Our Roots, our Destiny (Chapter 3.5)

Captain's log, stardate 49684.5

We have completed our flyby of Kerbin at 0.01 au. We can not risk a closer flyby or else risk a relativistic crash with a piece of space junk. The Preliminary reports are not good. Kerbin is covered in smoke, is radio silent, and the long-range magnetometry experiment shows that though there are a great many lumps of metal within its sphere of influence (including, yes, a near miss which was vaporized by our sand bumper). Over the next few years we will slow down up until which point we reach Forward's Star, if the gentlemen back home have done their job. Our plan has changed. Before, the possibility that Kerbin was listening but ignoring us implied that re-contact must be done carefully. Now I see that we will have to re-take the Kerbin system ourselves. It would take another few centuries before our homeworld could send a mission to Kerbin, but we can establish a base there before the next decade is out. Our current trajectory is set in stone. Even a small deviation from our intended trajectory and we would be forever lost in interstellar space. But there is nothing stopping us building a laser at Forward too.

Captain's log, stardate 50779.7

The laser station has been set up in low orbit around Forward. It lacks the range of the incredibly powerful instruments established in SLIPPIST-orbit, it is still more powerful than the initial lasers used all those centuries ago to jumpstart our interstellar exploration, and will be more than capable of sending an interstellar mission to Kerbin. This could be a one-way mission. Secondary star-travel was always a contingency. Our return was never inevitable, and adding another layer to that does not fill me with confidence. I must choose the commander of this expedition carefully. I know of no other officer who can lead an expedition like this than my second officer, Lieutenant Kerigh. Her tactical expertise may come in handy, we don't know enough about what happened to rule out hostile actors.

Commander Kerigh Echerman's Personal Log, stardate 50780.0.

I have just been promoted to Commander. I have been awaiting this recognition for years. However the circumstances are not ideal. Far be it from me to question Captain Hellior's judgement, but I do not understand why I was chosen. I have no archaelogical or diplomatic experience. The Captain suggested that I would have plenty of time to learn, but that it was my job to lead, not to do. He suggested I take along tactical advisors, however I shall instead be bringing scientists and engineers. I trust my tactics more than anyone else on this ship. I just hope the Captain can do without them. Records indicate the first contact between Kerbin Kerbals and the sapient mystery goo native to Forward-charlie was peaceful, but after this long, we can't take anything for granted.

Commander Kerigh Echerman's Personal Log, stardate 50782.3.

We now have a mission plan. While the Captain oversees the exploration of Roche & Eau, we will explore Gargantua's satellites and train for landings on Kerbin. One of Gargantua's satellites has been identified as Kerbin-like enough. A third team has set up on Roche's end-lobe to begin manufacturing the ESS Roots, which will be our starship-turned-space-station. Roots will use Federation's sail to get to Kerbin, then the Sail will be beamed via Kerbolar radiation back to Forward, where the Forward laser will decelerate it so Federation can use it again, assuming they haven't manufactured a new sail by that point. Our payload will not include any manufacturing equipment of our own, only a few dozen probes, plenty of armament, and a Space Shuttle. To restructure the mission to use a bulky manufacturing plant would mean the Shuttle can't carry the space station on its own, which would mean much more fuel tank mass, which would mean very quickly extending the mission from 25 years each way to 100 years.

Commander Kerigh Echerman's Personal Log, stardate 50810.3.

It is time to depart. The national security of the entirety of Echo relies on our success in this mission. We have one goal: to figure out what happened to Kerbin and report to the ESS Federation and SLIPPIST-Echo Command. We will conduct archaelogical expeditions, send probes to investigate space satellites, and continually listen for any hint of life. We will explore for as long as we need to come to a conclusion, and then sleep until we are picked back up. Kegrel asked 'well what if we find out what happens, and we can't do anything to prevent it from happening again?' I said assuming we succeed in our mission, they'll know everything we know. He said 'well what if we don't succeed?' We must succeed.