"Before the Space Program, before Mainsails and Mun rovers, before there was even such a thing as a probe core, there was just a group of friends with a shared dream who refused to let that dream go. This is part of their story."
First Flight is a Fan Fic by Kerbal Space Program forum user KSK, which can be found here
, telling the story of how a group of friends in a junkyard build and fly their way to a space program, and some worldbuilding along the way.
First Flight contains examples of the following:
- Aerith and Bob: Just as in the source game, we have normal names like Jeb, Bill, and Bob, but also Geneney (shortened to Gene), Ornie, and Jonton.
- Anachronism Stew: Downplayed and Zig-Zagged.
Word of God says that computers in the First Flight universe are more powerful than those of the 60's, while the tech level of everything else roughly aligns to the 60s and 70s. - Apocalypse How: A possible range between Class 3b and Class 4 caused by the extremely territorial Kerm trees killing any nearby plant life in their territory wars.
- Arc Number: 36. Kerm trees alone are no smarter than a regular tree. However, as a Kerm tree is joined with more Kerm tree cuttings or a kerbal, they become more and more sentient, until they reach 37 or more in total, where they experience a Mind Break without their Keeper by their side. Once they hit 38, their minds begin Shattering, and without the help of a Keeper and two kerbal anchors, will lead to the Kerm becoming fully sapient.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": There are various fruits, vegetables, and plants named and being similar to Earth plants, like redfruit having a core.
- Conlang: Kerbal proverbs, legal phrases, and some town names are written in Old Kerba.
- Continuity Nod: The rocket parts in the first few chapters are direct ancestors to the parts seen in KSP, with the LV-909 "Terrier" appearing late in Part II, though without the Terrier moniker. The RT-5 "Flea" features prominently in Part I, but with the nickname "Trashcan" instead.
- Centrifugal Gravity: The Dres Explorer includes a gravi-wheel.
- Distant Finale: The Epilogue shows that Kerbals have started colonizing Duna, Joenie is now a doctor living on Duna, as well as a mission to Dres returning to Duna.
- Fantastic Flora: Kerbin is home to large, sentient Kerm trees that villages are built around, capable of "speaking" to kerbals via a biochemical connection.
- Intelligent Forest: Thirty-six Kerm saplings and cuttings are enough to create a sentient being, with more than that having disastrous consequences.
- Portmanteau: Both Jonton and Gerselle's Kerms take on names based on both kermols ( Elton and Jonelle respectively).
- Prequel: The first few arcs being a prequel to the Kerbal Space Program proper, with origins on various in-game companies, like Jeb's Junkyard, Rockomax Conglomerate, C7 Industries, and Probodobodyne.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The Council of Twelve, when discussing what to do about the information brought to them about Jonton's joining with his Kerm Tree, start off by acknowledging that Jonton broke two incredibly sacred laws (planting Kerm trees too close together and planting too many cuttings). It's clear, however, that they're just doing this to get the formalities out of the way, since the same person who brings it up also asks that the council wipe his crimes for the record. The first crime (planting Kerm seed too close to a tree) is handwaved because it was an honest mistake made while trying to keep to that very law (he had the party carrying the seed wait to make sure that the area they were going towards could actually support plant life and wasn't just solid rock, and as a result ran out of time). The second crime, planting too many cuttings, the Council agrees that while this rule was broken deliberately, the fact that Jonton is now permanently fused to his Kerm Tree and unable to leave without the Grove dying is considered both more of a punishment than anything they could levy against him, and that further punishment would be disproportionate. As such, both crimes are formally acknowledged and wiped from the record.
- Space Elevator: Discussed about in the epilogue.
- Space Station: One is built as a test bed for Project Starseed as well as another one orbiting Duna in the epilogue.
- Space Plane: It's revealed that C7 Industries in Part III are developing a RAPIER engine for the goal of an SSTO. A flight of it is shown off in the epilogue.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: The exploits of the Kerbal Interplanetary Society and the daily life of Jonton, Gerselle, Joenie, and their village collide towards the end of Part I, leading to the Kerbin government looking for suitable places for kerbals to colonize before the Kerms accidentally kill all other plant life. As of Part III, another plotlines have appeared involving the war over the Kerm crisis.
- Wise Tree: A fully matured Kerm tree is fully sapient, even with memories. A Keeper assigned to each Kerm tree communes with their tree via a biochemical connection.
