Post by DiscipleofBob on Mar 15, 2014 22:38:41 GMT -5
Ultimate Superman #0:
The Day Krypton Died
The Day Krypton Died
Krypton.
A planet that had suffered through a long, dark, turbulent history to finally reach an age of prosperity. Centuries of war, famine, and disasters both natural and manmade had finally come to an end as all of Krypton had united under one banner, one ruling party to bring global peace. Pools of blue-green oceans rested beneath swirling gray clouds along purple-tinted land-masses, all of which glowed under the warm light of a red sun. Silver veins of heavily populated cities strung along the surface like dozens of webs each centering on spires that reached toward the heavens.
Krypton was on the verge of a new golden age. One which would soon have heralded the indigenous population joining the ranks of so many other species that traveled among the stars.
A hulking gunmetal-black dreadnought soared through space towards the planet, Krypton’s banner painted on its hull. Although it was traveling at seemingly impossible speeds, inertial dampeners and the sheer distance made it seem to all aboard that they were almost still.
Despite its intimidating appearance, the ship was one of exploration and diplomacy. Many precautions had been taken to ensure the ship could survive the rigors of space and hopefully defend itself against potential dangers, but this ship was the first long-range cruiser developed by Krypton. All other space-capable ships currently developed by Krypton were short-range pods capable of one, maybe two passengers. This dreadnought could house an entire military, and it did. Soldiers no longer needed in a world of peace, whose only other option was to join the police force and defend the public, hand-selected to explore the cosmos, make first contact with other species, and if necessary protect Krypton’s only long-range spaceship from possible hostile forces. The ship and its crew were Krypton’s version of a firm handshake, a diplomatic crew that would not be cowed by other, perhaps more advanced races.
The commander of this vessel was General Dru-Zod; a renowned war hero whose leadership prevailed in the final battles of Krypton’s wars, who trained Krypton’s police force and remaining military to be efficient, effective fighters, and who through talks alone was able to convince no less than five rebel factions that opposed unification to lay down their arms. Widely known and respected throughout his world, General Zod was the obvious choice for the dreadnought’s maiden voyage.
After a survey of the local galaxy, unable to find any signs of alien life outside of some unknown bacteria and some discolored fungi on an outlying moon, Zod and his men were returning to present their findings and plan an even greater journey for their next mission.
“General, we are approaching Krypton,” one of the bridge officers reported. Zod stood at his post on the central pavilion, overlooking his entire bridge with all of space visible from their bow. His thick, black armor was designed for hand-to-hand combat with no extra holds that could
“Open up communications as soon as we are within range. Tell them we’re coming home,” Zod smiled triumphantly. Though they had not made first contact as they had hoped, the maiden voyage was still a success.
“General!” the ensign at the helm shouted with sudden urgency, “I’m getting multiple distress beacons from the planet’s surface!”
Zod instantly hardened. “Where?”
“Everywhere! Sir, the planet, it’s...” Words failed the ensign as she struggled to grasp the reality, having to look up from her screen to see the planet’s surface for herself. “Krypton is burning.”
Only now was the planet in visible range. Its silver spires were now black craters, visible even from space. The once lush fields were scorched with sickly orange streaks. The once vibrant oceans ran amok with a toxic brown, and the swirling gray clouds were now filled with thick black smoke.
“Battle stations!” General Zod ordered as the entire crew quickly and efficiently assumed their positions. “Keep trying on communications! We need to know what’s happening on the surface!”
As the ship approached, small silver dots started springing from the planet. “Multiple ships launching from the planet’s surface!” the lieutenant confirmed. Several darkened pixels swarmed up over each fleeing ship, and after a brief spark each silver dot vanished one by one. “They’re cutting off all escaping ships!”
Zod slammed his fist against the cold metal of his ship. Every second longer it took for the dreadnought to reach the planet hundred, maybe thousands of his people were dying. “Who? Who’s massacring our people?!” he demanded.
