Chapter 17 - The End, Soon to be Neigh

The space was as vast as it was back home, Sonrey gazed at the emptiness that spanned beyond the horizon of Earth. He wondered how they would be received, when they got home. That little green devil of jealousy was satisfied at the thought of finally besting the undying Jebediah Kerman. He also thought back to how todd was doing, but the vacuum of space made it impossible to hear anything inside the station.

"C'mon Son-man, don't space out on us so soon!" Milbo said, and chuckled at the pun. Sonrey looked up and saw the other three heading toward the ramshackle craft that held the last precious fuel. It was certainly ingenious. They built a half-dome out of the old cockpit, and strapped an aerodynamic tail to the interior of the dome to provide some drag for the decent. It was a long shot, but it was the only way home. It was a strange feeling, homesickness. He never felt it before now. But he wiped his mind of the thoughts, grabbed his EVA pack contols, and began to rocket over.

"You think this'll work, Fletcher?" Ozbon asked, strapping himself into the seat.

"Duct tape hasn't failed me yet. We used to build entire ships out of it at one point. Granted, all those ships failed horribly, but still. I'd trust it."

"Great." Milbo said "If we die horribly, I want my grave to say you did it."

"Noted."

The inside had a railing that traveled the perimeter of the dome, to hold onto, in case the seats failed, and they got pulled out. Again, this ship was a long shot.

They all strapped into the seats, and let loose the anchor to the station. It pulled back to the hull and knocked against the airlock.

"Before I forget," Fletcher piped up, "Our batteries were drained. So we won't have any stability control over the ship." It didn't take a psychic to feel the disbelief from the others.

"And you tell this us now, why?" Sonrey asked.

No response.

"Well?" Ozbon asked.

"Darn good question." Fletcher said. The silence hung around for a bit. "We should get going." Everyone agreed, and Milbo got ready to punch the throttle.

"Hold on everyone!" The Kerbonauts grabbed the handlebars on the inside, and Sonrey held his breath.

In an instant, the ship began to vibrate with such ferocity, Sonrey's hands went numb from the movement. The ship spiraled, corkscrewed, and looped throughout the space nearby the station, nobody was sure where the craft was heading, but Milbo let loose a cheer of pure adrenaline, and they were, for the time being at least, alive. A few short seconds of thrust later, and the shaking stopped. No kracken. Nothing to indicate a sign that the plan worked.

"Give it a few seconds." Ozbon said. "I'm not planning on dying on this alien world."

A minute passed. Nothing.

"Do you think we used it all?" Milbo asked.

"Certainly hope so. I can't imagine why it wouldn't have worked." Fletcher kicked the tank, and it shook the craft violently.

"Perhaps there's a clog in the system?" Ozbon chimed in.

Sonrey looked up at the tank, then at Fletcher, who appeared upside down while he was on his back.

"Maybe we missed something? Something else that would have attracted the Kraken?" Milbo kept pushing and pulling the throttle lever, but to no use. It was done for. Sonrey leaned his head against the chair and kicked the hull out of frustration. He saw himself in the reflection.

He also saw a figure in the back, certainly no Kerbal.

"Guys?" Sonrey said, voice cracking.

"Yeah, what is-" Ozbon stopped.

There it loomed. Tentacles primed. The mouth that led to the void. The Kraken had gotten whiff of the fuel.

"It worked!" Sonrey yelled, but his ecstatic feelings were replaced with the chill of fear when they were slowly sucked into the gaping mouth of the Beast.

"Guys, I want to tell you something." Milbo uttered, a lump in his throat. "If we don't live. It was a great ride."

"Likewise." they all replied, and let the beast slowly inhale the ship they sat upon. Sonrey closed his eyes, and prayed that it wouldn't be the last time.

He held them closed for at least a minute, when a hushed, unintelligible but certainly feminine voice pierced the helmet he wore, and he sat up with a jolt, opening his eyes. It was a very bright white.

Gravity.

"How is there gravity in space?" He thought to himself.

"Guys?" he yelled at his comrades. "Are you seeing this?"

