Chapter 10
Encounter
As a result of the close call with the small moonlet, Athena decided that discretion was the better part of valor. As a result, she altered her orbit at apoapsis, speeding up just enough to place her periapsis at 100km above the moonlet's orbit. After that she waited for her ship to arrive at periapsis, then decelerated again to circularize her orbit. This would place her orbit well above the small moonlet, and give her more time to study the massive planet.
As well as let her wait for someone to come up and say hello.
She didn't have long to wait.
KSPTT
The kerbals below wasted little time in building their ship to make contact. It consisted of two ships; a space station core was to be left behind in low orbit, about 50km in height. The main ship was to rendezvous with the 'intruder' and attempt contact, then return to the station and dock with the included docking port.
They also watched the maneuvers of the craft to plan their overall mission.
KSPTT
After circularizing her orbit, Athena wanted a better look at the moonlet that she passed close to. She missed it on its first pass, because the encounter was on the night side of the planet, and was in the planet's shadow. On her second pass, however, she made the encounter just after sunrise, and she got some good data on it. She also realized that, if necessary, she could make a low-level recon of the object, and maybe even do a landing.
But that was for later.
KSPTT
A rocket blasted off from the Mesbin Space Center. On board were three kerbonauts; this was the main probe for contact. After circularizing at 50km, the main probe fired its engines for a rendezvous with the craft. Due to launch considerations, the rendezvous would happen on the darkened side of Mesbin, then any actual two-way contact would wait until both craft were in the light. The second launch, scheduled for the next "morning" in its rotation, would take up the space station core with its two-kerbal crew. More launches would establish the station's overall functionality by adding on more modules as needed.
Due to delta-V requirements, the main probe was using a nuclear engine. The station ferried itself into orbit using standard chemical engine technology.
You see, Mesbin had started a space exploration program many years ago. Due to budget restructuring, the program had suffered a halt. Many on Mesbin questioned whether or not kerbals might be on Kerbmun by now if not for the halt, but many of the planet's leaders defended the action, citing financial issues.
That was eight years ago.
The probe pulled alongside the 'intruder' and got their first look.
KSPTT
Athena watched as the huge craft pulled alongside her ship. Recognizing the distinctive form of the nuclear engines, she was amazed as to how they could be used.
Definitely, thought Athena. Someone lives down on that bloated world. I wonder why they didn't just settle on the green moon? Or maybe, they're too unlike kerbals to consider using such a world, she mused.
Their technology looked kerbal in origin, but maybe form followed function everywhere in the universe.
So she waited.
KSPTT
The three on board the nuclear ship looked on in amazement as well. Much smaller than their ship with its huge nuclear engines and fuel tanks, it looked just like Jokath had speculated; it was most likely a short-range probe, sent ahead of the mothership. They also recognized the same design elements as being kerbal, but that also didn't really mean much.
Their ship also carried a four-kerbal Hitchhiker Storage bay, though it looked like the three of them could fit on board the smaller ship. It would most likely be a tight fit, but they could do it.
After sending all their data on the craft back down to the surface, they waited for the all-clear to begin an EVA. One kerbal, the backup pilot, would fly over and attempt to establish contact. After some time, the all-clear for an EVA came in, and the indicated crew member went on his "space jaunt". He circled the craft, taking as many images to supplement that which had been collected so far. After returning his data back to the main ship, he returned to the newcomer and found the hatch.
He knocked three times for good measure.
KSPTT
Hearing the knocking, Athena suited up and moved into the upper command pod. Sealing herself in, she depressurized the cabin and opened up the hatch. Leaning out, she looked into the face of a kerbal.
KSPTT
After knocking, the pilot moved out of the way and waited for a response.
He didn't have to wait too long, and he was looking into the face of another kerbal.
KSPTT
After blinking a few times, Athena then moved slightly out of the command pod and hung on to the hatch handles, then motioned the other into her ship. After he moved into the command pod and moved over to give room, Athena reboarded her ship, closed the hatch, and repressurized the cabin. After everything was finished, she removed her helmet, as did the other after her.
Both looked at each other. Athena recognized the basic kerbal form, but this one had some subtle differences.
Athena extended her hand, and the other took it.
"Athena Kerman." said Athena.
"Marak Kerman." replied the other.
"Are both of our kerbal lines from old Kerbin?" she asked.
"Yes." replied the other. "We arrived in a sublight ship, called the Manifest Destiny, over sixteen hundred years ago. Due to piloting error, we crashed on the world below. With our engines destroyed, we had no choice but to first burrow underground, then build domes on the surface. This allowed astronomy to occur."
"My world knew of no record of the Manifest Destiny." said Athena. "I only found out about it after I visited the Tempest System. Your ship must have left after ours departed for the Suthe system."
"You may be right." replied Marak.
"And those domes on the surface, without advanced protection, you might suffer punctures from space rocks, some even massive enough to cause deaths."
"Yes." replied Marak. "The loss of the city of Podbaston years ago made us rethink our efforts for domes. We've made some improvements, but they are only a stopgap measure at this point."
"What do you hope to do?" asked Athena.
"Many of us wonder what it would be like to walk under an actual sky." replied Marak. "Some of us have even wondered what foodstuffs might be edible on those worlds. We had hoped to settle the green moon in this system, but we've been delayed due to complications."