“Unknown, we’ve never seen anything like them before!” The ship’s sensors were still too primitive to pick up more than the locations and trajectories of the enemies, appearing as little more than pixels on the screen. “I’m trying to raise someone on the surface, but... Wait! I’m getting something! Incoming transmission!”
“On screen!” Zod shouted.
A man’s face almost materialized in midair, but the image was distorted, continually disintegrating and reforming as he tried to speak. “Can anyone hear...” *kshhht*. “...are under attack. I repeat we are....” *kshhht*. “...this is Jor-El. Are you receiving...” *kshhht*.
The image faded.
“Get him back!” Zod ordered.
“Trying alternate frequencies! Boosting the signal!”
Eventually the image returned. The normally distinguished, unflinching scientist Jor-El was now a disheveled, panicked mess. “Dru-Zod, is that you?”
Zod breathed a momentary sigh of relief. “It’s me, old friend. We’ve only just arrived. What in the Phantom Zone is going on?”
“I don’t know.” Three little words Zod never thought he’d hear the great Jor-El say. Although Jor-El was a scientist, he commanded more respect than any ruler or general, even Zod himself. Most of the dreadnought had been of Jor-El’s design, and it was Jor-El who had designed the first engine capable of escaping Krypton’s orbit. One man who alone had invented marvels, cured countless diseases, and brokered talks between warring nations, and the only man on Krypton Zod truly saw as his superior, and he had as little clue about what was going on as the crew that had just arrived. “They just suddenly appeared in the sky. Before we knew it, they had reduced most major cities on the planet to rubble. I’m only barely managing to keep communications open with the rest of Krypton. We’re completely outmatched. I’m trying to organize an evacuation, but the enemy’s formation is catching any escaping ships in a net. We can’t get through!”
“We’ll take care of that net,” Zod declared. “Send me whatever launch data you have and I’ll move to intercept and escort.” Zod motioned to one of his lieutenants, who immediately relayed the orders. He turned back to Jor-El’s image, and for a moment his commanding military voice softened to one of great concern. “Jor-El, what about Lara? Did she make it? Is she safe?”
Jor-El grimaced. “My wife...” The words were almost too difficult to speak as he started to tear up. “She perished in the first wave.”
Pain struck like a dagger in Zod’s chest, but he knew there was nothing he could have done differently, and other Kryptonians died by the thousands for every second he did not act. “I’m coming to your location Jor-El. Gather as many as you can, we’ll get you out of here.
“No!” Jor-El refused with a sudden surge of purpose. “I need to remain here to keep communications open and evacuate as many of our people as possible.”
“I’m not leaving you to die!”
“My life can be sacrificed to save many others. That is my choice to make, Zod.” Gone was the panic and sadness from only a moment ago. Now Jor-El stared Zod directly in the eye with a drive the general knew from experience he would never be able to overcome.
“Damn it, Jor-El! You’re needed here! Stop trying to be a martyr!”
“My fate is sealed,” Jor-El insisted. Zod couldn’t waste any more time arguing. If this was Jor-El’s wish there was little he could do to stop him.
“Launch data uploaded, General,” the ensign confirmed. “We can save roughly a quarter of the escape ships if we act now.”
“That’s unacceptable!” Of the millions of Kryptonians on the surface, maybe a couple hundred would breach the atmosphere in individual ships.
“It’s all we can do, sir. We can’t be everywhere at once. This route maximizes our chances of saving as many people as possible.”
“I have one last, selfish favor to ask,” Jor-El coughed over the image that flickered with increasing frequency. Something rumbled in the background. Wherever Jor-El had holed up, it didn’t look like it would last for long. “There’s a new prototype ship I’m sending out from my location. I have to launch it now or not at all. Please,” he begged. Jor-El never begged for as long as Zod knew him.
“Please save my son.”
Lara had been with child? His voyage had been longer than he thought. The image flickered and started to dissipate.
“Save Kal-El.”
The image of Jor-El vanished before Zod could respond, his last words hanging in the air.