"They cannot hear you." the female's voice said again. His seat was unbuckled, and he was lifted off the chair. "Greetings. Sonrey." His body was rotated to face the voice. It was a very charming Kerbal, indeed. Adorned in a white and gold robe, she lowered Sonrey to the ground with an invisible force. "We've met before, my name is Eletha. I am the speaker for my kind." Sonrey took a second to think and then it hit him.

"You're the woman from my dream!" he said with startling confidence.

"Yes, I am the one who spoke to you then." she held open her palm, motioning to the infinite white space. "This is where our kind live. Between worlds."

"You say your 'kind' do you mean the Kraken?"

"Yes, You might refer to us as that. Although we have no self designated identity, we are the Krakens in which you speak." Sonrey looked back at the ship, that reminded him,

"What about my friends? Are they alright?" the world appeared to shift twenty meters over to look at the pod, and Eletha Reached her hand through Milbo's face plate, who was giving his signature beaming smile, eyes shut tight.

"They are in perfect health, I assure you. However the perception of time as you know it, would make the trip instantaneous for anyone other than you." Eletha took her hand back.

"So, what you say is, time's stopped?" Sonrey looked around the pure white atmosphere of the world.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. However, I wish not to waste your time." She took Sonrey's hand, and led him away a few more meters. "Last time we tried to talk, you were struck over the head, and I could not communicate with you slipping in and out of consciousness."

"Why am I so special?" Sonrey inquired. "Why not Ozbon? Or Milbo? Or even Jebediah Kerman?"

"Because you were chosen to be the spokesperson for your kind. A messenger for our people." Eletha put her hand on his shoulder, and he felt an ethereal presence.

"That… Still doesn't answer my question." She laughed at the comment and said,

"It is because you are the only one who might be able to live with the trials that face you. Your friend Milbo, lives dangerously, always a demon for that extra thrill, never thinks, always reacts, As though he were always running from something. Ozbon, lives with a regret that he may have lost anything that ever mattered to him, because he never thought for himself. He was the best warrior on your planet, and the best only follow orders." Sonrey's heart shook, but a veil was lifted from his eyes, and as he peered into the static face of his friends, he could almost see the pain they held inside. "And fletcher," She motioned over. "Is not all He seems to be. Do not forget that."

"So, what you say is that I'm a pure specimen." Sonrey said.

"Certainly not. Our mistakes make us who we are, no matter the creature." Eletha Walked around the pod that sonrey was looking into, and said. "All I say, is that it is you who kept one thing that these lost over their life. The fire that burns hotter than any engine. Your curiosity, and your youth… it also helps that you're one of the few on your planet that we can talk to."

Sonrey looked up, and exhaled.

"I-I'm flattered. I think." Eletha smiled and nodded.

"I know you are." She chuckled.

"But I assume you didn't pull me out of my dimension just to tell me that I'm special?" Sonrey countered.

"Correct. I want you to know that our Kind are not the sort to attack innocents at our pleasure. But that chemical formula you've created…" she motioned to the tank.

"You mean our fuel?" Sonrey asked

"Yes, the synthetic fuel your kind had created has an unnatural tendency to make us… Very hungry." She said, almost sounding ashamed. "You see, our kind receives nutrition when physical matter passes very close to our dimension. We only eat space rocks, and we never would eat a living thing unless…" She began

"...unless it was something really appetizing." Sonrey finished.

"Exactly. It's not too far off from a dog eating anti-freeze." She said.

"A what?" Sonrey asked.

"Right. Wrong species. Disregard that." She shook her head and continued, "But that is the least of your worries at the moment. I can hold the hunger back for a day in your time, but you must work quickly. A war is brewing on your planet."

"Pardon? Did you- A war?" Sonrey sputtered in disbelief. "Between who?"

"Your planet, and my people, but you must understand It is not our wish to do anything to harm you."

"What have we done? Why can't you tell your people to move off?" Sonrey's heart began to pump, so Eletha sighed and began to tell the story.