"I see." said Athena. "Let us move to one of the observation pods and I'll tell you all about my home planet, know as Talia in the Suthe system."
And after they both had moved into the indicated compartment, she filled Marak in on the situation in her home system. Afterward, Marak thought for a few moments.
"This is distressing." he said. "This 'Religious Orthodoxy' sounds quite nasty. If they reach here, what do you think would happen?"
Athena shrugged. "It's hard to tell." she said. "They might just shun your people outright, or on the other hard, they might declare a 'holy war' to purge the heretics."
"Kraken!" exclaimed Marak. "And here we thought the extremes that had been suggested on the ground were bad. A religious dictatorship would be bad news for all of us."
"Well," added Athena, "Our people have done everything they could to prevent that from happening. Of course, if any of them are on our colony ships fleeing here as we speak, anything can happen."
"I'm curious as to your technology." said Marak. "What kind of engine do you use?"
"Actually, there are two engines for use." replied Athena. "The first is the sublight Bussard ramjet engine, which collects exotic particles from the surrounding space and fuses it into power for flight. For traveling between the stars, This ship is equipped with an Alcubierre drive, which can send it along at over twenty-five times the speed of light."
Marak blinked rapidly. "This ship can go faster than light itself?" Athena nodded. "You were in this system ten years ago, weren't you?" he asked.
"That was me." replied Athena. "I explored this system briefly, then shot back to Suthe to report in. After my report, I was sent back here to do a detailed examination of the entire system."
"Did you explore Gememma as well?"
"What's that?" Athena asked.
"That's what we call the B-star of this system. It's named after Gememma Kerman, an earlier astronomer, who after postulating that the B-star named Rodicer was a nearby star system, ended up being lynched by an angry mob of astrologers. After her theory was proven, the star, which was originally named Rodicer, was renamed after her in her honor. The astrologers were sent to prison after the deed."
Athena laughed. "Good for justice on both counts!" she chuckled. After a few moments, she added, "And yes, I did explore the B-star of this system."
"That's good." replied Marak. After thinking for a few moments, Marak added, "I'm just curious as to your dietary capabilities. The crash of the Manifest Destiny left us with less than a dozen plant species we could cultivate. We've had to compensate by expanding our food preparation choices. How extensive is your diet?"
Thinking for a few moments as well, Athena eventually asked, "I take it you don't have any fruit trees?" Marak shook his head after a few moments.
"Wait here." said Athena, who got up and went to another compartment for a few minutes. After returning, she said, "I've picked a half dozen samples of fruit from our fruit trees back on Talia. They're dried for long-term storage, so they're actually smaller than the fresh kind. We have cherries; peach slices; some apples and pears, and two others you can find out about on your own. Take them in this bag in your suit and share them with your shipmates, or save them for the trip back down to be analyzed in the labs, though I can assure you they taste just great."
"This is wonderful!" said Marak. "I wish I could have brought some plaphlogin wafers for you; that's about all we have for space flight. And by the way, your docking port appears to be compatible with ours; if you'd like, you could try docking with our station being built at 50 kilometers above the surface. That way, you could talk with our people on the ground directly."
"That's an idea." replied Athena. "Remember, my people are due to arrive in about a year. As to the B-star of this system, how much data do you have on it?"
"Very little." replied Marak. "Just what we can gather from surface observations in varying wavelengths."
"I have considerable data on those objects." replied Athena. "I'll try and codify that data so you can use it on the surface."
Marak nodded. "That's good. Well, I should return to my ship, or else my people might think I've been eaten by a carnivorous potato." Both smiled at that, and Athena escorted Marak off the Last Hope.
KSPTT
Ten days later, Athena looked out her viewport at the station. Although it didn't look like much at this point, just a set of cans linked end to end, they told her that it would take some time to "flesh out" the station to its full potential. Athena had already translated her data on the B-star system, also known as Gememma, and gave a copy to the station personnel to send down to the surface. Last she heard, the researchers studying the data were enrapt at what they were seeing.
Even some of the general staff were amazed at the images. The space agency director told her that they were some of the finest images he had ever seen, but only because what they had was over 10 years old. The imaging technology of the Talians was much better than what Mesbin was capable of, because of the hiatus in the space program, which redirected funds for other things.
But that was about to change.
The general consensus from the leadership which had originally held back funds for space exploration had shifted to a more open effort. Although it hadn't been publicized this way, the idea that another branch of Kerbalkind could do better than another was unnerving, especially since Mesbin was the one lagging behind.
So, the Talian refugees would settle on Kerbmun first, and later, Mesbinites would join them. But that was for the future.
The present consisted of gathering whatever information could be gathered, then using the data to better understand this system Kerbals were in. To this end, the Mesbin space agency told Athena of a bold new idea. They would send some research tools for the Last Hope to "piggyback" to other places in this system, using a reusable system via the Last Hope's main docking port; by docking the science gear to the main docking port, it would be possible to gather even more data from the system. Mesbin was investing in Kerbmun surface probes as part of this effort, using the Last Hope on this end.
Those probes would be sent later. Athena would have to wait until then. But the data gathered by her to date was proving useful in other areas.
The Talian refugee fleet was ten months away.