“We’ve lost the transmission, General.”
Jor-El deserved a hero’s funeral. He deserved eulogies and massive monuments constructed in his name. But for now, there was no time to mourn him or any of the millions dead. There was only one course of action.
“Search for any launching ships around the source of the transmission,” Zod ordered. Meanwhile the dreadnaught approached the planet as dozens of small lights circled the planet, destroying any of the ships that tried to leave the surface. The attackers were either unidentifiable streaks of light in the distance or indistinguishable blips on the radar screen.
“Scanning… one launch confirmed.”
“Intercept and protect that ship at once!” For possibly the first time since the launch of the dreadnaught, at Zod’s command, the crew hesitated.
“Sir, if we go after that one ship, we condemn the rest to death!” the lieutenant protested, voicing the collective thoughts of the bridge.
Zod paced back and forth about his command post, his eyes darting from ensign to ensign as all remained unsure of their next move. When they worked in unison, they were a well-oiled machine capable of any conceivable feat. When there was dissidence, when there was doubt, the whole machine stopped. Zod fumed, and if it wasn’t for the direness of their situation, he would have court-martialed the lieutenant right then. To go against a commander’s orders in a time of crisis such as this was treason. But the lieutenant had her reasons, and they were legitimate. The fate of Krypton hanged in the balance.
“The line of El,” Zod began, “has always watched over Krypton and its people. In ancient times, when immortal terrors ravaged our families, it was the house of El that imprisoned them in the Phantom Zone. It was the house of El that saved our people from being wiped out by disease and famine. It was the house of El that negotiated an end to the century-long civil war and brought world peace to Krypton. It was the house of El that allowed us to travel among the stars and reach new worlds. Everything around you, every life, every technology, owes its existence to the house of El.
“Today, in Krypton’s most dire hour, the only reason any of our people will survive is because of the house of El. Jor-El is the greatest man any of us will ever know, and today he is survived by that one craft. The legacy of Jor-El is launching from the surface into a web of destruction, and the only chance for its survival is if we give back something to the house of El in return. We could save whoever is the most convenient. We could also turn this ship around and save ourselves. Or we could save the only Kryptonian who matters.
“We are the warriors of Krypton! We will fight to the last breath to defend Krypton and ensure our people survive! But today we will not simply save whoever’s convenient! We will protect the honor of Krypton by ensuring the survival of the last will of the house of El, and in doing so we will not only save the Kryptonian race, we will defend the honor of all of Krypton!”
The crew cheered. The resounding war cries of Zod’s men drowned out any remaining doubts. “Ensign, lay in a course for Jor-El’s last known location.” This time the ensign completed the task with no hesitation. In fact, the entire crew was bolstered with a new sense of pride as they rode into battle.
The dreadnaught now flew close enough to the planet to attract the attention of the enemy drones. Although they were fast and unlike anything Krypton had ever encountered, the dreadnaught’s armor held surprisingly firm against their energy weapons. The dreadnaught was not unarmed either, and although they lacked anything as advanced as energy weapons, large turrets grinded from the surface of the ship, slowly taking aim before a hundred pistons fired at once, shooting a barrage of metal slugs. So many of Krypton’s modern weapons were completely unfunctional in the vacuum of space. If a small dirt rock after accelerating in the vacuum of space could breach the hull of a spaceship, then one can only imagine what cannonballs the size of one’s head could do.
Of course the turrets were slow to turn and to reload, and the enemy was very nimble, streaking along the planet’s atmosphere using hit-and-run tactics. It would have taken expert sharpshooting to hit something so small and fast with a weapon so big and clunky. Fortunately, the best shots on Krypton were manning the main cannons. They managed to drive off several swarms of drones along their course, allowing several Kryptonians to reach escape velocity safely. Although the dreadnaught had no docking ports, and tractor beams were only a vague concept in their top scientists’ minds, the sheer size and the gravitational well, along with the polarization of the hull allowed the escape ships to latch onto the dreadnaught’s exterior. Their occupants would be trapped there until such time that the dreadnaught’s crew could safely rescue them, but for now the ships and their occupants could only watch and hope that Zod would see them safe.
