Canã¢â‚¬â„¢t Swim – Fail You Again

Beak and Jeb's Awesome Trip

(The Kerbalizer includes bowler hats, which gave me what is probably a terrible idea.... And this preface is something I've had planned since I beginning put the rover on the Dunan-X mission. With apologies to Samuel Beckett.)

Dosby, sitting on a low dune, is trying to have off his boot. He pulls at it with both hands, panting. He gives upwardly, exhausted, rests, tries once again. Every bit before.

Dosby: "Aught to exist washed."

Luton: "I'g starting to hold with you. All my life I've been chasing something, and notwithstanding here we land, surrounded past nothing." Luton removes his helmet, looks about the inside of information technology quizzically, so returns it to his head. "What are y'all doing?"

Dosby: "Taking off my kicking. Did that never happen to you?"

Luton: "To me? Absurd. Boots must always be taken off, merely never when at that place's and so much grit about." Luton takes off his helmet again, turns information technology upside down and shakes. "Funny." He taps on the crown of it equally though to dislodge something, looks at the within of it, feels effectually for a bit, and so gives up and puts it dorsum on. "How's your foot?"

Dosby: "Swelling visibly."

Luton: "Well that's jump to happen with the thin air."

Dosby: "Let's go."

Luton: "We can't."

Dosby: "Why not?"

Luton: "We're waiting for Bob."

Dosby: "Oh." (Pause) "You lot sure it was here?"

Luton: "He said by the rock." They both look at the rock. "Do you lot see any other?"

Dosby: "Well, yes. Everywhere I wait. All I run across are rocks!" (Pause) "Wait, what did we ask him for?"

Luton: "Who?"

Dosby: "Bob."

Luton: "Oh.... Goose egg very definite." Luton paces almost, glancing at the stone in a hostile fashion, pauses, and then points downward the hill. "Look, what's that?"

Dosby: "Is information technology him?"

Luton: "Are we saved?"

(Enter Jeb and Lucky. Jeb drives Lucky from his seat on the front end left of the rover. He stops brusk, causing a great deal of clatter and noise from the soft ground and loose bits of kit on the rover.)

Jeb: "Hey, you two want to become for a ride?"

Dosby: (To Luton) "Is that him?"

Luton: "Who?"

Dosby: "Bob?"

Jeb: "No, I'k Jeb." (Silence) "Jebediah?" (More silence.) "Does that name mean nothing to you?" Dosby and Luton look at each other questioningly.

Dosby: "Nosotros are non from these parts, sir."

Jeb: "Y'all are Kerbals, none the less. Look, me and Bill were going to have Lucky here down to that big bear upon crater, and wanted to know if you'd like to ride along. On Lucky's back, perchance?"

Dosby walks up to Lucky and kicks a tire with his bare foot, bruising information technology badly. "Ouch!"

Luton: "Well what did y'all expect, you old fool? Get upward." Luton looks at Dosby. Looks to Jeb. Looks dorsum to Dosby and shakes his head disapprovingly. He looks around at the landscape. "Will night never come?"

All three look up at the heaven.

Dosby, having got back up after hurting his foot: "Nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it'due south awful!"

Jeb: "Await, I don't know what the ii of you are up to, but I need to exist off. If you demand anything, allow Shepson know. Ok?"

(Exit Jeb and Lucky. While leaving, a spare helmet falls off Lucky and is deposited in the nearby clay.)

Dosby: "What do we do now?"

Luton: "I don't know."

Dosby: "Permit's get."

Luton: "Nosotros can't. Nosotros're waiting for Bob."

Dosby: "Oh."

--

"I'm but non certain, Shepson. Those two are crazier than me!" Jebediah hadn't bothered to climb downwards from the rover, and just watched equally Bill loaded upwardly snacks for their trip. "Make any progress on the engine repairs?"

"Aye and no. No throttle control notwithstanding, only we've got on/off working. It would probably exist enough to go us to the transfer tug in orbit, bold Melke and Mattlock are still there. Or alive."