The fuel Kerbin created began an increase of Kraken sightings, with the first one being the Contender, and after sonrey's crew, they began to shoot them out of space. The fuel was becoming more and more potent as Kerbin made different compounds of it. They were harvested in their matter form, and this enraged the millions of kraken throughout the universe, as the last time a kraken was murdered was a millennia ago. Eletha told them it was only fair that Kerbin have justice for the Contender's crew. The agreed, and forgave the incident. But since Sonrey came through, Over twenty kracken have been killed and harvested for whatever they wanted off of them. Sonrey couldn't believe his ears, and wished it all to be one cruel joke. His own people? How?

"Do you understand why we need you now? I cannot live with the responsibility of your entire planet's death, and who knows how many other-"

The vast white expanse suddenly shifted to a flashing dark red, like an alarm. "Oh no. There isn't much time. You must go, NOW!" Eletha lifted sonrey, put him back into the chair he arrived in, and strapped the seat belt in.

"I thought you said time stops in here? What's the big rush?" Sonrey asked.

"For your perception, yes. But remember that ours is wildly different, always changing. Unable to explain it to you in the short time we have, but three days have passed in your time." She held out her hand, and an orb floated into it. A thought hit Sonrey.

"What about the humans? I believe our arrival messed up their entire planet, and I'd rather not be the one responsible for that." He looked up at Eletha as he tightened up the straps.

"Don't worry. I'll wipe the memory of this from everyone, and replace it with some other crisis, like politics, or a celebrity breakup."

"Sounds good. Hey, when this is all done, call me up in a dream or something, yeah?" Sonrey said with a half-smile, and Eletha smiled back.

"I Will. I also wish you luck, Sonrey Kerman."

In an instant, The flashing red world disappeared, and was replaced by space. Gone, all in an instant, and Sonrey felt queasy with the sudden change in gravity.

"Are we alive?" A voice asked. Milbo! Sonrey let out a breath of air, and said,

"It's great to hear your voice, Milbo."

"Likewise, What about you two?" He asked

"Yep!" Fletcher chimed.

"Right here." Ozbon said.

"In that case, let's get home and get those medals. Sound like a plan?" Milbo Joked and they all let out a laugh of relief. But a few seconds of searching later, and they realized they had no idea where home was.

"Perhaps, it's behind us?" Sonrey suggested.

Before anyone could answer, Two objects, darker than night seemed to fly past them.

"Oh no." Sonrey thought. His fears were being confirmed.

They wiggled in the craft, and used their EVA packs to rotate the roofless pod. But what they saw was wrenching. Only a hundred thousand kilometers off the ground, the peninsula of the KSP was in clear view. But it glowed orange with a fire that spread across a good amount of the land surrounding it. Large hulking shadows drifted toward it, and smoke blotted out part of the disaster. They all looked on in shock and awe, watching brilliant flashes of light shoot across the ground.

"She was right." Sonrey mumbled. "Kerbin is… Under siege…" There was a long pause before he continued. "We have to get down there. Milbo?"

Milbo looked over at Sonrey and nodded. "Seeing as how we're stationary, It'll just be a matter of aiming." He began to use his EVA pack to rotate the ship parallel to the planet. With no reaction wheels, the ship wobbled under the zero-g environment and keeping it aimed was tricky, but in a minute or two, milbo got the ship's dome facing prograde. "Okay, on my mark, I want all of you to very slowly thrust down. Got it?" They all confirmed, and he began his stopwatch. "Mark." With that, they began the slow descent.

-One day earlier-

Jaxson was enjoying a windowside meal from the lovely view of his cell. In the distance, he saw the launch of Bill, Bob, and Jeb. He knew it was too late. when a guard came by, and pushed Wernher into it with him.

"Good to see you in one piece." Jaxson muttered, mouth full of food.

"Likewise." He took off his glasses and wiped them down with his shirt. "I can't believe Oliver would double cross us like that."

"I know. But right now all we can do is lay low. They'll have to see the corruption for themselves, they have to." Jaxson licked the spoon and tossed the plate on the ground. "But we must remain patient. What happened to the others?" Jaxson hopped off the top bunk to stand face-to-face with wernher.