As if the enemy drones could sense Zod’s goals, more converged on the silver dot that was Jor-El’s spaceship. The dreadnaught’s cannons launched a cone of shrapnel, enough to at least deter the alien drones from reaching their target. Zod tried to align his dreadnaught with the silver ship, to rescue it as they already had saved the other ships latched onto his hull, but not only was the ship moving far faster than even the enemy drones, but it made no reaction to the magnetized hull. Zod briefly wondered what sort of strange material Jor-El had devised for this craft. His brief curiosity changed to shock as the ship suddenly glowed before vanishing in a blur, leaving a streak across the galaxy.
“The ship’s exited our radar range. We’ve lost it,” the lieutenant reported surly.
“No, we’ve saved it.” Zod smiled triumphantly, even as drones pounded the dreadnaught from all angles. “We only needed to keep the ship from the enemy’s grasp. Jor-El’s taken care of the rest. Lieutenant, plot the ship’s projected trajectory. We’ll follow its course once we’re done here.”
The bridge shook as the drones’ blasts intensified. The lieutenant had trouble keeping his balance, much less fulfilling Zod’s orders. “I’m trying, General! Enemy fire’s interfering with our tracking systems! I’m compensating n-!” The lieutenant’s console suddenly overloaded and exploded. Energy surged through the officer’s body as his blackened form was hurled across the bridge.
Zod scowled. “Someone finish…”
“Course tracked!” the ensign suddenly confirmed. Hers was a redundant helm console with limited capabilities. It shouldn’t have been able to perform the same functions as the lieutenant’s console without great difficulty.
Zod leered at the eager ensign, wondering what sort of modifications she might have made to her console, or what other exploits she was capable of. “What’s your name?”
“Ensign Faora Hu-Ul, sir.”
“Congratulations on your promotion, Lieutenant Faora. Now turn this ship around! We have ships to save and enemies to destroy!” It was only a small victory, but one that was on Zod’s terms, and proof that even if they were outnumbered and outmatched, the battle could still be won. That small victory was enough to rally the troops’ morale and let them confront the enemy with a new confidence. “Open up a channel. All frequencies. I want every one of those bastards to hear this.”
“This is General Zod of the planet Krypton. I don’t know who you are or why you have attacked our planet without provocation. Understand that we are a peaceful people, seeking to reach the stars and extend a hand of diplomacy to other worlds.
“Whatever the reason for this attack of yours, know this. When you attacked our planet, you also destroyed any chance for mercy from us. You may be technologically superior. You may outnumber us a thousand to one. But for all your strength, attacking Krypton will be the last mistake you will ever make.
“We will fight to the bitter end, but that end will not be today! You will fight, but we will fight harder! You will run, but you will not escape my retribution! You will hide, but there is no dark corner of the galaxy I will not track you! You may beg for mercy, but you will receive none from me! You will suffer by my hand! You will die by my sword! AND YOU WILL ALL!
KNEEL!
BEFORE!
ZOD!”
Zod ended the transmission with an iron fist slamming the controls. “Fire all weapons!”
As the battle between the survivors of Krypton and the alien invaders erupted into full-scale war, one silver ship soared through space at impossible faster-than-light speeds. Its only passengers was a newborn Kryptonian boy in suspended animation. He was unable to perceive the battle growing ever smaller in the distance, nor could he see the ensuing explosion that wiped a planet from the system. Whether the infant’s father had plotted this specific course or if this was just a random direction was a mystery that would forever be lost along with the planet of Krypton. The ship would pass by planets and stars, black holes and asteroid belts, soaring through systems and astronomical wonders few could ever dream of, flying past barren rocks, lush unspoiled primitive planets, and advanced alien empires before settling on a small blue planet with a yellow sun which would change forever thanks to the last son of Krypton.
To be continued…