponsorship deal. Hadfrey coming along was also part of that deal. "Please don't call me Chr," Chris said. At that moment, Stacey came bounding up the ladder into the communal living area with the same awkward, waddling gait that all Kerbals had thanks to their oversized heads. "Uh-oh," Chris said. Stacey [i]never[/i] ran. What if they were out of snacks? Chris liked to think that they'd advanced [i]somewhat[/i] past that point in the last 125 years. Eh, it'd be worth it, if only they'd ever get to land on something. Drifting through empty, folded space was [i]boring[/i]. "I just double-checked the fuel gauge," Stacey started. The fuel gauge was, of course, sensibly mounted on the fusion reactor. On the [i]outside[/i] of the ship. As was the majority of the science equipment and spare parts. And the extra deuterium. Really, it was a very good thing that the Alkubierre drive allowed Kerbals outside the ship (as long as they stayed within the distortion bubble [Barlas was the first to discover where the bubble actually was; it was now marked with a small ring of incredibly slowly-orbiting MkRocket's wrappers]). "We've only got enough deuterium for 500 lightyears." she finished. "Erm. Well, then, I'll just show myself to the Rockomax™ brand entertainment system, shall I?" Hadfrey said, awkwardly leaving the conversation. "But we're not that close to the Big Glowy Cloud!" Chris said. "Well, why don't we go somewhere else, then?" Stacey asked. "Because it won't be as awesome as the Big Glowy Cloud!" Chris replied. "There's nothing I can do," Stacey said, throwing her hands in the air. "Hmrmph." Chris grunted. He thought about it for half a second, and then decided that he didn't want to decide where to go. "Danman," he said into his coverall mic, "we're not going into the Big Glowy Cloud. I-" "Oh, dear. I'd hoped it was just me who thought we were going the wrong way. That's terrible news!" Danman replied. "Um. Yes, it is," something was bothering Chris. Something that, if thought, could revolutionize Kerbal behaviour. But he ignored it, and pushed on. "But that's not important. What is important is that you pick a star with planets to land on. A [i]cool[/i] star." "Ooh! I've got just the system! It's got a binary sun and four planets. One might have three moons!" Danman said. The entire crew "Ooh"'ed appropriately. Even Hadfrey. --- [u]Kerbtown, Capital of Kerbin[/u] [quote=Billboard]"RKEA is proud to sponsor the latest three interstellar rockets: the KIS [i]Illüminadir[/i], the KIS [i]Flammenmakör[/i], and the KIS [i]Titanïc Two Thösander[/i]. Tickets available now!"[/quote]