Chapter Text
Intelligent, eager, and above-average bravery; that’s the qualities that were sought after in the Kerbal Space Center’s latest round of recruitment efforts. Already knowing how rockets worked or how to fly one was just a bonus, they had training for that part. One kerbal among the recruits about to go through the selection process already fills the ‘eager’ part of the job- this opportunity doesn’t come often and it was her dream to see and experience what was beyond the little marble they called home. Bella had studied for this for quite a while. Knew the controls of the rockets, what they did, and only really lacked the experience of using them and figuring out their quirks. Kerbal engineering was prone to having its quirks, after all!
The selection process was fairly standard; a quick exam with the on-site medical staff to ensure they were physically fit enough for the job- though Bella had taken care of that and had brought a copy of a full physical from her regular doctor earlier in the week -a few physical ability tests, the g-force centrifuge, and apparently seeing if they could figure out how to plant the flag and pilot a jetpack. The only mystery was really why the whole thing was set to take place during the night.
Over in the training area of the Kerbonaut Complex, another kerbal is just finishing up a simulator training session. They were relatively new, so it also functioned to help test the thing. “See? It turned out fine!” He reassures one of the scientists present, helping oversee the simulator. “Worked pretty great, too. If I didn’t already know better, I’d have thought I actually did go into space!”
“I’ll log this down then- both in the data results, and to log some of that training you’re working on.” These were primarily made to help avoid the risk of training Kerbals in planes or actual rockets, where they could explode if they crashed. Not like Skipper would admit any crashes- simulated or otherwise. He might not be a pilot, but he felt like he could keep a rocket under control if he had to.
“Oh- before I forget!” The scientist calls out as Skipper’s heading off. “Bobak’s asking for you. Something about that night crew program? I don’t know either, before you ask. Gene’s usually the one to pull out recruits for things.”
“Are you sure I’m the kerbal for this?” Orson asks, after having been fitted with a standard kerbonaut recruit’s jumpsuit. “I just build the rockets, I wasn’t trained to fly them!” The kerbal he’s following waves off his concerns, turning their head back to address them. “That’s what the kerbonaut training is for. Besides- we’re putting a new team together and need an engineer. The other Kerbonaut-trained engineers are daytime crew, and none of the recruits in this round meet the qualifications. You’ve got the potential to be a great kerbonaut, so here you are!”
The selection process has begun to wind down by now, so the kerbal also waves over one of the successful candidates that had been chosen to train as a pilot- Bella! “We’ll meet the scientist of your team once we meet up with Bobak- he’s the lead of Mission Control’s night crew. Don’t be surprised if you do some team training during the day, though, Gene- the daytime lead of Mission Control -usually handles recruits.”
All three of the kerbonaut recruits meet up and introduce themselves, and Bobak sighs internally. “Alright, bear with me here. Gene usually does this, but we need a night-trained Kerbonaut team. That means I have to handle your training.” As much as he’d prefer to let Gene train, night training wouldn’t work quite as well if it wasn’t done at night. “During the day, kerbonauts have the advantage of being able to see everything around them during liftoff and orbital maneuvers. You three will not have that advantage. You’ll have to rely on those navigation instruments and radar to make sure you don’t run into anything as it will blend into the night sky.” Not like day-trained crew didn’t rely on those tools, they could just see things coming towards them easier until they were ready to make their next maneuvers further away from Kerbin. “In any case, though, welcome to the Kerbal Space Program.”