"Other complexes, as far as I can tell." Wernher put the glasses back on. "But we mustn't lose hope, there still might be a chance to have a hearing with-"

"They don't care." Jaxson interrupted. "We tried to help, but we failed, and now whatever happens, is their own fault." He walked over to the bars, and leaned up against them, looking into the hallway of cells.

"This isn't like you, Jaxson. I know you. You always say that no matter how bad a mess is, it can be fixed." Wernher's upper lip quivered as he spoke. "I know Sonrey was like a son to you, but-"

"THIS ISN'T ABOUT SONREY!" He yelled, and an inmate yelled to keep quiet. Jaxson walked up, took Wernher by the lapels and growled "My daughter was on that ship."

Wernher took a step back, and let it sink in.

"A daughter? I had no idea you had- I'm so sorry, I-I had no idea."

"Don't worry about Aziza. She's in a better place now." Jaxson waved it off.

"How come you never told anyone?" Wernher asked, and Jaxson sighed, looking somberly at the floor tiles.

"Women have never been allowed at the KSP, says it's only a male's job. Well we were out to prove that any girl could go out and perform with the best of them. I heard they were planning to send a trip to the Mun, and well, we couldn't say no. She was going to tell the world in a broadcast scheduled that evening her real identity, and we figured it would change their mind. But now," he laughed. "Now she's gone." His laughter slowly trailed off into sorrow and Wernher slowly stepped over to console him.

"We might still have a chance to avenge her." Wernher said. "You can't lose hope."

"I've already lost my daughter, my job, and my best student. What else do I have to lose?" Tears swelled up in his eyes, and he struck the bars with his arm out of despair.

"Jaxson." Wernher stepped forward, putting his hand on his shoulder, but batted it away and walked back to the bunk.

"I wish- I just wish I had seen it coming." Jaxson sat down on the cell bunk, wiping tears off his face. "We did everything right, and still failed. What kind of world is that?"

"Life."

A few hours passed in silence before they felt the first tremor. Soon thereafter a group of men came to their cell. They dressed like they were a, suspicious, cloak and dagger sort, and they greeted the pair quickly.

"We're with the KIA." they said.

"You're… Killed in action?" Wernher asked, confused. The second Kerbal shook his head and said,

"Ah, no. The Kerbin Intelligence Agency. We get that a lot." He handed Wernher a business card that read:

"If we told you what was on this business card, we'd have to kill you."

"I see you guys mean business." He replied. "Care to tell us what you're doing here?"

"We hear you had dirt on the KSC. We want to know what you know." The first one growled.

"Alright, but what is this all-" Wernher was interrupted by another tremor, more powerful than the last.

"THAT, is what this is all about." They said. "The KSC has refused to give us access to the space tracking center, and our limited radar showed something out there. Something big, like a-"

"Kraken?" Jaxson piped up.

"How did-" they began, but Jaxson just pointed out the window and said,

"They're here."

Outside the cell, the monsters rained from the sky and crushed statues, schools and orphanages, they sucked entire blocks up into their gaping mouths that tore apart the very ground. Fires began to break out and one could hear screams from the towns.

Before anyone could say a thing, the roof that stood four floors up cracked and crumbled as the ground shook. The KIA agents were too slow, and truly became KIA. Prisoners were let loose as the bars rattled off their welds and collapsed.

"WE HAVE TO MOVE!" Wernher shouted, moving rubble out of the way to get out of the cell.

"Right behind you!" Jaxson flung off the bed and they got to work moving the rubble, in a minute they cleared enough to squeeze through and emerged to a mad house. Guards and prisoners fought for control of the prison, but through the knocked-out wall, Jaxson could see the smoke from the KSC peninsula rise in the sky. There was a concrete column that rested against the wall. "C'mon Wernher, Up the column!" He yelled.

They climbed up to the roof where the chaos was even more apparent. A guard tower had been downed and made a hole where prisoners were pouring out of. The only problem was that it was four stories down with no real method of getting down.

