The White Knight

Previously, on /L Aerospace...

Preamble

Heavy footsteps echo through the hallways of the Dormitory Wing at KSC's Astronaut Complex, completely disregarding the late hours of what should be a calm and relaxing sleeping night for the Astronauts after a long and extenuating day of trainings.

Jebediah Kerman is in a hurry, and don't even try to mind his fellow Kerbonauts's rest time: he have just a couple hours left, and he's not going to waste a single minute for anyone.

Jeb : _ Heck, I'm going to pay a lot of beers next Happy Hour on Thunderbolt's... - he whispers to himself, as it would make any difference.

He reaches his destination, Bill's quarters: BLAM, BLAM, BLAM, BLAM he "knocks" on the door, while trying hard to yell lowly:

Jeb : _ Willian Kerman!!! Wake up, you lazy SAS, we need to talk! Open up, Bill!! THIS IS IMPORTANT!!

After a few minutes, the door opens revealing a sleepy, long eyed Kerbal on pijamas with not exactly the best of the moods:

Bill : _ Jeb, what the heck? It's better that someone had poofed, otherwise someone else is going to right now...

Jeb : _ Get dressed for a mission, grab your spacesuit. We don't have too much time, we need to be on the runway in 45 minutes tops!

Bill : _ What?

Jeb : _ Dress yourself. Get the spacesuit. Mission. NOW!!!!

Bill : _ Wait, wait, wait... What mission?

Jeb : _ What the hell? You don't know it yet? THEY GAVE US A WHITE KNIGHT, damnit, how in hell you had missed that?

Bill : _ Uh... What? A White Knight? The reconnaissance plane from the Krakenheed Martin? THAT White Knight?

Jeb : _ Yes, that one! THEY. GAVE. US. A. WHITEKNIGHT. And Walt*1 gone crazy when Wernher*2 told them that we will have an Kerbolar Eclipse exactly today at kerbolrise, and pestered Gene*3 until he agreed on a P/R stunt for this dawn.

Jeb : _ Now, GO GET DRESSED! I nominated you as my Flight Engineer, you are going with me this time and they want pictures with her*4 and the crew! Hurry up, we are wasting time!!

As Bill turns over and rush to his closet without even closing the door:

Jeb : AND GRAB THE SPACESUIT! You are going to need it!

*1 Walt Kerman: KSC's Public Relations manager.
*2 Wernher von Kerman: Head of KSC's Research and Development Department.
*3 Gene Kerman: KSC's Flight Director and head of the Mission Control Department.
*4 Test pilots refers to their planes as "she", not "it".