User:Cesrate/The New Future/Land
Space is always a place to think.
Now there're eight small Kerbals orbiting a massive celestial body named Vall, entrusting their lives to each other. Facing the vast unknown universe, Kerbals always feel ourselves tiny and helpless.
"Approaching taget." Stephen breaks the silence.
"Pegasus, this is Albatross. We'll sink into horizon after you land, but contact is still available. Good luck."
"OK." I reply.
The cinerous lands and mountains move back quickly. Landing autopilot has started to control RCS, and we're finally in the range of visual contact. This time finally comes.
"10 kilometers, camera ready."
The telephoto camera with gyroscope points to the target and starts to shoot. We didn't expect this camera could get any recognizable image in such a condition before, but now, we are all frozen.
On the screen, a image of target is amplified. Image is dark and blurry, but it can be recognized that there's a group of stones laying on the plain, arranged regularly.
Engines have started, the shake makes another shooting no longer possible, at least for now.
"Damn it... We got the treasure." Said by Conard, lying in the seat.
I suddenly get my mind back, finding we have landed on Vall - and about one kilometer from that group of stones. What I also know is, the level of this mission has been set to top. "Take it easy, this should like the relics on Duna, just regular stones." But I know the only truth is no one knows.
"Hey, Ariel, the honor of first Kerbal stepping on Vall should be you." Conard has a mind to relieve us.
"Seconded." Followed by Stephen.
"...Well, I'll do this." I know in each aspect it should be me to shoulder the duty first. "All right, everyone close the helmet, pick up the instruments and weapons, we're ready to exit!"
"That's our commander." Conard comments, half seriously.
"Life support off."
"Decompressing."
At the moment I pull open the hatch door, the rest of air in capsule runs out apace. After climbing down, my feets touch the surface.
I've indeed became the first Kerbal stepping on Vall, but I'm not in the mood to say something like "it's one gaint leap for Kerbal kind" at all.
We loosen the linkage of EV-2 and put scientific instruments into it. Then, sitting in that vehicle, we drive straight to the target, the "Stonehenge" I call.
"Oh my Kod..."
The cinerous stones of Stonehenge is more than twenty meters high, made of Vall's hard rocks. There're eight cuboids laying around three cuboids and a rectangular pyramid in center, and on the back of the central pyramid is four similar rectangular pyramids extended to outer, smaller and smaller one after one.[1] What's more, the sensor reports strange radio waves is coming out from inside.
"Albatross, can you hear me?"
...
"Laythe, can you hear me?"
...
"Damn, signal blocked!" I find we are really on our own now.
"So... What to do next, Ariel?" Asked by Stephen.