"How are we going to get down?" Wernher asked, popping his back back into place. Jaxson looked about and noticed a downed telephone wire that led to the guard tower still standing.

"That." He said, and looted a pair of carabiners off of a dead guard. "Sorry friend, we need to use these now."

"Are you sure this will be safe?" Wernher yelled over the commotion of the jailbreak.

"We don't have that luxury right now!" He yelled and clipped the carabiner to the wire and began to slide, with Wernher close behind.

He reached the tower and dropped off into the nest of it. Wernher however, let go too late and fell into the roof, but he held on.

"That was close." Jaxson muttered, but before he could take a breath, the tower began to crack and splinter. "Oh no." The tower slowly descended, and accelerated but the pair of them tried to stay on top of the free fall. It sped up and they crashed down hard, rolling to a stop on top of a large semi-truck. Wernher let out a bloodcurdling scream and yelled

"MY LEG! I CAN'T FEEL MY LEG!" Jaxson walked over and took the plank of wood he was holding from his arms. He stood up from the rubble, embarrassed, and muttered;

"I see. Thank you for that. What now?"

"Well we have to get to the KSC, The KIA needs that satellite information, and they could use that info to protect the capital." Jaxson walked over to the cabin and stepped down to the window, smashing it in. "But you need to go to the KIA to secure a connection when I send it to you, okay?" A Kraken bellowed in the distance, smashing houses as its arms destroyed various civic buildings.

"You're going to the KSC alone? I know you're distraught, but now you've gone just plain suicidal!" Wernher climbed down, and grabbed Jaxson by his orange jumpsuit. "Don't be so rash!" Jaxson batted the hands off him, and hopped into the cab, brushing glass off the seat.

"I'm taking a calculated risk!" He yelled as he began to hotwire the semi. "The simple fact is that we have a problem, and I know the solution; now you can be a part of it, or not!" The semi roared to life and he poked his head out the broken window. "You know how I've made a mess of things all my life, so please, just let me clean this up for once." His eyes begged Wernher, and he gave in.

"Alright," He sighed "But how do I get to the KIA? I don't even know where it is!"

"They have a truck right there." He pointed, and sure enough, a big black SUV sat there, windows broken. "Find a radio, tell them who you are, and they'll come get you."

"You'd better be right." Wernher started off, then turned, asking, "Wait. Where did you learn to hotwire a truck?" Jaxson began to answer, but stopped, and said,

"Y'know, that's a good question. I'm not actually sure how I did that." they both shrugged, and Jaxson pulled out of the parking lot, smashing through a shrubbery.

A few minutes later on the road, it was already night, and Jaxson saw the full magnitude of the Kraken invasion. The roads were no longer reliable, as they ate holes out of the pavement, letting them fill with sewage and water. The sky was black, and it blotted out the evening sun, from the smoke that filled the sky, but you could still see more Kraken fall from the sky, like an aerial maelstrom of chaos. The Semi truck was useful for plowing through piles of scrap and junk that littered the road, but it was taking a beating as it drove, and the cargo in back shifted from side to side. But Jaxson was nearly there, he turned the corner which connected to the one winding road that led to the KSC, and the big Vehicle Assembly Building was in sight. But fate had other plans. A Kraken, bigger than the Mun and darker than night itself, crashed down upon his path. It had giant eyes that most likely sought him as food, but he could not be sure.

"I have to get by him!" He thought. But there was no where to go. A detour would be too long, and he didn't have much time. But there was a space, just big enough for a truck of his size to fit into… Right under his legs.

"DO YOU WANT ME, YOU TOTTERING, MILK-LIVERED, SCUT?" He yelled out of the cabin, and revved up his engine. "Well come and get me." He muttered, too quiet for the Kraken, but it took the insult to heart, and slowly began lumbering toward Jaxson. He put the truck into gear, and barreled down the road, swerving to miss the potholes in the road. He turned sharp to the left, missing a wrecked car, then again to the right, to miss a bunny. A big tentacle came down, nearly hitting the cab, but ripping off the back of the cargo container. Inside a large amount of something that looked like liquid silver spilled out, along with a large jug of water, that all fell out into the road behind him.