"Ok, adept. The next return window opens in a few Munths. Hopefully we can get the comms working past then." Jeb helped Nib upward into the seat (quite a climb for a modest Kerbal) and then released the rover's brakes. "Shepson, just keep an heart on those two. We'll be back in a few days."

Bill was barely buckled in when Jeb pulled away. "I packed a bunch of extra flags, only in case we desire to mark our path. Breadcrumbs and such."

"Peachy! Allow's rock!"

This was the commencement long trip they'd taken since Jeb and Shepson repaired the rover. Whatsoever had knocked out the computers aboard the Dunan-Ten also damaged most of the automated systems aboard Lucky. They had to relieve parts from the cocky-righting "legs" from the dorsum to repair the Dunan-X, and wired the motors direct to the controls in Jeb'due south seat. Most of the secondary systems and remote operator controls were gone for good, merely they wouldn't need those with Jeb at the helm!

Their destination was the large Hellas-like impact crater, about 80km south of the Dunan-X landing site. The terrain between them and the border of the basin was relatively flat, but then the top drops to about 300m in the basin, and rises back to 4km to the twin peaks in the center. The first finish was the small-scale hill to the southwest of the lander, the furthest anyone had driven to date. â€Å"Niggling Red Hill†they'd been calling it.

Neb let Jeb plant this flag. He looked back to the distant Dunan-X for a few moments while Jeb ran around playing in the red sands. "Nosotros've been here what, now? Five Kerbin years? 6 since we left home, and this is the first time we'll exist out if sight of that ship."

"Heady! Isn't information technology?"

"Not especially. Non with you driving. Horrifying, mayhap."

"Bah! C'monday, let's get rolling. We need to attain the edge of the bowl by nightfall."

Jeb'southward driving was as reckless equally ever, and he would often catch air after cresting a dune. Bill was already wearing out the armrests on his chair, belongings on for dearest life, though occasionally he couldn't help merely smile.

They fabricated information technology to the rim of the impact basin in no time.

"We should proper noun this identify something cool!"

"Information technology'south already got a name, Jeb. Cherry-red Impact something."

"Something like Hellas Hole. Or peradventure Twin Peaks."

"Let's merely stick to the books. The ancient Kerbal astronomers named virtually of these places centuries ago." Beak rummaged around in his bags until he found the big Rand-McKerman atlas. He opened to the pages for Duna and pointed to their location. "See, Red Touch Basin."

"You're no fun at all sometimes!"

--

They camped at the rim's edge, preparing themselves for the slowest and nigh unsafe office of the trip. With the self-righting mechanism cleaved they couldn't run a risk flipping the rover. And with the loose sands they couldn't keep traction driving downhill. So they had to zig and zag down the edge of the bowl, descending iii.5km over the 20km distance.

That didn't finish Jeb from occasionally beingness Jeb.

They fabricated i more stop a scrap further down, where the slope leveled out a bit before getting much steeper. From here they could see the entire basin beneath them, and almost of the climb up the peaks at the middle. They planted flag and named it "Cherry-red Bowl View." A long, even slower descent was alee of them.

The air at the bowl bottom was thick enough to breathe, simply neither felt like taking off their helmets. The soil itself was still mostly sand, but felt thicker and heavier.

"At that place's a proficient chance there'southward some water ice trapped in this sand, Jeb. Pretty thick stuff." Bill was digging a hole with his boot, kicking the lighter sand aside to reveal a darker, thicker soil below. â€Å"Might even be able to plant something here. There's probably enough CO2 in the air.â€Â

"Ok. Get ahead and grab a sample. Nosotros'll have to drive through the basin again when we head dorsum to the ship, merely I look that'll exist farther east and above."

"We aren't camping here tonight?"

"Nope! I wanna make summit past sunrise. Driving uphill is easy!"

Nighttime was on them earlier Nib could plant the flag. Twilight wasn't as curt equally at higher elevations, only the thin atmosphere did nothing to refract light down to them. Jeb pushed on through the dark, the sands in front of them illuminated by the rover'southward headlights and their helmet lights. The driving along the basin bottom and upwardly into the hills wasn't bad at all.

