The year is 2014. Kerbal kind has reached the stars - but at what price? First contact is imminent, and it is looking ugly.

The planet Kerbin sends its bravest warrior, Jebediah Kerman, up into the stars to fight the space invader. What Jeb doesn't know will kill him - if his own spaceship does not first!

The president of Kerbin has prepared the following message in case of highly probable catastrophe:

IN THE EVENT OF mun DISASTER:

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the mun to explore in peace will stay on the mun to rest in peace.

These brave men, Jebediah Kerman, Bill Kerman, and Bob Kerman, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for kerbalkind in their sacrifice.

These three kerbals are laying down their lives in kerbalkind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the Kerbin; they will be mourned by a Mother Kerbin that dared send three of her kerbals into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of kerbal.

In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic kerbals of flesh and blood.

Others will follow and surely find their way home. Kerbal's search will not be denied. But these kerbals were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every kerbal being who looks up at the mun in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

PRIOR TO THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT: The president should telephone each of the widows-to-be.

AFTER THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT, at the point when KSA ends communications with the men: A clergyman should adopt the same procedure as a burial at sea, commending their souls to "the deepest of the deep," concluding with the Jeb's Prayer.