Chapter 1: Liftoff

“Booster?”

“Go flight.”

“Retro?”

“Go flight!”

“FIDO?”

“Go flight.”

“Guidance?”

“Go flight.”

“Surgeon?”

“That's a go.”

“EECOM?”

“Go flight.”

“GNC?”

“Go!”

“TELMU?”

“Go flight.”

“Control?”

“Go flight.”

“Procedures?”

“Go.”

“INCO?”

“...Go flight.”

“FAO?”

“Ready flight.”

“Network?”

“Go!”

“Recovery?”

“Go flight.”

“Capcom?”

...

“Capcom?”

“We’re go!”

“Control, this is Tracking, we are go for launch.”

“Roger Tracking. Siderea, you are go for launch.”

“Three, Two, One, Liftoff!”

The rumble of the engines momentarily drowned out whatever Control was saying as the Mainsails reached their full thrust and the launch clamps holding the large rocket down gave way, sending the cylinder shooting up into the night sky.

“Come again Control?”

“Siderea, you're looking fine. Everything is nominal. You are go for orbital insertion, although you know the drill by now Jeb.”

“Yea, I did. Until you and your pack of crazies down at the R&D department went and made some crazy computer to puts me out of business Gene!”

>I HEARD THAT MechJeb beeped at him.

“Siderea, booster sep in 20 seconds.”

“Roger Flight.”

The sudden deceleration and reacceleration that came with the separation of the SRBs would surely have rattled any first-time flier, but Jebediah Kerman was anything but. Survivor of countless space disasters, commander of over 30 missions, the first Kerbal to orbit Kerbin and set foot on both Duna and the Mun, and an all-round badass, it was an insult to say that Jeb was a professional, and it was said that nothing short of rapid catastrophic unplanned disassembly or a sudden visit by the Kraken could wipe the grin off his face. The same grin he wore through every landing, takeoff, and EVA he had ever taken part in.

This was life, he told himself. Life was shooting through the atmosphere at speed in excess of Mach 4, piercing the heavens to travel beyond the sky. This was what he lived for, the thrill of it all. The other members of his flight, however, not so much.

“You boys okay back there?” He called out to the two boys who were gripping onto the straps for dear life. He grinned. “What? They not send you on a few runs in the centrifuge? Yo Gene, what's with these greenies on my ship? This isn’t a training mission!”

>IF YOU HAD ACTUALLY BEEN PAYING ATTENTION DURING THE BRIEFING, JEB, YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT, BECAUSE THIS IS AN INTERNATIONAL MISSION, THESE TWO COMPLETE THE REQUIREMENT OF MORE THAN FOUR NATIONALITIES, MechJeb beeped at him in an annoyed tone.

“So, we’re going to be spending a lot of time together, I at least need to get to know your names. So, name, occupation, where you're from, quickly!”

“First stage sep, 20 seconds.”

The distinctive thunk of the first stage falling away echoed throughout the spacecraft as the first of their group began talking.

“I am Prince Radford of the Great Kerthenian Empire, ambassador to the Kerbal Union! I was born and raised in our great city of-”

“Oh god. I’ve got a stuck-up prince on my ship.” Jeb mumbled to himself as the sky outside turned from blue to black, signaling the transition from atmosphere to empty space. “Ok, ok, I get it.” He said, interrupting the Prince’s monolog. “So what about you?” He asked, turning to the last occupant of the capsule.

“My name is Danny, I'm an engineer.  I grew up in-” A shudder shook the craft, silencing the crew.

Jeb glanced back at the panel in front of him. “Control, we’ve just received some shudder. Anything you can tell us?”

“Seems to just be a piece of the first stage that was stuck on burning off. Nothing to worry about.”

Jeb sighed and shook his head, before sitting through the rest of the ride in silence, as the blue sky of Kerbin slowly receded behind them.