At first.

"Look, Bill, I said I'one thousand pitiful! What more than do you want?"

"Simply go this thing upright again so I can get out of this seat! How did you manage to found it straight upwards and downwards like this anyhow?"

"Talent! Just concord on while I smack into it with my jetpack."

The rover crashed over after one striking, landing with a ho-hum crash. They recomposed themselves, repacked all the junk that was scattered about, and took a few minutes to rest. For some reason Jeb decided to name the place "Campsite 27." It was only their 2nd campsite. They ready out in plenty of time to make meridian by sunrise. They stopped at the highest peak outset, West Pinnacle at 4km, and fabricated it to the East Tiptop just in fourth dimension to catch a unique sunrise / eclipse combination.

(Both Beak and Jeb) "Wow."

Perfect spot for a long nap, so they fabricated campsite at summit. Pecker tried to accomplish Shepson on his accommodate radio to tease him, but 80km without line of sight was a chip much to ask. Especially with the ship'due south comms even so down and a limited ionosphere to bounciness radio signals dorsum down.

A few minutes after something crackled back on the radio. Bill was drifintg off to sleep, and wasn't sure if he'd actually heard information technology.

"Orbiter calling Dunan-10 Lander. We received your earlier transmission. Please reply."

"Matlock?!" Pecker kicked Jeb to wale him upwards. "Jeb! Get up! Information technology's Matlock!"

"Ghrunh??" Jeb rolled over and went back to sleep.

"Read you loud and clear, Billy boy. We've but now got the radios working, and hadn't heard a peep from anyone yet. How'd the two of you go yourselves all the mode down to that crater?"

"We drove! Had to gear up upwardly the rover, simply Shepson took intendance of that." Bill kicked Jeb again, this time eliciting an aroused response.

"I'g up already!"

"Where are yous? Nevertheless in the same orbit?" Bill motioned to get Jeb's attention, and then pointed up and mouthed out "Matlock." Jeb merely looked dorsum, sleepy, aroused and confused.

"More or less. We'll exist passing over the horizon hither in a scrap. We're hoping to become at to the lowest degree one of the satellites back online before long, which should let usa to stay in contact more consistently. Concensus is they're probably just safed. No word from Kerbin yet. We'll call you back in a (static)..."

Jeb, nevertheless sleepy, yawned and sabbatum up. "Which ghost was that?"

"Yous're hopeless, Jeb. Go back to sleep."

--

The Orbiter crew called back next orbit, and filled Nib and Jeb in on their status. So far they hadn't been able to become the engines online, and their computers were still down. Life support aboard the orbiter was run directly from an RTG, but nothing else. Including the lights. They had spent the concluding several years with only intermittent sunlight and their helmet lights to work from.

They besides mentioned some other signal they'd been picking upwards. A faint beeping noise, coming from somewhere a few kilometers south of Bill and Jeb on the peak. That'southward where Nib and Jeb found the rover.

"Information technology'southward not the first time I've seen something similar this." Jeb poked around under the petty robot's solar panels, looking for signs of life. Nothing. But plenty power to go on it faintly beeping. "They asked me not to talk about it."

"Well-nigh what? This rover?"

"No. Virtually what I establish on the Mun. The other flags. The other probes. The other landers. All left there past another me. Said if I talked, they'd label me as space crazed and lock me up."

"Wow." Pecker thought it was a stretch to imply Jeb wasn't crazy, but.... "OK, so what do we do virtually this i?"

"Nil. Plant a flag and go dorsum to the ship. We'll report it if we ever get the comms to Kerbin working once more."

"Ooh! Wait at the skycrane wreckage!" Jeb wasted no time, and ran straight for the pile of crushed and twisted metal. In no fourth dimension he was jumping up and down on the wreckage. "Sounds like there's notwithstanding a bit of fuel!"