"Oh no." He thought. It looked like a crate of Sodium-potassium alloys, which when mixed with water were highly explosive. Like, REALLY, explosive. Jaxson put the truck into final gear, as the cargo container came loose and fell off the back, tumbling to a stop. The ceiling began to cave down, and he only had a few more seconds until he got out from underneath the Kraken. Putting his foot all the way on the gas, the Truck whined as it strained under the acceleration of the gas pedal, but There was only a couple hundred more meters. "C'mon, C'mon!" He yelled at the truck, and it reluctantly began to redline as the RPM hit maximum. The Kraken neared closer to the cab, and his smokestack was ripped off as he just barely escaped the slow death by squashing.

"YEAH-HA!" He yelled back at the kraken, and the truck sighed a breath of relief as he took the foot off the pedal. Looking behind, he heard a series of 'Thuds'; All those reactive metals, mixed with water, were taking effect. Sure enough, below the space of the beast, an admittedly beautiful set of red sparks lit underneath. It was followed by one very last, and very big 'Bang', sending the kraken up in flames and sparkles. But the joy was short-lived, as the field just outside the KSC had now caught fire.

"I'm sure it's okay." He muttered to himself, And drove through the barricade into the KSC's parking lot.

It took fifteen minutes to reach the doors of the Radar Complex. There were guards all around the facility, and it looked like they were a private military company of some sort, but where they got one, is anybody's guess. Whatever their origin, he had spent many minutes ducking and hiding to keep out of sight, and he now found himself under a box outside the entrance. He began formulate a brilliant plan to sneak in unnoticed, but under the box, he heard the banter of the armed guards in front of the door.

"Why aren't we out fighting these Aliens?" One said.

"Yeah, we should be out there, not guarding this door." The second one grumbled.

"Hey, where do you want this box of spare uniforms and ID cards?"

A third Kerbal, most likely a construction worker, held up a box as big as him.

"Uhh, over there on top of that other box." The second one said.

"Brilliant." Jaxson thought. He couldn't move, otherwise he'd be noticed, and he couldn't sneak out the back of the box either. He listened to the thud of the box being placed on him, and sniffed the air. Smoke. Apparently the guards smelt it too, because the ran off into the building. It also became quite hot. But at least the guards were gone, so he pushed off the box and gasped in surprise. The field of well-manicured, evenly cut, green grass was now, to say the least, apocalyptic. Everything was covered in flames, the grass, now a field of an orange-red blaze. There were droves of Kraken now, falling upon the cities, and three were only a kilometer or two away. A wrecked spaceship, (Which he could only assume was the craft of Bill, Bob and Jebediah,) Laid amongst the flames, and appeared to be slowly melting, but he had to stay focused. He shook his head, grabbed a set of fatigues and headed inside the building.

When he entered, he was intrigued to see nobody around. There wasn't any time to dawdle however, the KIA needed the telemetry from the radar.

A few corridors later, and he burst through the locked door of the tracking station. There wasn't a computer in sight. There was however a little note stuck to the administrator's desk that read:

Dear entire KSP staff: Unless told otherwise, you are now fired. Also, we've commandeered all the computers for use in the VAB for no particular reason. No need for alarm.

Sincerely,

Charles F. Kerman

"Charles!" he yelled, as it all made sense to him now. That middle man, the one behind the shadows, the blackmailer, the commanding, bellowing voice. He knew that voice from somewhere, but never was able to pick it out, until now. It was the head honcho, the big cheese, Mr. Charles F. Kerman himself. But how did Gene fit into all of this? The other two voices were both too angry or too wimpy to be his. Perhaps they went after the wrong man? No. Impossible. Or was it? It was only when the roof began to crack and crumble that he remembered doomsday was imminent. Turning, he broke into a sprint down the hallway as the walls began to fall apart, sparks flew, then ultimately, caved in.