"Didn't seem to brand it very far. Wonder why we'd send a rover to a spot halfway up the side of a mount?"

"Who knows. Probably some important rock nearby.†They both glanced over to the large stone they'd parked Lucky adjacent to, so shrugged their shoulders. â€Å"Let's become dorsum to the ship and help Shepson with repairs. I wanna go dwelling house!"

The trip dorsum was completely uneventful. They worked around the Eastward Peak, dropping down to the basin bottom before heading straight up to the rim elevation. Easy driving from there back to the Dunan-X. total distance covered? No idea. But the rover was a fleck more than than 90km form the ship. Probably collection a full of 250km only to get at that place, with all the zig-zagging.

--

(Dorsum at the rock with Dosby and Luton.)

Luton: â€Å"How they've changed.â€Â

Dosby, still on the basis wrestling with the kick on his other foot. â€Å"Who?â€Â

Luton: â€Å"Those ii.â€Â

Dosby: â€Å"I suppose, but I don't know them.â€Â

Luton: â€Å"Yes you do know them. Nosotros know them. Y'all forget everything.†(Pauses. To himself.) â€Å"Unless they're not the same....â€Â

Dosby: â€Å"Why didn't they recognize us and so?†Continues wrestling with his other kicking. â€Å"Ow! Ow!†He hobbles off towards the rock, but collapses and falls over, still trying to remove his boot.

Shepson (offstage): â€Å"Dosby?â€Â

Dosby halts. Both wait to the vocalization.

Luton: â€Å"Approach, my child.â€Â

(Enter Shepson, boldly. He stops earlier the two.)

Shepson: â€Å"I'chiliad not your child, you loon.â€Â

Luton: â€Å"What is information technology? You have a bulletin from Mr Bob?â€Â

Shepson: â€Å"No, why would I? Await, Jeb called on the radio a little while agone and said he and Bill would brand it back sometime in the morn. Also, Matlock and Melke got their radios working in orbit, and seem to exist ok. They all wanted me to bank check in on you lot.â€Â

Luton: â€Å"Oasis't I seen you earlier?â€Â

Shepson: â€Å"Of class. We flew here together.â€Â

Luton: â€Å"Information technology wasn't y'all that came yesterday?â€Â

Shepson: (To himself.) â€Å"Hopeless.â€Â

Dosby: â€Å"Speak up, boy!â€Â

Shepson: â€Å"Look, Jeb was correct about yous two. You lot're both completely nutters. Bob hasn't chosen, hasn't sent any notes, and every bit far equally I know isn't coming. If you two won't come back to the send, at least put your boots dorsum on. I'm going back at present.†(Exit Shepson.)

Dosby: â€Å"At terminal!†Dosby finally removes his other boot. He gets up and goes toward Luton, a kick in each hand. He puts them down at the edge of the stone, and contemplates the stars in the sky.

Luton: â€Å"What are you doing?â€Â

Dosby: â€Å"Thinking on the lack of a moon. I thought it would have risen by at present.â€Â

Luton: â€Å"Your boots, what are yous doing with your boots?â€Â

Dosby, turning to wait at his boots. â€Å"I'm leaving them there. Another will come, simply as me, but with smaller feet, and they'll make him happy.â€Â

Luton: â€Å"Merely y'all tin't go barefoot!â€Â

Dosby: â€Å"Bob did. All my life I've compared myself to him.â€Â

Luton: â€Å"But where he lived information technology was warm, it had air!â€Â

Dosby: â€Å"Yes, and they crucified him quick.â€Â

Luton: â€Å"Huh?†(Pauses.) â€Å"We have nothing more to do here.â€Â

Dosby: â€Å"Nor anywhere else.â€Â

Luton: â€Å"Allow'south go.â€Â

They practice not move.

Night falls, casting the pair and the rock and Dosby's boots in total darkness.

Edited Oct vii, 2014 past Cydonian Monk

warddefe2001.blogspot.com

Source: https://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F47923-null-cycles-epilogue-updated-2014-04-13-image-heavy%2F

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